THE NEW SWINDON COMPANY, UNION SQUARE and the BSACC

Following a New Swindon company (NSC) forum meeting attended last night by the BSACC chair Karen Leakey (10 Dec. 08), it would seem that plans are afoot for them to work with SBC and turn one of the boarded up areas that will not be redeveloped for at least 3 years, on the recently renamed Union Square site* (bus garage, Davis House etc), into some sort of short term adventure playground for youngsters.
A move in the right direction? Let’s hope so. At least if this does happen it will be an improvement on the views we have to look at now.



With regards to the relocation of Carfax Street health centre, this will be moving to the old Police Station site but not until 2012 and the present building will not be closed until the new one is open. Carlton Street car park will also be moving to the same site.

In the past couple of years representatives of the NSC have attended a number of our monthly meetings, they have also recently joined the Broadgreen Police Tasking Group and have offered to visit the Community Council once again in 2009 to keep us updated on the regeneration progress.



*About Union Square, from the NSC website:

Union Square will be a flagship regeneration project for the town centre, which will provide up to 160,000 sq m of high quality new offices and new homes. It will also help to rejuvenate the town's leisure opportunities, providing new shops, restaurants, cafes and a new hotel, creating a safe and vibrant family friendly area throughout the day and into early evening.
In addition to delivering new buildings, Union Square will include a range of new public realm and facilities to improve local people and the visitor's experience of Swindon. These include the provision of walkable streets and attractive new open public spaces, a new and improved bus interchange, a new facility for the Primary Care Trust, and high quality car parking in a new multi - storey car park.

COMMUNITY GARDEN UPDATE

SBC started converting a small area of the Broadgreen Centre for use as a community garden back in the middle of October HERE
Two months on and some progress has been made:

CHRISTMAS MEAL, 4 DECEMBER 2008

Members of the Community Council partook in their annual Christmas Meal at the Grove in Drove Road, and all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Many thanks to Karen Leakey for organising things.

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 5TH NOVEMBER 2008

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary Kevin Leakey, Minute Secretary John Phillips, John Banville, John and Vi Clark, Karen Coulthard, Stella Edwards, Pam Freegard, Elizabeth Grady, Olive Hitchcock, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Val Purvis, Derek Sutton, Ros Timlin, David Webb.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor, Councillor Derique Montaut, PC Crouch, PC Sophia McIntyre Vice Officer, Matt and Sue O’Sullivan, Tony and Joanne Felstaed

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Celia Cotton, John Freegard, Mr and Mrs Grady, Pam Montgomery, Sue Osbaldstone, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Madge Sutton.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 3rd September 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed John Phillips and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE SEPTEMBER MINUTES: None.


COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: None.

GUEST SPEAKER: PC Sophia McIntyre - Vice Liaison Officer – Crime Targeting Team. This is a new role with the sole purpose of looking at the problems that prostitution and kerb crawling cause for residents in Swindon. This has been a long-term problem and in the past the Police have cracked down on the problems with a quick fix that had improved the problem for a while, but seen it returned once the Police presence had died away. This time the Police are not looking for a solution that only lasts a couple of weeks, but are taking it as a serious matter by having a vice officer. Will be looking at lots of new initiatives, revisiting things that have probably been tried in the past and advertising campaigns all done through consultations with the Broadgreen Police Tasking Group, following resident’s consultations.
In the past there has been problems with naming and shaming kerb crawlers because of human rights issues with kerb crawlers and their families, but it is now the intention if possible to name people in the Adver, when convictions are successful. The Police are looking at the possibility of producing a leaflet with pictures of convicted kerb crawlers, so residents would be able to report back to the Police, if they are seen in the area. They would also like to re-start Street Watch, as they need information like car registration numbers and where the prostitutes are working.
To directly contact PC McIntyre, about vehicles/kerb crawlers, sex workers or connected problems, you can email: viced@swindon.pnn.police.uk
A direct Vice Line is also going to be set up, that will be direct to PC McIntyre and if she is not there, then there will be an answer phone service where you can leave details of problems/ dates/times or requesting that you are phoned back. You will always be rang back within a couple of days.


CORRESPONDENCE:
Letters/emails sent:
· Letter of thanks to street cleaner Wendy in recognition of the good work she does.
· Contacted Father Leslie, to see if we can use £2k for community garden and what progress has been made with Trust – No reply.
· Find out where the DPPO signs are placed – awaiting reply.
· People are using the Broadgreen play area to walk their dogs; can signs be put up banning dogs from this area? Dog Warden has been contacted.
· Why are the fence panels not completed in Salisbury Street? Requested meeting with Gwillam Lloyd.

· Replies:
· DHI – Have a number of points of information that accurately reflect their services in Swindon that they would like residents to be aware of. This is because of their concerns about a number of inaccurate statements that were made during the BSACC meeting on 3 September 2008. (See Chair report)
· PCC – Reply from the Parish Office re. Meeting concerning Breakfast Club/DHI using St. Luke’s hall - Hall lets are delegated to individual District control therefore it would not be appropriate to meet with the PCC. The Rector is aware of some unrest regarding this matter and is consulting with other agencies in the area, to agree a way forward to suit all parties concerned.
· CHARITIES COMMISSION – re. Broad Street Trust - It is not possible to simply reinstate the charity to the register. They would need to see that the Trustees were in place and evidence that the Charity was operating. Neither of which have been met. They hope that replies from the Trustees will satisfy the Community Councils concerns but if the Community Councils Trustees have evidence that the funds are not being distributed properly then legal advice should be obtained.

A number of points and questions were raised from the correspondence: - It was reported that at least one of the DPPO signs has been broken off. With regards to the community garden, could some of the £2000 we are holding for the Trust not be used to purchase a tree in memory of Les horn, to be placed in the new garden? Is the Charity Commission saying there is no longer a Broad St. Trust? Ans: No, they are saying that they are no longer on their register because the Trustees have not filed annual returns for the Trust. Councillor Montaut informed the meeting that he had met with the Borough Solicitor (BS) and sought legal advice on the Trust situation and from discussions between the BS and the Director of Communities, it was stated that it was not unusual for these types of accounts to exist right across the board in various communities. The BS has got some expertise in being able to tap into this situation and he’s looking at it. It was pointed out to Cllr. Montaut that at last months meeting he had suggested that the BSACC contacted the BS, which is what we shall do, and made no mention that he would be seeing the Bs about this as well.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS
S/COND/08/1772 - 123 Manchester Road - Variation of condition 3 from planning permission S/05/3019 to vary trading hours to 08.00 - 23.00 on any day - Application Granted (closing time altered)

S/08/2011 - 123 Manchester Road - Change of use from Shop (Class A1) to Restaurant/Takeaway (Class A3/A5) and erection of a flue - Application Pending Consideration (given permission to open until 11 pm last month - ABOVE)
It was reported to the meeting that much of this work has already been carried out, including disabled toilets at the rear, tiling throughout the whole shop and heavy duty wiring for the fitting of cookers, although as yet there is no extraction fitted. This would not be welcome in Manchester Road and there was some concern shown that although the Central Area Action Plan (CAAP) states that planning permission for A3 / A5 would only be allowed if not next-door to residential dwellings, the CAAP has not yet been officially adopted.

S/08/2058 – Tescos Ocotal Way - Erection of entrance lobby. (Amendments to approved planning application S/08/1042) - Application Pending Consideration

S/08/2109 - 133 - 134 Manchester Road - Change of use from Residential to Retail (Class A1). - Application Pending Consideration
This is a strange application because it is for conversion from a flat (C3) to retail (A1), but the applicant actually wants to use it as a social club, which is what it has been used for during the last 2 years and only want to use it for A1 if the club is not allowed! Cllr. Montaut was aware of this and had made some noises in the background about it, although he had not told the BSACC about it. There have been some disturbances in the ‘club’ and action taken against them, but there is a group of Turkish people who have set up a community group and have sought advice from SBC, they seem to have all the right values and signed up to all the right objectives, talking about education and doing something positive in the community and that is fine with the Councillors, although they did raise some issues about it with officers. It was agreed by the meeting that residents did not want this in the area and asked Cllr. Montaut if he would support us, and he agreed to do so. The BSACC will object to this.

S/08/1732 - Richmans Removals (Swindon) Limited Unit 6 Transfer Bridge Industrial Estate - Erection of an external staircase and installation of new windows - Application Pending Consideration

S/08/2136 - Tescos Ocotal Way - Erection of 3no. 10.6m high micro wind turbines and associated works. - Application Pending Consideration

There was a lot of concern shown about how the area was being changed through lots of different planning applications and it was pointed out that this was why we participated in the CAAP consultation and why we are writing our own Community Plan, to try and make the area a lot better and guide it in the direction that the residents want and not from outside influences. It is something that all residents, as major stakeholders in the area, should want to involve themselves in.




TREASURERS REPORT
We are still holding the £2000 from the Broadstreet Trust that is left over from the monies given for new trees around the Broadgreen; this money cannot be spent on any other project. It has been asked if it could be put towards the running costs of the new community garden, but as yet there has been no answer, it was also suggested that we ask if some of the money could be used for a tree in memory of Les Horn.

Acceptance of Treasures report proposed by Val Purvis and seconded by Pam Freegard.

CHAIR REPORT: A Letter from DHI was read to the meeting, with respect to the minutes of 3 September 2008. They wish the meeting to be updated on some of what they consider to be inaccuracies about their service:

1. DHI do not and never have distributed methadone from St. Luke’s or any other location, and they consider that the comments suggesting that they do, to be extremely damaging to themselves and their relationship with the wider community.
2. They did not move into the area covertly, and booked St. Luke’s hall in the same way other organisations do so.
3. They do not act in a covert manner; they are part of a partnership of drug treatment providers and have recently been profiled in the local press. Their staff have attended many community meetings and have kept up a high profile since their services started last year.
4. Cllr. Montaut’s belief that dumped needles could be dealt with by DHI as they had offered at the last meeting was not the case, with reference to the Tasking Meeting; Mick Webb (DHI) offered to Chris Hunt that they could help with problems of needles in the Broadgreen Centre. Dealing with all dumped needles is not part of their service, or what they are commissioned to do. Any litter collected would be a good will gesture.
5. There has never been a fixed term 6-month contract to use St. Luke’s, neither was there any agreement that DHI would sweep the area and clean up needles.
6. Planning permission is not required for DHI to use the hall, as St. Luke’s already falls within the planning class of D1-Non-residential institutions.

· Deputy Leader of the Council, Fionuala Foley has been in contact to say she will shortly be going out on patrol with the Police and requested information about the location of prostitutes. The Chair has contacted people who have particular problems with prostitution, and a map with detail on has been passed over.
· DHI has invited any one from the BSACC who would like to attend, to their AGM in Bath on the 18 November.
· John Taylor gave over an invitation to attend a Chain-Reaction Meeting in London on 17 & 18 November.
· The recent Broadgreen Tasking Meeting was really positive and attended by a good group of people who are working in partnership to better the Broadgreen Area. The Broadgreen Taking Group is being held up as best practice in Wiltshire, which can only be good for the area.
· It is hoped that an offshoot of the Parks Steam Ahead Credit Union will soon operate from the Broadgreen Centre. This will require 2 people from the community to collect the money and transfer it to the Parks Credit Union and they will come in, when people require loans etc.
· Community Plan now has a steering group; the Chair, Stella and John Taylor have been tasked to look for funding, as a Project Manager is needed.
· A future project that we hope to pursue is a new Community Centre; there are 444 Trusts in Britain that run their own Centres and it would be good if we looked to do the same as well. In the meantime we are looking at how the Parks Community Shop works, with a view to finding a shop in the Broadgreen Area to open our own. This might include selling second hand goods, a small café and public computer access etc. It could also be used as a drop in area for small meetings.
· We are going to have another Cohesion Event next year, although a change of name might be advantageous. It is also hoped to follow this up with street meetings, street parties, community picnics, table top sales, a Street Ambassador scheme so that people who do not want to be part of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme can still be informed about what is happening, plus involving the youth of the area through ‘food for thought ‘ events and have ‘tea party’ meetings for the older members of this community, so their thoughts and visions can also be expressed about our area.

YOUTH REPORT: Doug Imrie – Community Sports Coach, is working with STFC with a view to organising a scout to visit football coaching sessions with BME groups as these groups do not always get the same opportunities as others. He is also setting up football coaching sessions on Sunday mornings for this area.
The youth club proposed at Drove School, as part of their cohesion plans, has been put on hold although as yet no reason has been given. They have however employed a BME parent support worker and several parent support advisors to start at the end of November. Last year, it was requested to the Council’s Youth Service that a second night for Skeetz Youth Club would be a good idea; they agreed but have now withdrawn the offer because of lack of funds. If the youth club at Drove does not go ahead, it would be good if some of the funding believed to have been obtained to run it, could be redirected towards a second night at the Broadgreen Centre.
Rushden, the Goan Youth team coach has reported that they have been given football kit by STFC, which they are extremely grateful for, as they have no funding. They are however playing in the North Wilts under 15’s league this season.

HISTORY PROJECT REPORT: We are trying to research the history and heritage of the Broadgreen Area. There are a number of other strands to this.
1. Drove School, the year 5 pupils will be running a small research project to identify the history of the street names in the area. There are basically three groups, GWR railway engineers, senior Politicians, and West African names it is hoped that the young people will be able to discover how the names were allocated 100 years ago and if there were any reasons why these themes were chosen.
2. Our partnership with Swindon 105.5, Community Radio. John Taylor is going around interviewing people who live, work and visit the area and can tell a story about their life and experiences in Broadgreen. John thanked John Phillips, Stella Edwards and Cluniford Mason for their interviews, that have already been broadcast, Rebecca McIntosh and her friend Mavis who talked about the move from Jamaica to the UK and ultimately to the Broadgreen Area. We now have a very strong partnership with the station and if anyone has a topic they would like to be discussed, then please contact John, or Karen Leakey. We want to develop Broadgreen’s leadership in this radio project, which is called Swindon Voices. The interviews are broadcast on Tuesdays from around 4pm; you can also listen live on the Internet.
3. Some people recently took a trip to Liddington; there were 2 groups, a family and the Caribbean group. The family group went there to see if they could find out more about a newspaper report from 1919 about 3 lads from Medgbury Road who had been killed in an accident whilst out walking at Liddington. Unfortunately the Parish Council minutes that would record the details have been transferred to the Wilts. and Swindon Archive in Chippenham, but it is hoped a trip there will soon be organised. Some people in the village suggested that the accident might have actually occurred in Chiseldon, as there were ranges there from WW1.
We have spent £39.99 on a 3 in one scanner, copier and printer, from money raised from the sales of paint, so it is requested that once again that people search through their things, for photos and documents relating to this area, and we will be able to digitise them there and then. We do not want to keep your treasured possessions.
Some time towards the end of January, we hope to put on a small exhibition with what we have acquired.


NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: There is a property where the resident seems to be burning almost anything in their fireplace, causing smoke that chokes people in the street. Is this area a smoke free zone?
Loud music from what seems to be from a TV with cinema type surround sound is causing problems for some people in Broad Street.
A dog is being allowed to run around in the Broadgreen Park, it is an Alsatian and is chasing children.
Cars are speeding through the S4L zones at more than 20 mph.



WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT, COUNCILLOR MONTAUT:
With regards to the speeding in the S4L zones, the 20 mph limits may not be enforceable.
SBC are now operating their StreetSmart Service, which is aimed at making the town’s streets and open spaces a safer, cleaner and smarter place to be. It brings lots of services under one umbrella, with one contact point for advice or complaints.
Contact StreetSmart via:
Telephone: 01793 445501 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm; Saturday 9am to 1pm) and on 01793 466453 (At all other times). Email: streetsmart@swindon.gov.uk. Online: www.swindon.gov.uk/streetsmart or face-to-face in the Swindon Direct One Stop-Shop at Wat Tyler House.

At the recent Broadgreen Tasking Meeting, Angus McPherson from the Police Authority was so impressed at the best practice carried out, that he wants bring the Chief Executive along to see how well it works. Cllr. Montaut also thought the Chief Constable should be invited as well.
The Chair said that the Tasking Group was very successful, because people bring problems from the area to the BSACC and they are then passed on to the Tasking Group, which deals directly with SBC Officers, the Police and other relevant services and organisations.
Cllr. Montaut was asked to look into the shops in Manchester Road that open far later than they are allowed to. He said he would talk to the shops, but wondered why there was no enforcement?!
The Chair said enforcement would be invited to the Tasking Group and to the BSACC next year.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
It was suggested that with the possible problems connected with the Carfax Street Health Centre, and its relocation, we should invite the Practice Manager to a future BSACC meeting.


Meeting closed at 9.05 pm. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 03 December 2008

AGENDA - BSACC Monthly Meeting 03 December 2008

WEDNESDAY 03 DECEMBER 2008
7.30 PM in the LOUNGE, BROADGREEN CENTRE.

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of these minutes
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: Patrick Chaney- Steam Ahead Credit Union
7. Correspondence
8. Treasurers report
9. Chairs report
10.Youth report
11.Broadgreen History Project
12.Broadgreen Community Plan
13.Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
14.Neighbourhood/Street Watch report
15.Ward Councillors report
16.Any Other Business

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 1ST OCTOBER 2008

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Secretary Kevin Leakey, Minute Secretary John Phillips, John Banville, Karen Coulthard, Stella Edwards, Pam Freegard, Tim French, Elizabeth Grady, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Mr and Mrs Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Sue Osbaldstone, Val Purvis, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor, Councillor Derique Montaut and Chris Hunt SBC Community Manager.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Celia Cotton, John and Vi Clark, John Freegard, Olive Hitchcock,
Pam Montgomery, Derek and Madge Sutton.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 3rd September 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed John Phillips and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE SEPTEMBER MINUTES: Broad Street Trust update. John Phillips gave a brief synopsis on the history of the Trust: Hambro Life (now Zurich) purchased the old Church of Christ in Broad Street and gave it to the Community Council to run as a community centre. If this became an unfeasible proposition, as happened when Swindon Council opened up the Broadgreen Centre, the building was to be sold off and all monies raised (approx. £60k) were to be held in trust for Broadgreen residents. Several stipulations were put in place concerning the distribution of the monies: any projects put forward must benefit the whole community and not individual groups and no project may be funded that could be funded by any other body or organisation.
Replies have been received from the following Trustees concerning the current position of the Trust:
Father Leslie: by email – He has recently been talking to other trustees and has offered to talk to Charity Commissioners. As far as he is concerned they have not yet decided to wind up the Trust, despite what Charities Commission says. The bank accounts are still open at the Swindon branch of HSBC.
Doreen Gordon: by phone - after Father Leslie moved away it was decided not to continue with the Trust, she did not know the community needed to be informed of this decision, nor who should be informed and as far as she was aware the money was still in the HSBC bank. She was also in possession of the Trusts paperwork, given to her by Father Leslie but she no longer wished to be involved with the Trust. Doreen has passed the Trusts paper work over to the BSACC for safekeeping until such time as new Trustees are in place.
Graham Jenkins: Was not aware the Trust had ceased to operate, he was a trustee and went to meetings when called to do so. When Hugh Fisher (former Treasurer) passed away 3 or 4 years ago, Father Leslie took on the role of treasurer as well as secretary. Doreen Gordon became Chair after Mrs Marney’s resignation. The trust was not quorate so Father Leslie suggested Mrs McCue be asked. The last communication Graham had had with Father Leslie, was a chance meeting in County Road when he was informed of the donation for the trees at the Broadgreen Centre. In June 2007 the Chair, Doreen, contacted him because Father Leslie had moved away and handed all the paper work over to her, and as far as she was aware, Mrs McCue had not been registered as a Trustee. Graham has no contact details for Doreen and apart from going to her place of work to pass on Father Leslie’s address has heard nothing more about the Trust since.
Jo McCue: No reply.
Charities commission: No reply

Although the money is still in the accounts, there continues to be some confusion about what is happening to the Trust. Last August (2007) Father Leslie informed the Chair that he was no longer a trustee, but from his recent email, it would appear he is still involved.
As the BSACC is still holding Trust funds from the unused donation for trees, it was questioned whether we could use it for the community garden instead? Graham Jenkins had said he felt it would be a good way of spending this because it was much the same as the reason it was originally given, but this will need further investigation.
When Les Horn was still Chair, it was Father Leslie's wish to distribute the monies by possibly passing it over to the community towards a new rebuild of the Community Centre. But it is very difficult for the money to be spent on things that are the Boroughs responsibility and things that will benefit the whole of the community.
Cllr. Montaut believes the way it was wound up was clearly wrong, having not informed the Charities Commission, and felt it may be useful to contact the Borough Solicitor Stephen Taylor to ask for some assistance to see if the money could be obtained for the Community Council.





COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: No Police present at meeting.

GUEST SPEAKER: Chris Hunt SBC. There are problems with parking, not just at the Broadgreen Centre, but also at all of the Borough sites. People are increasingly using various sites for free car parking, preventing users/hirers of the buildings from parking there themselves, which they would like to stop.
At the Broadgreen, the site is shared with Children’s Services; this used to be a Resource Centre with 4 staff, but is now used as offices with approx. 20 staff. The car park is however private, being connected to the Broadgreen Centre.
Signs can be erected stating that the car park is only for the use of hirers and the gates will be closed when not in use. When this has been tried previously, people who have found their cars locked in have either removed the padlock or have called someone from the team out, to open the gates. A fine cannot be given for this, but a call out charge can be imposed if it is in the middle of the night. Because it is a private car park, the traffic wardens cannot police the parking there and if it is altered to a public car park, with pay and display, users of the centre may end up with no car parking spaces at all.
A clamping company could be employed, which would not cost the Borough money, as the clampers would keep the fine money, but would mean extra administrative work for caretakers, who would have to give out passes to hirers of the centre, which could cause problems because how would spaces be fairly allocated to the various users?
A number of ideas were put forward, including: A big sign saying parking for centre users only, which may deter some. Improved enforcement or an enforcement officer specifically for Borough car parks attached to Centres like the Broadgreen. Stickers put on windscreens by caretakers, pointing out that people have no authority to park here unless using the centre. People could book car park places when hiring rooms.
What SBC would like to do initially, bearing in mind it is a very small car park and there is never enough parking spaces, and also to try and avoid lots of added admin. and costs to the budget, Is to put up signs warning that it is a private car park and that the gates will be locked at night (with a substantial bolt cropper proof lock), and a charge will be imposed to get vehicle out, when locked up. If this doesn’t work it will have to be looked at further. Also being considered is moving the paper and bottle banks to the Gladstone Street side of the car park for easier access when gates are locked.
With regards to parking, it was voiced from a number of people, that they had witnessed an increase in people using the car park and going shopping, as well as seeing the 2-hour bays in the area being used for the same thing.


CORRESPONDENCE:
Letters/emails sent:

Parochial Church Council (PCC) to arrange a meeting to put the views forward concerning the BBC and DHI who are working from St. Luke’s Church hall. - No reply
Thamesdown Transport, to find out if the Hatts coach that park in Manchester Road at the bus stop causes problems for scheduled bus services and if they can park there.
Request to SBC for more visitors parking tickets, now that scheme has been extended to 10pm.
Reported the hedge in Gladstone Street at side of children’s centre that needs cutting back.
Reported of overgrowing shrubs/plants at rear of Shrivenham Road- County Ground Extension. – All maintenance work is carried out in the autumn and winter unless it is dangerous.
Reported that people are now driving through the Streets For Living roads at more than 20 mph, can anything be done? No reply
Reported Cars and lorries are still going down Shrivenham Road then having to turn back. This is a particular problem for lorries that have to reverse back down it. Could there be a sign that makes it clearer it is a dead end road? No reply
Contacted Father Leslie and 3 Trustees to find out about the situation of the Broad Street Trust and the monies that are held. Also send a copy to the letter to the Charities Commission.



Replies:

Thamesdown Transport – Hatts coaches parking in Manchester Rd. - No problems have been reported from their drivers. Hatts coaches can pick up and drop off passengers but cannot wait at the bus stop due to parking restrictions.
SBC Residents Parking – Not sure what referring to concerning the extended hours! Council are looking at making some of limited waiting bays available in the evenings for residents to use. Bathurst Road being one of them. The visitors scratch cards are issued for use between 8 am and 10 pm in all residential parking zones and there are no plans to increase the amount allocated to residents.


PLANNING APPLICATIONS
* S/COND/08/1772 - 123 Manchester Road - Variation of condition 3 from planning permission S/05/3019 to vary trading hours to 08.00 - 00.00 on any day - Application Pending Consideration –BSACC Objected
S/08/1493 - 108 County Road - Conversion of 1 no. dwelling into 3 no. residential units and provision of single storey rear extension - Application Withdrawn
S/ADV/08/1193 - Swindon Town Football Club - Display of a ticket sales board - Application Withdrawn
S/08/1191 - Swindon Town Football Club - Display of a tickets sales board - Application Withdrawn
S/08/1190 - Swindon Town Football Club - Erection of 8no. hospitality boxes - Application Withdrawn
S/08/1549 - 127 County Road - Change of Use of 1no. dwelling into 2 no. flats - Application Granted.
S/08/1500 - 18 Shrivenham Road - Erection of single storey side extension - Application Granted
S/08/1455 - 26 Medgbury Road - Erection of two-storey/single storey rear extension - Application Refused
S/ADV/08/1169 - 57 County Road - Display of Advertising Board (Retrospective).- Application Refused
* With regards to the application at 123 Manchester Rd. to extend the opening hours, some considerable concern was shown about this because the Kebab Shop in Manchester Rd. should close at 11 pm but never does, and there is considerable noise and rubbish already generated, particularly after midnight by people using the eating facilities after being in the pubs along the bottom of town.

TREASURERS REPORT. August 2008: The treasurer was absent and filed no report for this meeting.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: No report.

CHAIR REPORT:
· Maps showing the area the DPPO now covers were given out.
· The funding the BSACC applied for in conjunction with Community Coach Doug Imrie to help young people in this area with their football was turned down, this was very disappointing because it was from the fund ‘Let’s Kick Racism out of Football’
· We put a request in to SBC to see if the Community Council could use the office at the Broadgreen, vacated by the S4L project, as a room for storing paperwork, archive material and bits for the community garden as well as a room for small meetings. However our request was turned down due to the fact that the Community Development Team need it for service delivery, they do work here, but already have an office at the Council!
· We were unsuccessful in our £500 bid for the ‘Quality of Life’ awards, but we did receive a certificate.
· The Community Grants application for 2009/2010 is very complicated and has to be submitted by 30/11/08. We need to have a meeting with the committee regarding the filling in of this application, because the outcomes have to meet certain criteria connected with the delivery of the Local Area Agreement (LAA). It would seem the Council want communities to do far more of the work that they should be doing themselves, but by making community groups do the work for them, it saves considerable money and helps meet the LAA. Many of the grants the third sector (voluntary) have applied for in the past are now being applied for by Councils, who are advantaged by having professional people to do this. Cllr. Montaut said the support given to community groups from grant officers, who previously helped with applications, had been cut and now groups were expected to become more independent and stand on their own. There is now a pot of money that needs to be managed around that pot, rather than meeting the needs of groups.
· Swindon Disabled People’s Coalition has an Open Event 04/10/08, 11am – 3 pm at the Haydon Centre.
· Big Lottery Awards For All event takes place at The Pilgrim Centre, on 10/10/08, 10 - 12noon – the Chair will be attending.
· Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board has a Community Engagement Conference in Devizes on 23/10/08. 9am – 2pm
· There is a Restorative Justice event in Swindon at the Civic Offices, on 13/10/08, 9.30 am – 2pm.
· The Police now have a dedicated Vice Officer, working with the burglary squad. This post was created because of the pressure put on Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett by residents at the prostitution meeting, organised by the BSACC back in July.
· Skeetz Youth Club will re-open next week.
· Swindon Strategic Partnership Conference was to be in December but has now been changed to February 2009, One of the main focuses will be Connecting People/Connecting Places.
· With regards to Connecting People-Connecting Places, the Neighbourhood Renewal Task Group (NRTG), (on which the Broadgreen Area has representation) had sent a letter to NRTG ward Councillors and Rod Bluh outlining the concerns about this document as it didn’t go out to consultation, but instead was taken to the Strategic Partnership, and had requested a 90 day consultation period. Unfortunately the only reply was an acknowledgement of the letter, so MP Michael Wills has taken up the case.
· There is a Government HMO report passed on by SBC planner David Dewart, a copy of which was passed around the meeting.
· Doug Imrie has said there is a pot of funding money from the Lifestyle Development team from the Lifestyle Centre at the County Ground, and groups can put in bids between £500 and £2000 to put on any keep fit/physical activities in the community. We will be looking into this.
· Holly Huber had emailed a report – but for some reason it didn’t get through.
· We will be organising another Christmas meal for the Community Council, for anybody who may be interested.
· STFC have given their second kit from last season to the Goan U15’s football team and were invited to the County Ground today, for a tour and official handing over of the kit. The Chair was also invited along.
· The next Community Plan meeting will be on the 15th October at 6.30 pm. A steering committee will be formed and everyone who has an interest in the future of this area is encouraged to attend.

YOUTH REPORT: No report.

HISTORY PROJECT REPORT: Swindon Voices is still a live project with Community Radio 105.5, although nothing has been recorded yet. Really big news is John has had a couple of meetings with staff at Drove School concerning the road names project, where pupils will be researching the history of the road names in the Broadgreen Area. About 50 pupils from year 5 will be starting this after half term and the teachers are currently seeing how this will fit in with the national curriculum. During half term there will be a visit to Liddington because Karen Coulthard came across a newspaper article from 1919, recording the fact that three young lads were killed at Liddington Hill, what ties it to this area is the lads all came from Medgbury Road. Because John spent 2 years as Parish Clerk at Liddington, he knows that Parish Council minutes are held going back to 1919 and beyond, and feels sure that within those minutes there will be a report of the incident. Liddington also have a millennium embroidery with the names of all people living there and John is aware the Caribbean Ladies are planning an embroidery so this idea may fit in with them.
Concerning the road names, there is some confusion as to how Alfred Street was named. It could be after a local builders son or one of Queen Victoria’s sons.
Tim had noticed an article in the Adver that said part of Manchester Road was originally called Mill Street; this was actually the original name for the part of Manchester Road between Corporation Street and Aylesbury Street, which then joined on to Milford Street. John Phillips said his Grandparents lived at 126 Manchester Road and there was a blacksmiths shop in Carlton Street.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Nothing to report.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT, COUNCILLOR MONTAUT:
· The Councillor is a member of the Fire Authority, and due to the Government saying that security is currently not good enough because of the terrorist threats, the Control Rooms of 7 Authorities in the South West Region may be moving into one building, which will be in Taunton and will be a high security building, with its own water and food supply should any emergency arise. All 7 Authorities need to agree to this for it to happen. Wiltshire’s control room is currently shared with the Police and Ambulance Service in Devizes, and if this happens Swindon may make some savings, but was concerned that we could be subsidising Cornwall for example and if fire vehicles were to be called away from Swindon, would we have enough cover here?
It was felt that most people would be mainly concerned about the effect this would have on response times in this area, Councillor Montaut said that in the Central Area there is a greater fire risk because of the type of properties – terraced housing and density of population and what is now being looked at, is where the fire stations are located and if they are in the right place to cope with Swindon’s future growth.
· A meeting has been arranged with Chris Sivers to discuss the problems with the Breakfast Club that have been raised at the BSACC meetings.
· ‘Area panels’ are being set up that will see School Heads, Councillors and local community groups sitting on regional bodies that will encompass 2 to 3 Wards with a Director who will service it. Central and Eastcott will be one of them and he does not object to this hub because some of them cover 3 or 4 Wards. The next stage will be devolving a budget to enable communities to collectively prioritise what’s important and required in their areas.
· We the BSACC have been told School Heads will be chairing the meetings and he has been told it will be Councillors, so is unsure about this. It was questioned whether Head Teachers would actually know enough about an area and that people who live in an area would be the ones who knew what was going on.
· It was pointed out to Councillor Montaut that what he was talking about was ‘Connecting People, Connecting Places’ and it was felt that the Council had pushed on with this and had not consulted enough with residents, it should not be trusted and it will be the beginning of the end for communities, as the people who work on the ground will become fed up with fighting, rather than getting thing done because they would have been forced to take on all the responsibilities from the Council, whilst being fully answerable to them and they would simply walk away. Without those people working on the ground, it will leave Head Teachers and Councillors with the powers to be in charge of communities instead of the residents themselves.
· Councillor Montaut said the intention was to enable communities to be more powerful in determining what their priorities are, but in practice, he may share the concerns shown.
· With regards to the Mosque parking problems, at the Tasking Meeting, Members and Community Leaders raised residents concerns about the random parking and abuse of parking regulations. Councillor Montaut has been put under pressure from the Mosque for some provision to be made for parking when people are praying, but they (Members) have made it very clear that there is only one community and have informed the enforcement officers this is how it’s got to be, and if enforcement have problems because people are agitated being given tickets etc, then may be he will go around there and explain why it’s reasonable and sensible for everybody in the area to be treated equally.
· It was asked how long the problems had been going on, why it had been allowed to get so big and if cars are being ticketed now? It has been a problem since the Broad Street Mosque opened when it was thought there might have been an arrangement to use B&Q car park, however after much badgering of the Council it was admitted that a special arrangement had been reached to allow them parking in this area, which wasn’t fair on everybody else but now cars are being ticketed. Councillor Montaut felt that this good news was a success and even if there should have been enforcement in the past, we should make sure it works now.
· There then followed a short discussion about the Mosques hope of moving to a new site in Osborne Street. It was the understanding that the Council could not sell land cheaper than it’s market value, as this had come up once before when Queenstown School was going to be sold cheap for a Mosque, but it was deemed that this could not be done. Councillor Montaut said they could sell land at up to 25% less than market value if selling to any religious groups, Councillor Montaut also said he would clarify this for the next meeting. It was the understanding from one resident that the Muslim Community had wanted to have a Mosque at Queenstown School but there had been a split in the community, with one group taking over the Broad Street Mosque and the other group going to the Mosque in Manchester Road meaning that when the split came there wasn’t enough money to buy the land.


STREET WATCH REPORT: No report.


ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
· Drinkers are still drinking and leaving loads of mess in the alley behind Manchester Road, they hide in the openings into garages and any police passing the alleys cannot see them. Some of the DPPO signs have also been broken off. It was also of some concern that a number of street drinkers, who had been given ASBO’s and banned from the town centre, may now come to the Broadgreen Area instead.
· Dogs are being allowed to run around on the Broadgreen football/basketball pitch area, can signs be put up banning dogs from here, as it is a play area?
· Why has the new fence in Salisbury Street, around the Broadgreen not been completed? There seems to be 2 panels missing.



Meeting closed at 9.35 pm. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 05 November 2008

Community Garden

Street drinkers, have in recent years used this rather neglected corner of the Broadgreen Centre as a drinking haunt.

Unfortunately,as can be seen from these two pictures, they failed to see the need to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.


















The area has even been used as a car park for the Children’s Centre. Pictured Below



Which is one of the reasons some residents thought that the removal of the bushes, bench and fence by Council workmen, on the 13th of October, was in fact for a new car park. Below.



Thankfully, it turned out that the work was simply the beginning of the promised Community Garden, the very last leg of the Streets For Living Project. Unfortunately, the Council failed to inform the residents that they were going to be making a start on it!
Initial works, 15 October 2008 below:

BROADLY SPEAKING OCTOBER 2008

Having seen major alterations to both Gladstone and Salisbury Streets through the Streets For Living project, the final stage of work started a few weeks back. This came as a bit of a surprise to some residents, who thought the removal of old bushes and the digging up of a neglected corner of the Broadgreen Centre signalled the beginnings of a new car park, upon land designated for a garden. After some frantic phone calls fears were allayed when it was discovered that it was in fact being transformed into the promised community garden. When completed the idea will not only be to give residents a pleasant area to relax and socialise, but also to become an ongoing gardening project for the whole of the Broadgreen community to be involved in.
Police recently spent 2 consecutive nights carrying out high visibility operations to clamp down on prostitutes and kerb crawlers who still feel it is acceptable to carry out their ‘business’ on certain roads in the Broadgreen Area. The impact that prostitution and kerb crawling has on the community is devastating and the appointment of a dedicated vice officer is a very welcome move.
Police also recently closed down a property in the area, which had constantly been troubled with drug activity and anti social behaviour. The house is due to be renovated by the landlord, so a close eye will be kept on this house to make sure it is not used again for these purposes before the work is undertaken.
Reports to the Community Council (BSACC) concerning dumped rubbish have slowed a little recently. A couple of months ago the BSACC organised a residents ‘clean up’ day and since then, although pockets of fly tipping are still occurring, it does not appear to be as bad.
Skeetz youth club has now re-opened having been closed for six weeks by the Youth Service. Skeetz opens on a Wednesday evening 6.45pm – 9.15 pm at the Broadgreen centre – all young people between the ages of 13 and 19 are welcome to come along.

The next monthly residents meetings are on 5th November 2008 and 3rd December at 7.30 pm in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre. There is no charge to attend meetings, all residents in the Broadgreen area are automatic members and are invited to come along.

Regeneration at Union Square.

Way back in February 2005 the old Post Office building in Merton Street (which closed in October 2002) was demolished and the Adver hailed it as the start of regeneration in the town centre: HERE and believe it or not, the Police Station and bus garage hit the ground between January and April 2006, now over two and a half years ago.







Since then all we have seen is further demolition taking place, with Davis House being raised to the ground back in February.

No doubt we can look forward to the bus station, Carlton car park and the Health Centre going the same way in the not too distant future, as well. Unfortunately, anybody who may be hoping to see a vast array of new buildings quickly rising from the ashes on this site may be a little disappointed because if you read the New Swindon Company Chief Executive Peter James October update on his blog HERE you will see that he writes about Union Square as a:
very large scheme and will not be fully completed for at least 10 years as it will be built on a phased basis dependant on overall demand.

This regeneration lark certainly isn’t a quick operation is it!

Let’s hope when the new bricks are laid (or more likely concrete poured) it is of better quality/design and last far longer than the attempts to regenerate this area have been in the past. After all Davis House, the bus station and the car park, none of which were particularly inspiring in design, were only put up in the 1980’s and have not had a very long shelf life have they!

Wouldn’t it be nice if the now boarded up areas mentioned above were at least opened up and grassed over, albeit temporarily?
This is something a resident of Central Swindon posted some months back on the Talkswindon Forum to Councillor Phil Young whose responsibilities as a Cabinet Member include regeneration. Councillor Young said at the time it was something he was looking into, but it doesn’t seem to have moved on so far. HERE

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 3rd SEPTEMBER 2008

PRESENT: Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary Kevin Leakey, Minute Secretary John Phillips, Maria Carchedi, John and Vi Clark, Stella Edwards, John and Pam Freegard, Tim French, Olive Hitchcock, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Rebecca McIntosh, Sue Osbaldstone, Val Purvis, Peter Thelwall, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor, Councillor Derique Montaut

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Chair person Karen Leakey, Celia Cotton, Karen Coulthard, Kath Jones, Cluniford and Evelyn Mason, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Derek and Madge Sutton.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 6th August 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed John Phillips and seconded by Val Purvis.

Because of the absence through illness of Chair Karen Leakey, Richard Coates acted as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE AUGUST MINUTES: Broadgreen Breakfast Club (BBC) and the Drugs and Homeless Initiative (DHI). There is a continuing unease with regards to the associated problems with the BBC, i.e. using the alleyways and park as a toilet and drinking area, rowdy and intimidating behaviour from groups of drunks, noise very early in the morning and problems with needles and other drug paraphernalia. The Vice Chair, Richard, relayed to the meeting that he had recently had to retrieve some used needles from his front hedge and was very thankful to the anonymous person who left a note at his home informing him of this problem and felt that problems like this were all part of the escalating problems.
Councillor Montaut felt that the dumped needles could be dealt with by DHI as they had offered this at the last meeting; they also made it clear that they would work from St. Luke’s for 6 months and in exchange they would sweep the area and clean up needles etc and we would see the anti social behaviour drop. He was also certain that DHI needed planning permission to operate from St. Luke’s and it should be an enforcement issue, although he hadn’t spoken to planning officers about it and now DHI are giving out methadone from St. Luke’s church. Planning rejected DHI’s Maxwell Street office and they have now gone to appeal. They are not allowed to operate from there, but residents in that area have told the councillor that they are continuing to do so, and were also using it as a drugs drop in unit, although DHI deny this. Finally, Councillor Montaut said DHI should not be based in a residential area and asked the question ‘Where should they be located’?
It was pointed out that Swindon Borough Council (SBC) were not consistent on their position concerning the BBC, as last year they still financed it through the Mayors Charities, but had previously stopped the BBC from operating out of the Broadgreen Centre because of the associated anti-social behaviour and the extra work put upon staff, who had to work very hard to make things useable for subsequent centre users.
With regards to DHI, they moved into the area covertly with no consultations with residents and although they said that they were only going to be there until October, as far as St. Luke’s were concerned the original letting until October was in fact an open ended contract
According to the Adver (2nd September 2008), DHI are working with Swindon and Wiltshire Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (SWADS) who are based in Milton Road, but they (DHI) seem to be keeping a very low media profile which in 2008 is not acceptable, what people want is openness and not people conducting their business covertly.

A number of issues were identified from the discussions and a decision had to be made as what we wanted to achieve. Do we want DHI and the BBC in the area and are we and other residents happy for them to operate from this area?

Two votes were put to the meeting asking by a show of hands:

1) ‘Are we for or against DHI’s work at St Luke’s continuing long term’?
Residents voted unanimously against DHI continuing to work long term in the area.

2) ‘Would the meeting agree for the views of residents concerning DHI and the BBC to be put to the church?
Residents voted unanimously in favour of this action being taken.

The secretary or Chair will contact the Parochial Church Council (PCC) to arrange a meeting.


COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: None.

GUEST SPEAKER: There were no guest speakers this month.


CORRESPONDENCE:

PC O’Sullivan has contacted us to say that the Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) signs have been manufactured and are ready to be installed in the locations identified by the police.

Ishmael Stevens sent an email keeping us up to date with his time in the Falklands.

Overgrown vegetation at the back of Shrivenham Rd. in the County Ground - reported.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS
S/08/1549 - 127 County Road - Change of Use of 1no. dwelling into 2 no. flats - Application Pending Consideration
S/08/1493 - 108 County Road - Conversion of 1 no. dwelling into 3 no. residential units and provision of single storey rear extension.- Application Pending Consideration
S/ADV/08/1169 - 57 County Road - Display of Advertising Board (Retrospective). .- Application Pending Consideration
0S/08/1258 - 128 County Road - Erection of external fire escape stairs – Application Refused
S/07/0298 - Land At Aylesbury Street - Erection of 20 no. dwellings and associated parking and landscaping. - Application Granted.

TREASURERS REPORT. 01 August to 31 August 2008:

Note, £2000 of balance is being held pending the Broadgreen Trust being reinstated.

Acceptance of Treasures report proposed by Pam Freegard and seconded by John Phillips.

The secretary was requested to contact via letter, Father Leslie and other Trustees of the Broad Street Community Trust in the strongest possible terms, so as to ascertain the current position of the Trust and the monies held by it. The Charities Commission is also to be sent a copy.



SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT:

Youngsters playing football on the County ground extension are leaving litter after they have finished playing, this could be because there are no litterbins provided. There have also been tree branches broken off, bottle smashed and other anti social behaviour happening, especially by the warm up area. It was felt that if there were bins provided they would probably be used.
Weeds and plants are still overgrowing at the back of Shrivenham Road in the County Ground, and the Blackberry bushes are still overgrowing at the rear of Stratton Bank. Councillor Montaut has contacted the department responsible for this, an officer was sent out to look at it, but couldn’t really see what the problem was, as it was looking better than it did in the past.
Cars and lorries are still driving down Shrivenham Road believing it is a through road, this is made worse with the lorries that do this because they cannot turn around and have to reverse all the way back to the Magic Roundabout, causing a danger.
Peter Thelwall and Maria Carchedi who live either side of the cycle track at the far end of Shrivenham Road attended the meeting on the recommendation of the PCSO’s in the hope something could be done with problems that have steadily increased over the last ten years. Although many letters have been written to Councillors and the Council, apart from removing graffiti nothing else has been done. Despite making more and more security arrangements, the vandalism, cars being scratched and break-ins have continued to theirs and other neighbours houses and property, and the perpetrators of these crimes have generally used the cycle track to make their escape on bikes, in the direction of Drakes Way. This is now making their life intolerable and

because these problems started when the cycle track was opened, they would like to see the cycle track closed, in the hope that it might stop these problems.
There was some surprise that the PCSO’s had directed Peter and Maria to the BSACC as it would appear to be a police problem, but never the less, a number of suggestions were made, including starting a neighbourhood watch scheme and seeing if security packs allowing them to security mark property could be given out. It was agreed that the issue would be taken further up the chain to Beat Manager Paul Crouch and also taken to the Tasking Group. Cllr. Montaut said he would talk to the council engineers to see if anything could be done to improve security make the cycle track safer for residents, rather than seeking its closure.



CHAIR REPORT: A written report was relayed to the meeting
· Hatts Coaches: Having been contacted again, are they now picking up passengers from the County Ground car park?
A resounding answer came back – no! The situation was much worse at one time; with the coaches parking in the evenings for up to an hour, not only in County Road but also Manchester Road, a driver even physically and verbally threatened Richard, because he was taking photos of the coach. Now the coaches are parking for 5 to 10 minutes, which is not an undue amount of time, but the passengers are still waiting for 15 to 20 minutes before hand, which is intrusive for residents because of the noise and litter generated. Richard was also concerned that the coaches, which are forcing scheduled buses to wait behind each other to use the bus stop, causing tailbacks and problems for other road users and residents are interfering with scheduled bus services.
The secretary will write to Thamesdown Transport to find out if Hatts Coaches are causing problems to their scheduled services and if they are allowed to use the bus stops.

· Swindon Advertiser: There was good news with a positive report about Manchester Road and Karen wished to thank all involved but there was some bad news following a report by Emily Walker in the 2nd Sept. edition. Sadly she once again labelled the Broadgreen as a ‘red light area’. We were assured over a year ago that this description would no longer be used and despite being invited to meet with us to discuss the issue, Ms. Walker has so far been declined the offer. Karen will be writing a strong letter of protest to the Adver.

· Neighbourhood Renewal Task Group: This has recently been reformed and the Broadgreen Area is part of it. One issue that has recently come up is some major concerns from many community groups about the new council document ‘Connecting People, Connecting Places’. The idea behind it is for communities and Councillors to be more empowered within their own areas. However there is a growing feeling that this is a ‘top down’ document that will have the opposite effect, actually reducing resident’s power and giving it to Councillors instead. The tasking group are writing to Gavin Jones, Rod Bluh and Neighbourhood Renewal Area Councillors asking for a full consultation on the proposals, before it goes any further.

· Karen has been looking at lots of funding opportunities and will hopefully be coming to next months meeting with lots of forms to complete!

YOUTH REPORT:
Skeetz is now closed for the next 6 weeks due to Ramadan and holidays; it is of some concern as to why it will be shut for so long.
There is a follow up meeting at Drove School on the 11th Sept. concerning the youth provision they want to provide as part of their cohesion plans they will also be forming an interim steering committee. We are concerned that if this youth club is successful, we will lose Skeetz, which operates from the Broadgreen Centre.
Community Sports Coach, Doug Imrie and the Community Council have put in a funding bid for a ‘Kick It Out’ grant for £1000, to encourage the young people of Broadgreen to be involved in sports.
Fran Pound from the Lifestyle Unit also has a funding pot of money for grants between £500 and £2000, so we will be applying for some of it!



HISTORY PROJECT REPORT:
Community Radio 105.5 want to start a new programme called ‘Swindon Voices’ where they will interview local residents about their experiences and views on Swindon, this could marry up with the history project as we want to record the oral history of this area and they have the recording equipment. Informal chats could be held before the monthly BSACC meetings and recorded for both the radio station, if people give their permission, and also for our archive.
This year, a class at Drove School are looking at the history of the road names in Broadgreen.
At the next Saturday Community Plan meeting, people will be able to bring along their history bits and documents so they can be scanned onto a computer for archiving.


NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: No report.


WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT. COUNCILLOR MONTAUT:
With the signing of £215 million pounds worth of investment into the town centre we need to raise issues with councillors, ask for a bigger pot of money and start putting on the agenda things that can make this area better and not let the New Swindon Co. or SBC take the lead, it is our area and it is up to us to say what is important. One thing Cllr. Montaut has been discussing with SBC Officers is public art for this area, it was pointed out that there were far more important issues to be considered before this, extending the Streets For Living area or CCTV for example.
Having the large amount of potholes in Broad St. has been something Cllr. Montaut has made an effort in and he is hoping to get the long-term programme for road resurfacing. Claims for injury due to potholes cost councils more money nationally than repairing them.
People in this area live well together but there has been an increase in tensions because some groups have wanted extra privileges, causing some heated problems with parking. There is one over riding factor here, and that is no one can have any special privileges Councillors have tried to help alleviate the problems with the Mosque parking but things are no better. It was brought to Cllr. Montaut’s attention that because of Ramadan, people visiting the Mosques for prayers in the evenings were parking on pavements and double yellow lines until very late in the evening.
Cllr. Montaut told the meeting that Councillors and residents needed to continue to push for this to be sorted out, as there can be only one community, but changes will only come in small bites. Having talked to a Director on this issue, a communication will be going out to all mosques and churches in the area relaying the parking rules and regulations, and pointing out that they will be enforced.


STREET WATCH REPORT: No report.


ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
· The hedge along the Gladstone St. side of the Broadgreen Centre has still not been cut back.
· Drinking is still continuing in the back alleys, particularly at the rear of Manchester Road. Cllr. Montaut said that the Police had made several raids on premises where alcohol has been found. One racial group in particular had a problem with drinking and the Council has taken the issue directly with the people concerned and the Landlord, who has tried to wriggle out of it. It has also been discussed with their community leaders who are aware of the problems and are trying to sort it out as it is not the way they want their community to operate; they have however disassociated themselves from the drinkers.
· With the extended residents parking hours now in effect, can the council be asked to issue extra visitor permits?
· People are now driving through the Streets For Living roads faster than the 20mph speed limit.
· Gully drain covers are being stolen form the alleyways, but the council are replacing them quickly.
· The next Community Plan meeting will be on 30th September 10 to midday.

Meeting closed at 9.35 pm. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 1 October 2008

Report on the Progress of the Broadgreen Community Plan

With thanks to Community Planner Holly Huber for this report.

On Saturday 27th September, Community Plan members met to look at Health and Well-being, both physical and mental, and why this is important for ourselves and the communities we live in. We had two guest speakers: Ann Mooney from SUNS, a charity promoting the rights and interests of people suffering from mental health illnesses. We also welcomed Cheryl Heynes from Lifestyles, (part-funded by the Primary [Health] Care Trust), who focus on increasing adult participation in activity or 'exercise', up to the recommended target of 30 minutes, 5 times a week.

They were both inspiring speakers. Those who were there said that they felt they now understand far more about mental health, (which can affect 1 in 6 adults at some point in their lives), and the knock-on effects that it can have on the lives of those around them. As well as being the Director of a charity, Ann Mooney is the first mental health patient in the UK to become the Chairwoman of a Mental Health Trust. This is by any measure an achievement, but even more remarkable for someone who very openly and honestly talks about her own situation: Ann has brain-damage, takes up to 50 pills a day, and still suffers from mental ill-health and a physical disability. The route to Ann's successful career was through becoming a volunteer, and Ann now has a very important - and paid - job which she loves.

Cheryl Heyne showed us all how easy, fun and social it can be to get involved in physical activities, whether this be walking, dancing, or swimming, or even just playing with a ball while sitting on your sofa watching TV! Any form of movement that gets you a little short of breath and a bit warmer, helps to build up strength, flexibility, mobility. Better health keeps you well in mind and body, and helps to prevent illness. You can also do 10 minutes of activity at a time, if that suits you better.

The aim of the day was to show how we all in our communities can use the Broadgreen Plan to promote better health, prevent ill-health, or reduce the inequalites in health experienced by people living in different areas. We can do this in two main ways. Firstly we can improve the environment and the factors which affect our health from outside. Secondly, we can take a lead in promoting good health for ourselves by ourselves by trying to meet the eating “five fruit & vegetables a day“ target, and taking some gentle form of exercise to built up our health to prevent, manage or reduce the impact of illnesses and conditions. Both of these aims are affected by the quality of environment around us, which is why the Plan can help support better health in Broadgreen.

The Community Plan Partnership meets again on the 15th October 2008 here, in the lounge at 6.30pm-7.30pm. All those who are interested in making a positive contribution to improving the area, and building up the strength of this community to see these changes through, or would just like to know a bit more about how they might be able to help will be most welcome. No one will be asked to do anything they don't feel comfortable with, and there are many different ways you can be part of the plan's success. We will start by forming small groups to tackle important issues like crime, traffic, litter, open space, local skills, and better activites or facilities for young people. Please join us if you want to be part of making a real difference to this area.

The next Community Plan Saturday event will be on Saturday 25th October from 10 -1pm, in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre, when we will be looking at the local economy of Broadgreen. Jobs, training, skills, and opportunities affect the earnings of people living in this community. Improving the chances and income of people would alter the reputation of Broadgreen, begin to chip away at some of the discrimination people living in this area might suffer from those outside it. Beliefs about the area affects market 'confidence', which IN TURN can affect house prices, local shops and services, life chances, jobs and earnings, among other things. We will also be doing an exercise called "The Yellow Brick Road" on how to set up a Community Shop/ Cafe/ IT point, which will be enjoyable, and your ideas are important, and will be valued.

So that's Wednesday 15th October 6.30-7.30pm for the Community plan group meeting and Saturday 25th October 10-1pm for the Improve your Local Economy event. I hope you can join us. If you want more information please call Holly Huber on 01793 466415.

Monthly Community Plan public event. September 27th 2008

The topic for the morning is 'Health and well-being'.

This will be held at the Broadgreen Centre in Salisbury Street, between 10am and midday.

There will be two guest speakers, one talking about mental health issues and the other from the Lifestyle Unit.

Any Broadgreen residents wishing to attend and input into the plan are very welcome to do so, infact we positively encourage people to attend!

SBC Open Space Audit. Central Ward - Open space being eroded.

This audit was only adopted four years ago, and yet between then and now, Central Ward has lost five hectares of outdoor sports facilities. It went from 13.82ha to 8.83ha.

How did this happen? Well originally SBC included the GWR sports ground in Shrivenham Road, which will allegedly one day become another bland housing estate.

With no chance of replacing any of this lost open space within the Central Area, it is important to protect what is left, and what is important to the Broadgreen Area is of course The County Ground.

This is why creating a Community Plan is so very important. It is up to the residents of Broadgreen to become involved and define the issues that are important to this community.

One of the issues will surely be retaining all the green open spaces at the County Ground. Even though people may say the cricket field and athletics track are not open space because they are fenced and do not allow public access, the fact is when you are over there you have the perception of open space, something most people appreciate especially when living in an area like Broadgreen, where there is high density terraced housing and little greenery.
To pinch an 'official' description, the County Ground is a visual amenity for many people and needs to remain so.


Top. Existing recreational areas in 2004. With the GWR sports ground artistically outlined!

Bottom. The more up to date version (2006)

Feed back from July Community Plan public event

The Uses of Outdoor Space: Community Plan Open Space Day , 26th July 2008

These are some of the ways Broadgreen community members and guests defined the ways in which public and private outdoor space can be used.

Positive associations of public open space
· Peace & quiet, Enjoyment
· Seating, Congregating, (i.e. open air religious services)
· Sleeping,
· Walking the dog,
· Courting
· A variety of things to do and places to do them in, including
· Multiplayer parks
· Fresh air & exercise
· Freedom: From traffic, to run/play, to relax
· Permission to use: fences, impediments, Access to & thru paths, etc

Wildlife habitat:
Loss & re-establish to connect with wildlife: Birds, squirrels
Water – natural and artificial features

Sporting & leisure activities and adventure:
Football, games, cheering on, watching sports, camping, caravanning
Play - in playgrounds & informally, supervising grand/children’s play activities. Holiday locations often chosen for vistas and views.

Celebrations & Social Activities:
Festivals & events i.e. the Mela, Community Cohesion Day.
BBQs, People watching, Meeting / gatherings

Sensory:
Noise, Colour, Metaphoric / Symbolic meanings of plants, landscape and seasons etc, Smell of fresh cut grass, Smell/ feel of damp leaves in autumn,
Public to private spectrum: Parks – formal, well-managed places – through to “wilder” informal spaces, then Private spaces: Gardens. Unadopted space (land not apparently owned by anyone) has questionable ownership usage & control.

Negative Associations:
Abuse / lack of care for public space
Dumping/ broken glass/ litter
Conflicts between age groups
Development pressure on “Brownfield” sites – parks sometimes included!
Caution, pollution, Shrubberies hide rubbish
Drug taking paraphernalia badly disposed: Litter – needles
Anti-Social Behaviour: drinking, urinating

BROADLY SPEAKING SPTEMBER 2008

As reported last month, a Designated Public Place Order now covers the Broadgreen, County Ground and Tescos area, giving the Police extra powers to arrest or confiscate alcohol from people who may be drinking and causing a general nuisance to residents. This is something the BSACC put forward to the Council for consideration last year, and we are pleased to report that the DPPO signs are now being put up around the area.

Back in July, in the hopes of improving the prostitution problem, the BSACC organised a meeting with Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett and the Broadgreen Police Team. At the time people felt the outcome fell more sympathetically on the side of helping the prostitutes rather than the residents, but the good news is the Police have listened and have implemented a dedicated Vice Officer who will work with the Proactive Crime Target Team.

Throughout the summer we have received a string of complaints concerning the activities from the clients that use the Broadgreen Breakfast Club (BBC), which operates from St. Luke’s Church. It would seem that an hour or so before it opens, people are congregating outside, drinking and disturbing residents and when it shuts a group then move to the Broadgreen Centre play area where they continue drinking and being a nuisance. The BBC and the church have both been made aware of these problems, but they feel that their responsibilities only cover the Church Hall, its immediate environs and the hours of opening, so we will be pursuing these problems further.

The Broadgreen Community Plan has been moving forward since the first planning event back in January. On Wednesday 15^th October at 6pm in the Broadgreen Centre there will be a meeting to form a steering group, discuss funding and look to employing a project manager to take the plan forward on a more professional basis. If you live in the Broadgreen Area and think you would like to be part of the steering group, you are most welcome to attend.
The next monthly residents meetings are on 1^st October and 5^th November 2008 at 7.30 pm in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre. There is no charge to attend meetings, all residents in the Broadgreen area are automatic members and are invited to attend.

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 6th AUGUST 2008

PRESENT: Chair person Karen Leakey, Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary Kevin Leakey.

Also Present: 17 residents, John Taylor, John Bishop St. Luke’s, Nick Conlan and Leslie Knott – Compliance Officers – SBC Parking Services, Councillor Derique Montaut, 2 drug workers from DHI.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: 7 residents, Holly Huber SBC Community Planner, Broadgreen NPT, Councillor Junab Ali

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 2nd July 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record

MATTERS ARISING: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: None.

GUEST SPEAKER: Nick Conlan and Leslie Knott – Compliance Officers – SBC Parking Services.

· Parking services are now part of ‘Street Smart’ which involves different agencies that deal with highways and environmental health, although Compliance Officers/ Parking Attendants mainly deal with ‘lines and signs’ they can now report other problems, dumped rubbish on street corners for example, but as yet they have not got into this properly.
· Parking on double yellow lines or in residents parking bays without a permit are covered by the law ‘Active loading and Unloading’ which means that the hand held machines they use cannot issue instant tickets and the vehicle has to be logged, then given 5 minutes grace before a parking ticket can be issued.
· With regards to the 2 hour limited waiting bays, vehicles parked here have to be logged, and then they have 2 hours parking from that time.
· Loading/unloading from shops and for example people moving in/out of houses are allowed a degree of discretion because it is likely to take longer than 5 minutes to carry out these tasks.
· Parking in bus stops with three yellow lines means no stopping 24 hours a day except for buses. Vehicles parked in these areas can be given an instant ticket.
· The highway covers the road and path, right up to people’s properties, which means that even if vehicles are parked partially or fully on the path, if double yellow lines cover that particular part of the highway then a ticket can be issued. Unfortunately SBC has not adopted the new legislation that means cars parked on paths can be ticketed whether there are yellow lines or not.
· The traffic wardens work between 6am to 10 pm, with the majority working during the day, 4 normally start at 6am, whilst 4 generally work until 10pm and they have to cover the whole Borough. The problems with parking on yellow lines in this area is not a big one at the present time as there is plenty of parking spaces generally available.
· Because of the Friday afternoon prayers at the Mosque between about midday and 2pm, there are lots of parking problems in Broad Street and the surrounding roads and alleyways. The Compliance Officers did not realise this was still happening as they had recently had a meeting with representatives of the Mosque who said the problem was much better now. Parking Attendants had previously been sent down to monitor the situation, but had been abused and accused of being racist when they had booked illegally parked cars. Unfortunately if the road is blocked they do not have the power to direct traffic, although if the Police call them to, they can then do so.
· It was reported that a number of taxi drivers attending the Mosque had been parking in the vicinity and had told residents that they have been given permission to park in residents parking bays without permits, however we were assured that no permission has been given to anyone without permits, to park.
· SBC allow people with blue disabled badges to park in residents parking zones for an unlimited time without setting their clock and also on yellow lines for up to 3 hours, but they must set their clock at time of arrival. But they cannot park in bus stops with thick yellow lines and must not park in places that cause an obstruction or interrupts the flow of traffic.
· Cars with foreign registrations have been parked in the area for over a year with no road tax disks. The law allows foreign cars to stay in the UK for 6 months before they either have to be taken back home or be re-registered for the UK and get insurance here. The Parking Attendants cannot do anything about these problems, this is a Customs and Excise problem and they should keep a check on vehicles coming in to this Country and the length of time they remain here on foreign plates. Having no insurance is a Police matter.
· Parking outside shops close to the junction of Manchester Road and Corporation Street is causing problems with the traffic being held up. Parking Attendants are aware of this and do keep a close eye on the situation, but as soon as they log any vehicles parked there, the owner reels off lots of excuses for parking there, then simply moves their car before the 5 minutes grace has expired.

The Compliance Officers agreed to visit the Mosque in Broad Street and Manchester Road shops on Friday (8th August). If you need to contact the Compliance Officers in an emergency, they can be contacted directly on 01793-574925. Mobile: 07812138389.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Hatts coaches are still picking up people from County Road. Have contacted them again and they have told their drivers to stop doing so.

The Community Council has been invited to the Quality Of Life Awards on the12th September.
Thank you letter from forward planning for making representations on the Councils Core Strategy-preferred options stage.
33 Rosebery St. The garage of this property is being converted into a room. No planning permission has been applied for – Enforcement is now investigating this.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS
S/08/1455 - 26 Medgbury Road - Erection of two storey/single storey rear extension.- Application Pending Consideration
S/08/1028 - 108 County Road - Conversion of dwelling into house of multiple occupancy. - Application Withdrawn
S/08/1058 - 142 Manchester Road - Erection of single storey rear extension. - Application Granted.


SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT:
Weeds and plants are overgrown at the back of Shrivenham Road in the County Ground, it has been left for so long that there are now small trees growing in it. Prostitutes are working again from the back alley. Blackberry bushes are still overgrowing the Stratton Bank. Councillor Montaut said this is SBC’s responsibility but when he pursued this previously, there wasn’t a budget for it but he did manage to get it cut back in the end. He will look into this once again, and give it another go.

CHAIR REPORT:
Because of the prostitution meeting, things have been happening from the Crime and Disorder Team. They now have DNA identification packs for County and Manchester Roads; these packs are to enable residents to mark all of their property with a uniquely identifiable liquid, registered to each particular house. County Road was chosen because it has been identified as the biggest crime spot in town. Any residents that live in these roads that would like to have a pack, free of charge should contact the Community Council or the Community Safety Team on 01793-466506.
Three SBC Cabinet members met with some of the community, and from concerns shown about the clothes bin in County Road that has caused so many problems with dumped rubbish, it has now been removed. Deputy Leader of the Council Fionuala Foley will be going out with a high ranking female police officer on a prostitute patrol to see what the problems are like in this community and she requested that residents pass on information either to her directly, or through the Chair, identifying the places that prostitutes may be found or particular areas residents would like her to visit.
With regards to the Community Garden Project, Pam Freegard asked if funding could be found for this, as we have no money. Karen has applied to the Quality of Life Awards for £500 and the BSACC has been invited to the award ceremony and to have a display for the project. We will not know if we have been granted the award until the day of the ceremony.
The Breakfast Club, Luncheon Club and the drug outreach centre all work out of St. Luke’s Church hall and a lot of problems are coming up from these. From the tasking meeting, there was a long and open talk with the drugs workers and people from Threshold Housing, who listened and understood the problems and wanted to work with the community.
GUEST SPEAKERS: Drug outreach workers Max and Janetta from the Drugs and Homeless Initiative.
DHI want to engage with the prostitutes and get them into the drugs services, lots of them do not want help, but they need to start somewhere. They are using the same model in the Broadgreen Area as they have used successfully in Bristol and have been working from St. Luke’s for 6 months and are there until October.
· They asked for residents help as they are spending evenings this week walking around the area looking for prostitutes to talk to, but have not had much luck on Monday or Tuesday. They were given a number of ideas where to look and the times to go out.
· It was pointed out that when they are walking around and around the area, they are not wearing high visibility jackets and it could look like they were a pimp and prostitute. All they have with them is their identity badge, and they hadn’t thought of the perception they may be giving out and hoped that we now knew who they were and what they were doing.
· What they are hoping to do is buy an old van that they can use to take prostitutes out of the area if, for example they are noisy and causing trouble. Most of the prostitutes that are acting like this are on crack cocaine, which gives them lots of energy. They start on heroin, which is a relaxant but move on to crack that is a stimulant. Taking crack is like having loads of cups of coffee, it makes them very happy but also makes them paranoid and wanting to fight.
· Mick, another drugs worker had tried to get some of the Directors of DHI to attend this meeting so the questions and concerns could be put directly to them, but he was unsuccessful.
· Throughout this summer there has been a significant increase, compared to previous years, in problems being reported concerning non-residents using the alleyways and park as a toilet and drinking area, as well as rowdy and intimidating behaviour from groups of drunks going hand in hand with it. One particular incident involved a gentleman leaving the breakfast club, who deliberately exposed himself to an elderly lady cleaning the hairdressers in Broad Street. Caretakers at the Broadgreen Centre, who have to clean up the recreation area from alcohol litter daily, have also reported these problems getting worse in the park this summer, as well as a big increase in needles. It was felt that having the Breakfast Club all week, a luncheon club 2 days a week and a drugs drop in centre 4 days a week was the cause of the increase in problems, as people using these services are staying in the area.
· A Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) now covers the Broadgreen, County Ground and Tescos area, DHI did not realise this and also pointed out that although they are working from St. Luke’s hall after the Breakfast Club, they are not connected to them and although the increase in problems may be connected to the drop in centre and they do work very hard to make sure that any of their clients do not bother residents outside of the hall.
A long debate then ensued with differing opinions and points being put forward about the drugs unit, as follows:
· Accepting that it is there, DHI want to work with us and may sort out some of the problems in the short term.
· Not want the drop in centre in the area at all.
· Understanding that what they are trying to do is a good thing, but it does encourage and attract more undesirable people and problems into a residential area.
· Not wanting a drop in centre here, but still wanting the problems with prostitution and drugs gone from the area.
· If the centre stays and gets bigger, the chance of then having it removed will be nil.
· If it stays it will be a magnet for more problems, do we want another problem that is permanently in this area?
· Why was there no consultation before the centre opened, both from DHI and St. Luke’s Church?
· Whilst the intentions may be good, should it be in this area?
· Can the drop in centre not be at Carfax Street? – Not enough room.
· There needs to be a balance between the do good things and the reality of life in the area because of the extra problems and people brought into the area because of the homeless and drugs initiatives.
· We are trying to make the area a nicer place to live, but the positioning of the drugs unit could work against this.
· The workers at these ‘clubs’ can walk away at the end of the day, but they are not responsible for their client’s behaviour once they have walked away.
· If this can be slipped into the area without people knowing, what other magnets could come in that is detrimental to the area?

Councillor Montaut said that DHI needed to find premises in Central Swindon, he supported the idea of a drop in centre and had no problem with it if the community was happy and supported the objectives, but felt that DHI had suddenly appeared on the doorstep of a residential area, had not consulted with the Council, Councillors or the Community and may be illegally working from St. Luke’s, without planning permission to operate. He also felt that the centre had come in through the back door, because when they wanted to open a centre in Maxwell St. they had a presentation to residents and outlined how they operate their drug treatment centres. If at the end of the day the community decides to disagree with it being here then it will have to be taken up, although he did wonder, as the centre had been operating for 6 months and nobody had noticed, did we have a gripe now?


With regards to the Breakfast Club causing problems, John Bishop from St. Luke’s said if they are not informed of the problems, they do not necessarily know what’s going on. He did wonder if these problems are going on, and there is a DPPO in the area, why are the Police not enforcing it? Also, whilst the groups that use the hall are responsible for their clients leaving, how long do they have to stay around to see them off of the site? It was pointed out that at half past six in the morning, people are congregating waiting for it to open and later in the morning there are regularly about 10 people sat in the park drinking cans of beer. John had been talking to a person in Graham St. who had been spending time picking cans from her hedge, so they can’t just be from that group of people as cans are all over the place, therefore there must be a problem with people in the area drinking, that may or may not be connected with the people using the church hall. As for the exposure incident,
John has spoken to Threshold Housing about this and has been assured that it took place before the Breakfast
Club opened. The description given to them by the Police did not match that of any of the members of the Breakfast Club.
As far as consulting residents when they decided to rent out their hall to the drugs unit, he felt that for example if the Council rent out a room at the Broadgreen Centre, would they tell Karen that this or that group wanted to use it? No, they would make a rational decision. The Church is there to benefit the community, not the local community but the wider community, and the drugs people are trying to help cure the prostitution problem because most of it hinges around drug taking.
There was no conclusion reached on this issue and it was deferred until the September meeting when a separate public meeting will have to be organised to gauge the opinions of the wider community.

HISTORY PROJECT REPORT: Re-capped that last month the meeting endorsed the idea, with a broad remit to nurture pride in the area etc. Kevin has agreed to chair the group and many people have expressed an interest to participate: Ros has all the deeds to her house from the day it was built and Grace has given a picture of her family car, which was the first in Salisbury Street. Karen has persuaded her Dad to give an oral history of his experiences and memories and it is hoped many people will do this. Cluniford has already given a talk about his experiences in this area, and it is hoped he will do it again so it can be recorded. Dennis who has lived in Ponting Street for 40 odd years has said he may have a meeting in his front room for people who want to plan and take this forward and this could be recorded as a foundation stone of the community recognising the importance of community history.
Terry Bracher from the Wilts. And Swindon Archive Centre is happy to visit us and also to invite a small group of residents up to Chippenham to have a look around the archive centre.
Please talk to your neighbours and friends about this project, encourage them to look through their attics and photo albums and have a look back through your own things to see what you might have that reflect the Broadgreen over the last 100 years. It is hoped that at the next Community Plan meeting, people may bring along some of their bits and they can be scanned onto a computer. We have no wish to keep original copies; it is the information that is important.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Still problems with coaches driving down Broad Street, which really isn’t practical. The council has told Karen that they now charge to pick up used needles. Cllr. Montaut said the guidelines are not very clear, he has had a meeting with Steve Harcourt about this because of needles at the County Ground, when one department was trying to charge to clear then up, the Council are trying to unravel the situation at the moment. He suggested that Karen phone the council back up register the concerns and if not get a positive response, contact him and he will pursue the matter or DHI could be contacted as they clean up dirty needles.
St. Luke’s has a sharps bin that they use to clear up needles dumped on church property, there is also one at the Broadgreen Centre and the Caretakers are trained to dispose of them safely.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT, COUNCILLOR MONTAUT: Lots of people do not know that there is a DPPO in the area so will be contacting the Police and Council to get notices put up. Problems with cars and oil from Haji’s garage has been raised again, he has taken this up with Cheri Wright, who was not aware of any problems concerning this, he asked for this matter to be actioned, Cheri was going to come out and have a look herself but instead sent out a member of the Constabulary to visit the area and they are looking at it more closely. Cllr. Montaut talked briefly about speed cameras not working in Swindon, but was reminded that this meeting was non-political.

STREET WATCH REPORT: No report.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: The hedge along the Gladstone St. side of the Broadgreen Centre is in need of cutting back.
113 Broad St. two of the residents were drunk and shouting out in the street at midnight. - The Police have said the resident that rents this property is due to move to a hostel and the landlord will not rent the property out to the same sort of people again.
Dulux paint has given more paint and John Taylor will be in the office this Friday to give it away.
The Chair caught someone fly tipping in the area from his car, when challenged he said “this was the area to dump rubbish in because it is a s##t hole anyway”.

Meeting closed at 9.25 pm. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 3 September 2008