Agenda and draft minutes

Page 6: The forum budget has been amended with an amount of funds being made available from the Council in lieu of the previously available pot. The funds available have been calculated against an average of expenditure through the Forums in previous years.

Page 6: Balancing Pond off of Windlass Drive / Public Open Space Opposite Windlass Drive – It is felt that the Minutes in this section were not a true representation of the discussion held, with words felt to have been added after the meeting had taken place, specifically the reference to “buyers entering with their eyes open” to purchasing properties.

Item deferred due to no Leicestershire Police representation.

Item deferred due to no LFRS representation.

M Smith provided an overview of the UKSPF Community Grant Scheme from the attached PowerPoint presentation.

Midland Mainline Electrification Works - Spion Kop will be closed in due course for up to four months with the bridge being removed as part of the electrification of the midland mainline. A pedestrian / cycle bridge will be installed during this period but there will be no vehicle crossing available. A consultation exercise will be run by network rail for these works but will only look at how the works may affect certain groups from an equalities perspective. Works taking place at 10am today (31 Oct) caused significant disruption to traffic when one lane on Blaby Road was closed to enable joists to be lowered over the side of the bridge. The diversion route will be 7.5km long as the diversion must match the type of road that is closed.

Appointment Hubs – Details of the Appointment Hubs operated by the Council were shared with residents. Full information regarding these can be found on the Council’s website.

Police – Reference was given to the reporting routes through Crimestoppers and other methods to pass intelligence to the Police. There are specific concerns within the community regarding drug dealing in South Wigston; intelligence regarding this is with the Police and Council to be actioned but there is public frustration that it is not being addressed. Councillors have confirmed that information passed to them regarding this has also been passed through to the Police upon receipt. Concerns were raised around a group of three men coming round the Saffron Road / Gloucester Crescent area in the early hours trying car doors. Residents also raised concerns around 8+ burglaries suffered by shops on Blaby Road; there is CCTV in relation to these that the police are already in receipt of. Residents expressed frustration that Police officers have been moved off of the South Wigston beat to other areas in Leicestershire, removing officers that have significant rapport with residents.

Homelessness – There is a large problem with homelessness in the Borough which is causing expenditure of £380k per year from the Council’s reserve; this is due to only a small proportion of the costs being funded by central government. There is a national campaign taking place to address this, and legislation is going through parliament to stop ‘no fault’ evictions. 32 people are in temporary accommodation in the Borough as of this evening. Several landlords are selling their properties due to costs, and the Council is finding it difficult to rent private properties for homeless individuals as the cost of rent is higher than the funds the Council has available to put toward rental costs. It was noted that other Councils are in much worse positions regarding homelessness with some having to relocate homelessness individuals to other areas of the Country. There is also ‘competition’ between local councils and central government for properties as the government is able to fully fund rentals for asylum seekers.

Council Budget – The Council is continuing to assess its budgets, and a 5% increase in Council Tax is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

11:40, Sunday 12 November – Wreath laying taking place at St Thomas’ Church. Road closures in place. The Wigston Parade will be taking place at the same time also with road closures. Oadby’s event will be taking place later in the afternoon.

11 November – 11am event in Peace Memorial Park, Blaby Road Park, and in Oadby with the maroon to be launched.

Leicester City Council bankruptcy – As the City Council is on the verge of bankruptcy will this affect Oadby & Wigston? It is unlikely to impact the Borough. An overview of the bankruptcy process Leicester City Council is expected to experience, should they issue the notice, was given to residents.

Pavement Parking – Dangerous obstructive parking falls under the remit of the Police, with additional enforcement under the remit of Leicestershire County Council. Residents also heard that if you are blocked on your drive the Police will take action, but if you are blocked out of your drive there is no offence committed. Parked car on Norfolk Road junction of Northumberland, half on curb, facing against traffic full of rubbish with flat tyres – believed to be an abandoned vehicle – T74 MYB. MOT expired but vehicle is taxed, this means it is uninsured. PC Breslin was aware of the vehicle and offered to speak with the owner.

Bin Collections – Frustration that residents are asked to leave their bins out neatly for collection but bins are then often left scattered over the highway. A meeting was held with the Council’s bin men last Thursday highlighting that bins should be returned to where they collected from. Cllr. Boulter will raise this matter with the relevant manager at the Council. Comments were also made that bin men are urinating in public. Additional comments were made that when the bins are upended on the wagon some waste falls out on to the highway that the crews are not clearing up.

Rats on William Gunning Park – Rats are in the bushes and hedges bordering the park and impacting residents whose properties back on to the park. One resident highlighted that they have had to purchase their own bait boxes to poison the rats, and has required the removal of their pond and bird feeders. The overgrown bushes and hedges also look very untidy and need the Council to attend to them.

Fairfield School – Complaint regarding the overgrowth of bushes and hedges bordering the school’s playing field, with them now encroaching on to neighbouring properties. Some of this had been cleared previously, to the boundary, with areas denoted as a wildlife area. The school state that works took place to remedy this on Friday last week, with Cllr. Morris having been in receipt of photos supporting this. Residents noted that the clearance works were not extensive enough with not enough of the hedgerow being maintained. Cllr. Morris will raise this again with the school.

Balancing Pond off of Windlass Drive / Public Open Space Opposite Windlass Drive – Residents noted an increase in rats in this area as it remains overgrown. A letter was received by residents from the property developers, Barratts, that was forward to the Council and to Dave Gill but no response has been received to date. The letter details how the developers and the Council appear to be at an impasse blaming each other for the handover of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

None Raised.

Wednesday, 21 February 2024, 7:00pm – South Wigston Methodist Church (TBC)

Wednesday, 21 February 2024, 7pm – South Wigston Methodist Church (TBC)