Darnall Area Panel Minutes 27th January 2005

DARNALL AREA PANEL

Note of an informal meeting held 27^th January, 2005, at Tinsley Methodist Church

PRESENT:		Councillors Mary Lea (Chair)

		Officers in attendance:-
		John Mothersole	-	Lead Manager
		Nick Hetherington	-	Street Force
		Richard Edge	-	Parks, Woodlands and Countryside
		Julie Ward	-	Early Years Education and Childcare Service
		Anne-Marie Johnson	-	Home Maintenance Team
		Glennroy Lannaman	-	Private Sector Housing
		Stella Mekonnen	-	Area Co-ordinator
		Mark Swancott	-	Area Support Officer
		Debbie Merrill	-	Development Services
		Sarah Thomson	-	Committee Secretariat

		32 members of the public and representatives from local community groups attended the meeting.

…………………..

(NOTE: The Chair explained that as the Panel was inquorate an informal discussion would be held on the following items.)

1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM PANEL MEMBERS
	There were no apologies for absence from Panel Members.

2.	WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
	Councillor Mary Lea introduced and welcomed Stella Mekonnen, Area Co-ordinator and Sarah Thomson, Committee Secretariat to the Area Panel.

3.	MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
	The minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on the 25^thNovember, 2004, were noted.

4.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	The following questions were raised by members of the public and responses were provided as follows:-
	A representative from the Tinsley Forum expressed concern with regard to the Housing Market Renewal process and the unsatisfactory level of consultation carried out with stakeholders. In response the Area Co-ordinator reported that there had been a delay in implementing the consultation process for the master plan and added that the Department of Legal and Administrative Services would finalise the brief within the next few weeks. She commented that she would liaise with the Project Officer and request that he contact the Forum in order to provide them with details of the consultation process.
	With regard to the former Kettlebridge School site, the Area Co-ordinator reported that she had requested a further site meeting but commented that she still awaited a response.
	A local resident expressed concern with regard to the proposed Academy Status for Waltheof School and enquired as to whether parents would be consulted as part of the process. In response the Chair reported that parents would be consulted if proposals for Academy Status were approved.
	In relation to enquiries with regard to the No. 6 bus service the Area Co-ordinator commented that she had received no further information but, added that she would pursue the enquiry and report back to the next meeting of the Panel.
	In response to concerns raised by a representative of the Bangladeshi Citizens Neighbourhood Welfare Project as to whether the Panel supported the proposed community building the Chair reported that the Area Panel fully supported the Bangladeshi Community and other Community Groups and would provide support where possible.
	A local resident expressed concern with regard to the allegedly poor highways maintenance on Bawtry Road in relation to road surfacing and grass verges etc and in response Nick Hetherington noted the comments raised.
	The comments now raised were noted.

5.	STREET FORCE
	Nick Hetherington provided an update on the services operated by Street Force in the Darnall Area including drainage, roads and footpaths maintenance.
	Mr Hetherington stated that he was providing cover for Paul Cooper, Street maintenance, who was the representative for the Panel area.
	He referred to the Cleaner Sheffield Strategy which had been launched during October 2003, which would provide additional investment to the area, and added that as a result of the Strategy, resources had been increased in phase one of the project which would include some of the Darnall Panel Area.
	Mr Hetherington referred to the cleaning frequencies which were agreed for shop sites and hot spots in the area and added that neighbourhood cleaning teams had been established to provide cleaning when needed. He also added that extra enforcement had been introduced with regard to issuing fixed penalty fines for dog fouling and littering with nearly 1000 fixed penalty fine tickets being issued.
	With regard to the ‘Bin It’ campaign Mr Hetherington commented that the campaign had been well received by members of the public and had been widely advertised across the City.
	He also commented that four part-time cleaners had been employed by the City Council through funding allocated by the Area Panel Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to work in Tinsley, the area between Staniforth Road and Worksop Road, Bowden Wood/Mather Road and Handsworth.
	Mr Hetherington referred to the Neighbourhood Environmental Action Teams (NEAT), which were allocated to each Area Panel for a specified period in order to tackle problems in each area. He reported that Darnall had a total of 16 weeks allocated to cutting back vegetation, clearing rubbish sites and planting bulbs and that the Area Panel had a total of 7 weeks remaining in their allocation for the works, adding that the Panel had made a number of suggestions as to where the remaining works should be undertaken which included, attention to the triangle estate to include gennels, verge damage and the Doctors Surgery site, Tinsley subways, Effingham Road, Stoke Street, Kettlebridge, Ryton Road, Darnall Community Park and the space opposite Greenlands School.
	Mr Hetherington also referred to the Environment Awards and commented that three nominees had been selected by the Area Panel. He commented that there had been 5 Community clean-ups and 6 local groups had been involved in bulb planting of approximately 38,000 bulbs.
	A local resident expressed concern with regard to the height of the speed humps which were part of the traffic calming measures on Ferrars Road and which he believed were not driver friendly. Mr Hetherington stated that he would investigate the matter raised and report back to a future meeting.
	In response to questions from local residents as to whether Members of the public could express their views with regard to the deployment of the part time cleaners Mr Hetherington reported that there were maps available at the meeting for residents to examine and added that Street Force would welcome any comments on the areas identified for cleaning.
	Referring to the responsibility of cleaning rubbish from public parks Mr Hetherington commented that the Parks, Woodlands and Countryside Service were responsible for parks sites.
	A local resident suggested that people contacted the One Stop Shop in Tinsley regarding Street Force maintenance complaints which could then be forwarded to the appropriate Department.
	A local resident enquired whether the maps and ‘Bin It’ campaign advertising material were available in other languages. In response Mr Hetherington indicated that the maps provided were not available in other languages at the meeting but added that they could be made available on request. He added that he would forward the comments raised to the ‘Bin It’ Campaign Team.
	With regard to concerns from a local resident with regard to the prevention of members of the public spitting and urinating in the street Mr Hetherington reported that it was not illegal to spit in the street and added that he believed that the police were responsible for dealing with members of the public caught urinating in the street. He reported that it was now an offence if caught spitting chewing gum in the street.
	Mr Hetherington was thanked for his contribution to the meeting.

6.	TINSLEY FAMILY CENTRE AND RECREATION GROUND DEVELOPMENT
	Richard Edge, Parks Woodlands and Countryside, gave a presentation on the regeneration of the Tinsley Family Centre and Recreation Ground Development.
	He referred to the consultation process which had been undertaken with members of the community in order to obtain their views on the existing services, and how these, together with new services could be shaped to meet community needs.
	Mr Edge commented that a number of consultation events had been organised in addition to door-to-door consultation, which had been undertaken by local community workers. Following the consultation the results were considered at a Fun Day event, which allowed further comments to be made on the proposals.
	The consultation identified the age groups, ethnicity, frequency of use and the range of activities in which members of the public participated in the park, with the results highlighting that residents required better facilities for families and children, better opportunities to socialise, provision of culturally appropriate health activities, provision of training opportunities to improve employment prospects, childcare provision and safe outdoor play.
	Mr Edge reported that Kier Sheffield had been appointed to carry out the development work on both the Family Centre and the Recreation Ground which he commented would save on site establishment costs, preliminaries and programming issues with work commencing on the 14^th February, 2005 and completion due by December 2005.
	Following the presentation the following questions were asked and responses given:-
	A local resident enquired as to who would be responsible for operating the community café and in response Mr Edge commented that the City Council had not determined who would operate the café but added that they were seeking volunteers to undertake research into how community café’s were funded and managed.
	In response to concerns regarding car parking Mr Edge commented that there would be approximately 20 car parking spaces available, which would accommodate staff and visitors to the park but added that he believed that the majority of local residents would walk to the park to use the facilities.
	A local resident enquired as to who would be developing the site and in response Mr Edge commented that Kier Sheffield in addition to some small local builders would be undertaking the work on the project.
	With regard to a local residents request to increase the height of the wall on Bawtry road in order to reduce fly-tipping, Mr Edge commented that the boundary walls were the property of the residents on Bawtry Road and were not included in the regeneration project.
	In relation to concerns regarding security Mr Edge reported that three CCTV cameras were located around the park but also added that local police representatives would be utilising the park during the day whilst attending organised activities, which he believed would also be a deterrent.
	A local resident commented that she believed that once the improvements had been made to the park young people would take pride in the facilities provided which she hoped would deter any anti-social behaviour.
	In response to a question raised with regard to the possibility of a skateboard park on the recreation ground Mr Edge commented that the requirement for a skateboard facility had not been identified by residents during the consultation process.
	Mr Edge was thanked for his contribution to the meeting.

7.	CHILDRENS CENTRES
	Tinsley Children’s Centre
	Julie Ward gave a progress report on the proposed Children’s Centre for Tinsley which included recent developments and recommendations. Ms Ward stated that the Tinsley Children’s Centre had been proposed as a single hub.
	It was proposed that the Tinsley Children’s Centre would be based on the success of the Tinsley Sure Start Programme and the Tinsley Parents and Children Consortium, which had developed nursery and leisure/sports activities for children and their families in a number of different buildings in the community.
	She added that there was a strong partnership between Sure Start and the Tinsley Parents and Children Consortium as the main partners in health, Sheffield College, local community organisations and On Track and a developing partnership with local schools.
	With regard to recent developments, Ms Ward added that the regeneration of the Tinsley Recreation Ground and the construction of the new Children’s Centre would embrace the Council’s vision to work in partnership with the community to create a successful Sheffield.

	Darnall Children’s Centre
	In relation to the proposed Children’s Centre for Darnall, Ms Ward reported that the Darnall Community Nursery (DCN) had also been proposed as a separate hub adding that the most recent proposal was to build on the Greenlands School site and to develop the Children’s Centre partnership with the school, LEA and key stakeholders in the locality.
	Ms Ward commented that the Early Years Education and Childcare Service (EYECS) had agreed to work in partnership with Greenlands School and procure the Childcare Services through the City Council’s procurement process in order to meet the Early Years Education and childcare elements of the ‘core offer’ and to support DCN and their Trustees to establish a positive resolution in order for them to be in a position to be part of the Children’s Centre development.
	She commented that the City Council were seeking to co-ordinate all the Children’s Centres in Sheffield in order to ensure that there was adequate childcare provision city-wide. Ms Ward added that there were already partnership groups in place who would be working together on joint ownership of the Children’s Centres.
	Ms Ward added that funding was available from the Local Authority via the Sure Start grant which would enable the Children’s Centre to maintain the sustainability of the project.
	Ms Ward reported that the City Council were in the process of recruiting a Children’s Centre Co-ordinator for Darnall who would be responsible for bringing together the key stakeholders.
	Following the presentation the following questions were asked and responses given as follows:-
	In response to concerns regarding health issues in Darnall Ms Ward reported that the City Council were in the process of engaging a wide range of other services including health and were seeking to work in partnership with other agencies.
	A local resident enquired how widely the recruitment advertisement had been published for the Darnall Children’s Centre Co-ordinator and in response Ms Ward commented that four Children’s Centre Co-ordinator posts had been advertised in the Sheffield Star newspaper and Job Shop.
	Sally Pearse, Tinsley Parents and Children Consortium, commented that the Children’s Centre hoped to train local people to fill job vacancies at the Centres and added that it was important to ensure that the nursery benefited financially in order to retain the service. Ms Ward also commented that it was important to consult stakeholders throughout the project in order to combine budgets which she believed would assist in maintaining the service.
	In response to whether the community could be involved in the Local Area Agreement, Ms Ward indicated that she would clarify whether the Local Area Agreement could be circulated to the Panel and commented that it was necessary that the community were involved in the process.
	Sally Pearse requested that the Panel note the proposed resolution submitted at this meeting. In response the Chair of the Panel requested that the resolution be deferred until the next meeting which was to be held on Thursday, 24^th March, 2005 as the Panel were inquorate.
	The information reported was noted and Ms Ward thanked for her contribution to the meeting.

8.	HOME OWNERS MAINTENANCE AND ADVICE SCHEME
	Anne-Marie Johnson, referred to the Home Owners Maintenance and Advice Scheme which was due to start in the Darnall area during 2005.
	She reported that the scheme supported by Housing Market Renewal Funding (HMF) and the City Council was targeted at owner occupiers and was designed to offer advice on short, medium and long term maintenance requirements to protect their property and investment.
	Ms Johnson reported that owner occupiers were entitled to a free external survey and maintenance advice. They were also entitled to financial assistance of up to £500 towards any routine external maintenance work identified. She commented that example of works to be undertaken included routine painting of external woodwork, cleaning and repair of rainwater goods and fall pipes, repair and restoration of paths, gates and fences, repair and restoration of pointing and rendering and minor repairs to roofs and walls.
	She commented that any work undertaken would be carried out at a set price agreed by Sheffield City Council’s Cost Assessors and added that local contractors would undertake the majority of the work required. As part of the scheme the City Council would also be operating Do-It-Yourself (DIY) classes to help give owners the confidence and skills to carry out some of the maintenance work themselves.
	She concluded her presentation by indicating that a block of streets would receive details of the scheme stating when the City Council would be working in a specific area, following which an officer from the Home Maintenance Team would visit the home owner in response to the enquiry made.
	Ms Johnson was thanked for her contribution to the meeting.

9.	PRIVATE RENTED PROJECT
	Glennroy Lannaman, gave a brief presentation on the Private Rented Project. He reported that the Private Rented Project was a new initiative which had been developed by the Neighbourhoods Directorate which aimed to improve the quality of privately rented housing in the area.
	He commented that a Landlord Information and Advice Session would be held on Tuesday, 8^th February, 2005 at 6.30 pm at the Bangladeshi Neighbourhood Centre, Staniforth Road, Darnall.
	Mr Lannaman reported that the session would allow landlords to share their expertise, knowledge and experience and access the free ‘Landlords for Excellence’ course, work in partnership with the Private Rented Project Team, Anti-Social Behaviour Officers, the Police and other council services and associated bodies.
	In terms of Tenants Mr Lannaman reported that the session would inform tenant’s of their housing rights, help them protect their area from crime and work in partnership with the Private Rented Project Team and other agencies.
	Mr Lannaman was thanked for his contribution to the meeting.

10.	DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
	It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on Thursday, 24^th March, 2005, at 6.00 p.m., at a venue to be confirmed.

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