Agenda and draft minutes

Ward Members welcomed everyone to the meeting.

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

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the Haxby and Wigginton Ward Committee held on 30 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 Lailah Nijaila, PCSO Natalie Turner and  PCSO Tom Laurie gave an overview on recent Crime and Community Safety issues in the ward. The following points were raised by PC Nijaila:

·        A new North Yorkshire Policing Structure had been in place for a few weeks which had increased staffing levels to allow more response cover during the day and night.

·        There had been a slight increase in burglaries in the ward over recent months in particular in garages, dwellings and sheds. This was not uncommon over the lighter months and residents were reminded to be extra vigilant and keep windows and garages locked.

·        The mobile Police Officers were patrolling the ward and delivering Crime Prevention material.

·        There was a slight increase in criminal damage in the ward but this was not uncommon in the summer months.

Residents were encouraged to take away the Crime Prevention material that was available at the meeting to ensure their property and belongings were well secure. PC Nijaila also encouraged residents to project their belongings by registering them at www.immobilise.com.

The following points were raised by PCSO Tom Laurie:

·        Antisocial behaviour at Mancroft had decreased since a new approach had been taken to not lock the park. The Police would continue to monitor the situation and would continue to review it.

·        Reports on speeding in the ward were still logged with the Police and they would continue to monitor and target the areas.

·        Residents could help their local Policing Team to make a difference to the area by reporting any criminals or information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Alternatively residents could contact North Yorkshire Police using the new 101 telephone number. By choosing option 2 and stating either the PC number or name residents would be connected direct to that Police Officer.

·        Residents were reminded to still ring 999 in emergencies.

Ward Members thanked the Policing Team for their update.

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

REASON:                     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 Ward Members 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 First York bus service in particular the number 12 as it was regularly late. Members agreed that improvements needed to be made and suggested residents keep registering their complaints with First York.

RESOLVED: That residents concerns be noted.

REASON: To address residents queries.

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 stated that they were unable to formally agree at the meeting all the schemes to be funded through the Ward Committee for 2012/13 due to the amount of funding decreasing significantly from £20,000 to £5,160. 

Members agreed to allocate:

·        £1000 to Wigginton Old School Committee towards a rolling programme of improvements to the building.

·        £1000 to Wigginton Churchfield POS Committee to replace a rotten fence between the dog walking area and recreation field.

·        £3160 into a community chest and applications that fall with this budget were invited from ward based community groups.

Members encouraged the community groups who were interested in receiving a sum of funding from the community chest to contact the Neighbourhood Management Unit on (01904) 551832 for further information and to receive an application form. 

Members confirmed they would write to the Neighbourhood Management Officer to confirm who had been successful in receiving funding from the community chest and they would also make an announcement at the next informal meeting.

In answer to residents questions it was confirmed that:

·        Applications from groups who were no longer eligible for ward funding were invited to reapply to the voluntary sector funding pot.

The Neighbourhood Management Officer stated that an formal launch of Community York, City of York’s new grant fund for voluntary and community groups had been held on 12^th June. If residents missed this workshop then more information about the fund was available through the Neighbourhood Management Unit on (01904) 551832.

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.

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.

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 invited to attend a future meeting:

·        a representative from First York

·        the Toe Nail Cutting Service

·        a representative to explain the Central Pot funding schemes.

Some residents discussed the possibility of setting up a business forum for all the local businesses in the ward.

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

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