Agenda and minutes

The Chair will introduce those present and make any necessary announcements.

The Chair and any other Councillors who are present will make any declarations of interest as required by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

Cllr Dawood – Chair, welcomed everyone and led introductions.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Action Log for the last meeting, held on 25 February 2019, is attached for information and discussion.

The action log from the last meeting was noted.

Ward Councillors will provide an update on local ward issues they have been dealing with since the previous meeting.

Councillors requested that all successful Ward Funding applications should provide details of the projects carried out. Receipts of where the money was spent was a requirement and Councillors encouraged successful applicants should comply with this.  

Housing Officers will be at the meeting to discuss housing related matters in the Ward.

Nick Griffiths from the Housing Tenancy Team was in attendance and updated the meeting.

It was noted that on the St Matthews Estate:

·         Shrubs on Ottawa Road had been cut back to help reduce the rat infestation.

·         Bin rooms had been improved with improved bin door lock outs.

·         Street recycling facilities on the estate had been relocated

·         Garages facing Dysart Way had been demolished. These were to give way to additional parking spaces.

·         Damaged benches had been repaired.

·         Parking Enforcement had been increased.

It was noted that on the St Peters Estate:

·         Refurbishment work on Maxfield House was now complete and residents were moving back in.

·         Goscote House would be decommissioned once the tower block was empty. It was noted that there were a few residents that still remained.

·         Garages on the estate were occupied and residents would be consulted before any plans to demolish were put together.

·         Storage facilities were being considered to be added to the courtyards of resident homes.

·         Any introduction of the Resident Parking Scheme on the estate would be for tenants on the estate.

Councillors suggested that the Housing Team should feedback to the meeting information on Leaseholders purchasing properties. ACTION: Housing Team 

The City Warden will give an update on issues in the Ward

The City Warden was unable to attend the meeting.

Residents raised their concerns over the level of rubbish that was created on Melbourne Road and the streets surrounding the local take away shops. Residents reported rodent infestations and suggested take-aways be held responsible.

Councillors suggested reviewing licenses and capping the number of take-aways could be a solution.

It was suggested that extra bins and informative signage outside the shops would help tackle the problem. ACTION: City Warden to investigate options available. 

Reports of fly-tipping outside the ball park on Maynard Road and the allotments on Melbourne Street were noted. Residents were concerned this was becoming a hot spot for fly-tipping and suggested signage in multi languages need to be installed. ACTION: City Warden to attend the mentioned areas and investigate issue. 

Officers from the Local Policing Unit will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in the Ward

Officers from the Local Police were present. Both officer PC Marcus and PC Adam were new to the ward and introduced themselves and were grateful for the warm welcome into the community..

It was noted that as it was their first Ward Community Meeting and presented a few details of what they were involved in.

Spinney hill park had increased patrols, and this had helped bring down the anti-social behaviour (ASB).

Work with the Park Wardens had helped bring down the littering on Spinney Hill Park. Wardens had been working with the park users to try and keep users informed about the environmental factors with littering.

As new Officers to the area, officers shared their concerns with traffic violations. The police were planning on running an operation to crack down on drivers using phones and not wearing seatbelts.

Councillors suggested that any traffic operations should be research led and not a disproportionate target of the community.

The Police were working closely on the issue with homeless people sleeping on the stairwells in the tower blocks on the St Peters Estate. Increased patrols had helped bring down the number of people using the block of flats.

In the period of time they had been working in the ward, the overall number of crimes had decreased.

Councillors are reminded that under the Council’s Code of Conduct they should declare any interest they may have in budget applications.

An update will be given on the Ward Community Budget.

There were 24 Ward Funding applications that had been received. 11 of these had been approved leaving a balance of £13,028.

It was suggested that anyone that had ideas for community projects could apply for funding from the Ward Community Budget. Help was available to complete the online form by contacting the Ward Community Engagement Officer.

Residents raised their concerns with Highways matters in the ward and Councillors suggested that each action be responded to individually with the emails provided.

The Junction at Frederick Road and Vulcan Road was a hotspot for near misses and residents were concerned with the safety of those in the area. It was suggested that now the route had become a bypass for Melbourne Road. Residents suggested that restricting the flow of traffic to a one-way street would help control the traffic and safety concerns. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to liaise with the Highways Team to respond to the resident.

With the parking issues in the area residents suggested there were spaces on top of Sherrard Road and the area outside of the mosque at the top of Hart Road and Florence Road that could be considered to create additional parking spaces. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to Liaise with the Highways Team to respond to the residents.

Residents from Wilson Street, Maynard Road and Keythorpe Street requested streets to be formed into a one-way system. The ongoing traffic issues causes altercations throughout the day and residents’ suggestion for a S one-way system flow would help the traffic flow better. Residents from the area have ideas they would like to suggest to the Highways Team. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to liaise with the Highways Team to respond to the residents.

Residents from Melbourne street suggested modification to the ramps and ramp break outs on the street would help better flow of traffic and the parking issues. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to liaise with the Highways Team to respond to the residents.

Concerns were also raised with the trees on Melbourne Street not being trimmed resulting in the loss of parking spaces outside residents’ homes. ACTION: Ward Community Engagement Officer to contact the Trees Team for a response.

Councillors informed residents that issues with traffic flow in the area was being considered. Highways Officers were looking at solutions to help the traffic flow better, but these solutions would take time to put in place and residents would be consulted prior to these changes.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 7:32pm.