RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Adele Williams as Chair of the Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Brian Parbutt as Vice-Chair of the Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

None.

None.

Minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2018, for confirmation.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Verbal item

Inspector Christine Busuttil gave a verbal update on neighbourhood policing in the Sherwood ward, highlighting the following:

(a)  there has been a year-to-date reduction in crime overall in Sherwood with vehicle offences, residential burglary, arson and antisocial behaviour all down. There have been increases in violence, robbery and theft;

(b)  theft has included shoplifting and bicycle theft, and the police have been working with shopkeepers and cyclists to tackle this;

(c)  upcoming events include a night-time economy high visibility weekend, the Carrington Festival, a Sherwood day of action with shops and the Spirit of Sherwood awards;

(d)  a bid has been put in for a 4G camera in the Sherwood ward;

(e)  a new neighbourhood policing officer is starting at the end of July on the Sherwood beat.

Inspector Rob Wilson gave a verbal update on neighbourhood policing in the Berridge ward, highlighting the following:

(f)  overall year-to-date crime has reduced in Berridge, with burglary down 50%;

(g)  there has been a focus on a group of young people in Basford and knife crime, with interventions and support, and arrests where necessary;

(h)  additional patrols were carried out during Ramadan, but no significant incidents were reported;

(i)  the police have been working with landlords to address anti-social behaviour and noise, focussing on licensed premises. They have also begun to hold hotels and sheltered housing premises more to account, and have served a closure notice on The Stage hotel.

RESOLVED to thank Inspectors Busuttil and Wilson for the information provided.

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Leigh Plant, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report focussing on current priorities and issues facing the two wards and giving details of forthcoming events and activities.

There has been a reorganisation of the Neighbourhood Development Officer areas, with Debbie Royle moving from Berridge to Bilborough, and Leigh Plant and Angela Bolton now covering Basford as well as Sherwood.

Councillors reported problems with heavy weed growth in both wards. Work has begun to tackle this.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the progress on Ward priorities and other supporting information including the issues being addressed by each Neighbourhood Action Team;

(2)  note the current performance data.

Report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes

Luke Walters, 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.

The Committee was reassured that NCH are visiting all tenants who are most vulnerable with the introduction of Universal Credit, and they are aware of the huge changes that this will bring.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the update and performance information;

(2)  note the allocation of funds for 2018/19 as detailed below:

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

Joint report of the Corporate Director for Development and Growth and the Corporate Director for Commercial and Operations

Ceri Davies, Housing Strategy Specialist, and Julie Liversidge, Operations Manager, introduced the report informing the Committee of a proposed scheme of Additional Licensing for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), highlighting the following:

(a)  an Additional Licensing scheme exists currently in Nottingham City but is due to end in December 2018. The scheme has been successful in improving the conditions of HMOs, taking rogue landlords out of the market and tackling problems with anti-social behaviour;

(b)  the area that the scheme will cover remains largely the same as the existing scheme but now includes new areas extending north up to Haydn Road and Nottingham Road. 494 properties in the Berridge and Sherwood wards are affected;

(c)  fees for landlords in the new scheme will be increased to £1000 over 5 years for accredited landlords, £1370 over 5 years for unaccredited landlords and 1720 over 5 years for landlords with a history of non-compliance;

(d)  the Council is currently consulting on the proposed new scheme, with consultation running until 10 July 2018 prior to Executive Board approval in September.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the contents of the report;

(2)  ask partners to actively contribute to the consultation process.

Verbal update from Jawaid Khalil, NG7 Training Employment and Advice

Jawaid Khalil, NG7 Training Employment and Advice, gave a verbal update highlighting the following:

(a)  the Area Based Grant scheme has entered the final year of its 3 year programme. NG7 continues to hit targets in all areas, but it is unclear what will happen in April 2019 when the scheme finishes;

(b)  funding has ended for the Step into Work and Youth Employment initiatives, which has had a significant effect on staffing, with 3 full time members of staff being lost. It is no longer practical for NG7 to be open full-time so it will now open on reduced hours;

(c)  NG7 is no longer able to deliver all Job Clubs, but these will remain at Sherwood library and Edwards Lane Community Centre, along with drop-in sessions at NG7;

Councillors commented that, although the Edwards Lane Job Club is not well attended, it is an important facility in a deprived area.

RESOLVED to thank Jawaid for the information provided.

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Leigh Plant, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report providing the Committee with the latest spend proposals including highways and footways.

Berridge Councillors proposed an additional spend of public realm funding for environmental work including fixing alley way gates and locks.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the Area Capital Fund programme of schemes for Berridge and Sherwood wards as set out below:

Berridge LTP schemes

Berridge Public Realm schemes

Sherwood LTP schemes

Sherwood withdrawn schemes

(2)  note the commitment of funds in Berridge and Sherwood wards as set out below:

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Leigh Plant, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report.

RESOLVED to note the actions agreed by the Director of Neighbourhood Services in respect of projects and schemes within the Berridge and Sherwood wards, as detailed below:

Verbal discussion

Councillor Adele Williams reported concerns that community groups do not get involved with this Area Committee. It has been proposed that a venue within the area may engage these groups more.

Councillor Toby Neal told the Committee that the Indian Community Centre may be available as a venue and he will contact them.

Councillors suggested that a more informal event prior to the formal meeting could attract more groups.

RESOLVED to investigate the availability of the Indian Community Centre for the next meeting and the remaining meetings of the 2018/19 municipal year.

To agree to meet on the following dates at 6pm:

26 September 2018

19 December 2018

27 March 2019

AGREED to meet on the following Wednesdays at 6pm, at either the Indian Community Centre or Loxley House:

26 September 2018

19 December 2018

27 March 2019