Agenda and draft minutes

Talk to your local councillors, groups and organisations.

Give us your views on what is important to you in your community.

·       Introductions

·       Neighbourhood Action Plan – a discussion in small groups with the aim to identify solutions to challenges at a ward level and develop an action plan

·       Have your say

Chaired by Cllr Fenton who opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Colleagues from the Local Police Team were not able to join us and the meeting started with the Neighbourhood Action Plan item.

Neighbourhood Action Plan

With the use of PowerPoint presentation Cllr Fenton outlined the Neighbourhood Action Plan approach, a collaborative effort to work with partners at a ward level to address priority areas and following the Area Based Community Development principles. Following the presentation Cllr Fenton invited the meeting to split up into four groups to discuss potential further solutions, actions and responses to challenges identified under each of the following priority areas.

Health and wellbeing - including promoting activities and volunteering opportunities available locally

·      19.6% of Reception age children are overweight, comparing to 22.5% for York as average.

·      There are 515 children in Dringhouses and Woodthorpe aged 0-5 vs 410 on average for York wards.

·      Limited free to access constructive and healthy activities for children and young people within the ward.

Health and Wellbeing / Tackling the Cost-of-living crisis

·      Percentage of residents feeling socially isolated and feeling that they don’t do anything of value with their time is slightly above York’s average.

·      Residents worried about money and struggling to make ends meet.

Equality of opportunity - including supporting organisations providing low or no cost activities locally

·      Communicating about services and activities available locally to encourage participation.

Environment and climate emergency

·      Protecting and improving local green spaces and strengthening biodiversity.

·      Improving play and recreation spaces.

·      Making sustainable modes of travel (public transport, cycling, walking and wheeling) easier, safer and more convenient.

The following feedback was offered following round table discussions:

·      It is good to hear that such a hight number of projects is taking place. Perhaps focus should be placed on communicating about what is already available? Live Well York, an information and advice community website for all adults could be used for that purpose and perhaps creation of a digital ward directory with links to organisation websites could be investigated?

·      Distribution of a hard copy newsletter could help with promotion of events and activities.

·      In terms of the local environment, planting of trees in verges could deter illegal parking.

·      Improvements to surface of local pavements would encourage more people to walk i.e. water tends to puddle on a pavement on St James Place.

·       A concern was raised about people who may be isolated at their own house and not going, or participating in groups at all. First step would be to identify where they live and then offer information about local social groups and offer company? Perhaps a questionnaire through the door giving residents a chance to respond would be an option? We would need a list of volunteers who would be happy to offer social interaction support. It would be a big job to put a project like that together.

·      Perhaps local tradesmen could pledge to offer time for free to help transform empty housing into community centres? Fundraising would be required to make it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.