Agenda for Berridge and Sherwood Area Committee on Wednesday, 28th February, 2018, 6.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ground Floor Committee Room - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Phil Wye  Email: phil.wye@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

40.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Councillor Toby Neal – leave

Councillor Brain Parbutt – work commitments

Wade Adams – Nottingham City Homes

Tom Lynk – Community Protection

41.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None.

42.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 258 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2017, for confirmation.

Minutes:

Subject to amending paragraph 37(c) to read ‘Area Based Grant funding comes to an end in March 2019.’ (not March 2018), the minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2017 were agreed as a true record and they were signed by the Chair.

43.

Neighbourhood Policing update

Verbal update

Minutes:

Inspector Christine Busuttil, Nottinghamshire Police, gave a verbal update on crime and policing in Sherwood ward:

 

(a)  there has been an increase in sexual violence incidents, while burglary, theft, damage and anti-social behaviour rates are also up;

 

(b)  violence with injury rates have fallen, as have robbery and domestic violence;

 

(c)  a prolific burglary offender has been arrested, which should have a positive effect on burglary rates in the ward;

 

(d)  the Week of Action was ongoing. The poor weather was a hindrance to activities, but there had been a high visibility Police presence in the ward, which was welcomed;

 

(e)  there were increased traffic patrols around Haydn primary School at peak times;

 

(f)  funding has been secured to deter drugs ‘throw-overs’ at HMP Nottingham.

 

Inspector Robert Wilson, Nottinghamshire Police, gave a verbal update on crime and policing in Berridge ward:

 

(g)  there was a commitment to recruit 200 new Police officers this year, and a Police degree apprenticeship has been introduced;

 

(h)  there have been and will be several changes in personnel and roles locally. Alex Mitchell has left to become a Police Constable, while PC Karen Crane is the Schools Officer for Djanogly and the Free School, dealing with crime and social vulnerability issues;

 

(i)  community engagement work continues, including closer working with the Roma community.

 

Kelly Thomas, PCSO, provided an update from the Community Protection perspective:

 

(j)  5 CPOs were currently operating in Berridge and Sherwood wards;

 

(k)  36 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued in the previous quarter (28 in Sherwood, 8 in Berridge), 64 Community Protection Notice Warnings were issued (60 in Berridge, 4 in Sherwood) and 22 graffiti actions taken (13 in Berridge and 9 in Sherwood);

 

(l)  fly tipping continued to be a significant issue, particularly in Berridge ward, with 156 incidents in the past quarter, with 120 in Berridge;

 

(m)  dog fouling and bins on streets remain significant issues – there will be an anti- dog fouling operation in March 2018;

 

(n)  there was a successful community engagement event in Peggy’s Park as part of the Light Night celebrations;

 

(o)  there has been very little recent begging activity in either ward.

 

During discussion, it was noted there had been recent incidents of begging at Forest Fields mosque. It was confirmed that subject to successfully completing training, new recruits should be ready to patrol alone within 22 weeks of starting training.

 

RESOLVED that the updates from Nottinghamshire Police and Community Protection colleagues be noted.

 

 

44.

Area Based Grant Progress Report pdf icon PDF 319 KB

Report of the Business Development Manager, NG7 Training, Employment and Advice

Minutes:

Jawaid Khalil, Business Development Manager, NG7 Training Employment and Advice, introduced a report, updating the Committee on progress in respect of the delivery of Area Based Grant in Berridge and Sherwood.

 

Mr Khalil advised that the delivery of work club session targets had been met, while numbers accessing job club s had exceeded targets.

 

However, he cautioned that there were significant challenges facing the service, with European Social Funding coming to an end. While other funding stream possibilities were being explored, the service would need rationalising if no new funding was identified. Staff retention in such an uncertain climate was also an issue.

 

The following issues were raised during discussion:

 

(a)  the targets for 2018/19 are broadly in line with those in 2017/18, but the additional funding and staff retention challenges described above mean that current performance will be difficult to maintain;

 

(b)  Mr Khalil confirmed that the wide range of activities for young people were available and accessible to all sections of society, and undertook to ensure that councillors were invited to sporting Open Day events;

 

(c)  while there was uncertainty around staff retention, staff could not simply be replaced by volunteers, in view of the expertise, support, data protection, insurance, and related issues which needed addressing.

 

RESOLVED to note the progress and performance for quarters 1,2 and 3 activity in year two of the Area Based Grant by the appointed Ara based Lead Organisation – NG7 Training, Employment and Advice.

45.

Berridge and Sherwood Ward Report pdf icon PDF 214 KB

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, focussing on current priorities and issues facing the Berridge and Sherwood wards and providing details of forthcoming events.

 

Specific events highlighted included the recent event at Hyson Green Youth Club, involving 40 schools and attracting over 400 attendees. The Committee was reminded that the Carrington Week of Action was currently taking place, but the poor weather had hampered delivery of some activity.

 

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 performance data.

46.

Nottingham City Homes updates and approvals pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Will Morritt, City Housing Manager, introduced a report of the Chief Executive, Nottingham City Housing (NCH), providing updates on key issues and themes which link back to local priorities and the strategic themes for Nottingham City Homes, highlighting the following:

 

(a)  NCH has been shortlisted for a national Landlord of the Year award in recognition of it’s tenancy management arrangements;

 

(b)  there will be a High Rise fire safety public event for Winchester and Woodthorpe Courts’ residents on 15 March 2018, explaining about sprinkler and intercom installation;

 

(c)  an overview of Area Cluster meetings took place across Nottingham in September, October and November 2017. While satisfaction levels with NCH were at record levels, ongoing challenges included:

·  The impact of welfare reform on residents;

·  The impact of the 1% rent reduction;

·  Reduced support services;

·  Loss of homes through right-to-buy leading to reduced income; and

·  Increasing demand for services;

 

(d)  local issues raised included pre-eviction work, concerns about Nottingham Prison, and garages in Carrington;

 

(e)  Woodthorpe and Winchester Courts’ residents will be provided with full instructions and guidance on the workings of the heating system;

 

(f)  it was confirmed that no approvals were requested at this time, and that Ramsay Court was not an NCH property.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note the update and performance information the report:

 

(2)  note the allocation of funds for Berridge and Sherwood for 2017/18, detailed in the report.

47.

Nottingham Open Spaces Forum (NOSF) pdf icon PDF 225 KB

Joint report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services and the Corporate Director for Commercial and Operations

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ben Standing and Rob Kirkwood of the Nottingham Open Spaces Forum introduced a report, explaining the role and purpose of the Forum, as follows:

 

(a)  the Forum’s objectives were to advance the education of the public in the enjoyment, understanding application and conservation of open spaces, to promote the improvement of the physical and natural environment and to enhance public health and wellbeing through access to and activity in open spaces;

 

(b)  the Forum actively sought to link up with Friends’ groups across Nottingham city to share capacity and expertise, and was involved in administering funding for small-scale projects under the Parklives initiative;

 

(c)  the Forum acted as an advocate for public expenditure on parks and open spaces. While it worked with and supported the City Council in a number of initiatives, it remained very much an independent entity.

 

The Committee thanked Mr Standing and Mr Kirkwood, and endorsed the work of the Forum. In particular, using the Forum as a means of putting Friends groups in contact with each other to share intelligence and expertise was seen as very valuable.

 

RESOLVED to note the report and endorse the work of the Nottingham Open Spaces Forum.

 

48.

Parks and Open Spaces Area Investment Plans pdf icon PDF 211 KB

Joint report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services and the Corporate Director for Commercial and Operations

Additional documents:

Minutes:

James Dymond, Parks and Open Spaces Development Manager, introduced a joint report of the Corporate Director, Commercial and Operations and the Director of Neighbourhood Services, identifying the priority improvements to parks and open spaces to be funded from Section 106 contributions arising from housing developments.

 

Mr Dymond explained that having the plans in place will help prioritise resources to secure external grant funding, and will demonstrate an ongoing need for investment in the City’s parks and open spaces.

 

During discussion, it was confirmed that there were several potential sites for a Community Garden in Sherwood, and it was noted that the site improvements at Elm Avenue identified in the report were in St Ann’s ward, not Sherwood ward. It was pointed out that developments could stall or not go ahead, meaning that Section 106 funding might not necessarily come forward.

 

RESOLVED to endorse the investment plan to guide the future development of the City’s parks and open spaces.

49.

Updates and Items of Good News from Community Representatives

Minutes:

The Committee noted that there had been an exhibition at Central Library organised by the University of Nottingham called ‘Mapping Nottingham’s Identity’, with a focus on Carrington and having involvement from Carrington Tenants and Residents Association.

50.

Area Capital Fund pdf icon PDF 210 KB

Report of the Director of Community Protection

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  approve the Area Capital Fund programme of schemes for Berridge and Sherwood wards at Appendix 1 and set out below:

 

Location

Type

Date

Estimate (£)

Details

Berridge ward junction protection

Road safety

19/01/2018

6,835

Lining measures Gladstone street, Haydn Road, Berridge Road

B682 road safety

Study

19/01/2018

5,000

Road safety assessment

Berridge Ward Junction protection

Road safety

19/01/2108

12,165

Lining measures (public realm contribution)

Berridge CCTV cameras

Security cameras

18/01/2108

2,500

Contribution to provision of CCTV

Valmont Road area

(withdrawn)

parking

 

11,835 and 13,165

Withdrawn – alternative funding identified

 

(2)  note the commitment of funds in Berridge and Sherwood wards as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

51.

Ward Councillor Budget pdf icon PDF 246 KB

Report of the Director of Community Protection

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED to note the actions agreed by the Director of Neighbourhood Services in respect of the projects and schemes within the Berridge and Sherwood wards, as detailed in the report.