Agenda and draft minutes

Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 30 August 2022, 7pm were declared true and accurate, with the below noted;

Paragraph 14: Query raised regarding funding being ringfenced if a housing development were to be built near the park. It was confirmed that an application has been received for the bus depot on Station Street, currently used by National Express – 46 houses are planned. Section 106 monies would be received from this that would be used for the local area. No developments on public parks would be entertained.

Item deferred due to no attendance from Leicestershire Police.

A full update from Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service was not available due to apologies received.

The Chair spoke through a booklet provided by LFRS, providing fire safety advice during the festive period. Candles and the overloading of electrical sockets are the main concerns LFRS have each year in relation to residential fires. Smoke alarms are also covered within the booklet, highlighting that the units fitted by LFRS have a 10 year battery, and can be installed free of charge by LFRS as part of the free Home Fire Safety Checks. Smoke alarms should be checked weekly, but a monthly test is encouraged if weekly is not feasible.

LFRS do not supply carbon monoxide alarms, but it is recommended that houses have these fitted.

Households should also have a plan of to how to exit the property in the event of a fire, and ensure that all members of the household are aware of this plan.

The booklets are available free of charge from Wigston Fire Station.

T Hatton and R Maidment gave a presentation on the Customer Experience Strategy consultation, summarised in the attached document.

A query was raised around the Borough’s elderly population, and how technology can present a barrier for them. Assurances were given that the Council would keep these individuals in mind, and ensure that appropriate routes of communication remain available to them. The importance of face to face work was highlighted by the Chair with a story noting a lady that required a Council Officer to sign and witness a Government document she had, but was unsure of where to go so arrived at Bushloe House.

Speeding vehicles on Dorset Avenue / Gloucester Crescent were raised at the previous meetings. The Police’s volunteer speed checkers have been out on these streets in the interim, but unfortunately reported they had received some abuse from the public. Nearly 1,000 vehicles were speed-checked in these areas, with the figures of vehicles exceeding 35mph and 40mph in the 30mph area recorded for reference with the Police’s Road Safety Unit. There is an electronic speed sign to be installed on Dorset Avenue. The volunteer speed checkers will be back in these areas on 10 and 11 November.

Some white line road markings have also been refreshed in the South Wigston area.

Air Quality was raised by the Chair, highlighting that Oadby & Wigston has the highest air quality levels in the County at 3.8ppm per head of population. This is recorded in a public document being presented to the County Council on Thursday. Monitoring equipment remains in place on Blaby Road, outside the Cycle Centre. No air quality action zones are required in the Borough.

Christmas lights are going up in the Borough as normal, using LED bulbs, with Christmas Capers taking place in South Wigston on 3 December 2022. The road will be closed on this date.

The Remembrance Service and Parade will be taking place on Sunday, 13 November with a short road closure in place to accommodate this. Peace Memorial Park in Wigston will have a service on Friday, 11 November at 11am.

Comments were made by residents present regarding South Wigston Health Centre, highlighting a lack of communication from the surgery to the hospital, and difficulties faced by the public contacting the surgery to arrange appointments and other matters. Residents are concerned that the surgery is either understaffed or over-subscribed, and that temporary staff (not the GPs) employed by the surgery are unable to provide a full, and quality, service to patients. It was confirmed by Cllr. Boyce that the surgery is now under Central Surgery in Oadby, and that the Council is currently having conversations with the CCG about the redevelopment of South Wigston Health Centre. These conversations are ongoing.

Parking at South Wigston Health Centre was also raised; confirming that half the spaces belong to the Health Centre and the remainder are under the remit of the Borough Council on Housing owned land.

A child at Fairfield Primary School had fallen from ‘the boat’ on William Gunning Park around 6 weeks ago, and had badly broken his arm. It is unclear if the Council has been contacted already regarding this, but this will be chased up with the Council’s Corporate Assets Team to ensure the missing safety items on ‘the boat’ have been replaced. The child allegedly fell from the crow’s nest which usually has a cargo net underneath it.

Tuesday, 21 February 2023 – 6:30pm

Tuesday, 21 February 2023 – 7:00pm – South Wigston Methodist Church