Councillor Glyn Jenkins

Councillor Carole McCulloch

Liam Searl

Debbie Royal

None.

Last meeting held on 12 September 2018

The minutes were confirmed as a true record of the meeting held on 12 September 2018 and were signed by the Chair.

Action continues to be taken to tackle scams in the Bilborough area. Community protection are distributing window stickers and continuing to offer advice to citizens.

Inspector Gordon Fenwick of Nottinghamshire Police gave an update to the Committee on crime and policing in the West area highlighting the following points:

(a)  Overall crime in Bilborough is up 19% on the same time last year. This includes a 61% rise in violence and stalking offences, a rise in robbery, 31% rise in burglary, as well as smaller rises in theft, vehicle crim, Antisocial behaviour and hate occurrences. Arson and damage offences were slightly down;

(b)  There are no specific “hotspots” for the crime, and intelligence officers are actively seeking reasons for the significant increase in crime numbers;

(c)  Councillors expressed disappointment in the increased crime figures and welcomed the invitation from Inspector Fenwick to meet and discuss the situation further;

(d)  Inspector Fenwick assured Councillors that regular patrols were taking place across the Bilborough area to act as a deterrent, and that resources to understand why the crime rate had increased and how it can be reduced are being pushed into the area. Nottinghamshire Police are also working closely with Housing colleagues to establish who is coming into the area and working to address any problem addresses;

(e)  In Aspley there has been a slight increase  of 2% in overall crime but there has been a reduction in robbery, burglary, theft, damage and antisocial behaviour. There was a slight increase in vehicle crime and a 27% increase in criminal and non-criminal hate occurrences;

(f)  In Lean Valley there has been a slight increase of 2% in overall crime, however robbery, burglary, damage and antisocial are all down, with a 29% increase in hate occurrences;

(g)  The Mini Policing programme has been running in a small number of schools and is working to break down barriers between the community and the police starting at a primary school age.

RESOLVED to note the content of the update from Inspector Fenwick and to thank him for his attendance.

Report of the Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes

Kristian Murden, Area Housing Manager at Nottingham City Homes, presented performance information about Nottingham City Homes, and various schemes for approval. He highlighted the following points:

(a)  Strelley Library has opened today, and residents of Strelley Court have started to move back in. the building is very nice and there have been may compliments from residents

(b)  A Right to Buy process has been suspended following an application to the courts. The suspension has been granted under the proceeds of crime act and the outcome awaits the conclusion of a criminal court case;

(c)  There were a number of successful tenants in the gardening competition within the area and the effort put in by everyone who entered really went to raising the standard of the completion and lifting the appearance of the estates;

(d)  Performance remains strong with staff tackling anti-social behaviour and working with vulnerable tenants to sustain their tenancies.

(e)  Nottingham City Homes have been granted Trusted Partner status which means when Universal credit is rolled out fully that the housing benefit element can be paid directly to Nottingham City Homes.

Following questions and comments the following points were highlighted:

(f)  When a property becomes vacant it is difficult to know how long it will take to return it to a rentable condition. Some properties just require a little work, where as other properties require a total refit. This impacts on void times;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Note the update and performance information in appendices 1 and 2 of the report published with the agenda

(2)  Note the allocation of funds for 2018/19 as details in appendix 3 of the published report

(3)  Approve the Area Capital Programme funding requests as set out below:

·  £69,500 for improvements to boundary walls and frontages  at Strelley Social Club

·  £7,651.28 for demolition of existing garages and installation of palisade fencing and timber fencing for bin storage at Orchard Court

·  £3,678.94 for creation of a dropped crossing and installation of palisade fencing at Naburn Court

·  £19,409.07 for tarmac and metal railings installation at Nuthall Road Flats

·  £1,022 for a car parking scheme feasibility study at Winstow Close.

·  £2,024.60 for installation of a gate and fencing at Withern Road.

·  £694 for the installation of a gate at 108 Beckley Road.

Report of the Corporate Director of Development and Growth

Richard Campbell, Flood Mitigation Manager, gave a presentation on the River Leen and Day Brook  Blue Green Infrastructure, introducing the scheme and its aims to the Committee. The following points were highlighted:

(a)  The scheme aims to create a flood risk management scheme that delivers environment enhancement, improved biodiversity and improved access to open spaces;

(b)  This will be achieved by re-naturalising the watercourses, reconnecting floodplains and providing flood water storage;

(c)  Key sites within the scheme to undergo modification are:

·  Jubliee Ponds

·  Valley Road Park

·  Fox Pub

·  Cussons Site

·  Bobbers Mill Site

(d)  The scheme will be funded by FDGiA, Local Levy and ERDF funding and will result in 100 properties being better protected and return land to use that will allow development. The project is currently in the feasibility stages and the programme will be submitted to the Environment Agency before the end of the year;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Thanks Richard Campbell for his attendance and to note the content of his presentation;

(2)  Receive an update report at the next Area Committee meeting once permission has been granted and the scheme proposals are finalised;

Report of the Corporate Director, Commercial and Operations

Eddie Curry, Head of Parks, Open Spaces and Investment Funding, presented the report raising awareness of the Nottinghamshire WW1 Roll of Honour Centenary Memorial Project, part of Nottingham City Councils WW1 centenary commemorations programme. The following points were highlighted:

(a)  There are a number of memorials across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, this memorial aims to be a definitive list of all those people from Nottingham and Nottingham, both service personnel and civilians who lost their lives in WW1;

(b)  The design was chosen following an international design competition and construction is due to be completed on 1^st May 2019. There will be a formal dedication during Armed Forces week;

(c)  The bulk of the funds have now been raised from councils and local business. The last £30,000 is being raised through direct fundraising. Details of how to get involved are below:

https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/events-markets-parks-and-museums/parks-and-open-spaces/nottinghamshire-wwi-roll-of-honour-war-memorial/

(d)  It is also the last opportunity for people to ensure that their relatives are listed and that their names are correct. This can also be done via the link above;

Following discussion and questions the following points were made:

(e)  Councillors asked that links and information be put onto My Nottingham so that they can share it via social media;

(f)  Councillors also asked for  written communication to take into local shops and local businesses to encourage donations;

(g)  Councillors suggested more exposure via television to encourage donations to cover the last £30,000;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Note the content of the report on the WW1 Roll of Honour Centenary Memorial Project and the thank Eddie Curry for his attendance

(2)  To help to support the promotion of the project within the local community;

Community Representative to Report

There were no Community Representatives at the meeting so this item was not discussed.  

Chelsea Owen, Community Protection Officer updated the Committee on the wards individual priorities and efforts to tackle them. The following points were highlighted:

(a)   In Aspley 5 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) were issued over dog fouling with over 30 people challenged. 32 FPN were issued for littering, 6 fly tip incidents were investigated and 2 noticed issued for fly tipping;

(b)  Work continued to the public over dirt bikes on the country park;

(c)  In Bilborough 51 people were challenged over dog fouling and 2 FPN were issues,19 FPN were issued over littering and 2 for fly tipping;

(d)  A recent Halloween event aiming to crack down on rogue traders was well received as were the high visibility patrols around Bonfire nights.

(e)  In Leen Valley 8 FPN were issued for littering, 4 graffiti incidents cleaned and 10 fly tips investigated. There is currently on 1 CPO in Leen Valley but following a recruitment process there will be new CPO’s starting soon;

(f)  There have been a number of high visibility patrols following concerns around noise;

RESOLVED to thank Chelsea for her attendance today and to note the content of her update.

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Iffat Iqbal, Operations Manager, presented the Ward reports to the Committee for noting with no substantive discussion on current issues within the report.

RESOLVED to note the progress on Ward priorities and other supporting information including the issues being addressed by each Neighbourhood Action Team and upcoming opportunities for citizens to engage. 

Report of the Corporate Director, Commercial and Operations

Iffat Iqbal, Operations Manager, presented a report on ward Councillor budgets.

RESOLVED to note the following delegated authority approvals:

(1)  From the ward budgets for Councillors Graham Chapman, Patience Uloma Ifediora and Carol McCulloch:

·  £1000 for Aspley Diversity Event

·  £500 for Broxtowe Community Club – Summer Club

·  £390 for Broxtowe Community Club – Over 50’s event

·  £150 for Parking Bollard – Broxtowe Lane

·  £150 for Gap Football – Football Kit

·  £1000 for Nottingham Gymnastics

·  £2500 for Aspley Bonfire event

(2)  From the ward budgets for Councillors Wendy Smith, Marcia Watson and Malcolm Wood:

·  £366 for Equipment for Community Bingo

·  £1500 for Bilborough Christmas Event

(3)   From the ward budgets for Councillors Wendy Smith and Malcolm Wood:

·  £1200 for Strelley Social Club Gym Roof.

(4)  From the ward budget for Councillor Glyn Jenkins and Mohammed Saghir:

·  £500 for Kennington Park Launch Event

·  £2000 for Melbourne Meltdown

·  £450 for One World Cultural Event

·  £1,390 for Leen Valley Board Budget

·  £1000 for Family Dun Days

·  £7,994 for Festive Lights

·  £500 for Trafford Gardens Play

·  £4,200 for Japanese Knot Weed

(5)  From the ward budget for Councillor Glyn Jenkins:

·  £700 for Literacy Volunteers.

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Iffat Iqbal, Operations Manager, presented a report on the Area Capital Fund for approval.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  approve the following Aspley LTP Scheme:

·  £150,000 for Tibury Rise footpath reconstruction.

(2)  Note the Area Capital monies available:

·  Aspley - £8,785

·  Bilborough - £920

·  Leen Valley - £19,645