Broad Street Area Community Council

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 02 June 2010

2010-06-01T21:45:00.002+01:00

AGENDA -
BSACC monthly meeting 02 June 2010 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – May 2010 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: -
7. Correspondence:
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chair report: Karen Leakey
10. Youth report
11. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
12. Broadgreen Community Plan:
13. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
14. Neighbourhood Watch report
15. Ward Councillors report
16. Any Other Business
17.Next Meeting: Wednesday 07 July 2010 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 07 April 2010

2010-04-07T08:43:00.002+01:00

AGENDA -
BSACC monthly meeting 07 April 2010 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 03 March 2010 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Correspondence
7. Treasurers report –John Phillips
8. Chairs report – Karen Leakey
9. Discussion about the future of BSACC
10. Date of AGM
11. Any Other Business
12. Next Meeting: Wednesday 05 May 2010 – 7.30 pm start
in the lounge.

Next Community Council meeting

2010-03-14T15:30:00.001Z

The next monthly meeting of the Community Council will be on the 7th April 2010 at 7.30pm in the Lounge at the Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street. All Broadgreen residents are invited to attend and join in proceedings.

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes - 3rd February 2010

2010-03-05T09:26:00.001Z

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Treasurer John Phillips, John and Vi Clark, John and Pam Freegard, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Kay Malko, Rebecca McIntosh, Mr Murray, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: PC Diffin, PCSO Outlaw, Councillor Derique Montaut and Tim French.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Karen Coulthard, Muhammad Chaudhry, Elizabeth Grady, Kath Jones, Cluniford and Evelyn Mason, Sue Osbaldstone, David Webb, Mark Walker – SBC, Caroline Hunt SBC

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 2nd December 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Derek Sutton and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE DECEMBER 2009 MINUTES: There were no minutes for the January 2010 meeting as it was cancelled due to the heavy snowfall. With regards to the cycling on pavement problems, the Vice-Chair had noticed that a big warning sign had been put up at the Broadgreen Centre.

NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE TEAM REPORT – PC Diffin:
ASB at Tesco – The Police had words with a few people and for the last month there were no reports of any more problems. As school half term is coming up shortly, the Police will be monitoring the problem to see if it returns during this time.

Cycling on pavements – some warning signs have been put up and more are to follow, and an enforcement day is planned when anybody caught cycling on pavements in the area will be fined. It is hoped this will give out a message that cycling on pavements is prohibited and dangerous. Cycling on pavement has been a long-term problem everywhere and despite many crackdowns, has continued in the Town Centre for many years. PC Diffin suggested that one solution might be approaching the council to see if some of the wider paths might be converted to both a path and cycle track.

Prostitution and drug problems at Amber Court – Despite the report in the Adver, the Police Team have been working hard to sort out this problem and have made 3 arrests and detained 23 persons under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Officers have also executed 2 warrants under the Misuse of Drugs Act in the local area resulting in the seizure of 1kg of cannabis, a quantity of cannabis resin and 40gms of amphetamine, As a result 1 adult male was arrested at the location. A lock was put on the outside door of the building to stop people getting to use and sell drugs, but during a recent Police visit, it was unlocked and open, which is down to the residents to ensure it is locked.

There has been an increase in burglaries; opportunistic criminals who gain access to homes through open or unlocked windows and doors are mainly carrying this out, meaning that the majority of these crimes could easily be prevented by residents being more vigilant in making sure their homes are secure.
In Central, the Broadgreen NPT have also been involved in a number of operations including aiding Court Officers in pursuit of outstanding warrants, when 5 people were caught, resulting in £5000 of unpaid fines being recovered, and also working with the UK Border Agency leading to the detaining of 9 illegal immigrants.
A couple of problems were reported by residents – a street light in Gladstone Street had been out for sometime, it had been reported to SBC but not repaired and in recent days drug dealing had been witnessed in the same area.
School age youngsters had been seen on more than one occasion, deliberately throwing footballs across roads, right in front of moving vehicles.
Once again Pc Diffin reiterated the need to report crime when it happened and not wait until our monthly meetings. The Chair would be happy to contact the NPT on behalf of other people if required, and said that our NPT were very active in the community and good at responding to problems. Councillor Montaut suggested there should be some kind of recognition for the work that they do.

GUEST SPEAKER: There were no guest speakers this month

CORRESPONDENCE:
Sent:
Twice contacted Father Leslie concerning the Broad Street Trust and if Mrs McCue was ever voted on as an official trustee, because there seems to be no mention of this happening on any of the minutes.

Received: None

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
· S/09/2318 - Land Adjacent To Jurys Inn Hotel - Fleming Way - Erection of an office block with ground floor Class A3/A4 uses and associated parking - Application Pending Consideration
· S/ADV/09/2300 - 8 Shrivenham Road - Display of 1 no. non illuminated hoarding sign (retrospective.) - Application Pending Consideration
· S/09/2133 - 127 County Road - Retrospective change of use of dwelling to 2 no. flats (plus use of garage for bike parking) – Application withdrawn
· S/09/2238 - 92-93 Broad Street - Change of use from Shops (Class A1) to 1 no. dwelling (Class C3).
Comments: The Broad Street Area Community Council has no objections against the proposals.
Our only concern, although not relevant to this application, is it may be converted to flats at a later date
· S/09/1335 - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury St - Partial demolition and erection of 118no. bedroom hotel and associated works - Application Granted - Committee Decision
· S/09/2240 - Former Thamesdown Bus Depot - Corporation Street - Temporary change of use to contractors compound and storage - Application Granted - Delegated Decision
This application and decision was greeted with some disappointment as it had been hoped that temporarily the unsightly hoardings might have been removed and the area grassed over until such time as the redevelopment of the area began.
A question was asked about STFC’s recent stories in the Adver concerning their stadium redevelopment plans and if anybody knew what they might be. Last year the Chair had a meeting with Council Leader Rod Bluh, and he made assurances that the club knew what they could do i.e. only develop on their current footprint, however neither STFC nor SBC have included residents in their talks. One big concern was Stratton Bank might be built higher, cutting out light and becoming overbearing for residents living adjacent to it in Shrivenham Road. Councillor Montaut said none of the Central Councillors had been involved in any talks although a meeting had been requested. It was agreed that we would contact both SBC and STFC to ask for an update and meeting to discuss what they plan to do.
174 County Rd – reported could be being converted to flats.
TREASURERS REPORT: Proposed Derek Sutton and Seconded by John Freegard

CHAIR REPORT: The Chair passed on the sad news that both Pam Montgomery and Pearl Winstone had recently passed away – condolence cards have been sent.
John Taylor has stepped down from his community voluntary roles to spend more time with his family. John will be sadly missed but the meeting agreed to thank John for all his work by giving him a thank you present.
Caroline Hunt left some plans and feedback forms for the County Ground play area refurbishment.
A bid for £1,850 has been put in to the Community Grant fund; this would be to run another Community Fun/Cohesion event this year.
On the 26th March, we have been asked to help at St. Josephs School with a project about ‘Campaigning’ – volunteers needed.
We have the opportunity to purchase a radio recording pack to continue the work started by John Taylor at 105.5 – the packs cost £145 volunteers for a media/editorial team were requested. It was agreed to purchase a pack.
A meeting has been set up with Jim Allmark from the Discovery Church in Lagos Street; this is to see if we can work together for the better of the area. The Chair will also be meeting with Jerome Chatman one of the Boroughs Engagement Officers to plan a ‘Leaders’ type forum to help bring the various groups together and share info etc.
There is now a mobile phone to allow more access to the BSACC.
We are still hoping to visit the Courts and Library for a tour and hope that Cllr. Montaut might be able to arrange a visit to the Civic Offices.
On the 17th August we have been invited to have a promotional area at the Children’s Fete in the GWR Park. This was agreed.
The Chair put the following plans and ideas forward for 2010 requested volunteers to help –
April -Street Party, evening cricket match. May - Fun day possibly on the 15th. June - Community Picnic and fund raising. July 18th the Big Lunch (national date), August - Street Athletic, BSACC open evening. September -Street Athletics’ celebration evening with Skeetz, Could also host a BSACC award. Funded by raffle. October - Broadgreen Street Games? Could we bring this back? December - Meal
Perhaps we could plan a Christmas celebration.
Further to this the Chair suggested in the interests of the area we should be looking to set up the following this year, again volunteers were requested - NHW co-ordinators – door knocking throughout year, Leaders Forum – work towards a 2011/12 Carnival, Business/Traders Forum? Look at setting up a ‘focus group’ to work with landlords? Young peoples Forum – aim is Churchfields and St Josephs to work together
Getting to know your community events, Clean up days, ‘Food for Thought’ event – food and drink for young people – provide information for them, ‘Tea time get together’ for the older people – get them out of their homes and mixing together. Street meetings – also MUST work with people in Shrivenham Road or encourage and help them set up a Residents Assoc/com council, Community Volunteers = Street Smart//Street Reps//Community Agents, Need to have an ‘action plan’ for looking after vulnerable people in Broadgreen area in case of emergencies etc and look for volunteers.
Before the main meeting an Officers meeting was held and the following agreed: Look at planning a 2011 Carnival, resign from both the Swindon Federation of Community Organisations and Neighbourhood Renewal Task Group as they no longer seem to be relevant to the BSACC.

VICE-CHAIR REPORT: A load of rubbish was dumped behind a property in Broad Street, it was reported but when the council came along, they left it – The Vice-Chair phoned the council to enquire why it was left, and was told they would get back to him by the end of the day – they didn’t.
Security - For the over 60’s, Help the Aged will fit locks and chains free of charge, as long as you have less than £20,000 in savings.

YOUTH REPORT: Skeetz will be starting a new art project with ‘no added sugar’ shortly. They hope to do something that could be displayed outside at the Broadgreen Centre.

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: The inaugural Committee meeting was held in December and the following was agreed:
· Name to be Broadgreen & Queenstown Community History Group
· Kevin Leakey to be Chair
· Committee – John Phillips, Derek and Madge Sutton, Karen Coulthard, John Taylor and Karen Leakey Admin.
· To continue to add to the archive, by talking to people about the area and its history, requesting the loan of photographs and documents so they can be scanned and copies stored electronically.
· Although the group will remain a sub-committee of the BSACC, funding will be sought at some point in 2010; this will allow us to run financially independent of the Community Council.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: No reports this month, but the Chair reminded people of the upsurge in burglaries and that people should be aware of the measures they take to secure their homes.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: Overgrown brambles along the County Ground Extension fence and backsies have still not been cut back. Beer cans and general litter continues to be a problem in the extension, particularly by the seat behind Shrivenham Rd. The pond at the rear of Tescos has still not been cleared up – this is the responsibility of Thames Water.

COCKRAM COURT: Nothing to report.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: Wi-fi, SBC has invested £450,000 in this scheme, concerns surround the lack of openness because only a small group of Cabinet members made the decision with no consultations with other councillors or residents. Broadgreen will probably be the third area to have this and the equipment will be put on every lamppost.
Although he had not studied it closely, Councillor Montaut talked to the meeting about the upcoming Council budget proposals and his concerns as to how it might affect the Broadgreen Area.
Cllr. Montaut was asked if councillors would be taking a cut in their allowances, as people were being told they had to take wage cuts and others were being made redundant within the Council. Cllr. Montaut replied that a panel made up from a wide range of people set the allowance increases, but a move had been made by the Leader of the Council to freeze the allowances.

B.O.N.D: Vice –Chair Pam Freegard reported that they held a successful evening event last Saturday at the Broadgreen Centre and everyone that attended enjoyed themselves. The only problem was the lack of heating throughout the centre.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Photo’s were shown of large items – mattress, sofa and TV, as well as lots of bin bags that have been dumped in the alley between Graham and Salisbury Streets – unfortunately as it is all on peoples property, albeit just inside the curtilage, this causes a problem for the council as they are not allowed to remove it.
Manchester Road - There is a lot of litter around Abbey’s shop and there has been scaffolding blocking the alley behind the Cash and Carry since before Christmas.

Meeting closed at 9.10 pm.

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes - 2nd December 2009

2010-03-05T09:21:00.001Z

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Treasurer John Phillips, Muhammad Chaudhry, John and Vi Clark, John and Pam Freegard, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: PC Diffin, Tim French.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: John Banville, Karen Coulthard, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Jean Norris, Sue Osbaldstone, David Webb, PCSO’s Bird and Turner, John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 2nd December 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE DECEMBER MINUTES: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT – PC Diffin: There are 3 new priorities.
ASB – Halloween priority now closed. New priority – ASB at Tesco.

Cycling on pavements – This has replaced the speeding car priority, which is out of the range of the BG Police team.

Prostitution and drug problems at Amber Court – This has replaced the litter priority, which cannot be resolved by the Police team.

The Chair said that she had been speaking to people at various meetings and they had complained that their Police Team do not engage with them, however she was pleased to point out that this was not the case in Broadgreen, where we have a strong Tasking Group and our Police Team fully engage. The Chair thanked the Police Team and PC Diffin for his hard work since taking over as Beat Manager, which was fully backed up by the meeting by a show of applause.

GUEST SPEAKERS: David Brown and Patrick Williams – from RSVP -the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme, www.rsvp-west.org.uk
David and Patrick attended the meeting in their capacity of raising awareness to the over 50’s concerning climate change and how that age group could help play their part in reducing their carbon footprint. An SBC Community Grant has funded them and the project is aimed at engaging as many groups and people as possible within this age group.

The main points raised in the discussion were as follows:

Since the Industrial Revolution there has been a rise in green house gasses and the average world temperatures have risen and so the facts point to ourselves as the cause of this, although the science does leave some uncertainties.

The over 50’s represent 30% of the population and studies show that they have the highest carbon footprint, around 20% higher for a number of reasons - they don’t go out so much and therefore have their heating on for longer and at the younger end of the group, tend to travel a lot. They would like to do ‘something’ but do not know what, but they are worried about the state of the planet they are leaving for their Grandchildren.

There is no silver bullet to this problem, we all need to contribute individually and as best as our circumstances allow, for example if you live out of town then you probably need a car, but you could look to alter other areas, like lowering the temperature on your heating thermostat.

Something needs to be done over the next 10 to 20 years to allow a transition from coal power stations to carbon free energy produced from wind and solar power. One personal view was that as we get a substantial amount of our electricity from France and therefore from nuclear power stations, nuclear power might be a short-term answer, at least to bide us over until such time as other sources of power had had a chance come on line. – Concerns were
raised not only as to the safety of nuclear power and how the waste could be safely disposed of, but also the huge financial costs to us all, when the nuclear plants are decommissioned. Doubt was also raised about the building of wind farms in the future because so many people seem to object to them as well.

Details of what people can do to reduce their carbon footprint can be found online at this address –
www.rsvp-west.org.uk/climatechange

CORRESPONDENCE:

Sent:
Twice contacted Father Leslie concerning the Broad Street Trust and if Mrs McCue was ever voted on as an official trustee, because there seems to be no mention of this happening on any of the minutes.

Received:
From Charities Commission –
You have the power to amend the name of the charity using the amendment power in the charity’s Constitution – ie by the majority of the charity’s members passing a resolution at a Special meeting or at the AGM. You do not need our consent to do this, however we can refuse to enter a name on the Register if we decide it is:

· The same as, or too similar to, that of another registered charity, or
· Likely to mislead or cause offence to the public.

I have carried out a search on the Register and can confirm that at this time the name ‘Broadgreen Community Council’ is acceptable. However please note that we cannot guarantee the use of a name, or reserve a name, in advance of it being entered. Our acceptance of a name does not confer any legal rights over the use of that name.

Once the new name has been adopted, please forward to us certified copies of:

· The minutes of the general meeting showing the change that has been approved by the members, and
· The updated Constitution

To certify a document, a trustee or other officer of the charity needs to write the words “I certify this to be a true copy” and sign and date it.

With regards to your second query, I can confirm that the area of benefit cannot be narrowed, as this would have the effect of excluding potential beneficiaries in that area. The trustees must make all decisions in the best interests of the charity; as a narrowing of the area of benefit would of detriment to those potential beneficiaries they would not be able to make this decision.

Overgrown brambles behind Shrivenham Rd – This has been logged with Commercial Services, but is not a high priority at the moment.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
· S/09/1673 - Football Stadium County Ground - Erection of a temporary unit to be used for retail sales - Application Granted - Delegated Decision

· S/ADV/09/2135 - County Ground - Display of a fixture board - Application Pending Consideration

TREASURERS REPORT: The books are still with the auditor, but the chequebook has been returned. Proposed Derek Sutton and Seconded by John Freegard

CHAIR REPORT: Wiltshire Fire Service have been consulting on proposed changes to how they work, they held a meeting at Westlea Fire Station which the Chair attended, unfortunately despite it being well advertised only 6 people turned up, it was however a very interesting meeting with everyone having plenty of time to input their thoughts and ideas.
Broadly Speaking will be printed shortly and a request was made for volunteers to help with the delivery.
A draft copy of an acceptable behaviour policy during meetings was put to the meeting.
There isn’t time during the meeting to talk about the tasking meeting and we do not have the finances to print off copies of the minutes for everyone, therefore as John Phillips is the BSACC representative on the Tasking Group, he agreed to oversee the minutes and pass on any relevant issues to the monthly BSACC meeting.
The Discovery Church in Corporation Street has now fenced off the area behind their church, where street drinkers had been congregating; the Chair will contact and thank them.
Swindon Strategic Partnership now has a committee dealing with the councils Connecting People policy and the Chair has been asked and has agreed to be the Town Centre Cluster representative.
Although we as Community Council struggle to get any funding as we don’t seem to tick the right boxes! It is still hoped that in 2010 the BSACC could set up a Leaders Forum in Broadgreen and maybe look at having a carnival or a big event at the County Ground, involving all the different groups in the area.
Broadgreen has constantly been viewed and held up in a positive light this last year and this is down to the hard work put in by BSACC members, so thanks were given to all members that have helped make this year successful and a special thank you was given to John Phillips for stepping forward as Treasurer and taking on what has turned out to be a very demanding job.
VICE-CHAIR REPORT: A resident in Broad Street has been having problems with a person drinking outside the breakfast club held at St Luke’s hall. She has approached the lady in charge, but was told the Police know about him and nothing was being done. The Chair said she would take this forward to the Tasking Meeting.

YOUTH REPORT: No report

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: A Committee meeting was held before tonight’s BSACC meeting and a full report will be given in January.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Although Karen Coulthard could not attend the meeting, she did send along a NW report:
Firstly, may I thank PC Michael Diffin, for the quietest bonfire night ever. There was no trouble of any kind within the Broadgreen area. Put that with the quiet Halloween we had, I think Michael and his officers deserve heartfelt thanks. Please can we have the same next year!!
Plus there was also news of a parcel delivery telephone scam.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: Nothing to report.

COCKRAM COURT: Nothing to report.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: No Councillors were in attendance and no apologies given.

B.O.N.D: Vice –Chair of BOND Pam Freegard reported that the evening event due to take place on the 17 January has now been moved back to the 30 January 2010 and the next meeting will be held in one of the back rooms.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Fish boxes are still being dumped from a shop in Broad Street. The Chair will speak to a Council Officer about this.
A dog is still running around the Broadgreen play area and using it as a toilet.
A person has recently been begging and harassing people for money as they have been going in and out of the Broad Street Mosque every Friday.
We are in credit with the printers of the BG Plan, may be we could have a coloured leaflet printed next year.
Andy Reeves at SBC cannot find any plans or paperwork for benches to be installed at the community garden, a plan has been sent to him about it. A meeting will be arranged in the New Year to discuss this with him. We have permission from the children’s centre to plant on their property.
Tim was glad to be back after being ill for the last 3 months. Broadgreen had not been far from his mind during this time.

Meeting closed at 9.45 pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 03 March 2010

2010-03-02T09:24:00.002Z

AGENDA -
BSACC monthly meeting 03 March 2010 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 03 February 2010 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: -
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chair report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan:
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

19.Next Meeting: Wednesday 07 April 2010 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 03 February 2010

2010-02-02T15:22:00.001Z

AGENDA -
BSACC monthly meeting 03 February 2010 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 02 December 2009 meeting (January meeting cancelled)
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: -
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chair report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan:
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

19.Next Meeting: Wednesday 03 March 2010 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 06 January 2010

2010-01-05T13:32:00.002Z

BSACC monthly meeting 06 January 2010 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 02 December 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: -
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chair report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan: John Taylor
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

19.Next Meeting: Wednesday 03 February 2010 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge.

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes - 4th November 2009

2009-12-03T22:18:00.002Z

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Treasurer John Phillips, John and Vi Clark, Karen Coulthard, John and Pam Freegard, Kate Johnson, Cluniford Mason, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin, David Webb.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, Inspector Lynch and PC Diffin.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:, John Banville, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Alan Jones, Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Rebecca McIntosh, Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Peter Newson, Sue Osbaldstone, PCSO’s Bird and Turner, Tim French, Nazma Ramruttun - BOND. Councillor Derique Montaut.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 7th October 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Derek Sutton.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE AUGUST MINUTES: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT – PC Diffin:
ASB – Halloween was very quiet and there were no reports of any problems. Hopefully this will remain so for tomorrow’s firework night. The Police team have been around the shops asking them not to sell fireworks or eggs/flour to young people. Also spoken to different leaders and asked them to pass on the message that if there is any ASB or fireworks being set off inappropriately, then people will be prosecuted.

Litter – This is being tackled as best as possible and a number of tickets have been given out, but there are no quick solutions. It would seem that the alleyways in the S4L areas, where there is lighting and double yellow lines, are kept much cleaner and tidier. SBC do not have the money to do this in all alleyways. Next time there is a ‘Safe and Clean Day’ it might be worth asking the shops to be involved and help with the cleaning.
The Chair said that keeping the area clean is in our court, Ian Young from Swindon Commercial Services (SCS) will come out and talk to people about a new scheme called Street Smart where you volunteer to keep a small area by your home clean and tidy, SBC will supply a picker, bin bags and other cleaning equipment.

Speeding – 20 mph speed limits are difficult to enforce and SBC have no money to put in the traffic calming measures that are needed to slow the speeders down, a study has also been carried out by the Police that have shown there is very little speeding in Broad Street, which is where the complaints had been aimed at.
Insp. Lynch said because of this, it is actually a neighbourhood priority and not a Police one. The idea with having 3 Police priorities is that they are smaller problems that could be resolved relatively quickly, within 3 months, and then a new priority would be tackled. Cycling on pavements for example, or if there was a problem with drugs spread across an area, by concentrating on sorting out one area or street at a time, it would be a better way of dealing with it.
A number of people felt that it would be a good idea to look for other priorities that were quickly achievable, and the Chair said that there is very little the Police could do about speeding; we have 20 mph as a priority in our Community Plan and it would be a good idea to look to other problems.
There was some vociferous objections made by the Vice – Chair about the ‘speeding’ priority being replaced, so PC Diffin said although there was no evidence that speeding in Broad Street was a problem, he offered to keep it as a priority for one more month.

The Police Team now have a drop in at Tescos as well as the consultations they carry out every week in the area. They will still be available at the Broadgreen Centre, but the uptake has been very small, drop in’s will be advertised in shop windows and at the Police office. People also need to report crime and problems when they happen, and not once a month at community meetings.
We were warned that now it is dark in the evenings, we should take security precautions not only for our properties but also our vehicles, making sure they are secure and nothing is left on view over night, as many burglaries are carried out by opportunist thieves.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Sent:
· 2 emails to Fr. Leslie, has he heard back from Mrs McCue – no reply.
· Email to Charities Commission – If we were to change our name and alter our constitutional area, do we their approval or can it be altered by a simple majority vote of members - no reply.
· Email Highways management re lorries going down Shrivenham Road.

Received:
· Fr. Leslie – he has had no reply from Mrs McCue at all, but will try again. He will check with the Charity Commissioners to see if it has to be a unanimous vote.
· Louise Moore – planning enforcement – 33 Rosebery St. – converted garage into flats – being investigated further.
· Bottle Bank – Basically SBC have been reviewing sites like ours and because kerb side recycling has been so successful that it is being recommended that 29 bins like ours are removed – our bin only received an apparent 8.3 tonnes in the last year so ours will go before March next year.
· Answer to Shrivenham Rd traffic problems
· There should be signs that state 'no through road for vehicular traffic'. One sign on a post at the entrance to Shrivenham Road and then the 'no through road' symbol is repeated on the existing street name plates - will carry out a site visit to determine if these signs are still in place and if they are not I will arrange to have them replaced.
· Sat Nav systems, I have been advised, are based upon current Ordnance Survey mapping which is up to date and shows that Shrivenham Road is crossed by Ocotal Way and therefore is a no through road.
· If the no through signs are in place then drivers should be fully aware that Shrivenham Road is a no through road and there is little the Council can do to stop drivers who have made an error.

· Caroline Hunt – SBC - MUGA on old bus garage site will not now go ahead consultation around the new Playbuilder site at the County Ground - designs are due to be returned at the beginning of January 2010 wait until we have some actual designs to show the community consult mid – end January.
· Letter from Mrs Jones – outlining some of the problems she has been encountering.
· Caroline Hunt - SBC – re no alteration of Union Square to play area now, as the NSC now has other plans. Will be consulting with residents next year about the Playbuilder site at County Ground.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
· S/09/1827 - 148 Rosebery Street - Erection of a single storey rear extension - Application Pending Consideration. (new application)
· S/09/1673 - Football Stadium County Ground - Erection of a temporary unit to be used for retail sales - Application Pending Consideration
· S/09/1269 - 125 County Road - Conversion of house in multiple occupation to 3 no. Flats. - Application Refused - Delegated Decision.
· S/LBC/09/1338 - Listed Building Consent - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury Street - Partial demolition and erection of 118no. bedroom hotel and associated works - Application Granted - Committee Decision.

TREASURERS REPORT: The books, chequebook and receipt book are with the auditors.

Proposed by John Freegard and Seconded by Derek Sutton

CHAIR REPORT: Tim French is waiting for an operation and is very tired. He cannot drive at the moment and is missing everybody. The Chair passed her best wishes on from the BSACC.
We have a verbal agreement to start the community garden around the Children’s Centre but nothing in writing. Chris Hunt is working reduced hours and Andy Reeves is on holiday as well, so we will have to wait to arrange a meeting.
The New Swindon Co. (NSC) held a display in the town centre asking people for their opinions on the proposals to revamp Regent Street, SBC worked hard to secure the monies for this project, which will be funded by Govt. money; leaflets were handed out outlining the proposals. The Chair and John Taylor met with Carol Heneghan (NSC) and it would seem that Union Square is now moving quite quickly. There has been lots of interest to build offices, and the bottom floor of the offices would be retail outlets, which would be good for jobs. There are also plans for a 5-star hotel on the old Police Station site.
The Chair has or will be attending the following: Swindon Strategic Partnership recently held a conference; Police Superintendent Howlett talked about 3 areas that had suffered problems but were getting better, including Broadgreen about which he was very positive.
The Chair has or will be attending the following: 2 Swindon Federation of Community Organisation meetings. Neighbourhood Renewal Tasking group. Ian Young (SBC) re. Street Smart volunteers. Lindsay Poole, Doug Imrie and John Taylor re. youth events next year. PC Diffin re. Tasking.
Made a speech at the Police Award ceremony concerning PCSO’s Bird and Turner and spoken on radio 105.5 with John Taylor and Councillor Brian Mattock about Connecting People.

VICE-CHAIR REPORT: Rubbish and boxes were recently blowing around Wendy the cleaner sorted it out.
Last month, the Vice- Chair put forward a proposal to alter the BSACC constitution, but unfortunately didn’t present it in time for it to be put to the meeting (21 days written notice is required) The proposal is to remove EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE clause 7 from the constitution, which states - Officers of the Community Council shall retire after a three year term of office and shall not be eligible for the same office for two consecutive years. This has been proposed because the Vice-Chair believes the Chair has done a marvellous job, and he wants her to remain in that position and continue the good work that has been achieved this year.
However, although this proposal could be agreed by a simple majority vote of member of the Community Council, 14 days written notice of the proposal need to be given to members and either a special meeting has to be called or it can be put forward at the AGM. As all residents are technically members this would require letters being delivered to every household in our Constitutional Area, and we do not have the finance to do this, therefore the Vice-Chair was happy to leave his proposals until the AGM, when notice of the meeting and the constitution change proposals could be published in our bi-yearly news letter Broadly Speaking. There is also the opportunity to make an amendment to the proposal should anyone wish to do so.
The Treasurer suggested that as there was a proposal to alter this part of the Constitution, if there were other things that might need altering, i.e. a name change then it all ought to be done at the same time. Clarification will be sought from the Charities Commission to verify the legal position of this proposal.

The Chair responded by saying she was very concerned that if the proposals were agreed, it could leave the BSACC open to having Officers that could not be removed from their posts. ‘We need to look to the future, and for many Community Organisations the future is not looking bright so we need to take care. This last year has been really busy, with many of the BSACC members working hard to engage with the community, but other people need to step forward and do a little bit more to help. At the meetings the Chair attends people now talk about Broadgreen Area positively and with respect, gone are the days when people referred to it as the ‘red light area’ so we need to build on this and continue to move forward, but it seems that there is no one willing or able to take over any of the Officer roles and the Chair doesn’t want to be the one at the helm if the BSACC folded because of this. Although people obviously care about this community or they wouldn’t come to the meetings, even if the constitution was altered the Chair didn’t know if she wanted to stand again and continue, as it seems people do not seem willing to move any further forward for the long term future of the BSACC’.

YOUTH REPORT: Doug Imrie and the Community Safety Partnership put on an event at the Link centre on Saturday 31st October for young people. 9 young people from the Broadgreen Area were taken there in a mini-bus and 4 more met them at the Link, this included 2 Afghan young men who don’t speak English very well, they all got on well and it was very successful.

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: There will be a committee meeting before the December BSACC meeting.
Kevin gave a brief talk on the name Broadgreen, outlining the history behind it – from the Broadgreen Centre, and how it seems to have been adopted to cover the whole area. Copies of this will be available on request. From this, it was requested how the meeting might feel about the BSACC pursuing an official name change of the area to Broadgreen, having it put on maps and signs – there was a general agreement that this would be a good thing and there was no negative feedback given, therefore the idea will be followed up.
Monthly request - if anybody has any old photos or events of the area– VE day celebrations, Queens silver jubilee, street parties, fete’s etc then we would be happy to scan them to add to the archive.

BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN: The plan was successfully launched and a limited number of the 44 page full colour document have been printed and distributed to key people in the council and our working partners, including MP Anne Snelgrove who was very impressed and asked for her congratulations to be passed on to the Community Council. Following a long discussion about the plan with John, she asked if we would be happy for a copy to be passed on to MP John Denham, who is Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government an immediate effect of this is that the Govt. are pressing for a much wider introduction of 20 mph zones across the country. The meeting approved this.
1000 summary sheets have also been printed and are being distributed now, so far 20 copies have been given to the 2 Mosques and the Turkish community and copies were passed out to any one at the meeting that wanted to distribute them to neighbours.
People have been surprised that we have produced our plan independent of SBC, and Community Planner Holly Huber in particular. Penhill Councillor David Glaholm asked how long John had been working at the Council, when told he didn’t, the Cllr. wanted to know who produced the plan and why Broadgreen was getting preferential treatment in terms of support form the council. He was told the plan was a voluntarily produced document based on the BSACC’s own efforts and whilst we welcomed the initial support from Holly Huber, we decided to stand alone and say we would produce and deliver our plan by the end of October, which we have done with no help or financial support from the borough it has been down to a lot of hard work and community drive.
The Chair said this was a 3 year plan and there was a need to keep it fresh. We will soon be starting on phase 2 of it.
The Police have tonight mentioned the benefits of lights and double yellow lines in the alleys, which is in tune with the plan.
The JRF report put together by Karen Day, that featured Broadgreen as one of 4 areas reviewed, was launched 10 days ago. Looking at the area in Bradford that is similar to Broadgreen with many cultures, according to one local councillor, ‘the enthusiasm is here, but people don’t know where to start’. It would seem they are 10 years behind us here because after the Naji report, we had to recognise how this community could drive forward. In Wales although the people don’t feel excluded, they have no aspirations to achieve better. This is unlike Broadgreen, where aspirations are high and we do achieve because those aspirations are being delivered now.
The Treasurer requested that we thank John Taylor for all the hard work he has done for our plan, which was duly carried out.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Nothing to report.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: Nothing to report. The Chair said that early next year we would be taking neighbourhood watch and the street cleaning ideas to residents in Shrivenham Road.

COCKRAM COURT: The path outside of Cockram Court is very uneven and dangerous especially for older residents, this has been reported to SBC again and it would seem it had been forgotten about.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: No Councillors were in attendance.

B.O.N.D: Vice –Chair of BOND Pam Freegard said that their AGM was coming up on Monday 9 Nov.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Children are playing a football game across the road by the pub in Manchester Rd.
Residents parking signs have still not been replaced.

Although a change of name from the Broad Street Area Community Council (BSACC) to the Broadgreen Community Council (BCC) was not on the agenda, a rather robust discussion took place as to the origins of the name and if it could or should be altered, no conclusions or decisions were made.

Meeting closed at 9.25 pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 02 December 2009

2009-12-01T08:59:00.002Z

BSACC monthly meeting 04 November 2009 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 04 November 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: -
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chairs report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan: John Taylor
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

19.Next Meeting: Wednesday 06 January 2010 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge.

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes - 7th October 2009

2009-12-01T08:51:00.001Z

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, John and Vi Clark,
Karen Coulthard, John and Pam Freegard, Joan Gibbard, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca
McIntosh, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin, plus 3 other residents.
ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, PC Diffin, DCI Capstick, PC McIntyre, Councillor
Derique Montaut.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Treasurer John Phillips, John Banville, Celia Cotton, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady,
Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Peter Newson, Sue Osbaldstone, Roy
Townsend, David Webb, PCSO’s Bird and Turner, Tim French, Ahmed Ismail - Somali Assoc., Nazma Ramruttun -
BOND.
CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 2nd September 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Karen Coulthard.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE AUGUST MINUTES: None.
COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT – PC Diffin:
ASB – There was a small problem in Manchester Road, outside the Cash and Carry, but apart from that, there were
no other reports of ASB in this area during the last month – It was reported to the Police that Abbey’s had dropped
their alcohol prices which was of concern.
Cycling on the pavements is a problem and will be tackled mainly by education, our PCSO’s are being trained to
tackle the problem, but it may be a couple of months before this becomes a priority. This is because with Halloween
and bonfire night coming up, a patrol strategy has been put in place between the 15 October and 15 November with
patrols targeting the main areas where associated ASB is known to happen, these will run between the hours of 7pm
and 1am. Letters will be sent to shops asking them not to sell eggs, flour and fireworks to young people and also to
leaders, explaining the consequences of ASB at this time.
If ASB continues around the BG centre for what ever reason then a 2 month Dispersal Order might be needed, but
before that happens the Police want to work with people and talk to them about the problems they may be causing for
residents, for example if they are sat in or congregating around their cars, they will try to explain why this might be an
issue. If no notice is taken from this approach then a Dispersal Order could be next.
Litter – There has recently been a successful ‘Safe and Clean Day’ but as soon as rubbish is taken away, more
appears. There is a need to talk to the various leaders, and Richard Palacio - SBC environmental enforcement officer
– will be meeting with the Landlords Forum to speak to them about the rubbish problems.
Speeding – 2 cars have been seized and the Police are currently going down the educational line and our PCSO’s are
working with Drove School and Skeetz youth club, they also hope to be able to bring a car and bike simulator to the
area at some point. Most year 11 students have also attended the fire services ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ roadshow,
which is a very hard hitting and involves powerful personal testimony as well as dramatic video footage to show the
potential outcomes of speeding. The ’20 is Plenty’ campaign also continues.
Burglaries – There has been a sudden problem with this, although the person responsible for it has now been
arrested. Residents were reminded to ensure they kept doors and windows secured at night, and if they were not at
home.
PC Diffin has put our PCSO’s – Bird and Turner, forward for a commendation for their dedicated service to the
Broadgreen Area and they will shortly be awarded Certificates of Merit. This was greeted with much approval from
residents.
GUEST SPEAKERS – DCI Capstick and PC McIntyre – update on Operation Dobbin: Apologies were given for the
long gap since the last visit, but shifts had not coincided with the meetings.
The Police have continued to work very hard on Operation Dobbin and have had some good results. 15 kerb crawlers
have been arrested, 7 of which attended at a cost of £200 to themselves, a rehabilitation course. This was the first
one to be held in Wiltshire and happened last Saturday (3rd Oct) and it seemed to have a big effect on the persons
attending. The courses get to the root cause of their actions and the subsequent harm and impact they could be doing
to not only the community they are kerb crawling in, but also on their families through health issues etc.
They are not simply sat there all day listening to someone talking to them, but they have to be actively involved in
discussions and participating in role play, being their wives, partners, girlfriends etc and seeing how they might feel
about their kerb crawling actions. It is both a dramatic and an emotional day.
Questions were asked as to why kerb crawlers think prostitutes do what they do, and answers varied from – they
wanted their children privately educated, to – they enjoy it. They were also asked why they kerb crawl and again the
answers were varied, from relationship problems, to the ‘thrill’ of it. The group of men on the course varied in age and
cultural backgrounds and there were no atypical persons, or ‘box’ to put them in. If they do not join in then they will be
put back through the courts.
These courses have been running across the UK for a number of years and some 3000 men have attended them.
Men that have not been on one of these courses have a re-offending rate of some 20%, whilst of the 3000 that have
attended, only 1% have been re-convicted.
Things are still being tackled on a multi-agency front but if that fails to work, prostitutes will still be arrested. There are
3 prostitutes persistently working, but Op. Dobbin is a long-term strategy – get the prostitutes off of drugs and put
kerb-crawlers through the course to stop them re-offending, rather than arresting them, giving them a small fine and
seeing them straight back on the streets again.
This is why residents must continue to report working prostitutes to the Police, because a picture could then be built
up.
The work being done through Op. Dobbin was very much appreciated by residents and it was felt that if this works by
stopping kerb crawlers from re-offending, then it was a good and positive thing. We must remember what it used to be
like, with 30 prostitutes and 100 plus kerb crawlers in the area nearly every night. But at the same time, we wouldn’t
want to see the problems of the past returning, when the Police would work to tackle the problem for a short while and
then forgot about it. We were reassured this would not be the case.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Sent:
Mr and Mrs McCue – thanking them for continuing their work at the lunch club.
Cycling on pavement problems – To different groups
Reported problem about lorries in Shrivenham Rd – No reply
Reported problem of polystyrene fish boxes in Broad St.
Received:
Andy Reeves, Community Facilities Operations Manager – update on sign for BG Centre re –no dogs – the sign has
arrived and will be put up shortly. Also sent thanks for distributing leaflets to residents in Salisbury and Gladstone St
informing them of a party at BG centre. - There will also be a 21st Birthday party at Broadgreen, on Saturday
December 19th 2009 7.00pm-11pm.
Rod Bluh – update on Union Square - cranes will be over Central Swindon next year, there is a possibility that the
hoardings around areas not being regenerated immediately may be lowered and used for other things - temporarily.
Also going to be rejuvenating the County Ground play area and would like our help in promoting and contributing to
the consultations.
Caroline Hunt, Parks development officer – would appreciate the opportunity to carry out some initial consultation
work on the proposed CG play area
Father Leslie – still not heard back from Mrs McCue re the proposals for the Broad St Trust.
Cheri Wright, Anti – social behaviour manager SBC – Thanks to the volunteers that helped on the clean up day
Carol Heneghan, NSC - Regeneration Update.
Derek Sutton – proposal to alter constitution.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
S/09/1010 - 86 Manchester Road - Conversion of first floor from offices to 1 no. flat and change of use of ground floor
from Class B1 to Class A2 (Financial and Professional Offices) and erection of single storey rear/side extension. -
Application Granted - Delegated Decision
S/LDP/09/1708 - 75 Elmina Road - Certificate of Lawfulness (proposed) for the erection of a detached garage to rear.
- Application Pending Consideration
S/09/1305 - 148 Rosebery Street - Erection of a single storey rear extension - Application Withdrawn
S/09/1335 - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury Street - Partial demolition and erection of 118no. bedroom hotel and
associated works – To be considered by Planning Committee 13 Oct ‘09
S/09/1488 - 124 - 125 Broad Street - Installation of roof lights and insertion of new window in rear elevation -
Application Granted - Delegated Decision
TREASURERS REPORT:
To enable grants to be applied for, it was proposed that a half year audit be made to 31 September 2009
Proposed by Derek Sutton and Seconded by Pam Freegard
CHAIR REPORT: 2 handouts were given out - Police consultation meeting and CP2 survey from Cllr. Dave Woods.
At our meetings next year shall we look at the different cultures in this area and invite member from the different
communities to talk to us about their customs and food etc? - The meeting thought this would be a good idea.
Through our extensive talking and outreach work that we have carried out in the last year or so, it has become clear
that many people now know this area as Broadgreen and are often confused about who we are and where we
represent, with people not only saying we just represent Broad Street and we are only interested in the south side of
Manchester Road, to telling us our name is too long, I thought you were the Broadgreen CC or why aren’t we called
the Broadgreen CC?
We are regularly called the Broadgreen CC in the Adver, in Council documents and in letters and emails, therefore
might it be a good idea to discuss this at a future meeting and if a name change is agreed, put it forward at the AGM?
There was a general agreement that this should be looked at although the current name (BSACC) has long been
established.
VAS AGM – Voluntary Action are looking to merge with Community First, which is the rural Community Council for
Wilts. and Swindon – there seems to be some considerable objections to this move.
21 October ‘09 we are hosting a Street Athletic celebration evening and launching the Community Plan. This will run
between 7 and 9pm. It would be good to see as many people there as possible and it would be greatly appreciated if
any one could help or bring along some food.
The Chair proposed that we should reinstate the Outstanding Person of the year Award this year, and proposed that
Doug Imrie should be nominated for it. It was agreed by the meeting to reinstate the award and Derek Sutton
seconded the proposal of Doug. As there were no other nominations, the meeting carried the proposal. The award will
be presented at the Street Athletics celebration on the 21 October.
The Chair has or will be attending the following:
Invited to 3rd sector visioning.
Swindon Community Forum, Broadgreen Safe and clean day, Street Athletic Finals in Manchester, Broadgreen
Tasking Meeting, BSACC meal at Jury’s Inn, Meeting with Mark Walker - Connecting People Connecting Places and
how we (BSACC) can work within this, Swindon Federation of Community Organisations – the Chair is now a Trustee,
Neighbourhood Renewal Tasking Group, Connecting People Connecting Places – Saturday morning engagement
event in the town centre, Fire services ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ road show – from which the Chair has written to ALL
councillors/MPs/Mr Howlett saying what a hard hitting event this is, but the Fire Service struggle to fund it. Had
feedback from 4 and MP.
To be held –
Meeting with Doug and Lindsay – looking at youth activities next year – including Junior CC, and various sports
activities in Broadgreen and at County Ground.
Ian Young – Street Smart volunteers.
VICE-CHAIR REPORT: The Vice-Chair attended the ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ road show and felt the presentation was
excellent and all drivers should see it – it should be a national presentation.
Twenty is Plenty: A couple of weeks ago a coroner reporting on the sad death of a child, knocked over by a bus said
that if the area the accident occurred in had been a 20 mph zone, then the child may very well have lived. The Adver
contacted the Vice-Chair about this and he agreed 20 mph zones were a good thing and should be pushed for in all
residential areas.
An 80% agreement that we should have 20 mph in the Broadgreen Area has emerged from the Community Plan
consultations, so we must continue until we get it.
YOUTH REPORT: There was no report this month.
BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: There will be a committee meeting before the December BSACC meeting –
details will be given next month. We still plan to visit the library, but this has not been arranged yet.
The Coat of Arms relief that once adorned the Bus Garage in Corporation St was supposed to have been saved, but it
has now emerged, following some pretty exhaustive research by SBC, that the contractors deemed that it was beyond
salvage due to the cost involved and subsequently destroyed it. This was a very disappointing outcome, but
unfortunately it was out of SBC’s hands.
Monthly request - if anybody has any old photos or events of the area– VE day celebrations, Queens silver jubilee,
street parties, fete’s etc then we would be happy to scan them to add to the archive.
BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN: John handed around proof copies of the Plan for approval. It was agreed that it
was ready to go to print and there were no objections or problems with the content or quality. The plan will be publicly
launched on the 21st October; there will be 2 documents, the main full copy and a 4-page summary of it.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Speeding in Broad Street is absolutely terrible, there was an accident on the
12th Sept. and speed was the cause. Somebody has been regularly riding a motorbike on the path and recently came
close to knocking a resident down; it was unclear as to who had been doing this or where they had come from, but it
had not been reported to the Police. It was advised that the resident should write down the details every time the
problem was witnessed and it should be reported to the Police.
SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: Problems with leaves over path at County Ground, and over growing brambles not
only from Stratton Bank, but also in the alleyway between Shrivenham Road and the football ground.
COCKRAM COURT: The path outside of Cockram Court is very uneven and dangerous especially for older residents,
this was reported to SBC in 2007, but has still not been repaired properly.
WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: The County Ground children’s play area has been allocated money from the
budget, for renewal, although when done it might be problematic for residents living by it.
The clean up day was very successful, but there needs to be a pro-active ongoing campaign of education within the
community on how residents should respect other residents and the community as a whole, because how some
people dispose of their rubbish in alleyways etc is of great concern to him. It’s no good blaming the council all the
time; everyone has a part to play in it.
Councillor Montaut was asked if he would like to take this campaign forward, but he felt that the only way things are
effective is if it not led from the top down, if local communities initiate it then there is a better chance of success! The
Chair informed the Councillor that she would be meeting with Ian Young from Swindon Commercial Services (SCS)
about Street Smart volunteers for the area but also wondered if he had an update on the long campaign to clear the
rubbish, that according to MP Anne Snelgrove – speaking on the radio – all our Councillors had been undertaking?
Unfortunately Councillor Montaut said whilst all the councillors were concerned about the rubbish problems, he was
uncertain as to what this campaign was and was only aware of the clean up days and the need to have a long term
strategy, rather than the Council continually picking up the rubbish in the area.
The situation with the Town Centre is very dire, we should be proud of it, but how we bring about the regenerations
needs to be addressed. There are so many empty shops it is depressing and 5 national companies have pulled out of
the area - the depression has hit us harder in this town than in other areas. The arts should be involved in the
regeneration, to make our town distinctive and different.
The Chair asked if the Councillor had started to chase 106 monies yet. Councillor Montaut said he had met with the
Deputy Chief Executive and had asked if officers could draw up a plan, how 106 money is allocated. Currently officers
were deciding how this money was spent. The Secretary asked what influence councillors had over 106 monies
coming out of any Town Centre redevelopments, as the Old Town councillors seem to have had a big influence over
106 monies coming out of the Burmah Oil site being spent in Old Town? Councillor Montaut said the only time he was
able to influence this was when people in the SBC opened up and told him exactly what was going on. The railings
around Faringdon Road Park were paid for from 106 money, but he didn’t find out until after the decision had been
made. The problem is, more and more people are contesting for a limited sum of money and officers have determined
how it is to be spent. He had raised questions at Council about it and had a woolly answer, and had also met with the
106 officer for more details about the situation, but he was very much closed down. Very simply, the way the system
operates is, if you’re part of the ‘inner circle’ you can determine what it should be spent on but it is kept within the
bounds of secrecy, hence no one knew about the deal on the railings until it had been done.
Double yellow lines in the alleys – Met with 2 heads of transport division - civil engineers and they said it would be
another budgetary pressure, but have noted what he said.
B.O.N.D: No report this month
ANY OTHER BUSINESS: A number of residents brought to the attention of the meeting that at different times during
the day people seem to be increasingly urinating and putting children to toilet in the streets and alleyways, this has
been causing some anger and worry as it is not acceptable. The Chair said whilst delivering leaflets recently, a little
boy was playing in a front garden, when his mother put him to toilet there and then, rather than taking him into the
house. When questioned she was told by the mother that she didn’t have time to take him in!
Last weekend during some rather windy weather, there was a big problem with rubbish being blown around the area,
however on the following Monday, Wendy our street cleaner did a wonderful job in clearing it all up.
The new drains in the S4L alleys have been blocked up on numerous occasions with rubbish, food waste and cooking
oil – The Chair said that she was in contact with someone at the council about this, and was waiting to hear back with
news.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 04 November 2009

2009-11-04T08:40:00.003Z

BSACC monthly meeting 04 November 2009 - 7.30 pm in the Lounge, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 07 October 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: -
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chairs report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan: John Taylor
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

Next Meeting: Wednesday 02 December 2009 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre.

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes - 2nd September 2009

2009-10-18T19:29:00.001+01:00

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Treasurer John Phillips, John and Vi Clark, Karen Coulthard, John and Pam Freegard, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Pam Montgomery, Peter Newson, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, PC Diffin, PCSO Bird, Councillor Derique Montaut,

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: John Banville, Celia Cotton, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Evelyn Mason, Sue Osbaldstone, Roy Townsend, David Webb, PC McIntyre, PCSO Turner, Angela Clack – Swindon Core Strategy, Tim French, Nazma Ramruttun.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 5th August 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Derek Sutton and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE AUGUST MINUTES: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT – PC Diffin: Made enquiries into the Old Town 20 mph zones, and it has been funded by £80k of 106 monies.
Problems with Rosebery Street/Bathurst Road and accidents, there have been no recent complaints so it is possible this may be isolated.
ASB - For the whole of August there was only one case of anti social behaviour, so either everyone is behaving or it is not being reported. It was put to the Police that it is more likely that people are not reporting it because it is too much hassle trying to get through on the phone. PC Diffin responded by saying it could also be because people might want to keep things private or they might not like the Police, he went on to say that if people email or leave a phone message for the BG Police Team they will get back as soon as they can, The most important thing is by reporting in the problem or crime, it is logged and the logs are checked every day, this also shows that there are problems, if they are not reported then it looks like there are no problems or crimes happening. The Chair gave out a file to everyone present a file with Police and Council contact details because it seems that many residents are not reporting in problems, we as residents have to also take our responsibilities seriously and if we continue to not report problems, will we keep our 2 PCSO’s?
Litter - An update from the council – they have cleared Alexander Road and seem to be on top of the problem now. The council are doing the best they can within the budgets that they have, but if people continue to keep fly-tipping then it cannot be resolved easily.
Speeding – not been a lot of it, but yesterday gave out a section 59 notice to a young man who was driving in Salisbury Street like a lunatic, this means if he is caught again doing this in the next 12 months then he will have his car taken away.
Car parking on football days is causing a problem once again, so the parking department are sweeping the area on match days.
The Police team now have a post at St. Josephs School and will be working more from there now, as it is more central.
There is a big drive to upgrade Neighbourhood Watch and have a Neighbourhood Coordinator; Karen Leakey has volunteered to take on this role.
A number of problems were brought to PC Diffin’s attention: Cars are turning across County Road to go down Elmina Rd, Broad St, Bathurst Rd etc. and nothing seems to be done about it Ans: We have drug dealers and prostitution in the area so we have to prioritise what we do, can it be justified putting the PCSO’s on this problem? Cycling on the path is still a big problem. Ans: There appears to be a need for education as many of the people doing this are from the ethnic groups in the area. The Chair said she would contact the leaders of various groups to see if they will speak to their communities about this. People are parking in alleyways and causing obstructions. Ans: The Police were not aware of this, this is why it is so important to report problems in every time it happens, it might be worth asking Cllr. Montaut if the Council could put DY lines in all alleyways, as the ones that have them already don’t seem to have problems. Cllr. Montaut said that he would ask but not confident it would happen, as realistically the SBC engineers do not want to put in something that is un-enforceable. The Chair asked if he would take this forward as there seems to be evidence that DY lines work in the alleyway. He replied that people expect an immediate response to a local bureaucratic system that grinds on very slowly with its discussions, it’s right that we continue to place demands on it but it’s a very long winded process. Whilst councillors might be able to raise this at a more strategic level, unless there’s a ground swell of opinion saying we are not going to tolerate this within the community it weakens the case to be able to get it changed.

GUEST SPEAKER – HM courts: Unfortunately no one from the Courts turned up.

CORRESPONDENCE:
Sent:
· Father Leslie – email (sent 05 Aug) with attached 2nd letter (originally sent via post 9 June) asking for info about his proposals for the Broad St. Trust.
· Problems with fish sales at shop in Broad St, fruit and veg storage – Chair had meeting with Louise Doughty from SBC food safety. Chair to report back.
· Rod Bluh – ideas about areas behind white hoardings – open it up - green it over – use for an open air market
· Southbrook Inn – Bob and Tina Downing - thanks for the loan of the marquee for the street athletics.
· Overgrowing brambles etc at rear of Stratton Bank (STFC) – Chair to report back.
· Community Garden – what areas can be used? – Chair to report back.

Received:
· Rod Bluh – Asked relevant officers to investigate our ideas for regen. areas, and will reply again when there are more details as to if it is feasible.

· Father Leslie – 17 August – email - So far I have had two positive responses from two of the Trustees, and I have just written to Mrs McCue to get a response from her. If she is in favour then the plans we have will be passed unanimously, and we can proceed along the lines previously discussed

Vice – Chair Derek Sutton requested that if the meeting agreed, we should send a letter of thanks to the McCue’s for the continued work they are carrying out at the Lunch Club. This was agreed.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
S/09/1488 - 124 - 125 Broad Street - Installation of roof lights and insertion of new window in rear elevation - Application Pending Consideration
S/09/1305 - 148 Rosebery Street - Erection of a single storey rear extension - Application Pending Consideration
S/COND/08/2201 - Land At Aylesbury Street - Discharge of Conditions from planning application S/07/0298
S/COND/08/1890 - Land At Aylesbury Street - Discharge of conditions 11 and 12 from planning permission S/07/0298
S/09/1092 - 110 Rosebery Street - Erection of a single storey rear extension - Application Granted – Delegated

TREASURERS REPORT: Proposed by Pam Freegard and Seconded by Derek Sutton

With regards to the letter sent to former Treasurer Richard Coates by recorded delivery, concerning the satisfactory accounts showing the outstanding monies owed to him, which could very well be around £1000. No reply has yet been received, nor has the letter been returned and Richard has not contacted any of the Officers about this matter, therefore it has to be assumed that Richard is in receipt of the letter and has chosen not to act upon it. John P proposed that the accounts be audited to the end of September as they are, allowing the BSACC to apply for funding for other projects in the pipeline.

CHAIR REPORT:
· Chris Hunt has informed us that Education Dept. have replied and they are happy for the two area’s – in front of their entrance and in front of the hut, to form part of the community garden – A meeting will be arranged to sort this out further.
· Had a meeting with Louise Doughty last week from the food safety team regarding the storage of food in the area and the following information has been passed over –
Question: What are the storage of fruit and vegetable laws, and also the storage and sale of fish, as fish is being stored in polystyrene boxes and sold on the shop curtilage next to the pavement. When the fish defrosts – the oil leaks onto the street and drains. There have been many complaints regarding smell. Rubbish from businesses in area is also not always stored in a healthy or responsible way
Reply:
The fruit being sold from the front of shops – fruit being displayed outside is very low risk and little can be done about this.
The shop had an inspection recently. Officers will be returning.
If the thoroughfare is blocked it is a problem and we must inform the highway department – goods can only be sold on own curtilage of premises.
All perishable goods must be refrigerated.
There are 4 fruit and vegetable food standards in the 1990 act – it is then covered by European Law – which has set regulations.
8522 deals with premises – hygiene/walls/floors etc.
2006 Eng Reg deal with the temperature control – raw fish and meat fall out of this scope.
The 8522 reg can then be used perishable food = micro bacteria growth.

An SBC Officer is going to visit shops to find out how they are selling fish – if its frozen – it should be kept frozen and if it’s defrosted on the street and advertised as fresh – then it’s being sold under false pretences.
The smell of the fish can be dealt with as a statutory nuisance – the enforcement pollution team would deal with this.
· Andy Reeves from the Com Hire Team has been working with us regarding the BG Centre etc – he has passed over three dates when the centre is going to be used for parties - I will be sending out an update to residents living in the near area. Andy is putting up dog fowling signs at the green area, and signs are also to be put up about the noise coming from the centre. The caretakers have been given more empowerment to deal with problems at BG.
· Attended a Street Athletics de-brief meeting on 27 August, they are coming back next year – this is fantastic news.
· There will be a community Cricket day next year – PC Diffin has set this up and Doug (Imrie) is setting up what will hopefully be annual Athletics event. To fund these things I hope to arrange an auction for the young people. I have spoken to Doug/Lindsay/William/Ruston and John Taylor and they are on board to help and take part.
· Had a 40 minute meeting on 1st September with Rod Bluh, Brian Mattock and John Taylor: Asked how talks are going with STFC – RB replied that they have been approached and they will not allow any green space to be built on etc – the same as previously. The new people at the club are better to work with and are working on plans. Asked for written permission for young Goan people to be able to play Volleyball at the County Ground Ext.
Showed them photo’s of the brambles at CG etc – Brian Mattock is going to have a meeting with Martin Buckland regarding this. Showed photo’s of the Pond area and asked that it be cleaned up – Kevin found some Ariel photos of the area – we requested some of the bushes be taken away to open the area out a little – so it will be safer and can be used by more people.
Relayed the real concerns about Broad Street being used as a major road in the future – it is in the CAAP as a major alteration. RB looking into this.
Asked about the green area at the end of Medgebury Road - can we use it as a community garden. BM will look into this. RB will also look into us having use of the green area at the top of Manchester Rd and County Rd.
Asked about the BG Centre rebuild and if SBC and BSACC could work together to secure funding for this – RB will look into MUSE and where they are and if we can work together.
Requested that the following SBC departments be thanked for their tireless work with our community: Lifestyle unit – Doug, youth team and Lindsay, Enviro. Enforcement team – Richard Palacio, the community hire team and the BG caretakers.
· Mark Walker has invited the BSACC to have a promotion stand in the Town centre on the 3rd Oct. as SBC Central Cluster is having an engagement event. Volunteers for the event were requested.
· I Had a meeting with Jo Osario regarding Carfax St surgery – basically it was about filling in a questionnaire –feed back was promised.
· We will be having a meal at Jury’s Inn on 18th September.

VICE-CHAIR REPORT: Nawaz in Broad Street are not storing their rubbish properly, when it was windy recently it was blowing into the street, the smell and flies are also very bad – The Chair said that SBC Officers will be revisiting this shop shortly.
Mrs Sutton has written a letter to the Adver concerning the terrible state of the County Ground extension.
Twenty is Plenty: The hope is that ’20 is plenty’ will go ahead as planned in the Core Strategy, where it is proposed that 20mph speed limits will eventually happen in all residential areas, but it will probably take a long time. Cllr. Montaut said he has a meeting planned later this month with a senior traffic engineer to discuss 20 is plenty

YOUTH REPORT: Sent in by Lindsay Poole Broadgreen Youth Worker
Skeetz youth club has been continuing over the summer holidays with steady numbers and some success in encouraging a large group of Afghan young people into the sessions and working with the young people to share the space and resources appropriately! We are also getting some young women into the session, which is really positive, and we are fast outgrowing the small room at the community centre! There was not a large take-up for an organised ice skating trip and so we have decided to postpone if until after Ramadan. Like last year, we shall be closed during Ramadan - the first 2 weeks will be staff holiday and team meeting and then the final 2 weeks we shall undertake 'outreach' in the area and especially focus on building our relationships with the young people who hang around at the County Ground. We shall then we open every week until Christmas when we usually close for one week.
The young people have expressed an interest in doing another art project so we are looking for opportunities to do a community mural of some description - please get in touch if you have any ideas.
Youth workers were present at the Street Athletics event and supported the team with getting evaluation forms completed...all the young people who we spoke to felt it was an excellent event, despite the poor weather and hope that it becomes an annual event!

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: We will be having a Committee Meeting before the December BSACC meeting. Plan to visit the Library next month to have a guided tour of the Local Studies Collection.
The Coat of arms that was on the demolished bus garage building was to be saved, what happened to it? – No reply from Rod Bluh, Steve Wakefield thought it might be at commercial services at Cheney Manor, so we emailed Bill Fisher – he did not know where it was, so is investigating it.
Golden Lion statue – moving to Bridge St. As part of the Canal Walk regeneration the Golden Lion was going to be moved further down towards the Murray John building in front of Faith Shoe Shop. This seemed a ridiculous idea, as moving it there would have placed it far outside of the context of its historical location. Following a suggestion put to Peter James of the New Swindon Company www.newswindon.co.uk and councillors by Kevin, suggesting that it might be a better idea to move it just around the corner into Bridge Street - as that was closer to its original location - above the Golden Lion Pub, It was decided this would be a sensible idea and this is where it is going to be relocated.
Took along the collection of ‘Then and Now’ photo’s for residents of Cockram Court to see. This was very successful and brought back many memories to the residents. Keith Watts gave Kevin a number of Victorian GWR engine photos.
Monthly request - if anybody has any old photos or events of the area– VE day celebrations, Queens silver jubilee, street parties, fete’s etc then we would be happy to scan them to add to the archive.

BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN: The BSACC could assist SBC with the delivery of Connecting People Connecting Places (CPCP) through our community plan, and following the meeting with Cllrs. Bluh and Mattock it would seem they are looking forward to the launch of our community plan for that very reason.
It is proposed that we have a smaller batch of good quality documents of the finished plan printed for people like the Leader of the Council etc, and a larger amount of good quality summary leaflets.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Problems with inconsiderate parking by visitors to the area during Ramadan – parking on double yellow lines and in alleys has been rife. The community Garden has also been used as a car park.
The neighbourhood watch signs at the south end of Gladstone St. should be put up soon.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: Lorries are still driving down Shrivenham Rd from the Magic Roundabout, unaware that it is a dead end.

COCKRAM COURT: Karen, Kevin and John T visited Cockram Court recently. The history group photo’s were shown, as well as info about our community plan. John was able to arrange an interview for ‘Central Voices’ with 2 residents.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: Councillor Montaut commented that the 40 minute meeting the Chair had with Leader of the Council, Rod Bluh, was very good and said that Cllr. Bluh was very receptive and listened to people and communities, although he was under great pressure financially to be able to do things. The Chair pointed out that we didn’t expect the Council to come up with everything.
Cllr. Montaut has been appointed to the New Swindon Co. (NSC) as a Director. Much of what he has to deal with is confidential foe example having to deal with developers’ contracts. He recently had a 3-hour one to one meeting with the Chief Executive and underlined the concerns the BSACC have and the need for the NSC to engage with us and improve the area through 106 monies.
Work on Union Square is expected to start in January, but it’s all down to money and Govt. finance. There should be around 40 sheltered housing units on the site.
The Chair said we have given you a clear remit as Councillor to chase 106 monies from the regenerations for Broadgreen, as a Director of the NSC is this not a conflict of interest? Other residents agreed, as what the NSC wants may be very different to what we want. Cllr. Montaut said the council had appointed him on the Board and as such he would try to influence what happens in our direction to improve this area. Once at a senior level in the Council, you get put on various boards. He is also on the Fire Authority and has recently been in talks about the closure and moving of Drove Road fire station.
An Indian take-away in Moredon is looking to raise some money for charity by donating the profits from 2 nights takings, Cllr. Montaut put it to the meeting that he could put forward the BSACC for this. It was felt that whilst it was a nice thought, we would have to decline the offer, as the take-away was not in this area.

B.O.N.D: No report this month

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: The Core Strategy is out for consultation and can be viewed in libraries and road shows they are organising.
Polystyrene fish boxes are not being disposed of properly 97-11 shop) – they blow around and are put back the next day by a resident – is there anything that can be done to stop them?

Meeting closed at 9.35 pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 07 October 2009

2009-10-05T09:33:00.004+01:00

BSACC monthly meeting 07 October 2009 - 7.30 pm in the toddlers room, Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 02 September 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: PC McIntyre and DCI Capstick
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chairs report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan: John Taylor
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood/Street Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

Next Meeting: Wednesday 04 November 2009 – 7.30 pm start in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre.

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes 5th August 2009

2009-09-07T14:17:00.002+01:00

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Treasurer John Phillips, John and Vi Clark, John and Pam Freegard, Kate Johnson, Kath Jones, Rebecca McIntosh, Pam Montgomery, Val Purvis, Ros Timlin, David Webb.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, PCSO Turner, Councillor Derique Montaut, Sarah Chalmers - Health Centre, Tim French, Brian Jones.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: John Banville, Celia Cotton, Karen Coulthard, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Alan Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Cluniford Mason, Evelyn Mason, Sue Osbaldstone, Madge Sutton, Roy Townsend, PCSO Bird, PC McIntyre.

*The August meeting ran from 6.00 to 7.10 pm followed by a Community Plan and community engagement drop in session. This was advertised around the Broadgreen area.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 1st July 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE JULY MINUTES: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT – PCSO Turner: Not much has changed as far as the 3 priorities are concerned.
With regards to the drinkers that congregate in the recess at the rear of Manchester Road, the police are working very closely with the Open Hands Church, who are looking to put up a fence to eliminate the problem. It was reported that the drinkers continue to cause a problem and a wheelie bin has now appeared in this recess and is full of beer cans.
The cctv van has been in the area, and although some groups think they are being watched, PCSO Turner made assurances that it was only there to target the drinkers.
Last month the speeding in Broad Street survey results were published, the police are working as best as they can to get the speed limit reduced. If residents see speeding cars, then please try to get the registration number and pass it on to the police
It was requested that because of our ‘20 is plenty’ campaign the Broadgreen Community Police team talk to the Old Town team and find out what their approach to 20 mph is.
The Chair thanked PCSO’s Turner and Bird for attending the Street Athletics and the Goan Festival.

GUEST SPEAKER – Sarah Chalmers, Swindon Primary Care Trust, re Carfax Street Health Centre:
When the wider redevelopment of the town centre happens, the heath centre area will be redeveloped. Until this happens the present centre will remain open and will not close until the new building is operational. There are no diagrams or plans to show at the moment, but the new health centre will be on the old police station site and all the current available services will remain. There are no plans to alter the GP’s either.
The PCT are talking to people that use the centre, to see what would make things better for them in the new building, for example clear signs and notices not hidden behind plants etc.
Questions:
Q: If you go to the onsite chemists, and it doesn’t seem to matter what time, there are drug addicts wanting their prescriptions and people can feel intimidated by them – you can also be pushed down the queue with the drug addicts taking preference.
A: It is intended for the chemist to move with the health centre, this problem will be taken back and passed on to the chemists.
Q: When is the Health Centre likely to move?
A: Initially we believe in 2013, but as we are in a recession that is very likely to slip further. In the mean time, it is planned to paint the current Centre and spruce it up.
Q: Will the new build be a stand-alone building or will it be part of a larger complex?
A: It will probably be built into a mid-range hotel, but will have it’s own entrance as will the chemists. There will also be disabled parking.
Q: Is there only going to be disabled parking?
A: At the moment, yes. Negotiations are being held to see if more general parking spaces can be included but it will probably be restricted to 40 to 50 spaces due to planning legislation, this may include staff parking.
Q: At the moment there is very little space for people with wheelchairs and pushchairs etc to get by people stood in queues especially if there are people in the queue with walking sticks, will the new building have more space?
A: This is all being looked at in the plans.
Q: Can the doctors and treatment rooms be on outside walls of the new building, then patients will be able to get plenty of light and fresh air.
A: This is part of the plans; it is good for patients well being plus it is also environmentally good for the buildings carbon footprint.
Q: On a wider point the BSACC has for a number of years been working extremely hard to build bridges and form partnerships with various groups and agencies, so far the most difficult one has been with the PCT. Part of the community plan is to identify partners that might be able to help solve problems in this area, for example the PCT could help with a health road show here. Some of the Broadgreen Centre has been taken over by the PCT because of swine flu, and yet no one was informed of this, it would be good to have more communication.
A: The PCT is now working with the council; I (Sarah Chalmers) would be the logical point of contact. Email contact was given over to BSACC.

CORRESPONDENCE:
Received:
Form from Highworth Library to update details on community info database.

Email re. the proposed Hilton Hotel at the former Paragon Laundry Site - ‘After giving the matter careful consideration, and taking additional advice on the likely viability of residential development the site in the short or medium term, Mr Gill has made the decision to proceed with the application for a hotel. This was submitted earlier this week’.

Email re 33 Rosebery St planning – Louise Moore – Enforcement. Re. 33 Rosebery Street - the owner has now nearly finalised the plans (retrospective) - he has been seriously ill and is going into a home until middle of September to be cared for. On 15th Sept Louise has a meeting with him - when he is due to put an application in.
If this does not happen by the end of September then SBC will take enforcement action (if the development manager agrees)!

A further letter has been sent to back up the emails to Father Leslie regarding the Broad St. Trust and what he is proposing to do with it. No reply as yet.

Sent:
To PC Diffin: The road markings along Bathurst Rd are really bad and nearly worn away at the Rosebery St junction. Recently a car smashed into two other cars on the corner of Rosebery and Bathurst.
The Community Council is taking this up - would the Police be able to back us on this?
Also a number of residents have asked that Gambia Road could be shut off to incoming traffic - this is used as a rat run when County Road is busy - is this something you could support?
Reply: I am aware of the problems in Rosebery Street and I feel that there needs to be a meeting for the residents of the area to voice their views re speed issues and options open to resolve the issues, it will need Highways to attend to explain what options are available.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

S/09/0567 - Jury's Inn - Construction of temporary car park for hotel use - Application Granted – Delegated

S/09/1068 - Union Square - Request for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Opinion for proposed development - Application Received

S/09/1335 - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury Street - Partial demolition and erection of 118no. bedroom hotel and associated works - Application Pending Consideration

S/COND/09/0839 - 48 Manchester Road - Discharge of Conditions from planning permission S/08/0542

TREASURERS REPORT:

Proposed by John Clark and Seconded by Derek Sutton

The Treasurer read out a letter sent to former Treasurer Richard Coates and reported to the meeting that despite trying to contact him on numerous occasions, seeking to have the accounts book back from his time as Treasurer, he has been unable to do so.
Therefore John Phillips proposed that we send a letter via recorded delivery stating that unless we receive immediately the full statements and receipts that shows exactly how much money is due to him, then we will draw a line under his accounts and assume that he has forfeited his money, starting new accounts with the balance currently in our bank account. The proposal was seconded by Pam Freegard and carried unanimously by the meeting.

CHAIR REPORT:
· Thank you to all who helped and came along to the Big Lunch, through this the BSACC were able to engage with the Chinese and Bengali schools that use rooms at the Broadgreen Centre on Sundays.
· Thanks to all who helped at the Street Athletics, the finals will be held in Manchester on the 25th September. It is hoped they will come back to Broadgreen again next year.
· The Chair proposed that the BSACC hire a room at a later date and show the film that some of the young people took of the event. This was agreed to.
· The BSACC had a promotional area at the Goan Festival, despite the pouring rain a number of our members volunteered to man the area, so thanks to all those involved.
· We intend to work more with the young people in this area. Some of Goan youngsters already play volleyball and are looking to set up a girl’s football team.
· The Chair recently had an article about the concerns surrounding SBC’s ‘Connecting People Connecting Places’ featured in the Link Magazine.
· It might be a good idea to have a rolling chair; this would give people the opportunity to see if they might like to become the BSACC Chairperson one day. There are 3 people that have expressed an interest in doing this. –The Vice-Chair, Derek said that he had been thinking about this and Karen is our Chair, and he couldn’t see any reason to change this system or why it should happen. Maybe it should be shelved until we have asked SBC if we can do this. – Ros asked if it was not against the Constitution, should the idea be barred? It would simply give people the chance to try it out. The Chair pointed out that come the next AGM, she would have held the post for 3 years and technically should step down. – We will try and find out how we stand legally on this point.
· The Police can put on Terror Training if there is any interest. Much interest was shown about this. – Police to be contacted for a possible date in September.
· We have some money that we have fund raised; it is proposed to spend some of it on a gazebo or marquee and a BSACC banner to advertise ourselves at events.

VICE-CHAIR REPORT:
The Chair has donated a camera to be used by the BSACC, if anyone wants to borrow it to record BSACC events etc that would be ok.
There is still an Alsatian that is put out onto the Broadgreen Centre play area to use as a toilet.
Dog mess in the area is on the increase, it seems owners are not scooping it up. It would be good to have notices in the area, but not if they are not policed. The Chair said this area has its name down for a dog bin, but we are on a list and will have to wait.
A shop in Broad Street is selling fish and the customers are crowding around the shop, blocking the path and stopping customers from going into the adjacent shop. – This has been reported to Louis Doughty a health inspector with SBC. A stiff letter has been sent to the shop proprietors.

Twenty is Plenty: A Children’s Art Competition has been running to find a design for a ‘Twenty is Plenty’ poster. 3 drawings were put forward to be judged, and a drawing of a lollypop lady was chosen. The winner will receive an art box.

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: No report this month

BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN: Last Friday, John Taylor attended a Turkish meeting, at which surveys were handed out.
There are currently 113 replies to the youth survey from Secondary Schools – these will be turned into priorities.
As well as advertising tonight Community Plan and engagement meeting around this area, we also told people about it at the Goan Festival, and Father Toomey was going to announce it before Mass on Sunday – it was hoped this would encourage the Goan community to come along tonight.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: No report this month

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: The overgrown shrubs at the County Ground Extension have still not been cut back; neither have the brambles at the back of Stratton Bank. – This will be reported at the Tasking Meeting. Prostitutes are being picked up from Shrivenham Rd. Lorries continue to go down Shrivenham Rd, not knowing it is now a dead end.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: The problems with dog mess is a borough wide one, Cllr. Montaut said he continued to call for more bins, but to no avail. Residents should continue to push for more. Ros asked could this not be pushed as a health and hygiene issue? Cllr. Montaut said it could be, but not much point unless the purse strings are opened up.
The proposed use of the old laundry in Aylesbury Street is of great concern, there seems to be more and more hotels and very little low cost housing. He hoped that residential developments would continue to be an issue for the BSACC as well as councillors.

B.O.N.D: No report this month

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: With the regenerations now on hold, could the white boards around the areas not be taken down and the areas grassed over and used for sport or even a weekly market? Rod Bluh to be contacted.
The Mosque in Broad Street is being extended at the back do they have planning permission? Yes they do, although the time limit has nearly run out.
The BSACC now have a new website: www. broadstreetcc.btik.com
The barriers in Station Road have disappeared.
Cars are parking on double yellow lines, at either end of an alleyway in Alfred Street, who should be contacted about this? Councillor Montaut said he would take this up and PCSO Turner said take details of the cars, report it to the Police and they will come out.

Meeting closed at 7.10 pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 02 September 2009

2009-09-01T21:08:00.002+01:00

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 05 August 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: HM Courts
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chairs report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan: John Taylor
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood/Street Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

Next Meeting: Wednesday 07 October 2009

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes 1st July 2009

2009-08-06T15:02:00.002+01:00

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, John and Vi Clark, Karen Coulthard, Stella Edwards, John and Pam Freegard, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Pam Montgomery, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, Councillor Derique Montaut, PC Diffin, Tim French and Katherine.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Treasurer John Phillips, John Banville, Celia Cotton, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Rebecca McIntosh, Evelyn Mason, Jean Norris, Sue Osbaldstone, Ros Timlin, Roy Townsend, David Webb. PC McIntyre, PC Sheikh

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 3rd June 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE JUNE MINUTES: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT - PC Diffin: The Police have been working with the proprietors of the Shop at 147 Manchester Road, because of the drinking problems that seem to have been connected with the shop. As a result of this, in the last two weeks they have increased their price of alcohol and are also refusing to serve drunken persons. The alleyway behind the shop that has for a long time been a focal area for street drinkers is now clear of the associated rubbish and the drinkers have moved on to another area of Swindon to do their drinking. The bus stop in Corporation Street is also clear of drunks. The Police will continue to monitor this area, but it seems to be clear at the moment. – Kate reported that she had found the problems continuing. PC Diffin said this conflicted with what the Police team had been told and witnessed for themselves. However if they had just been patrolling at the wrong time, and missed the drinkers then they requested that whenever there is a problem, could it be reported in because times can then be logged and patrols altered to suite and the logs will provide the proof needed to justify the patrolling of this area.
The Chair reiterated that any crime, no matter how small should be reported; as there was a fear we might lose another member of our Police team.

Speeding – As there is a wish for 20 mph speed limits around the area, speeding will continue to be a priority.

Litter – There are still problems around the area, but SBC are doing their best with their limited budget.

The structure of the Neighbourhood Police Teams (NPT’s) across Swindon have altered from today (01 July) - they will all now consist of a Beat Manager and 1 or 2 PCSO’s and they will not deal with long term problems. The NPT’s work will now be aimed at community engagement. Response teams made up in the Central area, of 5 Police Officers, will deal with crime. It is unclear what sort of impact this will have, but it could be looked upon that there were now 5 extra Police Officers in the area.

Jane Dudley from the Neighbourhood Safety Team is currently undertaking a survey – anyone that fills one out will receive a ‘DNA Marking Kit’

A number of concerns were then directed at PC Diffin:
Because of the removal of caretakers at the Broadgreen, do the police still have easy access to the building to get to their office?
They cannot always get in, but the decision to move the caretakers to another site had been taken from above and was part of the swine flu strategic planning being put in place and was a bit of a ‘hot potato’.
The Chair said that we had tried to contact the Primary Care Trust (PCT) about the proposed usage, but they were very secretive about it.
Councillor Montaut said that he had raised this along with other issues connected with the Broadgreen Centre but he believed that the reasons for moving the caretakers was as a cost cutting exercise to reduce the numbers, and also because the council are looking for community groups to take over the running of community centres.
There was an incident in Salisbury Street recently where the fence at the back of a property was set on fire; a man was caught at the scene, although he denied setting the fire. He was quite abusive to residents, but said he lived at the bail hostel in Rosebery Street and was due in court on arson charges, so he couldn’t be connected to this fire; a short while later there was also a fire at the back of the hostel – the problem is, we had been reassured by Clearspring who rent the property, that this was not a bail hostel and any one that put in there would only have committed low level crime, is this the case and are the Police told who is living at the property?
It is not a bail hostel in the technical sense; people living there have normally just come out of prison. Arson is a low-level crime and the Police would not be notified who is in there unless there was a problem- sometimes you get a bad egg. The arson is being investigated.

GUEST SPEAKER – Councillor Derique Montaut on being a councillor: Councillor Montaut explained that now was not a good time to talk about being a councillor, when nationally MP’s are getting a kicking and people say they only see their councillors at election times.
There are good and bad in all Parties and he has represented 3 Wards to date and they have all been different. It is not the electorate who decides who will be their councillor, rather the Party to whom the prospective candidate has to prove through interviews etc that they are the right person to be put forward.
Once elected there is much hard work to do and it takes up as much time as you afford to give it. Ward casework is very important as is meeting with community groups; it is a privilege to represent people but councillors should remember they are accountable and can easily be thrown out.
Casework is very important and it is the councillors who can help people cut through the council’s bureaucracy. Councillors are also uniquely placed to bring about change in their local areas, by linking up community groups with decision makers, and using network effectively, Councillors can empower local people to have a real say and how communities is run and developed.
As part of the opposition Party in Swindon, one of the very important jobs is that of scrutinising how the council is run, and the decisions made by the Cabinet, Cllr. Montaut as Leader of the Labour Group therefore has 2 Scrutiny Officers working with him, to aid this very important job.
If a councillor is not up to standard then Cllr. Montaut believes the electorate has a moral obligation to vote that person out of Office, this is an important aspect in a democratic system.
There is a tremendous amount of reading involved in being a councillor, as councillors need to be up to speed on policies etc. Many people think that they can report a problem and pass the responsibility to a councillor and it will be sorted out, but Councils and Councillors have to work within a framework set down by Central Government and this can very often place limitations on what can be achieved.
When local communities raise issues with their Ward Councillors, the political groups discuss them. Often on policies, things have already been decided and if people leave problems until it is too late, then the groups may very well turn around to that Councillor and say ‘sorry about that, but you’re party to this group and we’re not going to go along with you’ and you will have to abide by that and the groups will, will be placed on you. So do not expect at the last minute to raise issues after key central issues have been determined. In other words Councillors have got to come in at an early enough stage to put the case forward to their groups to be able to get the support, if not they can expect the groups whip to come into play.
So it’s not a straight forward situation, it’s a complex one and a councillor can spend as little as a few hours a week on their councillor work or can spend as many hours as they are prepared to give. I don’t suppose it’s unusual to give up 60-70 hours a week to be able to do the job properly.
Finally, there are changes in the pipeline for Local Government and Wards in the future. Central has some 9 to 10,000 residents and three councillors, but Ward boundary changes are currently being discussed and this might mean for example this area might become part of the same Ward as Gorse Hill and there might only be one councillor.

CORRESPONDENCE: A letter has been sent to back up the emails to Father Leslie regarding the Broad St. Trust and what he is proposing to do with it. No reply as yet.
Informed the parking department of the parking problems in - Broad St, Corporation St (Lagos St), Manchester Rd and Station Rd and invited them to a future meeting.
Received an invite to attend a Sustainable Communities forum/ conference on the 24th July
Overhanging hedge at the side of children’s centre in Gladstone St. – The work has now been carried out.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

· S/09/0470 - 151 - 153 County Road - Erection of a first floor rear extension - Application Refused - Committee Decision*
· S/09/0469 - 149 County Road - Change of use from residential dwelling (C3) to house in multiple occupation (Sui Generis) and single storey rear extension. - Application Refused - Committee Decision
· S/08/2397 - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury Street - Enclosure of land (following partial demolition of buildings) for use as car parking in conjunction with remaining buildings. Making good openings arising from demolition including new roller shutter door - Application Granted – Delegated.
· S/LBC/08/2392 - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury Street - Partial demolition of buildings and making good of resultant openings, to include new roller shutter door - Application Granted – Delegated
· S/09/0062 - 26 Medgbury Road - Erection of two storey/single storey rear extension - Application Invalid - Delegated. – sent letter saying it was granted?
· S/09/1010 - 86 Manchester Road - Conversion of first floor from offices to 1 no. flat and change of use of ground floor from Class B1 to Class A2 (Financial and Professional Offices) and erection of single storey rear/side extension. - Application Pending Consideration
· S/09/1092 - 110 Rosebery Street - Erection of a single storey rear extension - Application Pending Consideration

*151-153 and 149 County Rd were both looked at by the planning committee, Kevin spoke on behalf of the residents against the applications and the committee decided to refuse both applications on grounds of over-development, detrimental to amenity of neighbours, which will lead to an over concentration of HMO’s in area that will further erode the character of the area, contrary to DS6 and H15 of the Local Plan 2011. There is a possible new owner for both properties who, if he purchases them, wants to convert them into flats rather than HMO’s.

We have now met with the owners of the old laundry site in Aylesbury St. and it looks likely that they intend to continue with their application to build a hotel instead of flats on the site. This is mainly on financial grounds, as it would seem that there is still money to be made from hotels. They went away knowing that we felt the better option was for housing, as it was in a residential area and we were very concerned that if the proposals did not work out as a profitable concern as a hotel, it might make an ideal bail hostel.

33 Rosebery St – the garage at the back has been converted into flats, enforcement were looking into it and they said on the 31 March that they were expecting an application to go in the next 6-8 weeks - that was 13 weeks ago. Contacted the Officer and she has been off for the last month we were promised however that it is being chased up right now.

TREASURERS REPORT: Although the Treasurer John Phillips was not at the meeting, an interim financial report was put forward. Proposed by Derek Sutton and Seconded by John Freegard.

The Chair explained to the meeting about the difficulties we have been having, obtaining the up to date books concerning the financial situation of the BSACC from the former Treasurer Richard Coates. Unfortunately, despite it now being some 10 weeks since Richard resigned and many promises of the delivery of the books, this has not happened. Assurances were made by both the Chair and Vice-Chair, that there are no financial irregularities other than the fact we actually have too much money in our account, due to the fact Richard did not replace the cheque book when it ran out, and had for some time been paying bills from his own personal account. We now have a chequebook, but until Richard returns the up to date accounts and any bills etc he is owed monies for, we cannot have our accounts audited, and Richard cannot claim back any monies owed to him.

CHAIR REPORT: Fire Station Open day Saturday 4th July 10 – 4 help for tabletop sale etc.
The Big Lunch 19/7/9 1-4 pm – closed Gladstone Street – food – entertainment
Required. Will be fund raising for Drove Road Fire Station 50 year anniversary.
Donations welcome.
Street Athletics 29/7/9 1-4pm ALL young people welcome.
Goan Festival 1st August at the County Ground Ext. We will be running a under 5’s play area and are able to have a promotion stand for BSACC/History project/BG Community Plan - Any volunteers welcome. We have a meeting with Ruston tomorrow about this.
Through fund raising at 3 events this year, we now have £285. It was proposed that we should give John T £35 towards the Swindon Voices project, because John gives out a photograph and a CD recording of peoples interviews to all those that have spoken. This was agreed by the meeting.
It was also proposed to use some of the money to reinstate the Broadgreen ‘Outstanding person’ award and possibly an Outstanding Young Persons award. This was agreed by the meeting.
Clair Collins from HMCS has been invited to attend a future meeting and also request a tour of Swindon Court.
Spoken to Bob Johnson to arrange a meeting about the visible file – so we can become an accredited community group. Will be advantageous to do this.
PC Q Sheikh has sent info for young people about the Swindon Migrant and Refugee community.
Having received complaints about the BG Breakfast club – the Chair has been invited to their AGM next week.
John P has kindly volunteered to Chair the community garden group and will be holding a meeting in the very near future. Volunteers for the committee were requested.
Drove Road Fire Station:
If you have a community event that you may like the fire brigade to attend – they need at least 1 months notice.
They have a plan for community outreach work for all 4 watches and they must attend over 60 events a year. They have agreed to attend the following: The Big Lunch – Green Watch, Street Athletics – White Watch and the Goan Festival – Blue Watch.
With regards to the alleged ‘Bail Hostel’ in Rosebery Street, the Chair has met with the Police and Clearspring about this and reassurances have been made that it is not a bail hostel. Wendy Niblett from Clearspring has said that a private landlord rents the property to Clearspring but only low category offenders are placed in there. They sign a contract of behaviour to be good in the house and the local community.
Problems with hirers of the Community Centre have been reported from residents in Salisbury Street. It would seem that a number of parties have recently been held there and they have gone on until after midnight, with very loud music playing.
The next meeting will be from 6-7pm, followed by an open evening for people to drop in and meet us. Sarah Chalmers will be attending the meeting to talk about the replacement Carfax Street Health Centre.

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT: The history project is coming along well – we visited St Josephs School as part of their community cohesion day - past present and future – and put on 3 workshop presentations to 3 sets of students. Much was learnt, not least the fact that there was a need to present the historic pictures a little differently next time - the young people might then stay awake! Luckily the Deputy Head was impressed though, as she used to live in Broadgreen 20 years ago.

Roger Trahurn from the Library came along to the first workshop and offered help from the Library, where they have a wealth of historical documents, books maps and photos. He also offered the history group the chance to take a tour of their local studies and family history section, so we could see what they have. This will be arranged during the coming months.

It is hoped that we will be able to put the old images of Broadgreen that we have collected so far, into small album, and also put them on to Power Point presentation so they can be shown as a slide show from a computer.

Finally, the monthly ask - anybody who might have any old photos of the area, and of events that may have been held– VE day celebrations, Queens silver jubilee, street parties, fete’s etc

VICE-CHAIR / Twenty is Plenty REPORT: Derek has been Vice-Chair for 2 months now and things have been great. He also wanted to inform the meeting how much work Karen and Kevin do behind the scenes.
Twenty is Plenty: Derek was pleased in some respects that the council have decided to put a 20 mph limit in Old Town, because he believes in the future, when we take our campaign forward, they will not be able to say there is no need for 20 mph limits in a residential area.

BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN: John spoke of the Swindon Voices slot he does on Swindon 105.5 and noted that many of the people he had interviewed said they would like to see 20 mph limits in this area.
The surveys are now coming in and Churchfields will be picking theirs up tomorrow, the info gathered so far will give plenty of interest for the Council and Police to look at.
The outreach work we did at St. Josephs was the most successful we have done yet, and in the feedback report, Broadgreen had many mentions.
Illustrations of the preliminary results of the surveys to date were passed around and they showed a range between 85 and 99% positive to the 8 subjects on the forms, with 44 other suggestions being put forward to improve the area. The steering committee filtered down the 44 suggestions to the 5 top priorities – new community facilities with more family events, extend the S4L and 3 equal 3rds - more Police, houses to remain as homes not converted to HMO’s and free collection of big pieces of rubbish. This shows how we need to prioritise; there will be more suggestions on the youth survey when they are analysed.
At the next BSACC meeting, John will bring along both lists of suggestions and people will be able to ID what they want. From this we will be able to identify which Agencies would be able to take the lead to sort out the issues.
The Broadgreen website has been revamped - www.broadstreet.ik.com

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: A manhole cover in Broad Street was exposed and a resident fell over it, the problem was reported and should have been fixed immediately, unfortunately it hasn’t. Councillor Montaut took the details and was going to take action on it.
There has been much noise reported coming from the Broadgreen Centre, after 11pm.
A van that is for sale is constantly parked in the area, with a concessionary parking permit on, it has not been booked, but other people cannot get concessionary permits.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: The overgrown shrubs at the County Ground Extension have still not been cut back; neither has the brambles at the back of Stratton Bank. Councillor Montaut said the council are morally obliged to sort this out, he has tried but it should be brought up again at the tasking meeting.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: Residents parking continues to be a problem with the price increases being too much, he felt it might be good to raise another petition in this area and also it might be a good idea to invite the lead member on this to a future meeting to explain why the increases are needed.
Councillor Montaut was at a Goan AGM meeting to which 200 plus people attended, he felt it was ok for people to have and operate their own ethnic groups, but they also needed to join in as well.

B.O.N.D: No report

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: lights at Broadgreen being left on until after midnight.

What’s happening with the seats in the community garden?

The children’s play area County Ground - when is it going to be rebuilt?

There is a wheelie bin at the back of the Manchester Rd alley it is in the little alcove at the back of the Open Hands Fellowship building, the drinkers are using this and it is full of beer cans – can this be removed?

Meeting closed at 9.15 pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 05 August 2009

2009-08-05T14:34:00.002+01:00

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 01 July 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: Sarah Chalmers
7. Correspondence: Kevin Leakey
8. Treasurers report: John Phillips
9. Chairs report: Karen Leakey
10. Vice-Chair/'Twenty is Plenty' report: Derek Sutton
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project: Kevin Leakey
13. Broadgreen Community Plan: John Taylor
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood/Street Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

Next Meeting: Wednesday 02 September 2009, in the Toddlers Room at 7.30pm

Planning objection success - County Road

2009-07-07T20:43:00.001+01:00

planning objection success
Members of BSACC attended the SBC Planning Committee meeting recently as our community had grave concerns about yet another home being turned into a House in Multiple Occupancy.

S/09/0469/RO Location: 149 County Road
The proposal was change of use from residential dwelling (C3) to house in multiple occupation (Sui Generis) and single storey rear extension.

This planning application was brought to the planning committee due to concerns by residents and the community council. The Officers proposal was that planning permission was to be granted subject to conditions.

The Broad Street Area Community Council put these objections forward: (Read by Kevin Leakey - Secretary)

Whilst I am going to be talking about objections to 149 County Rd. the objections are intrinsically linked to the planning application at 151/153 County Rd.

Firstly, The ongoing conversion of family homes in County Road into multiple occupation properties goes against the Government Planning Guidance for Housing PPS3, which seeks to create sustainable, inclusive and mixed communities in all areas.
The main characteristics of a mixed community are a variety of housing, and a mix of different households such as families with children, single person households and older people.
Converting 149 into an HMO will go against this guidance by continuing the move to convert more and more homes in this area to HMO’s.
This trend is encouraging a single type of dwelling rather than a mix, and is leading to more families and older people leaving the area and discouraging new families from moving in, leading to an unbalanced mix of residents and housing.

Further to this, Whilst I understand that the east side of County Road, where this property is located, is just outside of the Central Area Action Plan boundary, County Road does in fact form an integral part of the Broad Street Area, and the Broad Street Area is an integral part of the Action Plan, and to quote from the plan, it says –
‘The growth in the number of Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) in the Broad Street area is a major concern’
Which highlights perfectly that there is a problem with HMO’s in the Area and this application, if given permission will simply add to the problem.

Secondly the anti social behaviour. To date there have been ongoing problems with rubbish, noise - noise being a particular problem at night, and anti-social behaviour at 151/153 County Rd, which has been corroborated by the Police, and while I understand we are talking about 149, and the Committee has to look at the application from a purely planning perspective, and anti-social behaviour may take you outside of the realms of that planning perspective, I would still urge you all to take on board the anti-social aspect of the objections because, if permission is given, 149 County Rd. will become linked to 151/153 forming one single HMO.

If there is a need for an onsite manager for these properties, as forms part of the application, then it needs to be asked why?

And looking at the Design and Access Statement it gives you the answer - the reason given for an onsite Manager is - ‘it not only benefits the people in these rooms, but also provides a more stable environment for neighbouring properties’.
So saying – it will provide a more stable environment for neighbouring properties, suggests that things are not very stable now, and if this is the case, bearing in mind that there is already managers facilities in 151/153, then anti social behaviour is an issue that has not been dealt with to date and the current onsite management is not working so can only lead to the conclusion that the rubbish, noise and anti-social behaviour will only get worse, to the detriment of those living in neighbouring properties.

So to conclude, bearing in mind that SBC has no adopted HMO strategy to curb the amount of homes being converted, if you cannot fully justify this application against the objections raised, then I urge you to reject the application, this will not only help preserve a family home, but also help prevent the current move in equilibrium to a primarily HMO community.

STREET ATHLETICS - BROADGREEN 29th July 2009

2009-07-07T20:42:00.000+01:00

STREET ATHLETICS - BROADGREEN
COMING TO BROADGREEN, SWINDON ON WEDNESDAY 29th JULY 2009 12.30-5pm

EVERYONE IS WELCOME - see details below:

Street Athletics is a very simple and highly effective community focussed youth engagement programme created by Olympic Gold Medallists Linford Christie and Darren Campbell. The programme is targeted at disengaged, disaffected, low self esteem young people aged under 20.
It targets youngsters who are not engaged in mainstream sports.

Linford and Darren are at each Street Athletics event to encourage local people to get involved. The main element of the programme is a 60m sprint, where any young person can participate. This results in a series of Finals where the top three boys and girls in each age group (U13/15/17/20) are invited to attend the Grand Final.

In addition to the 60m sprints, Street Athletics offers young people the opportunity to showcase their musical/dance talents in front of their peers in their own Boroughs and potentially at the Street Athletics Final.

Fire Station - Drove Road, Open day

2009-07-07T20:39:00.001+01:00

Fire Station, Drove Road Open Day
On Saturday 4th July 2009 the Fire Station in Drove Road held their open day. It was a really busy day and lots of things going on for people. There were lots of young children having a fabulous time in the Fire Engines - using a water hose and being meeting Blaze Bear.

This year Drove Road Fire Station celebrate 50 years and have a campaign running called 50-4-50. The campaign aims to raise £50,000 for the Fire fighter's Charity.

The Fire Station allow's the Broadgreen Tasking Group to hold their tasking group meeting's at the Station.

3 members of the Broad Street Area Community Council asked if they could go along and hold a table top sale and name the teddy and monkey game - they raised £101 for the fire charity as a thank you for helping our community.

There were so many people attend on the day and everyone was so happy and well behaved. It was a great day.

THE BIG LUNCH 19th July 2009 - Broadgreen

2009-07-07T20:38:00.000+01:00

THE BIG LUNCH BROADGREEN 19.07.09
On Sunday 19th July 2009 THE BIG LUNCH is happening in Brodgreen.

Gladstone Street, from Manchester Road - Broad Street is being closed off and
we are using the Youth Room of the Broadgreen Centre to have a street party and
celebrate the big lunch.

Broadgreen Tasking meeting minutes 27th May 2009

2009-07-07T20:35:00.001+01:00

Broadgreen Tasking Group meeting minutes
1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Apologies for absence.
Approve minutes from meeting 27/05/09
Matters Arising from minutes 27/05/09

The Police Team have undertaken survey’s with residents and have 3 new priorities:

· LITTER
Hi Visibility patrols to identify and deal with offenders and to target litter hotspots.
· SPEEDING - BROAD STREET
Partnership working between Police, Highways, Fire and residents. Police to commence enforcement operations. Fire to arrange road safety roadshow to raise awareness of the dangers of speed.
· ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR - ALLEYWAYS REAR MANCHESTER
Partnership working with Police, Licensing Dept, Health Care and Community Safety. Police to enforce Alcohol Free Zone .

COMMUNITY ISSUES:
o Parking Issues
o Youth report
o STFC report
o HIMO report
o Update on Broadgreen Community Plan
. Report back on BG Breakfast club/St Lukes Church
. Update on Community Bridge Building

Purpose of the meeting
To work within the priorities established at the community engagement event
To follow up and monitor agreed tasks
To establish further tasks that relate to the priorities
Accuracy of minutes and specific matters arising not on the Agenda

Broadgreen Neighbourhood Tasking Group

Wednesday 27th May 2009

Attending
PC Michael Diffin BG NPT Beat Manager
SGT Kate Stalder NPT SGT
Karen Leakey Chair BG NTG/BSACC
John Taylor Volunteer Community Worker
Derique Montaut Ward Councillor
Graham Weller Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service
Richard Palacio SBC Environmental Enforcement
Sue D’amico DIP @ Police Station
Angus Macpherson Broadgreen breakfast club
Bob Johnson SBC Community Facilities

Apologies for absence:
David Dewart SBC Forward Planning Officer
Doug Imrie Community Sports Coach
Chris Hunt SBC Community Manager
PC Sophia McIntyre Swindon Police
Mr M Ali Manchester Road Mosque
James Wallin Swindon Advertiser
John Phillips BSACC Officer
Emily Edwards DHI
Jim Allmark Open Hands Fellowship
PC Q Sheikh Community Engagement Team
John Bishop St Lukes Church
Carol Heneghan New Swindon Co
Ged Cassell SBC Head Learning and Engagement
Liz Vincent St Joseph’s School
Ray Read SBC Parking Department
Lindsay Poole SBC Youth Worker
Monsoor Khan Broad Street Mosque

1. Approve minutes of the last meeting (27/05/09)
2. Matters arising from the previous minutes (27/05/09)

PRIORITY 1: LITTER/ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Action: Hi Visibility patrols to identify and deal with offenders and to target litter hotspots.
Update, report and identify ongoing tasks:

MD: There is difficulty between private and public land. Back alley of Salisbury
Street is a lot cleaner. Alcohol bottles and cans – especially at the rear of 131 Manchester Road.
RP: The Off license has changed ownership recently. SBC have put pressure on owners and the problem has eased.
MD: Alexandra Rd was bad – warrant served on an address – SBC assisted clearing rubbish, dogs were also found at the address. 19 Alfred St 20 bin bags were found in the rear garden.
RP: More than happy to deal with rubbish in people’s back gardens. SBC do own
Most of the back alleyways – problems occur when the fence/garage area at the rear finish short of the alleyway – people then use this small area to fly tip.
SBC cannot clear this rubbish, as it is on private land.
SBC took away a washing machine a while ago – and it should not have been taken away.
We give a 21 day notice to take rubbish away – a notice is put onto the rubbish, which makes it clear to the community that SBC will clear the rubbish away leading to the messy area being added to.
SBC approach: 1- Establish who put the rubbish there – ownership and confront those people. 2- If we cannot find the person – go back to the owner of the land.
We have sought to make progress – SBC need to find finance – we could then clear the rubbish directly and the propitiators could be fined. Sadly this problem then goes back to the landowner.
Elderly people are being caught out, because of the fence ending short of the end of the garden – people are dumping rubbish on their land.
We have had a lot of success clearing the alleyways – using cameras catching people fly tipping. We have had 6 prosecutions since Christmas – with weighty fines. Sacks and bin bags dumped in alleyways we have issued 20 + FPN.
We need a clear alleyway to begin with – for this we need more funding – then we could put CCTV into the alleyway. A week ago I would have said our efforts were working – my Officers say the alley by Alexandra Road is bad again. This was one of the prosecutions.
MD: If SBC have a letter for people to sign to waive ownership of the rubbish –we would be happy to do this.
RP: SBC will not pay for the removal of rubbish. If we remove rubbish free of charge this would have a knock on effect for every private alleyway in the Borough. 99% of people have ownership on their deeds this would then mean a bill would be served on all addresses with alleyways.
MD: Big problem is with the transient community – can we direct a campaign at landlords?
RP: We have done this – at a meeting I attended of the Landlords Assoc. We are looking at a series of steps – SBC will support the landlord then use enforcement on tenants to remove rubbish – or bill the tenants for removal.
MD: Previously 20-30 years ago the homes here were small family homes – now many homes have 12 + people residing in them.
RP: We do give out extra bins if people have too many black sacks etc, we will ask them to provide info on how many people live there etc.
My usual report, as follows:
There have been:
5 notices
4 gardens – 1 in default
14 cases – request to remove rubbish
JT: The situation is very much improved by RP and his team. The difficulty
Is what works? Everything with this problem is reactive and SBC want to
be proactive. RP and his team have been reactive. The alleyways in the
Streets for Living project area have lights and yellow lines in. The curtilage
area behind the launderette is a problem. The long-term answer is lighting and yellow lines in the alleyways.
Just returned from Tenerife – they have long-term investment and operate underground disposal like in Old Town (by the COOP).
In Hilversum the Streets for Living partner project area – the streets had this and the streets were spotless. The domestic rubbish went to the underground waste disposal.
DM: Raised this with SBC – this would be in the very long term.
JT: The council could be pro-active – each residential area could have 4/5 wheelie skips that are emptied every night.
RP: Would run into SBC refuse capacity – including recycling and reduced landfill. We have a limited capacity of rubbish we are able to send to landfill. SBC will supply more recycling boxes – need burden of proof to do this.
JT: Public need to know they can have more recycling bins – need to engage in public education. Perhaps 4/5 skips could be put into a pilot area?
RP: Jackie Moyles or Ian Young would be the people to ask.
MD: Education programme would be good – certain areas are a problem.
RP: We have had photo’s of people from outside of the borough put into the Advertiser who were prosecuted on Friday.
AM: When the local priorities are set for each area it would be good to let the Clerk of Justice know what they are – the penalties given out to offenders could then be higher.
RP: had a meeting about 5 previous cases – they had good results but with the sixth case the Borough Solicitor needed to be better primed with information.
AM: The Magistrate will always look to the Clerk for advice.

PRIORITY 2: Speeding
Update, report and identify ongoing tasks:
Action: Work between: Police/Highways/Fire and residents.

MD: The camera safety unit has been in the area – speeding is not a problem in the area. The average speed a car is travelling down Broad Street was 23mph.
At the BSACC meeting a number of roads were ID’d. There are no funds and all evidence shows that speeding is a perception. The ASB driving Police Team have been here and during a 10 day exercise there was no problem.
Because of the way cars are parked in Broad Street it is very difficult to pick up speed.
MD/KL work with GW & Fire Brigade to do a display perhaps on a Wednesday evening during youth club.
GW: We had this exercise a couple of years ago.
JT: It was very effective.
MD: Could follow up with a visit to the youth club.
AM: Speeding is a priority in all Policing areas.
JT: We have a campaign called 20 is plenty.
MD: The roads here are not long enough to enforce. Need traffic calming measures.

PRIORITY 3: ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR - ALLEYWAYS REAR MANCHESTER Rd
Action: Work between: Police/Licensing Dept/Health/Community Safety
Update, report and identify ongoing tasks:

MD: This is a long-term problem. We have had 45 alcohol seizures and 1 person was reported. We have issued letters to all licensed premises by the crime disorder team. Abbeys shop has been caught selling alcohol to intoxicated people. The licensing department need a lot of evidence. CCTV needs to be watching for days – people are also encouraging other people to buy drink and passing it on. This is also difficult to prove. On the enforcement side we are struggling. We have encouraged the traders to use different bags – 1 went to the cash and carry and got different bags – indications are that Abbeys is the main offender. The problems associated with alcohol including the rubbish left in alleyways are adding to the other problems. CCTV works well and moves the drunks along. Community safety will put up covert CCTV signs in the alleyways. People have asked for dummy CCTV cameras but one council is being sued because of these cameras. The education of people drinking is a problem. The shops can change hands every 12 months due to tax reasons – who do we target? We will keep up enforcement and seizing alcohol. In 6 weeks 40/50 alcohol seizures have taken place – this is more than in the Town Centre.
AM: PCT need to be involved – drinking is a medical problem.
MD: There are a lot of Goan men drinking in the community. Central Sector Padre based at St Luke’s is working with the Goan community and we are working at St Joseph’s CC College to educate people. We could patrol the area and show a united front: Police/Padre and other ‘Leaders’.

OTHER BUSINESS:
MD: The newsletter is changing – we are in partnership with the community safety department - they have funding and more experience. Every quarter we will use ‘offenders’ doing community payback to do a letter drop in the area, Partner agencies can also give out information on here. Please send info to Jane Dudley. At the end of the month the first draft will be sent out. BSACC can also put information onto there. The newsletter will be more corporate and work with partner agencies – if this works it may become force wide. Jane has agreed to do Broadgreen. Because Broadgreen is a large varied community the Fire Dept. could advertise their smoke alarm campaign/Health – dangers of drinking/swine flu etc. Surveys and leaflets could also be dropped.
SD: Any feedback on OP Dobbin?
MD: Asked for figures and what the impact of Op Dobbin has been.
SD: DIP worker were out 7-3am and engaged with 4 sex workers. Most are in treatment and guided to DHI.
MD: Feedback at next meeting.
SD: There are 2 alcohol workers working as a pilot in the Police Station: Shaun Manual – also contact: Tony and Steve at THL.

There was a discussion about the way the Tasking Group is running and who should/should not be invited. KL: To speak to Insp. Lynch/DCI Capstick

AM: The strength of the group is the breadth of agencies here working together.
The Police Authority held this group up as a good model when they had their
Inspection recently. One to one engagement solves problems.
MD: Want to streamline the group down.
AM: Agencies can be required everywhere.
SD: It is a useful group and the information about Broadgreen is really useful to our work.
JT: These meetings are very powerful, a resident was invited from Broad Street to talk about her problems – and outlined the impact of the challenges that were needed to solve her problems.
AM: The Tasking is changing the name to PACT – ‘Partner and Community Together’. The Police have no funding for meetings – the Police are 1 of 5 partners within these groups.
DM: The Community engagement at BSACC meetings is very effective – the problems then come to this group to solve – which gives it its strength. This is a model to go across Swindon of how people should operate. The Fire Authority sees this as a good model. It is successful in a quiet way.

YOUTH REPORT, STFC REPORT, HIMO REPORT, PARKING, HAJI’S GARAGE UPDATE: No report

FIRE UPDATE

GW: The speeding – safe drive/stay alive would be good to work with the young people in Broadgreen.
In Swindon during September/October there will be an opportunity for the group to attend.
Will show group DVD of Safe drive campaign in the near future.

There is money to improve the meeting room in the near future.
SD: Asked if the fire service would like some information posters for the walls?
GW: They would be very welcome. Working with the careers in Wood Street – GW gave out information. Perhaps they can come and talk to the group in the future.

BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN

JT: Progress on the BGCP 2009-2012. Are identifying the aspirations of the residents and putting into one document – to put pressure onto the Borough Council for their Budget decisions in December. Many of the things that will go into the plan will take time. To broaden the information that goes into the plan – we are out-reaching to St Josephs and Churchfields schools. St Josephs have sent back 61 youth returns so far. The Streets for Living youth survey only had 27 replies in total.
There have been 75 replies to the BG CP adult survey so far. This is on top of the work the community completed with Holly Huber over the previous 12 months.

ST LUKES/BROADGREEN BREAKFAST CLUB

Meeting closed at 11.50am

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes 3rd June .2009

2009-07-07T20:33:00.000+01:00

Broad Street Area Community Council meeting minutes 03.06.09
PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice-Chair Derek Sutton, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Treasurer John Phillips, Karen Coulthard, Kath Cridland, John and Pam Freegard, Tim French, Kate Johnson, Rebecca McIntosh, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin, Roy Townsend, Chris from Gooch St.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, Councillor Derique Montaut, PC Diffin, PC McIntyre, Sgt. Stalder.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: John Banville, John and Vi Clark, Celia Cotton, Elizabeth Grady, Alan Jones, Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Cluniford and Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Sue Osbaldstone, David Webb.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 6th May 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Val Purvis.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE APRIL MINUTES: None.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT - PC Diffin: Speeding in Broad Street –the results of a seven day operation by the Safety Camera Unit to monitor the speed of traffic are as follows:-
· Over the seven days, the speeds of 7194 vehicles using Broad Street were checked. This was carried out at various times of the day.
· 85% of the traffic was travelling at 23 ½ mph or less.
· Of the 7194 vehicles checked, only 1.54% or 111 vehicles were over the speed limit.
· Of those 111 only 17 exceeded the speed that tickets would be issued – 37mph
· The outcome of this report meant that the area does not qualify for any extra enforcement from the Safety Camera Unit.

There was a general disappointment that the operation didn’t show more vehicles speeding and there was also concern shown that 111 vehicles were still driven over the speed limit and that could have potentially been 111 fatal accidents. These findings will however not deter the 20 is plenty campaign, and to highlight the problems, the Vice-Chair who is heading the campaign brought news of an accident that had happened in Salisbury St. where only the day before, a 5 year old girl had been knocked down.
PC Diffin said that to enforce a 20mph speed limit, traffic calming would need to be introduced, because in an area like Broadgreen that was designed and built before there were cars on the road, setting up speed traps from a health and safety point of view was very difficult.
One point that was raised was the question of drivers being able to drive up to 6mph over the speed limit before being prosecuted. Sgt. Stalder explained that the Home Office set the speed that people would be prosecuted at. It was something like an additional 10% of the speed limit and 3 or 4 mph extra being added on.

Drinking in the alleys – Residents are still suffering from this anti-social problem, PC Diffin explained that people caught drinking are being moved on and having their alcohol seized. Abbey’s in Manchester Rd. has been caught selling alcohol to a person that was drunk and this matter has now been passed on to licensing.
Sgt. Stalder said the drunks, who were not residents of this area, buy their alcohol from Abbey’s because it is cheap; it is also very difficult to prove that people are very drunk.
PC Diffin suggested that if people sent lots of letters to licensing complaining about the drunks in the area then they would have to look at it. 3 of the 4 of the licensed shops in the area were acting responsibly, it was only 1 that was not and then only around 7 drunks were causing problems, whilst looking at other areas there could be up to 30 youngsters roaming around causing problems.

It was reported that young children have been continuing to play in the streets, which is dangerous. PC Diffin said there had been lots of complaints about this, and also playing in the alleys. Although playing in the streets was dangerous, playing in the alleys was considered a safer option and as long as no damage was being done to properties and soft balls were being used etc, he couldn’t see that there was much of a problem, because there would not really be anywhere else for them to play. There have also been problems with youngsters in their late teens running around the streets indiscriminately throwing water bombs and squirting water and coca cola at people from high-powered water guns. PC Diffin said this was anti social behaviour which was also a big problem at the green in Broad St.

It was asked by a resident if the Police were aware that 3 young people had been accosting residents in the area, for money – PC Diffin said that they were aware and 3 Eastern European people had been identified.

PROSTITUTION UPDATE – PC MCINTYRE: Up until recently the problems had been dealt with by the Broadgreen Neighbourhood Police Team, this had now become a Swindon Police issue and what that meant was there would be more officers giving their time and attention to the area at different times of the day and night. There appeared to be no one particular ‘problem’ night so operations were still being carried out at random times. Kerb crawlers were still being targeted and a number of warning letters had been sent out and as there had been no responses from the recipients of the warnings, it suggested that they were guilty of the actions in the warning letter.
There had been several ‘Acceptable Behaviour Contracts’ issued in the last 3 months and 3 kerb crawlers had been arrested - one of them was cautioned, one sent to Court and one was conditionally cautioned.
There were still huge inconsistencies in the sentences handed out by magistrates to prostitutes and discussions had been had to try and sort this out, ideally the Police would like to see curfews being handed out as part of the punishment.
A few residents are still phoning in with information, which is a good thing because then a log number would be created. The more information that can be passed on then the bigger a picture can be painted of the problems and where they occur.
The Police were aware that kerb crawlers are walking around the area and alleys instead of driving around.
It would be useful if residents could sit in the gallery when prostitutes were in court, it would show the Magistrates that people were bothered.

GUEST SPEAKER - MARK WALKER SBC: Mr Walker was recently appointed cluster leader for the town centre as part of the councils new way of working program - Connecting People, Connecting Places (CPCP).
CPCP started on the 1st May this year, it is a new way of working and is SBC’s answer to neighbourhood management; they want to work closer with communities, try and address some of the issues we have and tailor some of the Council Services, Police and other public service providers by engaging with people. The BSACC is well placed within the Broadgreen area because we have a long history of being organised and taking action and it is quite easy to pop in and have a chat, but in other parts of the cluster area people are not so active so they want to begin an engagement process.
For example in Broadgreen there are well-documented problems but by getting more people involved and working closer together across the partnership they will be able to tackle some of those issues and hopefully bring back a greater sense of community which might already be here in the Broadgreen. Feeling part of a neighbourhood has disappeared for a variety of reasons and if the right recipe can be found, the communities not the Councils recipe, then hopefully the feeling of neighbourliness and belonging to it will make Swindon a very strong and positive place to be.
There is a real commitment from on high in SBC, as well as from the Police and other organisations to make this work. There are no grand plans or ideas; they want to be told the concerns and ideas. Mr. Walker attended our Fun Day on the 16th May and thought it was very good and ‘buzzing’ this sort of thing would be good to replicate and take across the town.

Mr Walker then answered questions from residents:
Q. We (Central) are paired up with Eastcott, When are the people in these different areas going to meet up?
A. The Council and its partners have decided there will be 7 administration areas with different Wards grouped together they are at the beginning of the process and some initial discussions have taken place with councillors about what CPCP is, and in many ways it is up to the clusters to decide what the forum is, what it might look like and what it might mean, this has not taken place yet for the town centre councillors.

Q. Are you going to be engaging with the people, because it was the understanding that CPCP was about engaging with the people? Lots of councillors do not live in their Wards so they don’t know the issues or what it is like to live in those areas.
A. We want to promote what the councillors do, they do hold surgeries etc but many constituents feel that the Councillor would only come to them when they themselves had issues, preferring instead to challenge through organisations such as the BSACC. So part of the process is to engage with people by encouraging them to be more involved in shaping their local communities. It will be an evolutionary process rather than a big bang on day one and hopefully it will also encourage communities to trust the council in terms of what we are trying to do and how we are trying to do it. I don’t want to come along and say this is how I think we should be doing it; we want to listen to your opinion.

Q. All communities have differing problems and the Clusters seem to cover a big area, for example the problems in Broadgreen are going to be different to the ones found in the Railway Village, how is this going to work?
A. We recognise there may be 50 neighbourhoods in a cluster and we need to look at the complexity and try to tailor that more effectively to each area. At the moment there are different services with different information and it is not shared very well, we want to bring that together to get that level of understanding and create the real priorities and how they will be delivered together, it will not be council doing it to you, it will be with you and for you.

Q. One recurring problem is a lack of feedback, the Council are always asking things but they never give any feedback. Even if it were negative it would be good to be kept in the loop.
A. We recognise this is a problem and there is a need for feedback, so we want to get away from this problem.

Q. I thought CPCP was about working together and empowering residents to run their own communities. But it seems that residents will be able to come up with the ideas, but ultimately the impression I am getting is, things will still be determined by the councillors or the council, this simply knocks us back once again. I though it was about empowering communities, not being dictated to again.
A. It is early days and one of the things we want to achieve is that reconnection with communities, but the council as the elected body by the people of Swindon are accountable for that democratic process and it’s not going to change. What may change and what we hope to achieve from this, is to allow local areas to influence some of the services that are appropriate to them, that’s not going to happen from day one because there are organisations that need to talk with us. All I want to do is give everyone the opportunity to participate, not create barriers and councillors will be central to this.
- Councillor Montaut commented: It’s very early days and we can’t say how it will unfold. You have a very successful group (BSACC) and I have heard your concerns about Members dominating the agenda, so I suggest the BSACC Officers meet Mark Walker and set out your agenda and what you hope to achieve from this process, then we can get together with Members to see if we can marry that and get it off to a good start.

Q. The cluster is Central and Eastcott Ward, is that all of Central Ward? (Yes) and you want to influence and encourage people to engage with the Council, so what you, the council, are bringing to the party is a willingness to work with communities that will be greater than in the past, so do you bring any new resources, i.e. funding?
A. There are no new resources. This a substantive post within the council, but I still need to fulfil my other obligations during the day so this is an add-on duty if you like, I have volunteered to undertake this role. One of the reasons I have done that is because I firmly believe that this is the correct and right approach to deliver our services within our communities. I live in Swindon and want to see the best for our town, I want to see problems sorted out and rather than going through some crazy bureaucratic processes I want to see more people feel they are getting a fair hearing. In the future, there may be no new resources but what resources are available might be better used locally. Previously the council delivered a one size fits all type of approach, by and large we provided borough wide services for everyone in the same way, it’s very clear that, for example, what might be going on in Penhill isn’t necessarily what’s going on in Broadgreen, Highworth or Chiseldon, the issues are going to be totally different, so what we want to achieve from this is to get our processes more closely linked to local communities so there is a more efficient fit and you feel you are getting a response. It doesn’t mean you will always get the answer you want, but what we are saying is you will get a genuine response in a timely way.

Q. The Broadgreen area is not just starting out from ground level, what operates in Broadgreen - the BSACC and the Tasking Group, is often held up as the model of how communities can work with statutory bodies in Wiltshire, so it might be good if you (Mr. Walker) came to those sort of meetings to see what is going on, and it might help you understand this area and perhaps allow you to bring appropriate resources, guidance and help when you know what is going on, because at the moment I am sure you don’t.
A. This is the beginning of the journey and we do want this conversation to begin and we are more than happy about any suggestions to meet you independently or to meet you together.

CORRESPONDENCE:
· Previously reported overhanging hedge at the side of children’s centre in Gladstone St. – re -reported. This has been passed on to Grounds Maintenance who will respond within 28 days. – Martin Buckland from Swindon Services rang today (3rd June) and said they had missed it last time, but the new shrub beds in S4L area will shortly be attended to and they will cut the hedge back at the same time.
· 2 emails have been sent since the May meeting to Father Leslie regarding the Broad St. Trust and what he is proposing to do with it. No reply has been received as yet.
· Residents Parking Bay sign – there is one missing in Gladstone St. The Parking Dept. have confirmed that if there is not a sign so they cannot ticket people; the sign has been reported missing and is being investigated.
· We have been informed that the owners of the old laundry site in Aylesbury St. now want to build a hotel instead of flats and want to meet with the BSACC and Councillors to discuss their proposals.
· Letter from Bob Johnson concerning activities residents might like to see at community centres.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
· S/09/0456 – 45 County Road - Erection of a first floor rear extension - Application Granted – Delegated.
· S/LDP/09/0044 - 69 Graham Street - Certificate of Lawfulness (proposed) for the continued use as Dwelling House (Class C3) - Application Granted – Delegated.
· We have requested that the planning applications to extend the HMO - 151-153 County Rd. and convert 149 next-door into an HMO, be called in for the planning committee to look at. Cllr. Ali has done this.

TREASURERS REPORT: There was no Treasurer’s report presented this month because the new Treasurer, John Phillips, is awaiting the handover of the books.

CHAIR REPORT:
· Thanked everyone involved in the planning, preparation and work on the Broadgreen Fun Day. At least 350 people attend. We have already set a date for next year – 15th May 2010
· The big Lunch 19th July 2009 – info in hand.
· Street Athletics – this has shown good team working it will be on 29June 2009 if this it is successful, it could become a yearly event. It was requested that if funding could not be found for a couple of rooms to be booked at the Broadgreen, to be used on the day, then would the BSACC be prepared to cover the cost? It was proposed by John Phillips and seconded by Pam Freegard that we should do this and was agreed by the meeting.
· St Josephs School cohesion day 26 June 2009 – The BSACC along with John Taylor and Doug Imrie have been invited to put on a display/talk about the Broadgreen Area, we will be attending.
· Attended the following: The stronger communities forum with Ros and Kevin, the Caribbean lunch club event – many thanks to Rebecca who did a great job and a peer review workshop – the focus was on third sector development and how the council is performing in that role.
· Have signed up with ‘Orange thumb’ who are looking for community gardens to help fund with donations of garden tools and help. The Broadgreen Community Garden has been registered but nothing has been heard as yet.
· Had a meeting with Jane Butler regarding refusal of funding from WSCF. We were advised to apply to the lottery fund.
· With regards to the Tasking Group, the Broadgreen NPT had decided that only the 3 local priorities should be dealt with at the meetings, and nothing else. These meetings have been going on with the same format very successfully for 3 years, with no funding for administration costs, only room hire. Wiltshire Police have held the meetings up as good practice, and then the NPT decided it wanted to alter the format. This caused some considerable worry so Inspector Lynch was contacted and told of the concerns.
· It has now been agreed that the Police will have the first hour of the meeting to deal with the 3 priorities, and then the rest of the meeting will be for people specifically invited that are needed to deal with other problems in the area.
· We propose to make our August meeting a community engagement evening. Between 6 and 7pm we will hold our monthly meeting, followed by the engagement evening. This was proposed by Karen (chair) and seconded by Derek (Vice-Chair) and agreed by the meeting.
· Because Broadgreen is often portrayed in a bad light, and seems to be constantly knocked from some quarters, the Chair passed around handouts with positive quotes about the area made by people not from here.

BROADGREEN HISTORY PROJECT:
· The photo exhibition that we put on at the fun day on the 16th May was very successful; Huge interest was shown by people and a big thank you was given to one gentleman (Rod Smith) who had previously passed on some photos of Duck Son and Pinkers in Milford St before demolition in 1980, came along and passed over more photos he had taken of Swindon around the same time.
· The Broadgreen photo’s will be displayed at the St. Josephs school cohesion event on 26 June.
· Kevin, has been asked if he would consider being one of the guest speakers, talking about Broadgreen history, at the January Swindon Society meeting. He has agreed to this.
· Gordon Clack who lives in the Broadgreen Area, has a series of photos of St. Luke’s Church during its construction, the Swindon Society are currently scanning them and when finished, we will be able to have copies to add to our collection.
· A further request was made for anybody who might have any old photos of the area, and of events that may have been held– VE day celebrations, Queens silver jubilee, street parties, fete’s etc

VICE-CHAIR REPORT: Derek thanked people for voting him in as Vice –Chair and said he would do his best to work together with everybody within the community, to better the area.
20 is Plenty: Derek has written a letter to the Adver concerning the danger of speeding traffic in this area, especially for the young and old crossing the roads. Also pointing out that we would like a 20mph speed limit implemented here ASAP, as has happened in other towns and cities, where deaths by accidents have been considerably reduced. The D.O.T have a consultation going on at the moment looking at making Britain’s roads safer and there is also an organisation campaigning for 20mph and safer roads and they have a website at www.20splentyforus.org.uk

BROADGREEN COMMUNITY PLAN: Our relationship with St. Josephs and Churchfields schools is building up and as part of the consultation process they have been filling in youth surveys. St. Josephs have completed 61 and Churchfields are identifying students that live in the Broadgreen area so they can pass on surveys to them. The youth survey filled in for S4L only had a total return of 32.Anyone that hasn’t filled in an adult survey, please do so.
At the last steering meeting we started an initial analysis of the adult forms and we will be making a start on the youth surveys at the next meeting.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Nothing to report.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: The owners of Paragon Laundry site in Aylesbury St. now want to turn the site into a hotel rather than flats. They want to meet with ward members and community leaders to discuss the proposals, but the councillors are opposed to the plans as they feel there is more of a need for housing. Will report back at a later stage.
With regards to the residents parking increases, despite having sent a number of letters to the lead member, they haven’t been able to get a meeting so they have decided to take two lines of action – put a leaflet out with a progress report on and hold some meetings provisionally the 23 and 24 June.
Dealing with Mark Walkers CPCP submission to the meeting, the whole ethos of it is to devolve power, but how communities will be engaged is yet to be seen and how well it works is also another issue. What Cllr. Montaut would hate to see is the BSACC lose its identity, He has to recognise what we say and also recognise our strengths and he doesn’t want to see those strengths lost. Ultimately it is about devolving power at a local level and empowering local people. Devolving budgets is also another area and he is in the process of engaging with the leader of the council on this, there are talks of certain monies per head, per councillor but it will probably not be new money.
Two bikes are to be handed over to the police for use in this area. A shop and a Mosque in the area donated the money. It was asked what had happened to the two bikes that Mitchell’s Cycles had donated to the police a couple of years ago. Cllr. Montaut explained that yes, some bikes had been given but they were not appropriate for the police. He also felt that it was good that the bikes were paid for from money raised within the community and expressed that a thank you to all concerned was in order.
Some superb work has been taking place by the community plan steering group and he would like to see community plans rolled out in all areas of the town.
There was then a short discussion about engaging with youth in the area and concerns about some of their behaviour at times.

B.O.N.D: No report

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
· Concerns were raised that a property in Broad St. may be being used as an after school type school or club and when the children are picked up, cars are being parked all over the place causing problems.
· The shop on the corner of Lagos St and Corporation St. are not only displaying their produce on the public path, but are also allowing lorries to park and unload as well as parking their vehicles on the path, stopping pedestrians passing - Cars, vans and lorries are also continuing to be parked on the paths and on double yellow lines in Manchester Rd at all hours of the day, very often causing hold ups for both pedestrians and traffic
· Cars are still being parked illegally in residents parking bays in Station Rd. this is not only connected with the car wash but also seems to be other people doing it as well. It is also believed that when parking attendants are in the area, many of the cars are moved until such time as they have gone.

The Chair said that with regards to the produce outside shop in Corporation St, Richard Palacio from SBC had been informed of this at the tasking meeting and he was passing it on to the food hygiene team who will be coming down to take a look at all the shops in the area, because concerns like this are raised regularly.
The parking in Manchester Rd is also a big problem, but unfortunately the parking department have informed us that despite the DY lines, they still have to allow a 15 to 20 minutes unloading time for the shops.

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 03 June 2009 Meeting closed at 9.20pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 01 July 2009

2009-06-29T20:02:00.000+01:00

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 03 June 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker: Councillor Derique Montaut - 'About being a Councillor'
7. Correspondence
8. Treasurers report
9. Chairs report
10. Vice-Chair report
11. Youth report
12. Broadgreen History Project
13. Broadgreen Community Plan
14. Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
15. Neighbourhood/Street Watch report
16. Ward Councillors report
17. B.O.N.D. report.
18. Any Other Business

Next Meeting: Wednesday 05 August 2009, 6 – 7PM

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 6th MAY 2009

2009-06-04T12:43:00.002+01:00

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Minute Secretary John Phillips, John Banville, Karen Coulthard, John and Vi Clark, Pam and John Freegard, Tim French, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Pam Montgomery, Val Purvis, Ros Timlin, David Webb.

ALSO PRESENT: Councillor Derique Montaut, PC Diffin and Special Constable Thakrar

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Celia Cotton, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Kath Jones, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Evelyn Mason, Mr and Mrs Norris, Sue Osbaldstone, Derek and Madge Sutton, John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 1st April 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Val Purvis and seconded by John Freegard.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE APRIL MINUTES: Is there a loop system in the lounge yet? A resident parking sign in Gladstone Street is still missing.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT - PC Diffin: Two of the Police priorities have changed, litter still remains but anti social behaviour and drinking in the back alleys behind Manchester Rd. and speeding in Broad St. have replaced prostitution and drugs.
More ‘Alcohol Free Zone’ signs are needed and the lampposts that they need to be put on have been identified. Letters have been sent to licensees in the area asking them to be more responsible, and to help identify where people who are drunk or are drinking underage are buying their drinks from, the shop owners have been asked to use a different coloured bags for 4 weeks.
It was asked why alcohol was being sold to underage children and nothing appeared to be being done about it.
PC Diffin explained that requesting shops use different coloured bags was one of the things being done, but they have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it is happening, which is not easy.
Some of the drinking in the alleys is being done by people from minority groups; it might be a case of education and involving the licensing and health people. If this does not work then ASBO’s may need to be issued to the offenders.
Another problem is that the 15 or so street drinkers that are banned from the town centre often come to this area to drink, although when the CCTV van is parked in different places around the area they soon disappear.
Speeding in Broad Street - an operation by the Safety Camera Unit has been undertaken over seven days to monitor the speed of traffic. Results are expected next week, but early indications seem to be suggesting there is not a problem with speeding, but it appears to be more like anti social driving. Other roads have also been identified by residents as having speeding problems, the trouble with small road is that there is not enough distance to get accurate speed readings.
Litter – The Environmental Health are not engaging very well. The back of Alexander Road is bad, but EH have been sending out letters.
Anti-Social Behaviour and vehicle crime are both down in the area, overall reported crime has increased but the detection rate has also improved.
PC Diffin was asked why, when 2 eggs were pushed through the Broad St. Mosque letterbox, there seemed to be a big Police presence and effort made about it? PC Diffin told the meeting that all crimes were investigated with the same effort the reason there was more Police presence was because there had been a ‘Dobbin’ operation that night. There had also been a big meeting that evening in Gorse Hill concerning a Mosque moving there. When St. Luke’s Church had had graffiti sprayed on it, house-to-house enquiries had also been carried out then.

CORRESPONDENCE: Resignation letter from Richard Coates – he has stepped down as BSACC Treasurer and Vice-Chair owing to personal circumstances.

The Broad Street Trust situation now appears to be in hand. Father Leslie has a possible proposal but he needs to talk to the other Trustees first. It is now too late to use some of the Trust money we are still holding on the community garden this year, but a meeting will be organised with Chris Hunt some time after the 16th June to further discuss the area that can be used.

Wiltshire and Swindon Foundation, grant application – turned down (see Chair report)

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

S/09/0268 - 123 Manchester Road - Erection of a single storey rear extension (part retrospective). - Application Granted
S/09/0117 - 76 Manchester Road - Change of use to shop (class A1) and cafe/restaurant (class A3) and installation of new shop front. - Application Granted
S/09/0062 - 26 Medgbury Road- Erection of two storey/single storey rear extension. - Application Pending Determination
S/09/0469 - 149 County Road - Change of use from residential dwelling (C3) to house in multiple occupation (Sui Generis) and single storey rear extension. Application Pending Determination
S/09/0470 - 151 - 153 County Road - Erection of a first floor rear extension -Application Pending Determination
**S/09/0407- 86 Manchester Road (Radio Taxi’s)- Change of use of ground floor from Offices to Shop (Class A1) and change of use of first floor to Dwelling (Class C3). - Application Withdrawn
S/09/0491 - Union Square - Request for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Opinion for proposed development. - Application Received

**Although this application has been withdrawn because of concerns from the planning dept, the property is being advertised as ‘to let’ as a shop, planning been informed but they said:
The property only has consent for use as offices at the moment.
We have informed the applicant's planning agent that we would have concerns with regard to the change of use of the property to a shop. In terms of advertising the property 'To Let' as a shop, we have no control over this. It is only if someone actually begins running the premises as a shop (without permission) that we can become involved in terms of planning enforcement.

What was thought to have once been garages in Corporation Street (opposite the Armstrong Street junction) appears to be being altered into a shop; this is of concern as it is on a main road with no parking.

The old garage in Station Road is still being used to valet cars and the residents parking bays continue to be used to park the cars waiting to be valeted. At the last STFC football match, they were offering parking and valet for £12.50. The Chair said that environmental health were aware of this and had visited them.

TREASURERS REPORT: 01 April to 30 April 2009: There was no Treasurer’s report presented this month.

CHAIR REPORT: We did not receive a Community Grant from the Council, we were however successful in our application for an Administration Grant.

We were also unsuccessful in our bid from the Wiltshire and Swindon Foundation for funding to cover the Community Plan and engagement day, because they said we had too much money in our reserves, basically they considered that the monies that are still being held on behalf of the Broad St. Trust was our money!

It had previously been asked why only Councillor Montaut attended the monthly meetings and not the other two. Karen invited both Cllr. Wright and Ali to come to the meetings, Cllr. Wright said he would be other wise engaged for the next two meetings and gave his apologies, Cllr. Ali did not reply.

Bail Hostels in Swindon - there are places in SN1 being used for such purposes, but not in Broadgreen. Some people believed that a property in Rosebery St. was a bail hostel because Police and other official looking people had been seen regularly going in and out of it. Following a meeting with the Probation Service and Police, the Chair was able to assure people this was not a bail hostel.

Councillor Montaut was congratulated on his new post as Leader of the Labour Group.

YOUTH REPORT: So far there have been 69 replies to the Community Plan, Youth Survey.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: The overgrowing brambles at the back of the STFC Stratton Bank have still not been cut back. Cllr. Montaut said that Jack Moyles from SBC had been down to have a look at the situation.

There seems to be two new prostitutes working at the end of Shrivenham Rd.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: John Phillips has volunteered to run a Neighbourhood Watch scheme in Gladstone St. - the Chair has sorted out a street sign.
Somebody has been riding a quad bike around the area, riding on paths and doing stunts, they are also not wearing a crash helmet.
Two people with a baby have been begging outside the Broad St. Mosque, when people were visiting it. This has been reported to the Police.
The proprietors of the ‘7 to 11’ shop are still storing their fish next to the path in Broad St. when the ice melts, oil and water flows across the path. This is also happening in Manchester Rd. The Chair said that Environmental Health had been to look at the situation.
It has been reported that a ‘foreign’ lady has been walking around the streets, trying to sell a gold ring.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: Councillor Montaut thanked the Chair for her kind words of congratulations and said that it was a difficult job being Leader of the Opposition, being tied up with wide responsibilities. He did however enjoy attending our meetings even though they could be challenging and he would try to honour the commitment.

The residents parking permit increases are an ongoing issue and it is difficult to know where to go when the Cabinet do not want to engage.

Cllr. Montaut thought it might be a good idea to have the opportunity some time in the future, to explain how the process of being a councillor operated. The Chair invited him to be guest speaker at the July meeting.

B.O.N.D: No report

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Children are playing cricket in Broad St. and some of the side streets, it was felt this was a dangerous thing to do. The Chair said that Doug the Community Sports Coach had now finished his training and then he would be doing more work in the area. The bushes at the side of the Children’s Centre are still overgrowing onto Gladstone St.

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 03 June 2009

Meeting closed at 9.20pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 03 June 2009

2009-06-01T21:39:00.004+01:00

Where? In the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre, Salisbury Street. 7.30pm start.
All Broadgreen residents are very welcome to attend and join in.

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 06 May 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speaker
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. B.O.N.D. report.
17. Any Other Business

Next Meeting: Wednesday 01 July 2009

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 1st APRIL 2009

2009-05-14T16:02:00.003+01:00

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting and AGM 06 May 2009

2009-05-06T11:54:00.003+01:00

Welcome and Housekeeping
Apologies for absence

AGM
Confirmation of the minutes – 04 June 2008 AGM meeting
Matters arising from these minutes
Chairman’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Nominations and election of Officers and Committee

MAY MONTHLY MEETING
Confirmation of the minutes – 04 April 2009 meeting
Matters arising from these minutes
Community Police report
Guest speakers: Correspondence
Treasurers report
Chairs report
Youth report
Broadgreen History Project
Broadgreen Community Plan
Shrivenham Road/ Cockram Court report
Neighbourhood/Street Watch report
Ward Councillors report
B.O.N.D. report.
Any Other Business
Next Meeting: Wednesday 03 June 2009

Broad Street Area Community Council AGM - 6th May 2009

2009-04-21T11:50:00.002+01:00

We will be holding our AGM on Wednesday the 6th May at 7.30 pm in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre in Salisbury Street. All Broadgreen residents are invited to attend.

Nomination forms for Officer and Committee posts are attached to the Broadly Speaking newsletters that have been delivered through residents’ doors.

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 4th MARCH 2009

2009-04-08T10:51:00.001+01:00

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary and Archivist Kevin Leakey, Minute Secretary John Phillips, John Clark, Karen Coulthard, Stella Edwards, Pam Freegard, Tim French, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford and Evelyn Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Val Purvis, Derek and Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor - Broadgreen Community Plan, PCSO Rees Turner, Councillor Mark Edwards - Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Derique Montaut, Nazma Ramruttun BOND representative, Dan Collins and Helena Lachowycz - Eastcott Community Council, Gena Old Town.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: John Banville, Vi Clark, Celia Cotton, Kath Cridland, John Freegard, Elizabeth Grady, Kath Jones, Pam Montgomery, Sue Osbaldstone, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, David Webb, Inspector Madge Lynch, PCSO Stuart Bird, PC Sophia McIntyre, Sergeant Kate Stalder.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 7th January 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by John Phillips.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE JANUARY MINUTES: Broad Street Community Trust. Father Leslie has been contacted yet again to ask what is happening with the Trust and if the £2000 we are holding could be used for the community garden, but as yet he has not responded. It was proposed that a letter be sent to Graham Jenkins and ask him if he felt the money could be spent on the garden project.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT – PCSO Rhys Turner: There have been several ‘Dobbin’ operations during February - 16/17/18 they were conducted with both High Visibility and Covert Officers deployed. A Kerb Crawler was issued with an ABC (Acceptable Behaviour Contract) and a “Working” person was issued with a Prostitution Street Caution. Letters were also distributed to registered keepers of cars that are continually seen loitering within the area, one has been sent to an address in Portsmouth; Police there will deal with it. The Police have spoken to local residents and businesses and people are happy with the operations that are being carried out. At the moment the ‘Dobbin’ operations are planned out until June, then PC. McIntyre will look to see what the situation is and decide the best way forward, it may well mean stepping up the ‘Dobbin’ operations. There is a long-term commitment from high up in the Police to eradicate the prostitution problem and PC McIntyre is very dedicated to her job.
Alley way parking continues to be a problem in some areas and a van that constantly does so in the alley behind Manchester road has been given 2 tickets in the last couple of weeks and if it continues to be parked there it will be towed away, as alleys should be kept clear at all times to allow emergency services access should there be a need to do so.

GUEST SPEAKER - Councillor Mark Edwards – Cabinet Member for Resources: Thanked the BSACC for the invite to talk about the proposed residents parking permit increases, and gave apologies for Councillor Peter Greenhalgh who he had hoped would also have been able to attend the meeting.
Legally the Council are obliged to balance their books and although he understood the financial situation at the moment, the council cannot take out huge loans. Every year there has to be a budget and every year expenses increase while income does not, and although £8m savings had been found and they were coming close to delivering a balanced budget, unfortunately since the credit crunch at the end of last year, there had been a huge income loss to the council from things like planning applications and recycling. To balance the books they had to go back and look again at all the savings that could be made, and one thing that was put forward as a proposal for change was the residents parking. Looking at the current cost and income, the books don’t balance and the scheme is running at a net loss and is being subsidised. The proposal is to put the cost of permits up by the amount suggested and that will go some way to cover the gap between what it costs to run and what income is generated.

There then followed a question and answer session.
Q: Are fines included?
A: Yes, it’s all part of the income.
Q: Is this not simply a stealth tax, put up the cost of residents parking permits and keep council tax lower for everyone else?
A: Not at all, we want to be very honest and open about it, but this is a service that is costing money and a way has to be found to make it more efficient. There is to be a consultation process on it but has no the details as to how it’s going to run yet. One option that has been floated before, which makes it cost effective, is if there were no residents’ parking in place it would be cost neutral. Every time this has been proposed the answer has been residents want to keep the scheme.
Q: If as you say the increases are to balance the books, people are going to expect to see more for their money, i.e. more people managing the scheme because there’s already problems with inconsiderate parking and illegal parking in the residents parking bays. More patrols etc will Increase the cost of running the scheme and not generate more income. If it is not managed properly there will be lots of complaints.
A: Enforcement has been looked at and savings made by making it run as efficiently as possible. The Council need to know from residents where the inefficiencies are in enforcement. They are down to 31 officers from 38 but the scheme was running reasonably well with 31 officers, so that number is being maintained.
Q: If you want to make savings, don’t use so many vans. How many do the parking department use?
A: Not know.
Q: Could residents parking not operate on a Sunday? Surely the fines would generate more income?
A: It was looked at, but is not cost effective to operate the scheme on a Sunday; the most cost effective solution is to put the cost of permits up.
Q: It would be helpful to get a figure on the shortfall of costs for the scheme, but never the less, how much are you expecting to generate from the price increase?
A: £152,000
Q: One thing that defeats that figure, is the increase in Councillors Allowances which is understood to be costing an additional £370,000 but if only half of that was given back by Councillors there would be no need to increase the residents parking charges at all, would there?
A: This is a very sensitive subject and will no doubt be debated at many future council meetings. There are lots of ways you could work things out, but to be on call 365 days of the year to 8,000 residents, it works out to be 50p to £1.00 per hour. From a personal point of view, looking at the amount of work and hours Councillors put in, in terms of evenings and weekends etc, the reward does not necessarily balance up with those amounts of hours. For example today – up at 6am, at this meeting now and have to go to another meeting after, this is a typical day in amongst the day job. These commitments are relatively tough, where everybody is working very very hard here. Weekends and evenings - you never know how late. The only reason that some of the people actually do the job as a councillor is because they can balance their work/job life, which means you may not be able to get a job that pays sufficiently to have a life or that allows you to do both, you have to balance both against the cost. Considering the amount of work that has to be put in to these roles, it’s a fair balance.
Q: With regards to the allowances, many people do voluntary work and carry on with their jobs as well, and they don’t expect to get paid.
A: As Chair of School Governors, I probably give 20 to 30 hours a week so we all do the voluntary stuff as well.
Q: Do you consider parking increases of between 60% and 200% reasonable and can residents in the present climate of recession absorb this? Why were the charges not phased in, if there’s never been a situation of having to balance the budget for the scheme?
A: Taken onboard that it is a big increase all in one go, the only counter argument to that is that maybe it should have been done last year, the year before that and the year before that. To put it up to the full cost all in one go was considered to be far too much and these increases were considered to be a reasonable compromise.
Q: There is also another option, where there has been a windfall of income coming into the council coffers of approximately £429,000, which could have been used to accommodate the shortfalls and cuts.
A: Completely understand the point that has been raised about this money from the Government but it’s one off funding, while it is very welcome, if it’s used for the Park and Ride for example, we will be sitting here in a years time having exactly the same discussion. Using one of funding to try and sustain something for the long term is not practical and not going to work, all it is doing is delaying the problem.
Q: Why are more permits issued than actual parking spaces?
A: It is known that this is an issue, there are discussions on the number of parking spaces and believe there is some capital funding which will potentially be available this year to look at the number of parking spaces and see if the number can be increased.
Q: Houses in Multiple Occupancy – why, when one person in one flat pays the cost of a first permit, should a totally unrelated person living in a separate flat within the same building have to pay the cost of a second permit as if it was a second car in the same household?
A: It should be on a per household basis, will take it back.
Q: You said the current option of increases was the most cost effective, what are the other options because it would be useful if they could be shared with residents? And with regards to the consultation process, will residents be consulted or will it just be councillors?
A: Will make sure the BSACC has full details on the consultation process and on the other options. The cheapest option is to scrap the scheme but residents want it.
Q: It was said that these increases will still not cover the cost of the scheme, does this mean that in the next couple of budgets the charges are going to increase again and again?
A: Here’s your answer, let me give you a clue - ‘The proposed price increases in permits are expected to realise an additional value of £152,000. In order to recover the full cost of the service leaving visitors, second and third permits unchanged, the cost of a 6 month first permit needs to rise to £30 and a 12 month permit to £55 compared with a £25 to £40 proposed’ so in order to make the whole thing cost neutral, it would take that level of increase.
Q: Part of people’s aggravation about this is that it is such a huge increase coming in, seemingly through the back door via a section in the budget – ‘Amendments and Omissions from December Report’ Would it not be better to set out the future rises over the next few years, now?
A: My job is to balance the books and I have only been in this role for 2 months, if we were to put out the fees for the next 3 years it sets them in stone, when through other savings they may not need to be increased. If we do find a way to make this service run efficiently, at a far less cost and it works for residents, I would be the first one to say we are going to cut the residents car parking fees.
Q: As there are no local council elections this year, could this be the reason that the charges are being put up by so much?
A: If we wanted to run a political budget next year, by keeping the council tax to 3.5% now we are creating a huge issue for ourselves next year. The political gain would be a 4.9% budget this year, because people would have forgotten about it next year. A 3.5% budget this year was one of the most difficult things this council has had to do in terms of balancing the books, you can be rest assured this was not political and I am up for re-election next year so the job is going to be even harder.
Q: Going through the paperwork to the residents parking review in 2007, it states that in 2005/06 there was an operating surplus of some £6300 and this was based on the old charges of £12 per permit, so how in the last couple of years has the cost of running the scheme suddenly gone up so much?
A: That is one of the questions we are trying to find the answer to, exactly where the 05/06 numbers were derived from. They don’t actually make sense, we are trying to find out what costs were not put in, because the current fees and numbers are correct.
Q: Basically up until December time, when the economic problems hit, you were not really bothered that the scheme was costing extra money; in fact you didn’t even know did you? (A: No, absolutely.) and suddenly it’s allegedly going to cost lots more money to run this so therefore you are going to be ‘taxing’ everybody extra (A: Absolutely not) you weren’t looking at this before, a budget was put to cabinet in December and it wasn’t included.
A: We didn’t get to the budget in December and decide to punish the residents parking, there were a whole raft of things that happened in December and January. It was always on the list, but we don’t want to touch things we don’t have to, I want to make these things cost neutral, it would be very easy to say we’ve got plenty of money in the bank but we will punish you for that as well. We have to make a balance and that is, when times are economically tough you have to look at absolutely everything. This should have been looked at 3 years ago with far more scrutiny. As the budgets become tighter, everything has to be scrutinised and you have to square every asset you have got in order to balance the books. So yes, the prices should have gone up 3 years ago.
Q: It was suggested by the Lib. Dems. at the full Council meeting, that quite a lot of the increase is due to added administration charges that have not been included before, is this correct?
A: That is what I am trying to work out. I am assured by our Finance Director that we are apportioning costs appropriately for residents parking in the 2008/2009 budget that has just gone through.
Q: Have you compared the cost of residents parking in Swindon, with other towns?
A: I can get you the figures, but I can assure you if you look at res. parking in equivalent Unitaries, this is incredibly cheap. I will get some numbers and get some balance and make it transparent - this is what it costs and in an equivalent Unitary this is what they pay, so you can get a benchmark.
I will come back with all of the responses to tonight and if there are any gaps let me know, and Peter Greenhalgh will come back with a response to the letter sent to him from the BSACC.
Everything that has been said will be taken back and will make sure there is a full feed back on this discussion and full feedback on how the consultation is going to take place, the BSACC will be kept fully informed.

CORRESPONDENCE:
The overflowing guttering on the shop in Corporation and Lagos Street – Richard Palacio SBC environmental officer said unless the adjoining property complains, then there is nothing they can do about it.
Fish being sold at both the 7 to 11 shop in Broad St. and DeAngelos in Manchester Rd. - Richard Palacio and Karen L have both tried to get the food hygiene enforcement team to the tasking group but they will not go, RP has however written to both shops so things are in motion within the council.
Tried unsuccessfully to contact Gary Hewitt with regards to the S4L and the garden, left numerous messages and been told he would get back but he has not.
Informed Parking Enforcement about Scorpion Garage in Station Road valeting cars etc and also that they are using the residents parking bays to park the cars in.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS: S/09/0268 - 123 Manchester Road - Erection of a single storey rear extension - Application Pending Consideration

TREASURERS REPORT: Acceptance of Treasures report proposed by Derek Sutton and seconded by Val Purvis.

CHAIR REPORT:
We are putting on a Community Engagement morning on the 28 March. The Police will have their computer equipment to enable residents to answer a survey about prostitution, John Taylor will be on hand to talk about the Community Plan, Kevin will be showing his history project and there will be a table top and cake sale. Help would very much be appreciated.
Doug Imrie has a funding application – ‘Kick it Out’ concerning racism in sport and young people.
The dog warden has been contacted again concerning the dog that is being allowed to run around in the park. Residents are reporting that it is going for young people in the street, and is being let out with no adult supervision, this happens at various times of the day.
The Tasking Group have been invited to visit the Manchester Road Mosque. If the BSACC are interested in a visit, it may be able to be arranged.
The Adver recently carried a story about a mugging and used the headline ‘Man injured in Broadgreen mugging’ it was felt that there was no need to have mentioned Broadgreen in the headline, because mentioning an area in the headline it is not something the Adver normally do. The Chair has contacted the Adver and they said often crime stories come direct from Police information and are reported as said. On a positive note, the Adver have run 2 good news stories about this area in the last couple of days.
It has been reported that some users of the Breakfast Club are using some of the back alleyways in the vicinity of St. Luke’s as a toilet, this is not just urinating either. It is hard to understand why this is happening, because the Breakfast Club has toilet facilities on site.
There is to be a ‘Safe and Clean’ day later in the year, it will however be shared with the Railway Village. It was felt by the meeting that this area needs a clear up of its own, especially the County Ground which is in a terrible state.
An email have been received from Ishmael Stevens, got married on the 13th December and is working long hours, only seeing his family on his days off. He hopes to visit Swindon in June and sends his love to all. Grace Walker has spoken to Karen C. and said she has settled in very well in Spain, she says she has not got a donkey yet, but she is happy relaxing and sipping cocktails in the sun! She would be very pleased if people would write to her.
Next month, Planning Enforcement will be attending this meeting. They have requested for any enforcement issues to be passed to them before the meeting, so they have the right paperwork with them, to answer the questions.
Councillor Montaut has booked a room at the Civic Offices for this Friday morning, so the Tasking Group and members of the Mosque can discuss the Friday parking problems. The Councillor said that since booking the room, he has been having problems with holding the meeting on a Friday, because the Muslims go to prayer on that day and it is inappropriate to hold it then. The Chair pointed out that at the Tasking meeting, Councillor Ali, PC Sheikh and the Manchester Road Mosque representative all said Friday morning was a good time.

YOUTH REPORT: Doug Imrie: Over the next few Wednesdays Doug is hoping to do some sports with the youngsters and also to arrange some football matches between older youths and possibly the Fire Brigade and Police etc.
Lindsay Poole: Over the past month, young people who attend Skeetz youth club on a Wednesday evening have been engaging in an art project alongside No Added Sugar community artists. Young people have been working hard to create self-portraits and have had the opportunity to work with Sid who is a young Asian artist who has been coming over from Bristol to assist with the project. We have another 2 evenings with No Added Sugar to finish the pieces and then hope to encourage a few of the young people to come in on Saturday 28th March to create some group pieces which we hope could be auctioned or raffled off at the Community Cohesion Day to raise money for the Skeetz youth club.
Numbers at Skeetz are still really good with around 30 young people attending each session - from a broad ethnic mix including young people originally from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Poland, Afghanistan and Lithuania - which promotes some interesting discussions about different languages and cultures.
One of the young people is now attending the Duke of Edinburgh Open Award centre on a Monday night at Plus One Centre and is progressing well. We are still trying to encourage the young people to get involved in other Youth Work activities in other areas, such as football tournaments, pool comps and gym sessions.... but this is proving quite difficult as they are very attached to their area and don't seem too keen to venture out and mix with other young people. So this is something we shall be addressing in the next few months as well as helping them to identify and apply for funding for future projects.
For more information about Skeetz or youth work in Central south area, please contact Lindsay Poole (Youth Development Worker) mob: 07919 111539 or lpoole@swindon.gov.uk

COMMUNITY PLAN: The steering group, a sub-committee of the BSACC that includes a representative from the BOND – Kay Malko and Councillor Montaut as the Council representative, has met for the first time and agreed to drive the plan forward. It is the aim to produce a 16 to 20 page plan, available for the Borough to see in October. There are 2 areas of immediate action, the Adver and the ‘20 is Plenty’ campaign, which is being headed up by Derek and Madge Sutton. It is hoped to persuade the council to trial 20 mph for all roads in this area. It is also important to engage with the New Swindon Company, Kevin has agreed to represent the Steering Committee, Pam and Ros the BSACC and Karen L the Tasking Group.
With regards to the ’20 is Plenty’ campaign, Cllr. Montaut said he was charged with raising this issue within the Council and has been having ongoing discussions with traffic engineers and they say that it is not as simple as adopting a scheme that’s been used in other areas because a 20mph zone is not enforceable by the Police, they have problems with 30mph, so by enforcing 20 mph by having Police Officers there will not happen. One way to have 20mph zones is through traffic calming. They can have a 20mph zone by putting up a sign with it on; they are talking about piloting this in a residential area, but not Broadgreen. Through his discussions thanks to the interest we have shown in this, at least they can start a pilot scheme in one of the areas. The side roads will be easy to enforce because great speeds would not be built up, it’s the main highways like Broad St. or Manchester Rd, so it is being discussed and considered at a higher level.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: There are still problems with the Breakfast Club, with drinking outside and cans etc littering the path, there has been no improvement since the last time. It was pointed out that the opportunity was given at the tasking meeting for the problems to be put directly to the organisations involved, but they were told it had improved and there was no problem. Cycling on paths and cars parking in the alleyways are also continuing. Despite this area having a DPPO, a resident is purchasing alcohol and drinking it with friends in the Broadgreen Centre park, they are getting drunk and abusing people, and then leaving the empty bottles behind. The DPPO sign by the park has been spray painted over, but the PCSO’s would like to see more DPPO signs in the area.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: Councillor Montaut talked about the Council Budget and the issues around saving services like the libraries, Park and Ride and the cut in Community grants etc. He feels that these things could be saved through other savings. There is also a figure of £429,000 that has fallen into the Councils pot from Government, it is for Authorities that have made certain financial achievements after their budgets have been delivered, but we are told it is a one off payout and cannot be used to subsidise services, but Councillor Montaut does not agree this is the right way to look at it.

B.O.N.D: The BOND put on a multi-cultural event on the 28th February; Nazma thanked Karen L, Pam, Kate and Rebecca for all of their help on the day.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Can there be another public toilet in the Town Centre, because the alleyway behind the Open Hands Fellowship is being constantly used as a toilet. This was passed over to Cllr. Montaut who said that it is likely that toilets will continue to be shut, with people having to rely on traders opening their toilets for public use.
The Chair thanked Karen Coulthard for going around with the Residents Parking petition.

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 01 April 2009 Meeting closed at 9.20pm.

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 01 April 2009

2009-03-31T11:12:00.002+01:00

1. Welcome and Housekeeping
2. Apologies for absence
3. Confirmation of the minutes – 04 March 2009 meeting
4. Matters arising from these minutes
5. Community Police report
6. Guest speakers:
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. B.O.N.D. report.
17. Any Other Business
18. Next Meeting: Wednesday 06 May 2009

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 4th FEBRUARY 2009

2009-03-31T11:07:00.002+01:00

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Secretary Kevin Leakey, John Phillips, John and Vi Clark, Karen Coulthard, Stella Edwards, John and Pam Freegard, Tim French and Katherine, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Sue Osbaldstone, Val Purvis, Derek and Madge Sutton, Ros Timlin, David Webb

ALSO PRESENT: John Taylor Broadgreen Community Plan, Doctor Richard Carter – Whalebridge Practice, Councillor Derique Montaut, Dan Collins and Helena Lachowycz - Eastcott Community Council.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, John Banville, Celia Cotton, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, PC Paul Crouch, PCSO’s Stuart Bird and Rees Turner, PC Sophia McIntyre
Brian Jones, Kath Jones, Nazma Ramruttun BOND representative

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 7th January 2009 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Derek Sutton

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE JANUARY MINUTES:
With regards to the Mosque parking problems. Last Friday (30 January) there was a very heavy Police presence in and around Broad Street, cars were being driven around and around being unable to park on the double yellow lines nor in residents parking bays, although 7 cars did manage to park in the alleyways after the Police had left the area. There has never been a Police presence for parking problems like this before.
Councillor Montaut said that the situation with the Police created some problems, the initial issues raised about parking in residents parking spaces and the enforcement that local Councillors had asked for, to be applied equally without any privileges for anybody, amounted to an email being sent to Councillor Ali informing him that the Police would be out in some force. When they did come out in some force he didn’t know what the objective of so many Police was for. There are two factors, resolve this within the community in a way that meets everybody’s needs and from the enforcement aspect the Councillors have asked the Enforcement Officers to apply it rigidly but fairly. From what Councillor Montaut can gather there was an overwhelming presence of Police, taking away limited resources from other areas and he wondered what the value of the exercise was.
Although he didn’t know how many Police were involved, Cllr. Ali had raised an issue with the Leader of the Council because of the overpowering presence of the Police in the area, as representations had been made to him from within the Mosque concerning a feeling of intimidation and that there was some type of terrorist threat. A resident informed him that the ‘overwhelming Police presence’ actually only consisted of 1 police car, 2 Police Officers and 2 PCSO’s. As far as residents are concerned the Councillors position on the enforcement aspect of this is totally unchanged.
It was pointed out that Councillor Montaut has been suggesting that it was a recent problem with residents complaining about the misuse of resident parking, but the record needs to be made clear, residents have infact been complaining for many years about inconsiderate parking in the area, which includes illegal parking in the residents parking bays, yellow line parking, pavement parking and parking on corners. It is a shame that Azim Khan didn’t turn up tonight, as he had agreed to do, to explain to the BSACC what was/is the Mosques position and what they would like to see.
A letter written to the Mosque in 2002 from the BSACC was read to the meeting, in it concerns were relayed about how some of the visitors to the mosque abused the parking restrictions and it requested that if only for reasons of safety, users be more considerate to residents that are neighbours to the Mosque. It shows that these are long-term problems that the BSACC has tried unsuccessfully to address in the past.
The law needs to be exercised fairly for everybody - residents parking is for residents, yellow lines are not parking for anybody, pavements are not parking for anybody and causing obstruction by parking on corners is not acceptable.
In the past, a deal was struck with ‘The Range’ by the Police to allow Mosque users to park in their car park and all they had to do was put a small notice in their cars to say they were attending Mosque, but nobody took up the offer. The Chair has contacted the Manager of ‘The Range’ and they are happy to discuss the possibility of this arrangement once again.
Councillor Montaut spoke this week to the Leader of the Council about the parking issues and the need to get the users of the Mosque and the Muslim community to respect the current regulations, and he is quite happy to join the Councillors and BSACC Officers and meet with the Mosque Leaders to discuss this. Nobody is talking about privileges being given to anybody. The Chair, with the meetings approval, said that the BSACC would organise a meeting to include all people concerned, to discuss what has become an intolerable situation.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: No Police were present at the meeting. Apologies were given.

GUEST SPEAKER: Doctor Richard Carter, GP at the Whalebridge Practice, Carfax Street. Dr. Carter thanked everyone for the invitation to speak about the Government named ‘GP led health Centres’ better known as a polyclinics. This new idea has come from one used in Germany where they have clinics that are open between 8am to 8pm - 7 days a week, people would go along and see a Doctor and be told to come back when ever they needed to, when they did go back they would have see another Doctor, which people didn’t like, so they now publish the times each Doctor will be available to be seen, just like GP surgeries operate now! A Health Minister called Lord Darzi is now taking the idea forward, and whilst he is a specialist surgeon, he never actually trained in the UK and has never worked within the NHS, and yet he is the person redesigning General Practice.
The idea behind this is to improve access, which is something that everyone wants when it comes to health care. It would appear that people want greater access when they want it, which seems to be a little bit different from what some Doctors are saying – there should be more access when it is needed
The WB Practice works by saying if anybody needs anything, it’s given, which can be difficult but basically people are offered the first available routine appointment and if they cannot wait until then, they will be fitted in on the day, meaning that on some days they may have more work than on others.
What has been decided is that money will be taken away from every surgery in Swindon and use it to set up a clinic in the centre of the town. The new service will begin on the 1st of April and will be down stairs in the Health Centre in Carfax Street. The Walk in Centre and the Primary Care trusts (PCT) own surgeries are to be amalgamated and it would appear that all of Doctor Shad’s patients are to be amalgamated into it as well.
The Whalebridge Practice has known for a long time this was coming, and over the last year they have tried to find out more information about what is happening. They are also very grateful to some of their patients and residents who have also tried to find out more. Doctor Carter has himself met with the local MP and the Swindon PCT but has managed to get very little concrete information out of them.
With regards to the Whalebridge Practice, they are not planning to leave the centre of Swindon, they envisage staying where they area, although they are aware of plans to relocate the Health Centre to the old Police Station site. They have tried to also talk to the New Swindon Company about this, but they have not been very forthcoming with a time scale or info about this.
They were invited to put in a tender to provide the polyclinic, they told the PCT they would be prepared to open 8am to 8pm - 7 days a week, manned by doctors with support from Nurses, but it was rejected as the PCT has decided to run it with their own staff which will be mainly nurses, this has never been tried before. Doctor Carter is very interested in hearing from anybody that is willing to talk to the PCT and MP’s about putting the case forward to how this project might be expanded in the future, because although it’s too late to do anything about the new service starting on April 1st, if it turns out to be a disaster there could very well be a strong case for the Whalebridge Practice to take it over and improve upon it.
A number of questions were then put to Doctor Carter:
People become comfortable seeing their own Doctor, one of the rumours about Polyclinics has been that you would have to see any Doctor that was available rather than your own Doctor, who knows all of your medical history. If the Whalebridge Practice took over the running of the Polyclinic, would this be the case?
The WB Practice is completely separate from the Walk In Centre, but they have had students and Doctors work with them, who have also worked at the Walk In Centre. They have said that the staff there have found it difficult having to start each patient they see, with a blank sheet of paper. If you are coming to the WB Practice then things will remain the same, but if the surgery is open 8 until 8, 7 days a week it would be very difficult for any individual Doctor to be available for all of these times. This is the difficulty with Polyclinics; you will not be able to see the same Doctor time and time again.
Will the Polyclinic be open to anyone that cannot see a Doctor at their own surgery straight away?
The idea behind this is to improve access for people to see somebody; they will have registered patients from Doctor Shad and the existing Daniel Gooch Practice, which belongs to the PCT and also be available to see anybody from across Swindon either as an emergency or booking ahead and people will also be invited to register there as well. It may work out extremely well and everybody from Swindon wants to go there, flooding the place with patients.
Will a Polyclinic be offering what is basically a GP surgery, or will they be offering a service that you would have originally gone to a Hospital for? If it is going to be so great, could it affect the WB Practice?
It’s about access, if it provides what people want, then it is likely to do very well. But it would seem unlikely that they would be able to provide the sort of service a GP surgery can provide now. You are however not likely to see a GP and whilst there are plenty of other Health Professionals that can do some of the things GPs do, but what has been discovered is that with walk in centres and other practitioners seeing patients, things are being duplicated. The health economics seem to show that a consultation with NHS Direct or at a walk in, costs anything up to £30 per one contact/health issue but with a GP It’s under £25 and they often have more time to deal with more than one problem in the allocated 10 minutes. There is a trend now, that if you go to the hospital they seem to be doing less and less and you will be told to go and see your doctor. This has a knock on effect because access to the surgery is reduced because it is being taking up by people that should have been dealt with elsewhere. When the new building is built, possibly 2013 (old Police Station site) there are grand plans for lots of services to be included, it is unclear exactly what this might be, but a guess would be some sort of Hospital Clinics, for example you would go there for dermatology rather than the hospital.
The WB Practice has been looking at a vacant premises in the Town Centre, upstairs next to Boots, with a view to possibly relocate the Practice there and move away from the new proposed clinic. It would be bigger, offer more services and have better access, but to do this financial resources will be required. Unfortunately it would appear that instead of supporting practices in Swindon, money is being held back and being put into the Polyclinics instead. They would however welcome any comments on this possible move and are seeking permission to explore it further. Residents that were at the meeting and go to the WB Practice felt that it would still be within easy walking distance and had no objections.
. The WB Practice is the longest established surgery in the Town Centre and they try and base the service on what has been provided in that time, i.e. you book an appointment to see the Doctor that you know.
These were Doctor Carter’s own personal opinions and he was not necessarily talking on behalf of the other partners at his Practice, although he felt that most of his partners would agree with what he had said.

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Azim Khan from the Broad Street Mosque was given an invitation at the Tasking Group meeting to attend tonight’s meeting and he agreed to come along and talk about the problems the Mosque users are facing with parking arrangements. Unfortunately despite being reminded about this meeting, Mr. Khan did not turn up and sent no apologies. It was felt that his non-appearance showed a complete disregard to the community as a whole.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Sent
To Breakfast Club, DHI and Threshold Housing informing them of the problems outside St. Luke’s hall, brought up at last months meeting.
Email sent to Breakfast Club, DHI and Threshold Housing informing them of the problems outside St. Luke’s hall brought up at last months meeting. – Action to improve on the problems was taken by these groups and Mrs. Jones reported back to the Tasking Group that things were now much improved.

Received
Thank you reply from Steve Harcourt for the gift and best wishes we sent to him.
SBC Planners are updating the Access for All policy and are looking for people’s thoughts and ideas on inclusive design (Inclusive Design is about making places that everyone can access). Set up an ‘Inclusive Design Access for All’ Workshop – Thurs. 26 Feb. 2009 10 am –12.15 pm. At Haydon Centre – Haydon Wick.
Received the latest ‘regeneration news’ from Carol Heneghan of the New Swindon Company.
Concerning the dog being allowed to run free at the BG Centre, Mr Eamus the dog warden has been spoken to and he will send a letter to the resident concerned, stating that people have been complaining for a while and point out that the dog should be properly looked after when in a public place. Usually this method works - if not Mr Eamus will further investigate and heavily patrol the area - if there is enough evidence a control order can be obtained.
With regards to a dog poo bin, we can have one but in the present climate it’s not very likely. It costs £20K to maintain the bins in the Borough about 300 of them and all are being used at this moment in time. Broadgreen will be put on the waiting list and they will be monitoring the situation.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
S/LBC/08/2392 - Former Paragon Laundry, Aylesbury Street - Partial demolition of buildings and making good of resultant openings, to include new roller shutter door. - Application Pending Consideration
S/09/0117 - 76 Manchester Road - Installation of new shop front - Application Pending Consideration
S/08/2142 - Signal Point, Station Road - Change of use of part of ground floor from office (class B1) and cafe ancillary to the office use to cafe (class A3)/Retail (class A1) - Application Granted
S/LDE/08/2204 - 32 Manchester Road - Lawful Development Certificate (Existing) for the use of dwelling as 2 no. flats - Application Granted

TREASURERS REPORT: There was no treasurers report this month, apologies were sent by the Treasurer. It should be noted that we are still holding £2000 pending the reinstatement of the Broad Street CommunityTrust.

CHAIR REPORT: The Chair welcomed Dan and Helena, Chair and Secretary of the recently formed Eastcott Community Council www.eastcottcc.btik.com
Greatest news probably of the year John Taylor has offered to be Project Manager for the Broadgreen Community Plan.
Have a meeting at the Fire Station with Graham Wellar regarding community working together.
Met with Mark Feeney last Friday to explain how we spent the Community Grant last year.
Met with David Wetherall from Innerflame who are doing empowerment courses for young people.
Lifestyle unit gentle exercise and walking group training?
Attended a ‘Cohesion Masterclass’ on 27/1/09 called ‘How does belonging to a place enhance community cohesion’ it included a presentation by Beverly Taylor from Manchester Council. It was really interesting, with lots of ideas to improve things. There is to be one more Cohesion Masterclass and it is titled ‘semtex or superglue’.
Attended community safety consultation group last Wednesday – thanked Mr Howlett for meeting with us and giving us a dedicated vice officer.
Recently there was a meeting at Drove School about what was believed to be their plans for a Youth Club, but it would seem that they now want to set up a charity-funding group, separate from the school itself. They want people to be on the committee who can look for funding, they will then hold the monies and decide whom to give it out to. The original idea and meeting last year was about providing youth provision and it now seems to be going off at a completely different tangent. Councillor Montaut asked that people looked back to the origins of the project, citing the aftermath of the hammer attack and the need to address the problems as the starting point. Nick Capstick then brought some of the issues together as a project looking to see how best to get funding locally, the scheme now being proposed is considerably larger than he originally anticipated where it was localised issues meeting localised needs, it now incorporates a lot of schools in a much larger catchment area, If it is to work children will need to bussed there and back. He thinks the idea is a sound one if problems and issues of practicality can be sorted out, but he does have reservations although he isn’t opposed to the idea. The Chair felt that at the first meeting last year, the media were fully involved and the problems surrounding the hammer attack and problems in Broadgreen were shamelessly used in the promotion of the ‘good’ Drove School could do. She did not expect to turn up to a meeting that was supposedly held to help with the problems in this area, and find tv cameras there and also reports on the radio and in newspaper. It was also pointed out that at the initial meeting, Nick Capstick did say he wanted a music room and various other things for his school out of this, so he was upfront about things in some way. Nick Capstick has been invited to Skeetz to talk to the young people and see what they want and also to a BSACC meeting to tell us what is going on, but he has never consulted with the young people, which is surely the most important thing to do if you want to provide youth provision, nor come to one of our meetings.
On May 16th we will be holding our annual Broadgreen Community Festival/event. There will be a committee meeting shortly.
We are re-asking if anyone has any music from other cultures and countries that we could add our collection, which is growing.
Swindon Federation of Community Organisations meeting – the Chair has become a trustee to make sure Broadgreen has a fair say - they are holding a conference on 14/2/9 at the Health Hydro, concerning Real People/Real Power.
The Children Fete at Faringdon Rd Park and the Caribbean carnival are taking place once again this year. Anybody wishing to help will be most welcome.
The Tasking meeting on 10/01/09 was attended by John Phillips, who has offered to sit on the group on behalf of the Community Council. Mrs Jones and Pam Freegard also attended – many thanks for that.
Attended SCF last night @ Steam – we-organising the group !!
On Saturday 28/3/09 we are having a Broadgreen Community Engagement morning 10am to midday. There will be a small History project exhibition; the Police will be in attendance with state of the art equipment to survey people on the prostitution problems. We will also be launching some community initiatives – street ambassadors etc. A tabletop sale is also planned to make some money for the Community event on 16th May. Volunteers and bric-a-brac are required.
It is our intention to set up an editorial team. We already have good links and training opportunities with Swindon 105.5 radio and Swindon Advertiser. Volunteer are needed for this.
Community payback – Offenders doing work in the community - can we use any help in community – perhaps re-visit in future.
Bail Hostels on your doorstep – a report from a newspaper. The Government intends to put bail hostels in lots of areas, SN1 being one of them. Councils, the Police and Probation Officers must be told if one is to be set up, but Councils will have no right to refuse planning permission unless they breach planning regulations. This could be of great concern to this area, as we have already fought off the one proposed for the old White House pub site a number of years ago.
The Selecta DNA kits are to be delivered by the Police from the 2nd March and street signage and cctv signs are to be put up along County Road, and the Crime and Safety Partnership are hoping to introduce Neighbourhood Watch into that area.
Race coalition event – The Community Council asked for some tickets but we were refused because the BSACC is not a BME group, despite being in the most diverse area of Swindon! It was requested that Councillor Montaut take to take back to the Council, that the older white people of Broadgreen have become a minority group in the area, and minority groups are not just different colours and cultures. – The Chair asked for permission to highlight this issue as and when it is appropriate.

YOUTH REPORT: There was no report given this month.

COMMUNITY PLAN: John Taylor has volunteered to become the project manager, this will ensure that all the paper work and documents are on the Leader of the Councils desk by the end of October, because it is important that people do not think the work done over the last year is wasted, and to also now engage with all of the people that want to be engaged. A steering group has now been formed with Stella Edwards, Tim French, Karen Leakey, Kevin Leakey, Kay Malko, Peter Newson, John Phillips, Derek Sutton, John Taylor and Ros Timlin forming the group, and a series of meetings will now be held to make use of the work done with Holly Huber over the last year. Councillor Montaut has also agreed to be on the group as a Ward Councillor, giving us a voice within the Council. We will have to work closer with the Council, Police and Fire Service. It will also be important to work with the New Swindon Company because they have got plans for the Union Square development and it is important that we know about them in as much detail and as early as possible. One of the longer-term aims is also for greater traffic control in the wider Broadgreen Area. A scheme is currently running in Carlisle at the moment called ’20 is plenty’ this would be a good phrase to adopt in the Broadgreen Area.
If people were wondering why is all this necessary, John read out a paragraph from a 1983 Thamesdown Council community planning report ‘relating to environmental standards set in other residential areas of the borough, the Broad Street Area has been neglected. An upgrade in the physical environment in combination with other forms of assistance might help the apathetic acceptance of the existing limitations of the area’ He sees no apathy in Broadgreen now, and that is because changes and improvements have been made thanks to the drive of the community council and others. It is very important that we have a strategic plan to guide this area into the future.
The Chair thanked John for coming forward and offering to be the project manager, and asked the community council if the BSACC could use £300 of the bottle bank money to give an initial boost towards room hire and printing etc. It was agreed that £300 should be made available towards the project.

SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT: There are still problems with overgrowing at the County Ground (Stratton Bank). Councillor Montaut said that the last time he got an officer to look at the problem, they said there was not an issue, so they accepted no liability for it.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: In the icy weather, the yellow coloured paving slabs on the street corners become extremely dangerous and slippery but they are not gritted. Councillor Montaut said this was a general problem, the council could be chased up about it, but they are not gritting paths. 7 to 11 shop in Broad Street are still storing fish in ice, in open polystyrene boxes on the floor next to the pavement on Saturdays, this is causing quite a bad smell and the oil etc is leaking out across the path making them slippery, it has also been witnessed that dogs are sniffing around the boxes. It is understood that food like this has to be stored at least 18” off of the floor. – Richard Palacio has dealt with this once before, he will be contacted again.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: Had previously been asked to see if the old S4L office could be used by the BSACC but it is going to be used by a community development worker. Chris Hunt and the Leader of the Council Rod Bluh are aware of the need for an office. It was identified that a buildings list is available for voluntary action of Swindon and we have been put on a community assets list for when facilities do come up, so it is now on the agenda and things are being discussed.
Connecting People Connecting Places, Central Swindon and Eastcott will be in one cluster. Little is known yet about how it is going to work, but a lot of people have applied for the Cluster Director jobs, it will be a 2 day per week job, where all the problems in an area can be sorted out without councillors having to do anything!! Councillor Montaut is involved in the appointment panel for the Director jobs and the interviews will take 3 days. If there were meaningful engagement and empowerment to people, then Councillor Montaut would be prepared to go and sell it to communities.
It is probable that the Park and Ride scheme is going to be closed after the Council Budget, the impact this could have on this community is of concern, because it could mean hundreds of extra cars driving through this area daily, which would have quite an environmental impact. Councillor Montaut believes that as some of the bus services to new housing estates are already subsidised by 106 monies, could the Park and Ride not also be subsidised in the same way? What he has established is that there are £millions in the 106 pot, so at the next council meeting he will ask what is the total amount of 106 money, what has been identified at an expenditure level and how much has been identified to go to the Central Area?

B.O.N.D:There was no report given this month, apologies were given.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Problem with the old Scorpion Garage site in Station Road has started again. It has become a valeting service, the cars are being cleaned inside the building but are taken into the road for the outside to be washed. In the recent cold weather the water is turning to ice, making the road and paths very dangerous to use. The cars are also being parked in residents parking spaces.
The shop on the corner of Lagos and Corporation and Lagos Street has damaged guttering and when it rains, water pours over pedestrians.
With regards to the S4L area and Community Garden, John Freegard met with Gary Hewitt and passed on some of the outstanding problems to him, unfinished paving, unfinished fencing and cars parking or driving on the new garden. With regards to the paving, there have been sub-contractors working for Thames Water and they have not finished the stonework properly nor put back the double yellow lines.
The fencing is finished, open as it is, allowing dogs to wander around the play area.
The sand laid down in the garden is going to blow everywhere in the summer, and already children are digging it up! Apparently it has been put down to allow water to soak down to the tree roots. Last week a car was even driven around the trees.
John Taylor suggested that the Community Garden could be designated as a memorial to both Les Horn and Matt McCue, with an official opening on the Cohesion Day by the Mayor if possible, with plaques placed upon the benches. The meeting approved it.
The hedge in Gladstone Street along side the education centre has still not been cut
Dan from the Eastcott Community Council thanked us for allowing them to attend our meeting, they learnt a lot about what we are doing here and it was interesting to see both areas have similar issues and they were very interested in the 20 is plenty idea, which is something that could also be done in their area. They hoped they would be able to come to another meeting and learn some more.

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 04 March 2009 Meeting closed at 9.35 pm.

MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 7th JANUARY 2009

2009-02-10T16:23:00.002Z

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary Kevin Leakey, Stella Edwards, John and Pam Freegard, Tim French, Brian Jones, Kath Jones, Rebecca McIntosh, Derek Sutton, Ros Timlin.

ALSO PRESENT: PC Sophia McIntyre Vice Officer, John Taylor, Councillor Derique Montaut, and Nazma Ramruttun BOND representative.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Minute Secretary John Phillips, John Banville, John and Vi Clark, Celia Cotton, Karen Coulthard, Kath Cridland, Elizabeth Grady, Olive Hitchcock, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford and Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Sue Osbaldstone, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Val Purvis, Madge Sutton. PC Paul Crouch, PCSO’s Stuart Bird and Rees Turner.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 3rd December 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by Stella Edwards.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE DECEMBER MINUTES: PC McIntyre said that the reason our PCSO’s did not always attend our monthly meetings, was because they were often working day shifts and therefore could not attend an evening meeting.
Apologies were given to Derek Sutton who appeared on the minutes as present at the December meeting and also as absent. Derek was not at the meeting but had given his apologies.
The meeting between Karen, Richard and the Borough Solicitor Stephen Taylor concerning planning issues resulted in the problem being handed over to the Police Fraud Dept. Richard had not heard anything, but it was probably low priority. PC McIntyre said if we did not hear back soon, then let her or PC Crouch know and they would find out what was happening.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT:
· Although there was no representation from our Community Police Team as they were working a day shift, Vice Liaison Officer PC Sophia McIntyre kindly offered to take back any community problems to the BG Police Team.
· Operation Dobbin, which is concerned with prostitution in Swindon, continued with a covert operation on the 9 and 10 December 2008, carried out by Officers in plain clothes. The number plate recognition and drugs teams were also involved. A number of prostitutes were arrested and kerb crawlers issued with Anti Social Behaviour Contracts. There have also been a lot of positive results concerning traffic in the area with 3 vehicles seized, this could have been because the driver had no insurance and if that was the case the vehicle would have been immediately seized and held until such time as the driver produced valid insurance to drive it. Letters have been issued to vehicle owners seen driving around the area 3 times in a short space of time, they were warned that the Police suspected they were kerb crawling, it was not acceptable, would not be tolerated and people will be named and shamed if taken to court and convicted etc. To obtain a conviction lots of evidence needs to be gathered.
· With regards to communication with Residents and the Press to let them know how Op. Dobbin is progressing, a communication strategy was now being formed.
· A questionnaire was also being devised concerning prostitution problems, which will be put out to the Community. This will take the form of a touch screen questionnaire of around 10 questions and will be placed in an area that most residents are able to access it. People answering the questions will be able to leave their contact details if they want to be contacted and discuss things further, or remain anonymous if they wish to do so.
· There will be lots of high visibility patrols during January and February, as well as covert operations right through until June. Since Christmas there has been a slight increase in the prostitutes in the area, this was probably due to Xmas debts! But will be robustly tackled.

A couple of questions were then asked:
· Can the prostitutes that are on drugs not be moved away from Swindon for 3 months rehabilitation, so they are completely away from the chaotic life they lead and people they mix with?
· This was happening, although in one recent example a girl under 18 years old was moved up north to
· rehabilitate and through hard work by drugs workers she detoxed herself, but after her 3 months there, she made the decision to leave and was re-housed away from Swindon. Unfortunately she was now back in Swindon and associating with the same people as she was before she went away.
· Last month PC McIntyre was going to visit a kerb crawler’s rehabilitation course, how did it go?
A day was spent in Bristol, where 10 men who had been caught and cautioned for kerb crawling were undertaking the course, they all had different reasons why they had been kerb crawling. It was extremely effective and the men had to face up to what they had done and the possible consequences by seeing pictures of prostitutes for example with bleeding mouths and ulcers and being told about the diseases and illnesses that effect drug addicts and prostitutes and how they could pass them on to their partners and children. Although most of the men were aware that prostitutes were involved with drugs, they didn’t really know much about it and most were shocked about the diseases they could be carrying and the effects it could have on their own families.
They also had to role-play by pretending to be the closest female in their life, which could be their wife, partner, mother, sister etc. and how that female might feel if they found out what they had been doing.
It was hoped that a course might be started in Wiltshire later this year, although help may be needed as to where it may be located.
One of the residents informed the Police that a prostitute had recently approached him at 1.30 in the afternoon. PC McIntyre said those sort of things needed to be reported to her, the Police Team or Karen so intelligence could be collated. The Police should have a direct phone number later this week, which will be connected to an answer phone when no one is there. It is important to give as best a description of the prostitute as possible because it is likely that the Police will know who is being described.

A number of community issues were then put to PC McIntyre:
· There are still problems with the breakfast and luncheon clubs being held at St. Luke’s, it had been witnessed on numerous occasions that, although the area was a no drinking zone and alcohol was banned from being taken into St. Luke’s, which the Breakfast club was aware of, drinkers using these facilities were simply leaving their cans outside and collecting them after they had had their food. Noisy behaviour was also continuing, and so was spitting on the pavement along with cigarette ends and empty beer cans being discarded on to the pavement and over the new gate at St. Luke’s. It was felt that there should be a notice on the door of the hall reminding ‘clients’ that it is an alcohol free zone.
· Cycling on the pavement and Whale Bridge underpass, as well as cycling at night without lights was a continuing problem. It was suggested that ‘no cycling on the pavement’ signs could be put up. It would then at least give people the opportunity to point out to the offenders that they were breaking the law. Councillor Montaut was asked if this was something the Council could do? He felt that residents often saw signs as a way of resolving issues, the Council could be approached on this issue, but there was no clear evidence to show that signs deter people and the Councillor was not convinced that it would, but did suggest taking it forward to the next Tasking Meeting for discussion with people who may have solutions to this problem. If people still wanted signs then he would pursue the matter.
· At the Corporation Street end of Broad Street, cars were being parked on the pavement, causing an obstruction to people with prams and in wheelchairs.
· People are having problems crossing Broad Street because of speeding traffic and not being able to see properly due to parked cars. At one time there was going to be a proper crossing. It was pointed out that at one time some of the Streets for Living project ‘gateways’ were going to be moved into Broad Street, which would reduce the speed of traffic, but it never happened. John Taylor said the ‘gateways’ were still a live subject. The Chair pointed out that things like this could be put in to the Community Plan, which is why it’s very important that residents participate. If the residents don’t take the lead and say what they want, then other people will. The community needs to take this forward.
· Back alleys and the curtilage in front of garages were still being used as toilets. Despite using his garage to park his car, one resident had been told on more than one occasion to put a fence across his property to stop it being used as a toilet!
· There was a big noisy argument in Broad Street recently between two prostitutes who were using very bad language; during the argument, one of them also threw an orange recycling box at a resident’s window. The Police were called and attended the incident.
· PC McIntyre assured the meeting that these issues would be passed on to the Broadgreen Police Team and also the cycling problems to the Town Centre Police Team.

GUEST SPEAKER: None this month

CORRESPONDENCE: Letter received from Steve Harcourt, Director of Environment and Street Scene at SBC, to inform the BSACC that he is taking early retirement from the Council. He said “I have enjoyed working with you and your colleagues on the Broad Street Community Council over the last few years and wish you all the best for the future”.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

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 Refused

S/08/2109 - 133 to 134 Manchester Road (Cash and Carry) - Change of use from Residential to Retail (Class A1) - Application Refused

With regards to the 133-134 Manchester Road application refusal, Councillor Montaut said that he had raised the problems of anti-social behaviour at the property and residents’ objections with planning officers and also that other sections of this community had expressed concerns and objections to the application. Despite the actual preferred usage as continued use of the flat as a private club, the application was very specific to conversion into retail usage, and as such that was all that the Planning Department could look at.
Discussions had taken place between the applicant and Planning Department and Councillor Montaut had suggested that a way to resolve this might be to curtail the hours of operation, the officers agreed but also felt that the disabled access was not adequate and on the grounds of this, the application was refused. If the access problem is resolved then a new application could be applied for, at which point the operating hours could be looked at.
Enforcement had told the people at the ‘club’ that they could not continue to operate this and if they did then the matter would have to be taken further.

The Planning Dept. will be invited to a future meeting to give them the opportunity to explain some of the difficulties within planning laws.

TREASURERS REPORT: There will shortly be a quarterly room hire charge of £42 to pay.

Note, £2000 is being held pending the reinstatement of the Broadgreen Trust. £300 is
Cohesion Event monies and £600 is bottle bank monies.

Acceptance of Treasures report proposed by Derek Sutton and seconded by John Freegard.

CHAIR REPORT:
· Karen attended the New Swindon Companies forum on the 10th December and also visited the Parks Community Shop on the 13th. The shop was very impressive and was something that we had thought would be a good idea for the Broadgreen Area for a long time now. She has also met with Fran Pound from the Lifestyle Centre and they discussed the possibility of holding Tai-Chi sessions, training so we could do our own walks with groups of residents, and learning how to do armchair exercises.
· Karen and Kevin were both on community radio for an hour last week (Swindon105.5) thanks to John Taylor’s ‘Swindon Voices’, Shirley Ludford offered free radio training for residents and Karen is also going to talk to the young people that attend Skeetz to see if some of them might be interested. The BSACC would pay for the room hire and it would be organised through John.
· A part of the Adver website is given over to different neighbourhood news, we now have a Broadgreen page and Karen would like to put together a small team that could gather Broadgreen news and publish it online. Ros said she was interested and one of the young people from Skeetz had also shown an interest.
· With regards to the Community Plan, we really need a project manager for this, rather than it being led by the Council and funding is actively being sought. A reminder to all who agreed to be on the Broadgreen Community Plan Steering Committee, (Stella Edwards, Tim French, Karen Leakey, Kevin Leakey, Kay Malko, Peter Newson, John Phillips, Derek Sutton, John Taylor, Ros Timlin) the next committee meeting will be on the 28th January between 6.30 and 7.30 pm in the Lounge at the Broadgreen Centre.
· A meeting is to be held on 30th January with Mark Feeney concerning our community grant for 2007/8.
· One resident in Salisbury Street has suggested that it might be a good idea to see if bird tables could be put up at the Broadgreen Centre, they would have to be cat proof though! We will make enquiries with the Council.
· The Swindon Federation of Community Organisations (SFCO) of which the BSACC is a member and the Chair is a Committee Member and Trustee, are going to be organising a meeting for Swindon residents interested in the Councils ‘Connecting People Connecting Places’ document.
· Thank you letters and gifts were given to the caretakers at the Broadgreen Centre and Wendy the street cleaner; in appreciation for the hard work they have done and help they have given over the past year. Derek Sutton wanted it to be noted that Wendy does a marvellous job despite suffering with some health issues and he is very proud that we have her here, working as hard as she does to keep the area clean and tidy; this was fully backed up by the meeting.
· Last year was a hard one for the BSACC a lot of time was spent dealing with major problems in the area and whilst nitty gritty problems would continue to be tackled, it would be the aim this coming year to further expand our engagement with the Broadgreen Community.

YOUTH REPORT: None.

HISTORY PROJECT REPORT:
· John thanked Karen and Kevin for their recent contribution to ‘Swindon Voices’ on Community Radio 105.5 and said that it is not only on at 4pm every Tuesday, but it will now also be repeated on a Sunday morning at 9 am. So far 11 interviews have been aired and this will be developed throughout 2009, building up an oral history of peoples experiences and history of the area.
· Drove School’s year 5 students have started their history of Broadgreen street names and it may be expanded to, for example, to St. Josephs where older students may be able to research it to a greater depth, John will approach them shortly.
· It is hoped that a small exhibition of old photo’s and documents etc that have been collected so far, will take place at the end of January or February. Councillor Montaut said it might also be possible to put on a small display in the foyer at the Civic Offices.
· Kevin thanked Ros for the loan of her house documents that have now been copied to disk and asked if anybody else had any photo’s, documents, press cuttings or Broadgreen history then please bring them along to a future meeting because we now have the facilities to scan them into a computer.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: The installation of 6 Neighbourhood Watch signs at the south end of Salisbury and Graham Streets by the Council have now been completed. It was hoped that other residents might also start their own schemes.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT:
· Appeal to planning application by DHI in Maxwell Street. Despite objections by residents and submissions made by Ward Members, the objections failed and the appeal was upheld. The residents are very angry and feel the Council has ignored them and they want the decision challenged in the High Court.
· ‘Connecting People Connecting Places’ (CP2) the Directors to each area will soon be appointed but how it will operate is uncertain. Councillor Montaut is on the appointments panel and he will be looking very closely at the Directors that are going to be appointed to this area. How CP2 will operate has not yet been debated but it might be easier dealing with problems having only one head, although he was not totally convinced that there are the resources and the time to do it.
· Parking has been raised in the media about parking enforcement and the Mosque. It was probably picked up through minutes of these meetings and will hit the press in the next few days.
· There was a wider issue that concerned the Councillor, the BSACC described 2008 as a hard year but he described it as a successful year. The Chair said that what was meant by ‘hard year’ was the fact that we dealt with a lot of the hard problems that haven’t been dealt with before, achieved by getting the right people around the table. Now those people who can help with the bigger issues are at the table, we can look to engage closer with even more people in the community. In reply, Councillor Montaut told the meeting – “What you have got to recognise is it’s been a hard year, there’s been conflicts which are inevitable with people coming from different areas but the end result is there is a general recognition that this is the area that needs to be looked at as a model for other areas and when this is being said then we must be doing something right”. And also that he had “expressed the views by some community leaders because of the wide diversity of positions, that sometimes heads have got to be knocked together to make progress forward, in the interests of this community you cannot have personalities, cannot have conflict and part of the reason is if you are going to make this a good place to live, work and play in, in the end, and you are all doing some sterling work in your own area, then people like myself have got to facilitate it, but it’s very much you driving it through that’s making the successes in this area and we don’t want to stifle that enthusiasm in any way”.

· There have been a series of high-level Police meetings (GOLD meetings) over the last year that both Cllr. Montaut and the Chair have attended; which has led the councillor to believe that many of the problems, not necessarily in this area (Broadgreen) but outside of it, all stem from the Broadgreen area. There are some underlying problems in this area and to tackle this, at a GOLD meeting this week, the Police said they were going to set up community engagement with community leaders and SBC, before something serious happened. Cllr. Montaut said he was having problems defining who the leaders were within this community as often when he thought they had been identified they were no longer leaders or there had been divisions within communities. We could ignore these issues as problems that were happening, but there were major problems happening, sometimes out of this area, for example the hammer attack. Some of the major problems that were taking place outside this area only became known about because of information fed back from within this community (Broadgreen). He didn’t want to see any major incidents in this area and would like to see people contributing to stop this from happening; we all have a part to play in this.
The Chair pointed out that at a GOLD meeting last year she had suggested that a leaders type meeting was needed, where all could get around the table and it had still not happened and that all leaders had been invited to the Community Council meetings. With regards to the GOLD meeting this week when only 2 people turned up, including Councillor Montaut, neither the Chair nor Nazma (Asian Women Assoc) had been invited to attend. The councillor said he didn’t see all sections of the community sitting here and didn’t often see them coming and that’s not because there hadn’t been an attempt. The Chair said that as this was a residents association and many of the leaders did not live in this area, they might feel it was not appropriate for them. Invitations had been extended to people from the Mosque for example, and they didn’t seem to want to engage by coming to the meetings.
Cllr. Montaut was then asked exactly what the problems were that allegedly stemmed from this area? He didn’t want to be too specific, but said there were a wide range of issues. It was then put to him, that on one hand we (residents) needed to be aware and involved, but how could we if we were not made aware of the problems in the first place. It was felt more detailed information was needed to enable people to work with him on this. Cllr. Montaut said that he couldn’t be more specific because he had to sign indemnity forms to secrecy for the GOLD meetings because of the sensitivity of the issues and for when things go through the legal process. He asked that we take his word that when these incidents had taken place and community leaders called around the table, all the details were presented to them and fully examined and those major issues with a criminal aspect that had taken place outside of the Broadgreen Area, have their roots in this area and been carried out by people coming from here.

BOND: Nazma thanked the meeting for having her there and thought it was a step forward for the BOND and the BSACC to work together and she felt ok being at the meeting. The BOND is planning an event but as yet the date cannot be confirmed, but should be on the 28th February. It will be similar to a multi-cultural time with everybody participating. Karen, Stella and Pam are helping, which is great. Confirmation of the entertainment etc is still awaited.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Dogs using the green at the Broadgreen Centre, it was asked of Cllr. Montaut if it was Council policy to allow areas where children play, to be opened to dogs? Because it has been noted that at Spring Gardens rec. the fences have been removed and there are two sections of the Broadgreen Centre fence that has been uncompleted, both allowing dogs to run freely where children play. A resident approached the owner of an Alsatian that was running about in the Broadgreen Centre, and pointed out that it was a children’s play area and he was told by the dog owner that he had permission to be there. Karen said that the dog warden regularly patrols the area and hopefully once we talk to Gwillam the fence can be joined up and a dog bin put in place.

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 04 February 2009 Meeting closed at 9.20 pm.

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

2009-01-08T10:35:00.003Z

PRESENT: Chair Karen Leakey, Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary Kevin Leakey, Minute Secretary John Phillips, Stella Edwards, John and Pam Freegard, Tim French, Kate Johnson, Alan Jones, Cluniford Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Sue Osbaldstone, Val Purvis, Ros Timlin, David Webb.

ALSO PRESENT: PC Sophia McIntyre Vice Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Capstick. Patrick Chaney - Steam Ahead Credit Union, John Taylor.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: John Banville, John and Vi Clark, Celia Cotton, Karen Coulthard, Elizabeth Grady, Olive Hitchcock, Kate Johnson, Evelyn Mason, Pam Montgomery, Mike and Lindsay Ponting, Derek and Madge Sutton.

CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 5th November 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record. Proposed Pam Freegard and seconded by John Phillips.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE SEPTEMBER MINUTES: The fence around the Broadgreen Centre has still not been joined up. The hedge on the Gladstone Street side of the Broadgreen Centre has still not been trimmed back.

COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: Although there was no representation from our Community Police Team, Vice Liaison Officer PC Sophia McIntyre brought along her colleague DCI Kevin Capstick who is also involved in Operation Dobbin, which targets prostitution problems.
Around 20 successful operations have been carried out using Police Officers in plain clothes, not only targeting both prostitutes and kerb crawlers but also looking at the wider issues such as drugs and housing by offering help there and then from drug workers and other agencies in an effort to break the cycle they find themselves in. Prostitutes will not change their lifestyle overnight but a high proportion of them are now talking to various agencies.
Prostitutes are still being arrested and ASBO’s are being built up against them, if they break them then they will be put up in front of a judge and could be given a 5-year custodial sentence. An Anti Social Behaviour Contract has also been issued to a kerb crawler, he signed it and agreed not to approach prostitutes or drive around a set area (a map was issued to him). If he is caught again within the next 12 months, he will be taken to court and if convicted his name will appear in the Adver (it is not known if he is a Swindon resident). During these operations, warnings have been given out for possession of cannabis on the streets, cars and weapons have been seized, 1 driver had no insurance and a Police officer was also assaulted.
Concern was shown from a number of residents about a recent Adver report when they said that there were 30 prostitutes working in Swindon. PC McIntyre informed the meeting that over the 2 evenings of the operation around 15 prostitutes had been spoken to and only a couple had been seen on both nights. Some are regularly working but others only do the occasional night for some extra money. Back in the 1980’s and 90’s there were 30 plus prostitutes working here, many of them from outside of the town.
It was pointed out that whenever the Adver run a story about prostitution, they seem to sensationalise the problem and it encourages more people to come to this area, often just to look. PC McIntyre said that it was difficult to do without the press as successes needed to be shown and a clear message given out that if you come here as a kerb crawler or prostitute, then there will be consequences to your actions.
With regards to the sentences handed out by magistrates, it was the general feeling that more often than not a slap on the wrist was all that was given out, Karen said that at a recent Neighbourhood Tasking meeting a magistrate indicated that what may happen soon is that prostitutes will see the same magistrate every time they are in court which may then see tougher sentences being handed out.
Other towns run a course for kerb crawlers, which they have to pay £200 to go on. This addresses their behaviour and looks at the effects it has on their health, their families and on the neighbourhoods they drive around. It has been very successful in the places that offer this service and there is a re-offend rate as low as 1%. PC McIntyre is going to visit one of these courses on the 13th December, to see if it could work here.

GUEST SPEAKER: Patrick Chaney Secretary of the Steam Ahead Credit Union based at Cavendish Square - www.swindoncreditunions.co.uk.
The Steam Ahead Credit Union is one of two in Swindon, the other being based in Clive Parade, Cricklade Road, which serves the north side of Swindon the split being the railway line. At one time there were seven in Swindon.
Steam Ahead has been going for 15 years has around 600 members and now covers an area beyond Parks and Walcot that extends to Bishopstone and Wanborough.
Credit Unions are Co-operatives owned and run by it’s members, with a Board of Directors who have to be approved by, and are regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
To join all you need is £1 and two forms of ID, then you can start saving as little or as much as you like, up to an upper limit of £5000. After saving for 13 weeks you can then apply for a low cost loan (@1% interest per month), up to twice as much as you have saved.
Although you do not get interest on the money you invest, members receive a yearly dividend from the profits of up to 8% of the amount they have saved.
There is no age limit on savers, but under 18’s do not have voting rights nor can they take out a loan.
If we want to set up a collection point from the Broadgreen Area, three people need to volunteer and be trained to deal with money and people. Val, Karen and Kevin said they would be interested in doing this.

CORRESPONDENCE:

· Should fires in town centre use smokeless fuels?
Reply: No part of the Borough of Swindon is a ‘smokeless zone’; so there is no absolute restriction on the use of standard coal or wood in fireplaces. www.swindon.gov.uk/streetsmart-bonfirenuisance
· Sent back Charities commission annual return form.
· Contacted Father Leslie for a second time, to see if we can use £2k for community garden and what progress has been made with Trust –
Reply: Thanks for your message. As I mentioned to you in an earlier email, I am at present in contact with the Charity Commissioners regarding the Trust, but I cannot speed up their responses, so I am not yet in a position to answer your letter, and I don't think I can answer all your questions without getting the position of the Trust sorted out first.
You will of course understand that this is an ongoing matter between the Trustees and the Charity Commissioners and, not wishing to offend you, you are not a Trustee. So therefore you will appreciate my dealings will be with them first, but hopefully soon I shall be able to let you know the outcome.
· 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 and have dog bin?
Reply: There are 350 dog bins in use in Swindon It is not installing the bins that are the problem – it is maintaining them. If there is enough evidence we can go on a waiting list – so when a bin becomes redundant or very little used SBC will re-install elsewhere.
The Dog Warden has stepped up patrols in the area, especially the Broad St area. Signs can be put up, and are being looked into.
· Why are the fence panels not completed around Broadgreen Centre? Still awaiting a meeting with Gwillam Lloyd.
· Thank you letter to PC O’Sulllivan – see Chair report.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS
· S/08/1862 - Aylesbury House 10 - 11 Haydon Street Conversion and extension of building to provide 6 flats (Variation to Planning Permission S/06/0588) - Application Granted
· S/08/1966 76 - Manchester Road - Installation of new shop front and external staircase. Application Pending Consideration
· S/08/1623 - 2 Marsh Farm Cottages Shrivenham Road- Erection of a first floor rear extension. - Application Pending Consideration
· S/08/2058 – Tescos Ocotal Way - Erection of entrance lobby. (Amendments to approved planning application - Application Granted

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.

Acceptance of Treasures report proposed by Val Purvis and seconded by Stella Edwards.

CHAIR REPORT:
PC O’Sullivan has left the Broadgreen Police Team and is now working in the targeted crime department. A letter of appreciation has been sent to him for the work that he has done in this area over the last two years. Without his input the area would be in a far worse state than what it is today. We now have a new Police Officer – PC Champion.
Karen is now a committee member and Trustee of the Swindon Federation of Community Organisations (SFCO) The Community Council is a member of SFCO.
Fran Pound from the lifestyle Centre has funding available for adults to become more physically active, the Chair has a meeting with her to see what might be organised in this area.
An application for a Community Grant has been submitted to the Council, this is the yearly grant we apply for, to continue our monthly meetings, cover insurance and our running costs.
The Govt. Inspectors report for the Central Area Action Plan has now been published. Apart from a small number of minor changes, the CAAP is ‘sound’ and awaits adoption by the Council. The inspectors report can be viewed online at www.swindon.gov.uk/swindon_caap_report_20_november_2008.pdf
Drove School are continuing with their youth facilities plan, the Chair is still very concerned that it could have a detrimental effect on youth provision in the Broadgreen area.
A newsletter, updating people about Drove Schools Community Cohesion was sent to the Chair. Karen voiced a couple of queries via email, both requesting the basis/source of information used in examples in the newsletter concerning (1) the threat of Islamic extremism in the Broadgreen Area and the fact that it needed reducing or eliminating (2) Drove young people's living arrangements, where most of whom – ‘live in multiple occupancy without gardens'
Skeetz is moving forward and has new members who are from a variety of cultures. PC Sheik recently paid a visit and was impressed at the difference he witnessed.
Following a meeting between the BSACC officers about an approach made to the Vice-Chair by a local developer concerning planning issues, it was decided that it was a serious matter that could put both the BSACC and SBC in a compromising position, so a letter was sent to the Borough Solicitor informing him of the situation. The Borough Solicitor has requested a meeting with both the Chair and Vice-Chair and they will be meeting him tomorrow (04 Dec. 2008)
The Cohesion Day 2009 will go ahead if people still want one, but a change of name may be a good idea. A number of ideas were put forward including – Broadgreen Knees Up, BG Family Day and BG Multi-Cultural Family Day. A meeting will be arranged for committee members in the early part of 2009.

YOUTH REPORT: None.

HISTORY PROJECT REPORT: Ros has loaned documents of her house to be scanned and stored for the history project. If anyone else has old documents, photo’s, press cuttings or stories connected with the Broadgreen Area then please bring them along to the monthly meetings to be copied. It is not the intention to keep your precious things, just to copy them for future use.
Swindon radio 105.5, run a weekly slot called Swindon Voices. The BSACC has a slot on Tuesdays at 4pm and so far, for this slot, John Taylor has interviewed Cluniford, John, Rebecca and Stella to name but a few, all who have talked about the Broadgreen Area.
After Christmas the Adver will be contacted to appeal for peoples help in documenting the history of this area by sharing their documents and photo’s etc.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: The south end of Salisbury and Graham Streets are still awaiting the installation of their Neighbourhood Watch signs by the Council. A successful street party organised by a number of residents funded the signs.

WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT: No Councillors were in attendance.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS: There is a forum meeting with the New Swindon Company at Wiltshire Court on the 10th December. Carol Heneghan from the NSC will be attending the Tasking Meetings from now on. Tasking Meeting minutes can be viewed at www.broadgreen.squarespace.com
Nothing is expected to happen to the Carfax St.Health Centre until 2013 because of the credit crunch.
With regards to planning application decisions being flouted, in the last 9 years or so SBC have only issued 2 stop notices!
The new Jury’s Inn being built on the old Walker Jackson site in Princes St./Fleming Way seems to be very overbearing on the properties in Medgbury Road. Concerns were made that it may be higher than it has planning permission for.
The BG Police Team don’t seem to be in their office at the times advertised for their drop in surgeries. They have also not attended our monthly meetings for some time.
113 Broad Street is boarded up but people have been seen going in and out of the back gate, although it is unclear if they are actually entering the house.
Don’t forget the Xmas meal tomorrow! (04 Dec 2008)

Meeting closed at 9.30 pm. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 07 January 2009

AGENDA - BSACC monthly meeting 07 January 2009

2009-01-05T20:01:00.002Z

WEDNESDAY 07 JANUARY 2009
7.30 PM in the LOUNGE, BROADGREEN CENTRE, SALISBURY STREET.

All Broadgreen Residents are more than welcome to come along, join in and bring any problems connected with the area to the meeting.

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: None this month
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
17. Next Meeting: Wednesday 04 February 2009

THE NEW SWINDON COMPANY, UNION SQUARE and the BSACC

2008-12-11T15:40:00.005Z

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

2008-12-11T14:34:00.004Z

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

2008-12-11T13:51:00.011Z

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

2008-12-06T20:29:00.001Z

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

2008-12-01T16:16:00.002Z

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

2008-11-10T19:38:00.001Z

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

2008-10-28T22:02:00.010Z

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

2008-10-28T09:10:00.000Z

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.

2008-10-15T21:38:00.007+01:00

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

2008-10-03T10:35:00.000+01:00

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

2008-10-02T22:40:00.002+01:00

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

2008-09-24T18:19:00.002+01:00

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.

2008-09-24T17:16:00.005+01:00

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

2008-09-24T17:03:00.001+01:00

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

2008-09-21T20:48:00.001+01:00

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

2008-09-05T16:01:00.000+01:00

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