Minutes:
Defibrillator: A resident raised an incident a few weeks ago in Bell Street, Wigston where a lady collapsed near Sainsburys and was assisted by a lady who works at Menphys. It was thought the lady was in cardiac arrest so the defibrillator near the William Wyggeston pub was fetched. This has raised a conversation around looking at sourcing a defibrillator to be situated on Bell Street. Barriers were noted from the previous attempt at this where Sainsbury’s were ‘difficult’ around having it affixed to their store. The manager at Two Steeples has indicated they are happy to look at having a defibrillator installed on the pub building. There is an expected cost of £1,500 to purchase a defibrillator, with an additional cost for the cabinet to store it plus installation.
Residents present indicated that they are in favour of funding being made available from the Forum’s budget to support this. An additional suggestion was made to relocate the defibrillator at Bushloe House to a new location once the Council moves to Brocks Hill.
Query was raised around where the defibrillator location was noted as Elizabeth Court was potentially a closer location to the William Wyggeston pub. It was suggested that a definitive list of defibrillator locations is collated, and is publicly available. Stickers for shops with ‘nearest defibrillator location’ were also proposed.
Bell Street alley between Boots and Co-Op: The condition of this is disgraceful with litter, graffiti and other detritus in the area. The buildings are privately owned and removal of graffiti requires the owners permission; this has been put to them before and has been unable to be actioned. The alley in question is owned by the owners of the old co-op building. The location will be passed to the Council’s Operatives to see if it can be cleaned.
Paddock Street, Age Concern: Street cleaning is required. Location also to be passed to the Council’s Operatives.
A query was raised around Age Concern in Wigston following the closure of their building in Paddock Street. Age Concern Oadby & Wigston did not offer the building to Age Concern Leicestershire, but instead to the national body who in turn passed it back to Age Concern Leicestershire. Planning permission is currently being sought to convert or demolish the building in favour of elderly person’s accommodation. Demolition is likely due to a large amount of asbestos thought to be in the building.
If Wigston Records Office does relocate to County Hall from its base in Wigston town centre, a building would be available for Age Concern. There is likely to be a capital cost associated to this which means any conversations around the building, and Age Concern, are speculative.
Garden Waste Collections: Restart 27 February, with a £50 charge for the year. The service is suspended for three months during Winter due to a reduction in demand, with the added bonus of reducing the Council’s carbon footprint by not running the garden waste collection lorries during this period.
The Council has a duty to become carbon neutral which in part has influenced the Council’s move to Brocks Hill. This also has to extend to the Council’s housing stock. It is not clear on the Council’s website if properties fall within Week A or Week B, with only their next collection date showing. The Chair will chase this up to ensure clarity for residents.
Nautical William: Query raised around whether the comments for and against the planning application from outside the Borough will be counted when the application is considered. It was confirmed that this is a local decision that will be made by local people. There are a significant number of comments from as far a field as Manchester and London. It is believed some people are unwilling to make comment on the application as it is a legal requirement their names and addresses are published in addition to their comment.