Agenda and minutes

2 members of the public attended the meeting, identified by a show of hands. 24 representatives of the following bodies also attended the meeting: Peterborough LINk, Motorists of Peterborough United, Beat This, Bluebell Residents Association, MANERP, AOP, the Police, Peterborough Mediation, Gladstone Connect, and the Peterborough Evening Telegraph.

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

Apologies were received from Cllrs Sharp, Swift and Hussain.

Members to declare any personal/personal prejudicial interests in any items on this agenda

There were no declarations of interest.

Approve the minutes of the meeting held on 2 June 2010

Minutes of the meeting held on 2 June 2010 were approved.

The Neighbourhood Manager advised that a handout had been circulated which provided feedback on action points from the previous meeting.

An opportunity for any member of the public, elected members and standing invitees of the Neighbourhood Council to raise anything that affects your area and to suggest items for future meetings

Local Transport Plan

Representatives of the Motorists of Peterborough United asked that a public meeting be held to specifically cover issues contained in the Local Transport Plan consultation document.  The Chairman advised residents to write to their Ward Member to investigate this opportunity.

Change of Order of Business

It was agreed to change the order of business as follows: Item 4, Item, 5, Item 9 then Item 6.

The Neighbourhood Manager explained that the Open Session had been brought forward on the agenda to ensure that members of the public had as much time as possible to bring their concerns to the meeting.

Bus Issues

Concerns were raised over busses departing the depot in the morning without their lights on, and not running to time, so that several busses would arrive at once and then no bus for half an hour. 

ACTION:

The Transport Planning Team Manager agreed to take this up with the bus operator.

Matalan Car Park

Residents asked when the works to improve the Matalan Roadway and car park would commence, as there were concerns that the works would not be finished in time for Christmas.

The Transport Planning Team Manager advised that:

§         Council officers had met with the land management company for the Matalan site to progress the issue and a design for the revised access had been agreed by both parties. 

§         The Council had offered to make a small financial contribution to the works, however the owner would fund the majority of the cost.

§         A start date was awaited from the developer, and officers hoped that works would commence as soon as possible.

Parking Enforcement

Residents asked for an update on the effectiveness of the increased enforcement action taking place in Millfield and New England in relation to parking.

The Neighbourhood Manager advised that at this time no statistical information was available however confirmed that the range of different partners involved in the enforcement activity were working together to ensure that there was a mechanism in place to capture and evidence the work undertaken and to find some more sustainable solutions.  It was anticipated that publicity material would be produced in the future, and that whilst officers were still gathering statistical information, officers were present on an almost daily basis and encouraged the sharing of information from the community.

ACTION:

There would be a full update on enforcement activities to the next Neighbourhood Panel and Neighbourhood Council meetings.

Presentation on recommendations for DPPO areas

The Safer Peterborough Partnership Manager informed the meeting that a public consultation looking at a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) for this area had commenced.   In explaining what the DPPO was and how to comment on the proposal, the Safer Peterborough Partnership Manager made the following comments:

• If the DPPO was made in the planned area, it would be an offence to continue to drink alcohol in that area when asked to stop by a police officer or a PCSO.
• A DPPO was another tool in the tool kit to enable officers and their partners to tackle antisocial behaviour, specifically those relating to alcohol.
• It was important to understand that the legislation does not allow the Council to issue a DPPO across the whole of the city; they may only be made in specific geographical areas.  There were already a number of DPPOs in Peterborough.
• The public consultation in relation to this DPPO would last until the 20^th October, following which officers would make a recommendation to Cabinet and full Council as to whether or not the DPPO should be made for this area, and other areas.
• A public notice would be published in the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, and there would be radio and newspaper coverage.  All residents’ groups, Councillors and licensees would receive a letter to raise awareness of the consultation.  Officers were very keen to hear from the public as to whether they support the creation of the DPPO or not.

The Safer Peterborough Partnership Manager also explained that following discussions with members, officers were investigating the possibility of delegating the creation of DPPOs to the Neighbourhood Councils which would mean that in the future, instead of just being made aware of the consultation, the decision as to whether to make the DPPO would be made at these meetings.

During discussion, questions were raised and answers given as follows:

• The consultation would close at the end of October, following which a report would be submitted to the Strong and Supportive Communities Scrutiny Committee for consideration.  The matter would then be considered by full Council in November 2010.  If Council agreed to create the order, it would come in to force one month following the meeting, after giving notice that the order would be made.
• The size of the area for the DPPO was chosen carefully so as to keep within the spirit of the law, as once the Council agreed to make the order, it would then be submitted to the Secretary of State who had the power to reject the order.  The Council has experienced no problems to date, because of working within the spirit of the law.  The DPPO would not be cast in stone, and if in the future it was felt that it caused antisocial behaviour problems to be displaced or if other problems occurred, they could be addressed.

As part of the consultation, residents could submit their comments including a boundary marked on a map to explain where they felt the DPPO  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Q&A opportunity to seek formal support on proposed development sites as recommended in the Site Allocations Document

The Policy and Strategy Manager gave a presentation on the Site Allocations Document and made the following points:

• The Site Allocations document affected other areas more than this neighbourhood area, given that no sites in this area had been put forward for development given the existing density of development.
• In the future, the Policy and Strategy Manager was interested in how Planning could work with the Neighbourhood Council and elected Members to help make the much needed regeneration and tidying up of the area happen.

During discussion, the following points were noted:

• Residents had been trying to find out from the Planning department what regeneration meant for the Council, as so far Millfield and New England had received no assistance.  Residents do not feel that this attitude would change quickly, though there was a lot to be said for the area, if it was cleaned up.
• Residents queried the ongoing use of a car park in Bamber Street which was not heavily utilised, and sought clarification as to what stage the use as a car park could be abandoned and the site used for something else.  The Policy and Strategy Manager advised that it was not impossible to add new sites to the Site Allocations document at this time, though it was difficult.
• The brownland site near Matalan was not included in the Site Allocations document as it was already allocated as land suitable for development for general employment uses; the Site Allocations document was about allocating new sites with no current status whatsoever.
• Cllr Khan queried what would need to happen to have the relocation of the bus depot become a top priority.  The Policy and Strategy Manager advised that it was not a case of priority, but the need to offer the business a viable site to move them to.

When taking regeneration opportunities into consideration, it was agreed that young people would be involved in the process.

Overview on the proposed role of Gladstone Connect in supporting Peterborough City Council with delivering local activities

Mr Kevin Taylor, who worked for Peterborough Regional College, gave a presentation on Gladstone Connect, explaining that it was a regeneration company which sought to investigate regeneration works in this area, with a focus on local decisions being made by local people.

Gladstone Connect had most recently been investigating what short courses could be offered by the College at the Gladstone Park Community Centre and sought feedback from the community as to what kind of courses the community would like to see delivered, that were suitable for funding.

It was felt that the Centre had a lot of potential, and Gladstone Connect wanted to enhance community involvement in the centre.  An asset transfer of the Centre to Gladstone Connect was also being investigated.

Cllr Khan agreed in principle with the proposals and was glad that Gladstone Connect had established a close working relationship between the local authority and the local community. 

ACTION

The Neighbourhood Manager suggested that RSA area curriculum may be something that could be tied in with the work at the Centre, and agreed to provide Mr Taylor with further information.

To highlight how local residents can support this important national activity

The Neighbourhood Manager City Wide gave a brief presentation on the work being done in the lead up to Census 2011 and how residents could get involved, and made the following comments:

• Hard to contact communities are of interest to officers as the results of the census would help to determine the level of funding the council would receive.
• Each returned form was worth £6,000 per person over a ten year period, so it was vital to capture everyone in the city and determine their needs.  It was estimated that at least 20,000 people may not have been included in the last Census.
• The data is completely secure, only provided to Census, not used by the local authority and did not leave the UK.
• The Office of National Statistics was currently recruiting coordinators and canvassers locally so that local people were working in their local areas.
•  Anyone wishing to work on the Census could visit www.censusjobs.co.uk .

The key contact for Peterborough was Jeff Grace, Census Liaison Manager.

Update on local activities following presentation at last meeting

The Locality Manager, Young People’s Service introduced a piece of research recently undertaken which took to the streets to talk to young people and ask them questions about their community.

A video documentary was screened which showed the young people in their communities talking about what was important to them.  The Video was presented by Beat This, a community interest company.

Following the video, the following points were noted:

§         The video was well received.

§         The park of Occupation Road in Millfield contained a burnt out building that had been there for a very long time.  Young people felt that this needed to be turned in to something new and unique, perhaps a dance or music studio, so that the park could be used for community musical events.

§         The video showed the young people’s perspective of their area, what they like and what they dislike.  The next phase of this work was to get young people involved in positive community connections.

The meeting was asked to consider the question, “think of one way that you have or could have involved young people in making a difference in the community and how”.

Following discussion the following points were noted:

• Members of MANERP responded that they had been working toward developing the MANERP Foundation which was aimed at young people aimed 14 – early 20s.  The Chair of this group would be invited to be a full board member of MANERP and would be invited to bring forward issues such as planning, housing and traffic.  It would be a good way to encourage young people to take pride in successes and learn from failures.  It was hoped this could be launched in the coming months.
• Young people needed to be involved in projects from the outset, as they required a sense of ownership.  It was necessary to find out what their issues were, what they believe will be of benefit to them, and then the wider community, and involve them at every stage of the process.
• Young people felt that the Youth parliament was a failure, as it was the middle class being represented and some young people felt very alienated as these youth representatives did not voice their concerns.
• Young people queried how a sense of community was supposed to develop when young people were split across three schools and hardly ever had the opportunity to be together.  They asked how they were to voice their concerns, especially when the youth club in Cromwell Road had been going down hill ever since it was burned down.  It was felt that no effort had been made to replace it, and that would help to establish a sense of community for young people in the area.
• Senior Police Inspector, Dominic Glazebrook suggested that if more young people were on the neighbourhood panels, there would be more input from them about what local policing priorities should be.  The Senior Police Inspector said that the video was very good and asked that it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Update on Neighbourhood Management operations:

Budgets & Finance, Planning & Licensing and Regulation & Enforcement Activities

Cllr Jamil provided an update on issues raised in previous meetings.

Budgets and Finance

Cllr Jamil had met with the Neighbourhood Manager to review opportunities for spending the £25,000 budget for the current financial year.  Some items had already been identified through the various consultations and workshops that had taken place at previous meetings.  From April 2011 these items will be closely aligned with items identified in the Community Action Plan.  A presentation would be made at the next meeting on proposed allocation of funds.

Planning and Infrastructure

The matter of planning and licensing items not being brought to the Neighbourhood Council meetings because the council met too infrequently had been raised at a previous meeting.  Officers and ward members were now meeting regularly to raise these issues.  Some issues that had been discussed recently included the proposed closure of Alma Road Medical Centre, licensing hours for the proposed new supermarket on the triangle, recommendations for the extension of the DPPO area and also planning issues in relation to businesses operating in Lincoln Road.

Regulation and Enforcement Activities

A housing delivery board had been established, which was an intelligence lead operation involving internal departments of the City Council, the Police, HMRC, the Border Agency and the Fire and Rescue service.  Once a property had been identified as a potential HMO, information was collected and assessed, action plans created and the situation monitored.

The Millfield Regulation and Enforcement Task and Finish Group had been established following demand at previous meetings.  The group had been established predominantly to do with Lincoln Road and in relation to parking, environmental crime and licensed premises.  The group would develop a clear plan of action for enforcement and intervention and would work to educate people as to what was and was not acceptable.

In response to Cllr Jamil’s update, residents expressed thanks at the concerns being raised at these meetings being taken seriously, and endorsed the work being done.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, 10January 2010.

The Chairman advised that the next meeting of the Central & North Neighbourhood Council was scheduled to take place on Monday, 10^th January 2011.  Venues being investigated included Beeches School and Gladstone Park Community Centre.