Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

Apologies were received from Councillor Wilkinson and Councillor Croft.

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 10 December 2009

The minutes from the previous meeting held 3 December 2009 were approved as a true and accurate record.

The Chairman agreed to vary the order of the agenda to allow a discussion to take place on display boards which had been set up by Officers from the Public Transport Team and the Transport Planning Team.

After a 2 minute break in proceedings to allow all those present adequate time to study the display boards, questions and comments were welcomed.

There were no questions or comments on the presentations.

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

The Neighbourhood Manager gave an overview of the item and advised the meeting that on each table there was a map highlighting the proposed development sites for the South 1 area.

The proposals allocated new land for housing and employment which was required in order to meet growth targets, as laid out in the Core Strategy. The proposals would also enable service providers, such as health and transport, to plan ahead. The meeting was further advised that the document had reached the preferred options stage which followed on from consultations held in 2008 / 2009. The document highlighted all of the finalised sites and all those present were advised that this was the final opportunity for the document to be viewed in a consultation capacity.

After the completion of the consultation period, the finalised document would be brought back to a future meeting of the South 1 Neighbourhood Council and Officers from Strategic Planning would be present to discuss the final Site Allocations Document. 

Peterborough City Council was due to begin its formal consultation process over the forthcoming days and comments and views from local residents would be welcomed. The Neighbourhood Manager stated that if anyone had any comments or questions, they could be submitted to the Planning Officers via the form located on the back of the maps provided or alternatively, directly to the Strategic Planning Team via forms which would be available from the local libraries and to download from the Peterborough City Council website.

After a 10 minute break in proceedings to allow all those present adequate time to look over the maps, questions and comments were sought on the proposals and the following issues and observations were highlighted:

• H137A. Land west of Peterborough Road. The proposed gypsy site was too close to housing and would be opposed by many local residents. The Neighbourhood Manager advised the meeting that the suggested gypsy site in this location may no longer be one of the considered sites and the Strategic Planning team would be questioned about this.
• H137A. Concerns regarding overdevelopment were highlighted and the pressure that would be put upon local infrastructure.
• H045, Wessex Close. There was an area of green open space within this area that was used by many people. This was the only green space in the area and local residents would not want to see this space disappear.
• H049. This area was of concern as it was situated in a natural bowl and always flooded in winter. The building of the bypass nearby had made this situation worse. Concerns were also expressed at the over use of the road in the area.
• H018. Concerns were expressed at the removal of allotments from local residents.
• H023. Could this area be used as the university site rather than for housing?
• H045. Concerns were expressed with regards to flooding in the area and as previously mentioned, the loss of community open space.
• H137A. If this area was to be used for housing, would the infrastructure be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Updates and developments on the Community Action Plan

The Neighbourhood Manager introduced the item and advised all those present that the document they had before them outlined the findings from the recently held Community Planning Event for Fletton, Stanground and Woodston. The document would aid in the production of the Community Action Plan for the area and was currently in draft form therefore it could be added to and revised.

Views and comments were sought on the document and after a 20 minute break in proceedings to allow adequate time to discuss the Plan, the following issues and observations were highlighted:

• Councillor Benton commented that there had been insufficient communication to the public regarding parking issues.
• A member of the public stated that the veranda which used to be located around the pond at the back of The Fleet had recently been burnt down and not repaired. The pond was now open-ground and very dangerous.
• Councillor Lee addressed the meeting and stated that over the coming years he would like to see further work undertaken in order to better understand the situation with regards to housing. This work would relate to the need for specific numbers of houses and the requirement for housing to be turned into flats.  Councillor Lee further stated that work would also be undertaken to identify the help that could be given to young people with regards to skills, educational needs and healthcare.
• The Neighbourhood Manager addressed the meeting in response to the comments made by Councillor Lee and stated that a local company that had previously worked on the Fletton study had been commissioned to come up with some development concepts for the area and a presentation on these concepts would be given at the next Neighbourhood Council Meeting.

• Councillor Cereste addressed the meeting and stated that the general consensus amongst local residents appeared to be that they wished to keep their green land and did not wish to see further development (in-filling) close by. If this was the general feeling across the city, then the Neighbourhood Council meetings were a good platform for local residents to air their views on this point. Growth in the city was required and there were different avenues that could be explored in order to achieve that growth.
• A member of the public positively commented on the issues raised by Councillor Lee and stated that the needs of the older generation should also be addressed.

The Chairman advised all those present that a further planning event would be held in roughly six weeks time, details of which were to follow.

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 of the Neighbourhood Council meeting were given the opportunity to ask any questions or to make any comments in relation to the area in which they lived.

Issues and observations which were highlighted included:

• Councillor Benton commented that there had been issues with regards to parking permits for the Glebe Road area and could a response to these issues be given?
• Councillor Lee further commented that residents situated around the football ground had been complaining about parking for a long time. Residents parking had been suggested but the local residents had at that time turned the proposals down. The meeting was advised that a consultation event on the parking situation was currently underway and was due to end on 19 March 2010.
• A member of the public commented that there had been a shop recently opened on Gloucester Road and until February, none of the local residents had been made aware of it, this would only increase the problem with regards to parking.
• Councillor Lee responded to the comments made with regards to parking issues and stated that there had been public meetings, letters sent and consultation exercises undertaken with local business holders on the subject. Apologies were extended to those members of the public who had not been informed and comments on this issue would be welcomed going forward.
• The Neighbourhood Manager advised the meeting that the issues highlighted surrounding parking would be relaying to traffic management.

• A query was raised regarding the parking provisions for the church in the area. Councillor Lee responded and stated that the church had been contacted and parking passes would be required going forward.
• A member of the public expressed concern at the closure of the toilets at Orton Mere. The Chair of the Neighbourhood Council advised that Orton Mere was in a different ward and the query should be brought back to the Neighbourhood Council meeting for Orton and Hampton due to be held on 30 March at the Herlington Centre.
• Councillor Rush advised the meeting that there would be a discussion held regarding the possibility of amalgamating local schools as a result of the Head teacher of Southfields Primary School leaving to work at Matley Primary School. Members of the public were welcome to attend this meeting in order to discuss these proposals.
• Councillor Lee addressed the meeting and stated that concerns had been highlighted regarding schooling at Orton Longueville. There were a number of children who attended the school from Fletton, therefore support should be shown to its governing body.
• The Neighbourhood Manager addressed the meeting and stated that the issues regarding parking in Wootton Avenue had been discussed with the Traffic Manager and a site visit was due to take place next week. 
• A member of the public highlighted concerns regarding the parking on grass verges around Stanground, particularly in Park Farm. Going forward, could anything be done about this? The Neighbourhood Manager responded and stated that this query would be looked into.

ACTION:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

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

The Chairman advised all those present that the date of the next meeting would be confirmed after the Full Council meeting due to be held in April.