Agenda item

An update will be provided on the key areas of the Ward Action Plan:-

- Street Cleaning – Environmental Services

- Crime / Anti Social Behaviour

- Youth Services

STREET CLEANING

Barbara Whitcombe, City Warden Manager gave the meeting a presentation which outlined the work areas which the City Wardens would be undertaking and gave residents the chance to give their opinions on areas which needed a greater focus to keep them clean.

The following areas were raised as needing extra cleansing attention.

- Black Pad – issues were raised at a public meeting with regard to bin clearance, dog fouling and litter.

- Barleycroft shops – problems with litter left by school pupils at lunchtimes.

- Heacham Drive to Christ the King Church – bus shelters with litter problems.

- Astil Lodge Estate – problems with dog fouling – it was queried whether prosecutions ever took place? Barbara confirmed that they did and a press release would soon be going out.

- The area near the BMX track at the rear of the leisure centre – there was a problem with dog fouling and trolleys being dumped.

- There were fly tipping problems at the back of Blue Gates Road and Pitchens Close.

- There were dog fouling problems on Castle Hill Park, even though dog mess bins had been installed.

- It was queried whether fines could be levied on horse owners for horse fouling on bridleways? Barbara said that this wasn’t possible.

The Chair in summary recommended that the Head of Communications at the Council be approached to put an article in the Link Magazine as well as the  press release on dog fouling prosecutions. She also asked that a letter be sent, and signed by the Chair to the Head of Parks with a request to put some dog mess bins in the area around the BMX track.

YOUTH SERVICES

Kim Thorrington gave the meeting an update on the projects which had been funded through the Ward Community Fund. He said that the general idea behind the projects which had been supported was to reach those young people who wouldn’t normally engage with Youth Services.

Young Parents Group

This had become well established with a number of the members training to become Youth Workers and to lead the group themselves. It was undertaking various activities such as a residential visit to provide advice for sexually active young people and doing similar in schools and youth clubs.

Friendship Group for Young People with Mental Health Problems

This was a project aimed a young people suffering from a range of conditions such as depression, bi-polar and Autism. The group was about giving of support for each other and providing some fun as well.

‘Street Corners’

This was a youth action group, led by young people. It was currently involved in producing profiles of the local area of all the services which existed for young people. This also included a process of ‘emotional mapping’, where the things which created an emotional link to the area were detailed.

The Chair of the meeting thanked Kim for all the work that he had undertaken.

Kim also outlined a number of areas which he wished to use the Community Meeting funding which had been approved at the end of the last financial year.

Empathy Bellies - The Young Parents Group – there was a request to purchase two ‘empathy bellies’ which simulated the experience of being pregnant. These would cost a total of £700.

Councillors supported this application.

First Aid Training- There was a request from the Young Parents Group for 2 paediatric first aid training sessions for young parents designed to equip them with skills, knowledge and confidence to deal with crisis situations that might occur with pre-school children. This would cost a total of £500.

Councillors supported this application. The Chair also suggested that Kim contact the Children’s Centre to see if they could assist with funding.

Sex Education Aids - The Young Parents Group wished to purchase a set of synthetic testes and breasts for the purpose of demonstrating self examination techniques to young people. The total cost of these would be £200.

Councillors supported this application.

Residential Trip - It was intended to take 20 young people on a residential trip in the early spring. The aim behind the trip was to get young people to open up about their life experiences, the difficulties they face and their aspirations. The total cost of these would be £1500. In reply to a question, Kim explained that this trip would be for young people from deprived areas who had engaged well with local services on a longer term basis and had provided support to other young people.

Councillors supported this application.

A local resident who was present at the meeting explained that he was a boxing tutor and he hoped to be starting up a club in the area. He said that he hoped his club could link into some of activities which Kim had detailed. Kim welcomed this opportunity.

Kim indicated that he would bring young people to the next meeting to discuss the projects which they had been involved in.

CRIME / ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

PC Martin Birch gave the meeting an update on the latest developments with regard to the Police services provided in the ward.

The main update related to the fact that ‘beat’ areas within the ward were being removed and officers would be able to address issues all over the ward. Officers would still nominally have areas which they patrolled, but should they be needed, larger numbers of officers could attend any incident, regardless of where it was.

Martin also detailed the specific priorities in each neighbourhood, which had been established following consultation with local people.

Martin urged people to continue to get in touch if issues arose, there would now be a central point of contact which could co-ordinate a response across the ward and draw on a wider pool of officers to provide assistance.

With regard to crime statistics, Martin noted that of the ‘core’ crimes, there was very little in the ward when it came to car theft and robbery. Theft from cars and burglary however remained an issue. He did however note that certain known problem individuals had recently been apprehended.

In respect of illegal motorbike use, there had been 8 seizures of bikes and 7 section 59 warnings. There had also been some successful evictions of problem families.

A resident raised a query with regard to the Policing of Castle Hill Park, part of which was covered by officers who were based in Anstey. Martin said that a common sense approach would be taken with regard to dealing with problems in the Park. Officers wouldn’t, for example stop chasing illegal motorbikes when it came to the ward boundary. The resident further suggested that Councillors should lobby the Police Authority to give Beaumont Leys Police powers to police the whole of the park. The Chair said that she was happy to send a letter to Councillors on the Police Authority on this matter.

A resident raised a further query about whether Police numbers would be diluted when the Ashton Green development was built. Martin said that the effect of Ashton Green on the Policing in the area was as yet unknown and this was an issue for the Police hierarchy to consider.