Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

Cllr David Over & Cllr Sanders

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

None.

Approve the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2009.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2009 were approved.

To approve a name for the Neighbourhood Council

In presenting the item, the Executive Director of Operations informed the Council that it was important that the name identifies and links in with the areas for which the Neighbourhood Council works.

Names suggested were:

§         Soke and Isle Neighbourhood Council; and

§         Rural North Neighbourhood Council.

Following discussion, it was agreed that the North and West 1 Neighbourhood Council would be named the Rural North Neighbourhood Council.

The Chairman agreed that the order of the agenda be amended to allow for the opportunity to view the display boards from, You Said We Did, and to ask questions of the relevant support staff in attendance.  During discussion afterwards, the main topics raised included:

§         Maintenance work on roads in the Newborough Ward, with particular attention to Bridge Road, was urgently required.  The Executive Director of Operations explained that the unpredicted snow had degraded roads considerably, with over 3,500 pot holes filled since January.  Residents were urged to contact Peterborough City Council as soon as potholes appeared, as road crews were repairing potholes every day.  Emergency funding was being provided nationally to address road damage caused by the phenomenal impact of the frost, snow and ice.

Bus service passenger numbers be published before and after the changes are implemented, and the Youth Council will be kept informed.

Updates and developments on the Community Action Plan

The Neighbourhood Manager introduced a community action planning document which would help to form the Community Action Plan. Attendees were advised it was a working document and could be added to and changed.  Attendees were requested to list other important issues to include in the document.  During discussion, the main topics raised included:

• With all the good work already undertaken by Parish Councils in the Rural North area, that Neighbourhood Management team would take a different approach to community planning in the area.  The Neighbourhood Management Team would meet with Parish Council representatives to find an acceptable way forward with the community planning process.
• The role of neighbourhood councils and how they fit in with parish councils would be clarified.  The role of parish councils is fully respected by the City Council.
• The Rural North area is too large geographically to work as one neighbourhood council area.
• It would be helpful if census information came in at parish level, not ward level.

ACTION:

The Head of Neighbourhood Services to meet with representatives of Parish Councils to work through issues regarding the role of neighbourhood councils and community planning.

Opportunity for consultation on the Site Allocations Development Plan Document

The Neighbourhood Manager invited attendees to review the Site Allocation Development Plans, which identified housing and growth areas across the Peterborough area.  Attendees were informed that formal consultation on the documents would start on 12 March 2010 and run for 6 weeks until 22 April 2010.  Submissions as part of the consultation would need to be received by 5pm on 22 April 2010 to be considered.  Copies of the plans and consultation response forms can be viewed at any library across Peterborough, at Bayard Place & on the web site.

During discussion, the main topics raised included:

• The Executive Director of Operations explained that the land included on the site allocations document had been put forward for inclusion, and a whole host of sites would have been put forward originally but eliminated eg. sites found to be on flood plains, green sites or conservation areas.  The Executive Director of Operations further explained that the consultation process for the document was lengthy and a full explanation of the process would be provided.
• Making land suitable for development by cutting it off from the floodplain is no longer done as it is acknowledged that floodplains are there to take the peaks of flood events.

The sustainability of villages needs to be taken in to account.

ACTION:

The Executive Director of Operations would arrange for information on the statutory consultation process to be circulated to parish councils in writing.

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

Attendees were given opportunity to ask questions and raise issues affecting the area they lived in.  These included:

§         It would not be possible for City Council to provide to the youth centre the s106 monies due as part of the 45 home development by David Wilson Homes.

§         The City Council at its meeting on 24 February 2010 approved the 2010/2011 budget, in which £25,000 had been allocated to each of the neighbourhood councils.

ACTION:

The Executive Director of Operations would arrange for a meeting between representatives of parish councils, the highways department, the education department and planning department to discuss the site allocations planning document in detail.

The date of the next meeting will confirmed once agreed after full Council on 14 April

The Chairman advised attendees that the date of the next meeting would be publicised after it was agreed at the full Peterborough City Council meeting in April 2010.