Minutes of Owlerton Southey Green Area Panel 20 September 2005

OWLERTON/SOUTHEY GREEN AREA PANEL


Meeting held 20th September, 2005, at Parkwood High School, Penrith Road, Shirecliffe

PRESENT:		Councillors Gill Furniss (Chair), Vic Bowden and Leigh Bramall.

		Also in attendance:-
		Helen Wright	-	North Regeneration Team
		Chris Spafford	-	Street Force
		Darryl Dawson	-	Street Force
		Paul Hudson	-	Street Force
		James Barnes	-	Liveability Programme Co-ordinator
		Paul Adams	-	Adult and Community Learning Unit
		Richard Sutcliffe	-	Activity Sheffield
		Steve Robinson	-	Headteacher, Chaucer School
		Amie Rowland	-	Parks, Woodlands and Countryside Service
		Dave Wright	-	Parks, Woodlands and Countryside Service
		Naz Hussain	-	Sheffield Homes
		Simon Young	-	Sheffield Homes
		Bruce Irving	-	Liveability Programme
		Vicky Taylor	-	Forward and Area Planning
		Andy Wier	-	Area Co-ordinator
		Sharon Ellis	-	BEST Team
		Penny Rea	-	Education Action Zone
		Matthew Rush	-	Area Support Officer
		Stuart Bolton	-	Area Action Officer
		Chris Mallaband	-	Headteacher, Parkwood High School
		Andy Cain	-	Committee Secretariat

		10 other members of the public attended the meeting, including representatives of community organisations and Panel partners.

………………….

1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
	Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Steve Jones and Chris Weldon.

2.	NEW APPROACH TO PANEL MEETINGS
	The Panel agreed proposals, set out in a report presented by Andy Wier, outlining a possible new format for the Panel’s public meetings, which aimed to increase audience participation and ensure more accountability from the outcomes of the meeting, by identifying action points and people responsible for them.

3.	LIVEABILITY PROGRAMME
	James Barnes, Liveability Programme Co-ordinator, gave a presentation about the Liveability Programme, which aimed to improve the parks, open space and streetscene in the Southey Owlerton area.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had indicated, in 2003, that the Liveability initiative was about public open space and the effect it had on the quality of everyday life, as the quality of the local environment was important to people. Public spaces needed to be well planned and designed, welcoming, attractive and managed and maintained to a high standard. The Liveability Programme had provided funding to local authorities to deliver innovative and challenging programmes for creating new parks and public spaces and improving the quality of the environment. Liveability would put in place proposals for service improvements to address a range of issues including litter, dog fouling, graffiti, parks, street cleansing and community safety.
	The planned Liveability Programme aimed to put in place physical improvements and develop new ways of working in order to deliver excellent streets and green spaces for everyone in Southey Owlerton.
	A total of £400,000 in revenue funding was available to develop ways of improving service delivery and how local authorities managed and maintained public spaces. If this was achieved a further £3m in capital funding was available together with £2m from the Housing Market Renewal Fund and other funds.
	The focus of the Programme was on parks, open spaces and streets. Improvement works were planned for eight parks, Busk Meadows, Colley, Cookson, Four Greens, Longley, Middlewood, Parson Cross and Wolfe Road and for naturalistic open spaces, including Maggie Fields and Southey Hill. The streetscene programme included a Design Feasibility Study for the future development of neighbourhood centres and a pilot project at the Margetson Crescent Neighbourhood Centre. Another priority was the management of the cleared housing land awaiting redevelopment.
	A variety of organisations were involved in managing and maintaining public open spaces in the area including the City Council’s Parks, Woodlands and Countryside Service and Street Force, Sheffield Homes, the Southey and Owlerton Area Regeneration Board, Sheffield Wildlife Trust, LOCAL, park groups, tenants’ and residents’ associations, local residents and other private sector organisations.
	Plans were in place to develop a Liveability Customer Charter to encourage local people to be involved in improving the service and to develop new maintenance standards for parks, open spaces and streets. Community consultation would be taking place with regard to the management plans and to ensure that local people were involved in monitoring the standards of service.
	Area based working was to be introduced and the Parks, Woodlands and Countryside Service, Sheffield Homes and Street Force were working together out of the Knutton Road depot. Additional staff had been employed which included dedicated staff being deployed to various sites in the area. Priorities had also been agreed and an area based customer contact point established.
	Andy Wier invited members of the public to participate in a series of working groups to be led by an elected Member and a representative of a service provider or agency. He asked each working group to assess what was good about the Liveability proposals and the management and maintenance of public space, what needed to be improved and what could be done about it. Each working group was required to agree on three positive comments, three areas for improvement and three suggested actions.
	The main outcomes of the working groups were noted as follows:-

	What’s good about the streets?
	· The public were aware that the shopping areas were improving
	· The Decent Homes Programme was delivering improvements to houses, up to the curtilage of the property, which was having a positive impact on the value of privately owned properties
	· There had been improvements in the level of street cleaning, especially around shops and retail outlets

	What’s good about the cleared sites?
	· The wild flower planting
	· A noticeable reduction in fly tipping
	· The community involvement in the wild flower planting

	What’s good about parks and open spaces
	· The improvements were visible
	· The parks in the area had individual identities and were a great natural resource
	· They were particular user friendly with a variety of informal family and well ordered activity

	What needed to be done to improve the streets?
	· The verges either needed to be maintained as green verges or replaced as hardstanding
	· There was a need for improved lighting
	· There needed to be a continuing level of improvement in the collection of litter.

	What needed to be improved about the cleared sites?
	· Some improvements were needed to the finishing, for example, some walls were not completely demolished
	· More consideration needed to be given to long term maintenance issues
	· Better signage and/or an indication as to what the long-term plans were for the sites.

	What needed to be improved about parks and open spaces?
	· An increase in the numbers of staff in parks to ensure effective maintenance and to maximise safety
	· More Litter/Dog Fouling Bins required
	· A continuing increase in the level of activities being provided.

	What could be done about the streets?

	Action				Responsible

·	Increase the number of litterbins. Paul Hudson commented that the Cleaner Sheffield Strategy, being rolled out across the City, should deliver noticeable improvements in Owlerton/Southey from October, 2005.				Street Force (October, 2005)

·	Increase the frequency of street cleaning and prevent any slippage. Paul Hudson again referred to the Cleaner Sheffield Strategy and indicated that it may be appropriate to invite the City Council Officer responsible, Nick Hetherington, to a future Panel meeting.				Street Force (Nick Hetherington) (October, 2005)

·	Improve the timing of Refuse Collection and ensure that the litter hotspots were targeted effectively. Paul Hudson again referred to the raft of measures to be introduced as part of the Cleaner Sheffield Strategy, including the utilisation of part-time staff at critical times and smaller vehicles. Andy Wier highlighted that this was also a waste management issue involving Onyx.				Street Force/Onyx (October 2005)

	What could be done about the cleared sites?

	Action				Responsible

·	Encourage and support local groups to be involved in flower planting and engage the various agencies and organisations involved in flower planting and maintenance. Paul Hudson suggested that consideration be given to Spring and Summer judging as part of the In Bloom Initiative.				Sheffield Wildlife Trust and other agencies.

·	Address long term funding issues with regard to future maintenance.				North Regeneration Team (Housing Market Renewal) (April 2006).

·	Improve signage to include information about the long-term plans for the cleared sites.				North Regeneration Team (Housing Market Renewal) (April 2006)

	What could be done to improve parks and open spaces?

	Action				Responsible

·	Increase investment to provide more litter/dog fouling bins and better signage				Liveability Programme Team (2006/2007)

·	Increase the level of activities. A variety of organisations delivered activities and there needed to be more co-ordination.				Neighbourhood Forums/Sheffield Wildlife Trust/Activity Sheffield and other agencies.

·	Work needed to be undertaken with schools to ensure that children could be educated about the value of parks and open spaces.				School Councils.

4.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	There were no public questions asked or petitions presented.

5.	MINUTES
	The minutes of the Panel meeting held 23rd June, 2005, were received and approved as a correct record and arising therefrom it was noted that the ‘Welcome to Southey’ sign had been damaged again and that other welcome signs were still not sited correctly. Councillor Gill Furniss commented that planning for the welcome signs programme had been undertaken a number of years ago, in consultation with the Neighbourhood Forums, and, in hindsight, would be have been better linked to the Liveability Programme. She confirmed that the City Council was aware of the issues raised and that Andy Wier would be providing an update later in the meeting.

6.	ROLLING ACTION CHECKLIST
	The rolling action checklist for public meetings was received and approved as a correct record and arising therefrom the following issues were noted:-

	Police Update
	Andy Wier indicated that it was still his intention to invite the Police to a future meeting to provide an update on their Neighbourhood Renewal Fund allocation.

	Southey Bus Gate
	Councillors Gill Furniss and Leigh Bramall had met with representatives of the Dryden and Kyle Tenants’ and Residents’ Association (DAKTARA) and had requested City Council officers to investigate the concerns raised with regard to the Southey Bus Gate and report back to a future meeting. It was understood that a traffic review was to be undertaken. A representative of DAKTARA believed that the simplest solution was to remove the Bus Gate.

	Welcome Signs
	Andy Wier indicated that agreement had been reached regarding the relocation of the Welcome Signs for Foxhill, Southey and Shirecliffe, but the work was still awaited. Further consideration needed to be given to the possible erection of a ‘Welcome to Birley Carr’ sign, given the mixed views of the public as to their value and the limited funding available.

	Accessibility Planning Workshop
	Andy Wier suggested that anybody interested in the outcome of the Accessibility Planning Workshop should attend the Southey and Owlerton Area Regeneration Environment, Leisure and Transport meeting to be held on 12th October, 2005, between 10.00 a.m. and 12 noon at St. Cecelia’s Church.

7.	NEXT MEETING
	It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on Tuesday, 15th November, 2005 at 6.00 p.m. at the St. Bernard Church Hall, Southey.

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