The Chair, Councillor Williams, welcomed area forum members and 40 members of the public to the meeting in Oxton. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor A Bridson, Patrick Toosey, Jack Cuffe, Paul Harrison, Brian Griffiths and Alan Dollery.

Matters arising:

Mark Smith (Head of Service, Streetscene and Waste) responded to the action points on Traffic Management/Parking Services outlined on page 10 of the Area Co-ordinator’s report.

Resolution i.  Mark Smith to send a written response on residents’ parking scheme policy to Andrew Taylor, and to all those who requested this at the meeting.

Update:  At a further meeting with Mr Taylor, the Parking Services Manager had discussed issues about enforcement in some detail. Mr Taylor has confirmed that the matters have been resolved to his satisfaction. 

Resolution ii  Mark Smith to report back on traffic improvements planned for the area around Asda and Palmwood Close.

Update:  A Section 106 Agreement is in place whereby the developer will fund a new traffic signal system at the junction. This will allow vehicles leaving the Asda car park to turn either left or right.  The location has given rise to road safety concerns in the past and to address these concerns the slip road leading from the motorway will be the subject of a Council improvement scheme.

Resolution iii  Mark Smith to pick up the issue of traffic problems raised by John Wallace in Osmaston Road at the site meeting.

Update:  A meeting on site had taken place, attended by about 20 residents. Residents in Woodchurch Road had brought some additional factors to light and after a fairly lengthy discussion, it was agreed that conventional traffic regulations would not be the way forward. Agreement had been reached that the solution would be to consult the residents of Osmaston Road on whether they would be willing to make a financial contribution of £75.  There was about 80% support for the scheme and about half of those were willing to pay a contribution to the scheme.

Mark Smith responded to comments from a member of the public about the level of the charge, and the fact that many residents had not completed the proforma because they did not understand it. He explained that the Head of Service had made it clear to those who attended that the Council would need to draw up a scheme but would have to cover its costs.  At that stage, a broad estimate had been given of what the costs to residents might be. The actual figure has arisen from the precise cost of the scheme.

A brief questionnaire and proforma had been drawn up and sent to Mr Bird as community representatives for his comments. Mr Bird had responded in an extensive email with detailed comments on how the documentation should be improved. The revisions suggested by Mr Bird had been incorporated into the documents sent to residents.

It had been accepted at the meeting that many of the concerns about parking had arisen because of Aldi’s etc presence in the area. There had been discussion about the practicalities of approaching organisations when looking at residents’ parking schemes. Officers had agreed to contact Aldi to bring concerns to their attention.  A letter had been sent some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The Area Co-ordinator presented her report under the three main headings – Section one – minutes and matters arising from previous meeting; Section two – Local Updates, and Section three – Funding.

The Area Co-ordinator drew attention to the information on page 33 of her report on a new and exciting way of giving money to the community.

The Oxton and Prenton Area Forum has been chosen as one of three area forums in Wirral to take part in a national pilot scheme for Participatory Budgeting [PB].  The first PB event was held in July in Wallasey Town Hall.  This year, people who applied for funding from the Community Initiatives Fund were invited to give a short presentation on their project and state why it should be funded. The applicants themselves then voted on each other’s project to decide which ones should be funded.

The sum of £7,000 CIF funding has not yet been allocated, and a contribution of £2,500 has been received from Wirral PCT under the Small Grants Programme. The availability of funding will be advertised and applicants will be invited to a similar event to present their ideas in December.

A progress report on previously awarded monies [to 2006/07] was included on pages 35/37 of the Area Co-ordinator’s report.

Additional information was available at the Area Forum meeting on –

• The Highway Structural Maintenance Programme 2009/2010 – Limited resources are available for footway reconstruction and carriageway resurfacing schemes. The Area Forum is invited to identify roads and pavements in Prenton/Oxton that are in need of repair or reconstruction. Projects submitted will be prioritised depending on need and budget availability. 
• A report on the Older People’s Parliament
• An update on Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

The Chair announced that Mike Walker is retiring. She added that she was full of praise for the work that he has done for Wirral, including introducing CCTV cameras. She paid tribute to Mike as a hard-working and resourceful Council Officer for many years.

Simon Fitzpatrick, Community Safety Team, explained that the Drug and Alcohol Action team (DAAT) is part of Wirral Joint Community Safety Team, which is comprised of staff from a number of agencies including, the Police, Local Authority, Probation Service, Fire Service and voluntary and community organisations.

Young people are one of three key priorities in Wirral’s Harm Reduction strategy. This evening, along with Paul Roberts, he proposed to give a presentation on Wirral’s Young Persons Alcohol Intervention Programme, and to focus on three themes in Wirral’s Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy –

• Young people’s alcohol misuse
• Alcohol related identification and treatment
• Alcohol related crime disorder in the community.

Each strand of the programme has a Young People’s Alcohol Action Plan. The Young People’s Alcohol Action Plan is a key priority for a range of partners, particularly the Children & Young People’s Department, the Police and the Hospital Trust and PCT. Wirral DAAT plays a key co-ordination role with partners in tackling issues associated with young people and alcohol.  The DAAT team visits schools and gives talks and advice on drug and alcohol issues. Trading Standards Officers are also involved with DAAT, and they deal with complaints about under-age drinking and take action against adults who purchase alcohol for young people.

Mrs Buckley drew attention to alcohol related problems in Balfour Road and in the car park attached to the Art Gallery, where empty bottles are left lying around. Children playing football in the car park is becoming a major problem.

Reply:  [CYPD] Although funding is available some young people don’t want to get involved. There are tremendous facilities but direct connection is needed with children. Respect Ice cream van can be used to make a connection, for example to get them to play football in the Sports Centre.

Graham Bell introduced himself as Inspector for the neighbourhood and stated that police listen to what people are saying and  to see what we can do. There is always an issue of boys and girls getting involved in anything that they see as ‘organised’ by people in authority or parents.  What we are striving to do is get young people to take some responsibility for the organisation of sport or cultural things. We want them to tell us what they want and what they will take responsibility for. 

Member of public:  The church in Balls Road?

Chair:  It is currently being refurbished.

Cllr Kelly: We have just heard the story of what is available and the work that is going on in general.  Would it be possible for us as a Forum to say to the service providers and services involved, ‘Here is a problem that has been identified over the last 12 months’.  Is it something we can monitor and say to the service providers we would like to see a report back to us at the next meeting on what you have done in terms of the children, the services available to address this particular problem in this area. To  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Wirral Council has allocated £250,000 new money to be spent on extra council services in Wirral’s 11 area forums through a new project called ‘You Decide’.  To ensure everyone had the chance to take part, a Borough-wide survey was conducted in September asking residents additional council services they would most like to spend the money on.  The survey identified four key areas --

• Environmental works (eg new trees)
• Additional litter bins
• Sport and Youth Activities e.g. sports or training nights

Each area forum has been given an allocation £20,000 of new money to spend on extra council services. The Chair reported that Councillors and community representatives from this Area Forum had met last week to look at the results of the survey.

The top priority was cleanliness and litter bins.  A decision had been made to devote £5,000 to that priority.

In addition to more litter bins, the group wished to encourage litter picking.  The Friends of The Arno and Oxton Fields are organising another litter picking session on 29 November.  The group is keen for individuals as well as other groups to be involved.

Other priorities were sport and youth activities.  A decision had been made to allocate £10,000 to employ a part-time community sports officer and £5,000 for environmental works.

Following a technical and financial appraisal of the viability of the proposals, a report will be presented to Cabinet in December outlining how best to use the money that is available.

The results of ‘You Decide’ will be published for all eleven area forums in February 2009, with a  press release and detailed presentations at area forum meetings.

Q  The Council’s litter picking team do a good job, but as soon as they have gone the roads, especially The Wiend, are full of litter again, and the biggest culprits are from Prenton High School.  Someone should go and give them a lecture

A  (Street Scene Manager):  I will take the details at the end and get someone to come   along and see what we can do to educate them.

Q:  Are you doing a consultation on Integrated Care?

A  (Paul Edwards):  There are two issues with regards to emergency and unplanned care. There have been a number of reports which have prompted the PCT to take action.   My suggestion is at the next meeting, I bring a full report and address some of the issues.

In terms of Integrated Care at Home Programme.  There has been a real drive to get as   much care as possible in people’s homes. Again it might be worthwhile giving you an update. We have put significant investment in that, about integrated care, community   matrons etc.

Q:  I was born in Prenton, and I have lived and worked in Prenton for a long time.  Woodchurch Road concerns me terribly.  I am saddened to see it lacking in TLC, shops with shutters closed down, and the possibility of parking restrictions. I know it is a route for emergency vehicles, as is Prenton Dell Road, but why are we stopped from parking by the shops?  The shops are dying.  Prenton is losing its place on the Wirral.  It is   shared by Oxton and Prenton, on two sides of the road. Odd Bins has left. Prenton and Oxton needs input.  It needs litter bins, bollards, hanging baskets outside the shops.

A  (Chair):  I walked along Woodchurch Road with Councillor Bridson, both sides, the Prenton side and the Oxton side, and the concrete planters were planted with plants as a result.

Q  You can’t park in Curzon Road and Cambridge Road at peak times. You can’t park and you can’t stop.

Q  Why are there parking restrictions on Prenton Hall Road? 

Q  (Chair):  Can I ask you to make a list of all those concerns?

Cllr Holbrook: I will try to address some of the questions.  Parking and traffic issues in and around your area have been an issue with one group in one street  and getting the balance right in terms of what you do and don’t do is difficult.  There is some evidence that some of the side roads without parking restrictions s are used as a ‘park and ride’ to commute to Liverpool.

I understand that Woodchurch Road is the second busiest road in the Borough, the other being the A41, and this is an area with shops and I believe having traffic restrictions does encourage short stay rather than long stay, and that is the right way in terms of Woodchurch Road.  In the side roads, people complain about access-clogging on their street and there are lots  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Inspector Bell: There is an increasing level of auto crime at the moment, especially in the Oxton area. Those who are members of associations please take back to your members in relation to security of vehicles and keep things hidden away. People still leave Sat Navs on show. They should be discouraged from doing that, even in locked cards. 

Minute decision: Resolved that

(i)  Inspector Bell be thanked for his update

• 3 February 2009 (venue to be confirmed)

Next meeting  Tuesday, 3 February 2009, venue to be confirmed.

In closing, the Chair thanked everyone for coming to an interesting and

productive meeting.