Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

Apologies had been received from Cllr Ash and Cllr Kreling.

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 8^th April 2010.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2010 were approved, subject to:

1.      The number of members of public attending the meeting being amended to reflect the fact that only 13 members of the public attended and that others present were there as ‘standing invitees’ from community groups; and

2.      Cllr Saltmarsh being listed under ‘Members Present’.

It was also noted that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2009 should also reflect that only 13 members of the public attended and that others present were there as ‘standing invitees’.

During discussion, questions were raised and the Neighbourhood Manager advised as follows:

Closure of Public Conveniences in Alma Road

• The comments and feedback provided by the previous meeting had been very valuable and had been passed on to the Director of City Services.  A way forward in managing the facility was being investigated with community groups.

Parking on Verges

• A working group had been established to look at ways in which to tackle, and protect against, damage to verges caused by parking.  The feedback from the last meeting had already been fed through to the working group.
• At this time, the working group was comprised solely of Council officers however the Neighbourhood Manager agreed to investigate the possibility of involving residents as soon as possible.

Issues raised in ‘Open Session’

• The Neighbourhood Manager informed the Committee that where possible, feedback on issues raised at the meetings, particularly those raised during the ‘Open Session’ would be addressed via the ‘You Said, We Did’ boards on display at each meeting.
• It was noted that it would be helpful for all involved to receive greater feedback on items raised in the ‘open session’ so that people could be assured that matters were being addressed.
• Further, the Neighbourhood Manager advised that the majority of issues raised in open session were included on the ‘you said we did’ boards which were displayed at each meeting.

Highways

• Issues raised regarding flooding on Bishops Road and the corner of Star Road had been reported back to Highways; feedback would be provided via the ‘you said we did’ boards as soon as a response was received.
• Residents concerned regarding road works at Junction 8 could be put in touch with a highways officer if requested.

Councillor Bella Saltmarsh was elected as Vice Chair of the Dogsthorpe, East and Park Neighbourhood Council for the 2010/2011 municipal year.

Open debate on what is and is not acceptable, embracing intergenerational tolerances, to influence guidance document to adopt at local shopping parades and District Centres

Katy Softley, Anti Social Behaviour Co-ordinator for Peterborough City Council gave a presentation outlining the role of the Community Safety Team, explaining that:

§         The team works in close partnership with the Police in a role that was one of prevention and tackling issues as they unfold in communities. 

§         Perceptions play a large part in anti social behaviour and what is considered acceptable and unacceptable is based on our own perceptions and tolerance levels – everyone is different.

§         The team was working towards setting up agreements of acceptable behaviour for adoption in districts and local shopping areas in an effort to promote pro-social behaviour. 

During discussion, questions were raised and the Anti Social Behaviour Co-Ordinator advised as follows:

• This project is currently being scoped and undergoing initial consultation, with a view to roll out city-wide in the future.  There are no deadlines in place for the adoption of agreements, but looking towards the latter part of the year once further work and consultation had been undertaken.
• The agreements could not be policed and were to be viewed as voluntary agreements to demonstrate and support pro-social behaviours.  The agreements will apply to communities as a whole – they are not attached to individuals.
• In tackling individuals displaying anti social behaviour, the team works closely with different partner agencies, the Police, and social landlords.  For minor behaviour, a warning letter would be issued.  Interestingly, it has been demonstrated in other areas that in 95% of cases, where warning letters were issued, the anti social behaviour ceased.
• If the behaviour continued following the warning letter, it would then be on to acceptable behaviour contracts, then to court for an antisocial behaviour order, then the individual faced a fine or custody.

Attendees were asked to think about what they considered to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, in order for us to feel safe and happy where we live.

Feedback from session:

Examples of acceptable behaviours:

• Listening to children and providing more places and facilities for them to meet
• Looking after vulnerable or elderly neighbours
• Occasional music
• Teenagers gathering in groups ok depending on behaviour
• Being tolerant to groups of young people
• Picking up litter that isn’t necessarily your own

Examples of unacceptable behaviours:

• Inconsiderate parking eg across gateways
• Racing or revving cars in the street
• Constant loud music
• Drunken behaviour in the street

The Anti Social Behaviour Co-Ordinator advised that the information gathered at this meeting would be consolidated.  Those young people present were thanked for their input.  Further information from the work and ongoing consultations would be fed back to a future meeting of the Neighbourhood Council.

Opportunity for open debate on the format and style of the local Neighbourhood Council for the year ahead

Cllr Saltmarsh, Vice Chair of the Neighbourhood Council, facilitated the session which sought to consider ideas for the ongoing format of the Neighbourhood Council meetings.

This item had been brought forward at the request of Cllr Ash, as he felt that there needed to be further discussion about the format of the Neighbourhood Councils themselves and the meetings.

NCs are new, have made meetings more informal so that people don’t feel so intimidated, cabaret style seating, seating in small groups aimed at helping people feel more comfortable.  Want to know if you find the debates useful.  Tried to make it a bit more interesting by inviting speakers, and including public information / items of public interest to the items in the area.  Just want to hear about what you think the format should be as we are conscious that there aren’t that many people from the general public attending.  Stay in your groups – how you want to shape future meetings, improvements to meetings format or attendance.

During consideration, the following points were noted.  Responses made by officers are in italics.

• To encourage more public to come, the Neighbourhood Councils must prove that issues previously raised had been addressed and that work was being carried out.  If it is just another talking shop, people will not bother to attend.
• The meetings require greater publicity. Instead of taking meetings on the road, just choose a couple of venues and stick to them so that they can be advertised far enough in advance.
• Offer transport to those who need it to get to the meetings, as is done by Cross Keys homes.
• Allow residents to set the agendas.
• More feedback on issues raised at previous meetings.
• Email agendas out before meeting.
• The new seating style was good, and promoted lots of active discussions in the small groups.  Don’t go back to the top table approach.
• A neighbourhood council for under 18s because it might be less intimidating. 
• Why can Neighbourhood Panels and Neighbourhood Councils and young people’s Neighbourhood Council be amalgamated, that would work far better than having 3 separate meetings. Bring everyone together, everything can happen much faster.

Councillor Saltmarsh thanked everyone for their comments and advised that feedback will be reviewed and will be taken in to consideration when planning the next round of meetings taking place in September 2010.

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

During discussion, the following points were noted:

• It was acknowledged by officers that better sound system and acoustics were required.
• Residents asked that it be recorded in the minutes that they were extremely disappointed and upset by the way the works at junction 8 have come about, and want some action before having to take action themselves.
• Regarding the potential sale of land in this area by the Council, Cllr Goldspink requested that the impact of extra traffic, namely HGVs, be taken into consideration.  Cllr Goldspink would like these concerns to be addressed before the decision is made to sell the land, following which it will be too late.
• Regarding the death of gentleman on Eastfield Road, Cllr Goldspink asked that the Strong & Supportive Scrutiny Commission investigate what happened, as the tragedy implies that Peterborough’s communities are weak and couldn’t care less.  If the matter is investigated, the Council may discover what it is that discourages people from intervening, and what might help build better communities. 

The next meeting will be held onWednesday 1^st September 2010 

The Chairman informed the Committee that the next meeting of the Dogsthorpe, East and Park Neighbourhood Council would take place on Wednesday, 1^st September 2010.