Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies from members unable to attend the meeting

Apologies were received from Councillors Over and Lamb.

Apologies were also received from the following Parish Councillors Deeping Gate, Cllr Jane Hill, Eye  Cllr Michael Holmes, Northborough Cllr Richard Tindall, Thorney Cllrs John Bartlett and Buddle

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 28 September 2011

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2011 were approved as a true and accurate record.

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 meeting were given the opportunity to ask questions and raise issues affecting the areas in which they lived. These included:

Skate Park Proposals for Thorney and Northborough

The Neighbourhood Committee received a presentation regarding the proposed installation of a skate park for the Thorney and Northborough areas.  The Committee was also informed that a petition had been organised and had received three hundred signatures.

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• An application had been submitted to the Lottery Fund for the skate park project;
• Funding was anticipated to be between £10,000-20,000;
• It was proposed to use concrete to construct the skate park as it was the safest option and was not slippery; and
• A piece of land near the tennis courts in Thorney park was being investigated as a possible location for a skate park.

Action Agreed:

The Neighbourhoods Team would work with the Youth Group representative to take forward the proposals for the skate park and provide assistance with the technical aspects of the project.

Parish Councillor Richard Perkins to provide details of the organisation that the Stamford Youth Group contacted to access funding for their skate park.  Details to be provided to Simon Boswell, Thorney and Northborough Youth Representative.

Bus Stops, Footpaths and Cycle Routes

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• Plans for improvements to the Green Wheel cycle routes in Wansford would be made available at a later date;
• The Neighbourhood Manager confirmed that it was proposed to invest a large sum of money to improve cycle routes in rural areas;
• A footpath near the Castor roundabout had been identified as being unsuitable; and
• The suitability of the Bainton bus stop was raised.

Action Agreed:

The Neighbourhood Manager would investigate the suitability of the footpath located near the castor roundabout at Wansford. 

The Transport Officer (Accessibility & Sustainability) was to provide details regarding the funding available to improve footpaths and cycle routes.

A vote by elected Members on the capital budget allocation of £25,000 (See additional report)

a) Annual Budget

Councillor Harrington introduced the report on Capital Budget Allocation for 2011/12. The report requested that the Committee considered and approved the proposals for the allocation of the Capital Budget of £25,000 for 2011/12.

Following a series of information gathering and consultative activities with elected Members and Parish Councils, a series of options had been proposed for the allocation of budget for the Neighbourhood Committee in 2011/12. The following sets out the detail of the current proposed list of allocations which members of the Committee were asked to consider. 

The cost of each project was estimated as follows:

• Eye and Thorney Ward - £2,500 contribution towards much needed improvement works to the pavement and grass verge outside the village shop.  The works would include creating a continuation of the existing steps.  The total cost of the project was £7,500 of which Thorney Parish Council have secured the remainder of the funds.
• Northborough Ward - £1,500 towards the creation of a disabled parking bay at Maxey Village Hall.  The contribution would also assist with the installation of handrails, signage and surface treatment.  The remainder will be met by the Community Association.
• Glinton and Wittering Ward - £3,500 to purchase new street name plates across the nine villages. 
• Glinton and Wittering Ward - £1,500 towards the purchase of speed awareness signs for wheelie bins across all villages
• Newborough Ward - £2,500 contribution towards structural improvement works at Peakirk Village Hall.  The works will help to ensure the Hall is compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act through a series of relatively easy and inexpensive modifications, identified by Peterborough Disability Forum and Cambridge ACRE, designed to help make the Hall more accessible for all members of the community.
• Newborough Ward – £2,500 contribution towards structural works to the new Community Sports Pavilion at Newborough.  The whole project will provide a ‘hub’ for the community and sports groups. 
• Barnack Ward – Contribution towards IT and activity equipment for young people in Wothorpe £900
• Barnack Ward – Contribution towards projection equipment for the village hall and a village permanent notice board £900
• Barnack Ward – Contribution towards fencing, gating and equipment for environmental projects lead by the Langdyke Countryside Trust for rural areas £2,300

Action Agreed:

The funding was approved for the above projects.

Leonie McCarthy (Social Inclusion Manager) and Sarah Fletcher (Assistant General Secretary – Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services) will present on voluntary engagement and service delivery in rural areas

The Committee received a presentation on Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services (PCVS) and voluntary engagement.

The following key points were highlighted:

• The changing role of the Voluntary and Community Sector;
• Empowering people and creating cohesive communities;
• National Localism and Public sector reform;
• Working with charity organisations;
• Support to voluntary and community groups;
• Joint commissioning – Peterborough Infrastructure Consortium, Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service Trustee Board, Funding Decision Group and Funders such as Peterborough City Council and the National Health Service;
• Seven Programmes of work;
• One priority about poverty;
• Support to Voluntary and Community Groups;
• Elected representatives to the Greater Peterborough Partnership board;
• A voice for Parish Councils; and
• PCVS free courses on financial and technical skills.

In addition the Neighbourhood Committee was informed that the Neighbourhood Team would be providing support on the joint commissioning, forums and decision making processes of the voluntary organisations.

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• The results for the new PCVS scheme would be measured on the effectiveness of the voluntary sector work.  Results were anticipated to be released by October 2012; and
• Members expressed that the voluntary sector was a positive step for rural areas.

Action Agreed

The Social Inclusion Manager would provide details of the Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services Committees and forums to rural Members in order for them to contribute to the PCVS scheme.

A presentation from Richard Oldfield, Director of Enterprise Peterborough on service provision in rural Peterborough)

The Neighbourhood Committee received a presentation on the service provisions for the rural areas in Peterborough that were provided by Enterprise Peterborough (EP).

The following key points were highlighted:

• Transfer of staff from Peterborough City Council to Enterprise Peterborough;
• Services provided by EP included waste, transport; the provision of busses for special education needs children; maintenance of public bus routes; facility management services and carrying out landscaping repairs;
• Education and training for the long term unemployed;
• Five apprenticeship placements enrolled each year; and
• Employees had become involved in volunteering services across Peterborough.

In addition the Neighbourhood Committee received an update on the planned improvement targets for waste and recycling collection and that EP was working with PCC to achieve the target of 65% of household waste.

The Neighbourhood Committee was also advised of the ward walks, which took place with Councillors to assess service needs within each ward area to ensure that the service models that EP delivered were meeting the needs of the community.

Comments and responses to questions were as follows:

• The sale of refurbished white goods resulting from bulky collections services was made available for resale through the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Re-Use Facility Centre to those of low income or on benefits; 
• Closed Circuit Television cameras were due to be installed in further rural hotspot areas in order to deal with fly tipping issues;
• EP was not responsible for the collection from dog waste disposal bins;
• The provision to provide extra rubbish bins through Peterborough City Council area would be investigated;
• The responsibility of refilling salt bins was to be clarified;
• Helpdesk contact details for the fix it van would be provided to Parish Councils;
• Peterborough Direct was to be contacted if residents identified a potential danger with trees that appeared to be unsafe and were located on Council land.  A visit would be conducted to the reported area within a few hours;
• In order to combat litter issues within rural areas, EP had been working with Parish Councils to introduce a Litter Action Group and introduce improvement measures.  Recent communications included ways in which the public should take on more responsibility within their ward areas to reduce the littering issues; and
• The Neighbourhoods Team was working with EP to identify problem areas.

Actions Agreed:

The Director of Enterprise Peterborough was to arrange a walk around with Parish Councillors from Eye and Thorney in order to identify whether all service needs were being covered within those areas.

The Neighbourhood Manager would provide Parish Councils with details on how to apply for the installation of extra rubbish bins.

The Neighbourhood Manager was to contact the Highways Team in order to investigate whether funding for the refill of salt bins in rural areas would be met from the Highways budget.

The Neighbourhood Manager would provide Parish Councils with an email contact for the fix it van.

The next meeting will be held on 1 March 2012 (venue to be confirmed) 6.30pm start with the ward forum and 7pm for the Neighbourhood Committee

The next meeting was due to be held on Thursday 1 March 2012 venue to be confirmed.

The meeting would commence with the ward forum at 6.30pm and 7.00pm for the Neighbourhood Committee meeting.