ST IVES NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM THURSDAY, 12 APRIL 2012 WYTON ON THE HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE SQUARE, WYTON ON THE HILL, HUNTINGDON, PE28 2JB ACTION SHEET PRESENT: Councillor J W Davies (Chairman) - Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor Mrs M Clarke - St Ives Town Council Sergeant D Savill - Cambridgeshire Constabulary FORUM: 29 Members of other authorities, organisations and the public sector. APOLOGIES: Councillor I C Bates – Cambridgeshire County and Huntingdonshire District Councils Councillor D Dew - Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor Mrs J A Dew - Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor G J Harlock - Huntingdonshire District Council Councillor V H Lucas - Cambridgeshire County Council ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. 1 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS District Councillor J W Davies, in his role as Chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting. 2 FUTURE OF THE FORUMS - UPDATE The Forum were updated with progress of the ongoing review of the Neighbourhood Forums in Huntingdonshire. Those in attendance were informed that a consultation on proposed boundaries and constitutional terms would commence at the end of April 2012 with all Partners, Town and Parish Councils and interested stakeholders. The consultation will run for a 6 week period and this evening’s meeting would mark the last meeting of the Forum in its present form. It is hoped that new arrangements will be in place by September 2012. 3 NOTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING HELD ON 12TH JANUARY 2012 The Notes of the previous meeting held on 12th January 2012 were received and noted. Attention was drawn to an anomaly in the Notes relating to the fifth line of the last paragraph of Item 5 - Neighbourhood Policing Profile. The Chairman reported that the 10,000th speeder had been caught in the Huntingdonshire area over the last 2 years and not the last 10 years as indicated within the Notes of the previous meeting. ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. 4 ST IVES NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM PROGRESS REPORT Attention was drawn to the progress report which contained responses to the neighbourhood issues raised at the previous meeting. 5 NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING PROFILE Sergeant D Savill provided an update on the Neighbourhood Policing Profile for the St Ives and Ramsey neighbourhood, copies of which were distributed at the meeting. In doing so, he reported that with effect from 2nd April 2012, a new policing model had been launched within Cambridgeshire Constabulary but delivered assurances that efforts had been made to protect front line services. Six local policing districts had now been established to replace the former Basic Command Units. These are intended to result in a more localised approach to policing. Attention was also drawn to other changes which had arisen through the restructure. Collaboration with neighbouring police force areas to generate efficiencies relating to firearms, IT and procurement were amongst those changes that were reported to the Forum. Additionally, it was noted that the former Neighbourhood Policing Teams had now been replaced by Safer Neighbourhood Teams. These Teams are now responsible for all calls for service within the local area. The Forum’s attention was then drawn to the members of the St Ives and Ramsey Neighbourhood Problem Solving Team, which comprised 2 Police Constables and 12 PCSOs. An update on the priorities identified at the previous Neighbourhood Forum was provided as follows:- ♦ Criminal Damage and Anti-Social Behaviour in The Broadway and Crown Street, St Ives It was reported that two incidents of criminal damage had been detected over the quarter, with no crimes recorded for damage in Crown Street. Only one incident of anti-social behaviour had occurred over the reporting period. The Neighbourhood Problem Solving Team would continue to target this area as part of their Town Centre and shoplifting patrols. ♦ Theft in Constable Road, St Ives Sergeant D Savill reported that seven crimes for theft had been reported over the quarter, five of which had been detected by the Neighbourhood Problem Solving Team. In concluding his presentation, Sergeant D Savill drew the Forum’s attention to the performance of the sector over the 2011/12 financial year, where it was reported that total crimes had reduced by 12.6% when compared to the previous year. Attention was then drawn to the performance of the St Ives area where a 14.6% reduction in total crime ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. had been achieved. The Chairman questioned whether the success of the Designated Public Places Order (DPPO) in St Ives Town Centre had had a positive impact within the Town. In so doing, Sergeant D Savill confirmed that whilst this was the case, street drinking had now been pushed out into other public areas and that there had been a noticeable increase in the number of people drinking within their homes. The Police would be actively working with the District Council and Registered Providers with a view to combating the latter. A member of the public questioned whether any action would be taken by the Police to address instances of rural crime. Sergeant D Savill confirmed that his Team would be reactive to such incidents and drew the Forum’s attention to changes to the PCSO shift patterns which would assist in this respect. Residents of Hill Rise, St Ives drew the Forum’s attention to vehicle Sergeant D Savill nuisance caused by young drivers at Hill Rise Park, St Ives. Sergeant D Savill indicated that he was aware of the problems reported and undertook to give consideration to the matter outside of the meeting. In response to a question raised by a member of the public concerning the areas within the Constabulary where costs savings had been made, Sergeant D Savill confirmed that in addition to collaboration with neighbouring police areas, the merging of police departments had generated further savings, with cutbacks in middle management and senior staff having emerged as part of the restructure process. Sergeant D Savill reiterated his previous comments that efforts had been made to protect front line services. Arising from a question, it was confirmed that 55 Police Constables were active within Huntingdonshire, with 33 PCSOs also employed for the area. Following a query which had been raised at the meeting, it was confirmed that the Policing Pledge was no longer in operation within Huntingdonshire. Those in attendance were assured that a lot of the matters raised within the pledge would continue to be addressed by the Constabulary. Some concern was expressed at the potential impact the restructure would have upon the time taken for Police Officers to undertake their administrative duties. Assurances were delivered that Police Officers would continue to undertake their front line roles whilst having continued administrative support as they had previously. An update was delivered by the Speedwatch Coordinator for the St Ives and District area outlining the activity undertaken by the voluntary group between the period 1st January to 31st March 2012. A total of 62 sessions had been undertaken over the reporting period. A plea was made for volunteers to come forward to assist with the voluntary group, particularly in the area of St Ives and attention was drawn to the process by which Speedwatch results were handled by the Police. ITEM SUBJECT ACTION BY NO. Town Councillor Mrs M Clarke expressed concerns over vehicles speeding along Harrison Way, St Ives during off peak periods. It was noted that the Town Council had reported that matter to Cambridgeshire County Council. In response, the Speedwatch Coordinator reported that given the speed limit on the road, this would be a matter that would need to be pursued by the Police. Sergeant D Savill and the Speedwatch Sergeant D Savill / Coordinator therefore undertook to give consideration to the matter Speedwatch outside of the meeting. Coordinator At the conclusion of the Speedwatch presentation, the Forum extended their congratulations to Mr A Smith, Speedwatch volunteer, for having recently undertaken his 100th session on behalf of the voluntary group. 6 BUDGETARY SITUATION WITHIN CAMBRIDGESHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE AND THE POSSIBLE IMPACT TO SERVICES With the aid of a presentation by Mr N Foster, Group Commander for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the meeting were apprised with details of the budgetary situation facing the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. By way of background, the Group Commander reported that the service was facing central government funding cuts of £4.2m, with efforts being made to protect front line services. This represented a 12.5% reduction in the budget available. Whilst some savings had already been achieved through the sharing of services and through cutbacks in middle management, the Forum were apprised with details of a feasibility study that had been undertaken on retained fire engines across Cambridgeshire. Of the 21 appliance available, the outcome of investigations identified that there were business cases developed for 8 of these engines. In local terms, this meant that the second appliance located at the St Ives Station no longer had a justifiable business case. The Forum were advised that this appliance had only responded to 20 calls for service over the previous year and that it was hoped to mitigate the loss of an engine in St Ives with the availability of 24/7 resources available at the Huntingdon Station. In concluding his discussions, the Group Commander reported that the final decision for the removal of appliances would lie with the Fire Authority in May 2012. A member of the public questioned what would happen with the redundant appliances. The Group Commander reported that the residual value of fire engines was low but that they were donated to developing countries for their use. In the event that the Fire Authority agree to a reduction in the number of appliances available, it was reported that further savings would be achieved given that only a small number of replacement vehicles would be required in the future.