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.
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