Agenda and minutes

You will have an opportunity to talk to:

• Cllr James Alexander
• Cllr Denise Bowgett
• Cllr Sonia Crisp
• Your Street Environment Officer
• The Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Team
• Your Neighbourhood Management Officer

1.1    Residents had the opportunity to speak to Cllr James Alexander, Cllr Denise Bowgett, Cllr Sonja Crisp,  the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, Andrew Williams and Cindy Benton.

1.2    Residents also had an opportunity to find out more about services offered by the Citizens Advice Bureau and how to become a member of the NHS Foundation Trust.

2.1 Cllr Denise Bowgett welcomed residents to the meeting.

2.2 The minutes of the last were approved and signed.

An update from the Safer Neighbourhood Team on ward issues and your chance to ask any questions.

PC Jon Bostwick gave an update on Crime and Community Safety issues in the ward.  The following points were noted:

3.1      He has got to know the area well since the last ward committee meeting in October including the problem areas and the problem people.

3.2      Burglary, auto-crime and damage increased in 2008 but violent crime decreased.   Increased crime was city wide and a national trend in 2008.

3.3      The current economic problems and the people who are in and out of prison can have an effect on crime.

3.4      The Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) will be using the mobile police office to run surgeries in the community.  Leaflets with dates and locations were available for residents to take away.  The surgeries will also be advertised in The Press.

3.5      The SNT are actively promoting the ‘Immobilise’ system.  Immobilise is a free web based property registration site where residents can register every item of property which has a serial number.  If a stolen item of property is recovered and it is registered with Immobilise, any police officer in the country would be able to identify who it belonged to. 

3.6      The SNT are aiming to visit every street in the ward, knocking on doors and leaving packs with details about how to register property on Immobilise.  The SNT will register property for residents if they are given the details of the property and the serial numbers.  

3.7      PC Jon Bostwick asked residents to be patient as visiting every house in the ward will take time.  In the meantime, residents can find more information on www.immmobilise.com.

Residents asked the following questions:

a)  Is the increase in burglary in the Leeman Road area linked to the number of bail houses?

Response was given that there were five bail houses in this area, there are now four and hopefully this will be reduced to three.  It is impossible to say whether there is a direct link but the SNT are fully aware of the possible problem and are working with NACRO. 

b)  Why are there so many bail houses in such a small community?  It is inevitable that it will cause problems.

Responses was given that the SNT cannot answer this.  NACRO are looking to move the houses further apart to lessen the concentration of people using the service in one area.

b)  What is NACRO and what is its link to the National Probation Service (NPS)?

Response was given that NACRO is a crime reduction charity which is managed by the NPS.

d)  What happens if I register an item of property on immobilise and then sell it at a later date.

Response was given that the records can be amended.

e)  Can you do anything about the rubbish left by people drinking on Millennium Green?

Response was given that the SNT are aware of this problem and will liaise with the street environment officer to address it.

f)  Can we make Millennium Green a ‘No drinking area’ like the Museum  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Andrew Williams will be giving an update on the York Pride improvements in the Holgate ward.

Andrew Williams (AW) updated residents on street environment issues in the ward. The following points were noted:

4.1      In response to concerns raised about Millennium Green (point 3f), AW will go and have a look at the litter problems.  He will also be putting up some ‘no dog fouling’ signs in the area.

4.2      AW reported that he is being pro-active in terms of preventing dog fouling in the ward.  He approaches people walking dogs to ask them if they have any dog bags.  If the answer is no, he will remind them that it is an offence to allow dogs to foul and provides them with some dog bags.

4.3      As part of a ‘community payback’ scheme, the Probation Service are providing help to clean up and paint over graffiti in the ward.  The Street Environment Team are hoping to secure funding to purchase a pressure washer for them to use.  Private properties are currently a problem as the council has no power to enforce that the owners clean off graffiti.  AW hopes that with the help of the Probation Service, the team will have the resources to clean it off with permission from private residents.

4.4      There are forms available for residents to fill in to report any street environment issues that they have.

Residents asked the following questions:

a)  Shouldn’t the rowing club be taking some responsibility for cleaning up the graffiti on their walls, it has been there for a long time.

Response was given that it has been cleaned up a couple of times but the problem keeps reoccurring.  Hopefully, with the help of the Probation Service the team will be able to keep on top of this problem.   A database called TAAGY (Taking Action Against Graffiti in York) has been set up to keep a photographic record of incidences of graffiti across the city.  Residents are encouraged to take pictures of any graffiti they see and pass it onto their SNT to be uploaded onto the database.

b)  The goal posts painted on the wall in Back Park by the kids who play football there have been removed again.  I thought we had agreement that they could be left on as they serve a purpose and no-one minds?

Response was given that the team who clean up graffiti in the ward will be asked not to remove the goal posts in future.  Cllr Sonja Crisp agreed that the ward team would look into painting proper goal posts on the wall.

c)  Are the skips advertised in Your Ward going to be regular?

Response was given that the skips were funded by the 2008/09 ward committee budget.   Skips have also been included on the 2009/10 ward committee schemes list which needs to be approved at this meeting.

d)  The skip that came to Leeman Road on 24^th January was a waste of time.  It was supposed to be available from 8.30am to 9.30am but came at 8.10am and left at 9.10am.  The timing was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

There will be a presentation on the Trust’s first year and information on how you can become a member.

Patrick Crowley, Chief Executive of the NHS Foundation Trust spoke about what the Trust has been doing, where it hopes to go in the future and encouraged residents of the ward to become members.  The following points were noted:

5.1       The hospital became a foundation trust in April 2007 which is good for two reasons; 1) it allows the hospital to have much more autonomy in how it delivers health services, 2) it allows the hospital to recruit a membership to whom they are accountable.

5.2       Every member of hospital staff, everyone who lives in the York and Selby catchment area and anyone who was treated in York Hospital in the 3 years prior to it becoming a foundation trust is eligible to become a member.  So far the trust has around 18,000 members making it one of the largest foundation trusts in the country.

5.3       The trust has a board of governors elected by its members who are accountable to the local community.  Any member of the trust can stand to be elected as a governor. 

5.4       The trust has eight key objectives; 1) focus on patient safety and improving patient experience, 2) improved performance, 3) provide sufficient capacity to meet demand, 4)  be a provider of choice, 5) look after the workforce, 6) develop and agree a strategic vision for clinical services, 7) develop the site to improve the environment in which we deliver care, 8) improve communication, consultation and public engagement.

5.5       The trusts current priorities are increasing bed numbers, improving staffing, improving safety for patients and reducing waiting times. 

5.6       The trust is currently seeing the majority of patients within 18 weeks of referral from the GP but want to improve on this.

5.7       The trust is endeavouring to redevelop the hospital.  There has been a temporary set back with the multi-storey car park but this is now back on track.  This will be the first stage in redeveloping the site.  Residents are urged to be patient during the building of the car park, the situation will get worse before it gets better but it is important to keep the end result in mind.

Residents asked the following questions:

a)  Does registering as a member mean you become part of a committee?

Response was given that no, members are not part of a committee but they are able to vote to elect governors and stand to be elected as a governor themselves.

b)  The term membership implies ‘exclusivity’.  Don’t you think this gives out the wrong message?

Response was given that recruiting a membership is a statutory obligation of being a foundation trust.  Being a member enables people to tell the trust what its priorities should be. 

c) Will the new multi-storey car park be for staff or visitors?

Response was given that the majority of the car park will be for visitors.  The trust have a staff travel plan which encourages staff not to drive to work.  There will however be a number of spaces  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The ward councillors will present the provisional ward schemes list for the coming year.

6.1 There were no objections raised to the provisional schemes and they were formally approved.

The following comments were made by residents:

a)  A vehicle activated 30mph sign would also be useful in Leeman Road on the stretch between the marble arch and the Junction pub.

Cllr James Alexander advised that the ward committee would find out if money could be obtained from another part of the council to fund this and if not, this could be put forward as a ward committee scheme for 2010-11.

b) A representative from the Millennium Trust would like to thank the ward committee and all the residents that voted in favour of giving the trust funding to maintain the site.

c) The street sign on Garfield Terrace needs to read ‘Garfield Terrace leading to Garnet Terrace’.

Response was given that the ward committee will look into funding this. 

Your opportunity to discuss local issues and concerns with your ward councillors.

a)  Please can we have some more dog bins on the stray on Leeman Road

Response was given that the ward team will look into this.

b)  Please can we have the salt bin on Aldborough Way filled up?

Response was given that the ward team will arrange this.

c)  The refuse collectors have taken away all the blue and green recycling bags on Manor Drive North.

Response was given that the ward team will arrange for replacements to be delivered.

d)  What is the progress with introducing recycling bins in Leeman Road?

Response was given that this is currently being trialled in the Groves.  If it is successful it will be rolled out to other areas.

e)  The council should publicise warnings about flytipping.

Response was given that the team will look into the possibility of putting something in Your Ward.

f)  The salt bin at the top of the hill off Manor Drive North has been removed.  The footpath has been treacherous in the bad weather. 

Response was given that the council removed all salt bins in the city a couple of years ago.  The ward committee has a pot of money for salt bins and will look into getting a replacement. 

g)  Who should we contact when a salt bin needs filling up?

Response was given that residents should contact their Neighbourhood Management Officer on 551832.

h)  There are a number of problems on Cinder Lane; the bin has disappeared,  the path is never gritted which makes it treacherous in bad weather and there are leaves all over it – all year round cleaning is needed.

Response was given that the ward team will look into this.

i)  Why does the council have to fund the repairs to the ‘riverside bridge’?  Why aren’t the Environment Agency paying for this?

Response was given that the team would make further enquiries about this.