Agenda and minutes

Councillor Georgina Culley – illness

Pauline Dorey, Neighbourhood Development Officer

Ellie Mitchell, University of Nottingham Student Union (Jamie Dickinson substituting)

None.

Of the meeting held on 19 June 2017 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2017, were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Lylse-Anne Renwick, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services which informed the Committee of the Community representatives nominated by local community groups and appointed by Councillors.

Councillor Webster informed the committee that three different organisations have merged into the ‘Lenton Abbey Resident’s Association’ so that previously where there had been three representatives, now there is only one (Adam McGregor). However, as the Area Committee is a public meeting, anyone can attend and may also be able to speak during the meeting at the discretion of the Chair.

Councillors requested that the Student Union representative was considered a community representative and requested clarity if there was a reason why this would not be possible. Disappointment was expressed that an NCH Tenant Representative could not be appointed as it was importance to have their representation on the committee, however it is appreciated that with the amount of Nottingham city homes engagement taking place, demand for tenant volunteers is high.

(1)  to note the reference for the role of Community Representative as set out in Appendix 1 to the report;

(2)  to note the appointments of Community Representatives for the 2017/18 municipal year as follows:

Presentation by Sue Twyford and Peter Forster.

Sue Twyford and Peter Forster of the Wollaton arts Festival Steering Group, delivered a PowerPoint presentation highlighting activity and achievements of the Wollaton arts Festival which ran from 1 July -16 July 2017.

Following the success of last year’s festival this year’s festival has been expanded and received increased support from Ward councillors, schools, churches, community groups and local businesses, for which the steering group is very grateful and want to say thank you.

The festival was launched in Wollaton Hall Courtyard by Councillor Culley. Numerous workshops were held including willow weaving, glass fusion, making origami flowers, spoon puppets, jewellery, and ‘on location’ photography. All workshops were oversubscribed with citizens keen to get involved. Very positive feedback was received from all participants and the level and quality of work produced was very impressive.

Wollaton Village Dovecote Museum opened especially for the event and architectural tours of the Campus of the University of Nottingham and nature trail proved popular.

The Wollaton Park Secret Garden tour of Wollaton Hall Old Kitchen Garden was well received, and included interesting stories from the ex-head gardener.

Social events included the ‘Beggar’s Bash’ with folk and rock music, games for all, poetry and a hog roast: although participants could bring their own food and drink and dressing up was optional.

A ‘bring and share picnic’ was held on the show field with a selection of food and music, attended by the Sheriff and Lady Sheriff. Hunter the dinosaur proved very popular and it has since been suggested that the Arts Festival needs a mascot. The closing performance was all musical performers coming together to sing ‘so long, farewell’.

Overall the Festival was an amazing success with many requests for repeat and further activities in future years. Volunteers are keen to start working towards next year’s events. The hard work and support of Neighbourhood Development Officer Lylse-Anne Renwick and University intern Carmen, were much appreciated, as was the contribution of all volunteers.

The Chair welcomed the presentation and applauded the hard work and effort of organising the festival which, being held at a variety of venues across Wollaton, ensured accessibility for everyone. It is hoped that future years may include venues in Lenton Abbey too. It is recognised that lottery funding massively helped to expand the festival and whilst further applications will be made in future, alternative funding is needed and sponsorship needs to be investigated. As the arts Festival has proved so successful and positive, seeking sponsorship and/or engagement from local and city businesses should be considered.

The involvement of the University was much appreciated and bookings for the architectural and nature tours far exceeded available places. In addition, although the festival was held at time when most students had left the area, it was very helpful for residents to feel that the University is part of their community. It is hoped that the enthusiastic management of the University’s community engagement team will provide future opportunities to visit the University sites and encourage more community interaction.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Friends of Wollaton Park Rob Kirkwood welcomed the use of the Wollaton Hall walled garden as part of the Arts Festival. The issue of the crumbling walls will be raised again at the Friends of Wollaton Park Steering Committee in a couple of weeks’ time and is a continuing frustration. As previously referred to in minutes, communication issues with Parks and Open Services officers are still yet to be fully resolved but need to be to enable the Friends of Wollaton Park to add value to the Park, particularly at a time when City Council resources are reducing.

The Chair commented that he is very much aware of the ongoing issues with the walled garden (which was last fully utilised in the 1980s) and appreciates the urgency and importance of preventing further deterioration. However even stabilising the walls is a huge piece of work which will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. The City Council cannot afford to fund such work and the only obvious route for funding currently is from the National Lottery. It should be noted that Nottingham has recently received a substantial amount of lottery funding and any future applications will not only need to compete against potential schemes in other parts of the city, but also other areas of the region. However, funding options need to be considered now to prevent further deterioration. It is important to get all stakeholders together and whilst there are problems with securing a mutually agreeable date for Councillors and Parks and Open Spaces officers to meet with Friends of Wollaton Park, it is hoped that this will be resolved very soon.

Community representatives queried why the walls had been ignored for so long and were concerned that if the condition had been monitored and maintenance action taken, this would not be such a pressing issue. It was suggested that if information regarding park management and monitoring schedules had been shared with Friends of Wollaton Park, the issue would have been raised sooner and could have been addressed sooner at a far reduced cost.

The Chair responded that the priority now is find strategies to stabilise the walls and prevent further deterioration. Complete restoration will be a longer term aim if funding can be sourced.

Wollaton Vale Residents’ Association  Anthony Swannell referred to an ongoing issue of parking on Wollaton Vale. The Chair responded that this had been investigated that there was no clear solution as some residents wanted to park on the grass verges and others wanted to keep vehicles off the grass verges. Parking is a particular dilemma for multi vehicle households. Councillor Webster added that the parking and traffic arrangements on Woodside Road are only temporary as part of a pilot which will be assessed. The project consists of one lane of traffic on one side and one lane of residents only parking. A cycle path will be included and no parking is allowed on the grass verges. This pilot has only been possible due to European and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Nottinghamshire Police Sergeant  Andy Hallsworth, verbally updated the Committee with crime statistics for the Area compared to the same period last year.

The following points were highlighted:

Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey

o  although most crime statistics have generally fallen, crime overall was up by 19 offences due to theft. This mostly focuses on the University along with the Priory Garage where people are driving away without paying for fuel;

o  burglaries are down by 13 crimes (28.3%);

o  violent crime up by 13 offences;

o  cycle theft is down by 12 offences but is predicted to rise with the return of students;

o  some positive news is that two suspects were arrested by the police for theft and received criminal behaviour orders, one with a custodial sentence;

o  two other prolific cycle thieves have also been arrested and received a criminal behaviour orders.

Wollaton and Wollaton West

o  two motorcycles collided at the junction of Wollaton Road with Eton Grove at 11:30pm on 13 September. One of the motorcyclists died and two men have been arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving;

o  three dwelling burglaries have taken place;

o  there have been no reports of criminal damage;

o  there were three thefts from motor vehicles and four thefts of motor vehicles.

Community representatives expressed concern that the junction of Wollaton Road, Eton Grove and Woodhall Road is busy and a notorious accident spot which needs further attention. Lylse-Anne Renwick, Neighbourhood Development Officer, assured the committee that the issue will be discussed at the next area capital meeting with Councillors.

Community representatives welcomed the arrests and prosecution of the four thieves.

Councillor Webster welcomed the general fall in crime rates, equating to an 8.3% rise in WELA, particularly with crime is rising significantly by up to 35% across city. This is a particular achievement for local police who should be congratulated as there are fewer police and support officers available, with those remaining often having additional areas of responsibility to manage.

Report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City homes

Paul Howard, Area Housing Manger, presented the report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes (NCH) which updates the Committee on the activity of NCH.

Points highlighted included:

o  work on high rise blocks continues and now low-rise blocks are being assessed regarding reviews of fire risk following the Grenfell fire;

o  to date, bicycles in corridors has been identified as a high risk as they can impede fire escape routes. Provision of cycle shelters will be considered to try and address this but it is unclear how this will be funded;

o  parking issues are on-going;

o  ideas are requested as to what eligible schemes could be funded from the Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey (WELA) environmental budget;

o  local Housing Patch Managers attended a pilot coffee morning at Sheila Roper Centre with resident groups. The next coffee morning will be held on  22 September;

o  unfortunately there will be further changes to Patch Managers;

o  performance against Anti-Social Behaviour has remained stable, the main topics continue to be un-cut hedges and blocked alleyways. A planned focused approach to clearing alleyways is needed with partners, such as Community Protection, to ensure the best results;

o  rent collection continues to be taken very seriously;

o  there are no requests to approve funding for environmental projects.

Councillors agreed that the issue of non-maintained alleyways is regularly raised but resolving issues can be complicated where there is shared responsibility. The issue has been raised directly with NCH Chief Executive as action needs to be taken across the city. It is suggested that the WELA environmental budget could contribute to clearing trees and greenery which impede on alleyways.

RESOLVED

(1)  to note and comment on the update and performance information in Appendices 1 and 2 to the report;

(2)  to note the allocation of funds for 2016/17 as follows:

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Lylse-Anne Renwick, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the Wollaton and Lenton Abbey Ward reports which detailed the progress made in addressing or supporting identified the ward priorities and Ward Councillor Pledges.

The report also provides details of forthcoming events and activities.

It was noted that motorcycles, including quad bikes, being ridden in the streets and in Wollaton Park remain a problem.

RESOLVED

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

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

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Lylse-Anne Renwick, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the Ward Councillor Budget report which informed the Committee of the allocations since the last meeting.

RESOLVED

(1)  to note the following allocation by Councillors for Wollaton West and the remaining funds:

(2)  to note the following allocations by Councillors for Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey and the remaining funds:

The opportunity for Community Groups, Partners and Officers to inform the Committee of forthcoming community events.

Lylse-Anne Renwick informed the Committee that of the following events:

o  Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey Christmas Lights Switch On

6 December at 5.30pm on Woodside Road 

o  Wollaton West Christmas Lights Switch On

7 December at 5.30pm at Bramcote Lane Shops

To note the agreed date of the next meeting is 11 December 2017.

RESOLVED to note that the next meeting will be held on 11 December 2017 in the Council House.