Agenda and draft minutes

Residents had the opportunity to speak to Ward Councillors, Neighbourhood Management, their Safer Neighbourhood Team and Street Environment Officer.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 30 January 2012.

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the Ward Committee held on 30^th January 2012 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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

PC Andy Chapman and Sgt Ed Noble gave an update on the current crime figures in the Ward and recent initiatives carried out by the Policing team.

They advised that crime was down 24% in Holgate Ward. In particular, anti social behaviour had decreased due to the ‘Anti Social Behaviour Car’ which is operated by Police Community Support Officers. Hotspots are visited by the patrol car to mitigate against the Police being called.

Burglary is still an issue in the Ward and a campaign is underway to remind residents of the importance of locking doors. A number of drugs warrants had also been undertaken following information received from the community and residents were encouraged to continue providing Police with information.

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions as follows:

·        What should resident do if they are aware of a property/individuals that are possibly involved in drugs?

In response, PC Chapman advised that information can be given to the Police on the non-emergency number 101 and it will be followed up.

·        Will the details of residents providing information be kept confidential?

Yes – you can give information anonymously on the Police 101 number or via Crimestoppers. The Police will also speak to residents on the telephone to avoid house calls or you can visit the Police Station.

·        Are there any Speed Cameras near the Iron Bridge on Holgate Road? As motorcycles in particular go too fast in that area.

It was confirmed that it can be arranged for a mobile speed camera to visit the area as a preventative measure against speeding, but there are no plans to place a camera in the area permanently.

Sgt Ed Noble spoke to introduce himself to residents as he is a new member of the team. He was pleased to see a number of residents in attendance at the meeting and encouraged them to contact the Police with any concerns they may have.

RESOLVED:                That Members noted the update from the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team.

REASON:                     To keep Members informed on Policing matters in their Ward.

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.

Kate Bowers (Head of Neighbourhood Management) addressed residents to introduce Neighbourhood Working and Community Contracts and ask Ward Members to adopt the priorities under the Community Contract for 2012/13.

Ward Committees across York are developing Community Contracts. They are agreements between each Ward Committee, the Community, Council Departments and other organisations that provide services.

Community Contracts were explained to those present and the key points were highlighted as follows:

·        They will tell the story of the Ward

·        They will highlight specific challenges in the Ward.

·        They will clarify the basic service delivery communities can expect.

·        They will list volunteering opportunities.

·        They will provide information relating to how communities can engage and be involved.

The 3 priorities under the community contract for Holgate Ward were highlighted as being as follows:

·        Community Safety

·        Environment

·        Economy.

RESOLVED:                That the 3 priorities for Holgate Ward under the Community Contract were agreed by Ward Members.

REASON:                     To ensure that priorities under the Community Contract are adopted for Holgate 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/)

The Ward Members were asked to agree the schemes to be funded through the Ward Committee for 2012/13.

The Neighbourhood Manager explained that funding has been split into  three pots:

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

·     Other Voluntary Sector Support:  Funding to support those voluntary sector organisations that provide services to more than one ward and that are currently forced to apply for a plethora of individual ward committee grants.  It is not intended that this fund would be open to Council services such as Street Sport; however, it is proposed that in the first year only, whilst the Ward Credits pot is being established, Council services are allowed to bid.

Your Consortium won the tender to administer the schemes according to the Council’s criteria and priorities and will provide support to the recipient organisations including accessing additional funding / revenue sources, helping them to become more sustainable.

·     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. 

For Holgate Ward it was reported that following a voting process involving residents that the following would be funded from the Ward budget:

·        Friends of West Bank Park, £1000 Funding for their Summer Fair. This is valuable funding as without it they would struggle to fund the well attended event. The funding for this has been released early as the arrangements for the Summer Fair are already underway.

·        Holgate Scout Group, £1000 to help the group fund their new mini bus. Fundraising has been ongoing and this grant will provide a much needed investment and allow the group to attend national events safely.

·        Over 60’s Monday Club, £1000 to continue the valued outings for the group. The club is a well established and highly valued activity for many local residents. The club meet every Monday at Poppleton Road Memorial Hall.

·        St Pauls Church, £500 to run a monthly lunch club.

Young at Heart (St. Paul’s) is up and running on the Second Wednesday of the month at the Carlton Tavern, Acomb Road 12.00—2.30pm. Meals are £5 and offer and opportunity to make new friends and be entertained.

·          Millenium Green Trust –  £420 for the Trust to cut the grass, buy insurance and maintain its website.

·          Poppleton Memorial Hall £470 for new vinyl floor in the kitchen.

·          Holgate pre-school £200 for crafts and daily snacks.

·          St. Pauls Church £200 to set up a social and craft group

Residents present at the meeting expressed disappointment with the level of funding allocated to the Millenium Green Trust. Ward Members confirmed that they would arrange a meeting with the Officer for Parks and Open Spaces at the Council to discuss possible options.

RESOLVED:                That Ward Members noted the allocation of ward funding as outlined above.

REASON:                     To enable ward grant funding to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To receive an update on recycling and waste collections in the Ward.

Michelle Watling (Street Environment Officer) provided an update on recycling and waste collections in the Leeman Road area.

She advised that the Council’s plans to have front door waste collections had not worked in the Leeman Road area and as a result it had been agreed to allow residents to continue to use Wheelie Bins. However, from September 2012 the rules surrounding Wheelie Bin use will be enforced more rigorously to ensure that bins are not left out on the streets. The following guidelines were outlined:

·         Bins must be stored inside yards or well within the back lanes.

·        Bins should be put out at designated collection points after 7pm the night before collection and before 7am on the day of collection.

·        Refuse collectors will not collect bins that are left a long way up lanes but will take bins that are just within lanes with gates. The Council are aware that not all lanes have enough space for all bins to be placed outside of alleygates.

·        Each property will be issued with a heavy duty sticker/marker to apply to identify which bin belongs to which property.

·        Warnings will be issued to properties who leave their bins out on the footpath or at the end of lanes.

·        Repeat offenders will have their bins confiscated.

·        There will be assisted collections for residents who require help.

Some residents raised concerns about bins left in lanes being used by burglars to get over high walls. In response, members advised that ideally bins should be taken inside yards and that all risk from burglary can not be eliminated completely.

Members advised that the system is intended to put house numbers on bins rather than names and that they would like to see a system whereby everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and when.

The suggestions were the result of a final meeting between Ward Members and Council Staff and would be implemented from September. Communication would be issued to affected residents.

RESOLVED: (i)  That Ward Members noted the update from the Environment Officer.

(ii)  That the request for a recycling bin for Poppleton Memorial Hall be noted and investigated.¹

REASON:     (i)   To keep Ward Members informed on changes to waste and recycling.

                      (ii)   In response to residents requests.

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

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

The Ward Members advised that any issue could be put forward, either Ward connected or City wide.

A resident suggested that the forthcoming plans for the A59 corridor Park and Ride could be discussed. Of particular interest was the proposed provision of a Bus Lane that would run along Boroughbridge Road across the end of Plantation Drive and Princess Drive. It was suggested that a number of residents in the Holgate area may be interested in this. Members agreed that it could be included on the agenda and that the relevant Council officers would be invited to attend the next meeting to address residents.

Following discussions on the previous agenda item regarding the Millenium Green at Leeman Road, it was suggested that an agenda item on Parks and Open Spaces in the Ward could be included.

RESOLVED:                That at the next Informal Ward meeting the A59 corridor and Parks and Open Spaces on Holgate Ward will be discussed.

REASON:                     To address residents queries.