Agenda and minutes

Plympton Area Committee - Monday 11 January 2010 6.00 pm

Venue: St Mary's Church Hall, Plympton, Plymouth PL7 1QW

Contact: Helen Rickman, Democratic Support Officer  Email: helen.rickman@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

37.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

Minutes:

The following declarations of interest were made in accordance with the Code of Conduct in relation to items under discussion at this meeting –

 

Name

Minute No. and Subject

Reason

Interest

Councillor Mrs. Beer

40 - Policing Issues

Employee of Devon and

Cornwall Constabulary.

Personal

Mr. Street

40 - Policing Issues

 

Retired Police Officer.

 

Personal

 

38.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 17 KB

The Committee will be asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2009.

 

Please note any questions relating to these minutes can be asked under question time for members of the public.

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2009, be confirmed as a correct record.

39.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

Minutes:

The Chair informed the Committee that item 9, Rees Youth Centre, was to be deferred to the next meeting as the representative due to give a verbal update was unable to attend due to  a back injury.

40.

POLICING ISSUES

A representative from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will report on any relevant issues.

Minutes:

Inspector Fitzpatrick was in attendance to report on behalf of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. 

 

The Committee was advised that –

 

(i)

overall crime between April 09 and December 09 was down by 6.6% in Chaddlewood and Plympton St Maurice;

 

(ii)

there was a 3.8% reduction of Anti Social Behaviour in Plympton;

 

(iii)

an individual had been arrested for the recent burglary of the Conservative Club and had been found guilty in court; a 12 month suspended sentence had been passed with 200 hours community service and an order to pay back a total of £7000;

 

(iv)

a web wise project was held on 7 December 2010 in the Ridgeway in order to help silver surfers access computers; the Co-op provided free tea, coffee and cakes and a good time was had by all;

 

(v)

the Diversity Officer had attended a local school to educate children on diversity issues;

 

(vi)

there was due to be a ‘Stay Safe’ project held in Harewood House on 14 January 2010 at 7pm;

 

(vii)

the next PACT meetings were due to be held on the followings dates:

 

Plympton St Maurice – 3 February 2010 – 7.30pm

Colebrook and Newnham – 10 February 2010 – Community Centre

Woodford – 24 February 2010 – 7pm – Woodford Junior School

 

(viii)

the next round of mobile surgery meetings were due to be held on the 2 February 2010 at the following times:

 

Plympton Area – Greenway Avenue – 10am

Colebrook and Newnham Car park – 11am

Chaddlewood shops – 12pm

St Maurice road – 3pm

 

In response to questions raised it was reported that –

 

(ix)

Inspector Fitzpatrick would contact the probation service in order to establish if the 200 hours community service hours regarding the individual who broke into the Conservative Club, could be carried out in Plympton;

 

(x)

crime figures would continue to be reported to the Committee;

 

Resolved that Inspector Fitzpatrick be thanked for his attendance.

41.

COUNCIL PRIORITIES REVIEW pdf icon PDF 275 KB

The Head of Policy, Performance and Partnerships will give a presentation on the review of Council priorities.

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Learner and Family Support gave an interactive presentation on the review of Council priorities. Members of the Committee were informed that –

 

(i)

the purpose of the presentation was to help establish the priorities for the Council over the forthcoming financial year;

 

 (ii)

at present Plymouth City Council had over 300 different services and that most of these operated well, however, there are other areas that need some direction to improve their service. These areas were called Corporate Improvement Priorities (CIP’s) and were contained within the Corporate Plan;

 

(iii)

the CIP’s were changed on an annual basis and were formed from feedback gathered throughout the year via surveys, customer comments and complaints and information gathering in forums such as Area Committees.

 

Members of the Committee and members of the public were then asked to indicate, via an interactive voting system, if the Council should do more, keep it up or do the less within nine key areas identified by the Council which it believes are most relevant to customers. The results are attached as an annex to these minutes.

 

During the exercise the Panel raised concerns that the questions in the interactive presentation had a breadth of definition and therefore could not be answered accurately; the questions also did not distinguish between Plymouth and Plympton which could have altered the individuals’ response.

 

The Assistant Director for Learner and Family Support was thanked for her attendance.

42.

LOCALITIES pdf icon PDF 539 KB

The Committee will be provided with the Customers and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel’s Localities Task and Finish Group report for their information.

Minutes:

The Committee was provided with the final report from the Customers and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel’s ‘Localities Task and Finish Group’ that was submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 2 December 2009.

 

Concerns were raised that the key findings in the report did not apply to Plympton, specifically with regards to the statement that ’Area Committees were not working effectively’.

 

Members informed the Committee that –

 

(i)

the outcome of the task and finish group highlighted that better communication was needed at neighbourhood level;

 

(ii)

the Localities report was due to go to Cabinet on 19 January 2010;

 

(iii)

a questionnaire concerning locality working had been circulated to all Area Committee Chairs;

 

(iv)

locality working aimed to bring the Council and its partners to one forum;

 

(v)

the boundaries of Plympton would not change;

 

(vi)

it was important that members of the public who attended area committee meetings should have the right to speak and raise concerns;

 

Resolved that the report be noted.

43.

TRANSPORT ISSUES

The Corporate Director for Development will report on any transport issues affecting the Plympton Wards.

43a

Eastern Corridor Major Scheme: Options for Deep Lane Junction pdf icon PDF 42 KB

The Major Schemes Project Manager will provide the Committee with an update on the Eastern Corridor Major Scheme: Options for Deep Lane Junction.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Major Schemes Project Manager provided the Committee with an update on the Eastern Corridor Major Scheme: Options for Deep Lane Junction.

 

The Committee was informed that –

 

(i)

there were four options for Deep Lane junction as detailed in the report;

 

(ii)

all of the proposed options would include alterations to Sandy Road between the Ridgeway and Holland Road to incorporate a bus lane in each direction as shown in Appendix 5 of the agenda;

 

(iii)

the four options were subject to a public consultation in late November/early December and the results were being analysed;

 

(iv)

over 100 people attended each of the public consultations in Chaddlewood and Elburton;

 

(v)

the Eastern Corridor scheme was being led by Plymouth City Council but in partnership with Devon County Council and the Highways Agency;

 

In response to questions raised it was reported that –

 

(vi)

safety auditing for all four Deep Lane options had not yet taken place however all routes were designed to current safety standards;

 

(vii)

costs had yet to be confirmed for the four Deep Lane options however they currently ranged from 17 to 32 million pounds;

 

(viii)

102 million pounds of funding had been secured so far for the whole Eastern Corridor Scheme; 77 million pounds had been allocated from the Department of Transport and 25 million pounds had been allocated from developers;

 

(ix)

developer contributions were being allocated to both Plymouth City Council and Devon County Council for the scheme;

 

(x)

the public consultation was intended for local residents to highlight what aspects of each option they preferred;

 

Resolved that the Major Schemes Project Manager be thanked for her attendance.

44.

REES YOUTH CENTRE

The Committee will be provided with a verbal update on Rees Youth Centre.

Minutes:

Resolved that this item be deferred to the next meeting.

45.

LANGAGE POWER STATION

A representative from the Environment Agency will provide the Committee with an update on Langage Power Station.

Minutes:

The Chair informed the Committee that the representative from the Environment Agency was unable to attend the meeting due to bad weather however he had submitted a briefing note for the Committee to consider.

 

Members of the Panel informed the Committee that local liaison meetings were held in which concerns were raised by local Councillors.

 

Resolved that Mr Mudge, the PCC Officer for Devon and Cornwall PPC Compliance Team be invited to the next meeting.

46.

LOCAL ENVIRONMENT FUND pdf icon PDF 27 KB

The Committee will be provided with a report on the Local Environment Fund.

 

Minutes:

The Local Environment Fund Project Manager submitted a report advising Committee –

 

(i)

of new funds which had recently been made available in the sum of £900;

 

(ii)

that there would be no carry forward of funds not spent by 31 March, 2010.

 

Councillor Nicholson confirmed that improvements to the car park in Market Road was a possibility for the funds however other proposals should be submitted as soon as possible for costing.

 

Resolved that costings for the proposed works to the car park be sought.

 

 

47.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

The Committee will consider requests from individual Committee Members for future agenda items and identify items that are still outstanding from previous meetings.

Minutes:

Resolved that ‘Community Events and Road Closures’ be added as a future agenda item.

 

Under this agenda item it was highlighted that Plympton Library was removed from the agenda as there was little to report and the agenda was full, however it would be added to the next agenda as normal. A question was raised concerning the completion of the new library and the implementation of the health centre and it was responded that February 2012 was the final completion date and that the health centre was still due to be incorporated.

 

 

48.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

The Committee and Officers will respond to questions from members of the public attending the Committee. Any question not answered shall be the subject of a written response within ten working days.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a question from a member of the public regarding the possibility of liaising with Devon and Cornwall Police to ensure that Plympton Area Committee meetings would not clash with PACT meetings in the future.

 

With regard to the above question it was highlighted that if Locality working was approved then it was envisaged that local Councillors, police representatives and other partners would work together in one forum.

 

 

 

 

49.

DATE AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held at 6.00 p.m. on Monday 8 March, 2010, at St Mary’s Church Hall, Plympton, Plymouth.

Minutes:

The Committee noted that the next meeting would be held on 8 March, 2010, at 6.00 p.m. in St. Mary’s Church Hall, Plympton.

50.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s).. of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

Minutes:

There were no items of exempt business.