Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Cate Woodward – unwell

Rob Kirkwood

Fi Cusick

Jeff Meehan

Jamie Dickinson

Liz Vivian

Chris Brummitt (James Glazebrook attending as a substitute)

Alan Day

Councillor Steve Battlemuch sent apologies for his predicted lateness.

None.

Of the meeting held on 18 September 2019 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2019 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Verbal update by local Police Officers on Policing Issues within the Area.

It is noted that whilst the ward boundaries and area committee groupings have changed, the Police continue to maintain their own boundaries, including for data collection as Dunkirk and Lenton, and Wollaton East Lenton Abbey.

Police inspector Riz Khan provided the following updates related to the police activity for the period between April and December:

Dunkirk and Lenton Area

a)  Overall crime is down by 40 offences;

b)  victim-based crime is down by 67 offences;

c)  violence with injury is reduced by 18 offences;

d)  there were 21 fewer burglaries during this period;

e)  hate crime has risen due to an increase in reports of verbal abuse;

Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey

f)  overall crime is slightly up by seven offences;

g)  victim placed crime is up by 16 offences

h)  there has been a 35% reduction in violence with injury;

i)  antisocial behaviour was down by 16 offences criminal damage was up by 20 offences;

In general

j)  There had been a spate of catalytic converter thefts, mainly from Toyota cars ;

k)  as a result of ‘operation folktale’, which target rate targeted drug dealers operating within the city are predominantly around Nottingham University Nottingham Trent University, seven people have been charged with drug offences including class a and class B drugs;

l)  3 PCSOs accompanied six student champions, accompanied by Jacob collier and Julian Best, visited a total of 246 houses in the area, engaging with residents and students, providing advice and information on security and crime prevention;

m)  police continue to work with universities on ‘operation universal’ which started in October, to tackle student antisocial behaviour including late-night noise;

n)  further funding from the Home Office has been received for operation Scorpion, to combat knife crime;

o)  in October local police held a priority setting consultation identified three top priorities serious violent crime, burglary-dwelling, and drugs and ASB. Plans are now in place to focus on these crimes with further information available on the police area website.

Police inspector James Walker, responsible for the city south area, provided an updates on the Meadows Policing area:

p)  Overall crime was up by 5.8%;

q)  with no change number of violence with injury incidents;

r)  robbery increased by 10 incidents;

s)  there were seven more incidents of burglary;

t)  two offenders aged 12 and 13 years old were charged with offences against children of similar age;

u)  two burglaries during December been attributed to one offender has been identified and will be dealt with;

v)  priority setting consultation identified three top priorities serious violent crime, aggressive crime, and drugs. Plans are now in place to focus on these crimes with further information available on the police area website;

w)  a warrant was executed in Lamcote Gardens regarding a cannabis grow with drugs recovered from a property in Kelso Gardens;

x)  with regard to drug issues around telephone boxes, BT have stated that they will not remove them as they have a responsibility to provide the service, but police are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Verbal update by local Community Protection Officers on Community Protection issues within the Area.

Scott Clancy and Tom Lynk, Senior Community Protection Officers, provided the following update:

a)  a proactive student focus started with the return of students and is going well with enforcement and proactive engagement to deter problems before they escalate;

b)  noise and antisocial behaviour remains a problem but with funding from the University of Nottingham this has allowed CPO’s to work longer and later into the night and attend reports as this is when most problems occur;

c)  there are ongoing graffiti problems in Wollaton West, the culprits are yet to be identified, and dog fouling continues to be an issue in Wollaton East;

d)  in the Meadows during November 6 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were issued, 42 instances of fly tipping investigated, 8 untidy gardens given letters and 7 alcohol surrenders;

e)  with regard to untidy gardens and littering officers liaise with landlords where issues cannot be resolved with tenants.

Questions from the committee responded to as follows:

f)  with regard to the smashing of car windows near and around the Lenton area, approximately 12 during a 3 week period, such incidents need to be reported to the Police and/or Community Protection as soon as possible with information on when the attacks were believed to have taken place, as this may result in a more visible officer presence;

g)  if issues with students such as antisocial behaviour and noise arise whilst CPOs are not on duty, the Police should be informed of as it still within their remit.

Resolved to thank Scott Clancy and Tom Lynk for their attendance and Community Protection update.

The opportunity for those in attendance to inform the Committee of good news topics within the Area.

The following items of good news and updates were delivered from community group representatives:

Maya Fletcher (Nottingham Action Group on Houses in Multiple Occupation).

Thanks are given to the CPO’s who removed 15 bin bags of rubbish and litter from the bank around QMC near the bus stop which has been used as a dumping ground. Waste bins are accessible and should be used. The clean-up has made a big difference and residents are very grateful.

Kate Lowenthal (Lenton Drives and Neighbours Residents Association)

Councillors are thanked for the funding for the festival which was postponed from May and also for funding the Christmas lights at Canning Circus.

Sylvia Taylor (Wollaton Park Residents Association)

Wollaton Churches fair raised £286 for the community good, but the carol service was cancelled due to rain.

Steve Battlemuch (on behalf a friends of Wollaton Park)

The friends of Wollaton Park AGM was held at Wollaton Hall last month and is growing in strength with more people interested in volunteering to help maintain the walled garden and works across the grounds.

Report of the Director of Planning and Regeneration with a presentation at the meeting.

Matthew Grant, Senior Planner (Policy), and Matt Gregory, Head of Planning Strategy and Building Control, jointly presented the report on the Local Plan Part 2, for information, prior to its submission for approval at the next full Council meeting.

All consultation on the Local Plan and planning policies has concluded so no further changes can be made.

The report includes maps of potential development sites within the area and specifies the categories of development which would be acceptable;

The following questions were responded to:

a)  with regard to site PA 73 Canal Quarter – Sheriffs Way/Arkwright Street, a planning request had been received for the whole site but the intention is for Crocus Street to be retained;

b)  planners are aware that the Cattle Market serves an important role in the local community but the area shown in PA80 Waterside - Cattle Market, is wider than just the Cattle Market and it is expected that the far end would be developed first. Any consideration of planning applications would be respectful of the heritage of the site;

c)  Waterside is a prime development site for the City and is a ‘brownfield’ (previously developed) site. It has been difficult to get developers interested in this area to provide anything other than housing as it is substantially a central location in walking distance of the city centre. If development was refused for the site, it is likely developers would look elsewhere, such as the green field (undeveloped) areas around Rushcliffe and employment opportunities for the development lost to that area;

d)  there may appear to be a lot of C3 (residential) development agreed in principle for the Waterside sites, but the broader implications of the number of people should be homed have been considered and a bid for a new school near to the Waterside community has been approved;

e)  Section 106 funding contributions from the development can be used to provide enhancements for schools and will be sought as contributions towards two new secondary schools to the north of the city centre;

f)  Planning colleagues are keen to engage with the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) regarding their forward planning for health provision for new communities;

g)  planning authorities are unable to make demands that don’t fit with the planning rules so would have to permit student purpose-built accommodation unless there are grounds for legitimate challenges;

Comments from members of the committee included:

h)  The Cattle Market has historic and community significance and serves a lot of people in the area. It is a concern that its value to the city is not recognised;

i)  purpose-built student accommodation should be encouraged near to major transport routes such as the tram network. The current situation in the Wollaton Park and Lenton area whereby there are thousands of students living in family housing, to the extent that some streets are nearly 100% occupied by students, is damaging the community. The change in guidance in the new Local Plan should ensure that in areas where there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Report of the Corporate Director of Development and Growth

Alice Ullathorne, Heritage Strategy Officer, presented a report which informs the Committee that a consultation is open until 20 December 2019 proposing that the Old Meadows area is designated a Conservation Area.

The following points were highlighted and responses given to questions from the Committee:

a)  the consultation will have lasted a total of 6 weeks and some very detailed responses have already been received;

b)  the majority of responses have been positive but some respondents are wary that if granted, planning permission will be required for some works which don’t currently qualify;

c)  the majority of consultee respondents who object to the proposal are landlords of multiple houses;

d)  it is believed that if designated a conservation area, this will enhance the area, recognise and protect some of the historical characteristics and is likely to raise the value of property in the area;

e)  there are no proposals to re-instate cobbled streets;

f)  restrictions relating to a conservation area are from a set point in time forward and not retrospective, so any modernisation or adaptions already completed will not need to be altered;

g)  if designated, design advice on original features can be provided where home improvements are planned and there may even be potential for funding applications to undertake some restorative works;

h)  if designated then installation of new solar panels will be subject to planning permission but extensions can still be permitted dependant on size.

Members of the Committee welcomed the proposal as protecting the historic character of the area.

Resolved

1)  to note the proposal to designate as a conservation area the area of the Old Meadows as outlined in Appendix A to the report;

2)  that the Area Committee recommend the designation to Executive Board in due course.

Report of Corporate Director of Community Protection

Parbinder Singh, Neighbourhood Development Officer for Wollaton West Ward, presented the Area Capital Fund 2019-20 Programme report which proposes funding allocation from the Local Transport Plan and Public Realm budgets of Area Capital.

Resolved

1)  to approve the following for Lenton and Wollaton East:

  i.  LTP Schemes

  ii.  Public Realm Schemes

  iii.  Financial position

2)  to approve the following for the Meadows:

  i.  Public Realm

  ii.  Financial position

3)  to approve the following for Wollaton West:

  i.  Public Realm

  ii.  Financial position:

Report of the Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes

Hilary Fyfe Hardy, newly appointed Nottingham City Homes Area Housing Manager, introduced herself to the Committee and presented the report which provides an update on performance, activity and engagement and requested approval for a fencing scheme.

An amended Appendix 3 to the report was circulated at the meeting and is reflected in the recommendation.

The following responses were provided to the Committee’s questions:

a)  The majority of rent arrears are as a direct result of the welfare reforms whereby Universal Credit (UC) claimants are paid a month in arrears, meaning that all new claimants are immediately in arrears. NCH does maintain a dedicated UC Team to work with claimants;

b)  Clarification will be sought as to whether the design of the fencing (for which funding is sought) will be the same or varied.

Committee members made the following comments for which Hilary would respond once the information was gathered:

c)  tenants and leaseholders need more than a couple of day’s notice of events hosted by NCH;

d)  it is frustrating and inappropriate for several different trades to attend a reported repair and not be able to complete their section of the repair, sometimes because other preparatory work is required first. Repairs should be dealt with in one co-ordinated visit period;

e)  local NCH officers need to improve communication with Ward Councillors on issues raised by residents and councillors;

f)  there is no mention in the report on work to complete the snags at Palmer Court and yet Councillors are aware that several issues still exist. This needs to be acknowledged and updates provided.

Resolved

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

2)  to note the amended financial position of each ward as follows:

3)  to approve the following scheme:

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Parbinder Singh, Neighbourhood Development Officer for Wollaton West Ward, and Abdul Ghaffar, Neighbourhood Development Officer for Meadows Ward, presented the Ward reports which update the Committee on current and emerging issues and how these were being addressed, and lists forthcoming activities and engagement opportunities.

Questions from the committee were responded to as follows with contributions from ward councillors:

a)  Once there is a better understanding of the issues around cars driving (sometimes at speed) down Arkwright Walk, discussions will take place to find an appropriate solution;

b)  Arkwright Walk is intended to be only partly accessible to vehicles, not wholly. The sign post in the middle of the Arkwright Walk and Kirkwhite Walk junction is not an issue for vehicles as that there are no plans to open this section to vehicle access. There are still issues which can be resolved in the longer term once development in the area is finished, but Alan Parker, Regeneration Officer, will be informed as current activity is not what was intended.

Resolved to note the Ward Performance Reports.

Report of the Director of Legal and Governance

Catherine Ziane-Pryor, Governance Officer, introduced the report which requests that ward Councillors determine who is to be appointed by the Area Committee to formally recognise outside bodies.

Resolved for the following appointments to be recorded:

Lenton Centre - Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis

Meadows Partnership (Confirmation of name change to the Bridges Community Trust is yet to be formally confirmed) –Councillors Michael Edwards and Nicola Heaton

Queens Walk Community Centre – Councillors Michael Edwards

Wollaton Park Golf Club – Councillors Cate Woodward and Steve Battlemuch

Report of the Director of Community Protection

Abdul Ghaffar, Neighbourhood Development Officer for the Meadows Ward, presented the report which informs the Committee of the allocations made by ward councillors and authorised by the Director of Community Protection.

Resolved to note the allocations and de-commitments as detailed in the appendices to the report.  

The opportunity for Community Representative to suggest potential topics for future agenda.

Community Representatives are invited to propose potential future agenda items for the Committee’s consideration.

The following suggestions were made;

a)  How the Council Plan will impact on Lenton and how purpose built accommodation for students is proposed to return current C4 (houses in multiple occupation) properties back to C3 (family housing) properties. Lenton has a 75-80% student saturation rate and residents need to know what is being done to reduce this to an appropriate level;

b)  What are the plans to address the lack of football pitches in the Meadows and to modify the pavilion as groups such as ‘Jeans’ are interested but facilities are lacking.

To note that the next meeting is scheduled for 18 March 2020, at 5.30pm in Loxley House.

The next meeting is scheduled for 18 March 2020 at 5.30pm in Loxley House.