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Owlerton Southey Green Area Panel Conference
OWLERTON/SOUTHEY GREEN AREA PANEL COMMUNITY CONFERENCE
held Thursday, 12th February, 2004 at
Colley Working Mens Club, Margetson Road
PRESENT: Councillors Doreen Newton (Chair), Joan Barton, Chris Weldon and Mark Wilde.
Approximately 150 members of the public, Officers and representatives of Panel Partners attended the Conference.
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1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
An apology for absence was received from Councillor Tim Rippon.
2. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Councillor Doreen Newton introduced the Members of the Panel and welcomed the large number of people who had attended the Conference. She indicated that she had been appointed as Chair of the Panel until the Annual meeting of the City Council in June, 2004, following, due to work commitments, the recent resignation of Councillor Mark Wilde as Chair of the Panel and she thanked Councillor Wilde for the hard work he had undertaken in his two years as Panel Chair.
Isobel Riley, Lead Manager for the Panel, spoke on behalf of the City Council's Officers in thanking Councillor Wilde for the work he had undertaken as Chair and highlighted the fact that he had lobbied and campaigned very hard on behalf of the community to bring additional resources into the area.
Councillor Mark Wilde highlighted the fact that the Councillors serving on the Area Panel were working extremely hard on behalf of the Owlerton/Southey Green Community and that he welcomed the fact that during his period as Panel Chair projects to the value of £500,000 had brought about a number of improvements to those who both live and work in the area. This would not have been achieved had it not been for the partnership work being undertaken. He welcomed the appointment of Councillor Doreen Newton as Chair of the Panel for the remainder of the Municipal Year and indicated that due to his recent appointment as Regeneration Officer for Foxhill it was no longer possible for him to Chair the Panel. However, he would remain as a Panel Member and was committed to the regeneration of the area of which he was a local resident.
3. PRESENTATION OF NEW YEAR'S HONOURS AWARDS
Councillor Mark Wilde indicated that the Panel had decided to present New Year's Honours Awards to individuals and groups in recognition of the work that they were undertaking in the community. The following people and groups were given awards:-
Brian Wilson Posthumous Award given in recognition of the community work undertaken over many years and particularly, in more recent times, in connection with the Parkwood Landfill Site. Mrs. Jean Wilson accepted the Award.
Bob Swaine In recognition of the volunteer work that he had undertaken as a representative of Longley Hall Farm Tenants' and Residents' Association.
Ann Marshall In recognition of her fund raising activities at Mansel Primary School.
Graham Slight In recognition of the volunteer work he had undertaken as a representative of Longley Hall Farm Tenants' and Residents' Association.
David Smith In recognition of the work he was undertaking at the Foxhill and Parson Cross Advice Service.
Yvonne Hayes In recognition of the work she was undertaking in educating young people and adults about drugs.
Maureen Beer In recognition of the community work she had undertaken over the years
Nick Slater In recognition of the volunteer work being undertaken as a representative of the Wolfe Road Action Group.
Pam Shaw In recognition of the volunteer work she was undertaking in respect of the LOCAL Lunch Club
Kerry Milnes In recognition of her work as a lead volunteer for the LOCAL Parent and Toddler Group.
Tracey Walker In recognition of her voluntary fund raising and care work through Foxhill Primary School.
Lisa Casey In recognition of the work she was undertaking as Community Safety Officer for the City Council.
Les Sheldon In recognition of the work he was undertaking in respect of Busk Meadows Park and other environmental projects across the City. June Barrott collected the Award on behalf of Les Sheldon.
Christine Jackson In recognition of her work as a lead volunteer for the LOCAL Parent and Toddler Group.
Pam Hawksworth In recognition of her work as volunteer worker for the Four Greens Café.
Richard Ward In recognition of the voluntary work he was undertaking in respect of Healthy Cross and the Bridge Employment Project.
Maureen Skayman In recognition of her work in connection with people with mental health problems and their carers.
Andrea Malinder In recognition of her work as a voluntary fund raiser at Mansel Primary School.
Noreen Wade In recognition of the work she was undertaking with disabled adults and young people.
Arthur Wade In recognition of the work he was undertaking with disabled adults and young people.
Irene Bingley In recognition of the work she was undertaking in respect of older peoples events on Scraithwood Drive.
Mal Bingley In recognition of the work he was undertaking in respect of older peoples events on Scraithwood Drive.
Glen Rooney In recognition of his work in developing IT skills at the Wolfe Road Centre.
Helen Barnard In recognition of her work as project manager of the Foxhill Out of School Club.
Keith Donston In recognition of the work he was undertaking in developing the Community Forum in Shirecliffe.
Janet Axelby In recognition of the work she was undertaking in respect of the Shirecliffe TARA, and the Hub Project.
Kerry Bentley In recognition of the work she was undertaking in respect of the Shirecliffe/ Southey Hubs Project.
Ken Bulmer In recognition of the work he was undertaking as a volunteer for the Wolfe Road Action Group.
Sharon Lockey In recognition of the work she was undertaking as a voluntary fund raiser at Parson Cross School.
A number of organisations were also awarded New Years Honours;
The Friends of St. Patricks School In recognition of their fund raising activities and their work building community links with the wider parish.
Sheffield Wildlife Trust In recognition of the environmental work they were undertaking across the area.
Flatspot Skate Group In recognition of their dedication and commitment to the development of Cookson Park.
City Stewardship Team In recognition of the work they were undertaking in the area.
Parson Cross Heritage Project For their contribution to the “Ourselves, Our Place” local history project
North Sheffield Youth Forum For developing opportunities and a positive image for Young People
Councillor Mark Wilde highlighted the fact that whilst there were many people receiving awards there were also many other people working very hard across the area whose work was also valued very much by the City Council and elected members.
4. NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL FUNDING (NRF) PLANS FOR 2004/2006
Ann Allen, Community Regeneration Manager, Sheffield City Council, gave a presentation regarding Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF) and the Panel's proposals, as set out in the draft Local Action Plan, as to how the £347,000 per year allocated to the Panel for 2004/2006 would be spent. She sought comments and feedback on these proposals from the Conference and highlighted the fact that people present would be invited to join Workshop sessions later in the meeting for this purpose.
The draft Local Action Plan was influenced by both national and city-wide guidance, lessons learned from NRF Projects during 2002/2004, priorities arising from the Area Plan, suggestions from potential project groups, ideas from the Neighbourhood Strategy Steering Group, Theme Group Convenors and the City Council's Officer Support Team.
The Panel had established five overall aims for NRF, these being to support children and young people, improve the environment, reduce crime and enhance community safety, improve local people's health and well being and increase participation in education, employment and training.
The city-wide guidance included the City Council's Closing the Gap agenda and the Cleaner, Greener, Safer City initiative.
Ms. Allen continued by giving details of NRF spending in 2002/2004 and cited examples of how this had been in response to consultation with the local community, particularly arising from the last Area Panel Conference in October, 2002.
With regard to improving the environment the consultation highlighted the need for a dedicated litter picker, more Bring Out Your Rubbish Days, flowers to brighten roundabouts, improvements to Busk Meadows, Cookson and Wolfe Road Parks and improvements to grass verges. During this period NRF had been used to fund an additional litter picker, 17 Bring Out Your Rubbish Days, flower planting at roundabouts, bulbs distributed to local schools, over £100,000 invested in parks and green spaces including Busk Meadows, Cookson and Wolfe Road Parks and the launch of a driveways loan scheme to improve grass verges.
With regard to community safety extra police time, house alarms, security measures and a Neighbourhood Warden Scheme had been requested. NRF had been used to form a Neighbourhood Housing Team to help tackle anti-social behaviour and £40,000 had been used for a Crime Reduction package which included extra police hours, target hardening and the installation of Tunstall Alarms.
She referred to the fact that in the information pack circulated at the meeting there were other examples of how NRF had been used, particularly in respect of children and young people, health and well being and support for the community.
The proposals for 2004/2006 were set out as follows:-
Supporting Children and Young People
Project Activity 2004/2006 Allocation
Childcare Package - Junior Clubs and
Playschemes (Childcare Partnership) £15,000 per year
Support for Out of School Clubs around
Business Planning/Sustainability
(Foxhill and Meynell) £14,000 per year
Voice and Influence Style Work:
Development of Area-wide Youth Forum £25,000 per year
Under Consideration - - Family Support - Continued Delivery and Preventative Services for Families Outside Surestart Areas or with Older Children (£20,000 per year)
Improving the Environment
Continued Litter Picker, Bring Out Your Rubbish Days and Bulb Planting. £25,000 per year
Improvements to Local Parks and Woodlands (Sites to be confirmed) £30,000 per year
Environmental Improvements with the Wildlife Trust (Sites to be confirmed) £25,000 per year
Streetscene Improvements: Driveway Loan Scheme and Welcome Signs £15,000 per year
Crime and Community Safety
Environmental City Stewardship Team or similar initiative to create natural surveillance at high risk locations £15,000 per year
Neighbourhood Housing Team to help tackle Anti-Social Behaviour £75,000 per year
Health and Well Being Part-time Worker to implement Sport and Recreation Plan £13,000 per year
Young People's Sexual Health Information Project £6,000 per year
Foxhill and Parson Cross Advice Service - Outreach sessions at Foxhill and Palgrave £5,000 per year
Sustainability Support for Relatives of Drug Abusers, Live at Home Schemes, Parson Cross Domestic Abuse Project. Year 1 - £29,000
Other Health Activities in Year 2 Year 2 £30,000
Research to follow up Parkwood Landfill Health Impact Assessment Year 1 - £7,000
Education, Employment and Training
Education Action Zone - Adult and Family Learning via local schools £15,000 per year
Sheffield Wednesday Coaching Sessions in Schools, promoting attendance and achievement £7,000 per year
Under Consideration - Supporting the Learning Centres Network (£10,000 per year)
Under consideration - Full Employment Zone - Discretionary Fund to Help Get People Back to Work (£15,000 per year)
Other Activities
Area Panel Newsletter £2,000 per year
Ann Allen highlighted the fact that the proposals contained in the draft Local Action Plan for 2004/2006 were based on priorities arising from the Area Plan, that they were designed to build upon the achievements of NRF over the past two years and were aimed at significantly improving the quality of life for everyone in Owlerton/Southey Green. She invited members of the public in attendance to break into the respective Workgroups.
Arising from consideration of the presentation the following public questions were asked and responses noted:-
Q. The consultation had highlighted the fact that the local community wanted a Neighbourhood Warden Scheme but this had not been delivered despite a public expectation. Why had a Scheme not proceeded?
R. Isobel Riley indicated that the main problem relating to the Neighbourhood Warden Scheme was that it would have been funded only temporarily which made its long term future unsustainable and employment opportunities tenuous. She acknowledged that whilst Schemes were considered a good idea the main problem was their long term sustainability. As an alternative it was proposed to establish a specific Neighbourhood Housing Team to work closely with the Neighbourhood Action Groups with the aim of achieving the same type of outputs.
Q . Could funding be made available to make improvements to the Wooden Park?
R. The Chair noted the request and commented that if the City Council were successful in their bid for Liveability Funding there would be more funding available for environmental projects.
5. WORKSHOP REPORTS
The following comments were received in respect of the Workshop sessions:-
Improving the Environment
The Chair indicated that the Workshop had supported the bulb planting initiative but had requested that consideration be given to the planting of wild flowers in certain locations following a general clean-up of the area. They particularly supported the continued employment of the litter picker and for bins to be located adjacent to bus stops, schools and shopping precincts. They were particularly concerned regarding fly tipping at Parson Cross Park and requested that initiatives be undertaken in areas not covered such as Tongue Gutter and Back Edge.
With regard to Bring Out Your Rubbish Days, they requested that more notice be given and that consideration be given to arranging them for Dryden Road and at St. Michaels Road?
With regard to future items for Area Panel meetings, requests had been received for presentations regarding Pioneer Funding in Shirecliffe and a general presentation regarding all the funding streams in the area and how they were co-ordinated.
Education, Employment and Training
Janet Charlton from the Raising Attainment Project at Watermead School highlighted the fact that her Workshop had focused mainly on the education theme and it had been noted that proportionately the funding for this priority was quite low against the other themes.
The Workshop considered that more funding should be spent on family and adult learning in schools as this was the most cost effective way of attracting learners.
The Workshop also made reference to the Owler Brook model where students were aiming to achieve NVQ Level 3 through investment in nursery and infant schools as this was considered a good opportunity to attract parents back into education.
It was considered that more workers were required to be based in schools and that the SRB5 Raising Attainment funding should be continued. She believed that more could be done in respect of adult learning but there was a lack of facilities.
With regard to finding employment the Workshop came to no firm conclusion and there were concerns raised regarding overlaps relating to all the initiatives such as Surestart and other areas where there were gaps in provision. The Chair suggested that this may be an appropriate agenda item for a future Area Panel meeting.
Children and Young People
Councillor Mark Wilde reported that the Workshop were supportive of the proposals put forward. However, it was felt that more resources should be directed to the work being undertaken on the ground.
It was also highlighted that organisations needed structures for sustainability beyond the two years of NRF and that it was important to involve Neighbourhood Forums in the delivery of Projects. The Workshop particularly supported the Voice and Influence Full Time Worker.
With regard to future agenda items the Workshop highlighted issues including transport to the new employment opportunities at High Green and at Claywheels Lane and the need for improved communication networks.
Health and Well Being
It was noted that Owen McDowell, who led this Workshop, had had to leave the Conference and the findings would be reported back to the Panel in due course.
Crime and Community Safety
Lisa Casey highlighted the fact that the Workshop believed the City Stewardship Team to be a good idea and that the initiatives undertaken to cut back privet hedges on both vacant and properties to be demolished was to be welcomed as this made residents feel safer.
The Workshop noted that the Housing Team to tackle anti-social behaviour would be working closely with Neighbourhood Action Groups to draw up compacts and that work would be undertaken with children in schools, partner agencies and community groups.
The Workshop were particularly mindful of the need for the Housing Team to be much swifter in tackling issues of anti-social behaviour to gain the confidence of the public in the area.
The Panel approved the proposals for NRF 2004/2006, as set out in the draft Local Action Plan, subject to full consideration being given to the issues raised during the Workshop sessions.
6. CLOSING COMMENTS
The Chair thanked everyone who had contributed to the Conference and was particularly thankful to Councillor Mark Wilde following his two years as Panel Chair.
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