Minutes:
School Parking on Meadow Way: See Police update.
Area underneath Wigston Library: Appears to be being used by a number of rough sleepers. This has not been reported to the Council as far as the Chair is aware, and the last survey of rough sleepers did not find any in the Borough. Residents highlighted a number of sleeping bags at this location. M Smith will raise this with the Council’s Housing Team.
Admiral Sportswear Building: The third company to refurbish the building is currently continuing the work to turn it into flats. The previous two companies have gone bust.
Old Working Men’s Club, Long Street: The land is in poor condition and becoming an eye sore. No planning applications have been put forward for this area. South Leicestershire Islamic Society has registered the Old Crown as its charity address and has approached the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness for use of the land as a car park for the Old Crown.
Nail Bars and Turkish Barbers: Are there any restrictions on the number that can operate in the Borough. No, this is driven by market forces.
Spion Kop: The planning application put in for the parapet of the bridge was refused. Works still need to occur on the bridge but there is no current plans around this.
Grass Cutting: Some parcels of land are now privately owned and are not being appropriately managed. The Council can enforce on this is they are not maintained.
Viking Road / Aylestone Lane: There is significant flooding here which was reported to Cllr. McDonald at this meeting, as County Councillor, for LCC Highways to address. The junction of Oadby Road and Bull Head Street was also raised which M Smith will report to LCC Highways. Flooding along Bull Head Street occurs regularly due to a number of springs which empty into this location. Local knowledge around flooding is being overlooked when planning applications for new build houses are being submitted, with experts reporting flooding once in 100 years for some locations which are flooding regularly. The volume of traffic increasing in the Borough due to the number of new build properties was also raised by residents, where it was also noted there are longer term plans to build the new Eastern Distribution Road putting a new motorway junction close to the rear of Countesthorpe and Blaby. This has been ‘on the cards’ for over 60 years.
Light Pollution Issues: Are these handled by the Council as the lights from the tennis courts on Horsewell Lane are illuminating far more than their courts. Cllr. Bentley will look into this.
Bull Head Street Citybound: Proper resurfacing works are required now instead of patching works as the condition has further deteriorated following the cold and wet weather. The surface is now posing a hazard to pedestrians, particularly near to the Police Station and Morrisons.
Pedestrian Controlled Lights: The lights do not appear to be controlled by pedestrians, and appear to be operating on a time delay where there is a significant wait between pressing the button and the lights changing. There are also concerns with the length of time the crossing near to Cedar Avenue are taking so long to change that the ‘request light’ for pedestrians is timing out. Traffic lights at the Welford Road / Newton Lane junction are only letting a handful of cars through at a time. The Chair noted that LCC are able to amend the timing of the lights. M Smith will report this matter through to them.
Meadow Way Development: There are no plans submitted for development here, but it may feature in the Council’s new Local Plan. Expressions of interest for landowners to see their land developed have been requested, and are being assessed, but it is believed the Borough will need to declare an unmet need for housing. The Local Plan will cover development for the next 30 years in the Borough. A resident queried how Local Government Reorganisation will affect the Local Plan when it occurs; it is likely the new authority after reorganisation will draft their own Local Plan.
Little Hill Estate Pavements: Residents noted that the condition of the footpaths on the estate has significantly declined, and require resurfacing. This is the responsibility of LCC Highways and should be reported to them.
Street Lights: A query was raised as to whether the brightness of the lights has been decreased. It is thought that some of the street lights have been dimmed to 30% as a cost saving measure but not all, however this is significantly affecting visibility for drivers and pedestrians. There is an evidenced based process, which requires police support, for street lights to be brightened. Residents asked if some lights near to bus stops can be brightened – this can be looked into. A request was made for the street lights to be assessed by LCC as since the alteration of the lights to LEDs the overall cost will remain the same regardless of brightness. Residents also noted that as some of the ‘next stop’ signs on buses are not working, stops have been missed when the dimmed street lights are making it difficult to see where the bus currently is.
Bus Shelter Refurbishment: The condition of some shelters is very poor, with a resident asking if they are to be refurbished. It was noted that if the money can be found to do so then they will be refurbished. A number of meetings ago some Levelling Up funding was proposed for use on bus shelters, this is likely to still be the case but the full amount of funding required is still being sought. The Horsewell Lane bus shelter is 50% stronger than others in the Borough due to previous vandalism.
Oadby Waste Site: A resident noted that today they were unable to recycle plastic at the tip and were advised to put them into general waste. Milk bottles are not currently being accepted as recycling at the tip, and Cllr. McDonald was asked to look in to this as an LCC Councillor. Oadby & Wigston’s recycling waste goes to CasePak and they do accept plastic milk bottles. The County Council’s waste does not go to CasePak, and their operatives cannot do milk bottles which is why residents are being directed to put them into general waste at Oadby Tip. Hard plastic does go to landfill from the tips.
Oadby and Wigston Civic Orchestra: The last concert for the Orchestra will be taking place on 28 February at Beauchamp College. The conductor will be retiring after 60 years.
County Council’s Council Tax Increase: Cllr. Martin queried on behalf of residents present why Council Tax is increasing when Reform campaigned on a platform of no increases. Cllr. McDonald noted that Council Tax could have increased by 5% but is only increasing by 2.99%.