Agenda and minutes

Councillor Jon Collins (other Council business)

Councillor Dave Liversidge (non Council business)

Andrea Stone, City Heights Mapperley

Moon Chester, SEND Project

None

Last meeting held on 19 November (for confirmation)

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2013 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Verbal update by Susan Thorpe, Traffic Management, Nottingham City Council

Susan Thorpe, Senior Traffic Management Officer at Nottingham City Council, delivered a School Enforcement update to the Committee and highlighted the following information:

(a)  colleagues in Traffic Management have joined forces with the Police to improve congestion outside of schools in the city following a high volume of calls from concerned citizens;

(b)  there are a number of causes of congestion but parents have been parking on ‘zig-zags’ outside of schools which has exacerbated congestion issues;

(c)  the programme of enforcement started last week and colleagues in Traffic Management have been briefed by the Councillor Urquhart, the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation, to brief all councillors via Area Committees;

(d)  every school in the city will be visited by colleagues in Traffic Management every 5 to 6 weeks. A toolkit will be available for Schools including templates and useful information for potential targeted intervention strategies such as Travel Plans and road safety measures. The message will go out to all school stakeholders as well as parents.

RESOLVED to thank Susan Thorpe for her informative update and note the contents.

Report of Director of Community Protection

The Chair of the Committee has agreed that this report, although not included on the agenda should be considered as a matter of urgency in accordance with Section 100b(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, in view of the special circumstances that the decision needed cannot wait until the next meeting as it would impact on the consultation of the proposed scheme.

The Chair was of the opinion that this item, although not included on the agenda, should be considered as a matter of urgency in accordance with Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, in view of the special circumstances that the decision could not wait until the next meeting as it would impact on the consultation of the proposed scheme. 

Abu Belim, Principle Enforcement Officer for City South Community Protection, presented the report, informing the Committee of the need to tackle problems associated with the control of dogs across the Dales ward, highlighting the following information:

(a)  numerous streets across the Dales ward feature amongst the top sites for reported dog fouling across where there have been in excess of 20 reports. Granting an order would be a proportionate approach in response;

(b)  under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, the Council has the power to introduce a dog control order in relation to land open to the public covering the following scenarios: failing to remove dog faeces, not keeping a dog on a lead or not keeping or putting a dog on a lead when requested to do so by an authorised officer;

(c)  the use of an Order will allow the targeting of individuals acting irresponsibly in the control of their dog(s) whilst leaving responsible dog owners undisturbed;

(d)  there have been two nasty incidents in the Dales ward where dogs that were out of control caused harm to local residents, resulting in police action being taken against the owners. Alongside this, civil action has been taken by Community Protection resulting in a court order against the owner;

(e)  before an order can be implemented, partners and third sector organisations across the Dales ward must be consulted to gauge their opinions on the proposals. Research shows that Marmion Road is the top site with in excess of 20 reports of dog fouling;

(f)  it is proposed to obtain further evidence from across the Dales ward and publish an advertisement in the local newspapers. Community Protection will aim to consult with citizens, partners and third sector organisations by the end of March 2014 before coming back to the Committee in May 2014 to seek approval for the Order. The planned Order would then come into force in June 2014;

Following questions and comments from the Committee, the following information was provided:

(g)  the Committee welcomed proposals and a number of signatures support these proposals have been gathered during Week of Action events held in the Dales ward;

(h)  responsible dog owners will remain undisturbed, in particular in public spaces as the proposals are not intended to interfere with responsible dog owners who keep their pets under proper control and clean up after them.

RESOLVED to note the proposals and agree to consultation taking place on the proposals to introduce a Dog Control Order for the Dales ward.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

The report included a brief summary of the performance information on each of the following key themes:

o  Ward Priorities

o  Community Engagement

o  Finance

o  Safer

o  Neighbourhood

o  Community Engagement

o  Working

o  Housing

o  Community Protection

o  Fire

o  Health

Michelle Graley, Neighbourhood Development Officer (NDO) presented the report. The following points were highlighted:

St Ann’s Ward

(a)  The ward priorities for St Ann’s are currently being reviewed and officers are working on ways to improve the unemployment rate in the ward. The Renewal Trust and the Police will be working in collaboration into ‘Micro-beats’ with a focus on Lewis Close. This follows feedback from residents who have reported feeling unsafe in the area. Improvements to the street lighting or the installation of CCTV will be considered as ways to make citizens feel safer in the area;

(b)  citizens are being encouraged to visit and ‘like’ a designated St Ann’s Facebook page which will host information on events in the ward, a forum for ideas and the sharing of information. The page can be located via the following link: www.facebook.com/mystanns.

Dales Ward

Following a review of the Dales ward priorities, Greg Foister, Neighbourhood Development Officer (NDO) presented an update and highlighted the following points:

(c)  by identifying local hot spots and patterns in the ward there would be a focus to reduce crime in the area, in particular criminal damage, violence and burglary;

(d)  a reduction in anti-social behaviour will form part of the new ward priorities which will link to the work to promote the responsible dog charter and dog control order. It is hoped that 25 more dog owners will sign up to the responsible dog charter each month;

(e)  by working in cooperation with the Neighbourhood Action Team, the top three locations for drug dealing in the ward will be identified and addressed. In tackling this issue, there will be an integrated Windmill Park management Plan, a consultation plan for Hermitage Caves will be established and an improvement plan for Greenway Park;

(f)  under the ‘Families’ priority, meaningful engagement with children, young people and families will take place to ensure participation in community services. Further work will take place to identify ward based health priorities and a delivery model to tackle this;

(g)  an area based employment and training programme will be delivered going forward that identifies an employment and skills plan for the ward. Work will take place with the Renewal Trust and local partners to ensure that they contribute to the local employment and skills plan;

(h)  citizens are being encouraged to visit and ‘like’ a designated Dales ward Facebook page which will host information on events in the ward, a forum for ideas and the sharing of information. The page can be located via the following link: www.facebook.com/mydales.

Mapperley ward

Fi Cusick, Neighbourhood Development Officer (NDO) presented the report. The following points were highlighted:

(i)  there has been a small spike in the number of burglaries however  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Greg Foister, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the report which detailed proposed projects, Area Capital funding available and spent in Dales and Mapperley wards.

RESOLVED 

(1)  to approve the Area Capital programme of schemes for St Ann’s, Dales and Mapperley as follows:

(i)  Dales Area Capital 2013-2015 Programme 

LTP schemes

Public Realm schemes

(ii)  Mapperley Area Capital 2013 - 2015 Programme

LTP schemes

Public Realm schemes

Decommitments - £6,000

(iii)  St Ann’s Area Capital 2013 - 2015 Programme

  LTP schemes

Public Realm schemes

(3)  to note the following money available to Dales, Mapperley and St Ann’s:

(i)  Dales

(ii)  Mapperley

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Greg Foister, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report which informed the Committee of the Director of Neighbourhood Services' use of delegated authority for projects and schemes within the area.

RESOLVED to note the following actions agreed by the Director of Neighbourhood Services:

(i)  Dales Ward Budget Allocations

  (Councillors G Khan, N Khan and Mellen)

(ii)  Mapperley Ward Budget Allocations

(Cllrs Dewinton, Healy and Molife)

(iii)  St Ann's Ward Budget Allocations

(Councillors Collins, Johnson, and Liversidge)

Presentation by Cherry Underwood, Trust Executive, The Renewal Trust

Cherry Underwood, Trust Executive of the Renewal Trust, delivered a presentation to the Committee and highlighted the following information:

(a)  following a bidding process in October 2012 for voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations to become leads for VCS within the City Council’s local funds;

(b)  the Renewal Trust were appointed as the lead organisation in May 2013 for Area 6 to deliver a contract to support the development of VCS in the area;

(c)  of the £335,317.50 available in funding in 2013/14, £185,404 was provided to Children and Young People, £120,000 was granted to Employment and Skills in the area and £29,913 of funding was provided to Community Associations;

(d)  the aims of the Children and Young People priority is to improve collaboration and reduce competition and develop a programme of universal provision from 3.30pm to 9pm every school night;

(e)  709 young people have been supported in a range of summer activities and events by a variety of organisations, such as Alpha Education, Brazilian Soccer School, Community Recording Studio, Greenway Centre, Groundwork Greater Nottingham and KK Boxing;

(f)  improvements are needed to improve communication and opportunities between services to reduce duplication of provisions on offer. Further work is needed to gather evidence on which young people are not accessing services so that a different approach is offered;

(g)  all employment and skills providers in Area 6 provide support to residents and produce monthly returns in order to release funding. The Renewal Trust organises quarterly ‘Employment Symposiums’ to ensure partners are fully aware of new employment or skills opportunities;

(h)  there are 7 community associations in Area 6, which is the greatest number across the city, who are all working with the Renewal Trust and Neighbourhood Development Officers on Area Based Grant.

Following questions and comments from the Committee, the following information was provided:

(i)  regular meetings take place with a number of stakeholders, such as the Police, to ensure that the right people are being targeted. This links to the Ending Gang and Youth Violence pledge;

(j)  over £120,000 has been spent on targeted provision for children and young people. This enabled intensive work with nearly 30 children and young people. Over 800 children and young people have received support through a universal offer which stops young people moving into the targeted support area;

(k)  further details of who has received funding will be provided with a break-down specific costs. This will provide a better understanding of whether services are cost effective and efficient.