Minutes of the North Area Panel

	NORTH AREA PANEL


	Meeting held 15th October, 2003 at Unity Gardens Meeting Rooms, Renville Crescent, Ecclesfield

			PRESENT:				Councillors David Baker (Chair), Vic Bowden and Graham Oxley

			Also in attendance:- Councillor Tim Rippon

			Representatives of Panel Partners:-
			John Edwards					-	South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
			Alan Hooper					-	Ecclesfield Parish Council
			Kath Granger
			Sgt. Tony Leach					-	South Yorkshire Police
			Sgt. Andy Padgett
			Julie Smith					-	North Sheffield Primary Care Trust

			City Council Officers:-
			Andy Bennett					-	Development Services
			Anne Blantern					-	Area Co-ordinator
			Graham Broadhurst					-	Street Force
			John Charlton					-	Lead Manager
			Jane Harrison					-	Area Support Officer
			John Challenger					-	Committee Secretariat
			Sarah Thomson

			37 Members of the public attended the meeting.
		……………

1.		APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
		Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Kathleen Chadwick, Arthur Dunworth and Pat Fox.

2.		WORTLEY ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING SCHEME
		Andy Bennett, Highways Link Officer, provided a brief background report on the Wortley Road Traffic Calming Scheme and referred to his comments on this matter made at the meeting of the Panel held in June 2003. He informed Members of the Panel that an open day had been held at the PACE centre on Pack Horse Lane in order to consult with local residents and receive comments to identify measures to improve the area. Following the open day a draft scheme was considered by the Design Team to develop proposals prior to further consultation with the local community to finalise the proposals before implementation of the scheme. Mr Bennett outlined measures that could be implemented in the Wortley Road area and stated that these measures incorporated a number of schemes which would give consideration to traffic calming, off street parking facilities and waiting restrictions. He added that although the proposals had been designed no funding was available to carry out the schemes until 2004/05. Mr Bennett also added that the City Council had simplified the assessment process which would benefit areas with specific accident black spots and indicated that all schemes waiting for funding would be reassessed under the new criteria and re-prioritised by Christmas 2003. Mr Bennett informed Members of the Panel that there were 153 scheme requests for the North Area with a total of 900 outstanding scheme requests City wide.
		The Chair introduced Councillor Tim Rippon, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and informed Members of the Panel that Councillor Rippon had agreed to answer questions on Road Safety issues.
		Arising from consideration of Mr Bennett’s report the following questions were put to Councillor Tim Rippon and responses provided as follows:-

		Q.				A local resident reported that residents of High Green had been appealing to the Panel for approximately 3 years for action to be undertaken on the Wortley Road Traffic Calming Scheme, adding that in order for the scheme to be effective the whole of the scheme should be implemented and not ‘in a piecemeal manner aimed at pleasing residents. He asked what more residents needed to do in order to get the whole of the Wortley Road Scheme implemented?

		R.				Councillor Tim Rippon stated that residents do not need to take any further action. The Council had examined the procedures for Road Safety requests and the system of application and decided to simplify the process by reducing the number of initial questions from 20 to 6. Councillor Rippon anticipated that certain schemes would become higher priority and progress up the waiting list based on the criteria for the new assessment application in relation to the number of accident black spots in their area.

		Q.				When will the request for the Wortley Road Traffic Calming Scheme be taken up?

		R.				Councillor Rippon stated that he anticipated that the new assessment criteria would speed up the process and added that the City Council would obtain statistics from South Yorkshire Police to identify specific area accident black spots in order to direct funding into those priority areas.

		Q.				What is the cost of the Wortley Road Traffic Calming Scheme?

		R.				Andy Bennett, Highways Link Officer, stated that he would liaise with the case officer to identify the cost of the scheme and report to a future meeting of the Panel.

		Q.				John Yale, Chair of the High Green Action Group and Wortley Road Working Party reported on an accident that had taken place earlier that evening outside the school on Wortley Road, involving a young girl. He invited Members of the Panel to visit the site and also to attend a future meeting of the Working Party to discuss the scheme proposals.

		R.				Councillor Rippon accepted the invitation to visit the site but anticipated that he would be unable to attend a future Working Party Meeting and suggested that the Group inform him of their questions and concerns regarding the scheme and he would endeavour to respond as soon as possible. Councillor Rippon indicated that he would liaise with John Charlton, Lead Manager, in order to identify the possibility of some short-term measures which may alleviate the problems now raised.

		Q.				Yvonne Dunkersley, Head Teacher, High Green Primary School, asked, how bad an accident had to be in order for the City Council to take action. She informed Members of the Panel of the earlier accident which had taken place and had resulted in an 11 year old girl being taken to hospital. She also believed that one day a car would hit a parent leaving the school gates with a push chair if remedial action was not taken immediately.

		R.				Councillor Tim Rippon stated that he had previously attended a similar meeting where it had been reported that 5 children had been knocked down in the same location, and added that unfortunately the City Council were faced with a limited budget although the budget had increased this year, which had improved the situation although requests continued to be assessed on a priority basis with the worst accident areas being prioritised City wide.
						A local shop owner, expressed her disappointment at the action taken by the City Council and commented that no improvements had been carried out in the area for approximately 18 years. She felt that the City Council as a matter of urgency should make the Primary School safe in order to protect the children attending.
						Councillor Rippon acknowledged the concerns now raised.

		Q.				Would the Wortley Road Traffic Calming Scheme be delayed based on the number of injuries arising from accident black spots in the area compared to schemes in other areas with higher accident rates?

		R.				Councillor Rippon reiterated that the Highways budget had been increased for the financial year 2003/04, therefore he anticipated that the number of schemes completed would increase. He added that he would campaign through the Council to get the Highways budget increased for the forthcoming financial year 2004/05.

		Q.				A local resident referred to a meeting held in June 2003, with SYPTE and local residents to discuss bus routes in the area and the possibility of reducing the number of buses, he also requested that the City Council remove buses from the Highway in order to eliminate the volume of traffic in the area.

		R.				Councillor Rippon stated that he would reconvene the meeting with SYPTE in order to discuss the possibility of redirecting bus routes in the area. He added that he was unfamiliar with Wortley Road and stated that other factors such as an elderly care home on the route would contribute to the feasibility of the request.

		Q.				A local resident referred to a letter he had received in relation to the erection of signs at the junction at Pack Horse Lane, dated 12th February, 2003, stating that an officer of the Council was investigating the matter. He added that the letter suggested that Street Force would be carrying out remedial action and added that there was still no road signage situated at Pack Horse Lane School.

		R.				Councillor Tim Rippon acknowledged the concerns expressed and stated that he would liaise with John Charlton, Lead Manager, and report back to the questioner at a later date.

						The Panel thanked Councillor Rippon for his contribution to the meeting.

3.		MINUTES
		The Panel received and approved the minutes of the meeting held on 17th September, 2003, and arising from consideration of the Action Check List from this meeting it was noted that (a) John Charlton, Lead Manager, had investigated concerns regarding improvements to the road crossing outside Stannington Infants School at the top of Nook Lane and had established that the project was still at the design stage with further public consultation needed and construction on site programmed to commence in the final quarter of 2003/04 (b) Street Force would install a litter bin on the Woodfarm Estate once a location had been identified by the residents (c) the Area Co-ordinator, had established that funding for additional play equipment in Deer Park had been received from Section 106 monies matched by Hillsborough Area Panel’s NRF Funding (d) with regard to concerns expressed regarding the Oughtibridge Danger Reduction Scheme, the Lead Manager had investigated this issue and confirmed that Street Force had erected lighting columns for connection by Yorkshire Electricity week ending 24th October, 2003 with final re-surfacing to be completed by late October/November (e) the scheme for the Improvement of Pedestrian Access on Oughtibridge Lane, remained on the list for assessment and anticipated that the approximate cost of a footbridge would be around £250,000 (f) Andy Bennett, Development Services, had investigated concerns expressed regarding the loss of Car Parking in Oughtibridge and proposals for the provision of a Housing Development on Langsett Road South and Low Road Oughtibridge would be presented to the North and West Planning and Highways Area Board on Tuesday 21st October, 2003, the highways scheme would provide a ‘zebra’ crossing to assist pedestrians crossing Low Road in the vicinity of Bridge Hill and provide additional parking bays at the end of Low Road (g) the Area Co-ordinator had investigated concerns regarding the refurbishment of Mortomley and Thorncliffe Parks and contracts had now been issued and equipment ordered and she anticipated that the majority of the work would be completed before Christmas 2003.

		Ecclesfield Parish Councillor, Alan Hooper, indicated that he had not yet received a response in relation to the removal of a private fence obstructing a public footpath in Queensgate.
		John Charlton, Lead Manager, reported that he would investigate the matter and report back to a future meeting of the Panel.

		A local resident commented that he was pleased with the work undertaken at the junction of Low Road, although he felt that a bollard was required to reconfigure the road layout as people were still parking behind the junction making the junction a blind spot for on-coming traffic down Bridge Hill.
		Andy Bennett, Development Services, stated that he would inform the case officer of this request.

		The Chair referred to an , issue relating to the clearance of woodlands at Little Matlock Lane in order to create a car park and stated that he had written to the Planning Department and the item was to be dealt with by them.
		Following the tree felling and draining of the dam in order to create the car park a local resident commented that he had been informed by the Planning Enforcement Officer that the fishing dam had now been re-filled and re-stocked.

		John Charlton, Lead Manager referred to the First Quarter Statistics requested from the Highways Agency regarding the number of accidents on the Stocksbridge By-Pass and stated that disappointingly the statistics had not been made available to himself or Councillor Brelsford despite a number of requests but understood that statistics were now available following a statement by the Highways Agency which appeared in the Star Newspaper. The Chair stated that he would inform Stocksbridge Town Council in order for them to obtain the information required.

		Mr Trevor Bagshaw, informed Members of the Panel that the next meeting of the Local Access Forum would be held on 28th November, 2003 at Wood Lane at 2.00 pm.

4.		PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
		The following questions were raised by members of the public and responses were provided as follows:-

		Q.			A local resident referred to an incident that he was aware of involving an 86 year old man whom had been assaulted by a youth offender and enquired as to what type of incident had to happen before the local Police would attend a call?

		R.			Sgt. Tony Leach informed Members of the Panel that he would be responsible for the Community Group for Ecclesfield and parts of Parsons Cross and Sgt. Andy Padgett would be responsible for the Foxhill and Grenoside areas, he added that two other Sergeants would be responsible for the remaining parts of the North area. He stated that they would be responsible for their new areas from 20th October, 2003.
					In response to the question Sgt. Leach reported that he could not comment on a specific incident and stated that individual incidents were prioritised dependant upon resources available and the grading of the incident reported.
					Sgt. Leach stated that dependent upon the severity of the incident the parents of the youth offender may receive an initial warning letter and if the alleged offender is reported again they may also receive a second warning letter or an Acceptable Behaviour Contract Order (ABCO), which he reported was an agreement with the offender to avoid a list of activities. He stated that if the order was breached by the offender, an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) may be enforced and the maximum of 5 years imprisonment, he also added that such orders were viewed as being effective by members of the local community.
					He informed Members of the Panel of a walkabout arranged for November, 2003, with South Yorkshire Police and local residents in order to assess and address problems of anti-social behaviour with the aim of establishing long-term solutions.

		Q.			A local resident expressed concern in relation to a number of football supporters who had been set down in Chapeltown prior to a football match.

		R.			Sgt. Leach acknowledged the concerns expressed and stated that he was unaware as to why the football supporters had been set down in Chapeltown.

		Q.			A local resident enquired as to why South Yorkshire Police did not tag well known offenders?

		R.			Sgt. Tony Leach indicated that he would speak with local residents at the close of the meeting in order to obtain details of matters of concern.

		Q.			The Head teacher of St Mary’s Primary School, Pack Horse Lane, enquired as to whether additional car parking facilities had been taken into consideration within the Wortley Road Traffic Calming Scheme as many events were held at the school and public access was required.

		R.			Andy Bennett believed that there was no provision for off street parking in the scheme design. A local resident reported that there was an area of land located between the PACES Centre and Thorncliffe Park which would allow immediate parking for PACES staff and St. Mary’s Primary School and resolve the issues raised. Andy Bennett noted this information and stated that the off-street parking scheme was to be re-assessed under the City Council’s new assessment criteria.

		Q.			A local resident reiterated the fact that where a scheme was divided into smaller projects it would not be as effective and served no particular purpose.

		R.			In response, Andy Bennett, acknowledged the concerns expressed and noted the information reported.

5.		QUARTERLY HIGHWAYS UPDATE
		Andy Bennett, reported on the progress of the Highways Schemes in the North Area and stated that he would provide further reports which would detail the programme of work in the area, information on how the schemes in the area were progressing, details on the traffic schemes requested and highlight the proposals for the following year.
		Mr Bennett reported that where schemes were not committed for 2003/04 they would be re-assessed under the new criteria and re-prioritised by Christmas 2003 in order to progress during the financial year 2004/05.
		The Chair requested that Andy Bennett clarify the new assessment criteria. Andy Bennett stated that the new assessment criteria would be weighted in favour of child accidents and areas of deprivation which could delay schemes assessed under the old assessment system as the ranking of priorities could change.
		A local resident expressed his concerns in relation to the new assessment criteria and suggested that an area needed an increase in the number of child accidents in their area in order for the scheme to be prioritised.
		Andy Bennett reported that under the new criteria a scheme may also score well regardless of the number of child accidents and deprivation in the area.
		Mr Bennett then referred to the Local Transport Plan Scheme Requests List which he had previously circulated to Members of the Panel and reported on the progress of a number of schemes contained therein.
		Arising from consideration of Mr Bennett’s report the following questions were asked and responses provided as follows:-

		Q.		A local resident enquired as to whether a bus station was to be built in Chapeltown.

		R.		Andy Bennett, reported that discussions had taken place regarding the possibility of a mini interchange.

		Q.		A local resident expressed concern in relation to a highways related issue and a number of local community businesses. He reported that Onyx had refused to collect waste from the businesses due to the bridge opposite the Bowling Green being unsafe. He sought clarification in order to establish whether bridge strengthening would be undertaken by the City Council as farm machinery was still travelling via the bridge in question.

		R.		The Chair requested that John Charlton/Andy Bennett investigate whether the bridge was safe for the use of vehicles and report back to a future meeting of the Panel.

6.		AREA CO-ORDINATORS REPORT
		The Panel noted information reported by the Area Co-ordinator on the following issues:-

		Community Safety
		Active forums were operating in High Green and Stannington with both groups meeting on a regular basis. Both groups had developed action plans and were aiming to address issues identified therein. It was reported that work with young people had been particularly successful in High Green and regular detached work was also continuing with a new club opening shortly. Following the increase of youth nuisance reports in Ecclesfield it was hoped to start a Forum in the area with an initial walkabout taking place in November, 2003.