Minutes of South East Area Panel 26 July 2005

SOUTH EAST AREA PANEL

Meeting held 26th July 2005


	PRESENT:	Councillors Chris Rosling-Josephs (Chair), David Barker, Marjorie Barker, Mike Peat, Mike Pye, Ian Saunders and Sam Wall

		Also in attendance:- Councillors Mick Rooney (Cabinet Member for Social Regeneration and Adult Services) and Martin Lawton and Margaret Lambert and Ros Witten (Woodhouse Library), Angela Rowland (Social Services), Jackie Ainsworth (Older People’s Housing Strategy Team), Jonathan Ellis (City School), Dianne Hurst (Area Co-ordinator), Hannah Isherwood (South East Area Support Officer) and 17 members of the public

............

1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
	Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bryan Lodge and Helen Mirfin-Boukouris and Ken Matthews (Lead Officer).

2.	WOODHOUSE RETIREMENT VILLAGE
	Angela Rowland, Extra Care Housing Project Manager, Social Services, outlined the progress that had been made on the development of the Woodhouse Retirement Village, which was the largest scheme of its kind that was taking place in Sheffield.
	Angela Rowland stated that the development would comprise 217 units, the majority of which would be flats in the main building, and 8 bungalows. Plans of the proposed development were on display at the meeting and Angela Rowland explained that a number of facilities would be included in the development, such as a café/restaurant/bar, a greenhouse, a shop and a hairdressing salon. It was planned to include the wider community in the activities of the retirement village and these facilities would be available for non-residents who were over 55 years of age.
	Angela Rowland stated that 175 of the properties would be for rent, 30 would be available for shared ownership and 12 would be for outright sale. So far as progress on the site was concerned, the former Woodhouse Grammar School had been demolished and two of the stained-glass windows and the date stone of the Grammar School had been retained and would be used on the new building. The site had been secured with fencing and preparations were being made to commence work on the foundations.
	Members of the public asked a number of questions, to which Angela Rowland responded as follows:-
	· Extra Care Housing was a Charitable Trust.
	· The scheme being planned for the Woodhouse Retirement Village mirrored those in other areas such as Warrington and St. Helens.
	· It was a planning condition that the stone of the former building should be retained and used on the new build.
	· A database had been established of all those who had expressed an interest in the Retirement Village and, at the appropriate time, they would be contacted.
	· In respect of the 175 properties that would be available to rent, Jackie Ainsworth undertook to let Betty Sharpe know the position vis-à-vis Choice Based Lettings and Social Services rented properties.
	· Details would be given on the eligibility criteria and other issues when people were contacted in regard to their expressions of interest (probably twelve months from now).
	· The Charitable Trust was involved in a scheme at Northampton which was similar to the Woodhouse Retirement Village and Officers would be considering the selection and other criteria used by Northampton to see what lessons could be learned.
	· The arrangements for selection and other criteria would be considered by representatives from Sheffield City Council, the Neighbourhoods Housing Team, the South East Primary Trust, Arena and the Extra Care Charitable Trust.
	· It had not been possible to include more bungalows in the scheme because they would have been sited too close to the boundary of certain properties.
	RESOLVED: That (a) the information now reported be noted; and
	(b) Angela Rowland be thanked for attending the meeting and responding to the questions of members of the public.

3.	SOUTH EAST ACTIVE COMMUNITIES SUMMER PROGRAMME
	The Area Co-ordinator stated that Stuart Rogers, Active Communities Project, had been unable to attend the meeting because he was involved in activity sessions with the sports van. However, a brochure had been circulated at the meeting which outlined all the summer sport and play activities that had been organised in the area by Active South East and which would take place between 25th July and 2nd September 2005. The Area Co-ordinator stated that all the photographs in the brochure of young people participating in sporting activities featured children from this area and the activities had been well received.
	A separate flyer in respect of Westfield and Halfway had been prepared in view of the rescheduling that had been necessary following a fire at the school.
	In response to a question from a member of the public, the Area Co-ordinator stated that there was a spread of activities throughout the area and the locations had been largely dictated by their suitability for certain types of sport. Attendance at the various venues was being monitored and it appeared that children were using a spread of locations and not just those that were close to home.
	The Area Co-ordinator concluded by stating that the activities had been arranged in partnership with the local Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations and £40,000 had been raised to support the programme.
	RESOLVED: That (a) the information now reported be noted; and
	(b) the offer now reported, that Stuart Rogers will be available to attend the next meeting of the Panel, be accepted.

4.	CITY SCHOOL -
	Community Development
	Jonathan Ellis, City School, stated that he was responsible for community development at the School and one of his duties would be to improve the interface between the school and the community. As part of the extended school philosophy, he would also be examining child care and extending the school day and curriculum activities for all the junior schools and the senior school.
	Jonathan Ellis stated that he would be considering strategies to prevent young people becoming disengaged and participating in nuisance crime. He would also be seeking to develop social enterprise and support the activities of community and other groups in Woodhouse and Woodthorpe. The school would be pivotal in those regeneration plans which aimed to improve the quality of life for residents in the area.
	Jonathan Ellis briefly described his background in the Royal Air Force, business and community regeneration initiatives and stated that he was keen to contribute to the regeneration of this area.
	RESOLVED: That the information now reported be noted.

	A Life Changing Mission
	The Area Co-ordinator reported that it had not been possible for representatives of the 18 City School students who had joined a party of 40 people who visited Lesotho to attend the meeting of the Area Panel, but they had undertaken to attend the next meeting to recount their experiences.
	However, the Area Co-ordinator was able to report on the visit and she circulated a paper which had been prepared and which gave details of the visit, which was organised by Ken Dunn, Assistant Head Teacher at the school.
	The students had been involved in a number of projects during their visit and these were detailed in the paper. The students had commented that they would never forget the experience and that it would make them think differently about things they normally took for granted, such as clean, running water.
	The Area Co-ordinator concluded by stating that City School had raised sufficient money to pay for 15 students at Lesotho to attend school for the next three years and more information on the school’s sponsorship activities could be found on the school’s website at www.city.sheffield.sch.uk.
	RESOLVED: That (a) the information now reported be noted; and
	(b) Ken Dunn and the students be thanked for their offer to attend the next meeting of the Panel and the Area Co-ordinator be requested to arrange this.

5.	MINUTES
	The minutes of the meeting of the Area Panel held on 24th May 2005 were approved as a correct record.

6.	MATTERS ARISING
	Fly Tipping
	The Area Panel noted that there was no further information available on whether the suspected culprit had been caught in relation to the incidents of fly tipping in the area.

7.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	Proposed Community Centre
	In response to a question from a member of the public asking about progress in relation to the proposed new Community Centre, the Area Co-ordinator stated that a Community Facilities Steering Group (Chaired by Maurice Birch) was established two years ago. The Group had met monthly and a Consultant had been engaged to develop the proposals. The Steering Group had considered the suitability of a number of sites and a site that had been identified and was now being examined was opposite to the Library on Skelton Road.
	There was to be a community consultation day on 8th August 2005 between 10.00 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. at the Woodhouse Trinity Methodist Church School Room and proposed models and business plans would be available for comment. The Consultant would be in attendance from 5.00 p.m. until 7.30 p.m. and, during the day, members of the Steering Group would be available to assist with any queries. All the comments received would be recorded and used to inform the planning process for the proposed Community Centre.
	RESOLVED: That the information now reported be noted and members of the public be urged to participate in the consultation process.

8.	LIBRARY SERVICE
	Margaret Lambert and Ros Witten from Woodhouse Library introduced themselves and stated that they were keen to promote the Library Service to the community. If members of the public had any suggestions or queries, they would be pleased to assist.
	RESOLVED: That the information now reported be noted.

9.	DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
	It was noted that the next meeting of the Area Panel would be held on Tuesday, 18th October 2005 at 1.30 p.m. at Birley Spa.

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