Public Document Pack Action Notes Westwood Ward Forum Held on Tuesday, 2 December 2014 Who was at the meeting? Residents Clive Birch Steve Dowswell Vincenso Ferrara Richard Geary C Harris No of Residents: 16 Officers and Partner Agencies Name PC Al Davies Sgt Paul Mercer Martin McHugh Councillor Richard Sandy Councillor David Skinner Adrian West Coventry City Council: 4 G Harris G Johnson Paul McDonald David Moseley 3 other residents Les Parsons Marion Parsons George Stokes Michael Wileman Representing West Midlands Police West Midlands Police Coventry City Council – Environmental Services Coventry City Council – Ward Councillor (Chair) Coventry City Council – Ward Councillor Coventry City Council – Senior Support Officer Partners: 2 1. Welcome and Introductions Councillor Sandy welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked everyone for their attendance. 2. Notes and Follow up from the last Westwood Forum Discussion: The meeting reviewed the actions arising from the last meeting. At the last meeting it was requested that a Council Officer attend to discuss gypsies and travellers in Coventry and this has been arranged for today. Councillor Sandy has now written twice to Tesco about trollies in the Brook but has not received any reply. A number of outstanding issues from the last meeting will be followed up. Action Notes Action Information to be sent out on spending of Section 106 money from Bellway Schedule of Gibbett Hill works to be emailed to people at the Forum To investigate reported buttons missing on pelican crossings Investigate drain at Plants Hill Crescent which had been rebuilt several times and had had trees growing in it Investigate clanging manhole cover on the Bridge by Wolfe Road Lead Council Officers Deadline As soon as possible Forum Support As soon as possible Council Officers As soon as possible Council Officers As soon as possible Council Officers As soon as possible 3. Feedback on various projects/initiatives/updates in the ward – open forum Discussion: Michael Wilemen reported on six successful activities which the riends of Canley Green Spaces they ran during October and November. This included two five mile walks: one with Tree Wardens and one with students. A recent bulb planting event involved 23 people and a further session will take place outside the Xcel Centre on Saturday 13 December. Bulbs have been supplied by the City Council. Tree planting events have also taken place: 250 trees, also supplied by the Council, were planted with support from Rangers and the Tree Wardens. Charter School were also involved in planting fruit trees. Michael said that the group have now planted a total of 2,000 trees in the area. The Friends are now being consulted on tree planting schemes due to their contacts and networks. There has been good engagement with students at Warwick University. Michael also reported on progress to reinstate the landscape and wildflower meadow parallel to the railway line following pipe laying by National Grid Gas. 4. Police Update/Community Safety Issues, including presentation on the review of Police buildings Discussion: Sergeant Paul Mercer explained that West Midlands Police are carrying out a consultation on the use of their buildings. The Force has a very large estate with 146 buildings in The West Midlands and nine in Coventry. There are significant financial pressures on the Police and looking at the best use of buildings is part of that. The review is being carried out across the whole Service and the final decisions are being made by the Police and Crime Commissioner. Some building such as Coventry Central and Foleshill are old, very costly to run and not fit for purpose. However, they house a lot of staff, both city and service wide and are well located. The latest proposal is to close Coventry Central and have the only front office in Coventry at Willenhall. Action Notes Sergeant Mercer asked everyone to complete the feedback forms and say what they felt the impact of the proposals would be, the role of buildings in engaging the public and how the public can engage with the Police more effectively in the future. The Police would also like views on central and city wide issues, not just Woodlands Ward. Offences in the ward are running at about 9% above target. This is largely due to a significant spike in damage to motor vehicles (over 90) in August and September. Arrests have been made. Violence with injury is broadly on a par with last year and there have been reductions in criminal damage, theft from vehicles and theft of vehicles. Burglary is down 27%. The Police are also working on tackling bike thefts and there has been a recent conviction. They can provide free D-locks – email if you would like one. The Police are carrying out a Darker Nights campaign. This is targeting hotspot areas to encourage people to close curtains, put lights on a timer, not leave cars with engines running unattended etc. Campaign information is available. The Police are also working with local shops, particularly those open until 10.00 pm to provide advice and protection. A number of questions were asked about the follow up concerns relating to two assaults in Westwood Heath. Paul Mercer will investigate and report back. For non emergencies, please contact the Police by dialling 101 or email the team at [email protected] Action Lead Return any comments on Police All buildings to Sergeant Mercer Deadline As soon as possible 5. Update on issues and processes relating to travellers Discussion: Martin McHugh from the Council’s Environmental Services spoke about how the service deals with unauthorised travellers encampments. There are usually about 20-30 incidents a year and this has been the case again this year, although some of these have lasted longer than usual. While it is easier to move travellers on if they are on private land, the Team is required to carry out a needs assessment to ensure there are no reasons why they should not be evicted from Council owned land. This is for reasons such as needing to protect children. Martin explained how some of the recent incidents have been addressed and the work undertaken in partnership with the Police and other agencies. Action Notes The service relies significantly on intelligence from members of the public about whether for example gates have been damaged to gain access to a site or if threats have been made. Please report any sightings as soon as possible to the Council via Coventry Direct and Martin’s team will respond immediately. 6. Any other business Discussion: Issues raised during discussion were: • Concern at grass verges throughout the area being churned up during winter every year e.g. Torrington Avenue, Charter Avenue and whether anything can be done about it. • Concern about safety where the new cycle path crosses the entrance to the Xcel Centre – can warning signs for cyclists and drivers be looked at? • What is the end date for the works at the lower end of Gibbet Hill Road – end date? • The three disabled parking bays at Jardine Crescent are regularly being used by people without disabled badges – can the Traffic Wardens include on their rounds. • Are there plans to complete the cycle path parallel to the railway line by Templar Avenue that will link Templars School to Canley. It was suggested that Network Rail have said they have run out of money. • Consider broadband speeds in the area at the next meeting. Action Is any action planned to prevent grass verges being churned up? Request review of warning signs where cycle path crosses entrance to the Xcel Centre Communicate end date for works at lower end of Gibbett Hill Road Request Traffic Wardens to include disabled parking bays at Jardine Crescent Find out about plans for completing the cycle path parallel to the railway line by Templar Avenue that will link Templars School to Canley Date of Next Meeting 7.00 p.m. Tuesday 31st March 2015. Lead Council Officers Deadline As soon as possible Council Officers As soon as possible Forum Support As soon as possible Council Officers As soon as possible Council Officers As soon as possible Action Notes If you would like to find out the most up-to-date progress on the action notes above please call Adrian West (Senior Support Officer) on 024 76 83 2286 or visit www.coventry .gov.uk/wardforums If you wish to start/stop receiving information relating to Neighbourhood Forums, please email [email protected] call 024 7683 3111 giving your details and requesting that you are added or removed from our mailing list. Coventry City Council is always looking at reducing the amount of paper we produce and send out. If you have an email address and would prefer to be emailed all Ward Forum Documentation, please contact me using the details above. This page is intentionally left blank
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