The Constituency Manager for Wallasey invited nominations for the Chair.

On a motion by Councillor Ron Abbey, seconded by Councillor Spriggs, it was-

Resolved (8:3) – That Councillor R Gregson be appointed Chair of this meeting.   

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M Daniel, P Hackett,  P Hayes, A Leech, L Rennie and S Williams.

The Chair, having welcomed everybody to the meeting, then asked if Members had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any items on the agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Councillor R Abbey declared a personal interest in respect of the bid received from Leasowe Early Years and Adult Learning Community Centre by virtue of being a Member of the Management Board.

Councillor T Johnson declared a personal interest in respect of the bid received from Leasowe Community Allotments.

Councillor L Fraser declared a general personal interest in respect of knowing people who had applied for the bid.

Councillor A Jones declared a personal interest in respect of the bid received from Wallasey Central Park Partnership Community.

Resolved- That the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2014 be approved.

The Constituency Manager reported upon the details of a number of applications which had which had been made to the Your Wirral Fund.

Councillor C Blakeley raised queries regarding who carried out the evaluation of the application forms against the criteria set. The Constituency Manager confirmed that she carried out the evaluation. Cllr C Blakeley suggested that in future this be carried out by more than one person.

Councillor C Blakeley asked whether the number of people who benefitted from each group’s bid would be from Wallasey Constituency only. The Constituency Manager confirmed that the people benefitting would predominately be from the Wallasey Constituency. Councillor C Blakeley recommended using postcodes to identify the location of each group/organisation for future applications. 

Members considered and determined each proposal separately.  The decisions are summarised in Appendix 1.

1.  Stick ‘n’ Step

YW1

The Chair outlined details of the project.

Councillor R Abbey recommended that Stick ‘n’ Step be awarded £400, rather than the full amount of £1,200, due to concerns regarding funding for advertising.

Emma Degg stated that if the group was awarded £400, instead of the full amount, then they would be offered support from the Press Office.

The motion to provide £400, instead of £1200 was put and lost (5:7)

Resolved - That the full amount of £1,200 be awarded to Stick ‘n’ Step.

2.  Striding Out CIC

YW2

The Chair outlined details of the project.

Members raised concerns regarding the funding breakdown down costs.

Resolved –

(1)  That the Constituency Manager seek further information from the Council’s Skills Team (Lifelong Learning) to establish whether this project would address a gap in service delivery.

(2)  That the decision on the bid be referred to Wallasey Constituency Committee on 23 October 2014.

3.  Wallasey Cricket Club

YW3

The Chair outlined details of the project.

Councillor R Abbey recommended that Wallasey Cricket Club be awarded half of their requested bid of £2,500 and instead be awarded £1,250 on the basis that the funding was solely for the purchase of a motor mower.

The motion to provide £1,250, instead of £2,500 was put and won (8:3).

Resolved - That £1,250 be awarded to Wallasey Cricket Club.

4.  New Brighton Baptist Church

YW4

The Chair outlined details of the project.

Members raised concerns about the funding that the project had already secured.

Resolved - That the New Brighton Baptist Church be awarded £2,500, subject to enquiries by the Constituency Manager that the bid complies with the Terms and Conditions.

5.  New Brighton Gymnastics Club

YW5

Members discussed the details of the project.

Resolved - That £2,365 be awarded to New Brighton Gymnastics Club.

6.  Amy and Friends

YW6

The Chair outlined details of the project.

Councillor L Fraser questioned whether Amy and Friends could use the funding for rent.

The Constituency Manager confirmed that this bid complied with the Terms and Conditions.

Resolved - That £2,500 be awarded to Amy and Friends.

7.  The Open Door Centre

YW7

Members discussed the details of the project.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The Chair introduced the item and members were asked to give consideration to two further areas of spend identified by officers:

1.  David Rees drew members’ attention to section 2.4.1 and asked Members to consider spending £20,000 for speed warning signs to enable speed data to continue to be captured.

Councillor R Abbey questioned whether the Police should be liable for providing funding for speed signs.

David Rees clarified that the police do not have the resources to provide speed signs, but they could work with the Council to target specific areas.

Councillor Chris Blakeley stated that he was opposed to spending £20,000 for speed data, as data figures could often be misleading.

Councillor R Abbey agreed and stated that he opposed spending £20,000 on data for data’s sake.

Councillor L Fraser stated that money could be better spent.

David Rees stated that the Police would welcome the data to enable more proactive targeting of enforcement activity at locations where public concern has already been expressed.

Councillor R Abbey stated that the data would not provide the Police with any more information.

Councillor C Blakeley stated that the Council was here to provide road safety, not data. Therefore 25% of the fund should not be spent on data collection.

Councillor C Blakeley proposed discarding the £20,000 allocation for data collection.

The motion to discard the £20,000 funding for data collection was put and won (8:1)

Resolved- That the £20,000 allocated funding for data collection be discarded.

David Rees drew members’ attention to section 2.4.2 and asked members to consider spending £3,500 for additional cycleway signs and associated markings on the footway.

Councillor R Abbey questioned whether the signs were going to be enforceable and argued that they would have limited effect if not.

David Rees clarified that these would be advisory signs and that the Police stated that they would help them to police the area, but would not be enforceable.

Councillor C Blakeley asked why the Police couldn’t pay for this signage.

David Rees clarified that highways were the responsibility of the Council and therefore should be funded by the Council.

Councillor A Jones highlighted that there had been resurgence in bike usage and a revival in the bike culture and therefore he supported the funding.

Councillor R Abbey stated that there was a bigger issue over how the Council is managing signage and asked Emma Degg to speak to the relevant Officers regarding his concerns.

Emma Degg confirmed that the relevant Officers would be informed of Cllr R Abbey’s request.

The motion to allocate £3,500 funding for additional cycleway signs was put and won (6:4).

Resolved- That the £3,500 allocated funding be spent on additional cycleway signs.

David Rees drew Members’ attention to potential schemes, within each ward, which could be eligible for road safety funding. 

1.  Leasowe and Moreton East Ward

Members discussed the potential schemes in Appendix 1.

Resolved – That £1,600 be awarded to Pine Tree Grove/ Chapelhill Road, £5,500 for Blackhealth Road and £5,400  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.