Thirty one members of the public were in attendance, with the percentage attendance by ward as follows:

·  Greasby, Frankby and Irby  13%

·  Hoylake and Meols  10%

·  Pensby and Thingwall  13%

·  Upton  19%

·  West Kirby and Thurstaston  39%

·  Not stated    6%

The Committee is invited to appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair for the municipal year 2014/2015

The Head of Legal and Member Services requested nominations for the appointment of Chair for the 2014/2015 municipal year.

On a motion by Councillor Hale, seconded by Councillor Elderton, it was –

Resolved – That Councillor Jeff Green be appointed Chair for the municipal year 2014/2015.

(Councillor Green in the Chair)

On a motion by Councillor Green, seconded by Councillor Elderton, it was –

Resolved – That Councillor John Hale be appointed Vice-Chair for the municipal year 2014/2015

The Committee is invited to appoint Community Representatives for the municipal year 2014/2015 and to give consideration also to their tenure of office.

The Community Representatives appointed on 12 December 2013 (minute 14 refers) are as follows –

(a)  Jackie Hall  Hoylake and Meols Ward

(b)  John Smith  Greasby Frankby and Irby Ward

(c)  Lynn Collier  Pensby and Thingwall Ward

(d)  Elise Wong  Upton Ward

(e)  David Wade  West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward

The Chair advised that at the meeting of the Committee held on 12 December 2013 (minute 14 refers), and in accordance with the authorisation conferred by the Council (minute 41 (14 October 2013) refers), the Committee had appointed its Community Representatives, following an evaluation and based upon recommendations made by Ward Councillors. All had indicated their willingness to continue in their role for the municipal year 2014/2015.

Resolved – That the following persons be appointed as the Committee’s Community Representatives for the municipal year 2014/2015 –

(a)  Jackie Hall  Hoylake and Meols Ward

(b)  John Smith  Greasby Frankby and Irby Ward

(c)  Lynn Collier  Pensby and Thingwall Ward

(d)  Elise Wong  Upton Ward

(e)  David Wade  West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward

Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Members were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Councillors Jeff Green and Stuart Whittingham declared their interest in agenda item 6 – Your Wirral Grants Programme (see minute 6 post), by virtue of their membership of the Magenta Living Board.

Councillor Tom Anderson declared his interest in agenda item 7 – Wirral West Constituency Budget 2014/2015 (see minute 7 post) insofar as it related to public health spending, by virtue of his employment.

In addition, all Members declared their personal interest in agenda items 6 (Your Wirral Grants Programme) and 7 (Wirral West Constituency Budget 2014/2015) by virtue of their involvement with various community groups within the Wirral West Constituency that may be eligible for grant funding.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2014

The Head of Legal and Member Services presented the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2014. With regard to minute 25, the Constituency Manager advised that, in response to the Chair having written to the Chief Fire Officer to ascertain the facts in relation to fire station mergers, in the light of conflicting reports, she had received an update from the Chief Fire Officer. The update stated that ‘the Fire and Rescue Authority is having to deliver £26.5m savings as a result of Government cuts to its budget up to and including 2015/2016. The Authority is pursuing the merger on the recommendation of the Chief Fire Officer who has described the merger as representing the least worst operational option for West Wirral.

The Authority has invested significant time and effort in attempting to identify a suitable site for the proposed merger of West Kirby and Upton fire stations. Unfortunately it has not yet been possible to identify a suitable site which is available for purchase with the appropriate planning consent.

If the merger option cannot be delivered, which appears increasingly likely, then the next option to be pursued by the Authority will be the outright closure of West Kirby and the development of the existing Upton site in partnership with North West Ambulance Service who have expressed an interest in collocation.

From an operational perspective the Authority can still make the 10 minute response standard to the existing West Kirby station area from Upton, Heswall and Wallasey’.

Resolved –

(1)  That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2014 be approved.

(2)  That the update from the Chief Fire Officer be noted.

Update on progress in relation to the ongoing work programme being undertaken in support of the Wirral West Constituency Committee

The Constituency Manager (Wirral West) presented her report, which provided an update in relation to the ongoing work programme being undertaken in support of the Committee, which was set out in an ‘action tracker’ appended to the report.

She reported upon work that had been undertaken with partners to develop a joined up approach to engagement within the Constituency and commented upon the success of the first partner ‘have your say’ marketplace event, which took place on 17 April 2014 in Hoylake. The approach to the events would be further developed and publicised to ensure that people were aware of their purpose and how they linked with the Constituency Committee. The dates for future marketplace engagement events were as follows, with the venue for each still to be confirmed –

·  18 September 2014 at 7.00pm  Upton Ward

·  11 December 2014 at 7.00pm  Greasby, Frankby and Irby Ward

·  26 March 2015 at 7.00pm  West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward

·  18 June 2015 at 7.00pm  Pensby and Thingwall Ward

She reported also that all Wirral West Community Fund/Public Health projects agreed at the last meeting (minute 23 (6 March 2014) refers) needed to be completed by December 2014, and the Constituency team was working proactively with local groups to support project activity. As part of this, an opportunity had been provided for groups to provide an update on their projects to the Committee. She indicated that, although a number were still in the early stages of development, several had provided a summary of progress and she highlighted what had been achieved to date in respect of the following projects –

·  Woodchurch Methodist Centre

Awarded £472 to hold a ‘Making Connections’ event, to find ways to reduce isolation and loneliness amongst older people

·  St Hildeburgh’s Lunch Club

Awarded £1400 to expand their regular lunches for isolated older members of the community

·  The Friends of Hilbre Parents and Teachers Association

Awarded £1000 for their community Clean Up project, being delivered in conjunction with Wirral Eco Schools

·  Happy Times

Awarded £3000 to deliver fun ‘musical movement’ sessions for older people living in sheltered accommodation in Pensby and Woodchurch

She confirmed that the project updates would be published on the Wirral West web pages at www.wirral.gov.uk/wirralwest, together with further updates received as other projects were developed.

Resolved –

(1)  That the progress in relation to the work being undertaken in support of the Committee and in respect of the Constituency Working approach, be noted.

(2)  That the thanks of the Committee be accorded to the Constituency Manager for the success of the constituency engagement events in bringing together ward groups and for providing an opportunity for members of the public to receive updates on ward activities.

Recommendations as to the proposed process for the allocation of Your Wirral Grants

The Constituency Manager (Wirral West) reported that the ‘Your Wirral Fund’ was a small grants programme of £250,000 that had been in operation since 2007 It was a strand of the Community Fund that came into being as a result of the Value Added Tax (VAT) return generated by the Housing stock transfer from Wirral Council to Wirral Partnership Homes, now Magenta Living. A Joint Working Group acted as the accountable body for Your Wirral and was comprised of representation from Wirral Council and Magenta Living, including Councillors and Board Members and it had been agreed that the Fund should now be administered via the Constituency Committees, the allocation determined by Magenta Living on the basis of the number of housing units in each Constituency area. She indicated that £50,000 had been ringfenced for Wirral–wide projects and the specific allocation for Wirral West was £40,000.

The Joint Working Group had determined criteria for eligibility for funding, with applications having to fit within one or more of the following themes, in line with the charitable objectives of the Community Fund Deed –

1.  Creating an attractive and safe environment

2.  Contributing to community economic regeneration

3.  Preventing crime or reducing the fear of crime

4.  Providing employment and training for local people

5.  Benefiting local people who face discrimination

6.  Improving community facilities

7.  Engaging communities to improve quality of life

The Constituency Manager highlighted a series of terms and conditions had been developed to ensure that the conditions of the Community Fund Deed were not compromised. It had also been proposed that applications for funding for Wirral-wide projects (i.e. projects that would be delivered in two or more constituency areas) would be assessed by a separate panel comprising the Chair or Vice-Chair of each Constituency Committee and an officer from Magenta Living, who would make recommendations for approval by the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Engagement.

The Your Wirral Fund would be launched across Wirral in the week commencing 28 July 2014 and would remain open throughout the year with ‘cut off’ dates advertised for each Constituency, by which applications needed to be received to be considered by the Panel and referred for decision to the Constituency Committee. The Your Wirral Constituency Panel was therefore expected to meet up to four times in this municipal year in advance of each of the Constituency Committee meetings until the funding was spent.

The views of the Committee were therefore sought as to –

·  Nominations for the Wirral West Your Wirral Constituency Panel, which will make recommendations to the Constituency Committee with regard to the allocation of Your Wirral grants in Wirral West. Both councillors and community representatives may be nominated to sit on this panel;

·  Whether the Wirral West Your Wirral Constituency Panel should give priority to one or more of the 7 themes when they were considering their recommendations to the Committee.

The Chair expressed a view that each ward should be represented on the Panel, to make recommendations to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Recommendations as to the proposed process for allocating the Committee’s Neighbourhood Working Budget and Road Safety Budget for 2014/2015

The Constituency Manager (Wirral West) reported upon the Constituency Committee Budget 2014/2015 and sought the views of the Committee as to the process for taking forward expenditure in relation to the Constituency Committee’s budget allocation for 2014/2015, i.e. –

A  2013/2014 Budget Underspend

The Committee’s total budget allocation for 2013/2014 amounted to £100,000, which was made up of –

·  £50,000 core Council budget to ‘kickstart’ neighbourhood working, which was allocated on the basis of £10,000 per ward (minute 23 (6 March 2014) refers). The Constituency Manager highlighted the underspend for each ward, which, as agreed by the Committee, had been held in reserve, to be carried over into 2014/2015, for ward improvements and/or to extend a further opportunity for local projects to access grant funding and add value to existing community activities.

·  £50,000 Public Health Outcomes Fund budget to improve health and well-being, with a focus on supporting voluntary, community and faith sector organisations. Following the grant allocation, there was a net underspend of £5,633.57 and the Constituency Manager reported upon work with partners to develop a project proposal in response to a Cabinet Office funding opportunity aimed at supporting older people and reducing hospital admissions during the winter months. Should the bid be successful, the project would fund a voluntary or community sector organisation in each of the four constituencies to act as a ‘winter champion’ by increasing social action and improving the support networks available for older people where they lived.  The Constituency Manager sought delegated authority to use the Public Health underspend of £5,633.57 to further develop the partnership working with the voluntary, community and faith sector in respect of support for older people in Wirral West.

B  2014/2015 Neighbourhood Working Allocation

The Council’s budget allocation for 2014/2015 included a further allocation of £200,000 to be devolved to the Constituency Committees to enable neighbourhood working to be further developed (£50,000 per Constituency area). The Committee was requested to consider whether the broad approach of an equitable split between five wards, with projects voted upon by the community, should continue in 2014/2015, subject to development and improvement of the approach based upon feedback received by way of a survey from the local community. The Constituency Manager provided an outline of the survey results and set out the priority areas that had been identified.

With regard to the Council allocation for 2014/2015, a Member expressed a view that levels of deprivation and population across the Constituency should calculated and that funding should be allocated to wards on that basis. An alternative view was also expressed that, in view of the levels of funding available to be allocated, the grant should be distributed to wards on the same basis as in 2013/2014.

C  2014/2015 Integrated Transport Block (Road Safety) Allocation

This provided an allocation of £77,750 for each Constituency Committee, which was required to be distributed in relation to the following objectives –

·  Improving Road Safety (£38, 875)

·  Promoting Active Travel and Health (£38,875)

The Constituency Manager outlined the rationale  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Members of the public are invited to raise questions or issues, either at the meeting or in advance, to the Wirral West Constituency Manager, Jane Morgan (Tel: 0151 929 7706 or by email janemorgan@wirral.gov.uk)

The Chair invited questions from members of the public upon matters that were relevant to the Wirral West Constituency and he indicated that a number of questions had been submitted in advance of the meeting.

·  A member of the public, Mr John Durrant, representing the Wirral Environmental Network, highlighted his concern with regard to the Dee Estuary and in particular, to the shoreline at Thurstaston being subject to tidal erosion. He questioned whether Wirral Council and its neighbouring local authorities should work together to turn the estuary into a Lakeland and to link Wirral by road with North Wales.

o  The Council’s Health, Safety and Resilience Manager, who had responsibility for coastal management referred to the Coastal Management Plan, which was available by way of the Council’s website. This was a 50 year plan, the current version having been approved by the Cabinet in 2010, and covered the whole of Wirral’s coastline and all relevant agencies were signatories to it. The Constituency Manager proposed to provide a copy of the document to the questioner and any areas of concern could then be raised direct with appropriate Council officers.

·  A question was asked by Mrs Fiona Johnson as to why the Number 138 bus service was no longer running, it being a valuable link between West Kirby, Hoylake, Moreton, Liscard and New Brighton. Members also expressed their concern that this service had been stopped and Councillor Hale advised that he was awaiting a response to an enquiry he had made to the Leader of the Council, Merseytravel now being a part of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

o  The Constituency Manager proposed to make enquiries on behalf of the Constituency Committee and to notify Members of the outcome.

·  A Pensby resident, Mr John Cranny, enquired whether the Committee would consider the provision of bike stands in the vicinity of the shops on Pensby Road, near Fishers Lane.

o  The Chair indicated that such a request would seem to fit well with the criteria for the provision of grant funding. He asked the Constituency Manager to arrange for the request to be considered as part of the budget allocation process for the improvement of road safety and promotion of active travel and health (see minute 7 ante).

·  A question was asked by Mr Andrew Hodgson as to whether a reduced speed limit of 20mph could be imposed in parts of the centre of West Kirby, on the basis of improving both road safety and promoting active travel and health.

o  The Chair introduced Councillor Stuart Whittingham, who was the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways and Transport. Councillor Whittingham proposed to liaise with the Council’s traffic management officers, who would assess the suitability of the proposal. Subject to officers recommendations, it could then be considered as part of the process for the allocation of the Committee’s road safety budget

·  A resident of the Upton area, Mr Damian McGregor, had submitted questions (i) as to why safety barriers had been removed with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee’s Community Representatives will be invited to provide an update on local issues

The Chair invited the Community Representatives to provide a brief update in relation to local issues.

Hoylake and Meols Ward

Jackie Hall MBE indicated that she was proud to have been given the opportunity to represent Hoylake and Meols Ward, as its Community Representative and she praised the work being undertaken by local groups who worked together for the benefit of the community. She highlighted the success of the Festival of Firsts in Hoylake and referred specifically to bunting, floral hanging baskets and planters of herbs, all of which were provided by volunteers. The benefits to the area of the Hoylake Golf Resort were also eagerly anticipated. However, on a less positive note, she expressed her disappointment that nothing had been done regarding the derelict toilet block on Hoylake Promenade.

West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward

David Wade highlighted a number of matters of concern to local people in West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward, particularly, the closure and loss of West Kirby Fire Station, drilling in the Dee Estuary, parking problems in the vicinity of West Kirby Rail Station and proposed development at the West Kirby Medical Centre.

Ward Councillor David Elderton provided an update regarding the development planned by Magenta Living, which was subject to legal challenge. Magenta had been advised that the legal challenge should run its course and that £10million had been set aside for the development to be completed. However, no timescale could be given at the present time. Councillor Green and Councillor Whittingham declared their personal interest in this issue by virtue of them being members of the Magenta Living Board.

Greasby, Frankby and Irby Ward

John Smith referred to the retail development that was being undertaken in the vicinity of the Red Cat in Greasby and commented that, this morning, there had been a serious accident in the vicinity of the site. Although not directly connected, he had asked that the accident be investigated with a view to establishing whether the development presented increased risks.

He also highlighted the need for a response from the Council in relation to funding the provision of Christmas lighting and he requested an update in relation to the Western Link works, which had the potential to cause disruption of The Open.

Pensby and Thingwall Ward

Lynn Collier referred to traffic problems caused by parents performing illegal or dangerous manoeuvres, when dropping children off at school. She highlighted specific problems in the vicinity of Pensby Primary School and sought advice and support from the Council’s Road Safety Manager

Resolved – That the reports be noted and the Constituency Manager be requested to provide feedback to the Committee in relation to the various issues highlighted.

A report on Individual Electoral Registration was presented to the Council’s Coordinating Committee on 15 January 2014 and subsequently considered by the Cabinet at its meeting on 13 March 2014. The Cabinet requested that the report be referred to the Constituency Committees as a topic for discussion.

The Principal Electoral Services Officer presented the report of the Director of Public Health/Head of Policy and Performance upon Individual Electoral Registration (IER), which had been presented to the Council’s Coordinating Committee on 15 January 2014 and subsequently to the Cabinet at its meeting on 13 March 2014. The Cabinet requested that the report be referred to Constituency Committees as a topic for discussion.

She confirmed that IER had been implemented on 10 June 2014 and all local authorities had been asked to check their match rate against DWP date. Wirral’s accuracy rate was above the national average and in Wirral West it was expected that over 90% of electors would be registered automatically. Residents were now able to register online and, although this had proved to be very successful, the challenge was how best to target the 10% who were not registered. There was to be a national campaign in August 2014, which would be complemented in Wirral with local initiatives to raise awareness, the cost of which would be fully funded until 2015, after which, any additional costs would have to be met by the Council.

In response to concerns expressed with regard to the security of data exchange with the DWP, she indicated that it was done by way of a secure digital data server, which had been tested to ensure that it was both accurate and secure.

Resolved – That the report be noted

16 October 2014 at a venue to be confirmed