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Paper A(i) OSWALDTWISTLE AREA COUNCIL Tuesday, 31st March, 2009 Present: Councillor Britcliffe (in the Chair); Councillors Marlene Haworth, Hayes, Roberts and Walmsley In Attendance: Co-optees: County Councillor Westell, Neil Mooney (Friends of Rhyddings Park), M. Porter (Victim Support) and Paul Trickett (Rhyddings County High School) Residents: D. Affleck, J. Allen, M. Allen, T. Booth, M.P. Burns, K. Capstick, C. D. Carroll, A. Catlow, P. Catlow, E. Caton, S. Clark, J. Cobbold, R. Cunliffe, J. Cunliffe, B. Dawson, G. Dewhurst, J. Dewhurst, A. Fruzynski, P. Gardner, K. Gibson, L. Greenwood, M. Hargreaves, K. Hooper, B.A. Ingham, A. Johnson, E. Johnson, G. Knight, I. Lane, R. Lockwood, M. Norman, D. Partlin, J. Ward, S. McGregor, S. McLean, M. Wilkinson, R. Pickup, M. Sloleuke, D. Smith, E. Weaver, B. Westwell, and C. Yates. (Residents: 41) Police: Sergeant Brownsmith, P.C. McCorrey, P.C. Beverley Others: M. Bradley (Hyndburn Community Network and Councillor Dawson Officers: L. Dean, M. Beard, S. Wood, S. Gardner and J. Addison Press: K. Watkins (Accrington Observer) Welcome The Chair welcomed residents to the meeting and the Area Council Co-ordinator (Linda Dean) drew attention to the health and safety requirements for the building. Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors McCormack and Lockwood and Jean Jeffrey. Minutes of Meeting The Chair submitted the Minutes of the last meeting of the Oswaldtwistle Area Council (Paper A) held on 25th November, 2008. Resolved - That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record. Matters Arising from Minutes Linda Dean reported that no feedback forms had been received prior to the meeting. She referred residents to a report attached to the agenda regarding a litter pick undertaken in February. She advised the meeting that the Caretaker had teamed up with the Caretaker based 1 Paper A(i) in other wards to tackle the bigger problems and gave details of what had been achieved. She invited residents to use the forms available at the meeting to suggested ideas and locations which the Caretaker could attend to. The Chair reported on the restructuring of the Area Councils Teams and suggested that once other teams covering other wards had joined with Neighbourhood Management they may be able to use the Caretaker in Oswaldtwistle on a more regular basis. CCTV Cameras Linda Dean reported that all but one of the 20 new CCTV cameras purchased by the Area Council had been installed and because all permissions had been secured the ITT wireless reference architecture which brought camera images to Accrington Police Station was being installed and tested. She reported that once the process was completed during April, the system would go live. She reported that a special camera with heritage hood, made to be more in keeping with the surroundings, would be installed in Rhyddings Park. CCTV Van Councillor Roberts reported that the Community Safety Team had secured funding for a mobile CCTV van which was fully equipped with cameras on all sides. He reported that this would be used by a number of agencies including the Police, Environment Agency and Lancashire Fire & Rescue. He suggested that updates from the use of the vehicle could be reported at future Area Councils. Pennine Rapid Transit Route The Chair reported that the Pennine Rapid Transit Scheme was taken for approval to Lancashire Local in December and finally approved by Lancashire County Council. He reported that the bid would be submitted to the Department of Transport soon and that it should be known by November if the bid had been approved in principle. He indicated that the estimated time for the scheme to commence was late 2010. He pointed out that Lancashire County Council had ignored the Council’s request to keep the car parking spaces outside shops at peak times. Oswaldtwistle Allotment Sites Linda Dean reported that the barrier funded by the Area Council had been installed on White Ash and the rubbish cleared up. She also provided a progress report on works taking place on Heys Allotment site in respect of drainage, to the ginnels and pathways and installing new fencing. Councillor M. Haworth reported that work to improve allotment sites in the borough was ongoing and although the number of people on the waiting list had initially been reduced it had again risen to a list of 80 applicants. She reported that the Council did not have many allotment sites to lease and that most sites were in use. She indicated that a lottery bid had been submitted for funding to make further improvements and if this was won then quicker progress could be made. Highway Issues 2 Paper A(i) Linda Dean reported that the issue of ‘residents only’ parking schemes would be passed back to Lancashire County Council in September to ensure that all proposed schemes are standardised and meet set criteria. The Chair referred to the proposed ‘residents only’ scheme for the area around the Civic Theatre but pointed out that there had not been enough response from local people to warrant a scheme. He gave details of the cost of such a scheme and suggested that the Area Council would consider contributing to the set up costs if residents were in support of the scheme being implemented. He pointed out that Hyndburn had no ‘residents only’ parking schemes and suggested that areas would benefit from the initiative. Juice Bar Linda Dean reported that the issue of the Juice Bar was still being considered and that a meeting was being held with the Police and other agencies to determine a solution. MAIN ITEMS Dog Fouling Steve Wood, Dog Warden, gave a presentation on the problem of dog fouling in Oswaldtwistle. He acknowledged the concerns of residents regarding dog fouling but pointed out that this was only an issue because of irresponsible dog owners. He advised that more people cleaned up after their dogs today than ten years ago but that any incidents of dog fouling caused a problem in society. He indicated that the number of reported incidents was not high and that there was not one particular part of society that caused more problems that others and that most problems were caused between 11.00 p.m. and 6.30 a.m. He informed the meeting that the Dog Warden was a service contracted by the Council and provided details of his role which included educating people about the offence of dog fouling and the health hazards it created. He indicated that they targeted parks, open spaces and cemeteries as well as other problem areas. He provided information on fixed penalties and incidents of people being taken to court. Future initiatives included taking a more pro-active approach through liaising with other agencies such as the Police. He encouraged local residents to help to reduce problems of dog fouling by being responsible owners and reporting incidents. He pointed out that CCTV and surveillance vans were used as part of the service and could be used to identify incidents. The Chair reported that Councillors received many complaints about dog fouling and certain areas had more problems than others but residents should contact Steve Wood with any problems. Anti-Fraud Benefits Campaign Mark Beard, Head of Internal Audit, gave a presentation on the Council’s Anti-Benefit Fraud Campaign. He referred to the importance of people reporting incidents of fraud and played a ‘Stop Benefit Fraud’ video clip showing how benefit fraud had an indirect cost to every member of the public. He provided information on the number of benefit fraud cases investigated in Hyndburn per annum and the number of people subsequently prosecuted. He referred to the penalties for committing fraud and explained how they relied upon people in the borough to report incidents. He outlined how residents could do this in confidence using either the hotline telephone number or the on-line form on the Council’s website. Regeneration in Oswaldtwistle 3 Paper A(i) The Chairman congratulated Paul Trickett as the new Head of Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School. Boundary Signs – the Chairman thanked Carole Cronshaw, Oswaldtwistle resident and Hyndburn Borough Council Officer in designing the new boundary signs. West End Community Centre – Councillor M. Haworth reported on their visit to West End Community Centre after its improvement. The Chairman reported that new railings had also been installed at the Community Centre and the play area refurbished including ‘Olivia’s swing’. The Chairman reported that Harvey Street – bushes had been planted to prevent travellers parking in the area. Stanhill Gardens – flower towers had been planned for the site and residents should contact the Area Councils Team if they had ideas for flower towers in other areas. Thwaites Road and Stanhill Lane Area – a garden area had been created. Houses on Thwaites Road – improvements carried out to prevent youths creating a nuisance. Changing Rooms, Rhyddings Park – the changing rooms had been purpose built and were well used. Union Road (the corner of White Ash Lane) – the area had been landscaped and tidied after vandalism. The Chairman reported that this had also resulted in reduced crime in the area. Dispersal Order, Union Road – one had recently been signed and would result in large groups of youths being dispersed by the Police. The Youth Services would be working to find alternative places for youths to meet and activities for them to take part. Tiger Lounge – a newly opened bar in Oswaldtwistle. New Church – the Area Council had approved £500 for a hearing loop and microphone system for the Church and it was proposed that a future meeting of the Area Council was held in the Church.

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