Cllr Brian Kenny welcomed everyone to the forum at Tranmere Methodist Church.

Andy Brannan read out a statement regarding the future of the Neighbourhood Forums and the proposal around the 4 Constituency Committees. Questions were asked around money being available for community and voluntary groups, how the public will be involved with the committees and how the committee areas will be defined.

Apologies were received from Cllr Jean Stapleton, Cllr Bill Davies, Cllr Chris Meaden, Cllr Moira McLaughlin, David Ball and Geoff Dormond

Questions were asked on:

-If there will be further funding for alleygates in the area?

The funding the council had for alleygates came from external sources outside of the council. The council has a maintenance budget for repairing damaged alleygates but no funding has been earmarked for future alleygates

-What are the plans for the land for sale by the round about next to Conway Street by the approach to the Mersey Tunnel?

-The future of the building previously occupied by the Co Op before they moved to the new development and if it would be available for the Neighbourhood Resource Centre to operate from?

Discussions are still on going with St Caths regarding the proposed community space within the hospital. It is hoped that if this goes ahead then potentially the Resource centre could relocate to the community space within the hospital.

-The adequacy of the bus service to St Caths Hospital, especially fully accessible buses. Can the council liaise with Merseytravel regarding the issue?

Community Safety:

Steve Preston/Ian Lowrie: Information was given on neighbourhood watch schemes, the current initiatives on reducing drinking in Victoria and Mersey Parks and the work on going to reduce burglaries in the area.

Questions were asked the issues of removing dog fouling, the location of CCTV camera in parks and the details of being in a neighbourhood watch zone.

Library Service:

Peter Aspinall: Information was given on the services provided at the libraries within the forum area.

Questions were asked on the changes being made to Rock Ferry library and the need for a robust appointment system within One Stop Shops as more people maybe seeking advice when the changes to the benefits system starts.

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service:

Mike Buratti: There have been no major instances in this forum area to report. Over the bonfire period there was a 36% reduction in instances. This is the result of the work the fire service and partners put into ensuring the bonfire period was safe.

Questions were asked around on the criteria for residents to receive fire alarms and the laws for landlords fitting smoke alarms.

The meeting ended at 7.45pm

No items of any other business were raised