Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

An apology was received from Cllr Swift.

At this point Members must declare whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or other interest, in any of the items on the agenda, unless it is already entered in the register of members’ interests or is a “pending notification “ that has been disclosed to the Solicitor to the Council.

Members must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.

None were made.

Approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2012

The minutes from the meeting held on 19 June 2012 were agreed as an accurate record.

The Neighbourhood Manager advised that updates and details of completed actions were provided in a display at the meeting and also added:

• The new school on the Gladstone school site – Carillion, developer, was now looking at developing the design option to go out for consultation.   Suggest next meeting includes Assistant Director for education to come and explain about the new school.

Proposals and agreement for the allocation of the capital budget of £25,000

2012/2013 Neighbourhood Committee Budget

The Neighbourhood Manager introduced the report to agree the spending of the £25k neighbourhood committee budget on the following projects:

·               Upgrade of football pitch at Gladstone Park (£9,000 estimated);

·               Comprehensive landscaping plan to improve public realm (upgrade of shrub beds) (£4,500 estimated);

·               Litter bins (in addition to requested items to respond to volume of littering in this area) (£8,595 estimated); and

·               Security gating at Hankey Street car park (£3,000 estimated).

Comments and responses to questions included:

·         Cate Harding – shrub replacement will be comprehensive and look to include many areas and could include Cross Keys Homes areas.  Still to determine final areas to have the work done;

·         Cate Harding – the upgrade of the football pitch would bring it to a league standard so it can be used by teams including a local school and would include work such as re-levelling and grassing.  Possibly to include an all weather pitch in the future;

·         Cllr Khan – four priorities, £25k covers North Ward and Central Ward.  Ward councillors decided that the funding should look to support priorities in one ward each year.  This year it is Central Ward:

Ø      Gladstone Park pitch was a kick about area, could be a dangerous surface.  Council had no money to upgrade it at the time.  Hope to get proper local sport there so children don’t have to travel away;

Ø      Landscaping, in particular shrub beds.  Neglected for many years, uproot the shrubs and could replace with flowers to improve whole area.  £4,500 may not be enough for the full job;

Ø      Litter bins – expensive and a problem in the area.  Around £300 for a bin and £200 to install.  Hope to put up to 20 bins in selected area; and

Ø      Hankey Street car park gate – don’t know if £3k is enough as a complicated issue to resolve.  Put as a priority as many complaints about it.  If resolved, should remove cars from Gladstone Street and Hankey Street.

·         Yasmeen Maqbool - looking at the needs of this area, especially antisocial behaviour, councillors seem to have identified the wrong priorities.  Landscaping, money could be put into youth initiatives instead of cosmetic work.  Regarding litter bins, PCC offered free bins to councillors from Bridge Street but why not picked up here?  Cllr Khan – this is only for capital spending, not revenue projects.  Only for one off spends.  This area needs millions to regenerate it.  The projects were agreed by all ward councillors;

·         Resident – think upgrade of football pitch much needed.  All weather pitch a better idea as many having to go to Stanground;

·         Resident – should support this money being sent.  Sport takes kids off streets.  Nice looking area is good.  Bins seem very expensive though.  Cllr Jamil – was aware of offer of benches but not bins.  Have already applied for the benches;

·         Resident – upgrade of football pitch good, however, most work is being done at one end of the ward when priorities are at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

a) Overview of new Neighbourhoods Night (Cambs Police)

Inspector Glazebrook spoke on the Neighbourhoods Night initiative including: 

·         The City Centre Panel would meet at 3.30pm in the afternoon; 

·         Other panels were to be held on the same night as neighbourhood committees as most of the people at one meeting also attend the other;

·         Tabled paper showed where police panels covered compared to neighbourhood areas; and

·         Park Ward area doesn’t currently match the structure so could move neighbourhood committee area to this one.

Comments and responses to questions included:

·         Inspector Glazebrook – the Operation CAN-do area covers some of two wards and it has used ward boundaries for the panels so Bluebell should be included in these if in the relevant area;

·         Cate Harding – have considered the alignment of policing panels with the neighbourhood committees.  Needed to enable Operation CAN-do which it does but some mis-alignment between the police panel areas and neighbourhood committees was identified.  Will be reviewing this and consider if there is a case to change committee wards; and

·         Cllr Khan – difficult to set up boundaries.  Neighbourhood Committees are a new structure so could look at boundaries again. 

b) Operation CAN-do Community Board (Interim Community Representatives)

Mohammed Sabeel (chairman of the Board) updated residents and ward councillors on progress of Operation CAN-do.  Its aim was to tackle tensions, crime and anti-social behaviour among other issues.  Still lots of work but a good start so far.  Have a community board to focus on issues including the priorities of Safer, Greener, Stronger and Cleaner.  Would be looking to recruit the board members soon in order for them to get on with the work.  First meeting would be on 6 November.

Comments and responses to questions included:

• Cate Harding – Community First funding for this year already allocated but will be more for next year for the new board to allocate;
• Cllr Khan – membership structure has changed from previously presented versions.  Cate Harding – previous list was from Greater Dogsthorpe Partnership structure and has been amended for this area.  Can review the list to make sure appropriate representation going forward;
• Cllr Khan – supported previous member list but now changed.  M Sabeel – voting rights have changed for members.  Can consider changes to the structure and membership.  Want to be a resident based organisation, non-political;
• Brian Gasgoyne – thanks for the work on behalf of MANERP.  Regarding faith representation, there is now an interfaith forum in the city so could ask them for way forward on this.  Could include Jawaid Khan in the work;
• Resident – the community board should work with all organisations but would be independent of all the organisations; and
• Cllr Khan – numbers on the board could become unmanageable.  Who is it accountable to?  This committee?  Need to know who owns it.  Cate Harding – will be involved with this neighbourhood committee.  Can discuss further outside the meeting.

An opportunity for any member of the public, elected and co-opted members of the Neighbourhood Committee to raise anything that affects your area and to suggest items for future meetings

Attendees of the meeting were given the opportunity to ask questions and raise issues affecting the areas in which they lived. These included:

• M Sabeel – the issues being voted by elected members only could be done elsewhere, not here.  Can this be referred to council and agreed outside?
• Did say would invest some money into youth provision in the area so could you consider this again?  Paul Phillipson – will take back and update; and
• B Gasgoyne - licensed premises in the area – some criminal activity linked to alcohol.  Authority has to have due regard with issues of crime and disorder when granting licenses.  Due regard not given to this area when licenses issued and more premises keep opening up.  Need to tackle this.  Paul Phillipson – Community Challenge element is not being coordinated for new applications. The Licensing sub-committee has to consider community challenge when faced with new applications.  B Gasgoyne – could stop a new Tesco store if a cumulative impact policy implemented which will stop new licensed stores.  Representations, difficult to know how to do this, difficult to find out how to do it.  Paul Phillipson – will bring a legal representative to this meeting to advise how to implement a cumulative impact policy.

The next meeting will be held on 10 December 2012 at Salvation Army Citidel

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Monday 10 December at the Salvation Army Citadel.