Agenda and minutes

Councillor Marcia Watson – work commitments

Jeni Smith – Aspley Partnership

Nigel Bryce – New Whitemoor TRA

Mervin Goring – Nottingham Focus on Wellbeing

Liam Searle – Neighbourhood Development Officer

Insp Gordon Fenwick – Nottinghamshire Police

None.

Last meeting held on 14 June 2017 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2017 were agreed as a true record and they were signed by the Chair

The Committee noted the appointment of the following community representatives:

The Committee also welcomed Laurie Jeffery to his first Area Committee meeting.

Community Representatives to report

Christine Willetts, Nottingham Tartanaires, advised that a series of trips and events had been arranged for local senior citizens, including swimming, a tea dance and an afternoon social gathering. Upcoming events included a boat trip on the River trent and carol singing in the run-up to Christmas.

The Committee was also informed that the School’s Out project had engaged 50 young people per day throughout August 2017. Further activity was planned for the October half-term.

Report of Corporate Director, Commercial and Operations

James Tilford, Parks Development Officer, introduced the report, proposing to allocate Section 106 and Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (WREN) funding to install a new play area at Bilborough Park. Mr Tilford explained that a funding bid will be submitted by 22 November 2017, to be determined by March 2018. 

The Committee strongly supported the proposals, and in response to a Councillor’s question, Mr Tilford undertook to provide a breakdown of maintenance funding outside the meeting.

RESOLVED to

(1)  endorse the use of £97,971 of Section 106 funding from planning application 09/00526/PFUL3 to create a play are at Bilborough Park;

(2)  support the submission of a bid to Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (WREN) in November 2017 for £50,000 towards the project.

Report of Deputy Chief Executive/Corporate Director Development and Growth

Matthew Grant, Senior Planner (Policy), introduced a report and gave a presentation on the Local Plan Part 2: Land and Planning Policies Document - Revised Publication Version, highlighting the following points:

(a)  this is a statutory document that sets out development allocations across Nottingham City, and that there have been some changes to the initial published version;

(b)  public consultation on the changes is due to run between 29 September and 10 November 2017. The documents detailing changes relevant to this Area are covered in the report and will also be available online;

(c)  the public are invited to comment on the changes to this document before it is submitted to the government for independent examination and then adopted by the Council.

The Committee commented on detailed changes in the document as follows:

(d)  PA24 – Access off College Way – restricted access will isolate the site;

(e)  PA25 – proposed entry to the site is not very wide. Lots of residential but little retail. This will create pressure on schools and existing retail;

(f)  PA26 – there is little demand for low income family housing,  what’s needed in the area is an ‘elderly village bungalow development, in line with the local demographic;

(g)  PA27 – school and Home and Communities Agency are competing for land. There should be a new park on the site, and lots of remedial work is still required;

(h)  PA34 – the nearby underpass attracts lots of anti-social behaviour and needs remedying.

RESOLVED to

(1)  thank Mr Grant for his attendance at the meeting;

(2)  note that the Local Plan Part 2: Land and Planning Policies Document - Revised Publication Version and the accompanying Policies map changes will be published for representations up to 10 November;

(3)  that the Area Committee comments at minute 69(d) to (h) above be submitted as part of the formal consultation process.

Verbal update

Sergeant Ian Johnson, Nottinghamshire Police, provided an update on policing issues in West Area, highlighting the following issues:

(a)  changes to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary guidance on crime reporting had led to a spike in recorded crime, will all crime up by 45% in Aspley and up 40% in Bilborough and Leen Valley. However, he did not believe that there had been a significant change in crime levels ‘on the ground’;

(b)  anti-social behaviour rates have fallen by 16% in Bilborough, by 14% in Aspley and by 9% in Leen Valley;

(c)  there was a localised spike in criminal damage in the Melbourne Road area, and a Dispersal order has been put in place to address the issue;

(d)  Police resources continue to be stretched locally. While Nottinghamshire Police are recruiting, there will be an appointment and training lag before any additional resources are active on the ground.

The Committee noted the update and thanked Sergeant Johnson and his colleagues for their continued efforts to keep communities safe.

Report of Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes

Kristian Murden, Tenancy and Estates Manager, Nottingham City Homes, introduced a report of the Chief Executive, Nottingham City Homes, requesting approval for Area Capital funding and providing updates on the following key themes:

Capital programme and major works;

Area regeneration and environmental issues,

key messages from Tenant and Leasehold Congress;

Tenant an Residents Associations updates;

Area performance, and

Good news stories and positive publicity.

The following issues were raised during discussion:

(a)  work was ongoing to address issues with sustaining tenancies. Tenancies were reviewed more often than previously to identify issues at an earlier stage. There were localised issues with care leavers having limited life skills and behavioural challenges that affected sustainability, as did the older demographic profile in the Area;

(b)  councillors and community representatives commented on access issues with the NCH office on Harvey Road. Parking was poor and there was a lot of contractor traffic on-site. Mr Murden explained that there were health and safety issues given the construction taking place on-site, but there will be regular NCH sessions in Aspley Library once it is built;

(c)  Mr Murden assured the Committee that NCH  will closely vet payment of the £100 responsible tenant premium this Christmas.

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the updates and performance information at appendices 1 and 2 of the report;

(2)  approve the following request:

Report of Director of Children’s Integrated Services

Pat Mills, Community Family Support Manager, introduced a report, highlighting Early Help information on services delivered through the Family Support function in West Area. Ms Mills gave a summary of the open and targeted sessions delivered, along with attendance figures and next steps, and invited comments from the Committee.

During discussion, the following points were made:

(a)  a councillor commented that there was a lot of resource being expended which did not translate into high uptake, and that the future delivery of the programme of activity should be reviewed;

(b)  it was acknowledged that Family Days had not been well attended, but that this reflected in part poor weather conditions on the day;

(c)  a Leen Valley councillor was concerned that he found it difficult to obtain information on open and targeted sessions in his ward, and to provide input to the process. In response, it was acknowledged that there were capacity issues in the ward, but the ambition remained to provide a consistent service across all Nottingham city wards.

RESOLVED to note the report.

Presentation

Jane Caro, Citywide Targeted CAMHS Manager, gave a presentation on the delivery of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Nottingham City. She explained that 1240 referrals were received in 2016/17 and that referrals in 2017/18 to date were up by over a third on the previous year.

A majority of referrals were in the 11-15 year age group, with slightly more females than males being referred. Low mood and anxiety were the most common causes of referral.

The service was exploring innovative ways to child and adolescent mental health issues. These included Time4Me and MySource early intervention initiatives piloted in City schools. Feedback on overall services was generally positive.

The Committee thanked Ms Caro for the presentation and suggested that ways to self-refer should be effectively communicated.

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

The Committee noted the progress on ward priorities without substantive discussion

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

RESOLVED to:

(1)  note the Area Capital Funds available to Aspley, Bilborough and Leen Valley wards at Appendix 1 to the report;

(2)  approve the following scheme:

  Bilborough Public Realm Scheme

Report of Director of Neighbourhood Services

RESOLVED to note the actions agreed by the Director of Neighbourhood Services in respect of projects and schemes within the Aspley, Bilborough and Leen Valley wards, detailed in the report.