Agenda and minutes

Councillor Linda Woodings - leave

Councillor Linda Woodings – leave

Mike Savage

Rupinder Kooner

None.

Last meeting held on 06 June 2018 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2018 were agreed as a true record and they were signed by the Chair.

Please contact the Neighbourhood Development Officer at least 3 days before the meeting with any issues you wish to raise

Fly-tipping in Basford ward was raised as an ongoing issue for enforcement agencies to be made aware of.

Inspectors Christine Busuttil and Gordon Fenwick of Nottinghamshire Police, and Darryl Paxford, Senior Community Protection Officer, updated the committee on policing matters in the wards, including crime and arrest figures, local initiatives to address crime and anti-social behaviour and current Police/Community protection areas of focus.

During discussion, the following comments were made:

·  It was confirmed that there was an ongoing operation to address speeding on Vernon Road and Bagnall Road, and steps were being taken to address reports of drug-dealing on Vernon Park. Speeding on Beckhampton Road was raised as a concern;;

·  The rise in burglary dwellings was a cause of concern, as was a rise in reported knife crime, which was being addressed as part of a city-wide co-ordinated multi-agency initiative;

·  On-the-spot fines for fly-tipping were being actively used to deter the practice;

·  There was a discussion about the threat of deliberately-set grass fires on a number of sites during the hot summer. The sites included Sandybanks, the Haywood site, Sunrise Hill and Eastglade. There was an issue about fire breaks not having been cut, and also that the sites had different ownership and management arrangements. Neighbour Development Officers undertook to investigate further how preventative action could be co-ordinated.

RESOLVED to note the update.

Report of Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes

Daniel Pickard, Area housing Manager, introduced a report of the Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes, updating the committee on major works, area regeneration and environmental issues, area performance, good news stories, as well as requesting approval for several schemes.

Mr Pickard highlighted the following:

·  Overall tenant satisfaction with NCH remains high, with the organisation named UK Housing’s Landlord of the Year;

·  There was concern about the effects of the introduction of Universal Credit on rent uptake. Focus remained on tenancy sustainment and eviction action was taken only as a last resort;

·  NCH has been closely involved with Operation Reacher.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  note the updates in the report, and presented to the meeting;

(2)  approve the following requests for funding to take down existing concrete and timber fence panels and replace with metal railings, as detailed in the report:

Location  Cost(£)

2-14 Peary Close, Bestwood       6,630

1-17 Peary Close, Bestwood    15,300

206-212 Peary Close, Bestwood  15,810

7-36 Morrell Bank, Bestwood    49,470

Towyn Court (wall and railings)  67,000

Gary Cawthorne, Bestwood Partnerships, to report

Gary Cawthorne of the Bestwood Partnership provided an update on Area Based Grant in the Area, covering grant management, employment and training activity, children and young people initiatives and community centres/voluntary and community sector updates.

The following points were made during discussion:

·  Overall, there has been significant activity across all the priorities. Bestwood Directions has now moved to the Bestwood Community Centre, which was more accessible for service users;

·  The view was expressed that better targeted outreach for children and young people in Bestwood was needed;

·  It was explained that while funding was secured until April 2019, future funding to ensure continuity of services beyond then was not guaranteed.

RESOLVED to note the update, and to thank Mr Cawthorne for his comprehensive report.

Councillor Sally Longford, RHE Board member, and Rob Bain, Finance Director, RHE, in attendance

Gail Scholes, Chief Executive, Robin Hood Energy (RHE) and Councillor Sally Longford RHE Board member, delivered a presentation on the work of RHE, highlighting the following:

(a)  the company was established in 2014 and was the first publicly owned not for profit energy company in the UK. It was originally conceived to help tackle fuel poverty in Nottingham City;

(b)  RHE now serves over 115,000 customers across the UK taking in customers from an extended partnership of white label companies and other local authorities;

(c)  RHE has been much more successful than other ‘start up’ energy companies and has already achieved a profit within the first three years. Loans from the council to start the company are being repaid at commercial rates;

(d)  there are a wide range of tariffs available including green energy tariffs and a reduced tariff for city residents. Average savings for city residents are around £153 compared to standard prepay tariffs;

(e)  customers’ tariffs are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are the most suitable. Now that the company is achieving profit it has voluntarily joined the warm home discount scheme and fuel vouchers are regularly sent to food banks across the city to help the most vulnerable.

The following points were raised during discussion:

(f)  While RHE was competitively priced within the energy market, prospective customers needed to check the terms and conditions of their current contracts to make sure they were not liable to exit fees. However, for customers on a prepayment meters, a switch was straightforward;

(g)  It was also pointed out that many customers wrongly believed that they could not switch provider while in arrears. A Debt Assignment Protocol was in place within the industry, meaning that customers could switch to aa cheaper tariff and use savings to pay off arrears.

RESOLVED to note the presentation and verbal update.

Report of Director of Community Protection

Dale Griffin, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report, detailing spend for 2018/19 and requesting approval for expenditure from the Fund. A revised appendix for Bestwood ward was tabled at the meeting.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  note the monies available for 2018/19 as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report;

(2)  approve the following schemes from the 2018/19 available funds:

Location    Scheme  Cost (£)

Basford Public realm  Gabrielle Close play area    10,000

  Park improvement

Bestwood Public realm  Hillington Rise    455

  Litter bin

Report of Director of Community Protection

The Committee noted the actions agreed by the Director of Community Protection as detailed at Appendices B and C of the report, and the allocations for 2018/19 for each councillor, without discussion.

Report of Director of Community Protection

Dale Griffin, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report, which detailed the current priorities and issues facing both wards and providing details of forthcoming events.

During the brief discussion that followed, support was expressed for the development of a ‘dinosaur’ themed golf attraction on Stockhill Park, and assurances were given that NCVS were vetting those involved with the Heathfield Community Centre.

RESOLVED to note the report.

To note the next meeting will be held at Loxley House at 4.30pm on Wednesday 05 December 2018

The Committee noted that the next Area Committee meeting is to take place on 5 December 2018.