Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Councillor Douglas declared a personal non prejudicial interest in item 7 as she was the Vice Chair of Clifton Residents’ Association.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 25 January 2012.

RESOLVED:      That the minutes of the Clifton Ward Committee held on 25 January 2012 be signed as a correct record.

A representative from the Policing Team will talk about and answer questions on their work in the ward.

PC Ian Richardson gave an overview on recent Crime and Community Safety issues in the ward and the following points were raised:

·        All the North East response teams for York were now based at Clifton Police Station allowing more Police transport through the area.

·        Anti social behaviour had decreased in the ward and the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team would continue to monitor the situation.

In answer to residents and members questions regarding speeding in the area particularly Westminster Road PC Richardson confirmed he would pass all comments back to the Traffic Management Officer who was actively assessing the area as an ongoing investigation was taking place. Members confirmed that as a ward committee they had very little power to take control of the speeding issues but would arrange for a letter to be sent to the Police expressing residents concerns.

Some local residents enquired about borrowing a speed camera to monitor the speeding. PC Richardson had not heard of this approach before but would consult with the Traffic Management Officer.

RESOLVED:        (i)     That a letter be sent to the Police expressing residents speeding concerns.

                              (ii)  That members note the update from the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team.

Reason:                (i) To address residents queries.

(ii)To keep members informed on Policing matters in their Ward

At this point in the meeting you can raise any issues or concerns you may have in respect of the ward.

The Chair introduced ‘Have Your Say’ and asked residents to raise any issues or concerns they may have in respect of their ward.

Some residents expressed concerns about  the bus services in the area, in particular the number 19 and the Park and Ride costs. Their main points were:

·        The No. 19 timetable had been altered up to 6 times within the last year.

·        The council website still showed the No. 19 as a supported service although Transdev showed it as unsupported.

·        The current route of the 19x could be altered to be a more cost affective route by reducing the mileage and increasing passengers if it continued via Rawcliffe Drive and Eastholme Drive to the Mitre pub.

·        The new bus stop sign recently erected opposite St Peters School failed to show the 19B whilst the stop in Piccadilly still showed the number 22.

·        The Park and Ride fare structure was unfair for local residents as the fare into the city for a family frorm Rawcliffe Bar was £5 whilst a much shorter journey from Water Lane or Burdyke Ave was £7.40.

Members agreed with residents regarding the bus services in the area and stated that they and City of York Council had very little control over the subsidised services. Ward members stated that they had no budget to subsidise bus services but agreed to

·        put pressure on the bus providers.

·        invite the bus company to an informal meeting.

·        invite the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning & Sustainability to a future meeting.

·        Pass residents comments onto the Sustainable Transport Operations Manager at City of York Council.¹

RESOLVED: That residents concerns be noted.

REASON: To address residents queries.

The Neighbourhood Manager will outline the process for grant funding for 2013/14 onwards and the Ward Committee will be asked to adopt the priorities under the Community Contract for 2012/13.

Residents were informed that Kay Bailey, the Neighbourhood Management Officer (NMO) would be introducing the Community Contract for the Clifton Ward. 

The NMO explained that Ward Committees across York were developing Community Contracts that were agreements between each Ward Committee, local residents, City of York Council, Parish Councils, the Police and other service providers

The NMO informed those present that the document would contain the following information:

·        Tell the story of the ward.

·        Clarify the basic service delivery communities can expect.

·        Highlight specific challenges within the ward.

·        List volunteering opportunities within the area.

·        Provide information relating to how communities can engage and be involved.

The Contract would allow Ward Members to make recommendations, in consultation with residents, to City of York Council, other partners that work across the City and those that work locally within the ward, so that improvements could be made to service delivery to reflect the needs of Clifton Ward.

Members thanked the NMO for her presentation and encouraged residents to get involved by giving any feedback that would help develop the document to their local Councillor or the Neighbourhood Management Team on (01904) 551832.

RESOLVED:  That the update from the NMO be noted.

REASON: To ensure that priorities under the Community Contract are adopted for the ward for the forthcoming year.

To formally agree the schemes to be funded through the Ward Committee for 2012/13 (to view the schemes for the ward go to www.york.gov.uk/wards/)

Ward Members expressed their concerns regarding the changes to the ward funding and explained to residents how the funding had been spilt into three pots:

·        Ward Fund Grants:  Each ward had an allocation to use as grant funding to commission local voluntary and community organisations to meet identified needs.

·        Other Voluntary Sector Support:  A centralised fund to support those voluntary sector organisations that provide services to more than one ward.  It was not intended that this fund would be open to Council services such as Street Sport; however, it was proposed that in the first year only, whilst the Ward Credits pot was being established, Council services were allowed to bid.

·        Ward Credits:  A “credits pot” to be allocated to identified wards to be used to commission new services, either from within the Council or from other partners / sectors, to deliver on the Ward priorities. 

Members agreed to allocate:

·        £250 to Clifton Elderberries – A grant to subsidise three coach trips for older residents in the ward.

·        £2,800 to Bootham & Clifton out & About – A Grant to fund 13 coach and minibus outings throughout the year.

·        £500 to Kingswater Dance Group – A grant to support the group, which meets at Burton Stone Community Centre.

·        £500 to Burton Stone Lane Community Hub – A grant to help with IT equipment.

·        £500 to Clifton Residents’ Association – A grant to the group to help with the local fun day.

·        £340 to go into a discretionary fund for Community Groups to use later in the year.

Members stated that Community Groups from within the ward who would like to make a bid from the discretionary fund were welcomed to request an application form from the Neighbourhood Management Unit on (01904) 551832.  The successful groups would be announced at the next informal meeting.

Members informed residents that they would like to be involved in any fund raising events that were taking place within the ward.

RESOLVED:   That the allocation of ward funding, as outlined above, be approved.

REASON: To enable ward grant funding to be allocated to local ward schemes for the forthcoming year.

The Chair introduced Lesley White the Health and Community Consultant who was in attendance to update residents on the Clifton Partnership.

Residents were informed that the Partnership raises aspirations of young people in the ward and:

•         meets every half term to provide an overview of activities in response to identified need, as well as planning future work

•         supports the wellbeing of the community and builds on existing partnerships to provide solutions to help the positive work completed to date

•         have six subgroups running alongside the partnership: Fun Event; Halloween Event; Generational Cooking Competition; Olympic Event; Clifton Together and applications for funding subgroup

•         was constantly monitoring and planning work collaboratively to build Social Capital and develop strong positive relationships to benefit the community.

•         works in partnership with various bodies such as, The Police, Youth Service, Estate Managers, Children Centre Staff, Headteachers and school staff, Family Learning, Fire Service and Community Centre  Manager.

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions and members thanked officers for the work they had done.

RESOLVED: That members note the update.

REASON: To keep members informed on matters in their ward.

To help identify issues to be the focus for the next informal meeting.

The Chair  introduced the ‘Your Ward Forum’ and asked residents to suggest issues that they would like to see discussed at the next informal meeting.

Members explained that Ward Committees would consist of one formal and two informal meetings a year.  The dates of the meetings would be advertised in the Your Voice publication.

It was agreed that the following should be considered for a future meeting:

·        Invite a representative from the bus companies.

·        Invite the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning & Sustainability to discuss speeding and public transport in the ward.

·        Invite a selection of Young People from the local schools to hear their perspective.

·        An update on York City Football ground.

Some residents expressed concerns that the bus stop on Clifton outside Boots Pharmacy did not have a timetable showing.  Members agreed to consult with the Sustainable Transport Operations Manager. ¹

Members encouraged residents to e-mail them any other suggestions they may have.

Members announced that to enable them to engage more with local residents they were happy to receive information about any events that would be taking place within the ward.

RESOLVED: That the agreed topics be noted and considered for the informal ward committee meetings.

REASON: To provide issues for consideration at future meetings of the ward committee.