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

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.