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MERIDEN/TUDOR AREA COMMITTEE 2ND OCTOBER 2007 KNUTSFORD JMI SCHOOL Present: Councillor J Brown - Chair Councillors Greenslade - Vice-Chair Councillors Hastrick, McLeod, O’Hanlon and L Scudder Officers: Matt Thomson - Watford Borough Council Tina Barnard - Watford Housing Trust Andy Melville - Herts Highways Karen Airey - Democratic Services Representatives from the Police Service 21 local residents 1. APOLOGIES AND MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 26 TH JUNE 2007 Apologies had been received from County Councillor Audrey Oaten, Peter Sweeting and Lindsey South. The minutes of the meeting held on 26 th June 2007 were signed as a true record with the following amendments: • CPO Denise Moore to read PCSO Denise Moore. • PC Frances to read PC Brunt • Caroline Loach to read Caroline Roach 2. PLANNING – HOW WATFORD WILL DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS The Chair introduced Matt Thomson, Planning Policy Manager, who gave a presentation on Planning, including the following points: • The existing Watford District Plan 2000 would be replaced by a Local Development Framework (LDF). This would be produced in three parts over the next five years and would be more positive about the Borough’s residential neighbourhoods. • The LDF would have to provide for a regional transport hub, a regional town centre, 5,200 homes and sites for between five and 15 traveller pitches. Watford already had a site and if needed this could be extended to meet requirements. 1 • In the current plan, most of the policies surrounding Meriden and Tudor wards were about protecting existing green space. This area contained the biggest and most important industrial areas and it was important to retain this for the local economy. Only one new housing site was proposed for the Area – BT depot on Orphanage Road. The Meriden School and Sun chemicals sites were not identified for redevelopment but proposals to redevelop these sites were underway. This underlined that planning was never an exact science and the existing plan was in need of replacement. • A development brief had been prepared for the redevelopment of the Junction. • The officer said that a draft of the Core Strategy for the new LDF would be published early next year and would probably be introduced at Area Committees. • One of the key aspects of the Core Strategy would be the identification and promotion of 'neighbourhood centres', within which local shops and community facilities would be focused to meet people's day-to-day needs. The officer displayed a map showing the location of centres within and around Meriden and Tudor wards, and asked those present if they supported the principle of neighbourhood centres, and whether the centres identified were those that local people associated with. Both points were agreed. Residents asked the following questions: • How would the Council reach housing targets set by the Government? The officer said that Watford’s target was 5200 between 2001 and 2021. About 2,000 new properties had already been built. He said that the Eastern Region targets had been reviewed, but no change had been made to Watford’s total. • How many of the properties would be affordable? The officer said that at present any development with over 25 units had to provide 30% of affordable units. However in the future the Government may expect this figure to be 35%. Anything higher than this would make the development too expensive to build, although to provide more affordable units the threshold could be reduced. • Where would the proposed link road between St Albans Road and Colonial Way run? HCC and Network Rail were drawing up plans for this development and the road would run from the current Homebase access road, across the railway and through the industrial estate to Colonial Way. The only foreseeable objection was from Homebase who were concerned about loss of car park space. The Chair thanked the officer for his informative presentation. 2 3. POLICE UPDATE The Chair introduced PCSO Denise Moore who advised the meeting that the area was fully staffed at present. She gave a breakdown of crime figures in the area, comparing figures from April to September 2006 to the same period in 2007. Meriden Tudor Burglaries Increased by 10 Increased by 1 – 3 had occurred over the past weekend Drug Offences Increased by 4 Increased by 1 Theft Increased by 4 Increased by 3 Racial Offence Increased by 2 Increased by 8 (this also includes graffiti) Theft from shop Increased by 8 Decreased by 8 Theft of bicycles Increased by 9 Decrease Vehicle Crime Decreased by 5 Increased by 7 Violent Crime Decreased by 4 Decreased by 7 The officer advised the meeting that theft of bikes had increased. Offenders were armed with cutters and removed chains securing the bikes. She advised that where possible, bikes should be left in view to deter thieves. She also advised that the theft from cars figures included supermarket car parks and reminded the meeting that all valuables should be stored out of sight. Offenders were now able to pinpoint lap tops stored in car boots through blue tooth. The officer explained the new Enigma Tag system to the meeting. She advised that this was a new crime prevention process from America. Residents were given a solution, which looked similar to nail varnish. The solution contained a bar code which would be exclusive to the resident and was read via a scanner. The individual bar codes would need to be recorded by police. It contained sufficient liquid to mark up to 100 items, which if stolen could identify the owner. The system was being trialled in Meriden and residents could take a sample at the end of the meeting. Residents had reported callers calling in the No Cold Calling zone on the Meriden. They said that although the police could not take action, they could only ask the offenders to leave. Residents had persisted in telling the callers it was a restricted area and they had moved on. The officer advised that Energy Watch supported the No Cold Calling zone and asked residents to report any callers on the following number: 0845 906 0708 Residents should also report offenders to the police. She said that Tudor residents should also advise Energy Watch of any aggressive callers. 3 Residents asked the following questions: • Did the figures include adult and youth offences? The officer said that all crimes were included. • How did the offenders gain access during the three burglaries which had occurred recently? The officer said through a locked back door. The Chair thanked the officer for attending the meeting. 4. WATFORD COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST UPDATE The Chair introduced Tina Barnard, Chief Executive of the Watford Community Housing Trust who updated the meeting on the Stock Transfer. The Chief Executive advised the meeting that the transfer had taken place during September. The Trust was based at the Town Hall but would soon be relocating. They had their own switchboard and customer services officers and could be contacted on: 01923 209000 A few ‘teething problems’ had been experienced which were being resolved. Staff had been transferred to the new organisation through TUPE regulations and new vans had been purchased. The Trust would implement a Working Group with other partners, e.g. Watford Borough Council and Herts County Council to produce a five-year maintenance programme. The officer explained that a survey of all properties would be carried out by staff and a maintenance plan drawn up. Residents asked the following questions: • Would this speed up the door programme? The Chief Executive said that a survey would be carried out to determine work priorities. • If the Trust had a five-year maintenance programme, day to day maintenance would still be required, would the Trust have the same constraints as the Council? The Chief Executive said that the Trust was meeting with Councillors in November to explain changes and Councillors would still carry out casework. 4 • The Chair said that the high rise flats on the Meriden had many issues that needed resolving and the Residents’ Association had tried to arrange a meeting with the Trust but had not received a reply. The Chief Executive said that the whole housing stock would be assessed but she would contact the Association to arrange a meeting. • A resident said that new windows were installed in the flats four or five years ago but had not been fitted properly. The windows were still under warranty and the Council had said they would be repaired. This had been ongoing since last May. The Chief Executive said that she would ensure a meeting was arranged. • A resident had waited 20 minutes for the switchboard to answer his call. He had also tried unsuccessfully to contact an Estate Manager. The Chief Executive said that there had been problems with the switchboard, but these were being monitored and would be resolved. Direct lines for staff would be published in the December issue of Gateway News. • A resident said that he had advised the Trust office that the Meriden Residents’ Association held a drop in session on Friday mornings and warned them this would result in them receiving a large number of phone calls. This message had not been passed onto the appropriate staff. • A resident said that the newsletters should not be delivered by the same company that delivered the Council Newsletter as many were not delivered. A resident said that bundles of Watford Observers had been dumped by the recycle bins at Asda. • A resident asked what procedures would be put in place to protect residents when staff called at their homes to carry out the maintenance checks. A resident advised that her house had already been inspected and she had received a letter advising of the visit and the officer had carried full identification.

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