Agenda and minutes

Councillor Urquhart

David Bell (Edwards Lane Estate)

None.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 21 November 2013

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2013 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Verbal update.

Sue Thorpe, Senior Officer Traffic and Safety, gave a verbal presentation to the Committee on planned parking enforcement around schools in the local area, highlighting the following points:

(a)  The Parking Enforcement Team had received a high volume of calls about issues with inconsiderate parking around schools. Previously, the Team had talked to parents about their parking, but it has always been on a reactive basis.

(b)  Each area committee will see a week of action on a rolling programme, which will involve working with schools to implement a rolling enforcement programme. The main objective will be to keep parents from parking on zig-zags.

Following questions and comments from the Committee, additional information was provided:

(c)  Councillors and schools will be emailed the week before any specific action, and schools have been provided with traffic safety “toolkits” to help educate children and parents on road safety. Schools can advise parents of planned action in their newsletters, and parents can find out which schools are being targeted, but there will also be officers from the Civil Enforcement Response Team on motorbikes taking part in ad-hoc enforcement.

(d)  Whilst Councillors and citizens are more than welcome to flag up traffic nuisance hotspots with the Parking Enforcement Team, it was likely that these are already known.

(e)  Zig-zags are covered by traffic regulations, you are not allowed to stop on them at all (even to drop someone off) and the penalty is an instant ticket. Enforcement will also be aided by a camera-car. People dropping off on zig-zags will likely be ticketed, rather than moved on and given a warning, as resources are limited and it is a traffic offence. Lesser inconsiderate actions will be dealt with by talking with the parents.

RESOLVED to thank Sue Thorpe for her update, and note the contents.

Presentation to follow at meeting.

Bill Husband, Project Manager of NG7 TEA, presented information on the progress of the Lead organisation in supporting grant funding in the area, highlighting the following points:

(a)  Initially, fairly rigid contracts were inherited. The grant funding process moved to softer outcome-driven contracts in November 2013, so there is now more flexibility to focus resources where they are needed.

(b)  NG7 TEA are responsible for maintaining 3 grant streams: Children and Young People, Employment and Skills, and Community Associations.

(c)  Young People’s activities are being provided by the Asian Women’s Project (indoor sports, table tennis, snooker, physical activities in gym, mixing music, broadcasting, console games and IT) and by KK Sports (football, gym, boxing, basketball, largely targeting older teenage Asian males in identified hotspots). Activities are targeted and diversionary.

(d)  Budgets and outcomes have been inherited, and may providers are not interested in the low rates on offer. The old targets involved the number of hours young people were engaged for. Since November 2013, the new targets involve being part of the Young people’s Forum, being involved in early intervention work, and measuring outcomes with evidence.

(e)  In the second quarter, the target was 63 hours, with the actual number of hours 54. The third quarter was showed improvement, with a target of 63 hours and an actual number of 68 hours. There was improved joined-up working with the City Council Youth Team, and increased interaction between providers to avoid duplication of provision and to provide better targeting.

(f)  The activities for Children and Young People aren’t just school-holiday focused. KK Sports has good attendance, and teenagers taking part are rewarded with other activities such as paintballing. Postcode analysis is taking place, in conjunction with the City Council Youth Team, to see who attends and which areas need more focus.

(g)  For Employment and Skills, NG7 TEA works directly with citizens referred by the Job Centre. They provide education in Digital Literacy, English, and 1-2-1 work. They are looking to expand into other areas, possibly including self-employment skills. In terms of Youth related Employment and Skills provision, they also provide information and assistance with volunteering, work experience and work trials, working closely with large local employers.

(h)  NG7 TEA have recently moved premises, and are now broadening their offer. They are well on target, with the number of unemployed residents helped into work and local people engaged in “Get Britain Working” employment support initiatives at 162 across quarters two and three, against an overall target of 102.

(i)  There are three community centres within the area, one of which hasn’t signed the service agreement yet. NG7 TEA is currently working with the other two to set budgets. The Sherwood Centre is sustainable, and is showing best practice in budget management that needs to be shared with other centres. Sherwood is exceeding the formal targets, whilst Edwards Lane is struggling on some areas. They will receive more targeted support to help them become more viable.

(j)  Next year, there will be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Report of Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes.

Paul Howard, Tenancy and Estates Manager at Nottingham City Homes (NCH), provided information on environmental submissions from NCH:

(a)  Sums of £7,235.91 for Berridge and £96,605.23 for Sherwood have been set aside for housing environmental improvements for the year 2013/14.

(b)  The proposed schemes must fit at least one of the following criteria: Improvement of security for tenants and leaseholders (e.g. door entry, lighting, fencing, garage sites), Improvement of the environment for tenants and leaseholders (e.g. dealing with graffiti, reducing anti-social behaviour, parking issues, drying areas, resurfacing), Improvement of spaces for tenants and leaseholders (e.g. installation of community facilities or areas on land under NCH management).

(c)  Any suggestions for more environmental improvement schemes are gratefully received, and should be directed to Tenancy and Estate Managers Paul Howard (paul.howard@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk) or Lynn Standen (lynn.standen@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk) at NCH.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  approve the improvement scheme on Collin Green in Sherwood, to replace existing benches with brand new seats and remove the conifer tree in centre of planter, at a cost of £3,132.74;

(2)  Defer the two proposed Woodthorpe Court improvement schemes until the next meeting of the Area Committee, pending further discussion with Councillors at their next meeting with Neighbourhood Development Officers. 

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services.

Inspector Annie Yates, Nottinghamshire Police, presented information on crime over the last quarter in the Berridge and Sherwood Area, highlighting the following points:

(a)  In Berridge, instances of dwelling burglary have decreased by 13, robbery by 3, and auto crime by 30. Instances of criminal damage have increased by 41, theft by 29, violence by 33, and all crime by 45. The sharp increase in criminal damage is mainly attributed to a one-night crime spree by one individual. Local residents have asked if the offender can be removed from living in the area, but it has transpired that he does not live in the area. The increases in thefts are mainly business premises on Sherwood Rise, and include a large amount of supermarket crimes.

(b)  The crime statistics are very healthy compared to this time last year, and there is an encouraging increase in citizens signing up to the Neighbourhood Alert scheme, a free service which the Police use to send out information about the local area to help protect against crime and anti-social behaviour (www.nottinghamshirealert.co.uk). Inspector Annie Yates will bring figures on Neighbourhood Alert sign-ups to the next meeting of the Area Committee.

(c)  In Sherwood, instances of criminal damage have decreased by 16. Instances of dwelling burglary have increased by 26, robbery by 16, auto crime by 14, theft by 101, and violence by 98. It is not clear what has caused a sudden increase in shop thefts. A large proportion of the incidents of violence are domestic violence. Visits to licensed premises are planned, to try and tackle associated crime. The March 2014 Week of Action will focus on crime in the Sherwood and Carrington area.

John Marsh, Locality Manager at Nottingham City Council, provided some additional information on other performance indicators in the Area, highlighting the following points:

(d)  From December 2013 to January 2014, Cleansing index scores improved in Berridge (from 89 to 93) and stayed nearly the same in Sherwood (from 93 to 92). Graffiti stayed the same in Berridge and Sherwood (17 instances across both wards). Fly tipping increased in Berridge (from 60 to 67 instances) and in Sherwood (from 18 to 23 instances).

(e)  Across both wards, there will be more activity on sweeping and on re-aligning the bulky waste system. A December Week of Action too place in Berridge, and the lighting event was very successful. The main concern for Berridge remains fly-tipping.

(f)  There was a successful budget consultation event in Sherwood, and a successful; lighting event. The Week of Action in Sherwood will be happening in March 2014. A twitter feed is also being launched for Sherwood during the Week of Action (www.twitter.com/sherwoodnottm). The Sherwood facebook page is the most successful of all the Ward facebook pages (www.facebook.com/mysherwood).

(g)  Returning bins to properties after they have been emptied has previously been raised as an issue, but it has resource implications. The refuse service is taking on 45 apprentices, who may be used to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services.

RESOLVED to note the following actions taken under delegated authority:

(1)  £600.00 towards the Berridge “Week of Action”, agreed 30 November 2013;

(2)  £300.00 towards the Dunkirk and Lenton Partnership Forum’s Shop Directory, agreed 12 November 2013;

(3)  £496.00 towards Transition Sherwood’s “Sharing Sherwood” event;

(4)  £3,600.00 to various recipients for activities relating to the Sherwood Festival, June 2014;

(5)  £1,000.00 towards publicity costs for Sherwood Art Week.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services.

RESOLVED to approve the Area Capital Fund programme of schemes and note the commitment of funds in Berridge and Sherwood Wards as follows: 

(1)  Installation of 4 signs to promote the Berridge Road shopping area, at an estimated cost of £650.00;

(2)  Supply of 4 grit bins on Spondon Street, Jenner Street, Gamston Crescent and Elmswood gardens, at an estimated cost of £5,358.00.