The Chair, Councillor Paul Hayes, welcomed the forum members and 15 members of the public to the meeting of the Area Forum at Wallasey Sea Cadets, and thanked the Sea Cadets for their hospitality. 

A safety briefing was given by a member of the Sea Cadets.

Including: Matters Arising from June 2008

The Area Co-ordinator, Andy Brannan, gave an overview of his report, copies of which were available for members of the public at the meeting.  The minutes of the meeting of the Area Forum on 25 June 2008 and matters arising were included on pages 3-13 of the report, and asked if anyone wished to raise any issues on these:

Issues raised / Matters arising:

Minute 1 – paragraph 2: Councillor Taylor requested that the “Friends of Tower Gardens” be amended to read “Friends of Tower Grounds”

Minute 4 – paragraph 6: Councillor Wood requested that this be amended to mention Church opposite St George’s school and to reflect that it is not the pupils of this school causing the problems.

Matters Arising – paragraph 1: Cynthia Stonehall (Bravo) requested that this be amended to reflect that it was the drinkers on the pavement who were targeting passers by.

The Chair agreed that the minutes will be amended to reflect these points.

Minute 2 – paragraph 2: Dave Hanlon informed the forum that the drainage problem at Wallacre Park has gotten worse and asked what the Council plans to do about this.

Councillor Rennie – the Council are still looking into this matter, which is also affecting the surrounding residential properties. Bob Beresford from the Environmental Health department is looking into the problem. Councillor Wood added that United Utilities are also involved in this.

The Chair informed the forum that the issue of the early removal of goal post from playing fields has been resolved as details of fixtures have been passed to the Council. Dave Hanlon added that a copy of the fixtures had been sent to Leisure Services and the last fixture for the junior League is 11^th June.

Minute 4 – page 7 – paragraph 2: Councillor Wood informed the forum that seven police officers have been allocated to schools and that a detailed report on this will be issued by Merseyside Police. Four officers were allocated to Wirral schools earlier this year, and a further three have been allocated. New recruits have been employed to replace neighbourhood officers that were moved to Croxteth following the Rees Jones murder. 

Page 13 – Item 4: The Area Co-ordinator informed the forum that the Wirral HART (Home Assessment and Re-enablement Team) will remain within the Council and will offer an intense 1 – 2 week period of re-enablement. If further daily care service is needed, then independent companies will be brought in to offer this.

The member of the public that raised this issue informed the forum that his concern was to do with employment and not the service to the client. The Area Co-ordinator agreed to respond to this at the next meeting. 

Page 13 – Item 5: The Area Co-ordinator informed the forum that four new signs have been placed down the Promenade end of the park, and this will be monitored. Further signs will be added if required.

The Area Co-ordinator informed the forum that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

• Merseyside Police/Community Safety
• Fire Service
• NHS Foundation Trust
• Primary Care trust
• Older Peoples Parliament

The Chair informed the forum that the partners would provide updates, to be followed by any questions from the audience.

Councillor Rennie informed the forum that Governors of the Wirral Hospital Trust were at the meeting and available to answer questions.

Merseyside Police

Inspector Julie Fletcher (New Brighton) informed the forum that a report was included on page 23 of the Area Co-ordinators report. Eight warrants were issued in the last week leading to three arrests. Stolen property was recovered from Cash Converters in Liscard, which will lead to further arrests.

Inspector Mark Smith (Wallasey Village) informed the forum that the crime level is down by 21% compared to last year, with the rise of one area (robbery). There have been seven thefts from motor vehicles. Eight youths have been taken back to school under a truancy initiative.

The Chair thanked the Inspector Fletcher and Inspector Smith for their updates and the following questions / issues were raised:

• The Police were commended for their informative newsletter and the professional way the counterfeit operation was handled.
• Inspector Fletcher informed the forum that anyone wishing to regularly receive the newsletter should pass on their details at the end of the meeting. Inspector Smith added that a newsletter for the Wallasey area was also available and anyone wishing to receive this should pass on their details at the end of the meeting.

• Cynthia Stonehall (BRAVO) – how are complaints re: public houses passed to the licensing officer?
• Inspector Fletcher - the licensing team is based upstairs, so we can pass this on directly and they then arrange a visit, usually within a week. Sergeant Pete Bioletty added that this works very well and plans are put into place quickly.

• Dave Hanlon – asked what was planned for schools that do not have an officer attached to them.
• Councillor Wood – the Area Commander has responsibility for this, the officer, Constable Colin Garland, based as Mosslands will cover the schools and Wallasey Village. Inspector Smith – the Area Commander picked 11 schools initially, and this may be rolled out following further re-evaluation.

• What is happening over the security and future of St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Atherton Street?
• Chair – there are no updates available at the moment, but I am involved in the campaign to get the church re-opened and used for its former purpose. DAT have asked for the windows to be secured. Councillor Pritchard added that he is working with the conservation officers on the future of this Grade II listed building, and that he would also like to see this being used as a church again, and is hoping to arrange for a petition to keep a church in Liscard. Clare Robertson introduced herself as the new faith representative on the forum; she has always lived in the borough and is part of Wirral Churches Together. Wirral Churches Together is grateful for the support from the Council and Community for this important landmark.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Chair informed the forum that the results from the questionnaires completed were considered, following the publicity campaign, and the £20,000 of funding available under You Decide was allocated as follows:

·  £5,000 litter bins

·  £4,000 youth and sport activities

·  £3,000 respect bus

·  £3,000 household security locks for vulnerable people

·  £2,500 litter pickups

·  £2,500 graffiti removal

This will be allocated evenly between the New Brighton and Wallasey wards and will be reported on in more detail at the next meeting.

Minute Decision:  Resolved that the Chair to report back further on the allocation of the You Decide funding at the next meeting.

February 2009 (Venue to be confirmed)

The next meeting will be held on 16^th February 2009 at venue to be confirmed.

There was no further business and the Chair thanked everyone for attending, and invited them to visit the Probation Service stand and the respect bus. He closed the meeting at 8.40pm.

• Wirral Anti-Social Behaviour Respect Team
• Merseyside Probation Service

• Wirral Anti Social Behaviour Respect Team (Respect Bus)
• Merseyside Probation Service