The Chair referred to the pre-raised questions that had been received by the Committee and invited those present to address the Committee in respect of the questions raised.

Question 2 Patrick Dowling

Mr Dowling requested a report from Mr Field in respect of averting the closure of the Woodside Ferry.  He also queried whether there had been a separate ceremony for Armed Forces Day other than the one held in Hamilton Square.

Mr Dowling had received a response advising that Frank Field would be meeting with Liam Robinson (Chair of Merseytravel) and Councillor Paul Doughty to discuss the options for securing the long term future of the Ferry Terminal.

Councillor Foulkes expanded upon this at the meeting and advised that a meeting had been held at Merseytravel earlier that day and that Frank Field had engaged with Merseytravel to discuss the development of the Birkenhead Plan.  Councillor Foulkes also advised that a sum of money would be spent on the landing stage and that Councillor Doughty had also taken part in the discussions.

A written response was also provided stating that the Armed Forces Day had been organised by a third party.  While the Council had given permission for the event to take place on Council land the third sector group had taken responsibility for the organising and running of it.

Members of the Committee also advised that Councillors had been present at different locations where events had been held in respect of the Armed Forces Day.

Question 3 Alan Dollery

Mr Dollery raised the following query:

The Prenton Tenants and Residents Association has been running for over 15 years and over those years we have had the normal amount of complaints over street parking, we have approached the Wirral Council over this matter 2 years ago, and we were told of the complexity of preventing pavement parking due to various situations in and around the areas involved.  We have also informed the police because they are the only ones that can prosecute the offender/s again nothing has been done.

Recently we the PTRA went around the estate due to having quite a few complaints coming in to our shop from residents. We found no fewer than 22 cars fully parked on the pavements, this surely is against the law.  I need to inform the residents effected by this alarming increase to pavement parking in our area what action if any can be done.

I therefore would like to ask the meeting if they can they look at our situation again, and although money is tight, I feel that more lay-byes could be introduced to alleviate some of the problem areas we have. The areas most effected are Prenton Dell Road, Garrick Road, Boswell Road.  Prenton Dell Road being the route taken by Mums with prams going to the local Doctors surgery have to walk on the roads to get past a car parked on the pavement. Please advise on what action can be applied legally.

Mr Dollery received  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9

The Chair invited the following members of the public to ask their questions.

Question 3 Patrick Dowling

Mr Dowling requested an update on the Council’s plans for Hamilton Square and also the management plans for the Williamson Art Gallery

Mr Dowling had received a written response from the Department of Regeneration and Environment and also was provided with a verbal response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Davies at the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Transformation and Improvement indicated that part of her portfolio was to look at schemes to deliver services in different ways; the Council had Edssential and Wirral Evolutions and she would be driving this agenda to look at further schemes such as these.

A Member indicated that the funding had been made available from the Merseyside Pension Fund for local investment.

Question 2 Mrs M Robinson

Mrs Robinson raised concerns regarding the cleanliness of Birkenhead in particular, Waterford Road which was plagued by dog fouling.

Mrs Robinson had received a written response from the Technical Services Department.

A Member reported that dog fouling was a major issue in Wirral and the Council was doing all it could to alleviate the issues raised and ensure that both enforcement and prosecutions were brought to fruition.

Question 4 Crossways Estate Residents

Residents from the Crossways Estate indicated that they had attended the last meeting of the Committee and had been promised that Ward Councillors and the Chair would arrange to meet with residents to discuss the issues surrounding the future of the estate, it was now a year later and the issues were still unresolved.

The Chair suggested that a meeting with himself, Councillor S Foulkes, G Davies and the relevant Ward Councillors be held along with residents to try and progress the issues raised by Members.

The Chair invited the following members of the public to ask their questions.

Question 1 Margaret Wycherley

Ms Wycherley was not present at the meeting but had raised concerns regarding ex-offenders selling door to door and asked if the Committee could help.

Ms Wycherley had received a written response from Merseyside Probation Services.

A member of the public asked if Birkenhead could apply to become a “no cold calling” zone, the Constituency Manager agreed to pursue this with Trading Standards Department. 

Question 3 W Knapton

W Knapton was not present at the meeting but had asked about the telephone pole which had been lying in the alleyway behind CH42 6PH since February, despite being reported several times, also could the bags of rubbish that have had warning notices on them for four weeks be cleared away from the alley gates adjacent. 

W Knapton had received a response from the Technical Services Department. In response, the Chair requested that the Environmental Task and Finish Group be asked to look at the issues raised on behalf of W Knapton. 

Question 4 John Brace

Mr Brace asked two questions, one in relation to an update on the Youth Zone “the Hive” and a second regarding the payroll taxes paid by Members. 

Mr Brace had received a response from the Children and Young People’s Department and the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

Question 5 Frances Greenwood

Ms Greenwood who was not present at the meeting but asked about the utilisation of those serving Community Service and queried if there was a joint initiative with the Council and Probation Service.

Ms Greenwood had received a response from the Probation Service.

The Chair indicated that having read the response received by the Probation Service he had been impressed by the contributions made by Community Service and requested that on behalf of the Committee the Constituency Manager be asked to write to the Probation Services thanking them for the work they had undertaken and liaise with Ms Greenwood to identify further areas Community Payback could do.

Question 7 Bob Giles

Mr Giles asked three questions regarding the Council’s contribution to food banks; control measures with regard to charity collectors known as “chuggers” and plans to install a drinking water fountain at the Central Library.

Mr Giles had received responses from the appropriate officers/departments.

The Legal Advisor indicated that in relation to the issue of charity collectors he would liaise with the Council’s Licensing Manager and provide Mr Giles with a detailed response.

Question 8 Susanne McLoughlin

Ms McLoughlin asked the Committee if they would consider supporting a request to Merseytravel proposing a train station from Prenton to Liverpool.

Ms McLaughlin had received a response from Mersetravel.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chair asked Councillor A Davies to write to the Chair of Merseytravel to enquire about a new station in Prenton and request information on the distribution of expenditure from the investment budget i.e. how it was split between Wirral and other local authorities.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20

Prior to consideration of this item the Chair requested that all Members of the Committee receive a copy of the Questions and Answers paper prior to the meeting, the Chair then indicated that 11 questions had been received prior to the meeting all of which had received a response from appropriate officers, copies of which were made available at the meeting.

The Chair invited the following members of the public to ask their questions.

Question 1 Residents of the Crossways Estate

Residents raised concerns and submitted a petition and circulated photographic evidence regarding the poor living conditions faced by residents living on the Crossways estate, Residents asked when Magenta Housing would be making a decision on the future of the estate. The estate had been left in a poor state, overrun with rats and plagued by anti-social behaviour and flytipping.

It was commented that Magenta had issued the same response to residents for the last two years and that the community had fell apart living in such poor conditions with no information given as to its future.

A Member who also was on the Board at Magenta Living commented that it was a difficult situation and one that he had called for to be resolved as soon as possible, however before any further decisions were made on the Crossways estate more information was needed. He further commented that Magenta had invested funds to improve the area and would continue to do that for tenants until a decision on its future was made.

The Chair asked that those representatives of the Council who sat on the Board at Magenta Living raise this issue on the resident’s behalf to try and get a response; he further suggested that a public meeting be held for the residents of the Crossways estate to discuss this issue further.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  Those Members that were the Council representative on the Board of Magenta Living be requested to raise the issues raised by the residents of the Crossways estate  at their next meeting; and

(2)  the Constituency Manager be requested to arrange a public meeting to include the residents of the Crossways estate and representatives of Magenta Housing to discuss the issues raised by residents. 

Question 2 Hugh Langford

Mr Langford raised concern regarding cyclists riding on the pavements in particular in New Chester Road.

Mr Langford had received a response from Merseyside Police. Mr Langford commented that he felt that the response he had received was unsatisfactory and asked if the use of CCTV could be a possibility in that area and also requested further information on the number of prosecutions undertaken to date.

Prior to the Item 6 – Public Questions and Answers, A Member raised the issue of the Town Talk Newspaper and in light of Members views expressed earlier in the meeting asked Members to consider as to whether or not there should be a future edition of the Newspaper.

RESOLVED:

That the Chair and Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Davies be requested to follow up on the views expressed by Members about there being a future edition of the Town Talk Newspaper.  

Following on from the debate, The Chair indicated that 11 questions had been received prior to the meeting all of which had received a response from appropriate officers, copies of which were made available at the meeting.

The Chair invited the following members of the public to ask their questions.

Question 1 Tom Kershaw

Mr Kershaw raised concerns regarding the congestion on Gerald Road/Shrewsbury Road/Ball Road and down towards Borough Road.

He further expressed concern regarding the introduction of a mini roundabout at the junction of Gerald Road and Shrewsbury Road increasing the volume of traffic in the area.

Mr Kershaw had received a written response from the Technical Services Department.

A Member commented that the response received had not answered the concerns raised by Mr Kershaw and requested that a further written response be provided to Mr Kershaw

Question 2 Alfred Lennon

Mr Lennon raised concern regarding the Authority’s planning function and in particular the enforcement of planning conditions conveying the impression of chaos.

Mr Lennon raised concern regarding the ‘Courtyard’ Public Bar; a banner erected on the site of the former HSBC back without planning permission and a large blue metal box installed on the footway in Victoria Mout  outside the ‘Simply Drinks’ premises.

Mr Lennon had received a response from the Planning Department. A member indicated that the he was still awaiting further information from the Planning Department in response to the queries raised by Mr Lennon.

The Chair also asked for further information as to how many people had be prosecuted for illegal dumping and dog fouling.

Question 3 Bob Giles

Mr Giles asked about the vending machines at Europa and West Kirby leisure centres offering junk food.

In response Councillor Meaden, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture indicated that officers had experimented with healthy food at the centres but there was a lot of food wastage. The Council were in the process of looking at the leisure offer upon the end of the contract in April 2015.

Question 9 Rob Ellis

Mr Ellis raised concerns regarding the lack of street lighting on James Street, Oxton and also the dog fouling in Oxton Village.

Mr Ellis had received a response from the Technical Services Department.

In response to the request for further use of CCTV, A Member indicated that extra CCTV was included in budget resolution to Council, a Member then suggested that the Car Camera Vehicle be used to capture incidents of dog fouling.

In response to comments from Members, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6