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.
Anita Patel, Members Support Officer, will provide an overview of the current position of the Spinney Hills Ward budget. The following applications will be considered:
Application 1
Applicant: Soft Touch Arts
Amount: £376
Proposal: Comedy Shorts Film Making
Summary: Soft Touch aim to work with three groups of young people to each make a short comedy film. The process will include the young people learning film making and project management skills.
Each group has already come up with an outline of the idea for their film. The main target audience is other young people and exhibition and distribution plans will centre on getting the films in places where young people can view them.
Application 2
Applicant: Cranbourne Club and Day Care for Elderly
Amount: £1,500
Proposal: Travel and rent expenses for the elderly to attend day care at the Neighbourhood Centre
Summary: The Wednesday and Friday groups each meet weekly, and are a group of older people who meet to play bingo and socialise, and also have lunch on a Friday. The groups has been established for fifteen years and plays an important role for residents. All of the groups members live alone, and for some this is their only social contact. A number of this group require taxis to get to the neighbourhood centre, as pensioners find this difficult financially.
Application 3
Applicant: Police and City Council Community Safety (Joint Bid)
Amount: £700 (£500 already fast-tracked)
Proposal: Burglary Target Hardening Project
Summary: Burglary Target Hardening Project (2053) Insp. Bill Knopp (Spinney Hill LPU) and Nazira Vania (LCC Community Safety Team)
Amount requested: £1200
Details of the proposal, (taken from the application form)
There has been an increase in burglaries in the Spinney Hill Local Policing Unit (LPU) area, which includes the Evington Ward. Police and partners are already undertaking prevention and enforcement work to tackle the problem.
This includes the Joint Action Group approving funding (£1000) for timer switches, which help to prevent burglary by making a house look occupied when the residents are not at home. The JAG's funding will allow for 500 of these switches to be given free to residents. However, this is across the LPU as a whole, so the impact will be spread quite thinly.
The proposal:
The proposal is to target more properties in the most affected streets within the Evington ward using 'Target Hardening Packs', which will include the timer switches along with window alarms (these are attached to accessible windows, and the alarm goes off if the window is hit/broken).
The Packs will be taken to properties in hotspot areas to prevent burglaries, and to properties that have already been burgled to prevent re-victimisation. We anticipate that the average property will require 4 window alarms and 1 timer switch for each property, equating to £12.00 per property.
We would like to begin with targeting 100 properties in the ward at an estimated cost of £1,200, expanding to more depending on the success of the scheme. Target Hardening Packs purchased from the Evington ward's funding will only be used to benefit Evington constituents (we will maintain a list of addresses in receipt of a Pack), and will not be given to residents elsewhere in the LPU.
|
Item |
Cost (£) |
Estimate/ Actual cost? |
Request to Ward Meeting (£) |
|
Window Alarms @ £2.50 x 400 |
£1,000 |
Actual |
£1,000 |
|
Timer Switches @ £2.00 x 100 |
£200 |
Actual |
£200 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
£1,200 |
|
£1,200 |
Application 4
Applicant: Leicester Lions Football Club
Amount: £1,050
Proposal: Easter Football Tournament
Summary: The tournament will take place at St Margaret’s Pastures on 15th, 16th and 17th April 2012.
We are expecting up to 700 participants who will come from different parts of the city from different ethnic groups. There will also be participants from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and Bristol.
There will be an evaluation after the event which will seek views from participants, and we will invite various dignitaries who can give an overview of the event.
Application 5
Applicant: St Peters and Stoughton ST. TARA
Amount: £200
Proposal: Highfields Primary School Trip to the Space Centre
Summary: A trip to the National Space Centre is being organised for school children from Highfields Primary School.
These children are from very low-income families, and some with physical or educational special needs and some are new arrivals into the country, and some at risk of exclusion.
Normally these children would not be able to afford to go to the Space Centre. The costs for the National Space Centre are being funded through a bursary from the Space Centre charity.
Application 6
Applicant: Azad House Residents
Amount: £600 (£300 also sought from Latimer ward)
Proposal: Coach Trip to Skegness for Elderly Residents
Summary: All residents are elderly and vulnerable and to a degree a little entrapped in their residencies. They have very little opportunity to socialise or get together collectively and are all on a low income.
Residents in the scheme come from a number of diverse backgrounds and live together in older persons self-contained flats in a block of flats. We feel that it is essential to seek ways for us to live, learn, and exchange ideas and values in a cohesive manner. This is to bring communities together and celebrate the richness and depth diversity brings to the City of Leicester.
Our intention is to use a coach trip to the seaside as a means of having greater interaction. Residents will be close to each other, we can arrange for activities that will encourage interactivity and discussions around differing beliefs and cultures.
Therefore, we would like the opportunity to take 100 residents on a bus trip to Skegness, between May and July 2012.
The cost of coach travel will cost a maximum of £900. We would ask all residents to contribute £3.00 per head to cover the cost of lunch.
Application 7
Applicant: Leicester Stars
Amount: £1,662
Proposal: Police Integration through football project for young people
Summary: The Leicester Stars will came together to take responsibility and action against violence among young people that has been taking place at schools and colleges across the city. Leicester Stars function within an economically deprived ward area representing 5% national mdx. Today young people experience inequality particularly media/societal perceptions (both international and local) of Somali Young people and economic inactivity which impacts both on overall health and social well being. We the young people of Leicester and St. Matthews in particular, have decided that we shall engage 42 young people and undertake football activities to integrate young people, with the help of our community leaders, parents and elders, to work with other African heritage communities to address the problem and increase grassroots community integration. As participants of Leicester Stars, we feel that we need to use our strengths, which is generic sport but predominately Football (Soccer) to reach out to the young people (sometimes described as “hard to reach”) in order to raise awareness and promote social integration between different demographic, ages, gender etc. identities. The programme will provide value all key elements of the 4 ECM outcomes as follows:
Stay Safe – Young people engaged within an environment that is facilitated by qualified and CRB checked volunteers and coaches.
Enjoy and Achieve – Central to all activities will be enjoyment and promoting belonging and achievement
Be healthy - Through sports and athletics, young people will be trained to live healthy lives through physical exercise a vigorous level. Participants will be provided information on healthy diet and exercise programmes
Make a positive contribution - Young people will be given the opportunity to work together towards promoting integration and social harmony amongst peers and young people from different communities and post codes of Leicester City. They will work together to aspire to create a positive community environment in which they can grow up and achieve individual goals.
We have a strong track record of delivering to alienated new community young people since 2003 and for this programme have achieved a partnership with Iqra Aid Trust (International Registered Charity) to achieve our overall project goals.
We feel that these activities and our outcomes are very good value for the amount funding that we are requesting.
Application 8
Applicant: Sikh Community Centre
Amount: £3,000
Proposal: Gymnasium equipment and new musical instruments
Summary: We would like to submit an application for two things that would be beneficial to the users of our organisation. We have a gymnasium in our centre and recently there has been lots of demand for new equipment to be brought in. Due to our financial circumstances we are not in a position to provide this.
We would like to purchase a vibrating plate which would encourage users to exercise as its easy to use and not as strenuous as other gym equipment. We know that this will increase our membership base as many people have enquired about this purchase.
We would also like to purchase new musical instruments. We currently have three classes running at our centre for children and adult music lessons. As the number of users is growing, we are running out of instruments for them to use. The instruments we do have are no longer in good condition and are in need of replacement.
Application 9
Applicant: Shri Guru Ravidass Temple and Community Centre
Amount: £3,000
Proposal: Celebration of Shri Guru cultural event
Summary: Summary not included
Application 10
Applicant: Highfields Library
Amount: £765
Proposal: Health Matters in Highfields - Family intervention project
Summary: Highfields Library in partnership with the Leicester Partnership Trust Community Health Development Coordinator will be running a general one day Family Health Matters event in Highfields, which will promote overall health and well-being for the community of Spinney Hills.
The event will consist of 9 table top stalls offering health practitioners information and advice, which will be aimed at promoting positive health, reducing isolation, encouraging positive mental health and making positive lifestyle changes.
Activities planned on the day for children include, colouring, face painting, Mehdi, balloon art and a variety of outdoor activities.
Application 11
Applicant: North Evington Children’s Centre
Amount: £1,350
Proposal: Family Fun Day – to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
Summary: North Evington Children’s Centre intends to put on ‘The Changing Face of Evington’ event Free for families and children in the North Evington Area. This is to take place on Saturday 26th May 2012 between 10am and 3pm at Coleman Lodge).
The event will be open for families aged 0-12 years from the North Evington area of the city. The event will be based on the Diamond Jubilee where we will be celebrating the ‘Changing Face of Childhood’ over the past 60 years. The event will put on craft and sports activities for families that will include a magician, a face painter and sports activities.
The event will also promote the Nursery Education Grant (NEG) for families in North Evington and will be inviting both private and voluntary nursery education providers to the event to give out advice and support to parents and carers who are unaware of their child’s entitlement to NEG funding for a pre-school or nursery place.
We intent to promote this event through local schools, shops, leisure centres and links to our library. On the day, we aim to track how many new registration forms we have completed. We would define the event as being purposeful if we have 100 children in attendance aged between 0-12 years.
Application 12
Applicant: Highfields Community Association
Amount: £2,000 (from each of Spinney Hills, Castle and Stoneygate Ward)
Proposal: Highfields Festival Event on 30 June 2012 at Highfields Centre and Uplands Junior School
Summary: Highfields festival 2012
Date: June 30th 2012
Venues – Highfields Centre sports hall/main hall/forecourt car park and Uplands School grounds
Rationale:
Key issues/aspects:
· Format of event - outdoor/indoor activities/stalls/music/poetry/film taster workshops & a Job /Training Fair with HMAC in the main hall on the Saturday. These activities to be during the day and these will be free. We are looking to have a small/medium size stage outside as a focal point.
· Event will incorporate the annual Celebration of Diversity & Unity in the Community (CDUC) young people’s event on Saturday evening
· Catering – will be provided by H-Café at the Centre and by local companies providing specialist foods
· Other partners so far signed up are Leicester Print shop,
Highfields, Mayfield and St Saviours Children’s Centres, Active Youth, Highfields Library, Ansaar, Reminiss youth group and Uplands School
· We will build in forward planning where we are hoping that the festival will continue to grow for 2013.
Target Audience:
Will be local communities in the Highfields area, young and old
and newly arrived communities as well as those who are
unemployed or looking for training. There is an event for young
people and a cross generational event and a range of artists
from diverse backgrounds will be performing.
Evaluation:
We will be filming & photographing event and doing interviews
with people on the day. Also there will flipcharts/pen and sticky
notes available to capture participants feelings and responses.
Ultimately we will know we are successful by the numbers of
people who attend the different aspects of the festival such as
the :
· Job/Training Fair
· Taster arts & sports sessions
· Youth CDUC event
We would also take into account:
· Number of stall holders
· Partner agencies involved
Additionally we will be asking people to sign up to be involved
in next year’s event to encourage local ownership &
involvement. The number of people who do this will also be an
indicator of our success.
Application 13
Applicant: AK Fitness
Amount: £675 (from each of Coleman, Evington, Spinney Hills and Stoneygate)
Proposal: Easter dance and drama workshops for 8 to 16 years.
Summary: Easter dance & drama work shop.
Sessions would be held at AK Fitness studio, Temple road, Leicester, LE54JE.
AK Fitness is a women only gym with members from all the above wards especially Coleman, Evington and Stoneygate. The parents are always asking about dance classes for children. Most children attend boxing sessions at various locations and want to try something different.
Our proposal is to set up an Easter workshop offering dance and drama classes. The children can then stage a production at the end of the two weeks. We can invite the parents, friends and family to the show.
Dance and drama really do help instil confidence in children and teach them how to interact with other children and make new friends. They also learn how to express their emotions through a different medium. The dance will also encourage the kids to be active and fit.
The studio has all the facilities required to run a workshop for dance and drama. The music system and lighting is already in place. We also have qualified instructors to run the sessions. We also have tables and chairs available. The studio is large enough to accommodate 40 to 50 children. Our established base provides an ideal opportunity to organise and work with the children in the community over the Easter holidays. We are based of St saviours road which is a central location for all the above wards.
We would advertise and promote the scheme via our member’s database, local schools, religious institutes, social media, local news letters and posters.
The sessions would be free for the children and the parents can provide them with a packed lunch.
We would ask the children and parents to complete evaluation forms at the end of the work shop to get feedback on how successful it was. We would also take pictures and record a video of the production (with the consent of the parents).
Minutes:
Anita Patel, the Member Support Officer to the Spinney Hill Community Meeting presented the Community Meeting budget and explained that this was the final meeting of the financial year. A large number of funding applications had been received; some of which had arrived late and would be deferred to the new financial year. It was as yet unknown as to how much would be allocated to the community meeting budgets for 2012/13.
Anita explained that the Ward Councillors had made decisions on the following funding applications:
Application 1: Soft Touch Arts – Comedy Shorts Film Making
Amount Requested: £376
RESOLVED:
that it be agreed that the funding application from Soft Touch Arts be partially supported to the value of £350.
Application 2: Cranbourne Club and Day Care for the Elderly – Travel and rent expenses for the elderly to attend day care at the Neighbourhood Centre.
Amount Requested: £1500
RESOLVED:
that the funding application from Cranbourne Club and Day care for the Elderly be partially supported to the value of £1000
Application 3: Police and City Council Community Safety (Joint Bid) – Burglary Target Hardening Project.
Amount Requested: £700
RESOLVED:
that the funding application from the Police and City Council Community Safety be supported in full to the value of £700
Application 4: Leicester Lions Football Club – Easter Football Tournament.
Amount Requested: £1050.
RESOLVED:
that the funding application from the Leicester Lions Football Club be partially supported to the value of £950.
Application 5: St Peter’s and Stoughton St TARA - Highfields Primary School Trip to the Space Centre.
Amount Requested: £200
RESOLVED:
that the funding application from St Peter’s and Stoughton St TARA be supported in full to the value of £200
Application 6: Azad House Residents – Coach Trip to Skegness for Elderly Residents.
Amount Requested: £600 (£300 also sought from Latimer Ward)
RESOLVED:
that the funding application be partially supported to the value of £400.
Application 7: Leicester Stars – Police Integration through Football Project for Young People.
Amount Requested: £1662
RESOLVED:
that it be agreed that the funding application from Leicester Stars be partially supported to the value of £1000.
Anita then explained that the following applications had been received late and would be deferred to the next meeting.
Application 8 – Sikh Community Centre - Gymnasium equipment and new
musical instruments:
Amount Requested £3000.
Application 10: Highfields Library – Health Matters in Highfields
Amount Requested £675
Application 11: North Evington Childrens’ Centre
Amount Requested: £1350
Application 12: Highfields Community Association: Highfields Festival Event.
Amount Requested: £2000 (from each of Spinney Hills, Castle and Stoneygate Wards).
Application 13: AK Fitness – Easter Dance and drama workshops
Amount Requested: £675 (from each of Coleman, Evington, Spinney Hills and Stoneygate Wards)
Anita informed the meeting that Application 9, Shri Guru Ravidass Temple and Community Centre for the celebration of Shri Guru cultural event had been rejected because the event had already taken place.
Anita referred to the request from Darren, the City Warden for funding for the improvements to the park on Vulcan Road and asked him to submit a funding bid to the Community Meeting budget.
The meeting heard that after the funding bids had been approved, a balance of £3317 remained in the community meeting budget and Councillors had agreed to commit this amount to environmental and traffic works in the Ward.