Agenda and minutes

The Safer Neighbourhoods Team will reconsult on their ward priorities and give an update on their activities.

The Police reported that vehicle crime was down 35% and that this has been one of the priorities that the team have been working on.

Burglary has gone up but there has only been 12 reported crimes in the last period.

There have been 3 different operations that the Police have been working on.  One was op Deflate which was focusing on hotels and valuables left in cars..

The Policing team were also doing a lot of work with young people over the summer.  They are trying to engage with kids at a younger age to build up trust.

There have been some police surgeries held in Canon Lee school.

The Police have been using encounter forms every time they stop someone.  If they are under 16 a letter will be sent out to the parents straight away.  If they get stopped again then there will be a visit to their parents by the police.

Monthly updates are available on the North Yorkshire Police website.

Questions raised;

Q - Parking outside the Village Hall, people are parking too near the junction, what can be done?

Sgt said he will look in to it.

Q – There seems to be a lot more vandalism on the play area.

Cllr Watt responded that this is a huge disappointment as a lot of effort has gone in to it.

The Police responded that they will patrol there more but they do also need reports from residents.  The police appreciate that some people do not want to give statements but even anonymous information helps.

Cllr Watt also reported that they will have a complete playbuilder site next year.

Resident – I have concerns that the same will happen again

Resident – I am encouraged by what you have been reporting and it is nice that the community spirit is coming back very slowly.

An added agenda item.

A presentation was made on the proposed Wigginton Road Park & Ride Scheme by Paul Thackray (Head of Highways & Street operations) and Tony Clark (Capital Programme Manager).

60% of people were in favour of a Park & Ride being built inside the ring road.  This location has now been passed by the executive.  This is the start of the consultation prior to the planning application.

There will also be a display in Tescos at Clifton Moor, and at the hospital.  The consultation will also be online.

• The entrance to the site is off Wigginton Road and there will be parking for 600 cars.  There will be space for 500 cars to begin with and extra room for a further 100 if there is a demand.
• Terminal building will be a sustainable building.  10% of the energy will be operated on site. There will be parking for electric vehicles with places to recharge.
• All the traffic light systems will be improved to allow buses to get in and out of town as quickly as possible.  There will be a stop at the hospital.
• We are hoping to submit the application in December 09.  We should know about the extra Government funding in December 09.  Work will then start in early 2011 to be completed by Easter 2012.  The site will be manned all the time it is open.

Residents ask the following questions;

Q – The lights at Rawcliffe Park & Ride are on all night, should they be?

CYC - No they shouldn’t, this will be looked into.

Q – Is the scheme totally funded by the Government?

CYC – The Council is planning 3 new Park & Ride sites at a cost of £26m.  The Government is providing around £22m of the cost.

Malcolm Smith, the co-ordinator for the Magistrates in the Community and Community Engagement project will tell the meeting what magistrates do, their powers and how they decide on sentences. They also want to listen to your concerns and answer any questions you have about the courts.

Presentation was made by Magistrate Malcolm Smith from York Magistrates Court.

• There are 4 courts operating 5 days a week and on a Saturday morning.  The presentation tonight is help dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings of what the magistrates do.
• The magistrates deal with about 97% of all crimes brought to court.  The other 3% are too serious and are sent to the Crown Court.  There is a huge range of different offences dealt with.  There is the Adult Court, Youth Court & Family Court.
• Magistrates are not trained lawyers.  They have to undergo a lengthy training process and go on training courses twice a year to keep up to date with procedures.  We need to be good at making decisions fairly quickly.  
• We are also unpaid and do it on a voluntary basis.  The advantage of that is that we are independent and not bound by legislation.
• Anyone can apply to become a magistrate at 18 and must retire by 70.  There is a cross section of the whole community.  There are 3 people who sit on the bench so that any prejudice or bias is counter balanced.
• The protection of the public, punishment & rehabilitation of offenders is the main purpose. Crimes do fall in to different categories.  We can send people to prison for up to 6 months unless you are under 18 in which case it’s 2 years.
• The magistrates come to decisions by a book of sentencing guidelines and many things have to be taken in to consideration.  We look at the seriousness of the crime, look at mitigating and aggravating factors. And all 3 magistrates have to agree on the sentence.

Monday 19^th October is Inside Justice Week where you can come in to the court and watch proceedings.

Thursday 22^nd October we are opening the building from 6pm – 9pm and we will take part in some sentencing exercises.

This is your opportunity to find out more information about the scheme suggestions included in this newsletter. If you have made a suggestion that is included in the list this is your opportunity to make sure that everyone has the information they need to make an informed decision.

Residents were given the opportunity to ask any questions or raise any issues on the scheme ballot list.

Scheme 7 – Young Peoples Service, will include drop in youth clubs, craft activities, trips.  Is accessible for 11 years and over.

Scheme 2 – We have come across some material that cannot be burned or scratched.

Scheme 3 – How much are the kissing gates costing?  It looks like £10,000, it is for a set of kissing gates and fencing.. It will be designed so that cycles, pushchairs, motorised buggies will be able to get through.

Scheme 5 – Kool Kids, they are based in a school but are a charity and try to keep funds as low as possible.

Scheme 6 – Litter bin/dog bin on new playground

Scheme 11 – Run by the church, open to everybody and would offer them free of charge.

Scheme 10 – The window is currently dangerous.

Scheme 22 – Missing off the ballot list.

Scheme 28 – Drainage system on Skelton playing field, grant to Skelton Parish Council missed off why?

Cllr Watt – We felt this would not take off as a project and that we should spread the schemes evenly across the ward.

Resident – Clifton Without Parish Council submitted 5 applications but only one was put on the list.  This is not spread equally.

Help the Aged  - this money was applied for by the Clifton Without Parish Council and we can’t give them the money.  We have contacted them directly and they said they do not want to work in this ward.

Resident – I would like to know how much the total ward budget is when I am voting.

A – we don’t know how much it is until  the budget is set.

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