Darnall Area Panel Minutes 19th July 2007

DARNALL AREA PANEL

Minutes of the meeting held on 19th July 2007 at the Handsworth Parish Centre, Handsworth Road

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

		Representatives of Panel Partners:-
		Sylvia Hamilton, Darnall Forum
		Alan Milbert, Handsworth Forum
		Maurice Littlewood, Handsworth Forum
		Mark Boyles, Age Concern

		Officers in attendance:-
		Paul Cooper	-	Street Force
		Debbie Merrill	-	Development Services
		David Popple	-	Highway Design
		David Budd	-	Highway Design
		Angela Briggs	-	Centre Coordinator, Athelstan Children’s Centre
		Amy Edwards	-	Area Co-ordinator
		Gillian Capewell	-	Committee Secretariat

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

					Action
1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM MEMBERS OF THE PANEL
	Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Harry Harpham, Kate Clark and David Curtis.

2.	MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
	The minutes of the meeting of the Area Panel held on 24th May 2007 were approved as a correct record.

3.	STREET FORCE CHARTER
	Paul Cooper gave a short presentation upon the Street Force Customer Charter, which was a questionnaire developed for the public to indicate satisfaction levels with the Street Force service. He stated that the questionnaire had been developed to recognise that it had been 5 years since the creation of Street Force, and that there was now a need to review the services provided to determine how these services could be improved. He indicated that the questionnaires would be available at public libraries, housing offices, Council one-stop shops and also on-line.

4.	SHEFFIELD DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
	Debbie Merrill gave a presentation upon the new Sheffield Development Framework (SDF) for Sheffield, which included policies on land usage and sustainability, planning applications and green space usage. The strategy also included new policies for minimum residential garden size. She outlined several policies surrounding urban design, natural resources and transport, and reported that green roofs would be required on many new developments across the City. She also reported upon the need to improve air quality across the City using methods such as travel plans, limited parking spaces and car free housing. She emphasised the need for public consultation throughout all of these proposals.
	The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked Debbie Merrill for her presentation.

5.	SHEFFIELD PARKWAY
	David Popple reported upon a project to improve the road surface of Sheffield Parkway, which would last approximately 5 months and would be completed around November 2007.
	He also indicated that a letter had been received from David Blunkett, M.P., requesting that action be taken to reduce noise created by Sheffield Parkway, in particular between Mosborough Roundabout and Prince of Wales Road. In response to this request, David Popple reported that proposals were in place to construct a noise reduction bund and a concrete fence in the area. He indicated that the earth bund would be approximately 3 metres high, and would serve to reduce noise created by the traffic on the Parkway on the Bowden Wood Estate, and that the concrete fence would be approximately 6 feet in height, and would reduce noise for residents of Prince of Wales Road. He reported that both schemes would reduce noise from the Parkway by approximately 13 decibels.
	David Popple went on to describe the appearance of the fence and the bund, and displayed several digitally produced images of how it would look at annual intervals, with the introduction of fast growing ivy and turfing. He also indicated that graffiti proof paint would be used to protect the fence from vandalism.
	He stated that the Ecology Section of the Parks and Countryside Service had been heavily involved with the design, and approved of the proposed landscaping of the area, and it was also reported that there had been discussions with a local ornithological group who had requested that the work commence at the beginning of August 2007, to allow time for the nesting season. It was also indicated that there had been detailed discussions with Woodlands Officers from the Parks and Countryside Service, and that no trees would be removed during the process from the ancient Bowden Housteads Woodlands.
	A query was raised by a member of the public as to whether local residents knew anything of the proposed scheme, to which Highways Officers replied that as Environment Agency approval for the scheme had only been received recently, the local residents had not yet been informed, but that an extensive consultation would be carried out with all local residents, starting with a letter drop at the end of July. Local residents who were in attendance at the meeting expressed their approval of the scheme.
	Councillor Mick Rooney requested that the Highways Officers conduct a survey of all the sites within the Panel area with similar noise problems, and report back to the next meeting of the Area Panel.				Highways Officers
	The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked David Popple for his presentation.

6.	HANDSWORTH CHILDREN’S CENTRE
	Angela Briggs gave a presentation upon the new Children’s Centre at Athelstan School in Handsworth. She provided some background details with regard to the Children’s Centres, and reported that they were part of a Government Initiative introduced in 2004, forming part of the Every Child Matters agenda, with their objective being to improve services available for children aged 0 to 5 and their families, through the provision of high quality integrated services. She indicated that the pilot scheme was originally aimed at just 20% of the most deprived wards in the City, but because of its success, was now being introduced into all areas of the City, with a proposed 31 centres across Sheffield by 2008.
	She reported that the idea had been borne out of a programme introduced in the United States of America entitled Head Start, which aimed to integrate childcare and early years education with other key services, which had lead to the conception of the Sure Start programme in the United Kingdom, and proved that investing in children at a very young age could potentially have huge benefits later in life.
	She clarified the importance of partnership working, and highlighted the benefits of all agencies working proactively together. She outlined the services provided by Children’s Centres, which included a family health care service, family support and parental outreach, early years provision, support for employment and training opportunities and links to Sheffield Children’s Information Service, with the Centre also providing a base for local community based childcare providers. She stated that it was essential the Centres worked closely around the 5 outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda, those being; staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well being.
	Angela Briggs went on to refer to a sub committee of Athelstan School’s Governing Body, which had been established to make recommendations for the Athelstan (Handsworth) Children’s Centre, and stated that local parents and children were also being involved in the consultation process.
	A concern was raised by a member of public that naming the Children’s Centre after the host school, Athelstan, would have a negative impact upon the Centre, in that it would potentially exclude children from attending who did not live in the immediate area. Angela Briggs responded to this concern by reassuring Panel Members and members of the public that extensive consultation had taken place with the community about the naming of the Centre, and it was felt that by adding Athelstan into the title, it would bring recognition and status to the school, and that with the right publicity and information available to the whole community, nobody should feel excluded from attending the Centre.
	The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked Angela Briggs for her presentation.

7.	DARNALL 2007/08 AREA PLAN
	Amy Edwards gave a presentation upon the Area Plan for Darnall for 2007/08. She began by defining the profile of the Darnall and Tinsley area in terms of ethnic make up, employment and life expectancy, and outlined some of the achievements and improvements that the area had seen in 2006/07, along with the area priorities for the forthcoming year.
	She reported upon progress at Handsworth Recreation Ground and stated that contractors had now been selected to deliver the proposed improvements to the site, and indicated that the works would be progressing after a series of setbacks in 2006/07.
	She also reported upon several community projects which had taken place over the year, including the planting of several hundred saplings in the Bowden Housteads Woodland area by local school children, supported by the Community Forestry Team from Parks and Countryside and the Lord Mayor. She also referred to the work undertaken by Police Community Support Officers in the area, who had assisted Greenlands Junior School in setting up a team of Junior Safety Officers to tackle illegal parking outside schools.
	Amy Edwards went on to comment upon the local Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG), which covered Handsworth, Mosborough and Hackenthorpe and was under review as the area it covered was deemed to be too large to be effective.
	Maurice Littlewood, Head of the Handsworth Forum, thanked the Area Panel for funding the Amy’s House project for a further 2 years.
	The Panel noted this information and the Chair thanked Amy Edwards for her presentation.

8.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	A concern was raised by a member of the public that some mature trees had been felled on Retford Road and Rotherham Road, and in response, the Chair indicated that he would investigate the reason for this felling and contact the complainant as soon as possible.				Councillor Mazher Iqbal
	It was noted that the Handsworth Fun Day had been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions, but that there would be a Fun Day on Bank Holiday Monday (August 27th 2007) at the Handsworth Parish Centre.
	A concern was raised by a member of the public that due to increasing numbers of children in Darnall and Tinsley, there would not be enough school places, as schools were already full to capacity, with mobile classrooms being used across the area. Members gave reassurance that this issue was being examined, and that a meeting with Clive Betts, M.P. was planned for September 2007 to look at existing School Catchment Areas. It was also noted that there were proposals for a new school at a site identified in Kettlebridge, and it was agreed that this would be included as an agenda item for the Area Panel meeting to be held on 6th September 2007.				Amy Edwards
	Concerns were raised over the proposed widening of the Prince of Wales railway bridge to ease the flow of traffic through to Staniforth Road, and it was agreed that this would be included as an agenda item for the Area Panel meeting to be held on 6th September 2007.				Amy Edwards

9.	AREA PANEL DISCRETIONARY BUDGET
	Amy Edwards submitted a report outlining the proposed allocation of the Area Panel discretionary budget from July 2007 to March 2008.
	With regards to the proposed monies allocated for the removal of graffiti at the Clipstone Road shops, a member of the public emphasised the importance of involving local youths in the clean up operation to give them a sense of ownership of the area, and to prevent future vandalism. It was also noted that several shop keepers were yet to sign up to the proposed Charter for the shops to indicate that they would take responsibility for the removal of any future graffiti. Members of the public praised the graffiti removal at the bus stop on Olivers Drive, but noted that graffiti was still a major problem at Senior Road.
	The Area Coordinator proposed that monies be allocated to a ‘One World’ festival organised by Greenlands TARA, and that it was hoped this outreach event may increase Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) participation in the TARA, as it was felt that the BME population was under represented at present.
	Panel Members and members of the public approved the proposals put forward by the Area Co-ordinator for the allocation of the Area Panel discretionary budget.

10.	DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
	It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on Thursday 6th September 2007 at 6.00 pm at a venue in Darnall to be confirmed.

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