Minutes of Darnall Area Panel 20 March 2008

 

 

 

 

Present:    Councillors Mazher Iqbal (Chair), Harry Harpham, Mary Lea and Mick Rooney.

                     

Representatives of Panel Partners:-

Maurice Littlewood     )   Handsworth Forum

Janet Hilbert )                     

Laura Selby  -           Tinsley Forum

Neil Bishop   -           Darnall Forum

Barrie Lancaster      )        Sheffield Over 50s

Val Lancaster                       )                     

Lyn Brandon -        Sheffield Primary Care Trust

Wendy Barlow           -        Sheffield Homes

Abid Rahim  -        Sheffield Futures

                     

Officers in attendance:-

David Curtis -              Lead Manager

Debbie Merrill            - Development Services

Nick Chaplin - Environmental Protection Service

Paul Cooper - Street Force

Wayne Phillips          -           CCTV

Gareth Davis -           Activity Sheffield

Chris French )                     

Ann Robson  ) Hinde House School

Beth Barker  - Communications Team

Sarah Lucas -        Area Co-ordinator

Azra Razaq   - Area Support Officer

Paul Robinson      -    Committee Secretariat

                     

Approximately 10 members of the public and representatives from local community groups attended the meeting.

 

…………………..

 

                                   Action

Maurice Littlewood, in referring to the Waverley development, commented that he had recently attended a meeting of a Waverley Liaison Group established by the developer of the site to oversee the public consultation upon the development.  He added that he was the only representative at the meeting from Sheffield and he stated that, given the extent of the local community’s concerns over the development, such as in relation to the volume of housing on the site, associated traffic issues and the need for community facilities, there should also be representatives on the Liaison Group from the Darnall and Tinsley areas.  Furthermore, he commented that several consultation events were proposed to be held within the Handsworth area, but none had been arranged for the Darnall and Tinsley areas, and he enquired as to the extent of the City Council’s involvement in the development of the proposals for the site, adding that in his opinion there was an urgent need for active consultation to be held between Rotherham and Sheffield Local Authorities. 

In response, Members of the Panel and the Lead Manager, indicated that whilst they shared the concerns raised in relation to the extent of the consultation being undertaken in relation to the development, this was pre-planning application consultation being undertaken by the planning consultants engaged by the developers of the site, with a view to obtaining support for the development.  A formal planning application had not yet been submitted in respect of the development, but upon such an application being made, this would initiate a formal procedure around the assessment of the application and would require Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to formally consult Sheffield City Council in relation to the application.  It was confirmed that the view of the City Council’s Cabinet was that unless there was adequate provision of transport and community facility infrastructure, then any development of this type was unlikely to be supported.  It was also reported that Rotherham MBC would be meeting with the Department of Transport in the near future to progress the scheme to provide the relief road.  

It was agreed that (a) letters on behalf of the Area Panel be forwarded to (i) Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to alert the Authority to the concerns of the local community with regard to the proposed development at Waverley and to request that detailed consultation be held with Sheffield City Council and relevant local communities upon receipt of the formal planning application and (ii) the developer’s planning consultants with suggestions that they undertake pre-application consultation within the Darnall and Tinsley, as well as Handsworth, areas;  Sarah LucasSarah Lucas

(b) arrangements be made for a site visit to be held involving relevant officers from Rotherham and Sheffield Councils, whereby interested members of the public can discuss their concerns in relation to the development; and      Sarah Lucas

(c) Maurice Littlewood be kept informed of any progress and developments in relation to the development. Sarah Lucas

                                             

A member of the public referred to concerns which had been raised with the City Council in relation to the nature of the halal meat served in schools in the City, and adding that there was a need for discussions to be held in that regard with local Muslim scholars and for information to be provided to parents in relation to the nature of the halal meat served in schools.       

In response, Councillor Harry Harpham stated that the halal meat offered in schools was from pre-stunned animals and that this current Council policy had been based on advice received from various recognised Islamic institutions, and he undertook to provide to the questioner, details of the advice upon which the policy was based.         

However, given the differences of opinion now being expressed in relation to the acceptability of the pre-stunned meat, he undertook to arrange for discussions to be held after the Easter holidays involving himself, the Chair of the Area Panel and representatives of the local Muslim community to attempt to find a way forward on this matter.      Councillor Harry Harpham

                                             

Maurice Littlewood raised several concerns in relation to the housing development on Finchwell Road, and particularly that the developers, Barratts, had not provided the footpath link to the Pennine Way.                     

  In response, the Lead Manager commented that he would check whether the provision of the footpath was a requirement of the planning approval, and liase with Barratt's accordingly. David Curtis

                                             

A member of the public referred to the high volume of traffic on Darnall Road, which was now being used as a shortcut to Meadowhall, Centertainment etc.  She added that the Road was being used by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and many vehicles were travelling at high speed, giving rise to concerns regarding the safety of pedestrians looking to cross the Road.          

In response, the Lead Manager referred to the road safety improvement works recently undertaken on Staniforth Road, which may have led to increased usage of Darnall Road and he indicated that he would investigate whether a speed survey/traffic assessment had been undertaken on Darnall Road and arrange for a report on progress in that regard to be made at the next meeting of the Panel.  He commented that as part of that work, consideration would be given to the possibility of introducing weight restrictions for vehicles using that Road and whether action could be taken via the Safety Camera Partnership.  He added, however, that the introduction of traffic calming measures on that Road would only provide a solution to the problems in the longer term.    David Curtis

The Area Co-ordinator was requested to contact the Road Safety service to obtain a response for the local residents concerned. Sarah Lucas

                                             

The minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 24th January, 2008, were approved as a correct record and the checklist showing progress on actions requested at previous meetings of the Panel was received and, arising therefrom, the Panel noted:-

 

(a) that Councillor Mick Rooney had requested a further, more detailed response on the issue of the demolition of the garages at Waverley Road, and that he would report back to a future meeting once he had received a thorough response;      Councillor Mick Rooney

(b) that the planning application in respect of the development of those apartments had now been withdrawn and that written representations from members of the public in relation to the planning application had nevertheless been registered by the Planning Service;       

(c) that the manager of the local Service District had been requested to report to the Service District Board upon the funding arrangements in respect of the Darnall Community Nursery;       

(d) that discussions would be held at the next meeting of the Panel in relation to the allocation of further funding to the Amy’s House Project;        

(e)(i) that a “day of action” would be held on 11th April, 2008, incorporating the Infield Allotments, in order to clear fly-tipping and tidy open space areas and that the local Allotments Society was seeking volunteers to assist in that work and (ii) that the Council’s Allotments Officer would be providing advice in relation to the future management of the Allotments with a view to preventing further instances of fly-tipping at the site;       

(f) incidences of fly-tipping should be reported to the Council (telephone number 273 4567), and any evidence supplied would be used in endeavours to secure prosecutions against offenders; and              

(g) the official opening of the refurbished Handsworth Recreation Ground was to  take place on 29th March, 2008 and that a sense of community ownership was already evident in relation to the Recreation Ground.       

                                             

Beth Barker reported that the main theme of Your Council, Your Say in 2008 was keeping Sheffield clean, and she encouraged members of the public to use the feedback form which was available at the meeting to report sites which required cleaning.  She added that upon receipt of feedback forms, officers would investigate and clean the area if the land in question was owned by the Council, or, alternatively, would attempt to contact the landowner.  

In response to questions and comments, the following points were made:-         

 

· On the issue of supermarket shopping trolleys being discarded beyond the boundaries of the supermarket site, Nick Chaplin commented that the need to recover such trolleys can be raised informally with the supermarkets concerned and, should no action be taken, the Council can pursue more formal routes to require the supermarkets to undertake collection/recovery; it was suggested that the planning consent for the Asda development be examined to see if there was any requirement in relation to the collection of discarded trolleys.        

                                             

·   As regards problems caused by grass cuttings not collected from central reservations and grass verges, Paul Cooper confirmed that Street Force did not operate machinery which collected the grass cuttings, although road sweepers did assist with the removal of grass cuttings from gutters and blowers were used to remove grass cuttings from footpaths etc.

                                             

·   As regards damage caused by vehicles parking on grass verges, the Council had recently been given powers, under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, which was due to be implemented on 31st March, 2008, to restrict parking on areas such as grass verges, but there was a need to obtain further clarification from the Department of Transport in relation to the implementation of such restrictions, and a further report would be considered by the Council’s Cabinet upon receipt of that further guidance from the Department of Transport.

                     

·  With regard to fallen leaves not having been cleared from streets around Bowden Wood, Paul Cooper commented that Street Force did remove fallen leaves from identified areas in the City, but he would investigate any areas brought to his attention and he requested the member of the public to supply him with specific details of the areas requiring removal of fallen leaves.

                                             

·         Several initiatives were to be undertaken to improve the environment in the Mather Road area, and it was proposed to hold a special meeting of the Panel in the near future in that area to outline the works to be undertaken. 

                                             

The Panel noted the information reported and requested that Your Council, Your Say feedback forms be forwarded to the local community forums for distribution amongst their members.               Beth Barker/Sarah Lucas

                                             

The Chair (Councillor Mazher Iqbal), in introducing this item, referred to the additional funding allocated within the City Council’s budget for 2008/09 of approximately £3m to provide a new offer for all children and young people in the City aged 8-13 of access to at least one and a half hours per week of additional positive activity, building on what is already provided for young people through existing schemes and initiatives.    

Laura Selby, Gareth Davis and Abid Rahim gave a presentation on the partnership working being undertaken between the Tinsley Forum, Activity Sheffield and Sheffield Futures with regard to the provision of activities for young people in the Tinsley area of the City.             

The presentation outlined the nature of the partnership working, the purpose of which was to improve inter-agency working, maximise resources and provide as wide a range of activity for young people as possible and with the outcomes for young people being a range of different learning and experiences, more things to do and places to go and access to wider resources, and the outcomes for the organisations involved being to breakdown institutional barriers and stereotypes, improved relationships and understanding of each organisation’s disciplines, and provide additionality through shared/collective working.

Examples of recent partnership work within the Tinsley area were outlined and specific reference was made to the formation of a Youth Provision Team to co-ordinate and develop activities, the current Tinsley Youth Provision Timetable was displayed, and details provided of specific activities including the Tinsley Fun Day, a residential activity at Lockerbrook, a football project and other examples.   

Plans for the future included work to improve community cohesion, increase youth participation and influence, joint holiday provision, including trips and excursions, further youth club project work, shared staff training, a further Tinsley Fun Day and other community events, all facilitated under the positive partnership working arrangements.                    

It was reported that it was intended to extend the partnership working arrangements in relation to the provision of youth activities into the Darnall area.            

In response to comments and questions, it was reported that;              

                                             

·       Attempts would be made via the local media, local newsletters etc. to publicise the positive work being undertaken and the successes of the activities provided.     

                                             

·           Single gender sessions were provided for the older age groups in recognition of cultural preferences and the female only sessions had proved to be extremely popular.       

                                             

·   As regards provision for young people with disabilities, work was undertaken with the Special Needs Inclusion Playcare Service (SNIPS) and wherever feasible young people with disabilities participated in activities alongside able-bodied young people.  Where specialist support was required, this was commissioned by Sheffield Futures.       

                                             

The Panel commended the partnership working being undertaken in the Tinsley area in relation to the provision of youth activities, and Laura Selby, Gareth Davis and Abid Rahim were thanked for their presentation.

                                             

Sarah Lucas gave a presentation upon the draft Darnall Area Plan for 2008/09.     

She indicated that the key priority themes for 2008/09 would relate to the environment, children and young people, community safety, health and well-being, work and skills (which was a new theme for 2008/09) and supporting communities (previously the regeneration and social inclusion theme).        

She outlined achievements in 2007/08 and actions planned to be undertaken in 2008/09 within each of the key priority themes and added that comments upon the content of the draft Area Plan, which had been widely circulated within the Area, were required to be made by early April with a view to the Plan being formally launched during May 2008.           

The Panel noted the information reported.     

                                             

The Panel noted information reported by the Chair (Councillor Mazher Iqbal) indicating that a bid for funding had recently been submitted to Yorkshire Forward in respect of the Sheffield Community Infrastructure Partnership, the purpose of which would be to provide financial support to local community forums in the City, and that it was expected that the outcome of the funding bid would be announced in the near future.          

                                             

The Panel received and noted details of development proposals for the Lower River Don District circulated by Maurice Littlewood.  

                                             

It was reported that as a result of the appointment of David Curtis as Interim Executive Director, Development, Environment and Leisure, Les Sturch would be taking over from him as Lead Manager for the Area Panel.          

      The Panel placed on record its thanks and appreciation to David Curtis for the support he had provided to the Panel during his time as Lead Manager.    

                                             

It was noted that (a) the next scheduled meeting of the Panel would be held on Thursday, 22nd May, 2008, at 6.30 p.m. at a venue in Tinsley to be confirmed and (b) a special meeting of the Panel would be held at Mather Road Pavilion at 6.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 16th April, 2008, to discuss concerns in relation to the Mather Road area.