Agenda and minutes

You will have an opportunity to talk to:

• Your Micklegate Councillors
• Matthew Ward, Neighbourhood Management Officer
• The Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team
• Clair Bailey-Lane, Street Environment Officer

PLUS:

• Arts Project Consultation
• Libraries
• My Place
• St. Clements Hall Preservation Trust
• Parks and Open Spaces
• Friends of Rowntree Park
• Immobilise

Residents had the opportunity to speak to:

• Cllrs Gunnell, Merrett and Fraser
• Matthew Ward, Neighbourhood Management Officer
• The Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team
• Clair Bailey-Lane, Street Environment Officer

Sarah Garbacz from Libraries was present to speak to residents about the Central Library ‘Explore’ plans.

Dave Meigh from Parks and Open Spaces was present to speak to residents about plans for parks in Micklegate.

Mike Heyworth from the Friends of Rowntree Park was present to speak to residents about the plans for the summer and the Ark project.

Pauline Buchanan from the St. Clements Hall Preservation Trust was present to update residents on the progress of the hall.

Sgt. Rick Ball was present to promote the Immobilise scheme.  There was a laptop with internet available for people to register their valuable items at the surgery.

Phil Bixby from My Place was present to speak to residents about the progress of the My Place proposals for the Railway Institute.

Displays of the artwork from each of the four short-listed artists for the Bishopthorpe Road/Scarcroft Road junction Arts Project were available for residents to vote on which artist was their favourite.

Cllr Julie Gunnell opened the main meeting.  The minutes from February’s meeting were agreed and signed.

Zoe Burns, Head of Neighbourhood Management and Business Support, will be talking about how you can get involved in the Sustainable Communities Act.

Zoë Burns, Head of Neighbourhood Management and Business Support, gave a presentation about the Sustainable Communities Act.

1. The Sustainable Communities Act is a lobbying Act that seeks the ideas of residents to potentially generate new powers for local authorities. It’s basic principle is sustainability, and it is informed by the idea that local people are best informed to know what is required in their local communities. The Act has a broad definition of sustainability, encompassing economic, social and environmental factors.

2. While the overall consultation process is quite complex, it has been simplified by using ward committee meetings, parish councils, community organisations and online surveys to solicit ideas. Ideas and suggestions then come to the council and are examined by experts in various fields, explored in greater detail by citizen panels and Local Strategic Partnership, and then passed to central government through the Local Government Association (LGA). The LGA will explore common themes that emerge from consultations across the country and pass the information to central government who must produce an action plan.    

3. Proposals should relate to powers that are currently held by central government and that promote the idea of sustainable communities. Some issues that might be addressed by the Act include: the local authority could ask for the power to retain a greater portion of rent from council housing; business rates could go back into the local economy; lobby to generate power locally.

4. In order to develop ideas to pass onto the LGA, the deadline for initial suggestions is May 8, 2009. Apologies were made for the very short timescale.  Suggestions can be made by filling in a form that is available from the Neighbourhood Management Unit, completing the online survey at the council website, or by emailing shapingneighbourhoods@york.gov.uk.   

5. There have been over 200 suggestions already, including local issues which we can already tackle and will look at.  Examples of the kinds of suggestions we have received involve allotments, compulsory purchase of unused building, bus routes, local energy generation and changes to planning requirements.

6. This may happen again, although it is not yet clear whether it is an annual process or not.

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions:

Q: Is this being funded within the council’s budget or from central government?

A:  It depends which proposals go forward. Some could actually be money-making, for example all rent collected from housing being put back in to the local council.  It is hard to say as it is not clear yet how central government will handle the suggestions.

Q: Could money gained from tourism all go back in to the council’s funds?

A: Yes, as long as it falls within the sustainability criteria.

Q: What time is the deadline tomorrow and how am I able to suggest something?  If I post a suggestion tomorrow will it still be counted.

A: Yes we will count votes which we receive from Micklegate up until Monday afternoon, in light of the fact that your meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Malcolm Smith, Deputy Bench Chair, will talk about the Magistrates in the Community Programme and how it involves you.

Malcolm Smith, Deputy Bench Chair, spoke about the York Magistrates’ Court.

1. He introduced himself and his two colleagues who also contributed to the presentation, Jenny Taylor and Bernard Everett. The purpose of their visits to this round of ward committees is to dispel myths and misunderstandings about magistrates.
2. Magistrates are volunteers, and their role is almost unique.  The first ‘justices of the peace’ came about in 1362, so the tradition has been going a long time.
3. 96% of all crime is dealt with by the magistrates. The remaining 4% are the very serious crimes which get dealt with by the crown court.  Their role is to hear evidence in trials and come to a decision about the appropriate sentence.
4. The magistrates now have the power to use problems in local communities (‘aggravating features’) as part of their decision-making guidance.  This came through the Criminal Justice Act 2003.  They are interested in hearing about the local community’s concerns to give them an understanding of which problems are considered prevalent in the local area.
5. The magistrates usually sit in groups of three to make decisions. The presence of three opinions form a safe system.
6. Sentencing depends on a mixture of aims: punishment, rehabilitation and protection of the public.
7. The advantage of the voluntary nature of the role is that magistrates are completely independent. They try very hard to act on the best interests of everyone. They are not under any obligation to the government. The judicial oath is sworn directly to the sovereign.
8. If anyone is interested in coming to the court, they can organise a visit including a tour and an explanation of the court in action.

Malcolm Smith’s colleague, Jenny Taylor, spoke about the sentencing powers of magistrates.  There are five levels:

·       Absolute discharge, which is rare.

·       Conditional discharge.

·       Fine, which is used most often.  The fine will be based on income which includes benefits.

·       Community order, including one or more requirements out of a choice of 12, for example, community payback, curfew or the Think First programme.  This sentence is organised by the probation service.

·       Custody. The maximum the magistrates can give is 6 months for 1 offence, or 12 months in totality.  However, if they believe that more than this is required they have the power to submit the case to the crown court for further trial.

Another colleague, Bernard Everett, spoke about the sentencing guidelines. 

9. When someone is found guilty there is a process they must follow to be consistent.
10. We look at how serious the crime was and the offender’s history.  The objectives of the sentence vary, depending on the offender. Protection of the public is the primary aim, and this can be achieved either immediately, by locking the offender up, or in the long-term, for example through rehabilitation programmes, which aim to break a pattern of behaviour.
11. They use the sentencing guidelines as given by the independent body, the Sentencing Guidelines Council.  Even though these guidelines are necessary in order to maintain consistency, they do  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Inspector Mark Khan will introduce the Policing Pledge.

Inspector Mark Khan gave a presentation about the Policing Pledge. 

1.      The Policing Pledge means a lot to the police; its values illustrate why we joined the police service.  It will make them think and concentrate on giving the kind of service the community wants.

2.      It will be a challenge.  In some areas they are doing well, but in some they are still working hard to improve.  They were the first force in the country to get an inspection on the Policing Pledge. It was not rated excellent, but that was not expected.

3.      We want to deliver the aims of the Pledge properly, with no gimmicks.

4.      The local element of the Pledge incorporates the SNT’s local priorities.

5.      The aim is to improve all areas of service delivery, from first contact to follow up. The feedback that is given to each individual is vital. Insp. Khan indicated the resident who had earlier complained about his treatment as a witness at court, and stated that the service he received, without any feedback, was unacceptable. However he did highlight that many witnesses do get an excellent service from the police.

6.      The current feedback is that people like seeing the PCSOs around the local area.

7.      When Insp. Khan joined North Yorkshire Police 73% of the British public had confidence in the police.  Now it is 47%.  In North Yorkshire it is 52%, but the target set by the Home Office for 2012 is 62%.

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions.

Q:  Why can’t we all have a Policing Pledge card put through the letterbox?

A:  Sgt. Pointon replied by saying that he believed it had been delivered to every house with the last council tax bill.

Many residents said they had not received one, and Zoë Burns and the councillors agreed that they could send them out with the next issue of Your Ward.

Q:  Is the Policing Pledge realistic given the lack of policemen in the area?

A:  It is going to be a challenge, and there are elements with which we will struggle.  It is not a case of solving the problem by getting more staff, as they need to all be knowledgeable enough.  The Pledge gives something to aspire to.

Q:  How many police officers do you have in this ward?

A: The Micklegate Safer Neighbourhood Team consists of the Inspector, the Sergeant, two PCs and eight PCSOs.  There are also always fourteen or fifteen response cops based at Fulford Road on every shift, and they cover the whole city.  There are also Special Constables who work in the ward.

Q:  What percentage of reported crimes are solved?

A:  The figures this morning were that 36.4% of reported crimes detected in York since April this year have been solved.  This figure might seem low, but it is much better than ten years ago.

Q:  How much liaison is there between the council and the police?  If there is an issue, such as graffiti,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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

The Have Your Say section of the meeting gave residents a chance to voice their concerns about any issues in the ward.

Q:  Is the 8^th of May the final cut-off for the Sustainable Communities Act suggestions? Is it a one-off consultation?

A:  It is probably not a one-off, but it is not yet known when the next date will be.  This will be set by the Secretary of State.  Zoe Burns expected they are planning to wait to see what suggestions come out of communities before they decide how to take it forward and so to some extent, yes May 8^th is the final deadline for this consultation.

Pauline Buchanan stood to give a brief update on the St. Clements Hall preservation Trust.  It is good news; the tenders for the work have gone out and work should start next month and be finished in six months’ time.

Q:  What are Cycle City’s plans for Blossom Street?  How is it intended for cycle lanes to be put in South Parade? I am concerned that they will be put in place of the car parking spaces, but this would encourage more fly parking.

A: Cllr Merrett said that the council were looking at the Blossom Street lane layout and were considering reducing the number of lanes on the incoming flow of traffic from three to two; merging the Bar lane with the Nunnery Lane lane.  This should give enough space for buses turning left and two inbound cycle lanes.  This is his understanding of the original intention and it might not be fully up to date.  The priority now is to look for an off-road cycle route around the back, possibly through Victoria Bar. 

As regards parking, most of Blossom Street is double-yellow-lined and so most parking is illegal anyway.

Q: On Nunnery Lane the road is exactly the same width as lorries and buses, so there is not enough width for a cycle lane. I hope any changes take this in to account.

A: Unfortunately this is an impossible situation, due to the narrowness of the road.  This is a frequent problem in York.  The standard width of a cycle lane is 1.5m in England, and only one in York, in Clifton Green, meets that requirement.  Sometimes the elimination of one traffic lane in a two-lane road can be considered, but this has other effects on traffic flow and congestion, which also affects cyclist safety. Unfortunately we have to compromise.

Q: Will there be increased signage, like in Nunnery Lane car park, to encourage people to visit traders in Micklegate?

A: The sign was purchased with help from the Street Environment Officer to help direct visitors to town through Micklegate.  The councillors have tried to get one to direct people to turn right when they come out of the station.  However, National Express were not very helpful and declared we would have to pay advertising rates which are very expensive.  The alternatives we looked at have planning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.