Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Sarah Piper as Chair of the Area Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Ilyas Aziz as Vice-Chair of the Area Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

Councillor Dave Trimble - Leave

Councillor Dave Trimble – leave

Zenn Athar

Rebecca Beinart

Maja Fletcher

Gill Isterling

Carol Laverick

Courtney Rose

None.

Last meeting held on 21 February 2018 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 February 2018 were agreed as a true record and they were signed by the Chair.

Tom Lynk, Senior Community Protection Officer and Helen Robinson and Kelly McCoy, Community Protection Officers, presented quarterly updates on community protection issues, summarised as follows:

(a)  Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs): a total of 29 FPNs were issued in the previous quarter (Radford & Park: 9, Dunkirk & Lenton: 2, and Arboretum: 18);

(b)  Community Protection Notices (CPNs): a total of 69 CPNs had been issued (26 in Radford & Park, 13 in Dunkirk & Lenton and 30 in Arboretum);

(c)  Alcohol Confiscations: a total of 242 alcohol confiscations were made in the previous quarter (Radford & Park: 102, Dunkirk & Lenton: 93 and Arboretum 37);

(d)  Graffiti: There were a total of 113 graffiti actions in the previous quarter (Radford & Park: 65, Dunkirk & Lenton 45 and Arboretum 3);

(e)  Flytipping: there were 523 incidents of flytipping across the area in the previous quarter (Radford & Park: 267, Dunkirk & Lenton 127 and Arboretum 129).  

Discussion focussed on current levels of flytipping in the area, with several points made:

(f)  anything more than 1 item was considered to be flytipping. While officers checked for evidence of origin, the waste had to be disposed of promptly irrespective of whether evidence was available;

(g)  bagged side waste next to bins on collection day did not constitute flytipping, but furniture, mattresses and similar items did constitute flytipping;

(h)  on-the-spot fines of £300 could be issued, but the act of flytipping had to be witnessed;

(i)  there will be a Flytipping Day of Action on 26/27 June.

RESOLVED to note the update from Community Protection colleagues.

Presentation by Dave Brennan, Chief Executive, Castle Cavendish

Van Henry, Area Partnerships Manager, Castle Cavendish, gave a presentation on Area Based Grant (ABG) for 2018/19, making the following points:

(a)  the 5 key ABG themes and funding allocations were:

  ‘Children and Young People’ (£67,700), ‘Community Hubs’ (£61,500), ‘Supporting the local voluntary and community sector (VCS)’ (£25,000), ‘Employment and Skills’ (£45,000) and ‘Local priorities’ (£33,800);

(b)  an ABG ‘road map’ was explained, showing the type of activity covered by the ABG. This included a range of universal and targeted provision, job clubs and English language provision;

(c)  a brief summary of outcomes delivered in 2017/18 was provided. This included over 1,800 children and young people enjoying school holiday provision, 34 VCS groups receiving funding (19 of which also receiving training or specialist advice), nearly150 local people accessing ESOL provision and 400 swimming sessions and 350 physical activity sessions provided at The Lenton Centre.

Copies of the Delivery Plan were available on request and the following points were made in discussion:

(d)  the demographic profile of the area was updated regularly, and Castle Cavendish was in ongoing contact with representatives from a wide range of emerging communities;

(e)  a Committee member expressed the view that there should be stronger involvement in activities through the John Carroll Leisure Centre;

(f)  it was confirmed that a majority of ABG funding came directly from Nottingham City Council.

RESOLVED to note the Area Based Grant update.

Inspector Robert Wilson, Nottinghamshire Police, provide the following verbal update on Police priorities and activities:

(a)  burglary, car crime and robbery rates were deteriorating across Nottingham. Radford Station now had 2 dedicated, experienced detective teams in place, with a focus on repeat offenders and repeat locations. A number of arrests and charges had been made;

(b)  a consistent factor in burglary dwelling statistics was having open and unlocked windows. Work was ongoing with the universities and with tenants and residents groups to reinforce the need to take preventative steps;

(c)  there remained late night challenges with student behaviour, especially in the summer months, but good progress had been made;

(d)  there have been several recent high profile incidents, including a shooting in Argyle Street and a serious incident on Albert Grove. Extra resources had been deployed. The risk to the wider public was considered low.

The following points were made during discussion:

(e)  councillors welcomed text updates from Nottingham Police following recent incidents, enabling them to reassure residents. It was suggested that Nottingham City Homes should be included in receiving such alerts so that it could inform its tenants of developments;

(f)  it was confirmed there was a dedicated street offences team operating in the Area, providing enforcement, visibility and reassurance, as well as intelligence gathering;

(g)  the Police had to deal with a spike in online and mobile stalking and harassment cases, which diverted resources from on-street activity;

(h)  while crime ‘hotspots’ are specifically targeted, the Police are flexible in deploying resources to address crime and anti-social behaviour;

(i)  it was confirmed that urinating in public was a Police matter, though there could be specific instances where more serious crime and anti-social behaviour issues might need prioritising.

RESOLVED to note the Police update.

The following issues and items of good news were reported:

·  The recent Lenton Fun Day was very successful, with over 400 people in attendance;

·  The Edwardian tennis pavilion in the Park ward has been refurbished, and will be available for community use.

Report of Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes

Paul Howard, Area Housing Manager, Nottingham City Homes (NCH), introduced a report updating the Committee on the activity and performance of NCH since the February 2018 meeting, and updating the Committee on allocation of funds.

Mr Howard highlighted the following:

(a)  NCH has been nationally recognised for its high standards of customer satisfaction with a Landlord of the Year Award, as well as receiving an award for tenant involvement;

(b)  the NCH sprinkler installation programme at Pine View is well under way and on target;

(c)  Ash and Oak View lifts maintenance issues are being addressed, with reduced call out rates.

During the brief discussion which followed, the Committee commented that signage was required for Maxwell Court. It was also stated that Dunkirk Primary School was keen to become involved in helping make more welcoming the underpass on Church Street.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the performance information provided at Appendices 1 and 2 of the report;

(2)  note the funding allocation (including carry over from 2017/18) of:

  Arboretum - £39,962.99

  Dunkirk & Lenton - £30,868.92

  Radford & Park - £61,881.35;

(3)  approve the following schemes:

Joint report of Deputy Chief Executive/Corporate Director for Development and Growth and Corporate Director for Commercial and Operations

Ceri Davies, Housing Strategy Specialist and Aran Hennessy, Principal Environmental Health Officer, provided a presentation on a new Additional Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation, highlighting the following points:

(a)  the current scheme ends at the end of 2018 and the Council is committed to having licensing schemes to improve the quality of all homes and neighbourhoods across Nottingham;

(b)  Additional Licensing has helped address anti-social behaviour, safety, security waste disposal and physical appearance of properties in multiple occupation, and has helped remove poor landlords from the market;

(c)  the proposed designation includes over 2,300 properties in the Area, with coverage unchanged from the previous scheme;

(d)  the current fee for a licence is £910, which covers the entire period of the operation of the Scheme. There is a tiered fee proposed, with accredited properties having a lower fee than for standard properties. Poorly performing landlords are charged a premium fee, reflecting the additional work involved with them. Civil penalties of up to £30,000 are also available;

(e)  the proposed scheme and fees are in the consultation period, which will inform detailed  proposals to Executive Board in September 2018.

The following issues were raised and points made:

(f)  it was explained that ‘mandatory’ licensing applied to properties with more than 5 occupants, ‘additional’ for properties with 3-5 occupants and ‘selective’ for standard family properties. There would be a tenants and residents event at the Council House later in June 2018 to explain the proposals in detail;

(g)  it was explained that concerns about additional building in yards where there was already accommodation above shops, with resulting implications for bins and access, was addressed through planning processes. There was little that the licensing function can do about problematic planning decisions.

RESOLVED to note the report and the request that partners actively contribute to the consultation process.

Report of Director of Community Protection

Linda Wright and Gursharan Nijran Singh, Neighbourhood Development Officers, introduced the report informing the Committee of the current priorities and issues in the Area and providing information on forthcoming events.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the progress on Ward priorities and other supporting information including the issues being addressed by each Neighbourhood Action Team;

(2)  note the progress made against existing Councillor pledges.

Report of Director of Community Protection

Linda Wright, Neighbour Development Officer, introduced a report of the Director of  Community Protection, providing the latest spend proposals under the Area Capital Fund, including highways and footways.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the following Area Capital Fund schemes:

  Arboretum

  Dunkirk and Lenton

  Radford and Park

(2)  the commitment of funds in Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, Radford and Park wards as set out in Appendix 1. 

Report of Director of Community Protection

RESOLVED to note the actions agreed by the Director of Community protection in respect of projects and schemes within the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, Radford and Park wards, detailed at Appendices A, B and C of the report.

To agree to meet on the following Wednesdays at 5.30pm:

19 September 2018

19 December 2018

20 March 2019

RESOLVED to meet on the following Wednesdays at 5.30pm:

19 September 2018

19 December 2018

20 March 2019