Agenda item

Cllr Cunningham-Cross welcomed everyone to the meeting. She explained this was a non political meeting and an opportunity for any issue of interest to be discussed. The minutes of the last annual meeting held on 30 April 2013 were approved and signed. The meeting was held in a more informal ‘circle’ style to encourage discussion and debate.

Matters arising:

The results of the Local Plan consultation are now in and in the process of being analysed. Cllr Watt explained that he is deputy chair of the Local Plan Working Group and has monthly briefings with Lead Officer martin Grainger at CYC. He said there had been an overwhelming response to the Plan and consultation. All comments received had to be placed in the public domain of the CYC website but before this could happen all submissions had to be redacted to remove names or any other material that could identify an individual and this process had caused considerable delay. The consultation had also included an opportunity for potential development sites to be put forward that had not been included in the original plan and all thse sites had to be visited. Consultants had now been appointed to examine the Local Plan to consider if the infrastructure was in place to support proposals. The Working Group would be meeting later this month to consider the draft Local Plan which will then go to Cabinet at the end of April. There will be another public consultation before the final plan goes to Cabinet and is then passed to the Local Government Inspector.

2.Police update

The PCSO gave a report. The following points were noted;

Reported crime since January:

The statistics showed little change from teh same period last year. The message remained for people to be aware of security and to contact the team about any issues or concerns.

The following questions were raised:

i)A resident noted that their driveway was regularly blocked by parents dropping off children at the school.

Response; The police have been working closely with the school on this. Officers are outside the school gate at the beginning and end of the day as often as possible, advice about dropping off children has been sent out in the school newsletter and work has been undertaken with the students focussing on safety issues.The new camera car will also be patrolling the area. In the meantime it was confirmed that it is an obstruction for a car to park across as driveway and residents are advised to call the police on 101 if their access is blocked.

ii)A resident expressed concern about pavement parking

Response; if this is causing an obstruction so that if for example a wheelchair is unable to get past the action taken will be up to the discretion of the office present.

3.Ward Budget and ward priorities 2014-15

The 2013-14 priorities were read out:

A thriving ward ; getting around easily and safely ; keeping our community safe

Grants totalling 5445 had been awarded. The budget for 2014-15 was 5,040 which would be allocated in accordance with the priorities to be decided.

A resident noted that organising the system on a rolling basis did not work for organisations that run continuously as it made it difficult to plan.

In response; Cllr Cunningham-Cross noted this and stated that ward funding was intended more as pump priming and not year on year funding. It could not be guaranteed and groups should therefore not rely on it as their main form of funding. It was agreed to review the guidance to make sure that it made it clear to applicants.

Cllr Cunningham-Cross said the meetings with residents tonight and throughout the year had highlighted 3 key areas:

i)transport and getting around

ii)activities for young people

iii)tackling antisocial behaviour

It was agreed to take these foward as the priorities for 2014-15.

4.Parish Reports

i)Rawcliffe Parish Council

Mark Waudby (Chair)reported that work in the Hall was complete and being well used. The memorial garden was a work in progress and a part time litter picker had been employed. Two new noticeboards had been erected and monthly parish walkabouts continued. The residents guide had not yet been produced. \it had been agreed to look into getting  more dog bins around the Recreation ground.Discussions with York Wheels about the transport into the city had not been as successful as they’d hoped. The parish would now be looking into other options. Another resident suggested the model in Liverpool where taxis provide a ‘bus service’.

ii)Skelton parish Council

Cllr Joe Watt noted that the boundary changes will put Skelton into Rural West ward. He reported that the owners of the Del Monte site were investigating the possibility of a residential development of the site, which would better than the current dereliction. Skelton PC accepted the need for new development in and around the village but residents were opposed to the 4,000 house development proposed in the Local Plan.

5.Anti-social behaviour

Cllr Cunningham-Cross noted the problems caused to residents by regular car club meetings at Clifton Moor.PCSO Krissie White said the team were working in conjunction with traffic officers and BritSafe who put the bollards up on the Trading Estate. The problem mostly occurred on Tuesday evenings and the situation was made more difficult by the fact that the land is privately owned.

Rawcliffe Skate Park proposals – the information was given out that there was going to be a consultation for residents/users on Tuesday 15 April at the Park and Ride office about the proposal for a new skatepark.

5.Any other business

There will be a Community Conversations event for all residents between 6 and 8pm on 30 July at St Mark’s Church Rawcliffe. There will be an hour’s information/market place followed by an hour’s Q&A with Cllr James Alexander, a Cabinet member and ward councillors.