PRESENT: Chair person Karen Leakey, Vice Chair and Treasurer Richard Coates, Secretary Kevin Leakey.
Also Present: 17 residents, John Taylor, John Bishop St. Luke’s, Nick Conlan and Leslie Knott – Compliance Officers – SBC Parking Services, Councillor Derique Montaut, 2 drug workers from DHI.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: 7 residents, Holly Huber SBC Community Planner, Broadgreen NPT, Councillor Junab Ali
CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES – 2nd July 2008 meeting.
These Minutes were confirmed and signed a true record
MATTERS ARISING: None.
COMMUNITY POLICE REPORT: None.
GUEST SPEAKER: Nick Conlan and Leslie Knott – Compliance Officers – SBC Parking Services.
· Parking services are now part of ‘Street Smart’ which involves different agencies that deal with highways and environmental health, although Compliance Officers/ Parking Attendants mainly deal with ‘lines and signs’ they can now report other problems, dumped rubbish on street corners for example, but as yet they have not got into this properly.
· Parking on double yellow lines or in residents parking bays without a permit are covered by the law ‘Active loading and Unloading’ which means that the hand held machines they use cannot issue instant tickets and the vehicle has to be logged, then given 5 minutes grace before a parking ticket can be issued.
· With regards to the 2 hour limited waiting bays, vehicles parked here have to be logged, and then they have 2 hours parking from that time.
· Loading/unloading from shops and for example people moving in/out of houses are allowed a degree of discretion because it is likely to take longer than 5 minutes to carry out these tasks.
· Parking in bus stops with three yellow lines means no stopping 24 hours a day except for buses. Vehicles parked in these areas can be given an instant ticket.
· The highway covers the road and path, right up to people’s properties, which means that even if vehicles are parked partially or fully on the path, if double yellow lines cover that particular part of the highway then a ticket can be issued. Unfortunately SBC has not adopted the new legislation that means cars parked on paths can be ticketed whether there are yellow lines or not.
· The traffic wardens work between 6am to 10 pm, with the majority working during the day, 4 normally start at 6am, whilst 4 generally work until 10pm and they have to cover the whole Borough. The problems with parking on yellow lines in this area is not a big one at the present time as there is plenty of parking spaces generally available.
· Because of the Friday afternoon prayers at the Mosque between about midday and 2pm, there are lots of parking problems in Broad Street and the surrounding roads and alleyways. The Compliance Officers did not realise this was still happening as they had recently had a meeting with representatives of the Mosque who said the problem was much better now. Parking Attendants had previously been sent down to monitor the situation, but had been abused and accused of being racist when they had booked illegally parked cars. Unfortunately if the road is blocked they do not have the power to direct traffic, although if the Police call them to, they can then do so.
· It was reported that a number of taxi drivers attending the Mosque had been parking in the vicinity and had told residents that they have been given permission to park in residents parking bays without permits, however we were assured that no permission has been given to anyone without permits, to park.
· SBC allow people with blue disabled badges to park in residents parking zones for an unlimited time without setting their clock and also on yellow lines for up to 3 hours, but they must set their clock at time of arrival. But they cannot park in bus stops with thick yellow lines and must not park in places that cause an obstruction or interrupts the flow of traffic.
· Cars with foreign registrations have been parked in the area for over a year with no road tax disks. The law allows foreign cars to stay in the UK for 6 months before they either have to be taken back home or be re-registered for the UK and get insurance here. The Parking Attendants cannot do anything about these problems, this is a Customs and Excise problem and they should keep a check on vehicles coming in to this Country and the length of time they remain here on foreign plates. Having no insurance is a Police matter.
· Parking outside shops close to the junction of Manchester Road and Corporation Street is causing problems with the traffic being held up. Parking Attendants are aware of this and do keep a close eye on the situation, but as soon as they log any vehicles parked there, the owner reels off lots of excuses for parking there, then simply moves their car before the 5 minutes grace has expired.
The Compliance Officers agreed to visit the Mosque in Broad Street and Manchester Road shops on Friday (8th August). If you need to contact the Compliance Officers in an emergency, they can be contacted directly on 01793-574925. Mobile: 07812138389.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Hatts coaches are still picking up people from County Road. Have contacted them again and they have told their drivers to stop doing so.
The Community Council has been invited to the Quality Of Life Awards on the12th September.
Thank you letter from forward planning for making representations on the Councils Core Strategy-preferred options stage.
33 Rosebery St. The garage of this property is being converted into a room. No planning permission has been applied for – Enforcement is now investigating this.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
S/08/1455 - 26 Medgbury Road - Erection of two storey/single storey rear extension.- Application Pending Consideration
S/08/1028 - 108 County Road - Conversion of dwelling into house of multiple occupancy. - Application Withdrawn
S/08/1058 - 142 Manchester Road - Erection of single storey rear extension. - Application Granted.
SHRIVENHAM ROAD REPORT:
Weeds and plants are overgrown at the back of Shrivenham Road in the County Ground, it has been left for so long that there are now small trees growing in it. Prostitutes are working again from the back alley. Blackberry bushes are still overgrowing the Stratton Bank. Councillor Montaut said this is SBC’s responsibility but when he pursued this previously, there wasn’t a budget for it but he did manage to get it cut back in the end. He will look into this once again, and give it another go.
CHAIR REPORT:
Because of the prostitution meeting, things have been happening from the Crime and Disorder Team. They now have DNA identification packs for County and Manchester Roads; these packs are to enable residents to mark all of their property with a uniquely identifiable liquid, registered to each particular house. County Road was chosen because it has been identified as the biggest crime spot in town. Any residents that live in these roads that would like to have a pack, free of charge should contact the Community Council or the Community Safety Team on 01793-466506.
Three SBC Cabinet members met with some of the community, and from concerns shown about the clothes bin in County Road that has caused so many problems with dumped rubbish, it has now been removed. Deputy Leader of the Council Fionuala Foley will be going out with a high ranking female police officer on a prostitute patrol to see what the problems are like in this community and she requested that residents pass on information either to her directly, or through the Chair, identifying the places that prostitutes may be found or particular areas residents would like her to visit.
With regards to the Community Garden Project, Pam Freegard asked if funding could be found for this, as we have no money. Karen has applied to the Quality of Life Awards for £500 and the BSACC has been invited to the award ceremony and to have a display for the project. We will not know if we have been granted the award until the day of the ceremony.
The Breakfast Club, Luncheon Club and the drug outreach centre all work out of St. Luke’s Church hall and a lot of problems are coming up from these. From the tasking meeting, there was a long and open talk with the drugs workers and people from Threshold Housing, who listened and understood the problems and wanted to work with the community.
GUEST SPEAKERS: Drug outreach workers Max and Janetta from the Drugs and Homeless Initiative.
DHI want to engage with the prostitutes and get them into the drugs services, lots of them do not want help, but they need to start somewhere. They are using the same model in the Broadgreen Area as they have used successfully in Bristol and have been working from St. Luke’s for 6 months and are there until October.
· They asked for residents help as they are spending evenings this week walking around the area looking for prostitutes to talk to, but have not had much luck on Monday or Tuesday. They were given a number of ideas where to look and the times to go out.
· It was pointed out that when they are walking around and around the area, they are not wearing high visibility jackets and it could look like they were a pimp and prostitute. All they have with them is their identity badge, and they hadn’t thought of the perception they may be giving out and hoped that we now knew who they were and what they were doing.
· What they are hoping to do is buy an old van that they can use to take prostitutes out of the area if, for example they are noisy and causing trouble. Most of the prostitutes that are acting like this are on crack cocaine, which gives them lots of energy. They start on heroin, which is a relaxant but move on to crack that is a stimulant. Taking crack is like having loads of cups of coffee, it makes them very happy but also makes them paranoid and wanting to fight.
· Mick, another drugs worker had tried to get some of the Directors of DHI to attend this meeting so the questions and concerns could be put directly to them, but he was unsuccessful.
· Throughout this summer there has been a significant increase, compared to previous years, in problems being reported concerning non-residents using the alleyways and park as a toilet and drinking area, as well as rowdy and intimidating behaviour from groups of drunks going hand in hand with it. One particular incident involved a gentleman leaving the breakfast club, who deliberately exposed himself to an elderly lady cleaning the hairdressers in Broad Street. Caretakers at the Broadgreen Centre, who have to clean up the recreation area from alcohol litter daily, have also reported these problems getting worse in the park this summer, as well as a big increase in needles. It was felt that having the Breakfast Club all week, a luncheon club 2 days a week and a drugs drop in centre 4 days a week was the cause of the increase in problems, as people using these services are staying in the area.
· A Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) now covers the Broadgreen, County Ground and Tescos area, DHI did not realise this and also pointed out that although they are working from St. Luke’s hall after the Breakfast Club, they are not connected to them and although the increase in problems may be connected to the drop in centre and they do work very hard to make sure that any of their clients do not bother residents outside of the hall.
A long debate then ensued with differing opinions and points being put forward about the drugs unit, as follows:
· Accepting that it is there, DHI want to work with us and may sort out some of the problems in the short term.
· Not want the drop in centre in the area at all.
· Understanding that what they are trying to do is a good thing, but it does encourage and attract more undesirable people and problems into a residential area.
· Not wanting a drop in centre here, but still wanting the problems with prostitution and drugs gone from the area.
· If the centre stays and gets bigger, the chance of then having it removed will be nil.
· If it stays it will be a magnet for more problems, do we want another problem that is permanently in this area?
· Why was there no consultation before the centre opened, both from DHI and St. Luke’s Church?
· Whilst the intentions may be good, should it be in this area?
· Can the drop in centre not be at Carfax Street? – Not enough room.
· There needs to be a balance between the do good things and the reality of life in the area because of the extra problems and people brought into the area because of the homeless and drugs initiatives.
· We are trying to make the area a nicer place to live, but the positioning of the drugs unit could work against this.
· The workers at these ‘clubs’ can walk away at the end of the day, but they are not responsible for their client’s behaviour once they have walked away.
· If this can be slipped into the area without people knowing, what other magnets could come in that is detrimental to the area?
Councillor Montaut said that DHI needed to find premises in Central Swindon, he supported the idea of a drop in centre and had no problem with it if the community was happy and supported the objectives, but felt that DHI had suddenly appeared on the doorstep of a residential area, had not consulted with the Council, Councillors or the Community and may be illegally working from St. Luke’s, without planning permission to operate. He also felt that the centre had come in through the back door, because when they wanted to open a centre in Maxwell St. they had a presentation to residents and outlined how they operate their drug treatment centres. If at the end of the day the community decides to disagree with it being here then it will have to be taken up, although he did wonder, as the centre had been operating for 6 months and nobody had noticed, did we have a gripe now?
With regards to the Breakfast Club causing problems, John Bishop from St. Luke’s said if they are not informed of the problems, they do not necessarily know what’s going on. He did wonder if these problems are going on, and there is a DPPO in the area, why are the Police not enforcing it? Also, whilst the groups that use the hall are responsible for their clients leaving, how long do they have to stay around to see them off of the site? It was pointed out that at half past six in the morning, people are congregating waiting for it to open and later in the morning there are regularly about 10 people sat in the park drinking cans of beer. John had been talking to a person in Graham St. who had been spending time picking cans from her hedge, so they can’t just be from that group of people as cans are all over the place, therefore there must be a problem with people in the area drinking, that may or may not be connected with the people using the church hall. As for the exposure incident,
John has spoken to Threshold Housing about this and has been assured that it took place before the Breakfast
Club opened. The description given to them by the Police did not match that of any of the members of the Breakfast Club.
As far as consulting residents when they decided to rent out their hall to the drugs unit, he felt that for example if the Council rent out a room at the Broadgreen Centre, would they tell Karen that this or that group wanted to use it? No, they would make a rational decision. The Church is there to benefit the community, not the local community but the wider community, and the drugs people are trying to help cure the prostitution problem because most of it hinges around drug taking.
There was no conclusion reached on this issue and it was deferred until the September meeting when a separate public meeting will have to be organised to gauge the opinions of the wider community.
HISTORY PROJECT REPORT: Re-capped that last month the meeting endorsed the idea, with a broad remit to nurture pride in the area etc. Kevin has agreed to chair the group and many people have expressed an interest to participate: Ros has all the deeds to her house from the day it was built and Grace has given a picture of her family car, which was the first in Salisbury Street. Karen has persuaded her Dad to give an oral history of his experiences and memories and it is hoped many people will do this. Cluniford has already given a talk about his experiences in this area, and it is hoped he will do it again so it can be recorded. Dennis who has lived in Ponting Street for 40 odd years has said he may have a meeting in his front room for people who want to plan and take this forward and this could be recorded as a foundation stone of the community recognising the importance of community history.
Terry Bracher from the Wilts. And Swindon Archive Centre is happy to visit us and also to invite a small group of residents up to Chippenham to have a look around the archive centre.
Please talk to your neighbours and friends about this project, encourage them to look through their attics and photo albums and have a look back through your own things to see what you might have that reflect the Broadgreen over the last 100 years. It is hoped that at the next Community Plan meeting, people may bring along some of their bits and they can be scanned onto a computer. We have no wish to keep original copies; it is the information that is important.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH REPORT: Still problems with coaches driving down Broad Street, which really isn’t practical. The council has told Karen that they now charge to pick up used needles. Cllr. Montaut said the guidelines are not very clear, he has had a meeting with Steve Harcourt about this because of needles at the County Ground, when one department was trying to charge to clear then up, the Council are trying to unravel the situation at the moment. He suggested that Karen phone the council back up register the concerns and if not get a positive response, contact him and he will pursue the matter or DHI could be contacted as they clean up dirty needles.
St. Luke’s has a sharps bin that they use to clear up needles dumped on church property, there is also one at the Broadgreen Centre and the Caretakers are trained to dispose of them safely.
WARD COUNCILLORS REPORT, COUNCILLOR MONTAUT: Lots of people do not know that there is a DPPO in the area so will be contacting the Police and Council to get notices put up. Problems with cars and oil from Haji’s garage has been raised again, he has taken this up with Cheri Wright, who was not aware of any problems concerning this, he asked for this matter to be actioned, Cheri was going to come out and have a look herself but instead sent out a member of the Constabulary to visit the area and they are looking at it more closely. Cllr. Montaut talked briefly about speed cameras not working in Swindon, but was reminded that this meeting was non-political.
STREET WATCH REPORT: No report.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS: The hedge along the Gladstone St. side of the Broadgreen Centre is in need of cutting back.
113 Broad St. two of the residents were drunk and shouting out in the street at midnight. - The Police have said the resident that rents this property is due to move to a hostel and the landlord will not rent the property out to the same sort of people again.
Dulux paint has given more paint and John Taylor will be in the office this Friday to give it away.
The Chair caught someone fly tipping in the area from his car, when challenged he said “this was the area to dump rubbish in because it is a s##t hole anyway”.
Meeting closed at 9.25 pm. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 3 September 2008
