Agenda for West Area Committee on Wednesday, 15th February, 2017, 5.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: LB 31-32 - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Laura Wilson  Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

35.

Apologies

Minutes:

Councillor Graham Chapman – other Council business

Rob Gabbitas

36.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None

37.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 283 KB

Last meeting held 16 November 2016 (for confirmation)

Minutes:

Subject to minute 27(3) being amended to read ‘Leen Valley Ward (Councillors Glyn Jenkins and Mohammed Saghir)’, instead of ‘Leen Valley Ward (Councillors Coral Glyn Jenkins and Mohammed Saghir)’, the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

38.

Julianne Christou, Neighbourhood Development Officer

Minutes:

As it was Julianne’s last meeting before her retirement, the Committee thanked her for her hard work, which has been greatly appreciated and will be missed.

39.

Delegated Authority Approvals pdf icon PDF 209 KB

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Julianne Christou, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report detailing the use of delegated authority by the Director of Neighbourhood Services for the financial year 2016/17, and the remaining balance.

 

RESOLVED to note the spending approvals from the Ward Councillor budgets, approved by the Director of Neighbourhood Services:

 

(1)  Aspley (Councillors Graham Chapman, Patience Uloma Ifediors, and Carole McCulloch):

 

Text Box: Project/Group Amount Ambleside Summer Carnival £250 Young at Heart £1,000 Melbourne Road fencing £1,999 Residential Music trip £210 Welfare Rights Service £5,700 Woodfield Park Launch event £200 Aspley Partnership day trip £1,250 Tick Tock summer carnival £3,000 Broxtowe Park Fun Day £2,000 Bells Lane Surprise Play Project £500 Santa’s Grotto – Aspley Library £50 Lighting Up Aspley – Tree £1,500 Welfare Rights Part 2 £1,500 BCC World Food Day £500 Red Dance Christmas Performance £100 St Martha’s Foodbank £135

  Total:£19,894

 

Remainingbalance broughtforward

2015/16

 

£13,732

Councillor budget allocated2016/17

£15,000

Total available

£28,732

Allocatedfunds

£19,894

Remaining Balance 2016/17

£  8,838

 

(2)  Bilborough (Councillors Wendy Smith, Marcia Watson, and Malcolm Wood:

 

 

Project/Group

Amount

Residential Music Camp

£660

Make IT Fun Day

£1,000

StrelleyVillage GreenFun Day

£493

HoylakeQueens Party in the Park

£5,000

YMCA Referral Service

£2080

TickTockSummer Carnival

£3,000

WhatReallyMattersWorkshop

£150

BilboroughLibraryGarden Project

£2,100

DADTRA 10th AnniversaryEvent

£500

Older Person’s Event

£300

113th Scouts Refurbishment

£700

Christmas Festival

£4,000

BeechdaleCommunityCentre MarketTrip

£180

St Martha’s Foodbank

£90

Contribution to ParkingScheme(FreemountDrive)

£17,200

Total:£37,453

Remainingbalance broughtforward 2015/16

£62,214.80

Councillor budget allocated2016/17

£15,000

Total available

£77,214.80

Allocated Funds

£37,453.00

Remaining Balance 2016/17

£39,761.80

 

(3)  Leen Valley (Councillors Glyn Jenkins and Mohammed Saghir):

 

 

Text Box: Project Amount Mobile CCTV units £8,220 Bangladesh Welfare Association £2,000 Play and Youth equipment – New Whitemoor £1,500 Southwold Primary Food Fest £500 Kennington Road Play Park Equipment £12,000 Lighting up Aspley – Christmas Event £2,500 St Martha’s Foodbank £90 Beechdale Community Centre Market Trip £180 Strelley Boxing Club equipment for girls £400 Windmill Community Gardens £1,527 Preparation for School Allotment Site £410 Community Christmas Meal-Vine £200 Southwold school coffee drop in / Hub £150

Total: £29,677

Remainingbalance broughtforward 2015/16

£36,727

Councillor Budget Allocation2016/17

£10,000

Total available

£46,727

Allocated Funds

£29,677

Remaining Balance 2016/17

£17,050

 

 

 

40.

Area Capital Fund pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Liam Searle, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report detailing the latest spending proposals under the Area Capital Fund including highways and footpaths.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note that the following money is now available:

 

  Aspley  £21,650

  Bilborough    £0

  Leen Valley    £0

 

(2)  approve the following schemes:

 

Bilborough Public Realm Plan Schemes:

Location

Type

Estimate

Details

Eremount Drive area

Parking

£15,000

Contribution to a £32,200 parking permit scheme

Hanslope Crescent area

Survey

£2,862

Survey into parking options

 

Bilborough Withdrawn Schemes:

Location

Type

Amount

Reason

Staverton Road

Crossings

£10,000

Scheme discontinued

Bilborough Ward crossings

Dropped crossings

£5,000

Scheme discontinued

 

 

41.

Oakford Close : stopping up footpath pdf icon PDF 210 KB

Report of Corporate Director of Development and Growth

Additional documents:

Minutes:

David Baillie, Regeneration Officer, introduced the report detailing the extinguishment of highway rights over carriageway, footway and footpaths at Oakford Close to enable the development of new Council housing to go ahead.

 

RESOLVED to note

 

(1)  the decision of the Head of Neighbourhood Management in Delegated Decision 2583 to exercise her executive power on behalf of the Committee;

 

(2)  that the proposed order was published by the Secretary of State, the public consultation began on 6 October 2016 and ended on 2 November 2016, with no objections received. The order was made on 16 November 2016 and the High Court challenge period ended on 28 December 2016, with no challenges submitted.

42.

Neighbourhood Policing: Current Priorities

Nottinghamshire Police

Minutes:

No representatives from the Police were in attendance so this item could not be considered.

43.

Community Representatives Update

Community Representatives

Minutes:

Christine Willetts, Nottingham Tartanaires/Aspley Partnership, informed the Committee that the refurbishment of the Minver Crescent Sports Centre is underway, and that the Centre is now being used to capacity. A Tea Dance was held on Friday 10 February and the pupils from Ambleside Primary School visited to read with those that attended, and presented each of them with a rose and Valentine’s Day card.

 

Nigel Brice, New Whitemoor Tenants and Residents Association, informed the Committee that Naburn Court social club is very successful and has nearly 40 members. Each member pays a subscription which goes towards events such as afternoon tea and day trips.

44.

Proposal for a Scheme of Selective Licensing for Privately Rented Houses pdf icon PDF 145 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ceri Davies, Housing Strategy Specialist, and Aran Hennessy, Principal Environmental Health Officer, introduced the report detailing the proposal to introduce a selective licensing scheme for privately rented houses, for the purpose of gaining the views of the Committee as part of the consultation, which runs from January to March 2017.

 

Ceri presented the Committee with the following information:

 

(a)  it is a key priority to introduce a city wide selective licensing scheme to improve the private rented sector;

 

(b)  there are strict criteria to comply with and conditions needed for a scheme to be implemented, and now that a firm proposal has been developed, consultation is taking place before the scheme is submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for approval later in the year;

 

(c)  the Housing Act 2004 introduced mandatory and discretionary licensing. Mandatory licensing covers large houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), and discretionary licensing covers additional licensing of smaller HMOs, and selective licensing. An additional licensing scheme for smaller HMOs was adopted in January 2014 and covers 3,000 properties. The proposal for the selective licensing scheme will potentially cover the majority of the remainder of the private rented sector not covered by the other schemes;

 

(d)  the aim of selective licensing is to:

·  help tackle problems identified in the private rented sector such as anti-social behaviour, crime, deprivation and poor property conditions;

·  improve living conditions for tenants and the surrounding community;

·  drive up standards amongst landlords and tackle rogue landlords;

·  work with landlords and tenants to provide positive advice and assistance;

 

(e)  if the selective licensing proposal is successful, it will apply to the vast majority of Nottingham’s 43,000 private rented sector properties, and will run in parallel with the existing additional licensing scheme which covers HMOs or shared properties;

 

(f)  the wards covered by the West Area Committee do not currently have a high concentration of private rented sector properties, but there is potential for more properties to move into the private rented sector, and the areas are included in the whole city designation as they meet the criteria relating to anti-social behaviour.

 

In response to questions from the Committee, Ceri and Aran provided the following additional information:

 

(g)  if the scheme is approved and landlords don’t sign up it will be classed as a criminal offence. Non-compliance will be dealt with through civil enforcement, but the Government are currently consulting on whether it could result in imprisonment;

 

(h)  the resources needed to manage the scheme are part of the decision that will need to be taken if it is approved, but it should pay for itself;

 

(i)  the scheme will apply to all landlords, regardless of how many houses they have, and they will be required to have a licence per house;

 

(j)  the Environmental Health and Community Protection teams already have powers in place to protect tenants from eviction if they complain about their landlords, as if a landlord is served with an improvement notice they can’t end the tenancy for at least 6 months;

 

(k)  the indicative fee for a licence is £600 for 5 years to be paid upfront, but there will be a discount for those landlords that are signed up to the accreditation scheme;

 

(l)  it is likely that the Government will introduce Fixed Penalty Notices for non-compliance, which the Community Protection Team already have the power to issue;

 

(m)  there is a danger that landlords will pass the charges to tenants, but it is important to improve standards and most tenants are supportive of the scheme. £600 for 5 years isn’t considered a large fee and there is no evidence to show that the introduction of additional licensing for HMOs has increased rents;

 

(n)  it is unlikely that the scheme will increase homelessness as the likelihood of non-compliance is low;

 

(o)  training and advice will be offered to landlords to help them achieve the required standards;

 

(p)  the scheme will be heavily scrutinised by the DCLG and can be rejected;

 

(q)  marketing will ensure that tenants are aware of the scheme, and will help ensure compliance.

 

The Committee made the following comments:

 

(r)  the concept is welcomed, provided the Council has the resources to deliver the scheme;

 

(s)  it is important to ensure the scheme doesn’t have a detrimental impact on vulnerable adults;

 

(t)  it is also important to ensure that tenants are aware of the scheme and are given an information pack on  what standards should be in their property, and how to complain if there are problems;

 

(u)  the scheme will help protect tenants and improve standards.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note the contents of the report;

 

(2)  request that the views of the Committee expressed above are taken into account in the consultation process;

 

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

45.

Section 106 Funding for Parks and Open Spaces in the West Area pdf icon PDF 141 KB

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

Minutes:

James Tilford, Park Development Officer, introduced the report outlining the proposals for the spend of the following Section 106 funding:

·  £37,711.38 (from planning application 11/00211/POUT) for the provision and/or enhancement of open space in the West Area;

·  £58,577.41 (from planning application 13/01703/POUT) for the improvement of the facilities at Broxtowe Country Park and Strelley Recreation Ground.

 

James confirmed to the Committee that the schemes are based on discussions with the local community and Neighbourhood Development Officers, and that consultation on the detailed proposals will take place at the appropriate time.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  endorse the allocation of £37,711.38 of Section 106 funding from planning application 11/00211/POUT for the following:

 

Site

Proposals

Amount

Melbourne Park

Outdoor gym

Match funding for play area improvements

Path and infrastructure repairs

£15,000

Bilborough Park

Path and infrastructure repairs

£10,000

Western Boulevard (Trafford Gardens) play area

Removal of the existing play area and match funding for a bid to build a new play area on the site

£9,000

Moorfield Allotments

Environmental improvements, eg hedge-laying, access works and plot clearance

£3,711.38

 

TOTAL

£37,711.38

 

(2)  endorse the allocation of £58,577.41 of Section 106 funding from planning application 13/01703/POUT for the following:

 

Site

Proposals

Amount

Broxtowe Country Park and/or Strelley Recreation Ground

Park improvements

£58,577.41

 

TOTAL

£58,577.41

 

46.

Update from Lead Organisation pdf icon PDF 544 KB

Groundwork Greater Nottingham

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Steve Burch, Groundwork Greater Nottingham, introduced his report, an updated copy of which was circulated before the meeting, detailing the performance of the Lead Organisation up to the end of Quarter 3, and highlighted the following points:

 

Targeted and Diversionary Youth:

 

(a)  work is being done to ensure there is provision in the south of Bilborough, and Switch Up have been commissioned to work out of the Birchover Community Centre until March;

 

(b)  work is taking place on the Ainsley Estate in Leen Valley through A Place 2 Be Me;

 

(c)  there have been complaints of young people gathering outside Asda, and the perception of anti-social behaviour because of this, so Strelley Community Centre have been commissioned to work out of the Hope Centre to try and address the perceived issues;

 

Employment and Skills Provision:

 

(d)  level 2 training is below target due to the lack of funding for the 30+ age group;

 

(e)  the 240 people accessing work clubs are different people, rather than the same people repeatedly attending;

 

(f)  the eligibility criteria for traineeships makes them difficult to access and this is being challenged;

 

(g)  there has been a growth in the number of non-claimants of benefits, which is a concern as it has an impact on their income level and skill development;

 

Support for Older People Provision:

 

(h)  all targets are being met apart from the activities, but this is due to a loss in resources;

 

Community Centres:

 

(i)  the Lead Organisation is still waiting for returns from some Community Centres;

 

(j)  previous issues with governance still remain.

 

The Committee expressed concern with the perceived anti-social behaviour at Asda, as it is felt that it could be used as a beneficial community hub, and agreed that the Chair would write to them to arrange for a discussion on establishing community links in the area.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note the information provided;

 

(2)  write to Asda to arrange for a discussion on establishing community links in the area.

 

47.

Nottingham City Homes Report pdf icon PDF 141 KB

Report of Nottingham City Homes

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Kristian Murden, Tenancy and Estate Manager, Nottingham City Homes, introduced the report requesting approval for Area Capital Programme funding, and providing updates on the following key themes:

·  the Capital Programme and major work;

·  area regeneration and environmental issues;

·  key messages from the Tenants and Leaseholders Congress;

·  Tenants and Residents Associations updates;

·  area performance;

·  good news stories and positive publicity.

 

RESOLVED to

 

(1)  note the update and performance information in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report;

 

(2)  note the allocation of funds as follows:

 

Ward

Budget

Schemes Approved

Schemes Committed

Schemes De-committed

Remaining Budget

Aspley

£115,841.95

£115,159.82

£115,159.82

£0

£682.13

Bilborough

£264,413.23

£16,358.58

£16,358.58

£0

£248,059.65

Leen Valley

£45,026.07

£27,021.20

£27,021.20

£0

£18,004.87

 

(3)  approve the following funding requests:

 

Address

Request

Reason

Cost

Wollaton Vale – Dentdale, Farndale and Wheeldale Drive

To upgrade the current fencing with a new metal ball finial railing

The current fencing is old and poor in appearance and needs upgrading

£60,000

Denewood Crescent

To continue with the fencing upgrade project

The current fencing is old and poor in appearance and needs upgrading

£50,000

Fircroft Avenue

Land clearance works

In preparation for future community projects to be considered at the site

£1,804.40

Ashwell Gardens

To upgrade the fencing to the large green space from timber to metal

To provide a welcoming entrance to the estate and make the area look smarter

£18,001.48

 

 

48.

Ward Reports pdf icon PDF 292 KB

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Julianne Christou, Neighbourhood Development Officer, introduced the report detailing the current priorities and issues facing the three wards within the West Area, providing details of forthcoming events and activities, and highlighting the latest issues being addressed through the Neighbourhood Action Team meetings.

 

RESOLVED to note

 

(1)  the progress on ward priorities and other supporting information, including the issues being addressed through Neighbourhood Action Team meetings, as detailed in appendices 1 to 3 of the report;

 

(2)  the progress made against existing Councillor pledges;

 

(3)  the current performance data, as detailed in Appendix 4 of the report.