Minutes of Darnall Area Panel 6 September 2007

DARNALL AREA PANEL

 

 

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

 

Representatives of Panel Partners:-

Sylvia Hamilton        -           Darnall Forum

Neil Hamilton                       -           Darnall Forum

Michelle Wood            -           Darnall Forum

Neil Bishop   -           Darnall Forum

Maurice Littlewood     -   Handsworth Forum

Janet Hilbert -   Handsworth Forum

P.C. Helen Arden            -             South Yorkshire Police

Graham Whitfield        -        Sheffield Futures

Abid Rahim  -        Sheffield Futures

Lisa Rashid  -   Greenlands Junior School

Barrie Lancaster      -        Sheffield Over 50s

                     

Officers in attendance:-

David Budd  -        Highway Design

Kate Clark    -     Parks and Countryside

John Bigley   - Children and Young People’s Directorate

Jim Watkin    - Children and Young People’s Directorate

Joel Hardwick       - Children and Young People’s Directorate

Roger White -              Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Amy Edwards       -        Area Co-ordinator

Gillian Capewell       -    Committee Secretariat

                                                                     

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

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                                   Action

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM MEMBERS OF THE PANEL        

    There were no apologies for absence received from Members of the Panel.    

                                             

2.   MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING   

  The minutes of the meeting of the Area Panel held on 19th July 2007 were approved as a correct record, subject to the addition of Councillor Mick Rooney as being in attendance at the meeting and the removal of Councillor Harry Harpham as being in attendance.

                                             

3. OPERATION MISCHIEF AND NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTION GROUP       

Roger White provided an update upon the Safer Neighbourhoods projects operating in the Darnall area, and reported that he had been working closely with the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and also the Licensing Department of Sheffield City Council, in particular with regard to test purchases of alcohol by under age customers.  

      He added that truancy was also a high priority for the team, and that they were working closely with local Junior Schools to target this problem. He commented that the lack of Secondary Schools in the Darnall area had been identified as  a problem, as he felt that local children had no sense of identity or belonging, which was one of the reasons leading them to truanting. 

      He added that the Greenlands estate had been identified as a crime ‘hot-spot’ and that if the crime issues could be resolved on that particular estate, crime in the whole Darnall area could potentially be reduced by up to 50%. He added that the shrubs on the Greenlands estate needed cutting back, as people used the vegetation as a cover for drug dealing. He added that there would be a week of action on the estate commencing on 17th September 2007, in conjunction with Street Force, to tackle this problem, amongst others. He reported that a ‘mosquito box’ had been purchased and was to be erected on the estate, which would emit a high pitched sound audible to primarily young people, for the purposes of dispersing groups.        

He added that a PCSO had been allocated to every Junior School in the Darnall area, and that several Section 30 dispersal orders had successfully been applied to problem streets in Darnall.        

  He reported that Operation Mischief would commence on 5th November 2007, and would involve increased Police patrols in the Darnall area, alongside increased activities for young people, potentially including a Community Bonfire. He added that several notices had been erected in the area regarding reporting stolen scrap metal, which was increasingly a problem in Darnall.        

          Several members of the public expressed concerns that the mosquito boxes would not work, and would simply move the problems associated with young people on to surrounding areas, to which Roger White responded that the box was to be placed in a particular problem stairway, and that he would monitor the box’s effectiveness and report back to the Area Panel. Roger White

Councillor Harpham commented that he had received complaints from many constituents regarding the difficulties they had experienced getting through to the 101 or 0114 2202020 Police number. At this point, Roger White introduced Sergeant Helen Arden, who had recently been appointed Sergeant for Darnall. She apologised for the frustrations felt by people phoning South Yorkshire Police, but reiterated that reporting crime in the area was essential, as the more calls they received about particular problems, the more resources could be allocated to them. She added that several dedicated Neighbourhood patrols had been set up, including many plain clothes Policing operations.

Roger White added that graffiti was also a huge problem in Darnall, particularly around the Greenlands estate, and that a database of tags was being established to help identify the culprits.        

A member of the public raised a concern that as the PCSOs did not have the power to arrest criminals, they were not as effective as they could be. Sergeant Arden responded by commenting that the role of the PCSO was different to that of a P.C. in that they were there primarily to engage with the local community.

          Another member of the public commented that activities for young people in Darnall were needed all year round, not just during particular weeks, and that the children of Darnall needed engaging with from an early age. Roger White commented that Sheffield Futures were doing their best to engage with young people in the area, and that they were also engaging with local Community Forums and Neighbourhood Action Groups to try and establish some joined up working.

            On the subject of the proposed Community Bonfire, The Chair emphasised the importance of checking that fireworks were not being sold illegally around Darnall, as problems had been identified in the past with people selling fireworks from their homes, and shops staying open late on November 5th to sell fireworks to young people returning from the After Dark event at Don Valley Bowl. 

      The Chair thanked Roger White and Sergeant Arden for their hard work in the area, and the Panel noted the information reported.     

                                             

4.  DARNALL SCHOOLS POLICY       

Joel Hardwick reported upon the provision of schooling in the Darnall area, and commented that several new housing developments planned for Darnall meant that the likelihood was that there would be more Primary School places required in Darnall over the coming years. He added that the situation was being closely monitored and that he was liasing with Planners and local Head Teachers to examine the options for the area.      

Jim Watkin reported upon the Secondary School provision in the Darnall area, commenting that the likelihood was that there would be no new Secondary School in Darnall due to the fact that there would be fewer children in secondary schools by 2015. He commented that although Darnall Junior Schools seemed to have more of an affinity with Park Academy rather than Hinde House School there were no plans to move Phillimore Primary School into the Park Academy catchment area, as such an action would mean that Park Academy would be over subscribed, and conversely, Hinde House would have falling rolls.  

Councillor Rooney asked why Burngreave had seen the addition of new Primary places in the area, and Darnall had not, to which Jim Watkin replied that Burngreave had seen a very sharp increase in the number of pre-school age children, so provisions had been put in place to alleviate the problem of oversubscribed Primary schools in the area. He emphasised that the Burngreave situation was different in that they were dealing with increased pupil numbers already living in the area, whereas increases in future Darnall pupil numbers were still only anticipated at this stage, pending future housing developments.                  

A member of the public asked whether housing developers had an obligation to contribute towards school provision in the area, to which Jim Watkin replied that where officers determined there was a requirement they did have a legal obligation to make a financial contribution, adding that any new housing developments applying for planning permission would be required to contribute towards additional Primary places in the area if required.     

       A second member of the public requested accurate figures showing the increase in the number of children in Darnall, to which Joel Hardwick and Jim Watkin replied that they were working on the figures and would report back to the Panel in due course.                 Joel Hardwick/ Jim Watkin

  David Curtis added that several housing developments proposed for Darnall did not yet have planning permission, and therefore could not be taken into account when planning for new schools.

A member of the public added that bus routes to and from secondary schools from Darnall were a problem, and that for several schools; journey times were well above the average for the City.       

A member of the public asked where all the asylum seekers and EU Nationals that were arriving in Darnall were going to be schooled, and it was agreed that a full meeting was needed to discuss the situation, with local MPs to be invited, and Jim Watkin to provide official statistics on the number of children living in Darnall. Jim Watkin added that the ‘Children Missing from Education’ Team were also working hard to ensure that every child in Darnall had been accounted for and was being educated in some way. It was agreed that there would be an update from Joel Hardwick, Jim Watkin and John Bigley at a future meeting of the Area Panel, and that follow up from the recent meetings in Darnall regarding the impact of migrant families from EU Accession States would be provided.                Amy Edwards

The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked Joel Hardwick and Jim Watkin for their presentation.

                                             

5.  LOCAL TRAFFIC ISSUES      

David Budd reported upon the Prince of Wales rail bridge scheme, which he indicated could not be progressed at present. He added that the junction of Handsworth Road, Prince of Wales Road and Staniforth Road was to be reviewed in light of the new Darnall Centre and the possible increase in traffic, and that road safety improvements had been made on Staniforth Road, including a new pedestrian crossing for the Craven Tasker Housing site. He commented that new schemes were being discussed for the 2008/09 Small Highways Budget.       

A member of the Sheffield Over 50s group asked why the Mather Road Junction on Prince of Wales Road was not governed by traffic lights, to which David Curtis replied that the idea of traffic lights at that particular junction had been rejected by Planning on the grounds that more accidents would be created at the site. It was agreed that this particular junction would be a subject for discussion at the next meeting of the Area Panel.          

   David Budd commented that for traffic calming measures to be put in place, there had to be a detailed study into the accident history of the area, often a process which took a number of weeks to carry out, due to the number of requests received by the Sheffield City Council Road Safety Team.          

A member of the public asked whether it would be possible to implement traffic calming measures on three roads in Darnall; those being Flaxby Road, Shirland Lane and Mather Road, and it was agreed that the Area Co-ordinator to write to the Highways Department requesting this course of action.    Amy Edwards

      The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked David Budd for his report.                      

6.  FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT  

         Michelle Wood reported upon the Family Engagement project which was being run in the Darnall area. She commented that the scheme was about engaging the parents or guardians of children in Darnall in their child’s educational development, as this was seen to be essential for the success of the child, and that the aspirations of the parents influenced  the child. She reported that the project aimed to educate parents about the existence and importance of things such as SATs and homework clubs, and reported that he Directorate were in the process of trying to encourage parents to become School Governors, especially the parents of Black and Ethnic Minority Children, who were under represented at present.   

She reported that several consultation events had taken place in local schools to find out what parents would find beneficial from the Family Engagement service, and that a Parents’ Forum had been established with 16 parent members so far.               

She added that alongside the activities already mentioned, the Project aimed to promote oral awareness, baby massage, story telling and health promotion. She added that Learn Direct were a key partner in the scheme.

              In the absence of Shabana Ahmed, Michelle Wood reported that the progress on the Darnall Children’s Centre was going well, but that it was to be noted that Neighbourhood Renewal Funding was soon to come to an end.    

The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked Michelle Wood for her presentation.

                                             

7.  PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS 

   In response to a comment from a member of the public, Abid Rahim from Sheffield Futures indicated that although no additional funding had been received, they had managed to provide activities for young people in the Darnall area over 80% of the school Summer holidays. He added that a Girls Group had been established by Sheffield Futures on Sunday mornings, and encouraged people present at the meeting to spread the word about the Group.   

                                             

8.  GREENLANDS TARA    

      Councillor Lea extended her thanks to the Greenlands TARA, who had run a very successful One World Community Activity Day involving the Local Community Forum, Sheffield Homes and South Yorkshire Police.         

                                             

9.  DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING   

It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on Thursday 22nd November 2007 at 6.00 pm at a venue in Tinsley to be confirmed.