SOUTH EAST COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY Meeting held 24 th June 20 10 , at the Beighton Lifestyle Centre , High Street, Beighton, Sheffield S20 1HE PRESENT: Councillors David Barker (Chair), Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Mick Rooney, Chris Rosling-Josephs, Ray Satur and Ian Saunders. 1. WELCOME AND HOUSEKEEPING ARRANGEMENTS Councillor David Barker welcomed members of the public to the Community Assembly meeting. 2. APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIR RESOLVED: That Councillor Mick Rooney be appointed as Deputy Chair of the South East Community Assembly. 3. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY Apologies for absence were submitted from Councillors Bryan Lodge and Gail Smith, and David Luck, Community Assembly Manager. 4. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest from Members of the Community Assembly. 5. MINUTES The minutes of the meetings of the Assembly held on 18th March and 19th May 2010, were approved as correct records. 6. PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS Public Questions Anti-Social Behaviour in Woodhouse Howard Constable (Woodhouse Community Forum) asked a question regarding the purchase of an additional mobile camera for the Woodhouse area. He stated that there was a large anti-social behaviour/nuisance problem in the area, often fuelled by drink and drugs. Woodhouse was a priority PACT (Police and Communities Together) area due to these problems. He asked whether the Community Assembly would purchase another mobile camera as the existing one did not cover enough of the problem area. In response, Councillor Mick Rooney stated that the Community Assembly had already purchased 3 mobile cameras, and suggested that one of them could be temporarily sited at Woodhouse to give a wider area of coverage. The Chair stated that the Community Assembly would look into the possibility of temporarily siting another camera in the area, and they would also discuss the purchase of an additional mobile camera. Meeting of the South East Community Assembly 24.06.2010 Page 2 Moss Valley Wildlife Group Celia Jackson (Honorary Secretary, Moss Valley Wildlife Group) requested that funding be maintained to the Group for the upkeep of the green areas between Moss Valley and Mosborough. She stated that she was requesting funding from any available source, not just the Community Assembly. She stated that she had received a phone call from an elderly gentleman living in Charnock, who reported that raw sewage was coming into the river between Bowman Drive and Norton Aero drome. He stated that this was causing a nasty smell. The man had tried his best to address the problem, but he was the carer for his disabled wife and had limited time. There was also a problem in Charnock with a householder who had built over an area of pavement and was attempting to stop people from gaining access to the pavement. Councillor Denise Fox stated that she would speak to Celia Jackson after the meeting regarding the problems in Charnock. The Chair stated that the Community Assembly would investigate possible funding streams for the Moss Valley Wildlife Group. Beighton You Choose Event Roger Marsh (Owlthorpe Community Forum??) asked why the Beighton You Choose event had not taken place on the date it was originally planned for. Mick Fellowes, Community Assembly Officer, informed him that there had been some problems regarding setting another date, but he would inform Mr. Marsh as soon as a date was set. Environmental Projects in the Owlthorpe Area Roger Marsh informed the Assembly that funding for environmental projects in the Owlthorpe area was not being received until the Autumn, which was not a good time to be commencing work on them. He stated that the projects were time-sensitive and asked whether the funding could be provided over a 12-month period, giving more time to utilise the funding. He also asked when the Climate Change funding would be available again. Councillor Chris Rosling-Josephs stated that he had been informed that the funding for environmental projects had gone through fairly quickly. He requested Vince Roberts, Partnership and Local Action Manager, to investigate why it had not. In response to the question regarding Climate Change funding, Vince Roberts stated that it would be available when all seven Community Assemblies had reached the same stage regarding allocation of the funding. The Chair informed Roger Marsh that the Community Assembly would investigate the issue now raised regarding funding for environmental projects. Meeting of the South East Community Assembly 24.06.2010 Page 3 Friends of Heathlands Park, Halfway Bob Rastrick (Chair) and Rob Tooth (Deputy Chair) of Friends of Heathlands Park at Halfway, complained about the lack of progress on the project to enhance the Park. Bob Rastrick stated that Councillors Gail Smith and David Barker had both contacted Mary Bagley, Director of Parks and Countryside, for information/comments on the timescale for the work. He added that it was now 3 months since the Friends Group first asked for the information, and it would appear that Parks and Countryside and the Planning department were not only ignoring residents, but also the local Councillors. He stated that the Sheffield Landscape Trust were doing an excellent job of constructing a Fedge around the Park, but he felt that the project manager was struggling to cope with the project. He asked the following questions:- What do the residents and Councillors of Halfway have to do to obtain answers and firm commitment to this project? Is the S106 money in danger of being lost? Would they be compensated for the loss of buying power over the last 12 years of the £350,000 funding? The playground may not now start until February 2011, though tenders and planning permission have not yet been submitted, so this could be an optimistic estimate. Is any of this acceptable and is anyone accountable? Vince Roberts, Partnership and Local Action Manager, stated that he would be meeting with Mary Bagley the following day, and would raise the issues highlighted by Bob Rastrick. The Chair stated that the situation was not acceptable and that Members of the Assembly would contact the Cabinet Member for Communities to request him to take action. The Assembly would continue to pursue the matter as vigorously as possible with a view to supplying answers to Mr. Rastrick’s questions in the near future. Petitions There were no petitions submitted to the Community Assembly. 7. DISCRETIONARY BUDGET ALLOCATIONS Members considered a report of the Community Assembly Manager on the funding available to the Assembly in 2010/2011, through its discretionary budget. Based on the key priorities of the Assembly’s Community Plan, the report contained recommendations for the allocation of some of the spend already agreed by the Assembly, a further £28,000 of spending from the remaining £37,000 of funding and a proposal for a means of distributing £13,250 from the Kids Can Do funding stream, to various projects in the Assembly area as follows:- Meeting of the South East Community Assembly 24.06.2010 Page 4 Young People’s Panel Health and Wellbeing Activities Open Access Anti-social Behaviour Fund Community Champions Ward Budgets Kids Can Do It was reported that five projects had been funded from the Assembly’s £3,000 allocation for the Sheffield Food Festival, as follows:- • Sheffield Futures - healthy eating open day in Frecheville • Activity Sheffield - cook and eat event for older people • Healthy Cross - healthy eating event in Handsworth • Sheffield Wildlife Trust - healthy eating workshops at Crystal Peaks • Handsworth Forum - food hygiene course In response to questions from members of the public it was stated that the £100 allocation to each Ward for motorbike signs was to fund the erection of the signs, as they had already been purchased. Sara Green stated that Community Safety Groups (CSGs) were an integral part of the community, but one the Assembly believed should be a Sheffield City Council citywide funding initiative, not the responsibility of Assemblies. She added that Assembly officers were currently gathering and collating background information on all the CSGs in the South East area and investigating who would be responsible for their funding. The Chair stated that CSGs should all be funded from the same source, and agreed that the South East Assembly would pursue the issue of funding for the groups in their area. Vince Roberts, Partnership and Local Action Manager, stated that he would explore the matter with all Community Assemblies. On the matter of funding from Ward pots, Councillors Mick Rooney and Ray Satur stated that, rather than match funding £2,225 for the Handsworth Sports Camp project, they would allocate funding to Stradbroke Recreation Ground and have Activity Sheffield deliver projects in that area, allowing a greater mix of activities in different areas of the Ward. RESOLVED: That (a) the information contained in the report now submitted be noted; and (b) the South East Community Assembly (i) regard having been had to the Sheffield City Strategy and to the relevant guidance of the Secretary of State, confirms its belief that the granting of funding as envisaged in the report is likely to achieve the promotion and improvement of the economic, social and environmental well-being of residents in the Wards of Woodhouse, Birley, Beighton and Mosborough; Meeting of the South East Community Assembly 24.06.2010 Page 5 (ii) endorses the appointment of Breeze Landscape Architects to produce a South East Parks Strategy,