The Chair invited questions from members of the public upon matters that were relevant to the Wirral West Constituency –

·  A member of the public circulated photocopies of pages of the Housing Act 1985 and Housing Act 2004 and drew the Committees attention to those parts of the legislation concerning the minimum size of bedrooms in the public rented sector. He sought the views of the Committee as to whether properties with bedrooms smaller than the size stipulated in the legislation should be reclassified accordingly.

o  The Strategic Director – Regeneration and Environment indicated that the question of reclassification of property was a matter that should be addressed to the Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and was an issue over which the Constituency Committee had no control. However, the Council’s legal advisor indicated that he would provide an update to Members in due course upon the requirements of the legislation.

·  From Woodchurch T.R.U.S.T – Exactly why has the asset transfer of Woodchurch Community Centre been delayed by over 3 years now, when the business plan was passed and agreed by Cabinet. Magenta Living have supported the asset transfer for 2 years now and volunteers have spent a lot of time actually running the building for the Council as no Council employees have been employed since the Centre Manager retired. Surely by completing this asset transfer would have saved the Council money from their budget, since there is funding for a badly needed refurbishment and revenue costs for the first 2 years operation "ring-fenced" under the Asset Transfer Scheme.

o  In response, the Strategic Director: Regeneration and Environment indicated that the proposal was initially put forward in August 2011, but was not agreed until October 2012, when the transfer process commenced. He confirmed that the transfer of the Community Centre was to Magenta Living and that the legal documents had been submitted to Magenta in September 2013. The detail was being fine tuned to meet the requirements of the respective parties and it was hoped to complete the transfer very soon.

·  From Woodchurch T.R.U.S.T – We are aware from various newspaper articles that representatives from the Tranmere Rovers Supporters club are making some "sweeping statements" regarding the Woodchurch Leisure Centre and land at Woodchurch, which Tranmere Rovers Football Club plan to develop for their new training ground. These people give the impression that they know what is best for Woodchurch. However we disagree with this since none of them live in our community.

We know that the Council are engaging with these representatives from Tranmere, so why are representatives from the community of Woodchurch not being asked to contribute to these discussions since they really do know what is best for Woodchurch. There also needs to be a genuine consultation with the community before anything is agreed.

o  In response, the Strategic Director: Regeneration and Environment confirmed that officers had met separately with representatives of Tranmere Rovers Football Club, with local residents and ward Councillors. However, no agreement had been made with TRFC or the Football Trust in relation to the Ingleborough/Woodchurch Scheme. The proposal remained with the EU for their consideration and he confirmed that there would be community involvement in any future issues around the proposal.

·  A resident advised that there had recently been a number of serious road traffic accidents in Woodchurch, which had caused major disruption in the local area. The questioner suggested that the proposed introduction of traffic lights at the Houghton Road junction would encourage more drivers to cut through the Woodchurch Estate, which could in turn lead to an increase in traffic accidents. The Committee was requested to seek a review of the impact of additional traffic lights.

o  In response, the Strategic Director: Regeneration and Environment indicated that colleagues were reviewing the site in question. Any similar applications would also be the subject of a traffic review.

·  A further question was asked regarding the classification of bedrooms, under 70 sq ft and the impact on residents of the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ (sic)

o  In response, Members indicated that the properties in question were now owned by Housing Associations, who had previously indicated the significant financial difficulties they would face if their properties were reclassified. Registered Social Landlords recognised the requirements of the legislation and this was a matter that tenants should raise with them. The Chair reiterated that the Council’s legal officers had been requested to investigate this matter and would provide an update to the Committee.

The Chair thanked the public for their questions and asked that the officers take such action, as appropriate.