Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

None.

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

None.

Approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2009.

The minutes from the meeting held 14 December were approved subject to notice being made that:

·         detailed and lengthy debate took place in choosing the name of the Committee in paragraph 3.2 and;

·         over 20 members of the community expressed their opposition to the allocation of allotments at the Gunthorpe Recreation ground off Hallfields Lane in paragraph 4.2.

The Chairman agreed that the order of the agenda was changed to allow discussion on the information contained on the notice boards that had been displayed including the Annual Scheme of Works, Bus Service and sustainable transport and You Said We Did.  During discussions afterwards, the main topics raised included:

·         Greater notification and publicising of the notice boards should have been given.

·         Information was needed on potential schemes for future years and how best to inform communities of this.

·         A report on how schemes are prioritised could be presented in future.

Updates and developments on the Community Action Plan, including:

• lack of car parking in former Peterborough Development Corporation areas and Increase of Police numbers for all Neighbourhoods, as requested by Councillor Lane; and
• the issue of bus shelters needed and the condition of pavements, as requested by Councillor Sandford.

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.  Following discussions, the main topics raised included:

·         Condition of footpaths and pavements

·         Increase of police numbers – Inspector Glazebrook advised that it was possible to increase police numbers in a community but it would mean funding was removed from other areas.

·         Inspector Glazebrook advised that continued lobbying of central government could help increase resources for Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

·         Police per head of population was reported as lower in Peterborough than in similar areas of the country – around 160 short.

·         Policing in Morland Court not visible enough (Paul Spencer, resident) – Inspector Glazebrook advised this was taken seriously and work had been done with the Housing department and interventions had been made.

·         Community Planning Events were not accessible to many people as held during the daytime – Neighbourhood Manager advised more events were planned over the next few months to be held at different times of the day.

Issues from the Community Action Plan affecting open spaces including Cuckoo’s Hollow as requested by Councillor John Fox and the Gunthorpe Recreation Ground.

The Neighbourhood Manager requested those in attendance consider issues relating to Open Spaces that affected their communities. This information would be fed into the Community Action Plan. 

8.30pm Cllr Fower leaves

Following discussions, the main issues raised included:

·         Lighting on Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) behind Walton allotments (Ray Stokes, Walton Action Group) – lights still not on or working - Mark Swift, PCC, responded that lights will be switched on shortly, work is being finalised.

·         Cuckoo’s Hollow (David Hedges, Werrington Neighbourhood Council) – need a management plan for this and other areas to determine future use and provision.

·         Disabled Access (Bryan Tyler, Disability Forum Manager) – more facilities needed in open spaces – get right first time then no need for continued spending

·         Mark Swift advised an Open Space strategy was being developed and comments will be fed back to this.

·         Cllr Sandford advised a draft Open Spaces strategy went to Council in 2005 but was never implemented – empty green spaces needed developing and improving.

·         Shrubs being removed by Council, why? – Mark Swift advised that some shrubs were old and untidy and some created safety risks and therefore had been removed – currently no replacement policy.

·         David Hedges suggested that local volunteers might be able to prune or replace shrubs.

·         The Neighbourhood Manager advised funding for Neighbourhood Councils was being finalised before projects such as Cuckoo’s Hollow improvements could be funded.

ACTION:

Adrian Chapman invited Cllr John Fox to discuss plans for Cuckoo’s Hollow with other interested parties and use as a pilot scheme for other areas of the city.

Opportunity for discussion on how City Council owned land will be used in your neighbourhood over the next 5 years.

Maps were provided outlining the proposed development sites for the North and West 2 area.  The Neighbourhood Manager advised that the formal consultation process would begin in the next few months and requested any questions or comments for planning officers were submitted on the maps provided.

An opportunity for any member of the public, elected and co-opted members of the Community Committee 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:

·         Grant from local government decreasing, how does this affect Neighbourhood Councils? (Chair of NEast Neighbourhood Panel) – Adrian Chapman advised lots of work was being done to ensure services remained through efficiency savings.

·         An estimated 25,000 job losses in local Councils is predicted, how would this area be affected? – Adrian Chapman advised that 400 posts had already been removed from the City Council and trade unions had been consulted in this process.

·         Local residents from Hallfields Lane area of Paston had recently handed a petition to Council with over 500 signatures to stop allotment developments on the neighbouring recreation ground (Chris Pallons).

·         Parking at Werrington Centre (David Hedges) – recently obligation for owners to provide community parking was removed.   When will new car park plans be produced by the city council?  Neighbourhood Manager will provide a response.

·         Cllr S Day advised that all Councillors in Paston Ward were opposed to the allotment development on the recreation grounds mentioned earlier and were working to stop this.

ACTION:

Neighbourhood Manager to provide a response to Mr Hedges regarding parking at Werrington Centre.

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

The date of the next meeting would be confirmed after Full Council on 14 April 2010.