Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Michael Edwards – personal reasons

Miriam Gifford

Richard Gutteridge

Basheer Latif

Colin Mackie

Terry Regan

Pat Rice

Inspector James Walker

Dee Whitworth

None.

Minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2018, for confirmation.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

PCSO Matthew Holden, Nottinghamshire Police, provided an update on policing in the Clifton and Meadows areas, highlighting the following:

(a)  operation Bertha was set up in Clifton to tackle autocrime offences. There have been good results, including a significant arrest. There have only been six thefts from motor vehicles in the last month which is significantly lower than before;

(b)  there has been an increase in shop theft in Clifton but there has been a recent arrest for a number of these offences;

(c)  there has been a slight increase in sheds and outbuildings being broken into in Clifton;

(d)  the Beat Team has detained the persistent beggar who begs around the restaurants on the A453 breaching his criminal behaviour order, and he will remain a focus for the team;

(e)  three separate warrants were executed during February by the Clifton neighbourhood team which were all successful, with 340 cannabis plants and stolen property being recovered;

(f)  crime levels in the Meadows continue to reduce with major reductions in robbery, burglary and theft based on year to date figures;

(g)  the Meadows Team have been targeting drug hotspots with a mixture of plainclothes and high visibility patrols in response to information received and intelligence gathered;

(h)  the Meadows Team continue to run Operation Towery in response to bike thefts in and around the Castle Marina retail park;

(i)  the successful ‘mini police’ programme, engaging children in Year 5 at Greenfields Primary in an educational and interactive way, has secured funding for expansion to a further five schools including Victoria and Welbeck schools in the Meadows;

(j)  Operation Sceptre takes place from 11 to 17 March and is an initiative to raise the profile of and tackle knife crime. During the week there will be a knife amnesty with knife bins for the pubic to deposit knives and other weapons, including the One Stop Shop in the Bridgeway Centre;

The following points were raised during the discussion which followed:

(k)  signs at Morrisons and the police station in Clifton with contact details for the police have not been updated for some time. These may be removed and citizens are encouraged to call 101 or 999 so that incidents are recorded properly;

(l)  a knife bin in Clifton has been researched but no suitable location has been found yet.

RESOLVED to thank PCSO Holden for the information provided.

CPO Scott Clancy provided an update on Community Protection in the Meadows and Clifton areas, highlighting the following:

(a)  four dog fouling operations have been carried out in Clifton and two in the Meadows, including an overnight operation. Feedback from these is provided to citizens via letter drops and social media;

(b)  the dedicated Schools Officer has been well received by the community;

(c)  new mobile cameras are being introduced in the Meadows;

(d)  fly-tip Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) with possible fines are given out for areas of persistent fly-tipping. Fly-tips are not removed by the Council until they have been investigated by Community Protection;

(e)  there are some problems with cars parking on double yellow lines in the Old Meadows. This should be reported to Parking Services.

RESOLVED to thank CPO Clancy for the information provided.

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Abdul Ghaffar and Prairie Bryant, Neighbourhood Development Officers, introduced the report focussing on current priorities and issues facing the three wards within the area and giving details of forthcoming events and activities. The following information was highlighted:

(a)  twelve analogue cameras are due to be upgraded to digital soon at the Bridgeway Centre. Phone boxes at the Bridgeway Centre have now also been removed, but further requests for removal of phone boxes across the Meadows have been declined by BT;

(b)  discussions are planned with Play and Youth Services to increase provision at Meadows Youth Club;

(c)  a RINGGO system is proposed at the Bridgeway Centre following complaints of commuters taking car parking places meant for shoppers and clients of Meadows Medical Centre. This will be consulted with local businesses and residents before being brought to the next Area Committee. The charge of £3 per day is considered sufficient as a deterrent as this has worked in other areas such as Victoria Embankment;

(d)  it is proposed that the Clifton Grove Estate Residents’ Parking Scheme be extended to the whole estate. Discussions have been taking place with Nottingham Trent University around improvements to public transport to mitigate parking problems caused by students;

(e)  funding has been sourced for new equipment for the Clifton Amateur Boxing Club;

(f)  Green Lane Community Centre is currently underused, and discussions will be sought with the management in order to see whether this could be made more available to groups who need space;

(g)  inconsiderate parking at Rivergreen has been causing problems with access and safety, with cars parking on both sides of the road. There are no parking restrictions so this cannot be enforced but Community Protection can put put leaflets on cars.

Community Representatives commented that they were unhappy that they were not consulted on changes to the Area Based Grant (following ward boundary changes) which will separate Clifton and the Meadows, and that the period for tendering has been too short. They also felt that the allocation of Grant for both areas is too low.

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

Report of the Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes

Katie Sharp, Area Housing Manager, Nottingham City Homes (NCH), introduced the report providing updates on key issues and themes which link back to local priorities and the strategic themes for NCH, highlighting the following:

(a)  work is underway at the 16^th floor at Southchurch Court to provide a sample upgrade providing a concept of what high rise living will look like in the communal areas;

(b)  works to install sprinklers at Southchurch Court have been delayed until the end of 2019;

(c)  Area 8 already has over 12 Street and Block Champions making their neighbourhood a better place to live, but NCH would like more to apply;

(d)  the award ceremony for the Tenant and Leaseholder Awards 2019 will be held on 21 March at the Council House. The Clifton Green Team and the Summerwood Community and Arkwright Meadows Community Garden have been nominated for Best Green Project;

(e)  NCH has been nominated in three categories at the 2019 UK Housing Awards: Best Older People’s Landlord, Homebuilder of the Year (<1,000), and Resident Employment and Training.

Clifton Community Representatives expressed concern about the removal of rent payment kiosks from Clifton Cornerstone, and that the alternative at the Post Office is inaccessible for disabled and older residents.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the update and performance information in the report and its appendices;

(2)  note the allocation of funds for 2017/18, as detailed below:

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

Mark Armstrong, Town Centres Coordinator, gave a verbal update on regeneration work in Clifton town centre, highlighting the following:

(a)  the cut through from Clifton shops to Morrisons has been fully repaved, but funding is still required from Morrisions for refurbishment of the pedestrian crossing;

(b)  work on the large tree beds at on Southchurch Drive is now complete, with just minor finishes required;

(c)  work on the entrance to Clifton Flower Park has now begun, with the paving work being weather-dependent, followed by turfing and planting;

(d)  there is still an ambition to refurbish the shop fronts on Southchurch Drive. Funding bids have been submitted to the government;

(e)  planning permission has been granted for the planned flats on the Clifton Triangle site.

RESOLVED to thank Mark for the information provided and his hard work improving Clifton in recent years.

The following updates were provided:

Roy Nettleship, Carters Educational Foundation reported that the Foundation expects to make £290,000 which will be used to support young people in the ancient parish of Wilford.

Jane Jeoffrey, Queens Walk Community Association, reported that their building has recently been refurbished with LED lighting throughout and new windows.

Clare Ashton on behalf of Pat Rice, Clifton Village Residents’ Association, reported that the Association is pleased with the new Barton Green Post Office. The Old Rectory development is going ahead, and parking on Holgate remains a concern.

Councillor Roger Steel thanked the Clean Champions for their hard work in organising litter picks tidying up the local area.

Councillor Steve Young informed the Committee that the Nottingham Model Railway Society will be exhibiting at Highbank Community Centre on 16-17 March 2019.

Chris Brummitt, Bridges Community Trust, said that she has organised hustings for the local elections in the Meadows and offered to organise similar hustings for Clifton, which was agreed.

RESOLVED to note the information provided.

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Prairie Bryant, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report providing the Committee with latest spend proposals under the Area Capital Fund including highways, traffic and safety.

Councillors were unable to agree a preference between the three proposals for spend for footpaths in the Clifton North ward that were circulated as a supplement to the agenda, and suggested an alternative which is set out in the resolutions below.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the monies available to the Bridge, Clifton North and Clifton South wards as outlined below:

(2)  approve the programme of schemes for Bridge, Clifton North and Clifton South wards as outlined below:

LTP schemes

Public Realm schemes

Withdrawn schemes

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Prairie Bryant, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report advising the Committee of the use of delegated authority by the Director of Community Protection for those projects funded by Ward Councillor budgets.

Councillors are being encouraged to put forward schemes before the election in May in order to reduce the unallocated budget.

RESOLVED to note the actions agreed by the Director of Community Protection in respect of projects and schemes within the Bridge, Clifton North and Clifton South wards as detailed below:

12 June 2019 (to be confirmed at Full Council)

Due to forthcoming changes to the Area Committee structure it was not possible to confirm the date and time of the next meeting.