Geoff Williams – Derby Road Business Association

Christina Jenson-Bates – Nottingham Park Estates

Able Hartman – University of Nottingham Student Union Community Officer

Lucas Willen – Resident

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016

Subject to the changes below the Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016 as an accurate record.

Councillor Merlita Bryan was Chair and Councillor Liaqat Ali was the Vice Chair, Councillor Anne Peach was a Committee Member.

Minute 31 (d) Further police recruitment is due to start in 2017 not 2007.

Report of Nottingham City Homes

Paul Howard, Tenancy and Estate Manager presented a report updating the Committee on the work of Nottingham City Homes (NCH) in relation to the capital programme and major works, area regeneration and environmental issues, key messages from the Tenants and Leasehold Congress, Tenant and Residents Association updates and area performance. He highlighted the following points:

(a)  Sutton House on Forster Street in Radford came under Nottingham City Homes Ownership in early January. NCH are working with tenants to address a variety of issues including changing access to the building to  fob system to increase security, which was raised as a concern;

(b)  planned work to fit the intercom system at Willow View is yet to start. There is no start date set as yet but work will begin as soon as possible;

(c)   consultation has recently started around regeneration work in the Colby Avenue area;

(d)  Woodlands Residents meetings are due to take place on 14March  2017 and 28 March  2017;

(e)  performance figures are very encouraging for the period between October and December 2016. Customer satisfaction was at a record high: 91.6% across all services areas, antisocial behaviour targets were achieved and exceeded and there was a record low of just 156 empty properties across the three Wards;

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the update and performance information provided to the meeting

(2)  note the allocation of funds for 2016/17 as detailed below:

(3)  approve the Area Capital Funding requests detailed below:

Verbal update from Catherine Stocks, Rent Operations Manager

Cathy Stocks, Rent Operations Manager, gave a verbal report updating the Committee on Welfare reforms and benefit changes and statistics for Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton and Radford and Park Wards. She highlighted the following points:

(a)  Universal credit is only currently claimed by single working aged people, this will change in future but at present there are 287 claimants on Universal credit in Nottingham City. This is expected to reach 14,000 when it is rolled out to all categories of claimants;

(b)  the biggest challenge seen so far is the change over from fortnightly payments where housing benefits are paid directly to the landlord, to the monthly payments where all payments are paid to the claimant and they are responsible for managing their budget including rent;

(c)  there is on average a 6 week wait from the initial claim being made to first payment, meaning that the claimant has no other benefits paid to them for that time. Many claimants struggle for day to day living and on average tenants are £575 in arears at the time the first payment is made. 86% tenants are in arears at the time of receiving the first payment;

(d)  across Nottingham City just 30% of those not yet converted to Universal Credits are in arears and on average those arears are less than £300. This is replicated across the country and is not a problem specific to Nottingham;

(e)  in Arboretum Ward there are 8 claimants who, on average, are almost  £900 in rent arears, in Dunkirk and Lenton there are 2 claimants who are in around £800 arears and in Radford and Park there are 25 claimants who are on average £560 in arears;

(f)  claimants across Nottingham are aged between 19 and 55, on average aged 40, two thirds are male, one third female;

(g)  there will be further role out of Universal credit in June 2018, with the expectation that all claimants will be on Universal Credit  by 2022. All new claims/change in circumstances, updates etc are expected to be made via the internet;

Following questions and comments from the Committee the following points were highlighted:

(h)  the benefit cap came into force in November 2016 and the full effect was felt in January 2017. The cap reduced benefit payments from £26,000 per year to £20,000. 60 people within Nottingham were affected by this cap, and it is expected that a further 205 will be affected as of February 2017;

(i)  in Arborteum there are 4 people affected, and in Dunkirk and Lenton and Radford and Park there is one person in each Ward who will have been affected;

(j)  on average they are £159 in arears, this is being well managed at the moment and discretionary housing payments can be made to the claimants and it takes on average a month for these claims to be processed;

(k)  there are outreach sessions to help those people who are not able to use the internet to make their claims and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Verbal update from Nottinghamshire Police

Inspector Robert Wilson and Inspector Andy Townsend of Nottinghamshire Police introduced a verbal report updating the Committee on the work of Nottinghamshire Police Wards. They highlighted the following points:

(a)  In Dunkirk and Lenton and Radford and Park wards there has been a reduction in domestic burglary rates. In Dunkirk and Lenton there have been 20 fewer offences, and in Radford and Park there has been 10 fewer offences. There has been an increase in shed and garage break ins;

(b)  across the force there has been an increase in crime rate. This is because following a national audit incidents are being recorded robustly, in line with government crime recording rules. What was previously considered a minor incident has to be recorded as a crime and given a crime number pushing up over all crime recorded;

(c)  this change has particularly affected the numbers of public order offences and violent crime with no, or very minor, injury. In Dunkirk and Lenton and Radford and Park these offences have seen an increase of 13% and 11.9%, this is not out of line with increases seen across the force and should not be seen as an increase in crime rates, it is a reflection of the robust crime recording work taking place;

(d)  in Radford and Lenton 7 fewer incidents of Anti-social behaviour were recorded, and in Radford and Park 39 fewer crimes were reported.

(e)  in Arboretum Ward there were 107 fewer antisocial behaviour offences recorded. Robbery is also down and there were 29 fewer Burglary offences reported; Violence and public order offences were up by 40 and 50 respectively, although this is in line with the increase seen across the force;

(f)  In January alone 22 vehicles were targeted and vehicle theft across Arboretum ward is up. Criminal Damage also saw an increase of 9 offences and violence without injury was up by 27 offences; 

Following questions and comments from the committee the following further points were highlighted:

(g)  the overall downward trend in most offence types is encouraging. There have been increased patrols targeted at offence hotspots, arrests have been made even when witnesses have not been willing to give statements or pursue complaints;

(h)   residents in the wards have raised concerns that despite numerous calls to the 101 number not all crime is being reported and not all calls to this number are being logged. Residents do not feel that the crime maps are reflective of the incidents reported to the police;

(i)  if a call comes through to Nottinghamshire Police the information in the call is assessed. If there a crime is in progress the call is given a high priority. All other calls are considered on their individual circumstances, and although not all callers will be called back or fed back to, all calls where a crime is or has been committed are recorded. There is a robust audit team who work in the background to ensure that all crimes are recorded and also the local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Report of Director of Commercial & Operations and Director of Sport & Culture

James Dymond, Parks Development Manager presented a report on Section 106 Funding for Parks and Open Spaces in Arboretum Ward. In addition to the report distributed with the agenda he bought additional paperwork covering the further report and recommendation published as a supplement prior to the meeting;

RESOLVED to

(1)  Endorse the allocation of £66,931.81 of Section 106 funding from planning application 14/02072/PFUL3 as set out below:

(2)  Endorse the allocation of £32,973.05 of Section 106 funding from planning application 15/00888/PFUL3 set out below:

Report of Corporate Director of Development and Growth and Corporate Director of Commercial and Operations

David Hobbs, Operations Manager for Housing of Multiple Occupancy Team , gave a presentation and introduced a report on the Proposal for a Scheme of Selective Licensing for Privately Rented Houses and highlighted the following points:

(a)  the Council currently runs a mandatory licensing scheme for Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) with three or more storeys or, 5 or more occupiers, and a discretionary scheme of additional licencing which covers HMO’s of 2 storeys or more, or, 3 or more occupiers;

(b)  the Council is currently consulting on a proposal to introduce a citywide selective licensing scheme that will cover all of the Private Rented Sector (PRS), it is thought that this will bring over 40,000 properties into the licensing scheme within Nottingham City. The consultation runs until the end of March and feedback can be given here: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/consultation-engagement-and-surveys/#housing ;

(c)   this scheme aims to drive up standards of homes, improve living conditions and reduce levels of deprivation for residents and contribute to reducing levels of antisocial and criminal  behaviour by tackling Rogue Landlords and working with landlords and tenants to provide advice and assistance;

(d)  the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, and Radford and Park wards have a high proportion of PRS properties which fall short of acceptable standards.

Following questions and comments from the committee the following, further points were made:

(e)  the mandatory licensing scheme currently covers about 2,000 properties across Nottingham. The additional licensing scheme covers a further 1,000 properties. The introduction of the selective licensing arrangement would be a huge increase in properties covered by licensing;

(f)  no other council has been successful in introducing a city wide scheme. Most recently, in 2015, Redbridge Council had their application refused by the Secretary of State;

(g)  the selective licensing scheme will act as an additional regulation tool. It will help to improve standards across the city, reduce crime and antisocial behaviour and requires landlords to be proactive in looking after, and maintaining, their properties and keeping records up to date and fit;

(h)  support will be offered to both tenants and landlords to deal with difficult situations. Landlords will be offered more support and advice in dealing with problem tenants and tenants will be offered support and advice to address issue with the property;

(i)  selective licensing fees are restricted by the government and are only allowed to cover the cost of running the licensing scheme. Licences for HMO’s currently stands at £910 per property over 5 years, the fee for the selective licensing scheme has been set at £600 per property over 5 years. Discounts of up to  £140 can be claimed by landlords accredited through DASH or Unipol;

(j)  concerns were raised that this disparity in fee to income ratio could lead to more family homes being converted to HMO’s in an attempt by landlords to maximise profits;

(k)  consultation responses to date have mainly come from landlords. It is essential that residents and tenants also respond to the consultation to give a balanced view;

(l)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

There were no good news stories or issues reported by the Community representatives.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services and Commercial Operations

Linda Wright, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the reports, focussing on current priorities and issues facing Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, and Radford and Park Wards. She highlighted the following points:

(a)  In Arboretum ward the current issues include: reduction of street drinking and the drinking paraphernalia and waste left behind, reduction of overall crime in the ward, raising awareness of domestic violence and abuse, encouraging and implementing sustainable youth activities at Bridlington Park and increasing recycling and removing bins from the streets;

(b)  It was noted that the Community Protection officers had been visible in the ward through the last few months, their hard work in addressing many of these issues has shown some good results;

(c)  in Dunkirk and Lenton ward current issues include management of student end of term waste at Christmas, Easter, and summer, reduction of anti-social behaviour issues in the Penn Avenue area, making tidy the Lenton Boulevard areas by tidying the gardens, side waste and bins on the streets, improving security on Leen Walk for pedestrians and cyclists, addressing on-going parking issues in the ward around Maxwell Close, Palmer Court, Abbey Bridge, Church Street Hoyland Avenue, Sweson Avenue, Lenton Boulevard and Galway and Harrowby Roads, work to continue to improve community cohesion between students and long term residents, and addressing housing/HMO issues particularly on Lenton Drive, Greenfield Street, Friary Close, and Claude Street;

(d)  It was noted that some really good work has taken place on Lenton Drive and there has been a big improvement. There is still much work to be done but the Community Protection Officers have been very visible in the early evenings;

(e)  In Radford and the Park ward current issues include the impact of student parties and the associated noise and waste management, issues of bins on streets, trade waste, fly tips, contamination and graffiti, ongoing parking issues across the ward, traffic management and implementation of traffic calming schemes to improve road safety, developing Resident Associations among new and existing Nottingham City Homes housing, improving community cohesion among students, emerging communities and long term residents and improvement to parks and play areas alongside continued work on St Peters Park.

Following questions and comments from the committee the following further points were made:

(f)  proposals for further use of the Tennyson Street Play Centre are currently in the early stages of planning. There are a good number of organisations that could use space within the building and it is well situated to provide services for residents in both Arboretum and Radford and Park wards;

RESOLVED to note the priorities, current issues and supporting information for the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton and, Radford and Park wards.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services and Commercial Operation

Iffat Iqbal, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the report detailing the latest allocation for the Local Transport Plan (LTP) element under the Area Capital Fund for Highways and footways. It also highlighted schemes which have recently been prioritised by Ward Councillors for approval by the area committee in accordance with the City Council’s Constitution. A revised appendix to the report was circulated at the meeting (circulated with the minutes).  In an amendment to the original report circulated with the agenda, the Committee was asked to approve funding for one additional scheme. The Committee questioned where the second CCTV camera in Radford and Park ward was, as they were paying for 2 and only had one. Iffat Iqbal was happy to establish this, and feed back to the Councillors directly.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Note the monies available to Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, and Radford and Park wards outlined below:

(2)  approve the new schemes prioritised by Ward councillors since the last area meeting as details below:

Arboretum LTP Schemes

Arboretum Public Realm Schemes

Arboretum Withdrawn Schemes

Dunkirk and Lenton LTP Schemes

  Dunkirk and Lenton Public Realm Schemes

  Dunkirk and Lenton Withdrawn Schemes

Radford and Park LTP Schemes

Radford and Park Public Realm Schemes

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Iffat Iqbal, Neighbourhood Development Officer, presented the reports advising the Committee on the use of delegated authority by the Corporate Director for Commercial and Operations for the year 2016/17 and the Legal Services Manager with reference to Delegated Decision 2633.

RESOLVED to

(1)  Note the actions agreed by the Corporate Director for Commercial and Operations in respect of Projects and Schemes in the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton and, Radford and Park wards as detailed below and the actions of the Legal Services Manager with reference to Delegated decision 2633 as detailed below:

On 17 October 2016, delegated decision ref: 2633 agreed:

i.  To authorise the Legal Services Manager to enter into an agreement with Nottingham City Homes or its Registered Provider subsidiary, hereafter referred to as NCH, in relation to the matters at ii. and iii. below:

ii.  To allocate £123,000 of affordable housing monies paid pursuant to the Section 106 agreement related to Breconshire Dyeworks, Barlock Road (Reference 09/03300/POUT) towards the purchase price of land on which affordable housing is to be built by NCH at Church Square, Lenton as detailed in this decision.

iii.  On completion of the agreement at i. above to make the necessary transfer of funds to implement ii. above.

Report of Director of Community Protection

Steve Stott, Anti-Social Behaviour Manager – Community Protection introduced a report on Street Drinking and Associate Anti-Social Behaviour to the Committee. He summarised the nature of street drinking in the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, and Radford and Park Wards and outlined the legal tools and powers that are available to tackle the issue. He highlighted the following points:

(a)  street drinking is not currently an offence, however there are a number of tools that enable Police and Community Protection to tackle anti-social behaviour related to it;

(b)  Designated Public Places Orders (DPPOs) enable local authorities to designate areas where restrictions on public drinking apply. In early 2014 existing locality based DPPO’s were extended to cover the whole of Nottingham City;

(c)  DPPO’s allow Police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) and Community Protection Officers (CPO’s) to require surrender of alcohol from anyone with the designated area, only if they feel the person consuming alcohol is causing a problem or is likely to cause a problem;

(d)  during 2016 118 alcohol confiscations were recorded in Arboretum and 79 recorded across Dunkirk and Lenton, and Radford and Park;

(e)  DPPO’s were effectively abolished by the introduction of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and replaced by Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO’s). Under transitional arrangements existing DPPO’s remain in force as DPPO’s until October 2017;

(f)  PSPO’s are designed to stop individuals/groups committing anti-social behaviour in a public place and the local authority may make a PSPO if it is satisfied that activities in a public place have a persistent detrimental impact on the quality of life of those in the locality;

(g)  PSPO’s require extensive formal consultation from Police, Community representatives and the owners/occupiers of land within the area;

(h)  PSPO’s can contain the prohibition on consuming alcohol in public and as such go further than the DPPO, a PSPO has been recently introduced in the Hockley area of Nottingham  which includes this ban on street drinking;

(i)  PSPO’s are enforced by Police/PCSO’s and CPO’s. Breach of a PSPO is an offence, but only punishable at court by means of financial penalty - £70 fine. A fixed penalty notice may be offered in place of criminal proceedings;

(j)  the financial penalty may have an impact on some groups causing problems through street drinking but will have limited impact on those who are alcohol dependant where treatment is needed rather than enforcement;

(k)  in October 2017 Nottingham City’s current DPPO will convert to a PSPO with the same terms unless the appropriate consultation is carried out to vary the restrictions. It is possible to have different PSPO’s in different parts of the city;

(l)  Dispersal powers contained within the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 are also available for Police to address street drinking by requiring the dispersal of individuals involved in anti-social behaviour and can provide a short term respite to communities;

(m)A Police Officer of at least Inspector rank may authorise the use of these powers in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.