Agenda and minutes

Councillor Choudhry announced that this would be his final meeting as Chair of the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, Radford and Park Area Committee as he is standing down at the forthcoming election. The committee offered their appreciations.

Ursula Dove

Luke Willen

None

Last meeting held on 19 November 2014 (for confirmation)

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2014 as a correct record and they were signed by the chair.

Presentation by Martin Barradell, Assistant Community Sport Officer

Martin Barradell, Assistant Community Sports Officer, presented the Nottingham City Homes (NCH) ‘Fit in the Community’ initiative, highlighting the following points:

(a)  the initiative aims to engage with NCH tenants to increase their weekly physical activity. The initiative aims for 10% of tenants to increase their activity from none at all to at least 30 minutes per week. This will be achieved by using the existing networks and tools of NCH, in consultation with the community;

(b)  the delivery of activities is targeted to the following three groups:

·  doorstep clubs for 14-25 year olds including street games and multi-sports sessions in community centres and open spaces;

·  general sessions for 26-59 year olds through activities such as Shape Up sessions, jog groups and netball. The requirements of each individual area will be determined through consultation with local residents;

·  activities within schemes for 60+ year olds, such as chair-based sessions and bowls;

(c)  examples of activities within Area 4 include:

·  Black Families in Education – Doorstep Club

·  Somalian Women’s Group – Shape Up session

·  Forest Fields Primary school – Zumba/Shape Up session

(d)  volunteers are used to deliver or promote the sessions. Support and training, including skills and qualifications are provided according to need;

(e)  although the scheme is aimed at over 14s, parallel activities can be provided for children to enable parents to participate without having to find childcare. Activities can be organised in settings where parents go with their children anyway such as schools;

(f)  the scheme is city-wide but has had pilots in certain areas that have the largest numbers of NCH tenants. Thorough consultation is carried out in each area prior to delivery.

The Committee and others in attendance made the following comments:

(g)  Framework and other local community groups should be engaged to find out if they already run activities which can be promoted through this scheme;

(h)  free activities for both children and adults can be placed together, such as at the Forest Recreation Ground where an adult gym has been constructed beside the children’s playground;

(i)  the Lenton Centre has a swimming pool and would like to be involved in the scheme.

RESOLVED to note the presentation.

Councillor Azad Chowdhury left the meeting and asked Councillor Anne Peach to take over as chair.

Report of the Director of Economic Development

Chris Grocock, Employment and Skills Officer, presented his report on the Area 4 Jobs Plan, highlighting the following points:

(a)  one of the Council manifesto pledges was to reduce unemployment in Nottingham by 20%. This has now been achieved and the figure for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimants in October was 4.4%. This is due both to Council initiatives and the upturn in the economy. There are however still many barriers for those who wish to work;

(b)  the area jobs plans aim to decentralise the work to reduce employment, and the Area 4 jobs plan in particular uses trend analysis to identify the top priorities within each ward of Area 4;

(c)  the key objectives of the plan for 2014/15 are:

·  increase employment rate of the working age population;

·  increase the number of adults with skills;

·  lead and deliver a Community Coordination Strategy for employment and training;

·  deliver a programme of community recruitment and information events;

(d)  some of the targets are aspirational and may be carried forward into future years;

(e)  Castle Cavendish has been appointed to be the lead for the jobs plan in Area 4, and will:

·  appoint the necessary staff to engage with local communities;

·  develop Community Jobs Plans;

·  support recruitment to job opportunities and pre-recruitment training;

·  work with partners to develop and deliver bespoke provision relevant to priority groups for the area

·  work with programme providers to engage/develop local solutions.

Van Henry and Blair Lawrence-Broughton, Castle Cavendish, then gave a presentation on the delivery of the area jobs plan within Area 4, highlighting the following points:

(f)  the project is aimed at 18-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). It aims to improve the work-readiness and employability of local young people, by increasing employment opportunities, reducing the stresses associated with being young and unemployed, and removing the complex barriers to work;

(g)  there are 3 main ways that the service can be accessed:

·  through the DWP, initially as a referral to Futures and then to Step into Work;

·  self-referrals by approaching the offices direct. The accessible location above Kemet FM on Alfreton Road and the open-door policy makes this easier;

·  referrals from other agencies such as local advice centres, the youth offending team or community centres;

(h)  the total number of young people who self-engaged with the programme is 27, compared with 20 who have come via the DWP;

(i)  in Area 4 there have so far been 2 young people who have successfully gone into further training, 3 who have gone into an apprenticeship and 3 who have gone into employment;

(j)  the Step Into Work programme offers 120 hours of support, which can be accessed in small chunks as necessary. It can also offer practical support such as transport, clothing or license costs. A robust assessment process is undertaken to establish each young person’s needs and to tailor an individual support package with other agencies. The programme is driven by the young person and can be flexible and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

Report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes

Paul Howard, Tenancy and Estate Manager, Nottingham City Homes, introduced the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes’ report updating the Committee on Nottingham City Homes’ performance on the following key themes:

·  Capital Programme and major works;

·  area regeneration and environmental issues;

·  key messages from the Tenant and Leaseholder Congress;

·  Tenants and Residents Associations updates;

·  area performance figures;

·  good news stories and positive publicity.

Paul added an additional verbal update that Nottingham City Council has approved the purchase of Sutton House to be managed as NCH as an independent living scheme.

RESOLVED to note the information

Report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes

Paul Howard, Tenancy and Estate Manager, Nottingham City Homes, introduced the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes’ report detailing the schemes proposed to provide extra security, safety and wellbeing for residents in the area which will be funded from the Housing Revenue Fund.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the following scheme:

(2)  not approve the following scheme as the costings are incorrect:

Report of the Strategic Director of Commercial and Neighbourhood Services

Linda Wright, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented her report which updated the committee on the use of delegated authority by the Director of Commercial and Neighbourhood Services for projects and schemes within Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, and Radford and Park.

RESOLVED to:

note the actions agreed by the Strategic Director of Commercial and Neighbourhood Services in respect of 2013/14 and 2014/15 projects and schemes, as detailed below:

Report of the Strategic Director of Commercial and Neighbourhood Services

Inspector Robert Wilson, Nottinghamshire Police updated the committee on crime levels within Area 4, highlighting the following points:

(a)  ‘Operation Graduate’, working with students to prevent crime, is having a positive effect in the area with a reduction of burglary, street robbery and vehicle crime;

(b)  updates were given for each ward:

·  in Arboretum ward, burglary is down, theft from cars is steady and violent offences are up;

·  in Dunkirk & Lenton ward, burglary is high (particularly amongst overseas students in Dunkirk), violence is down and theft from cars has seen a significant reduction;

·  in Radford & Park, burglary and theft from cars are down, however violence has increased;

Dorothy Holmes, Locality Manager South, introduced the Strategic Director for Commercial and Neighbourhood Services’ report providing updates for each ward on key issues and themes which link to local priorities and strategic themes in the Nottingham Plan 2020 for Quarter 3, including:

·  ward priorities;

·  community engagement;

·  finance;

·  safer theme – crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB);

·  neighbourhood theme – environmental issues;

·  working theme – unemployment rates;

·  housing;

·  community protection;

·  fire;

·  health theme – local health priorities;

RESOLVED to note the information.

Report of the Strategic Director for Commercial and Neighbourhood Services

Rob Gabbitas, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the Strategic Director for Commercial and Neighbourhood Services’ report seeking approval for schemes recently prioritised and detailing the latest spend under the Area Capital Fund, including highways, traffic and safety and public realm schemes.

An additional contribution of £600 for the tree works in the Dunkirk and Lenton ward which was not included in the original report was circulated prior to the meeting.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note that the following money is available:

  Arboretum  £18,524

  Dunkirk and Lenton  £9,782

  Radford and Park  £11,561

(2)  approve the following schemes prioritised by Ward Councillors since the last meeting:

Arboretum Public Realm Schemes:

Dunkirk and Lenton Local Transport Plan Schemes:

Dunkirk and Lenton Public Realm Schemes:

Dunkirk and Lenton Decommitments:

Radford and Park Local Transport Plan Schemes:

Radford and Park Public Realm Schemes:

(3)  approve additional costs of £600 from the Dunkirk and Lenton Area Capital Fund for the Lenton Drives tree works scheme.