The Chair, Councillor Tony Smith, opened the meeting and welcomed forum members and 30 members of the public to the Area Forum meeting in Woodchurch.  Apologies for absence were received from Maureen Cain and John Smith.  The Chair invited Forum members to introduce themselves.

The minutes of the Area Forum meeting of 11 February 2009 were incorporated into the Area Service Co-ordinator’s report. 

Matters arising.

The Area Forum Co-ordinator’s report contained updates under the headings –

• Traffic management schemes that can be funded through the Local Transport Plan Integrated Transport Black allocation.
• Measures to alleviate traffic problems in Sunny bank Close and Houghton Road
• Asbestos at the St Benedict’s site
• Traffic counts on Greasby Road.

Jo Burrell read out a progress report from the Director of Technical Services on the demolition of the former St Benedict’s High School. All asbestos materials have been safely removed from the site and site clearance is scheduled for completion by 10 July

Members of the public reported that residents had seen lorries arriving and dumping rubbish on the site, that little work appeared to be taking place during the week, but there is increased activity at weekends, including bank holidays.

Councillor George replied that the contractor had located a crushing machine on the site and was using the equipment to break down rubble brought from another site in Wallasey.  The agreement was that work would stop at the end of May

A member of the public reported that notices have been posted in Sunny Bank about double yellow lines, but he was concerned about the 5-metre gap for a vehicle crossing.  There is a possibility that someone will park in the gap and create an access problem for the occupiers of No. 1 Sunny Bank.  He was also concerned about traffic flow into and out of the road and safety issues.  Mark Traynor undertook to follow up the suggestion that a post is erected to avoid parking in the gap.

Minute decision: Resolved:  That the minutes of the Area Forum meeting of 11 February 2009 be received.

Minute Decision:  

(i)-Mark Traynor undertook to follow up the suggestion that a post is erected to avoid parking in the gap in Sunnybank Road.

(ii)- Members of the public reported that residents had seen lorries arriving and dumping rubbish on the site, that little work appeared to be taking place during the week, but there is increased activity at weekends, including bank holidays.

The Area Co-ordinator’s report contained Local Updates on Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Community Safety Team, Wirral University Hospital Trust, Equality and Diversity, Wirral Youth Service, Travel, National Carers’ Week, NHS Wirral, and Wirral’s Older People’s Parliament.

The Area Co-ordinator tabled additional information on the responses to the You Decide questionnaire for 2008/09, giving information on proposed sites for additional litter bins and additional litter pickups, funded from the grant of £20,000 received in 2008. 

A further sum of £20,000 is available for additional Council services in this forum area in 2009, plus £18,200 devolved funding for Council highway and road safety schemes.  Members of the public are being encouraged to tell the Council how the money should be spent by completing the You Decide Survey for 2009.

In response to a query from a member of the public, Councillor Gardner explained that new-style bins are being trialled in certain locations in Wirral.  The plan is to use the pilot scheme to decide whether the bins are suitable and then roll out new bins across Wirral.  The trial has been very successful so far, especially in Heswall.

Councillor Quinn responded to a query about the accumulation of rubbish in the area behind the shops in Greasby and in Upton.  The land in Greasby is private land and is a major problem, which the Council has been trying to resolve for some time.

Minute decision: Resolved:  To thank the Area Forum Co-ordinator for his report.

Mark Camborne, Health, Safety and Resilience Operations Manager, explained that his role with the Council is to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies.  He had attended this evening in response to a request from Councillor Quinn following the electricity blackout in Greasby and Upton, to give information on the arrangements in place to deal with emergencies, and to answer questions.

The Council has plans for all foreseeable emergencies and these are listed in a Community List register.  The list is sent to all the agencies who work in partnership with the Council, including Health, Police, public utilities and people involved with the public and private sector who expect to be called out in an emergency.

The presentation included an overview of emergency planning responses to the current key threat assessment and clarified the roles and responsibilities of the Police, the Fire and Rescue Service, the Ambulance/Health Protection Agency, the Environment Agency, HM Coroner, the Local Authority and the voluntary sector.

Mark Cambourne commented in general terms on the involvement of the utility companies in emergency planning and their response to local incidents, including the electricity failure in Greasby and Upton.

A member of the public compared the arrangements to the Civil Defence plans in place during and following World War 11.  He enquired whether practices are organised to test the plans.

Mark Cambourne replied that a three-year programme of exercises and tests is devised, working in conjunction with partnership agencies.  Recent exercises included a test in the Mersey Tunnel and a decontamination exercise at a hospital.  It is difficult to advertise for volunteers to take part in tests, and the tendency is to use existing resources.  He would be interested in hearing from people who are willing to become volunteers to take part in exercises. 

A member of the public enquired whether the Council has block insurance to cover people who are affected by major emergencies, such as flooding, who may not be able to obtain insurance for certain risks, or are unable to afford, insurance cover. 

Mark Cambourne replied that property owners are responsible for taking out their own insurance, but he agreed that the issue is something that needs to be looked into nationally.

The Chair thanked Mark Cambourne for the presentation.

Questions received in advance of the meeting.

Q  From Mr J Durrant about pruning of overhanging trees along Irby Road.

A  [Mark Traynor].  A safety assessment has been made of all trees along roads in Wirral.  Major pruning work has been carried out on major bus routes from the town centre to West Kirby and Wallasey.  There are no plans to undertake pruning work on trees on Irby Road, but the problem will be looked at.

Q  Anti-social behaviour, including young people drinking alcohol and general misdemeanours in the wooded area in Cheverton Close.

Members of the public gave examples of the types of behaviour witnessed by young people who congregate in the sheltered area on the left hand side of the close.  The residents accept that the Police are busy and they do not report incidents.

A  [Inspector Griffiths]  Problems in this area have not been brought to the attention of the Police. He emphasised the need to report all incidents so they can be logged.

He had talked to members of the public before the meeting about the issue of young people drinking cider, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.  Successful prosecutions have been brought against off-licences who supply alcohol to under-age people, and adults who purchase alcohol for children and young people.  The Police work closely with the Licensing Team and test purchases are made by young people.  An off-licence in Greasby has had its licence taken away for seven days after failing three test purchases.  The staff in many off-licences report to the Police where they suspect adults are purchasing alcohol for young people.  The problem is not confined to Woodchurch; it is Wirral-wide and nation-wide. 

A member of the public commended the Police on their fast response to a recent incident in which the culprit had been apprehended.

Questions raised at the meeting

Q  Children are using the bus stop in Ganneys Meadow for drinking purposes, and they have set fire to paper.

Q  There are many problems in the Hoole Road area, and the measures put in place to address these are not working.  People report things but nothing is happening. Perhaps a different strategy needs to be used in Hoole Road. 

A  [Police].  The Police respond to the information they receive from the public.  If they are not told, the Policy cannot do anything.

[Mr Stevenson]:  The Woodchurch Estate is one of the biggest estates in the country, but it does not have a community shop.  A community shop would provide more community cohesion and would help resolve most of the problems concerned with anti-social behaviour in Hoole Road and other areas.

Q  I understand there are problems regarding alcohol-free zones and the actual signage used.  Is it still going ahead for the whole of Wirral?  I would like to know how many tickets have been issued in the Woodchurch area - I suspect that the Woodchurch has the least number of people who have been reprimanded or fined.

A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Partner Updates

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

Sarah Patterson drew attention to the comprehensive report on pages 13-15 of the Area Co-ordinator’s report.  She highlighted the availability of free Home Fire Safety checks and a commitment to risk assess every home on Merseyside. [FREEphone 0900 731 5958 for Free Home Fire Safety Check, with free smoke alarm installation if required].

Wallasey Community Fire Station are holding an Open Day on 20 June from noon to 4 pm.  Any voluntary donations received on the day will be given to Claire House.  Everyone will be welcome.

Sarah responded to comments about the community facilities at Upton Fire Station as follows:

·  The gym facilities are not to the standard available at other fire station due to space restrictions at Upton Fire Station.

·  Comments or complaints about the Wirral Heartbeat equipment should be referred to the Heartbeat Manager.

·  The facilities, including the community room and the community garden, are available for use by the community at any time. 

Community Safety Team 

A report on the activities of the Community Safety Team was given on pages 15/20 of the Area Co-ordinator’s report.

Jim Thompson gave a statistical analysis of crime in Wirral, emphasising that Wirral is a very safe place to live, and is becoming safer.  The emphasis for the next twelve months will be on addressing antisocial behaviour, dealing with violent crime, particularly domestic violence, hate crime, political offenders and crime hot spots including Birkenhead Town Centre, whilst at the same time ensuring value for money. 

Mark Stevenson noted that the areas where the Youth Respect Team has operated excluded Woodchurch.  Inspector Griffiths replied that the resources had been placed in the areas where most incidents of anti-social behaviour had been reported.  It could be that residents of Woodchurch had not reported incidents.

Wirral University Hospital Trust

Pat Higgins highlighted the section of the report dealing with Controlling Infection.  Reducing the incidents of MRSA and Clostridium difficile is a very high priority for the Trust and figures released in April show a 60% reduction in case of Clostridium difficile in the last quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.  NHS Wirral has invested £1.6 million in a hyper-acute stroke centre.  The maternity unit was judged to be one of the ‘best performing’ in the country in the Health Commission’s review and ‘best in the region’ in a national survey of new mothers and mothers-to-be.  Work has just started on a £11 million scheme that will radically change the face of the maternity services building and create a centre of excellence bringing together under one roof all acute hospital services for women and children.

A member of the public stated that during a recent hospital visit, she had noticed that visitors could not access the hand sanitizer because a laundry trolley had been parked in front of it.

Equality and Diversity

Mark Stevenson commented that a representative from the Equality and Diversity Team was not present to answer questions.

The Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

·  19th October 09 (venue to be confirmed)

Minute decision:  Resolved:  That the next meeting of the Area Forum be held on 19 October 2009 at a venue to be confirmed.

The Chair thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9.10 pm.