Meeting documents
Area Forum (Birkenhead & Tranmere and Rock Ferry)
Tuesday, 5th June 2007
Present
Chair
Cllr Jean Stapleton
Ward Councillors
PL Davies, M McLaughlin, Mrs CM Meaden
Community Representatives
Stephanie Reid (Tranmere Alliance), Hazel Roberts (Together)
Lead Officer
David Ball (Head of Housing and Regeneration)
Area Service Co-ordinator
Andy Brannan
Street Scene Manager
Gary Cummings
Wirral Primary Care Trust
Kathy Doran (Chief Executive, Wirral PCT)
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Sue Green
Merseyside Police
Sgt. Rachael Wilson
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service
Myles Platt (Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service)
Other Partners
Ian Robinson (Shell Tranmere Oil Terminal)
Council Officers
Mark Camborne (Health & Safety & Resilience Operations Manager), Abi Davey (Senior Research and Information officer), Ian Lowrie (Community Safety Team), Alan Stennard (Director of Regeneration), Clare Taylor (Recycling Officer)
Apologies
Insp. Mick Blease, Cllr Bill Davies, Brian Kenny, Lenny McCormick , Simon Petris
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - Welcome / Introductions / Apologies
- Minute 2 - Area Co-ordinators Report including: Matters Arising from October 2006 and Area Plan Update
- Minute 3 - Public question time
- Minute 4 - Shell Terminal
- Minute 5 - Wirral Hospital Trust – Engagement Strategy
- Minute 6 - Partner updates - Community Safety, Fire Service, Wirral Primary Care Trust & Police
- Minute 7 - Future meetings/presentations - Tuesday 2nd October 2007 Venue to be confirmed
- Minute 8 - Any Other Business
Minute 1 - Welcome / Introductions / Apologies
Minute Text :
The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed forum members and 20 members of the public to the Area Forum meeting in Rock Ferry Library. She invited forum members to introduce themselves.
Minute 2 - Area Co-ordinators Report including: Matters Arising from October 2006 and Area Plan Update
Minute Text :
The minutes of the Area Forum meeting of 6 February 2007 had been incorporated into the Area Co-ordinator’s report. Matters Arising had been included on pages 9/11 of the report. An update on Community Initiatives Funding was included on pages 29/32.
Wirral’s Older People’s Parliament have had several successful meetings. These allow older people to have their opinions expressed. Copies of Newsletters were available if anybody was interested in the Older Peoples Parliament.
Councillor Phil Davies gave a verbal update on the issues discussed at Children & Young People / Safer & Stronger Communities Workshops.
The main focus of the workshops had been to address some of the issues, particularly anti-social behaviour, in the Rock Ferry area and in Mersey Park and Victoria Park.
Some of the problems with young people have been addressed through Section 30 Orders and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders. An application had been made for the area to be designated an alcohol free area.
On the more positive side, the Tranmere Alliance and Wirral Youth Service are working collaboratively to provide activities for young people in the area that will deter them from getting into trouble.
There has been good dialogue with local residents over the past 18 months, but the views of the young people in the area are an equally important part of the equation. So far, separate meetings had been held for residents and for the young people. The next challenge is to build bridges between the generations and come up with solutions that will suit both age groups.
Abi Davey amplified on Local Area Plan Update given on page 33 of the report.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That –
i the minutes of the Area Forum meeting of 6 February 2007 and that actions taken on matters arising be noted;
ii Councillor Phil Davies be thanked for the update on Workshops;
iii Abi Davey be thanked for the update on the Local Area Plan;
iv the Area Co-ordinator be thanked for the report.
Minute 3 - Public question time
Minute Text :
Written questions from Lenny McCormick had been received on dog fouling in the area; confusion by local residents on re-cycling; and the situation concerning the local Credit Union.
Alan Stennard – Wirral’s dog wardens are identifying the streets where dog fouling is most prevalent and efforts will be made over the summer to alleviate the dog fouling problem in these areas.
Claire Taylor, Assistant Recyling Officer – In general, the grey bin should be used for plastic, including bleach, bottles [but not the screw tops], paper, newspapers, clean cardboard, non-window envelopes, cans [preferably rinsed] drink cans, glass bottles, jars and other glass receptacles.
Broken glass and glass from window panes should not be placed in the grey bin; neither should shredded paper.
The answers to most recycling questions are given in the information leaflet delivered with the bin. Residents who cannot find answers to their specific questions should contact Streetscene when, if necessary, an officer will visit and discuss on a one-to-one basis the types of materials that should be placed in each bin. If in doubt, residents should err on the side of caution and use the green bin.
Information on changes to Wirral’s waste and recycling collections had been included on page 28 of the Area Co-ordinator’s report.
David Ball – There has been concern that the credit union office in Bedford Road has been experiencing financial difficulties for some time and the stage has been reached where it is not able to loan any more money. Colleagues within the Council are working with the Union to identify the options available to help the Union move forward. Each group is a stand-alone organisation and there are no suggestions that the problems in Bedford Road will affect credit unions in other areas.
The credit union is operated by a financial agency, which is outside the Council. Individual queries should be directed to the Area Co-ordinator who will provide more information as soon as it becomes available.
Peter Barnett – Recyling in multi-occupancy dwellings.
Claire Taylor - Residents in multi-occupancy dwellings have indicated that they wish to be included in re-cycling collections. All multi-occupancy dwellings have been visited and an audit has been carried out to assess the types of bins currently in use and whether there is sufficient space to accommodate grey bins. Each multi-occupancy will be re-visited in the very near future to discuss with residents the best solution for each property/block of flats. Where appropriate, residents should seek more information from their Housing Association, their Management Group, or the owners of the property.
Tina Cleaver – Anti-social behaviour by children in the parks; 18-20 year olds drinking in the streets [particularly in Parkside Road] at all times of the day and night; the activities of drug dealers in the area.
Cllr M McLaughlin - Local councillors have been looking at the issues and they will be raised with the Police and the Anti-Social Behaviour team. A change in drug involvement has been noticed locally in the past 3/4 months where drug dealing, if not more prevalent, is certainly more blatant. People are seen making drops and there are queues of people [not all of whom are young people] waiting to use public phone boxes to place their orders.
Sergeant Wilson, Well Lane Police Station – Merseyside Police are aware of drug dealing activities in the area and have increased the number of Community Support Officers [CSOs] who provide high visibility policing. Plain clothes officers also operate in the area. Members of the public are passing on the vehicle registration numbers of cars involved in making drops in the area. Local residents can approach a CSO to pass on information on the activities they observe in the area. They can do so anonymously, or they can telephone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Minute 4 - Shell Terminal
Minute Text :
David Ball introduced and welcomed Ian Robinson who, with colleagues Mark Camborne, Wirral’s Council’s Health, Safety and Resilience Operations Manager, and Myles Platt, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, had been invited to give a joint presentation on Tranmere Oil Terminal.
Ian Robinson, Operations Co-ordinator at Tranmere Stanlow Oil Terminal, explained that the operation at Tranmere involved taking crude oil from the ships and pumping it to the Stanlow Refinery at Ellesmere Park. The operation at Tranmere was different from that at Bunsfield, which is a processing plant. Nevertheless the management at Tranmere had looked very carefully at the recommendations arising from the Bunsfield inquiry and had reviewed all its procedures. Ian gave an assurance that the systems and processes at the Tranmere site were clean and very safe.
Mark Cambourne agreed that the systems at Tranmere were safe. He explained that the Local Authority working in conjunction with partner organisations - Police, Fire & Rescue and Health Services – has responsibility for ensuring that an emergency disaster plan is in place to ensure the safety of people living in the area in the event of any emergency arising.
The plan had been tested in a large exercise in which the Bunsfield scenario had been assimilated. The feedback from the exercise had been very positive and reassuring.
Myles Platt described ways in which personnel from across Merseyside Fire Station are brought to the Tranmere site to test the installations and to be trained on the use of the high-powered fire fighting appliances available on the site.
Ian Robinson responded to questions from Mary Petris on the advice given to people who live in exclusion and evacuation zones. Information cards on ‘What to do in an Emergency’ were available at the meeting.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Ian Robinson, Mark Cambourne and Miles Platt be thanked for the presentation
Minute 5 - Wirral Hospital Trust – Engagement Strategy
Minute Text :
Sue Green gave a presentation on Wirral Hospital Trust Engagement Strategy. The development of the Engagement Strategy marks the second phase of the Trust’s commitment to engage more closely with the communities it serves.
The first phase in February 2006 involved a major consultation programme, A Change for the Better, in relation to the Trust’s application for Foundation Trust Status. The consultation laid out service plans for the following five years. The trust is half-way through its application for Trust status and it was felt that now is the right time to engage again with communities.
In the coming months the Trust will be talking – and listening – to Area Forums and community groups throughout Wirral on ways in which hospital services are changing.
The focus of the presentation this evening would be on Who we are, Why we are changing, and How we are changing. The responses from the consultation will be feed into the strategy.
Unlike current NHS trusts, Foundation Trusts have Members and Governors. Members elect Governors to represent them and to set direction for the organisation. The membership and Assembly of Governors is a key part of the engagement strategy. The Trust is aiming to have 13,000 public members – currently it has 6,000.
The Trust would welcome anyone who wishes to become a public member or attend Assembly meetings – details are published in the local Press from time to time. A campaign will be launched in the coming weeks to encourage members of the public to become Members of the Foundation Trust.
In response to a question on plans for consultants or other senior professionals to work at weekends, Sue Green explained work at Clatterbridge Hospital around nurse led discharges by appropriately trained personnel. There were plans to look in the future at weekend and evening appointments, if that is what people ask for.
Sue commented on the arrangements that need to be put in place by Wirral Social Services and other agencies to ensure that the necessary clinical and other support is available immediately to patients who are discharged home from hospital.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Sue Green be thanked for the presentation.
Minute 6 - Partner updates - Community Safety, Fire Service, Wirral Primary Care Trust & Police
Minute Text :
Ian Lowrie reported the Home Office has identified Wirral as one of England’s Respect Action Areas. As part of the support programme, eight ‘talking’ CCTVs are to be installed in Wirral, one at Charing Cross, Birkenhead. The 3G camera for the Tranmere area will be installed in Church Road.
In East Wirral, certain youths will undertake, under supervision, the repainting of BT and NTL boxes.
£1.2 million has been allocated to provide laptops for pupils in 11 schools in neighbourhood renewal areas. Wirral Joint Community Safety Team will ensure that they are delivered and used in safety. Special software will be used to disable and locate stolen computers.
Miles Platt reported that with the help of the Community Safety Team, there has been a 75% reduction in vehicle fires related to anti-social behaviour in the past 12/18 months.
The reduction in the number of domestic fires in Birkenhead has continued and incidents are very low.
The number of home fire safety checks in people’s homes has increased by over 20% with 900 carried out in this area since the last Area Forum meeting. As well as the free fitting of smoke detectors, the crews offer advice on evacuation routes to residents, and if appropriate signpost people to other services.
There are people who do not have a telephone and do not engage with services and every now and there is a fire death or serious injury that could have been prevented. One of the key objectives for all Wirral stations is to use local intelligence to access these ‘hard to reach’ members of the community.
In periods of dry weather it is not unusual for fire appliances to be deployed to Bidston Hill for 24 hours a day. Extra efforts will be made this year to reduce the incidence of fires in grasslands and open spaces. The Fire Service is working with schools to educate children on the dangers of fire.
Specialist advocates are working with the Fire Service to provide fire safety advice to other groups, such as the Older People’s Parliament, and for those whose lives involve drug and alcohol misuse.
PC Rachel Wilson reported that two additional CSOs had been appointed in Rock Ferry and one in Tranmere.
The Section 30 orders in place expired in May 2007. During the time the orders had been in place there had been a noticeable decrease in offences in the areas and the numbers of reports of anti-social behaviour had reduced. The Police will continue to patrol the areas as before and new orders will be applied for should problems escalate.
Merseyside Police has been working with other agencies in the joint Operation Miami to tackle incidents of antisocial behaviour on the public transport system. A number of fixed penalty notices have been issued for non-payment of fares. Good feedback had been received from members of the public who use train and bus services.
There has been a spate of burglaries on school premises in the locality. Acting on information received from members of the community, the Police have arrested three males in connection with the offences.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Ian Lowrie, Myles Platt and PC Wilson be thanked for their reports
Minute 7 - Future meetings/presentations - Tuesday 2nd October 2007 Venue to be confirmed
Minute Text :
it was agreed that the venue for Area Forum meetings alternates between Birkenhead Town Hall and Rock Ferry Library, and that the next meeting be held in Birkenhead Town Hall.
There being no other business, the Chair thanked everyone for their attendance and contribution and closed the meeting at 8.45 pm.
Minute 8 - Any Other Business
Minute Text :
- Smokefree England: Kathy Doran commented that there are 25 days to go to the biggest health change facing this country – the banning of smoking in public enclosed places. Smoking damages people’s health, causes cancer, heart disease and strokes and also is a contributory factor in many house fires. Research has shown that these diseases are more prevalent in this area than in other parts of the Wirral and by and large the causes can be related to smoking.
Anyone who wishes to stop smoking should contact their GP or a specialist smoking cessation unit.
(Minutes Published: 7 August 2007)