Meeting documents
Area Forum (New Brighton and Wallasey)
Tuesday, 28th February 2006
Present
Chair
PJ Hackett
Ward Councillor
WA Duffey, DJ Hunt, Mrs LA Rennie, Mrs K Wood
Community Representatives
Rita Fraser (New Brighton Community Partnership), I Lewis , Major Roy Tipping (Faith Representative), Mark Williams
Business Representative
Martin Revans
Lead Officer
Mark Camborne (Health & Safety & Resilience Operations Manager)
Area Service Co-ordinator
Andrew Brannan
Birkenhead & Wallasey PCT
Jane Harvey (Director of Public Health, Bir. & Wall. PCT), Dr Shymal Mukherjee, Medical Director, Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT
Merseyside Police
Inspector John Hogan, Sergeant Mike Smith
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service
Ken Ross
Merseytravel
Billy Bradshaw
Council Officers
Eddie Fleming, Senior Planning Officer, Forward Planning, Chris Jones (Area Streetscene Manager), Bob Little (Community Safety Team)
Apologies
Derwent Derbyshire - Deputy Director of Technical Services, Cllr A Pritchard
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - Welcome and introductions
- Minute 2 - Area Co-ordinators report, including minutes of previous meetings and matters arising
- Minute 3 - Public question time
- Minute 4 - Merseytravel / Arriva question and answer session
- Minute 5 - Presentation on Wirral's Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy
- Minute 6 - Primary Care Trust - 'Consultation on New Primary Care Trust Arrangements in Wirral'
- Minute 7 - Date of future meetings / presentations
- Minute 8 - Any other business
Minute 1 - Welcome and introductions
Minute Text :
The Chair, Councillor P J Hackett, welcomed Area Forum members and 47 members of the public to the Area Forum meeting in New Brighton. He introduced and welcomed Ken Ross, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, to his first meeting of the Area Forum.
The Chair introduced Andy Brannan, new Area Co-ordinator for the New Brighton and Wallasey Area Forum.
Minute 2 - Area Co-ordinators report, including minutes of previous meetings and matters arising
Minute Text :
The minutes of the meeting of 11 October 2005 had been incorporated into the Area Co-ordinator's report.
Matters arising from previous minutes:
The Section 30 Order in Wallasey Village and surrounding area [minute 3]: In response to a query from Councillor Wood, Sgt. Mike Smith explained that a Section 30 Dispersal Order had applied for the past two weeks in the area surrounding the Mosslands School. The Order prohibited youths from congregating in the area in groups of more than two. Police Officers and CSOs were enforcing the Order and so far the area had remained reasonably quiet in the evenings.
Commercial selling of cars on roads [minute 3]: Councillor Rennie reported that the Council was about to introduce local legislation that would prohibit roads being used for any commercial purposes.
Lack of public transport provision [minute 3]: Councillor Wood referred to the poor local bus service in several areas of Wallasey. She expressed disappointment that a representative from the bus company, Arriva, had not responded to the invitation to attend the Area Forum meeting.
Request for Microphones [minute 5]: Councillor Wood reiterated the requests made at previous meetings that a microphone or amplifying system be made available at all meetings of the Area Forum.
The Area Co-ordinator presented his report under the sections local updates, area forum funding, local area plan, youth update and streetscene.
The Area Forum received updates under the headings:-
Consultation on Mobile Phone Masts:
Eddie Fleming, Senior Planning Officer, explained that the Council was currently reviewing its policies and procedures for dealing with applications from mobile phone operators for mobile phone masts and other telecommunications apparatus. The initial consultation period had ended on 31 December 2005, and the feedback received was being used to formulate a draft Supplementary Planning Document that would give guidance for dealing with applications at a national, regional and local level. The document would identify the legal parameters and offer advice on the siting, appearance and design of the telecommunication equipment in order to minimise the environmental impact. It would also contain advice on health issues as outlined in national planning policy and on the information that operators should produce for pre-application consultation.
All addressees on the Council's Local Development Framework database, members of the Area Forums, local amenity societies and the telecommunications operators were being consulted on the draft Supplementary Planning Document. The outcome of the consultation would inform the preparation of the final document which would be presented to the Council in March 2006. Information on the consultation arrangements had been given on pages 22/24 of the Area Co-ordinator's report.
Community Initiatives' Fund:
The Panel's recommendations for the allocation of the remaining funding from 2005/06 would be submitted to Cabinet in March 2006. Successful bids would be reported to the next Area Forum meeting.
Local Area Plan:
The Area Co-ordinator's report included the minutes of the Area Plan Sub Group meeting of 5 October 2005. The next meeting, to refresh the plan and ensure it meets the needs of the area, would be held in March 2006.
Questionnaire - Equal Opportunities:
The Area Co-ordinator invited members of the public to complete the questionnaire, Promoting Equal Opportunities at Area Forums. The responses would help the Council to ensure that Area Forums continue to be representative of all local residents.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that:
i. the minutes of the Area Forum meeting of 11 October 2005 be confirmed as a correct record.
ii. Eddie Fleming be thanked for the presentation on mobile phone masts.
iii. the Area Co-ordinator be thanked for his report.
Minute 3 - Public question time
Minute Text :
Issues raised by members of the public: -
Wallasey Village Community Partnership - Newsletter:
The newsletter, 'Spotlight' was excellent, and thanks were due to those who produced it, but asked why a contribution from the Conservative Party had been included, as believed the Partnership to be a non-political organisation.
Ian Lewis expressed similar concerns about the publication which, he understood, was part-funded by the Local Authority and contained information on behalf of one political party.
Another member of the public stated that he was involved in the production of the newsletter. He explained that the inclusion of the article had been an oversight, which had been brought to attention after publication. He apologised for any offence this may have caused and gave an assurance that no such articles will be included in future editions of the Newsletter.
Egremont Promenade - vehicles:
Concerns were raised about joy Riding / unauthorised vehicle traffic on the promenade between Seacombe and New Brighton and about parking around the access streets. These problems could be solved by installing automatic rising bollards along access points to the promenade and putting yellow lines in the parking areas.
Inspector Hogan - Police Officers would be instructed to target the Promenade this coming weekend. Motorists using the Promenade illegally would be stopped and issued with penalty notices. He added tickets had already been issued and, under new powers, vehicles without insurance had been seized. The local angling clubs had been contacted and advised of the situation. Rising bollards needed to be installed in order to address the issue permanently.
Chris Jones (Streetscene Manager) advised the Forum that the Technical Services Department was currently working on a number of traffic schemes to prevent unauthorised access to the Promenade. Mark Camborne added that rising bollards for all access points to the promenade would not be the only alternative and other measures may be far more suitable and cost a lot less to both install and maintain. Mark agreed to report back to Technical Service's to seek an up to date response on the issue.
Egremont Promenade - Lifebuoys:
The ropes were missing from many lifebuoys – children removed the ropes to make tree swings.
Tony Jones, as a member of the public, replied that the joint partnership initiative, Safer Wirral, had introduced a whole range of strategies to address vandalism along the Promenade, with considerable success. A publicity campaign would be launched before Easter.
Various roads in the Harwood Drive area have turning areas, but these areas, which are unmarked, are used as parking areas.
Football facilities:
Recent drainage and sewerage work on Wallacre Road recreation area had worsened the situation, with water draining from one pitch on to the next and forming puddles, resulting in two of the pitches being out of use for the whole of the season. The situation was totally unacceptable to local football teams and their opponents. The gullies in School Lane were choked and needed clearing.
Mark Cambourne - Jim Lester, Cultural Services Department, would be asked for an update on the matter.
Parking on pavements:
Many cars are parked on pavements, causing pavement flags to sink and crack. A 40-ton juggernaut lorry had been parked overnight on the pavement in Harrison Drive.
Inspector Hogan - The Police will log such incidents when reported and take action if the vehicle is causing an obstruction. The Local Authority is in the process of implementing a bye-law that enables action to be taken whether vehicles parked on pavements are causing an obstruction or not.
Chris Jones - The Local Authority has limited powers under the Highways Act to trace the vehicle owners and to re-charge the cost of reinstatement work to the pavement. Incidents of inappropriate street parking should be reported to the Streetscene contact centre. (0151 606 2004)
Parking Survey:
Two years ago, neighbourhood representatives petitioned for measures to resolve parking problems, pavement parking and the lack of parking provision. There had been no outcome to the very expensive survey which had been undertaken. A request was made for a resolution to the situation, particularly in relation to child safety and pavement parking.
Chair - Flower beds had been installed about 15 years ago to narrow the roads in the area and deter speeding vehicles and motorcyclists. The removal of the flowerbeds would be very expensive, and needed careful consideration.
Dedicated car spaces:
Victoria Upper Parade has dedicated car spaces, but the lower one has not.
The Chair reminded members of the public that the inquiry into the development of New Brighton was ongoing, and that the public still had the opportunity to ask questions or make their views known.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that:
i. Inspector Hogan to arrange for the Promenade to be targeted by Police Officers this coming weekend.
ii. Mark Camborne to request updates from Jim Lester (Cultural Services Department) on football facilities and from Technical Service on driving / parking at the Promenade.
iii. The Area Co-ordinator to refer issues re parking survey/ parking problems and dedicated car spaces to the Technical Services Department.
Minute 4 - Merseytravel / Arriva question and answer session
Minute Text :
The Chair welcomed a deputation of residents from Wallasey Village to the meeting.
Members of the public raised a series of questions relating to Arriva's intention to re-route and withdraw some bus services in Wallasey.
C Thomas, a resident of Warren Drive requested that her concern, and those of other residents in the area, about the lack of a bus service along Harrison Drive be minuted. A new bus stop had been installed in Warren Drive at great expense but was not being used because the bus service was non-existent.
Billy Bradshaw explained that Merseytravel was operating a rolling programme for the installation of high quality bus shelters on all major bus corridors in Merseyside.
Councillor Rennie expressed extreme disappointment that the bus operator, Arriva, had not responded to the invitation to be represented at the meeting. Residents on the Kings Park Estate in particular had been misled by the consultation arrangements, but had received reassurance that a representative from Arriva would be present this evening. On behalf of the Area Forum, she expressed general dissatisfaction with the level of consultation on the proposed changes to the transport system.
The Area Co-ordinator stated that Arriva had indicated that 'bus surgeries' had been held, that they had been satisfied with the level of turnout and that a representative was not available to attend this evening's meeting. Details of the customer hotline number would be circulated at the end of the meeting.
Billy Bradshaw (Merseytravel) indicated that he was unable to answer specific questions on the service operated by Arriva, but would feed back people's concerns to the organisation at the very earliest opportunity. Merseytravel operate advisory panels, which are attended by the various bus operators. Merseytravel cannot provide or fund services in direct competition with the bus operators. It can provide a 'sociably necessary' service, eg. during early mornings or evenings, when bus operators consider a service is not financially viable. The limits on funding inevitably meant that some areas would be excluded from public transport provision.
Councillor Wood was aware that some areas of Merseyside received a subsidised transport service. She made a special plea for the subsidy to be extended to areas of Wallasey where the public transport service was being curtailed or withdrawn.
Councillor Rennie offered to receive the petitions from residents in Harrison Drive, Mockbeggar Drive and Wallasey Village, and arrange for these to be presented publicly at the Council meeting on 1 March, and forwarded to ARRIVA.
Billy Bradshaw continued that as part of the second phase of the local transport plan Merseytravel was lobbying the Government to allow access to quality bus contracts. Under this arrangement, Merseytravel would own the bus corridors and operators would tender to operate strictly in accordance with Merseytravel's terms and specifications.
Why is glass used in bus shelters even though they are constantly smashed?
Billy Bradshaw explained that glass was the most commonly used material for the shelters for reasons of people's personal safety, to enable people to be visibly seen and to enable them to see out of shelters. Polycarbonate was used only as a last resort when the glass had been broken three times.
In bringing a lengthy discussion to a conclusion, the Chair proposed that a special meeting of the Area Forum be arranged on a date when both ARRIVA and Merseytravel can guarantee that their representatives will be available to answer the questions raised this evening.
Billy Bradshaw offered to facilitate attendance at the meeting by providing transport to the venue for members of the public if needed.
The deputation of residents left the meeting.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that:
i. Billy Bradshaw to take the issues raised this evening to the Merseytravel Advisory Panel in an endeavour to obtain suitable responses from the bus operator, and to provide transport for the public to special meeting if required.
ii. Councillor Rennie to ensure that petitions received be presented publicly at the Council meeting on 1 March, and forwarded to ARRIVA.
iii. That the Area Co-ordinator:
- write to ARRIVA expressing the Area Forum's disappointment that the company was not represented at the meeting on 28 February, and to seek positive assurance that a representative from ARRIVA would attend the special meeting of the area forum, to be held at Harrison Hall on a date within the next two weeks, and answer questions;
- ensure that all local residents who have given their names and addresses are advised of the arrangements and invited to attend the special meeting.
Minute 5 - Presentation on Wirral's Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy
Minute Text :
Bob Little (Community Safety Team) talked to the Area Forum about the Crime and Disorder report for the period April to December 2005. The report included a statistical analysis, broken down into Forum areas, of incidents of anti-social behaviour and youths causing annoyance. He offered to include any information on crime statistics requested by the Area Forum in future reports.
He explained that the Wirral Joint Community Safety Team operated under the banner Safer Wirral and represented a partnership arrangement between Wirral Borough Council, the Police, Fire & Rescue Service, and the Primary Care Trusts. The aims of the team of 40/50 people were to -
- provide a central point of contact for all crime reduction agencies;
- co-ordinate the crime reduction activities of all the agencies involved in crime reduction;
- undertake a crime and disorder audit which informs the crime and disorder strategy.
Bob Little responded to questions from members of the public on the availability, capability, monitoring and location of CCTV cameras in Wirral, and on their effectiveness in reducing episodes of vandalism and crime.
Inspector Hogan gave specific examples to illustrate when the public should dial '999', or when they should telephone Crime Stoppers, to report incidents of crime. He responded to a question on the number of Police Officers deployed to New Brighton, especially during evenings and weekends.
Councillor Wood added that the Chief Constable of Merseyside had submitted a scheme to introduce an additional 180 Police Officers on Merseyside. The Police Authority had authorised the Chief Constable to recruit additional Police Officers in three tranches of 60, as and when compensatory savings could be identified within the set budget.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Bob Little be thanked for the presentation.
Minute 6 - Primary Care Trust - 'Consultation on New Primary Care Trust Arrangements in Wirral'
Minute Text :
Jane Harvey announced that Dr Shyamal Mukherjee, Medical Director and a GP in Wallasey, will be representing the PCT at the Forums for the foreseeable future.
Dr Mukherjee thanked the Area Forum for the opportunity to talk about proposed changes to the structures of the NHS and how they would affect local communities in Wirral. In July 2005, the Government had announced a change in the role of Primary Care Trusts [PCTs]. There are two PCTs in Wirral - one for Birkenhead and Wallasey and one for Bebington and West Wirral.
In response to a recent Government White Paper, there was a proposal to reduce the number of PCTs in Cheshire and Merseyside from 15 to 7. The relevant Boards had considered four options and the preferred option for Wirral would be to create a new single PCT for the whole of Wirral to correspond with the Borough’s boundaries and with the area previously covered by the former Wirral Health Authority.
The Strategic Health Authorities [SHAs] are accountable for the performance of NHS Trusts and the PCTS in their area. The Cheshire and Merseyside SHA is one of three SHAs in the north west. There was a proposal to create a single SHA for the north west by merging Cheshire and Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire and Greater Manchester SHAs.
Currently, there are four NHS Ambulance Trusts serving the north west. The proposal was to merge the four Trusts to create a single Ambulance Service NHS Trust for the north west.
Local people were being asked for their views on all the proposals. Comments could be submitted by email or by Freephone.
At the conclusion of the presentation, a member of the public queried whether the level of specialist staff and equipment required to provide a full range of services at a local level would be available.
Dr Mukherjee offered to provide information on the level of services already available in Wallasey practices at a future meeting of the Area Forum.
Councillor Rennie asked if the savings would be re-invested in local services?
Dr Mukherjee confirmed that the savings, accruing from the reduction in management and administrative costs of operating the two current PCTs, would be reinvested at a local level to improve health care provision.
Councillor Wood enquired about the composition of the Board of the proposed single PCT. It is essential to ensure that Board members include people who live in Wallasey. Equally, the Chair of the new PCT should live in Wirral.
Jane Harvey undertook to convey the views expressed back to the NHS as part of the consultation.
Minute Decision :
Resolved that:
i. Dr Mukherjee be thanked for the presentation.
ii. Dr Mukherjee to provide information on the level of services already available in Wallasey practices at a future meeting of the Area Forum.
iii. Jane Harvey to convey the views expressed at the meeting back to the NHS as part of the consultation.
Minute 7 - Date of future meetings / presentations
Minute Text :
The next meeting of the Area Forum will be held on Tuesday, 6 June 2006 at 7 pm. at a venue to
be notified.
Minute 8 - Any other business
Minute Text :
There being no further business, the Chair thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9.15 pm.
(Minutes Published: 30 March 2006)