Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

Apologies were received from Councillors Fitzgerald and Martin.

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 12 January 2012.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2012 were approved as a true and accurate record.

The Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West addressed the matters arising from the previous meeting and tabled an updated report to those in attendance.

In addition the Neighbourhood Manager also provided an update on the

• Latest action for the Vawser Lodge Site.
• Financial provision which had been put into place to tackle the verge parking issues. 
• Traffic Enforcement was dealing with the vehicles that were parked without tax discs in conjunction with the Driving Vehicle Licensing Agency.

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 area in which they lived. These included:

• In a question raised by Glennis Bently, Enterprise Peterborough advised that street cleaning was scheduled to be conducted each Monday and that the recent hot weather conditions had caused an increase in litter dropping in the area.

• Mohammed Afzal commented that there had been a reoccurring problem in litter for the Brookfurlong area. 

• Glennis Bently commented over whether plans to provide extra litter collections should be adopted by Enterprise Peterborough in order to deal with reoccurring issues of litter dropping in the area following hot weather spells.

• In response to a comment raised by Sandra Wilson, Enterprise Peterborough would instruct the street cleaning team to provide an extra clean of the Post Office in the Hartwell Court area. 

• In response to a question raised by Councillor Nash regarding the Bretton Park Pool.  The Neighbourhood Manager advised that a project was currently underway to investigate the way forward for Pool.

• In response to a question raised by Councillor Sam Dalton, Enterprise Peterborough advised that there were plans to increase education for the area over litter dropping and that currently officers had conducted a door knocking exercise in order to talk to residents about the impact of littering and the fines connected.  In addition the team offered education on recycling and on litter disposal at schools.

• In response to a question raised by Sandra Wilson regarding the Whitecross underpass area, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West advised that an emergency footpath scheme was being considered; however, there were constraints in fitting the path and that there was an alternative plan to drain the water from the underpass. 

• In response to clarification sought by Sandra Wilson, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West confirmed that water was being pumped back up the hill, for the Whitecross underpass as a temporary emergency measure.

• In response to a question raised by Richard Marx, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West confirmed that the results of a recent University Cambridge study for the Peterborough West area would be reported back at a future Neighbourhood Committee meeting. 

• In response to query raised by Mohammed Afzal, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West advised that the request of CCTV for the Brookfurlong area would be raised with the Council’s Resilience Service Manager. 

• Councillor Ed Murphy raised concerns over the number of burglaries occurring in the West Town area. 

ACTION AGREED

It was agreed that Enterprise Peterborough would:

• Provide residents with a schedule of litter collection days;
• Consider concentrating litter picking resources available in order to tackle litter problems in the hot spot areas of Peterborough West.

It was agreed that the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West would:

• Investigate if funding should be identified within the Peterborough West Neighbourhood Committee budget allocation for 2012/13 to fill in the Bretton Park Pool; 
• Provide a report back to the next scheduled Neighbourhood Committee meeting of Peterborough West  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Hear more about the £1 million Big Lottery Funding and how you can be involved

The Committee received a presentation from Nicky Stevenson, Big Lottery Funding representative gave a presentation on the £1 million funding which had been made available for the Peterborough West area and how residents could become involved in identifying projects to receive the funding.

Key points within the presentation included:

• Public meetings to start in April 2012;
• Scheme managed by a Local Trust;
• Funding was to be invested in 150 areas in the Country;
• Westwood and Ravensthorpe had been identified for the second wave of the process;
• Areas identified were allocated 10 years to spend 1 million pounds;
• There would be a process for residents to follow in order to allocate the 1 million pounds;
• The first wave of funding was anticipated to be received in 6 to 8 months in order to aid the planning stages;
• Accountable Local Partnership which would drive the project ideas;
• Residents would identify how the funding would be allocated over the ten year period;
• The initiative would build on local talents and aspirations;
• The Big Local Lottery funding was intended to improve areas in order to develop them into better place to live;
• The funding was not grant driven and would follow a planned strategic manageable change;
• First stage was to inform residents and residents in order to attract involvement;
• Residents would be provided with support in identifying what the vision should be for the area;
• Development of a local partnership and a Big Local Plan;
• Twenty thousand pounds of funding would be made available in order to provide support for the first steps;
• Process would be monitored over time to make sure that it covered what local residents had identified.

The committee were also informed that maps were available of the Peterborough West Area which outlined which areas were covered.  Meetings had been organised to consult with residents in the area to discuss the first stages of the Big Lottery Funding allocation.

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• In response to a question raised by Councillor Nash, the Big Lottery Representative advised that there were no rules on whether projects should be capitol or revenue expenditure.

• In response to a question raised by Councillor Nash, Nicky Stevenson advised that expenditure of the funding should be spent on projects that were in line with the Local Plan. 

• In response to a question raised by Richard Marx, Nicky Stevenson advised that there was funding of £20,000 which would be available in order to access expertise support and advice to residents on how the funding should be allocated. 

• In response to a question raised by Councillor Ed Murphy, Nicky Stevenson advised that the local prison would be included in the consultations.  In addition the Committee was advised that a meeting was due to be conducted with a professional contact within the prison to explore how the consultation should work. 

• In response to questions raised by MJ Ladha, Nicky Stevenson advised that local residents would lead on the projects identified.   The Committee was also advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Hear more about the latest developments for the Station Quarter

The Committee received an update from The Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West regarding the latest developments on for the Station Quarter.

Key points within the presentation included:

• Royal Mail sorting office area, the Council’s Planning Committee agreed a mixed use site, improvements to the road and crossings.
• The Great Northern Hotel extension planning application was due to go to Committee in June/July 2012;
• Planned improvements to platforms, toilets, lift access, disabled parking spaces and drop off points; and
• The Hospital Trust had put the old Peterborough District Hospital site on the market. A shortlist of bidders would be presented to the planning team in due course.  There would be a community planning event in order to discuss which scheme should be considered for the site.

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• In response to a question raised be Richard Marx regarding the fly tipping and the neglect of land at the East Midland Road area, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West advised that investigations were being conducted with Partner agencies and Members, and that the necessary action would be taken against companies responsible in order to improve the area. 

• In a response to a question raised by Councillor Arculus, the Neighbourhood Manager advised that there was a pre planning application for the Midland Site Car Park access and that there was a revised scheme which had been put forward in consultation with Peterborough City Council and the Police. 

• Councillor Matthew Dalton commented that the issues had been raised at Cabinet regarding the Midland Site Car Park and that Members were keen that the access was improved by providing spending resources.

• In response to a question raised by Councillor Ed Murphy, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West advised that the issue of blighted neighbourhoods was being dealt with through the Community Action Planning process 

• Councillor Samantha Dalton advised the Neighbourhood Committee that the Cabinet was committed to improving the bridge system in Midland Road and that there was money within the budget to implement improvements for the area.

Find out about the community action plan for the Peterborough West area and give your opinion on the suggested priorities for the area

The Committee received a presentation regarding Community Action Planning and were given the opportunity to give their opinion on the suggested priorities for the area.

Key points within the presentation included:

• Peterborough West priorities;
• Creating Jobs through growth and improved skills and educations;
• Supporting the most vulnerable families and tackling the causes of poverty;
• Helping people and organisations live more healthy and sustainable lives and reduce energy consumption;
• Empowering people and creating cohesive communities;
• Reducing Crime;
• Alignment to the Single Delivery Plan;
• CAP was not a statutory document;
• CAPs will be taken into consideration when the Local Authority to deliver services to communities; and
• CAPs had received input from Community and Resident Groups.

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• In a question raised by Councillor Nash regarding child poverty and houses of multiple occupation in Bretton, the Neighbourhood Manger for Peterborough West advised that the CAPs would build a profile for the area and would start to build on the priorities which would work towards dealing with the issues raised.

• Councillor Ed Murphy commented that there would need to be key bottom lines set within the CAPs, which should also be consulted with the relevant Councillor of the area.

• In a response to a question raised by a member of public, the Neighbourhood Manager for Peterborough West confirmed that data would be collected from a range of partners and would be included within the CAPs.

• A member of public commented that Peterborough West should not be experiencing a poverty level of 30%. 

The next meeting will be confirmed at May 2012 Annual Council

The next meeting was to be confirmed at the May 2012 Annual Council meeting.