Agenda and minutes

Guildhall Ward Committee - Wednesday, 12 May 2010 7.30 pm

Venue: Treasurer's House, Minster Yard

Contact: Matthew Ward

Items
No.	Item
1.	Drop-in surgery 6.45pm The drop-in surgery gives you the opportunity to talk to your councillors, Street Environment Officer, Safer Neighbourhood Team, Neighbourhood Management Officer or visiting speakers informally. At this meeting there will be a representative from Group Response. Minutes: 1.1 Local residents had the opportunity to speak to Cllr Janet Looker, Matthew Ward, Neighbourhood Management Officer, Iain Dunn and Suzanne Prance from Street Environment. 1.2 Also present were Sgt Jon Asvadi and Richard Gatecliffe Chloe Schroeter from hotspots, representatives from National Trust and members of the Guildhall Planning Panel.
2.	Main Meeting 7.30pm The Main Meeting will start at 7.30pm and will begin with welcome and minutes. Minutes: 2 Councillors welcomed everyone to the meeting.
3.	Planning Panel Elections The planning panel will tell the meeting about their work and how you can get involved. Minutes: 3 In a change to the agenda the planning panel elections were brought forward as the planning panel clerk had another meeting to attend. 3.1Chris Edghill gave a brief outline of the purpose of the planning panel. They are volunteers who live in the ward and look at plans submitted for the ward and give information based on their knowledge of planning. 3.2Members of the planning panel put forward to be members for 2010 were ??? >>> ??? >>> ??? >>> ??? 3.3 All members were agreed and Councillors thanked them for their continued work in the ward.
4.	Safer Neighbourhoods Police Update Sgt Asvadi will update on what is happening in the Ward Minutes: 4 Councillor Janet Looker introduced Sgt Jon Asvadi from the Safer Neighbourhoods Team to give an update. 4.1 The latest crime statistics were shown, as below. Guildhall Crime Figures April 2009 – March 2010 Offence Percentage change on previous year Theft and handling -16.47% Burglary -25.83% Criminal damage -26.18% Drug +6.78% Fraud -13.89% Robbery -38.46% Violence -10.06% Total -15.72% Guildhall Crime Figures April 2010 -Now Offence Last Year This Year Percentage Change Theft and handling 213 183 -14.08% Burglary 16 15 -6.25% Criminal damage 61 52 -14.75 Drug 21 22 +4.76 Fraud 6 10 +66.67% Robbery 2 4 +100% Violence 74 83 +12.16% Total 400 382 -4.5% 4.2The last years figures showed a great success, reports remain low. 4.3Sgt Asvadi outlined that he is definitely to remain in post as the Guildhall Sgt for another 12 months. 4.4To help reduce reports of anti social behaviour in the city centre 6 PC’s are dedicated to the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights. Working with Street Angels a reduction in reports has been achieved. 4.5Operation Spoke continues, 4000 have now been marked and signed up to the police data base in an attempt to reduce cycle theft in the city centre. This has reduced the reports of cycle theft and four cycles have been returned to their rightful owners due to the marking programme. 4.6Union Terrace remains a problem area in the ward, a dispersal area is supported by the police and council. Residential support would help to make the bid successful and crime stats must reflect the problem. 4.7The incident of graffiti on Cliffords Tower has resulted in an arrest. Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions the following were raised. Q – Why is the 0845 number used, calling the police used to be free for most now it’s not? A – Unfortunately it was a central decision to use the 0845 number and there isn’t a lot that can be done about it. The home office are looking into it as it has been raised many time before. No money is made by North Yorkshire Police through the use of the number. 4.8PC Richard Gatecliffe introduced himself as the officer responsible for the Piccadilly area. 4.9Recently graffiti taggers have been prosecuted for damage caused 4.10 The use of mobile computers are helping to keep officers out on the streets and patrols are been targeted towards dog fouling, graffiti and street drinking. Q – Where can bikes be registered? A – If you contact Safer York or Look on the North Yorkshire Police website dates of marking events are listed. Q – Would Bootham Park be included in the Union Terrace dispersal zone? A – It is a work in progress that need public consultation before anything is agreed. Thanks were given by the Ward Councillors for the Update.
5.	Revised Licensing Zone Lesley Cooke and PC Mick Wilkinson will update on the proposed changes to the licensing zone in the Ward. Minutes: 5 PC Mick Wilkinson and Lesley Cooke were introduced to talk about the changes proposed for the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) licensing. 5.1 Under the 2005 licensing act, the council are obliged to review the zone and carry out formal consultation. 5.2 The CIZ is devised by consulting police data showing where incidents are happening. The proposed changes are due to the obligation to review every four years. 5.3 In January this year evidence from North Yorkshire Police showed that geographical changes to the zone were needed, due to a change in the hotspots of crime. 5.4 Consultation ends on 28th May, and the findings will be available on the City of York website. Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions. Q – Is it true that application have been made for more 4am licenses near Kings Staith? A – Only The Gallery, The Lowther and Silvanos have applied. Silvanos has applied as a restaurant, without change of use. All will have conditions on their licenses. Q – Is the fact that residents are kept awake not an issue? A – This is one of the most difficult issues to prove when licensing, as it is so hard to tell where people have come from. Details are available for the policy. Councillor Brian Watson informed that councillors are now able to sit on hearings for premises.
6.	National Trust Find out about the ‘Going Local’ initiative Minutes: 6 Jane Whitehead was introduced by Councillor Looker to talk about the National Trust and update on their Going Local initiative. 6.1Jane Welcomed everyone to the Treasurers House, an attraction that gets around 70,000 visitors per year but many local communities don’t know about it. 6.2The national trust are dedicated to providing opportunities for local residents as well as tourists. 6.3Over 300 volunteers help keep the Treasurers House functioning and available for use. 6.4Going Local is all about developing opportunities for local people. 6.5Treasurers House is always shut during residents week for renovations. Museums at Night is an opportunity for residents to see the building and learn about its history, for half the normal price. 6.6The gardens at Treasurers House are a great place to learn about city centre gardening, with help from many volunteers there are amongst the finest in the city, and regularly feature in York in Bloom. 6.7Hours at Treasurers House are reduced so that they don’t impact on the local surrounding residents. Thanks were given from the Ward Councillors.
7.	Maintenance and Care of Trees Find out from Harvey Lowson, CYC Arboricultural Officer, about the maintenance and care of trees in the Ward. Minutes: 7 Harvey Lowson was introduced to talk about the trees in the ward and the important role they play. York is an urban forest, due to the number of trees it has. There are two categories of tree in York, Public and Private. York has more private trees than public. Tree Protection Methods A. Legal Protection 1. Trees within Conservation Areas or TCA (The Town and Country Planning Act 1990) 2. Trees Protected by a Tree Preservation Order or TPO (The Town and Country Planning Act 1990) 3. Trees protected by Local Authority planning conditions (usually short term but can be up to 5 years) The majority of protected trees are within private ownership not public land. B. Local Authority Protection Local Authorities therefore manage the public trees using the same protection principals, who are regarded by Central Government as a responsible public body that should not need to TPO their own stock. Threats to Trees, New development near trees including changes to the highway such as new layouts and new cycle routes Damage prevention. Developers and contractors sometimes don't understand the impact that digging near trees or trenching through root systems can have. Tree Officers offer an advisory role to help reduce tree damage but we also have to enforce protection where needed. 1000’s of trees are saved from damage or felling each year by the Council. 7.7 Our main priority is to keep our trees as safe as reasonably possible. Most day to day work is generated by tree safety inspections. The population of UK is 60 million & yet only 6 fatalities per year are caused by trees. (So the odds are 1in 10 million) However there are 3,650 road fatalities per year or 10 per week! Trees are inspected for safety and digitally mapped depending on their target risk. This enables others to see trees on the council’s maps. 7.9 Safety is a priority so this work always takes precedent over nuisance related issues. We are rarely able to carry out non-essential, cosmetic pruning work. Nuisance enquiries are looked at case by case and if regarded as justified then remedial work may be ordered. Threats to trees by insurance claims are dealt with by looking at the evidence presented. We would not allow the removal of trees without good reason. Where possible we try to replace tree losses by carrying out annual tree planting programmes. Resident requests for planting are often successful but inner city sites are hard to find. Underground utilities have made many areas unsuitable for trees. This is one reason why our street trees as very valuable as they are often irreplaceable. Guides are available for information on all aspects of trees care, maintenance etc from The Council. Why not become a Tree Warden. The Tree Warden Scheme is a national initiative to enable people to play an active role in conserving and enhancing their local trees and woods. Contact Harvey Lowson or York Tree Warden Group Thanks were given by the ward councillors ... view the full minutes text for item 7.
8.	Have Your Say! Your chance to ask questions about local issues and concerns. This meeting will be chaired by your ward councillors. Minutes: 8 Residents were given the opportunity to raise issues of concern in the ward. Q - Is there any progress on the Walmgate Post Office? A – The post office is now for sale, £25,000 as a genuine need has been recognised. There would be support from the community if someone wanted to re-open it. Q – Is the scheme for bird and bat boxes sit going ahead? A – Yes, schemes for this year are starting, with advice from the right people within the council and a feasibility study carried out this scheme will go ahead. Thanks were given to all who attended by the ward councillors.