Meeting documents
Area Forum (Leasowe, Moreton and Saughall Massie)
Wednesday, 2nd July 2008
Present
Chair
SR Mountney
Ward Councillors
IO Coates, I Lewis , SD Moseley
Community Representatives
J Borlase (Faith Representative), Bruce Martin (Faith Representative), Mrs J McLear, B Seddon
Lead Officer
Russ Glennon (Head of Corporate Policy)
Street Scene Manager
Chris Jones
Area Service Co-ordinator
Tracey Smith
Wirral Primary Care Trust
Cathy Gritzner
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Alistair Bardsley
Merseyside Police
Inspector Peter Kolokotroni
Council Officers
Roger Calvert (Principal Officer, Parks & Open Spaces), Tara Dumas (Recycling Officer), Sai Ming (Community Safety Team)
Apologies
Cllr Ron Abbey, Cllr Chris Blakeley
Index to Minutes
- Minute 1 - Welcome introductions and apologies
- Minute 2 - Nominations of area forum chair
- Minute 3 - Area co-ordinators report • Minutes of last meeting and matters arising
- Minute 4 - Area Forum Funding DVD Launch
- Minute 5 - Recycling Update
- Minute 6 - Public Question Time
- Minute 7 - Allotment Strategy
- Minute 8 - Partner Updates
- Minute 9 - Dates of future meetings
Minute 1 - Welcome introductions and apologies
Minute Text :
The Area Co-ordinator welcomed Forum members and 25 members of the public to the meeting of the Leasowe, Moreton and Saughall Massie Area Forum in Leasowe. Apologies for absence were received from Councillors RL Abbey and C Blakeley.
Minute 2 - Nominations of area forum chair
Minute Text :
The Area Co-ordinator invited nominations for Chair of the Area Forum.
It was PROPOSED by Councillor SD Moseley, and SECONDED by B Seddon that Councillor S R Mountney be elected Chair of the Area Forum. There were no further nominations.
Councillor Mountney accepted the Chair.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Councillor S R Mountney be elected Chair of the Area Forum for Leasowe, Moreton and Saughall Massie.
Minute 3 - Area co-ordinators report • Minutes of last meeting and matters arising
Minute Text :
The Area Co-ordinator invited the Forum to consider her report, which contained information on events and developments in the local community and within Wirral Council and its partners.
The CIF Panel has arranged to meet on 10 July to consider the bids received for the current round of Community Initiatives Funding. Successful applications will be notified by 14 August following the Cabinet meeting.
Councillor Lewis referred to a question raised at the last forum meeting regarding the condition of the football fields on Leasowe Road. He had been advised over the weekend that the football club organisers are still not happy with the amount of litter and the lack of regular grass cutting, given that they pay an annual fee to use the pitches.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That –
i Russ Glennon be thanked for offering to refer back the issue with a view to resolving the matter;
ii the minutes of the meeting of 13 February 2008 be confirmed as a true record;
iii the Area Co-ordinator be thanked for her report.
Minute 4 - Area Forum Funding DVD Launch
Minute Text :
Staff from the Learning Lighthouse have supported students from six Wirral Secondary Schools in producing a promotional film in DVD format to publicise ways in which community groups have taken advantage of Area Forum funding to benefit local communities. The purpose of the DVD is to provide ideas and encouragement to community groups to apply for funding. The students were responsible for all the filming and editing of the DVD.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That the students involved be congratulated on producing an excellent DVD to promote opportunities for Area Forum funding.
Minute 5 - Recycling Update
Minute Text :
Tara Dumas, Waste/Environment Officer, gave a verbal update on recycling issues.
Wirral Council has more than doubled its re-cycling performance compared with the same period last year and currently is the most improved Authority in the country. From a re-cycling rate of 14% at the outset, 32% of household waste was re-cycled up to the end of March. The percentage continued to rise in April/May and if this trend continues the Council will be well on the way to achieving its target of 34% for this financial year.
The focus is on increasing the number of recycling bins in use, including properties in multi-occupancy, with the aim of providing some kind of re-cycling facility for all occupancies by March 2009. Aligned to an increase in re-cycling, and despite collecting more garden waste, there has been a decrease in the level of waste generated in Wirral. This is against the national trend and means that Wirral is exceeding the statutory targets for diverting waste to landfill.
To keep the momentum, there will be features on re-cycling at various events, including the Wirral Show, where some new street litterbins will be trialled. The Council is in the process of securing a composting system.
When householders receive their grey bin, they receive a booklet that gives guidance on which items should be placed in which bin. The advice given initially has changed and this has led to some confusion. The Council is constantly looking at new ways to pass information to residents and a recycling wheel has been produced that indicates which bin to use to re-cycle every day household items. The recycling wheels were distributed at the area forum.
An evaluation starts next week when 1,000 residents will be asked to comment on the recycling scheme. The views of all members of the public would be welcome.
Tara distributed copies of a flow chart showing the enforcement approach that is used when crews spot a contaminated grey bin. The flow chart shows the phased intervention that takes place before the stage is reached where, as a last resort, a section 46 notice is issued to the householder.
Tara answered questions from the Forum on the cost of recycling to the Council, the Council’s approach towards supermarkets and other waste producing businesses; and the possibility that the Council might consider starting a business collection service.
Councillor Coates asked about recycling in high rise properties. Tara replied that the Council is now in discussion with the occupiers of high rises, and also residential homes, about the possibility of issuing residents with some kind of bag. People who live in these properties are keen to recycle, and it is anticipated that by March 2009 everyone will have some form of re-cycling facility.
Where persons unknown persistently discard rubbish in someone else’s bin, the resident can be issued with a grey bin with a lockable lid. Likewise, communal bins will be replaced with ones with lockable lids.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Tara Dumas be thanked for the update.
Minute 6 - Public Question Time
Minute Text :
Q There are many complaints about the state of local play areas, which I understand are the responsibility of the Council. Are there any plans for investment to bring these areas up to some sort of standard? There are about four play areas in Leasowe where the equipment is broken and there is dog fouling and litter. The play area in Cameron Road is really bad.
A [Roger Calvert, Parks and Countryside]. Play areas are the responsibility of the Council, but currently there are no plans to do work on play areas, apart from one area where there will be some investment to improve the area.
Q I live in Leasowe and I will not take my grandchildren to the local swings and roundabouts because there are not enclosed and secure. There are dogs just running around and glass and litter everywhere.
A [Roger Calvert]. Only one of the play areas will be enclosed. I cannot guarantee the others will be done, but they will be a priority if the Council gets the funding. The concerns about glass and litter will be looked into.
Russ Glennon advised that the area forums have been allocated £20,000 to spend on extra Council services, this could be used for improving the local area. Details will be available at the next area forum.
Q [Cllr Lewis] An application has been submitted for a new Health Park in Pasture Road. The PCT has been asked to contribute towards the cost of some of the facilities. The PCT agreed to contribute £150 and asked to spend it through this area forum.
Q I have noticed an increase in people drinking and smoking outside pubs and smoking in the doorways of buildings. Is it not breaching the law to drink alcohol outdoors in the street? People have to walk through a fog to get into the building.
A [Police] Since the change in the law we have had numerous problems with people drinking and smoking outside buildings, and it is affecting local residents. Each pub has different rules attached to its licence. I would need to look at the particular details of the pub you are talking about.
Minute 7 - Allotment Strategy
Minute Text :
The Chair invited Roger Calvert, Parks and Countryside, to talk about allotments and to respond to issues raised in the Moreton and Leasowe areas.
Roger Calvert advised that currently there are no allotment sites within this area forum’s boundaries. There are sites close by at Manor Drive and in Cross Lane off Leasowe Road. Interest in allotments has grown in the past 4/5 years, and the waiting list has increased as a result. At Cross Lane there are 28 plots and 19 names on the waiting list, and at Manor Drive there are 19 plots and 22 names on the waiting list, which suggests that most people do not have a reasonable chance of getting an allotment in the foreseeable future. The Council has received petitions about the paucity of allotment provision from Wirral Allotments Association and from the Wirral Federation of Allotment Societies and a further petition about poor allotment security.
The Cabinet has approved an Allotment Strategy. An additional sum of money will be available in the current and in the next financial year, and capital funding will be allocated on a rolling basis to improve existing sites and to look at further provision. . A steering group has been formed with the two allotment organisations to look at the best way forward. It has been agreed to use part of the additional funding to employ a part-time allotment officer whose main role will be to look at further sources of funding, and the balance of the funding will be used for match funding. The Council’s Allotment Strategy is available on the Council website.
Q I run a football club for children from the age of four in Lingham Park. . Will any money be spent on the pavilion? Several teams use the pitches and there are no toilet facilities and no changing facilities. . The park is an eyesore. We have a fenced off pitch provided by Lingham Primary Schooll which is clear of litter and dog muck. We would like to increase the teams, say for 200/300 children, and if we had some agreement we would look after the facilities.
A [Roger Calvert]. There is a lack of investment in football facilities. The main funding provider is the Football Foundation. We applied for money, about £1 million, for ten sites, and Lingham Park was included as a priority site, but the criteria for the funding was altered. Initially, it was about improving facilities and then it was changed to club development. The aim now is to try and get clubs more involved with the sites, perhaps by having more ownership in terms of leasing and helping to manage the land. In that way, those clubs can apply for the funding. I think we need to talk about the issue of the toilets. Discuss after the meeting.
Q You mentioned the link with capital funding. Is that available to establish new provision?
A [Roger Calvert]: It is my expectation there will be an option to use some part of the money for that.
Q [Councillor Moseley]: There are some areas where there are residents who are particularly elderly, and they have large gardens. Could you have a register whereby people who are prepared to donate a portion of their garden for someone to use as an allotment and have a mutual share of the produce? Promote that aspect and see if that would work.
A [Roger Calvert]. An interesting idea, no one has suggested that before. I will include that to be looked at.
Cllr Moseley: Can you take forward a formal proposal to investigate what you would need to do, and how realistic the project is, and come back to us?
Q [Bob Seddon] The old Cadbury site. Encourage businesses to hand over their surplus land or grassed areas Can the Council look at that?
A [Roger Calvert] Yes. .
Q Near the shops in Twickenham Drive. They have just got a piece of land for community use and there is an area for growing vegetables etc.
A The PCT have started a new community garden at their new premises, and a plot of land is attached to the site. A free course called Introductory Horticulture for Beginners will start in September. Further information is available on www.LA21.net.
Minute Decision :
Resolved: That Roger Calvert be thanked for the update.
Minute 8 - Partner Updates
Minute Text :
PCT:
Commissioning Strategy: The response to the consultation was really good with 8,000 responses and 2,500 respondents expressing interest in becoming involved as members of the PCT. The comments received were overwhelmingly in support of the five-year commissioning strategy.
Access: There has been considerable Press coverage about the development of polyclinics. The PCT’s position statement is that they have no intention of developing polyclinics in Wirral. The PCT is committed to general practices and improving access to those practices in the coming months, and whilst the PCT sites in Wallasey and St Catherine’s will be developed, there are no plans to take away any current GP provision.
The Department of Health has said that all areas should have a Primary Access Centre which is open on seven days a week between 8 am and 10 pm. People who cannot attend their GPs surgery during normal opening hours will be able to see a GP at the Access Centre, without registering at this centre. The proposal is to develop a facility on the Arrowe Park Hospital site and to use existing staff with additional GPs.
Bob Seddon asked questions on the impact of the access centre on the rest of GP services across Wirral, whether funding the new clinic will take away funding from existing GPs, and whether the staff will be PCT employees or on the GP contract.
Reply: What we intend is the new service will be complementary to existing practices. People can use the Access Centre, but they do not have to register there. They can go for a check without any loss to the practice they are registered at. The PCT will continue to work with practices to offer additional services and contribute patients too.
Bob Seddon asked the PCT to monitor the situation regarding GPs and not to create a detrimental impact on GPs’ practices.
Reply: We are committed to making sure we look at this situation closely and do what we have to do to make sure those services don’t feel threatened. This is a PCT initiative and allows us to work in a co-operative way.
Cllr Coates: Will details of treatment be sent to their GP?
Reply: Yes, we have a policy in the out of hours service where the information is faxed through to the GP within 48 hours. There will be a system that allows the GP’s system to be informed of any treatment or medication the patient has been given.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital
Improving Standards: One of the Trust’s drivers is to reduce MRSA bloodstream infections. MRSA has reduced from 35 in 2006/07 to 26 in 2007/08. Waiting times for clinics and operations has reduced, and waiting times for new referrals to the Audiology service have reached an all time low of six weeks.
Additional investment will be made in car parks this year.
The NHS is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this month.
Hazel Kelly announced her election as a Governor on the Assembly of Governors. She thanked the people of Leasowe, Saughall Massie and Moreton who had voted for her. She looked forward to being the link between the public and the Trust and to offering advice to people. Notices giving her contact details have been posted in various public buildings.
Anti Social Behaviour Updates.
The attention of the Area Forum was drawn to the information on Safer Communities on page 17 of the Area Co-ordinator’s Report by Sai Maing
Minute 9 - Dates of future meetings
Minute Text :
Date of next meeting: THURSDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2008 at Moreton Community Centre, Twickenham Drive, Moreton, Wirral.
The Chair thanked everyone for their attendance and contribution and closed the meeting of the Area Forum at 8.25 pm.
(Minutes Published: 1 August 2008)