Agenda item

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

 

a)      The Members Support Officer will give an update on the latest position with the Community Meeting budget.  A copy of the Thurncourt Ward Meeting Budget as at January 2011 is attached for information.

 

b)      The following applications for grants are submitted for consideration:-

 

Application 1

 

Applicant:       Thurnby Lodge & District Community Association

 

Proposal:       Wheelchair replacement

 

Amount:          Item                                    Cost                               Amount

                                                                                                            Requested

 

                        Wheelchair A –                  £233.83                          £250.00

self-propelled                     inc VAT

 

Wheelchair B –                  £293.75                          £250.00

attendant propelled            inc VAT

 

                                                Total requested:     £500.00

 

Summary:       The Association previously had provided two wheelchairs for use within the Centre in emergencies.  They were used if people needed to transfer from their own powered chairs in order to access parts of the building they otherwise would not be able to use, (for example, the library, or the Annexe at the rear of the building).

 

                        The two original chairs have been scrapped, because of damage and general wear and tear.

 

                        The chairs will not only be used in the Centre, but will be available for use in the community.

 

An initial discussion on this application was held at the Thurncourt Community Meeting on 4 October 2010.  At that meeting, the view was expressed that this was the type of application the Meeting was likely to support, but no commitment could be given until full information was known.

 

 

Application 2

 

Applicant:       The Seabrook Club (Tuesday)

 

Proposal:       To fund a coach to take senior citizens of the Seabrook Club on a trip in the spring

 

Amount:          Estimated cost of coach:                             £350

                        Estimated entrance fees (50 x £3):£150

 

Summary:       The funding of a coach in the spring to take members of the Tuesday Club at Ocean Road Community Centre to the bulb fields, or other place of interest.  Receipts for the bus and entrance fees will be produced after the event.

 

                        No other funding has been sought, or obtained, from other organisations.

 

 

Application 3

 

Applicant:       Mrs B Ayres

 

Proposal:       Assistance with funding for the Tuesday Evening Bingo Club

 

Amount:          Weekly rental of hall – £300

 

Summary:       Funding is requested towards rental costs to avoid the cessation of the Club after many years.  This will benefit members who have attended the club for many years from all over Thurnby Lodge estate.

 

                        The Community Association has purchased a quantity of bingo books, but rental costs need addressing for the coming year.

 

 

Application 4

 

Applicant:       Leicester City Council – Road Safety Team

 

Proposal:       The Parkway/Havencrest Drive – Proposed Road Traffic Accident

                        Remedial Scheme

 

Amount:         

 

Item	Cost £	Estimate or Actual cost (E or A)?	Request to Ward Meeting (£)
Provision of Give Way Sign on new Plinth Post with new Lighting Unit and Electricity Connection.	1,090	Estimate provided by street lighting	1,090
Provision of new Give Way Road Markings	160	Estimate provided by City Highways	160
Contribution to Road Safety Team to process the Traffic Regulation Order, including consultation, design and plan preparation, notice posting, dealing with objections, marking out of lines, updating records and arranging enforcement	800	Estimate based on similar recent TROs	800
Legal Services charges for making of the Traffic Regulation Order.	700	Estimate based on similar recent TROs	700
First advertisement in Leicester Mercury setting out proposals and inviting objections.	600	Estimate based on similar recent adverts	600
Second Advertisement in Leicester Mercury confirming Traffic Order has been made and implementation date.	600	Estimate based on similar recent adverts	600
Installation of road markings appropriate to the restriction introduced including charges by the contractor for setting out and for Sunday or Night time working.	300	Estimate based on similar recent TROs	300
Total	4,250		4,250

 

Summary:       Following concerns raised about road traffic accidents at the junction of The Parkway and Havencrest Drive, officers from the Road Safety Team at Leicester City Council have investigated conditions at the site.

 

During the period 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2009, there were 4 recorded personal injury accidents at the junction which resulted in 9 slight casualties.

 

Three of the accidents involved vehicles travelling east on The Parkway colliding with vehicles on Havencrest Drive. There is an issue relating to the visibility of the junction. Due to the layout of the eastbound approach to the junction on The Parkway, drivers may be either unaware of Havencrest Drive or consider that The Parkway is the priority route. This could therefore result in drivers overshooting the junction. In addition, there are problem regarding visibility from The Parkway to Havencrest Drive due to vehicles parked very close to the junction.

 

The identified remedial measure to reduce the incidence of recorded personal injury accidents at the junction are :-

 

a)   to install a 750mm high Give Way sign to Diagram No. 602 on a plinth post along with an associated road marking to Diagram No. 1023 on The Parkway to improve driver awareness of the junction and that they must give way to other traffic.

 

b)   to implement waiting restrictions (marked by double yellow lines) at the junction in order to improve visibility.

 

The Road Safety Team is able to start the procedures to implement the scheme as soon as finance becomes available. It should take around eight weeks to install the Give Way sign and Give Way markings at the junction.

 

This is made up of one week to produce design drawings and issue the work to consultants / contractors accordingly. The rest of the time is taken up with implementation by consultants / contractors. The process to implement the Traffic Regulation Order is likely to take six months to complete and is dependant on the time taken to undertake the statutory legal processes necessary to make the Order.

 

The proposal, if implemented, will be deemed successful if the number of recorded personal injury accidents of the type to be treated at the junction reduces subsequent to scheme implementation.

 

Leicester City Council is currently in the process of preparing the third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) which will come into force from 1st April 2011. This is a document submitted to the Department for Transport and is a medium to bid for funding from Central Government.  LTP3 will include a bid list of Accident Remedial Schemes, and the junction of The Parkway and Havencrest Drive will form part of that bid.  However, the outcome of funding will not be known until summer 2011 and there is no guarantee in the current economic climate that funding for any scheme will be forthcoming.

Francis Connolly, Member Support Officer, introduced this item of business.  He noted that there was £11,199 left in the budget prior to the meeting.

 

Members considered the following applications:

 

Thurnby Lodge and District Community Association – request for £500 to provide two wheelchairs to be used within the Community Centre in emergencies.

 

It was confirmed that one wheelchair would be located at Thurnby Lodge Community Centre and the other stored at Ocean Road Community Centre.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £500 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

 

The Seabrook Club (Tuesday Club) – request for £500 to take senior citizens of the Seabrook Club on a trip in the Spring.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £500 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods, the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and the Leader of the Council.

 

The Tuesday Bingo Club – request for £300 to assist with rental costs.

 

The applicant was present and explained how both the Tuesday and Friday Bingo clubs helped to generate funds for the Community Centre. 

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £300 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods, the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and the Leader of the Council.

 

Leicester City Council – Road Safety Team – request for £4,250 for a proposed road traffic accident remedial scheme.

 

Members explained that this proposal had been previously suggested in light of the accident rate at the junction of Havencrest Drive and The Parkway.  Remedial measures that were proposed to be taken as part of the application included the provision of a Give Way sign and road markings, newspaper advertisement and associated legal costs.

 

Officers explained that the scheme would be included in a list of bids as part of Leicester’s third Local Transport Plan (LTP3).  It was stated that the outcome of funding would not be known until at least Summer 2011, and that there was no guarantee in the current economic climate that funding for any scheme would be forthcoming.    Funding from the Community Meeting would guarantee that the scheme would be able to be completed far sooner.

 

Members and those present supported the application but with the condition that should the scheme be funded via LTP3, the money pledged from the Community Meeting be refunded.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That, subject to the above condition, the application be supported and a sum of £4,250 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

 

The Friday Bingo Club – request for £300 to assist with rental costs.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £300 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods, the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and the Leader of the Council.

 

The Chit Chat Club – request for £550 to support weekly outings for club members.

 

Councillor Scuplak felt that this application extended the use of the community centre, which was seen as a safe and welcoming place for residents to congregate.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £550 be allocated from the Ward Community Cohesion Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods, the Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and the Leader of the Council.

 

Thurnby Lodge Lunch Club – request for £500 to purchase a chest freezer.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £500 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

 

Wednesday Club – request for £400 towards running costs.

 

RESOLVED:

                        That the application be supported and a sum of £400 be allocated from the Ward Community Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.

 

Emergency Repairs to Internal Ceiling of the Willowbrook Activity Centre – request for £2,000 to cover materials and installation costs.

 

The applicant was present and reported that the Activity Centre was supplementing the work with £510 generated themselves.  

 

RESOLVED:

                        That, subject to the above condition, the application be supported and a sum of £2,000 be allocated from the Ward Action Plan Fund budget, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Lead for front Line Service Improvement and Neighbourhoods and the Leader of the Council.