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 apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Action Log for the last meeting, held on 29 July 2019, is attached for information and discussion.

The action log for the meeting held on Monday 29 July 2019 was noted.

Ward Councillors will provide an update on local ward issues

Councillors opened the floor to questions to any items that were not related to Highway matters on the St Matthews Estate.

Residents raised concerns on the proposals for the upkeep of the recently revamped courtyards. Although residents were happy with the work done on the courtyards, concerns were raised with what plans were in place for the future maintenance of the courtyards on the estate.

Councillors assured residents that every courtyard had been identified and once the work was complete, future plans for maintenance of the courtyards would be consulted with the Housing Team. More details would be available in the future and If residents required more details or had queries in relation to this matter, it was suggested that questions be forwarded to the Housing Team, who would then provide written responses.

An officer from the Highways Team will be present to provide a highways update.

The City Highways Director was in attendance to provide a presentation on Residents Parking Schemes (attached).

During the presentation it was noted that parking problems had been identified on the St Matthews Estate and that a Residents Parking Scheme had been suggested.

The presentation outlined the parking zone that would be created and the possibilities of the types of schemes that were available to best meet the needs of the residents of the estate. It was noted that the introduction of a residents parking scheme would help deter commuter parking but still did not guarantee to resolve all parking problems.

Details were shared on the number of permits that would be available per household, which was determined by the on-street capacity and the cost of the different type of permits. Residents were informed that only cars registered to the estate would be eligible for a permit, further helping by reducing the number of cars in the area taking up parking spaces that do not belong to those living on the estate.

It was noted that the 24/7 scheme was the most popular scheme around the city but there were other options such as a scheme that ran during the working hours and alternatively a scheme that was only live for a couple hours during the day and night. These schemes had their positive and negative attributes, which were outlined during the presentation.

During discussions between residents, Councillors and Officers, it was noted that in 2015 there were 1222 vehicles on the estate with 1103 car parking spaces on the estate. Over the last few years extra parking spaces had been created as a result of demolishing garages and others from creating parking spaces after deregulating safe spaces around the estate, without compromising public safety.

Residents had different ideas for achieving the residents parking scheme and ways of implementing the scheme in the most effective way to the benefit of both the Council and the residents of the St Matthews Estate. Councillors and Highways Officers noted the ideas during the discussion and informed all residents that this was an initial discussion and consultations would take place prior to any decision being taken. The overall time frame for implementing the scheme was estimated at 2-3 years depending on residents’ support from the consultation.

In other highways related matters on the St Matthews Estate, residents suggested that relaxing the arrangements for the bus lane on Taylor Road would help the residents of the local area. It was noted that the bus lane had existed on Taylor Road for approximately 50 years and it was very unlikely that the arrangements would change. The bus lane was in place to deter rat run congestion to Dysart Way and Catherine Street.

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

An update on the Ward Community Budget will be provided at the meeting

Since the last ward meeting it was noted that 12 applications had been received, of which 7 had been approved. 1 application was not approved, and a further 4 applications were yet to be assessed.

The remaining budget for the ward was £7483.

Residents were informed that support on applications was available through the Community Engagement Team and Officer details were available in the agenda.

It was noted that a ward Funding Advice Session was planned to take place at St Matthews Centre on Monday 18^th November 2019 at 3.30pm.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 9:10pm.