NORTH WEST HUNTINGDONSHIRE NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM THURSDAY, 14 JULY 2011 FOLKSWORTH VILLAGE HALL, FOLKSWORTH, PETERBOROUGH, CAMBS ACTION SHEET PRESENT: Councillor E R Butler - Huntingdonshire District Council (Chairman) Councillor B Highland - Farcet Parish Council Inspector I Ford - Cambridgeshire Constabulary T Roberts - Luminus Councillor Ms A Rees - Yaxley Parish Council FORUM: 18 Members of other authorities, organisations and the public sector. APOLOGIES: ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. 1 Welcome and Introduction In his role as Chairman, Councillor E R Butler welcomed everyone to the meeting. Councillor N J Guyatt, a local District and County Councillor, then reported that the District and County Councillors were currently reviewing how the Forum operated with a view to encouraging greater involvement from the Parish Councils. Mention was made of the area covered by the Forum, which was the largest of the District’s five forums encompassing 32 parish councils. Councillor Guyatt explained that one option could be the creation of an additional forum for the south of the area. Members were encouraged to become involved in the discussions over the Forum’s future by emailing their ideas to [email protected]. 2 Membership The Forum noted the membership of the North West Huntingdonshire Neighbourhood Panel for 2011/12 as follows: Councillor Eric Butler (Chairman) Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor Mac McGuire Cambridgeshire County Council Councillor Ann Rees Yaxley Parish Council ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. Councillor Alastair McEwan Bythorn & Keyston Parish Council Councillor Barry Hyland Farcet Parish Council Julie Prichard/ Trevor Roberts Luminus Group Inspector Ian Ford Cambridgeshire Constabulary Mr Mick Fowler Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. 3 Notes of previous meeting held on 4th April 2011 The Notes of the previous meeting held on 4th April 2011 were agreed as a true record. 4 North West Huntingdonshire Neighbourhood Forum Progress report A report was circulated on action taken and information provided on matters raised at the previous meeting held on 4th April 2011. With regard to concerns over the inability to enforce no parking outside Fourfields School, Yaxley due to this stretch of Bentley Avenue being privately owned by the Anglian Regional Co-Operative Society, Councillor Guyatt reported that there was some confusion over the extent of the ownership and therefore the County Council was pursuing this with the Land Registry. 5 Neighbourhood Policing Profile As Sector Inspector, Inspector I Ford delivered a presentation on the Neighbourhood Policing Team and the sector profile for the period 1st April to 30th June inclusive, copies of which were circulated at the meeting. Inspector Ford provided an update on the priorities identified at the previous Neighbourhood Forum meeting as follows:- ♦ Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour in the Recreation Ground, Maltings Square, Yaxley – It was reported that 135 patrols had been conducted in these areas, during which stop searches had resulted in alcohol being confiscated from under-aged youths. Levels of anti-social behaviour in the Yaxley area had reduced by 30%; ♦ Anti-Social Behaviour in St. Judith’s Field, Sawtry It was explained that 130 high visibility or plain clothes patrols had ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. been made and Guardian Awareness Parent forms issued were necessary. It was reported that levels of anti-social behaviour had reduced by 27% in Sawtry; ♦ Speeding in Rural Villages The Forum was advised that 19 separate speed checks had been conducted by the Neighbourhood Policing Team at relevant locations. Three fixed penalty notices and forty eight advice letters had been issued to offenders. Councillor McGuire drew the Forum’s attention to new local speed limit guidelines by the County Council which gives local people a greater say on speed limits in their community. It was reported that communities could now request changes to the speed limits in place in their areas so long as they were prepared to meet the cost of any changes. Previously, changes to speed limits had only been considered by the Council for identified accident black spots or to improve road safety, for which the schemes have received funding from the Council. Under the new arrangements the Council would assist a community scheme by publishing the necessary Traffic Regulation Order. Attention was drawn to the issue of over-hanging trees and hedgerows obscuring road signs on the B660 Glatton, in response to which Mrs H Taylor undertook to report this to the West Highways Division. Reference was made to a serious accident between a car and cyclist which happened recently on the A15 at the junction with Waterslade Road, Yaxley. In response to which Inspector Ford agreed to speak with the traffic officer investigating the crash and to report back on the cause to the next meeting of the Forum. In response to a concern that the next Police Surgery at the Rainbow store in Yaxley had been cancelled, Inspector Ford agreed to investigate this and to arrange for the Constabulary’s web pages to be updated accordingly. 6 Local Policing Plan Mrs O Main, a Member of Cambridgeshire Police Authority, drew attention to the Local Policing Plan which explains how the resources available for policing are going to be used and sets the priorities for policing the area for the next three years. Mrs Main explained that the Authority had reviewed the delivery of response policing, neighbourhood policing and volume crime investigation in light of a £6m gap in 2011/2012 and the need to save a further £10m by 2015. It was noted that by working in collaboration with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Constabularies savings could be made. The first phase of this plan would concentrate on major crime investigation, professional standards, contact management, ICT and firearms. Other areas of business such as organisational support services, finance and HR would be looked at later in the programme. ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. 7 Great Haddon update Councillor N J Guyatt gave a verbal update on the proposed Great Haddon Development. He explained that the first phase of the development, the creation of an employment zone, had been approved. However, the examination in public for Peterborough City Council’s Site Allocation Development Plan document would be held in October. The document details all allocations of land for various uses across Peterborough including the Great Haddon on which the District Council would be making objections. 8 Incidents of Fire in the Yaxley Area Richard Dykes, Operations Manager with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service drew the Forum’s attention to a slight increase in fires in the Yaxley area. Mr Dykes explained that there had been 11 deliberate fires started in this area during the past year and 10 accidental cases. The authority is working with the Neighbourhood Policing Team to share information however, more could be done by the community in spreading the message of safe disposal of rubbish and by reporting back any relevant information. Members were reminded that information could be passed to the local fire service, police or to Jasmine Hammond of the Community Safety Team at the District Council. 9 Luminus Homes Mr T Roberts introduced himself to the Forum as the Head of Neighbourhood Services for the area and gave a presentation on the work of the Luminus Group. Copies of the presentation were circulated at the meeting. Of particular interest to the Forum was the Group’s Junior Warden Scheme and the role of the Luminus Neighbourhood Wardens in the wider community. Mr Roberts introduced Matt Johnson, Neighbourhood Warden for Yaxley and the surrounding villages. Mr Roberts explained that the scheme had been set up to help deter potential acts of vandalism and petty crime, provide reassurance and the point of contact for many residents. Matt could often be found attending community group meetings and events. 10 Other neighbourhood issues The Chairman asked those present if there were any issues of local concern that they wished to raise. A concern was raised over the reduced opening hours for the community information shop in Yaxley. Having referred to the service provided by the shop to residents of Yaxley, Stilton, Farcet, Folksworth and surrounding villages and given that the main bus service from these areas operated on a Tuesday residents stressed the need for the shop to ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. open on that day. Mrs H Taylor agreed to take the matter back to the customer service team at the District Council. 11 Panel Prioritisation The Panel agreed the following policing priorities for the three months to October 2011:- ♦ night time economy related anti-social behaviour including criminal damage in Church Street and Caldecote Road, Stilton; ♦ speeding through villages – Woolley, Winwick and London Road, Yaxley; ♦ crime and anti-social behaviour in Yaxley and Farcet, area of Laburnum Avenue, Main Street and surrounding streets. 12 Future Items • Future of neighbourhood forums; • Great Haddon update 13 Date of next meeting It was noted that the next meeting of the North-West Hunts Forum would take place on 19th October 2011 at 7pm in Fourfields Community Primary School, Bentley Avenue, Yaxley. 14 Current Consultations The Forum’s attention was drawn to the following consultation exercises – ♦ Cambridgeshire Constabulary – “Have your Say” – The Future Cambridgeshire Police; and ♦ Cambridgeshire County Council – Highways and Transport Survey. Reference also was made to business start-up workshops being run by the District Council. .