Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed subject to the following amendment. The date of the next meeting should have read ”November 2^nd 2016” and not “February 28 2017”.

The Police provided criminal policing statistics for the period since August 31^st 2016.

Thefts from motor vehicles were up by 23 in September. Thefts were due to motorists leaving their vehicles unsecured. Thieves are using techniques to steal cars. One example is; placing coins under door handles to block electronic car door locking mechanisms. Residents were advised to check their car doors are locked before moving away from the vehicle.

There were 7 burglaries. Plain clothed Police are patrolling in Oadby.

2 shed break-ins.

9 incidents of criminal damage.

There were no thefts of motor vehicles.

Issues Raised by Residents and Reported to the Police

Issues of concern raised by residents were:

• A sighting of youths selling marijuana was reported to the Police. This is to be referred to PC J Darby.

Anti –social behaviour and burglaries around the Kew Drive area was noted and reported to the Police. The Police will follow this up.

The draft Local Plan is a Government requirement. It identifies land for future development. It is part of the Council`s planning policy. The consultation period runs from 3.11.2016 till 16.12.2016.

The following link was recommended to take residents to the document.

https://www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk/pages/have_your_say_public_consultation.

Residents are to be informed of exhibitions and consultation events flowing from the Plan.

Residents posed a series of questions to the presenting officer which was answered as follows:

The Local Draft Plan identifies land for cemetery provision off Gartree Road.

Planning permission has been given for the building of 150 homes off the A6.

Approximately 30% of the new build by the Glen Gorse Golf Course will be for affordable, social housing stock. This is the same percentage as applied to planning permission which has been granted.

The plan takes into account the building of schools and provision for doctor`s surgery to cater for new housing build.

The Council has carried out a study with regard to affordable and social new housing. The Plan distinguishes three different codes for housing provision.

The next consultation takes place in spring 2017.

The Council and Leicestershire County Council are liaising with Academies in relation to building. Developers will be required to pay a contribution to the County Council to address school build planning .This may require new school builds. There is also thinking on adding to existing schools. This could mean a developer contributing to the maintenance of such buildings.

The Council may identify areas for development. It is under a duty to review and develop this Plan. The Plan places the Council in a strong position. An adopted Plan has been in place since 2010.

Apologies were received for cancellation of this presentation. This will be rearranged for a future Forum meeting.

Residents were invited to form groups to engage in bulb planting. The next bulb planting session takes place November 19^th 2016. Residents do not need to be a member of Pride of the Borough to join a group. The Pride of the Borough working party takes place the third Saturday of each month. Details on Pride of the Borough website.

597 members now hold the Pride of the Borough loyalty card. The card entitles members to shopping discounts. There is a joining fee of £5.00 and access to an email newsletter. This is used to update members monthly about the bulb planting groups and available offers.

The Royal Horticultural Society manages both Britain in Bloom awards and East Midlands in Bloom. For the seventh consecutive year the Borough was awarded another gold medal. The judges were impressed by the number of volunteer hours accrued and the number of times people met. They asked if the borough can represent the East Midlands in Britain in Bloom 2017. The judging will take place in the summer.

For more information, contact Brocks Hill Country Park and Centre, Washbrook Lane, Oadby, Leicester, LE2 5JJ. Email: potb.oadbywigston@gmail.com or Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.: 07874228491.

The Civic Society investigated the most feasible place for permanently locating the Commemorative Stones. Burtons Corner was suggested as a location. Three members are looking at an alternate location at the corner of Sandhurst Street.

Action: An update will be brought to the next Resident Forum meeting.

Oadby Festive lights switch on is, Saturday 12^th November 2016 at 5pm. The duration of the event is; 12pm till 8pm. Leicester Tiger`s Club player Manu Tuilagi was invited to officiate.

Slots were sought for 3 turns or acts, for example singers.

The Oadby and Wigston Community First Responders have: sets of oxygen, First aid equipment, and are registered as a Charity.

There are 11 Community First Responders covering Oadby and Wigston. More volunteers are sought.

They currently have a compliment of 5 defibrillators. These cost about £2000 each.

The Responders have responded to 205 calls.

EMAS (East Midlands Ambulance Service) in Nottingham takes the callouts for Responders to attend emergencies. This is done by text message. Responders work from 7pm till 3am. It takes about 8 minutes to reach an emergency. The call goes to local Responders. Responders host a page on the internet.

Responders are identified under a 2 or 3 skill level rating. On this basis EMAs identifies who is best fit to send to which emergency. Level 2`s can attend anyone over the age of 16.Level 3`s can attend children emergencies. Level 2`s can administer drugs. After a year at level 2 a Responder can administer epilactics.

Responders work in Accident and Emergency hospital units (please confirm accuracy of this statement) and receive in house first aid training.

The Community First Responders requested funding for 2 High Visibility Jackets for Oadby based Responders. especially those that can fit female volunteers comfortably. The residents voted unanimously to award £180 for purchase of the jackets.

The 7events Group requested the Forum to part fund a defibrillator which is to be placed at an accessible point on Oadby Parade.

The 7events Group is made up of 4 charities working together. It hosts challenging events to raise money for good causes.

The Group has spoken to Mark Hryniw, the Oadby and Wigston Town Centre Manager and Rick Moughton of the Community First Responders about raising money for this equipment and placing it on the Oadby Parade.

At various events held; For example, checking people for diabetes, and providing CPR Training. In raising money for a defibrillator, the Group has raised £750 for the defibrillator. There is a £250 shortfall to buy the defibrillator.

Training to use it will be provided free of charge by the Joe Humphries Trust.

One person proposed the award of £250. It was seconded and unanimously agreed by the Residents.

Oadby and Wigston Community First Responders have not yet launched their Twitter Link or provide an article for the Letterbox newspaper.

Ellis Park Fountain renovation is complete. Before and after photos were circulated at the meeting.

The removal of the grey pillar boxes is a work in progress.

The Council is addressing the concern raised by residents as to the issue of land grabs by some residents around Brookside Drive and the A6.

The criteria on how local people can place notices on the Town notice boards was circulated at the meeting. The Council staff will only remove out of date notices, those placed by businesses  or those which are inappropriate.

Regarding unofficial parking on Burton`s Corner. This is being dealt with by County Council, the Highways Authority.

The Community Safety Partnership is consulting local people on how happy they are about living in Oadby and Wigston Town. The closing date is Spring 2017.The survey is open to anyone who lives, works, schools in or regularly visits the Borough to complete and can be accessed by following this link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/J3JYQZV. It is anticipated that the survey takes no more than 5 minutes to complete. All responses are received via Survey Monkey and are completely anonymous. A printable version of the survey is also attached.

It was noted that a flyer advertising a concert at Trinity was removed without permission.

Phoenix Therapies asked to return to the Forum to provide an update in 2017. The Council`s PFD Committee passed the award from the Resident Forum previous meeting last night. The first Take the Weight Off Your Mind workshop takes place at the Barnabas Centre on; Monday 7^th November 2016 at 6.30pm.

Oadby Grange Petition has Garnered 75 Signatures

A petition for a play area is to be presented to the Council in December 2016.The resident is to speak with the Chair about it.

Car Park Area in Front of the Shop in Rosemead Drive

Residents raised the issue of pieces of land falling into disrepair which need to be addressed.

The area has an unusual strip of land next to the road which is in disrepair. This land is deemed to be private land. The Council has been requested to write to the owners to find out who the landlord is.

Three car park areas in Burton Crescent, by the war memorial near London Road and St Peter`s Church.

Action: Councillors Carter and Kaufman are to follow this up.

The Council was requested to address the lowering of a wall and installation of railings This is to allow people to be seen crossing the road. It was suggested this area may be owned by the person who owns the substation.

Action: Councillor Kaufman is to address this.

Ellis Park Pool Area

Currently there is no further update on this area. The Council`s Planning department is putting out an options paper for how best to make use of the site.

Sir Edward Garnier Parliamentary Statement

Currently there is no update to share. The Resident was referred to the press release previously made by the Council.

Joining of Leicester City and Oadby and Wigston Town

There is to be no joining of Oadby and Wigston Town with Leicester City.

Street Side Parking Charge

Councillor Kaufman noted the County Council may be making a charge for on street , car parking A petition is being raised to address this. It was suggested that this might place the viability of local Oadby shops at risk of closure.

Three Litter Bins Requested near Waitrose Store and Church Street

A resident stated three litter bins are needed opposite Waitrose store and Church Street. The Chair suggested residents bring this idea as a proposal for funding to the next Resident Forum meeting.

Cars Speeding from the Junction by St Peters towards Swatlands.

A resident requested anyone who can hear speeding from this area to keep a diary of dates and times. This can then be drawn to the Council`s attention. The Police can then get involved to monitor speeding.

Flu Vaccinations

A Resident noted the NHS is carrying out as many flu vaccinations’ as possible. The Resident urged others to take advantage of this service via the Walk-In Centres. Walk-In centres are open Christmas and Boxing Day.

Oadby Remembers

Oadby Remembers exhibition is to be launched 11^th November 2016.

The Old Library Building

A restaurant is to open shortly.

Date: Tuesday 28^th February 2017

Time: 6.30pm

Venue: Beauchamp College, Ridgeway, Oadby, LE2 5TP