Agenda item

The Chair went through the draft minutes of the meeting. A Matters Arising support paper which outlined answers to the minute actions was circulated to residents at the meeting.

A resident requested an amendment to the minutes in order for them to be deemed accurate. The Council`s Head of Law & Governance/Monitoring Officer stated no amendments will be accepted if, all those present at the previous meeting are not present at the current one. It was also added, minutes should not be a verbatim record of meetings.

Page 1: paragraph 3 - Bricks reported to have been dumped in a gutter on Kenilworth Road proved to have been placed there by a resident who was using them to reserve a parking space.

Page 1: paragraph 4 – on the matter of the blind spot area between Gloucester Crescent and Sussex Road where bikes coming down at the roundabout, is private land therefore the Council is unable to do anything.

Page 2: Action point 2 - Councillor Boulter was requested to make a request to the County Council to have traffic calming measures introduced to Gloucester Crescent.

The Chair reported this issue to the County Council. He informed residents that this request was not seen as a priority by the County Council.

Page 3: Action point 4 - Residents stated speeding in South Wigston was still an issue.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF 13 SEPTEMBER 2017

Page 3: A new community centre for South Wigston - A sheet outlining activities taking place or planned to take place at the South Wigston Community Centre was circulated at tonight’s meeting.

Page 4: Review of Resident`s Forum Consultation – 3 Questions - The Community Engagement Officer has received no residents’ requests for a blank consultation card.

Page 4: Action point 5 - Christmas Capers Funding Update - The following update on Christmas Capers 2017 was provided by the Town Centre Manager as follows:

South Wigston Christmas Capers funding does not come out of Resident Forum monies. The event was thoroughly successful, with Billy Bates fair on Countesthorpe Road proving popular again and around 40 stalls placed on Blaby Road. The turnout was fantastic with an estimate of between 4,000 to 5,000 in attendance. As well as many stalls selling gifts, food and drink, there were also many charities at the event. The Transformers vehicles returned, which are always popular, as well as a steam engine, the Fire Brigade, Arriva Bus and much more. The lights were successfully switched on by the Mayor of Oadby and Wigston, Cllr Samia Haq outside of the South Wigston Congregational Church.

Page 4: Action point 6 - Council Budget Options 2018/19 and 2019/20 - This action is on tonight`s agenda for discussion.

Page 5: Paragraph 2 - Families Foodies Project - A written monitoring returns questionnaire was not requested by the Forum at the initial granting of the funding.

The following comment was made by a resident with regard to Elliot Hall (South Wigston Community Centre) and funding it received from the Council as follows.

As the representative for Elliot Hall stated at the last Forum meeting that, it could look elsewhere for community centre funding; instead of taking £30,000 of Council funds, would it not be a saving to the Council, for it to not accept the £30,000.

In response to this comment the Chair confirmed that the grant to South Wigston Community Centre, (Elliot Hall) is for a year. He further confirmed there was no intention by the Council to provide funding for four or five years.

The Council’s Head of Law & Governance/Monitoring Officer, explained, the Forum is not a properly constituted meeting of the Council. The Council rules do not cover non constituted organisations. A resident stated the Head of Law & Governance/Monitoring Officer  was setting a precedent by stating the Resident Forum was an informal meeting and suggested he seemed to be restricting the Forum`s ability to keep what was viewed as having a proper record.

On the statement made that Oadby Forum and Wigston Forum receive the majority of money from the Council, the Chair stated this comment was incorrect. The funding split was 40 20 and 20, with South Winston receiving 20.

Comment was expressed that the current state of Crow Mills in South Wigston looked atrocious and the green areas of South Wigston were abandoned by the Council. The Chair clarified that some green areas were owned by private landholders and other bodies and the Council could not always force landholders and other bodies to address this. Some areas were left for nature (bio diversity) conservation.

Action 1: - The Council will follow up on the Crow Mills comment.

Bus Station Issue - The Chair met with the new Arriva Bus Manager, Alistair Tams. He has spoken with both Clare Soper and Mr Timms about the difficulties which have arisen from the changes to the bus services.

Clare Soper suggested a further meeting with her, in early summer. The Chair clarified that Arriva cannot alter any bus route until after October. The County Council was carrying out a County-wide survey on bus usage and Arriva was awaiting the outcome of this. Residents were reminded that Services need to make a profit to exist.

Action 2: The Chair is to contact: Doreen, Caroline and Lynda to invite them to this summer meeting, with Arriva officials.

The Saffron Road Litterbin - The Saffron Road Litterbin will be installed next to the NTL box. A resident stated more bins were required in South Wigston. The Chair clarified that single dog mess bins were no longer installed by the Council. Dog waste can now go into normal litter bins

A resident suggested no more meetings be held at South Wigston Methodist Church Hall due to the acoustics.