Agenda and minutes

The drop in surgery gives you the opportunity to talk to your councillor, street environment officer, safer neighbourhood team, neighbourhood management officer and visiting speakers in an informal setting. 

See the exhibition on the Local Development Framework Strategy.

Mind at Our Celebration (formerly York Mind) will be at the surgery with information about their befriending service.

1.1     Residents had the opportunity to speak to Councillors Firth, Cuthbertson and Richardson, Claire Taylor, Iain Dunn, Maureen Scott, Gill Cooper,  PC Lailah Nijaila and PCSO Tom Laurie.

1.2     Representatives from the following groups were present with information about their services and application’s for ward committee funding:

·        York Community Watch Association

·        Active York

·        Street Sport York

·        Wigginton Churchfield Committee

·        Haxby in Bloom

·        Wigginton Old School

·        City of York Council Arts and Events

·        Haxby Memorial Hall

·        York Wheels

·        York & District Citizens Advice Bureau

·        Family Matters York

·        Haxby & Wigginton Youth and Community Association

·        City of York Council Adults Provision

Welcome and Minutes

2.1  Cllr Paul Firth welcomed residents to the meeting.

2.2  The minutes of the last meeting on 26^th July were agreed with amendments to points 2a and 7c as follows:

2a) Five of the candidates in the election were not ward residents and one of  the elected councillors does not live in the ward. 

Response was given that the councillor concerned had been a ward resident for about 14 out of the last 17 years and had only recently moved to live just outside the boundary.

7c) What has happened to the proposals for Haxby Station?

Response was given that the plans are currently on hold as funding could not be secured.  It is not clear what is going to happen but it is unlikely there will be any developments in the near future.  Councillor Cuthbertson added that the possibility of going ahead with the rail halt had come up several times over recent years, not always at election time, but that the different bodies which could authorise the project or approve funding had eventually turned down the idea each time for a variety of reasons. 

Your local police team will give an update on issues in your ward and answer any questions you have. 

PC Lailah Nijaila and PCSO Tom Laurie gave an overview of recent Crime and Community Safety issues in the ward.  The following points were noted:

3.1  PC Lailah Nijaila is the beat manager covering the outer rural policing area.  The team is made up of herself and eight Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).

3.2  Rural Watch has been officially launched with 55 farms signing up to date.  Farms are a target for crime and this is a positive step in addressing this. 

3.3  17 crimes were reported in Haxby during the month of September.  Residents were advised to secure their sheds and garages.  Bike theft continues to be a problem in this ward as across the rest of the city and residents were reminded of the Operation Spoke cycle tagging scheme.   Residents should contact the team for more information.

3.4  The problems at Mancroft Park over the summer have greatly reduced now.  Signs have been installed in the park with the closing hours.

3.5  A large gang of young people on BMX bikes are currently causing anti-social behaviour problems in the ward including performing stunts over graves in Haxby cemetery.   Many of the bikes have no lights or brakes.  Residents were asked to report any issues to the team.

3.6  As of December 2011, the non-emergency number for the police will change to 101, replacing 0845 6060247.  Residents were reminded that 999 should always be used in an emergency.

The following questions and comments were noted:

a)    There is an accident waiting to happen with young people cycling on their BMX bikes on the pavements.  What are the team doing about it?

Response was given that the team are aware of this problem and are primarily trying to deal with this through education.

b)    Why don’t the young people use the skate park?

Response was given that it is not seen as ‘cool’ and they think it is better to skate on the street furniture. 

c)    Is there police cover in the ward overnight?

Response was given that the Safer Neighbourhood Team work until midnight and after this time the rural areas are covered by city centre response officers in vehicles. 

d)    Can the parking slots outside Boots the Chemist be increased in size as they are not big enough to fit an average sized car without the tail end sticking out.

Response was given that this will passed on the CYC Highways team for consideration. 

Your Street Environment Officer, Iain Dunn will talk about the work he is doing around the ward and the initiatives the team are involved in.

2012 is the 800^th anniversary of York becoming a self governing city.  Hear more about the celebrations and how local communities can be involved. 

Gill Cooper gave a brief talk on York 800.  The following points were noted:

5.1  In 2012 York celebrates 800 years since the city was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1212, allowing York to take charge of its financial affairs and to trade freely. In response, York's citizens created a council led by a mayor to manage the city's affairs, laying the foundations of local democracy.

5.2  In addition to this York has the Olympic torch coming through the City, making 2012 a very big year culturally.

5.3  There is a full programme of events running throughout 2012, some of the highlights including the return of the Mystery Plays into the Museum Gardens, a mass singing event involving local choirs and a project call Yorkstories which will capture and archive stories and the voice of the ordinary citizen of York.  A full programme of events will be available early 2012 on City of York Councils website and in community venues across the city.

5.4  Residents were encouraged to email the team at York800@york.gov.uk if they have any further suggestions , would like to be involved or would like more information. 

Hear about the progress of the 2011-12 schemes and find out more information about the schemes on the 2012-13 ballot list.  If you have made one of the suggestions on the list come along and tell people more about it.

6.1  Cllr Paul Firth reported the following adjustments to the 2001-12 ward committee budget:

·         A grant of £500 issued Haxby in Bloom for Autumn planting; this was following an invitation for extra applications at the July ward committee. 

·         The salt bin allocation increased to £1700. 

·         Funding approved for five Street Sport sessions in the ward over the coming months

·         Reinstatement of  the grant to Wigginton Old School to the full £2000 that they requested (this was reduced to £1500 as a result of the reduction in the budget at the beginning of the year)

Residents were given the opportunity to discuss the local improvement schemes and grant applications put forward for the 2012-13 ward committee budget.  The following points were noted:

6.2  There is no guarantee how much the budget will be for the 2012-13 ward budget. 

6.3  Representatives gave more information about the following schemes:

·        HX-12-01 - York Community Watch Association – application for £50 to support new and existing Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

·        HX-12-02 - Street Sport York – application for £2000 to run 10 two hour sessions around the ward

·        HX-12-08 - Wigginton Churchfield Committee – application for £3864 to replace a rotten fence between the dog walking area and the recreation field

·        HX-12-09 – Haxby in Bloom – application for £500 for the purchase of seeds and bulbs.

·        HX-12-10 – Wigginton Old School – application for £3000 towards a rolling programme of improvements to the building

·        HX-12-11 – City of York Council Arts and Events – application for £2000 towards the YorStories project which will archive stories about life in York over the years as part of the York 800 celebrations.

·        HX-12-13 – Haxby Memorial Hall – application for £2600 to insulate the roof and adjoining annexe.

·        HX-12-14 – City of York Council Adults Provision - application for £500 for a music based participatory programme at Haxby Hall.

·        HX-12-16 – York Wheels – application for £100 to raise the profile of the organisation

·        HX-12-18 – York and District Citizens Advice Bureau – application for £4874 to continue running the fortnightly outreach sessions in the ward

·        HX-12-21 – Family Matters York – application for £480 to run a ‘Time Out from Anger’ course for parents and carers in the ward

·        HX-12-22 – Haxby and Wigginton Youth and Community Association – application for £8000 for youth provision three nights a week, 49 weeks of the year

6.4  Residents were encouraged to state their preferences on the schemes by filling in the ballot form and returning it to the Neighbourhood Management Unit.

Your chance to ask questions about local issues and concerns not covered by the agenda.

No questions or comments were noted.