Q

A written question had been received asking if damaged or stolen wheelie bins are replaced by the Council.

A

Damaged bins, and lost or stolen bins reported within 24 hours, will be replaced free of charge provided they are left outside only on the collection day.  Residents should contact the Streetscene call centre.

Q

Has the panel met to consider a pedestrian crossing on Pensby Road as discussed at the last area forum meeting?

A

[Councillor Johnston]:  21 areas in Wirral are requesting Puffin crossings, and they are scored according to foot traffic and road traffic. The Pensby Road crossing is ranked number seven.  Questions have been raised over the last six years and one of the biggest problems is the location of people’s driveways where it’s technically impossible to put a crossing.  A crossing near Gills Lane for example, would be too close to someone’s house.  The other issue is funding.  Each one costs around £80,000. 

[Councillor Sullivan]:  I’ve been negotiating with Tesco since the last meeting and I’ve spoken to Technical Services about a pelican crossing on Pensby Road.  I’ve been assured by the council officers that if we can get the money from Tesco there will be one as close as possible to Tesco Express.  I’ve rang customer services and Tesco head office and am waiting for a response.

I’ve spoken to the Council about the dangerous situation at the bottom of Gills Lane and they are trying to put in some measures.  I didn’t ask about the mirror but I’ll go back and ask if it’s possible to put one there.

Q

Will the appointment of an independent Police Commissioner have any financial impact on Wirral?

A

[Mike Collins, Community Safety].  No.  The funding is coming from central government.  It’s a government Initiative.

Q

Why does it cost £83,000 for a pelican crossing.  Have you got a breakdown?

A

[Councillor Johnson]:  It costs between £80 and £85,000, depending on the location.

[Area co-ordinator]:  I will get a breakdown of the costs for the next meeting.

Q

The bus service on Pensby roads has reduced by 50%.  What is the Council doing about having it restored?

A

[Chair]:  The Council doesn’t run bus services, it was devolved from the Council to private companies.  Merseytravel is now responsible and they let out the contracts to companies who provide a service – Arriva in this case.  These companies are profit-making companies and if a route is not profitable they will not put on a bus service.  Merseytravel is not in a position to insist that the company provides a service and there’s nothing we can do about it other than plead with the company to put the buses back on.

I’ve taken the concerns back to the panel meeting with all the companies but trying to persuade them to put on the types of buses or the services we require is very difficult if it is not what they want to provide.  I take your point that it is a poor service and I’ll keep shouting about it.  See me afterwards and give me some details and I’ll take them with me to the next monthly meeting.

Q

Pensby Road used to have six buses an hour, now it’s three an hour.  It’s been put out that Wirral Council has agreed a new scheme with Arriva and it’s publicising it as a marvellous service negotiated with the Council and that people have a fantastic service because of the partnership with Wirral.  I wrote to Merseytravel and didn’t get a reply.  A new law has been passed which says local authorities can agree non-commercialised routes.  It’s on the web – an agreement between Wirral Council, Arriva and First Direct.

A

[Chair]:  That’s the first I’ve heard of it.

Q

Have you considered shared services and going to the private sector to provide services, eg. finance, payroll etc?

A

[Area co-ordinator]:  That’s one of the questions in the questionnaire, but specific services have not been named.  We are asking for ideas on shared services.

[Lead officer]:  We already have joint services with other North West authorities, eg. Governor Support, and some aspects of curriculum support for schools.  The joint services operate on the basis of economy of scale but don’t generate a huge amount of savings. 

Q

Is it the fault of the planners for not putting the requirement for a crossing in the planning application for Tesco?

A

[Councillor Johnston] explained the need for caution on the part of Council officers when specifying requirements in a 106 agreement.  Developers are very experienced in these matters and they can challenge anything in the 106.  Massive costs can be incurred if it is deemed that the demands are unreasonable, and Officers tend to err on the side of caution.  He stated that he was unable to give a precise answer to the question on the percentage of appeals that are lost.

Q

Would it be possible to have a mobile microphone at meetings – a lot of people are finding it difficult to hear.

A

[Area co-ordinator].  I apologised at the beginning of the meeting.  There is no microphone this evening because of the freeze on non-essential spending. 

The area co-ordinator apologised again.

Q

A great number of the people who are here tonight are retired, but for those who work, a 6.30 start is not a reasonable time to get here.

A

The issue was discussed at a previous meeting when it was agreed that it was unsafe to expect people, especially more elderly residents, to make their way home in the dark when meetings end at 9 pm or later.  The majority of people present thought that meetings should start at 6.30 pm, and it was agreed the next three meetings would start at 6.30 as an experiment.  The situation will be kept under review. 

Q

In the past people on the top table outnumbered the number in the audience. 

A

There were 62 members of the public at the last meeting – double the number here tonight – and the consensus was that meetings should start at 6.30 pm.