RAMSEY NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM WEDNESDAY, 21 JULY 2010 ACTION SHEET PRESENT: Panel Councillor V Lucas - Cambridgeshire County Council (Chairman) Councillor T Lavender - Ramsey Town Council Mr T Roberts - Luminus Inspector S Poppitt - Cambridgeshire Constabulary Councillor P McCloskey - Somersham Parish Council Councillor Mrs K Prestage - Bury Parish Council FORUM 32 representatives of various authorities, organisations and members of the public APOLOGIES: Councillor P L E Bucknell Mr K Bowden – Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service Mrs C Gibson – Ramsey Health Centre ITEM NO. SUBJECT ACTION BY 1 Welcome by Chairman In the absence of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman Councillor V Lucas took the Chair and welcomed everyone to the meeting. 2 Notes of previous meeting held on 20 April 2010 The Notes of the previous meeting held on 20th April 2010 were agreed as a true record. 3 Ramsey Neighbourhood Forum Progress Report Attention was drawn to the progress report which contained responses to the neighbourhood issues which had been raised at the previous meeting. Having noted that the policing issues would be dealt with as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Team’s report, the meeting was updated with regard to the possible re-allocation of Section 106 Agreement income arising from the Tesco store development. Mr R Reeves, on behalf of the District Council explained that although following objections, the traffic lights scheme planned for the junction of the Great Whyte and the High Street had not been implemented by the Huntingdonshire Traffic Joint Committee, the Agreement did not provide for the money to be re-allocated, unless agreed with signatories to the ITEM NO. SUBJECT ACTION BY Agreement. 4 Youth work in Ramsey - Update Ms D Fletcher, Youth Worker for Ramsey, Sawtry and Yaxley introduced a DVD produced by the young people of Ramsey who attended the CRE8 Youth Club. The centre which opened 4 nights per week encouraged young people to take part in various activities including canoeing, camping skills and first aid with members, having attained a Duke of Edinburgh silver award. In answer to questions, Ms Fletcher explained that the club was well attended having approximately 200 members and could accommodate more. The club worked closely with Abbey College, with students being regularly referred and its services were advertised by way of leafleting, banners and the club’s own website. Ms Fletcher indicated that she was expecting major changes to youth funding by the County Council from April 2011 following County Council cutbacks. External Mrs A Jerrom funding would need to be sought and discussions had already taken place with Ramsey Town Council. County Councillor S Criswell expressed the opinion that available funding would be targeted to those services in greatest need with others having to look to town and parish councils for help. Ramsey Town Councillor T Lavender encouraged the connection between the Youth Council and Town Council and requested the continuing inclusion of youth work on future Forum agendas. With respect to funding, Ms P Litchfield, Ramsey Neighbourhood Manager, reminded everyone that there would be a lottery fundraising workshop at the Ramsey Rural Museum on 2 August 2010. In thanking Ms Fletcher for her presentation and the encouraging DVD, the Chairman requested that parish councils and elected members relay the Mrs P Litchfield message concerning funding and he advised that the Forum would be encouraging young people to take part. Following a request, Inspector S Poppitt, The Mayor of Ramsey (Mrs P Taylor) and Parish Councillor Ms C Prestage agreed to attend a session of youth involvement training in September. 5 Neighbourhood Policing Profile Neighbourhood Sergeant D Savill introduced himself and provided an update on Sgt Savill progress made in respect of the policing priorities identified for the previous quarter. A copy of the Ramsey and District Neighbourhood profile was circulated to the meeting. High Street, Great Whyte, Little Whyte, Ramsey • High visibility patrols had been carried out to provide reassurance to the public and act as a deterrent to potential offenders. • A number of arrests had been made for offences such as criminal damage to motor vehicles, public disorder and assaults. Charges had been brought and conditional cautions given. • All licensed premises in Ramsey were now members of ‘Pubwatch’. Police and licensees were working together with increased partnership working. • Regular patrols by uniformed and plain clothes neighbourhood policing ITEM NO. SUBJECT ACTION BY team had disrupted anti-social behaviour. Alcohol seizures had increased as had Directions to Leave, which were also used to break up groups of youths. The Green/Parkhall Road Somersham • Patrols had been increased to deal with anti-social behaviour, alcohol confiscated and Directions to Leave used. • Arrests for possession of controlled drugs and criminal damage had been made. • Officers had engaged with local youths to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour. Millfield, Mill Lane, Ramsey • Increased patrols had resulted in alcohol being confiscated from under age drinkers and referrals made to parents of persistent offenders. • Drop in reported crimes had been noted with the situation improving. Sgt Savill also reported that PC D Drage had joined the neighbourhood team and would be responsible for Ramsey and its surrounding villages as well as being the school liaison officer for Abbey College. The police would be working in partnership with the College and Sgt Savill had met with the Head Teacher to discuss the long term strategy of the Safer Schools Partnership. Anti-social behaviour in The Maltings area of Ramsey had decreased following the implementation of an action plan by Sgt Savill to address the problem. Sgt Savill also indicated that he would be liaising with the British Legion/Football Club in Ramsey to ensure sufficient staff would be available to patrol the area during future events following a reported rise in anti-social behaviour in that area. The Forum was informed that parking issues in Ramsey and Somersham had been addressed, with parking tickets having been issued to persistent offenders. Sgt Savill reported that although figures showed a decrease in the amount of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage since the last meeting, there had been an increase in non-dwelling burglary, mainly in rural areas and his team would be working closely with Countryside Watch with increased patrols. Following the receipt of numerous complaints regarding speeding in the villages, Sgt Savill explained that he continued to work with the Speedwatch Team in order to identify and deal with problematic areas. K Sisman of Speedwatch and residents of Ramsey Mereside raised the issue of regular speeding in the village and questioned the deployment of the speed camera van. Inspector Poppitt explained that owing to demand, deployment of the van was prioritised in line with a threshold criteria set by the Cambridge and Peterborough Road Safety Partnership which included results from speed surveys and areas with high numbers of accidents involving death or serious injury. It was agreed that further questions and in particular the request for a speed survey for Ramsey Mereside, would be discussed with Inspector Poppitt following the meeting. 6 Police work in Ramsey area Detective Inspector A Gallop of Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Public Protection Department addressed the Forum on the scale of operations that was carried out in the form of public protection. Inspector Gallop informed the audience that he managed 3 teams of officers, the High Tech. Crime Unit, the Paedophile ITEM NO. SUBJECT ACTION BY Investigation Unit and the unit responsible for the Keeping Children Safe Disclosure Scheme (KCSDS) with his responsibility including the setting of the strategy on domestic and child abuse. He explained that the public were often unaware of teams such as his who dealt with referrals from officers on the street, social services and the probation service. DI Gallop went on to explain that his specialist teams worked on the ripple effect of information received and would seize and examine computers in a bid to stop the possession and distribution of indecent images of children held by networks of paedophiles. He explained that with 500 registered sex offenders in Cambridgeshire, covert tactics and visits were used alongside disclosures in an attempt to manage risk. DI Gallop urged anyone with concerns over child abuse to contact the police switchboard on 0345 4564564 and ask for the KCSDS team. 7 Neighbourhood Management - what's coming up in your area The Forum received a presentation by Mr I Curtis, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Management Board detailing the work being done in order to produce a Neighbourhood Agreement in Ramsey. Mr Curtis explained that the agreement would be a partnership between the community and service providers, setting the standards expected by local people from service providers and outlining the responsibilities that local people have to their community. Mr Curtis advised the audience that 90% of the work to inform the agreement had been carried out by trained volunteers and that although the original focus had been on leisure facilities for young people it had been widened to include information on the community as a whole. Surveys carried out had revealed that although there was a lot going on in the form of clubs and facilities, people were often unaware of their existence. Mr Curtis urged those that would like to advertise their groups to visit either www.cambrigdshire.net or www.ramseypeople.wordpress.com. Results had also revealed that while dance and sports activities appeared to be thriving, there appeared to be gaps in provision for older children and teens. Key findings of the focus groups set up showed that people required: ♦ A single location to find out what’s available ♦ Paper and electronic information provision ♦ More advertising of existing groups ♦ Specific focus on young people Those present were informed that following a meeting with service providers a draft agreement would be produced in late summer.