Wallisdown Winton West & Ensbury Park Area Forum

Wallisdown Winton West & Ensbury Park Area Forum Minutes of Public Meeting held on 31st October 2015

Introduction & welcome from Bernie Culver (Chair)

Apologies: Conor Burns MP

Treasurers report: Chris Caley

£1000 grant was given by the Council. The funding has been used on holding meetings. 10,000 leaflets were distributed with dates of future forum meetings, the Funday in July and activities at the EPCC.

The website will be updated, monitored and made more interactive in the New Year.

Q. Could there be a link from Bournemouth Council webpage to the forum website?

A. Yes that is possible and will be looked into as well as including facebook links to the website.

Dates for your diary

5th December 2015 will the Ensbury Park AGM and Christmas social event from 6 pm. It is open to those who are involved in the centre as well as other community centre volunteers in Bournemouth.

Community Centre Open day and picnic in Slades Farm will be on 10th July 2016. Please get involved, more information from Chris Caley: [email protected]

Medi Bernard – Service and Strategy Manager Bournemouth Libraries

More services are available in libraries such as the Children’s Centre also at Winton Library and Kinson hub which has a multitude of services. Libraries also offer free computer use, free WiFi and digital skills training.

There is a proposal to relocate Ensbury Park Library to the Bournemouth Learning Centre which would enable longer opening hours, public toilets, cafe.

Consultation will be carried out via Council website/facebook, on-line, libraries, community centre etc. Medi passed out her contact details if anybody has any questions.

Q. How much will the consultation cost? We will be using the consultation team to make sure costs are kept to a minimum and the statistics are valid.

Q. Are there any guarantees that the library will not close?

£185,000 are raised from libraries presently, libraries are looking into sharing overheads and resources. Libraries are looking to bring in more services, such as refreshments.

The Consultative Period to respond, in respect of relocating the Library Service to the Bournemouth Learning Centre from Columbia Road, is for two months from December 2015. Please check online or contact Bournemouth Borough Council on 01202 451451. Cllr John Beesley – Leader of the Council

Parliamentary Boundaries

There was a proposal to bring down the amount of MP’s by around 50. The government are keen to pursue this idea and have it in place for the next General Election in 2020. It would not make a difference to Bournemouth West but a small part of Bournemouth West may be shifted into Bournemouth East (possible the Winton East ward) and Bournemouth West may include parts of Poole and Wimborne. The planned number of MP’s would be about 600.

Road re-surfacing

Over last 5/6 years an additional £5 million has been spent on roads. A338 (Spur Road) will be resurfaced. From Blackwater junction into Bournemouth and a new junction has been proposed near the hospital ( Requires Funding).

Developments around the airport are afoot and there has been funding allocated for the networking roads.

Bournemouth Council have lost 50% of the central government grant, this will reduce further by another 10-15% next year. The council are looking to protect front-line services but looking for resources to run more efficiently. 75% of the council budget is allocated to Adult and Children’s Social Care.

Talbot Village Project - Some proposals have been put forward to build on the success of the University. Consultation has occurred. Local Councillors are putting their views forward and making sure plans don’t come at the cost to local residents. The university is in the Borough of Poole, so joined up working is happening. Concerns over congestion has been raised. Ideal Transport links should be in place so students should not bring their cars to the town. The problems with parking are worse now. Bournemouth University will encourage Students not to use their cars to attend their appropriate Lectures.

More Social Housing

Bournemouth Council retains it’s own housing stock. More Social Houses are in construction. There are plans for more Social Housing to be built as there is a very long waiting list.

Helping first time buyers is a priority.

Can anything be done about derelict properties? The council does have powers to buy properties. They are refurbished too increase the Council Stock for people on the Housing Waiting List. Some properties have been bought in the Churchill Gardens area, Boscombe which has helped to regenerate the area.

New Unitary Authority

The proposal to merge local councils is still in very early stages. There are currently nine Councils across Dorset which are not sustainable. We need efficiency savings for Bournemouth, Poole Christchurch and East Dorset so are looking to combine as one council. Changes include: reducing top officers in the councils, streamlining services and the area will be regarded as one economic unit. This will attract more investment and jobs. Looking to achieve this and not disrupt services. This should, over the next few years, tie in with the ‘devolution’ aims of the government.

All Business rates will be spread over a wider area.

The news about the proposed merger was publicised as soon as possible. There will be an official consultation.

Issues with Columbia Road and hole in the Road by the bus-stop, Councillor Phillips to speak to the resident. If there are priority needs, they should be on a list for repairs.

Can Council tenants buy Council Houses?

Under the Right to Buy scheme residents can buy if they have lived in the property for 5 years.

Bournemouth Schools – Councillor Nicola Greene

At the moment, there isn’t an immediate need for Secondary Schools, the focus is on Primary Schools. Over the next 10 years Secondary Schools will be increasing capacity. We cannot create New Grammar Schools. Existing schools will be looked at, to be expanded.

A resident remarked that tutoring for the grammar schools is very expensive.

Bournemouth is 2nd in the country for schools that are good or outstanding.

The Free school will be moving near the airport next year. Bournemouth Council do not run the schools anymore.

Lights in the skate park at Slades Farm are in full Beam.

Meters will be installed for the Community Centre in the Car Park Next Year.

There was a concern raised about council housing stock bought by private landlords – details to be discussed with a ward councillor.

Next meeting: 16th January 2016, Bournemouth Blind Society, Rooper Hall, Victoria Park Road