Agenda and minutes

Devonport, Stoke and St Peter & the Waterfront Area Committee - Tuesday 30 March 2010 6.00 pm

Venue: COUNCIL HOUSE, CIVIC CENTRE, PLYMOUTH

Contact: Ross Jago, Democratic Support Officer  Email: ross.jago@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

55.

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.

 

Name

Minute No. and Subject

Reason

Interest

Councillor Bill Stevens

Minutes No. 59 Policing issues

Employee of Devon and Cornwall Police

Personal

 

56.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 38 KB

The Committee will be asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2010.

 

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

Minutes:

Regarding minute 47 a (1) (2) there had not been a site visit arranged with those people listed within the resolution. The committee expressed disappointment that a reasonable request had been made by the area committee for a site visit and had been ignore. It was commented that-

 

       (i)            the assertion that were was not enough budget in the traffic scheme was unacceptable as the cost of such a visit was likely to be light terms of officer time;

 

     (ii)            a resolution for a site visit to the Barbican landing stage had been carried out and that the refusal of the stoke visit showed inconsistency in the approach of the highway authority.

 

It was further commented that-

 

    (iii)            the Cabinet Member had not been made aware of the request for a site visit;

 

    (iv)            members of the public left the last committee with the belief that the a site visit would take place before a decision was made;

 

As a delegated decision on the issue had been made, it was proposed by Councillor Wildy and Seconded by Councillor Macdonald that the delegated decision be ‘called in’ to prevent the implementation of the decision and allow for a site visit with residents to take place

 

It was reported by Inspector Mulligan that regarding Minute 45 (iv) the work on the Devonport Community Police Station had been approved by the Police authority and had not yet been given planning permission.

 

Resolved-

 

  1. to call in the delegated decisions regarding the Somerset Place traffic regulation order.

 
  1. that the minutes of the meeting of the 26 January 2010 be approved subject to the above amendment to Minute 45 (iv).

 

57.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

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

Minutes:

As the meeting was the last meeting of this Area Committee, the Chair and Councillors on the committee thanked the co-opted representatives for their attendance and dedication to their communities.

 

The Chair reported that-

 

  • all recommendations and resolutions will be sent on to the relevant officer / member as usual. 

 

  • minutes would be sent to City Council on 26 April 2010 for approval.

58.

CAMELS HEAD SEWERAGE TREATMENT WORKS pdf icon PDF 13 KB

To receive an update on the Camels Head sewerage treatment works.

Minutes:

The Chair advised that apologies had been received from the officer due to present on the issue of the Camels Head Sewerage treatment works. It was commented by the committee that-

 

       (i)            it was disappointing that only one officer was able to make comments on the issue;

 

     (ii)            the smell from the Camels Head sewerage treatment works was a serious issue in the surrounding area and would continue to impact on many residents and could have an effect on the future regeneration of North Prospect and the surrounding area;

 

Councillor Coker was disappointed that the officer had not been able to make it and had several questions he would want to put to them, and would do so outside of the meeting.

 

Resolved to recommend that the issue be a high priority for the new locality structures.

59.

POLICING ISSUES

Representatives from the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will report on any relevant local issues.

Minutes:

Inspector Ian Mulligan attended the committee and reported on local policing matters. It was reported that -

 

       (i)            there had been a fall in total crime of 7 percent across the Devonport sector;

 

     (ii)            the community engagement mobile information pod had been active in the local area;

 

    (iii)            several warrants had been executed, based on proactive policing which had resulted in the closure of a cannabis factory and the imprisonment of a street drug dealer;

 

    (iv)            the local policing team had been involved with events in Marlborough Street which had further helped to engage local residents;

 

      (v)            it was believed that the Devonport community Police Station would be considered by the planning committee at the end of April. The station would be a public facing station and would greatly improve community relations.

 

 

In response to questions from the committee and members of the public, it was reported that -

 

    (vi)            regarding dispersal orders in Mount Wise it was acknowledged that the punitive measures were not the only option available and police were working to provide better prevention strategies. Police also acknowledged that many of the issues caused in the area were due to young people coming into the area to drink alcohol on a Friday night;

 

   (vii)            the police were aware of the vandalism in St. Levans park and officers had been tasked to patrol the area;

 

 (viii)            regarding the road side sales of motor vehicles, this issue lays primarily with the Local Authority and its trading standards department although police would support the work the best they could.

 

60.

LOCALITY WORKING pdf icon PDF 155 KB

The Committee will consider a report by the Director for Community Services on locality working.

Minutes:

The Head of Policy, Performance and Partnerships presented a report to the committee it was reported that –

 

       (i)            locality working aimed to improve public engagement and the way in which service providers worked together;

 

     (ii)            a cross agency team of senior officers would take responsibility for each locality;

 

    (iii)            locality teams would be put in place by 1 June 2010.

 

In response to questions from members of the committee and the public it was reported that –

 

    (iv)            the localities manager would either be a Police Inspector, Assistant Director of the Council or an Assistant Director of the Primary Care Trust (PCT). This did not indicate a new level of bureaucracy as locality responsibilities would be in addition to the workload of those existing officers;

 

      (v)            councillors would be invited to attend Partners and Communities Together meetings rather then directed to do so by council officers;

 

    (vi)            the localities structure will enable people to access services locally and deal with issues at a neighbourhood level;

 

   (vii)            issues regarding the format of the report were noted and the committee were advised that there were no changes from the proposals put forward at full council. Although omitted from the report provided to the committee, the lead members were still a proposal;

 

 (viii)            boundaries were aligned with the PCT and Police and were based on extensive consultation over a period of years;

 

   (ix)            councillors could still expect to receive case work from their electorate/community but would be able to action this through the localities manager and get a quicker response;

 

     (x)            although some PACT meetings had declining attendance and unannounced cancellations the new PACT meetings would not be cancelled at short notice and would be widely advertised;

 

   (xi)            the new approach of localities working was not an attempt to extend the power of officers but rather to provide councillors and their communities to receive answers and solutions to problems more quickly.

 

61.

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 10 working days.  Copies of the public question pro-forma and accompanying guidance note will be available at the meeting.  Attached, for information purposes, is a schedule of questions and answers from the previous meeting.

Minutes:

The Committee considered questions from members of the public on the appearance of planters in Stoke Village. It was reported that –

 

       (i)            the planters had been procured by the Chair as a part of the Local Environment Fund;

 

     (ii)            the planters had previously been installed on Mutley Plain;

 

    (iii)            the original request had come the Stoke Village traders association;

 

    (iv)            the planters had yet to be painted and moved to the final position;

 

      (v)            the planters and associated plants would be maintained by the traders and a fund they would contribute to;

 

    (vi)            Plymouth City Council Parks department would not maintain the planters.

 

It was further commented that –

 

   (vii)            similar planters in Morice Town had proved difficult to maintain once the community who requested the installation became unable to maintain them;

 

 (viii)            the planters were not in keeping with the local area, were unsightly and were becoming rubbish receptacles;

 

   (ix)            the planters were placed within a conservation area and the local Stoke Conservation society had not been consulted about the placement;

 

     (x)            the planters were believed to be an obstruction to the pavement.

 

The following public questions would be subject to written response from the local authority-

 

   (xi)            had a full risk assessment and equalities impact assessment been completed before the planters were placed in Stoke Village?

 

  (xii)            why had the local Stoke Village Conservation Society not been consulted?

 

Members of the public took the opportunity to thank Councillors, Co-opted representatives, the Police and Council Officers for their work on area committees.

62.

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 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.