Agenda item

Agenda item

Items Raised by Residents and Suggestions for Future Items

Minutes:

Little Hill Resident Association – Grass and Leaf Blower

 

Finance is progressing the purchase of the Grass /Leaf Blower.

 

Welford Road Girl Guides- Replacement Shed

 

Finance was progressing the purchase of the replacement shed.

 

Dog Mess

 

Councillor Michael Charlesworth expressed the view that; dog mess was a key issue in the; Harcourt, Stanhope Road and Blaby Road areas. Two requests had been made for bins. One bin in the alley off Stanhope Road and the other off Meadow Way. The Forum was requested to consider this. Normal bins would be purchased for collection of the dog mess.

 

The Services Committee will be discussing dog fouling on; Tuesday 21st March 2017.

 

Action:

 

M Smith is to investigate.

 

Peace Park  Replacement Cooker

 

A request of £400 was requested for the replacement of a community cooker by the Trustee of Peace Memorial Park. It would be an updated facility for groups using the community facility. This proposal was agreed.

 

Pride of the Borough Project Supported by Wigston Civic Society.

 

Seat trough and information board to improve Pinfold

 

A proposal was brought for placing a seat trough and information board to improve Pinfold. This was an area where stray animals used to be collected. The Civic Society would like to help the Pride of the Borough with planting the trough. The cost requested was £200.00.

 

A proposal was made for one of the cow troughs at Brocks Hill to be placed at the Pinfold.

 

It was agreed to check with the County Council if it would be allowed to establish the trough on the pavement.

 

Action:

 

It was agreed that a check would be made with County Council to see if this proposal was viable. If the use of an old trough was not viable then the Forum would look to purchase a new one.

 

Civic Orchestra spend in 2016

 

A check is to be made with Finance to see if the Civic Orchestra had spent a previous award of £500.Report the findings to the meeting of the next Forum meeting.

 

Future Items for Discussion

 

Chewing gum on the pavements/walkways of Wigston.

 

A Resident noted that chewing gum was seen on the floor between Sainsbury and Bell Street This included the area where the bin was.

A Chewing Gum Action Group has been formed nationally to address this issue.

 

Action:

 

The Chair agreed to contact Wrigley which has funds to address this issue.

 

Clearance of Autumn leaves from trees.

 

A Resident thanked the Resident`s Forum for the removal of leaves which littered an area by Spa Lane.

 

Sums which had to be made to Cover a Grievance at the Borough Council.

 

The Chair addressed a question raised by a Resident concerning how much it cost the Council to address a grievance. This was in light of the Council having had to make a £700,000 saving of Government cuts.

 

The Chair stated as follows:

The Local Authority placed money in a budget which covered all, grievances, disciplinaries and investigations.

 

All funds came out of earmarked reserves.

 

Finance

 

There was a 2% or £5.00 raise in Band D Council Tax., as from 2020 the Government will be withdrawing all grants from the Council.

 

Since 1991 The Council’s budget has been balanced. This was done through back office savings. Between now and the end of the decade the Council will need to save another £700,000.It was noted that further staff reductions could lead to inefficiency.

 

The Change Management Committee has addressed what recommendations it will make to full Council to make savings over the next three years. The Chair was open to providing future a presentation on this once the grievances have all been concluded. There was a statement available from t the Council`s Solicitor covering this.

 

None of the Councillors have been involved in the negotiations regarding the grievances. This dated back to 2015 and was a dispute between middle management and Senior Management and was work related. The LGA (Local Government Association) was approached by the Local Authority to advise on this matter.

 

An investigation was ongoing and lawyers involved. None of the grievances were deemed to be substantial. This led to disciplinary issues and Councillors have not been told a great deal. Councillors do not get involved in operational issues.

The impact of the Council `s frontline services delivered to Residents have not changed. This impact was down to the diligence of staff who should be thanked for this.

 

Councillor H, Loydall, proffered a big thank you to staff for their diligence in carrying out their duties.

Recent upset was caused by various media comments about the Council. Attacks were made on this Council and sought it to undermine staff working.

A redacted report was circulated on the internet for all to access.

Some Residents expressed their thanks to Councillors for their response to this issue The Chair gave the example of how staff worked as late as 8pm due to the impact of Storm Doris in; the Meadows and Brocks Hill to address severe tree damage.

 

Changes to Bus Services in Wigston.

 

A Resident asked if there were to be changes to Bus 49a. Bus 49a will no longer be running. It will be replaced by buses 44 and 44a. It was expressed that this may cause great difficulty to those who may have to catch two buses. To get to a GP (General Practitioner).This change will begin April 23rd 2017.This was due to market forces.

 

The Outer Circle bus service, which leads to the Hospital, was not to be cut.

 

Pelican Crossing Light Change

 

Councillor Charlesworth will investigate why the Pelican light at Bull Head Street changed and the signal with the hearing function was not operating. One further up was also without an audible signal.

 

Bell Street Bins

 

Bell Street bins were stuffed with square boxes in a round opening. It was added that the Council would be changing to square bins over time.

 

Dog Ends on Bins

 

A Resident stated that dog ends on the top of bins looked disgusting.

 

Bus Shelter

 

The Chair stated bus shelters were in the process of being painted.

 

Litter bin request completed

 

A litter bin requested was installed.

 

Closure of the Bus Garage on Station Street.

 

The bus garage will not be closing. Asbestos was removed lately.

 

Premier Drum Building.

 

A planning application was submitted to purchase the old Premier Drum building. This building will be turned into a Lidl shopping outlet if approved.

 

Paddock Street

 

The tatty bus shelter may not be removed before there is surety there was enough space under the new bus shelter. This shelter was used by the coach service for holiday pick- ups. Removal was therefore pending but it would not be painted.

 

Newton Lane

 

There were potholes in Newton Lane It was expressed that it took ninety days to mend a pothole. This depended on its width and depth. This hole was reported. Action would be taken after a County Council risk assessment.

 

Drain clearing and roots in drains.

 

The drain by Macdonald`s was either a Severn Trent or County Council issue. The main drain belonged to Seven Trent Water Authority. There will be a report coming on this on June 1st 2017.

 

Barrier at Moat Street.

 

The barrier at Moat Street was out. It will not be replaced earlier than ninety days. This was raised as a safety issue.

 

Military Parade in the Borough.

 

There was a meeting planned for March 22nd 2017 of the Armed Forces Working Group. There was to be an event in each Town Centre. Oadby and Wigston have had theirs. There should be a military march on August 6th 2017. There will be a big event in South Wigston to mark the end of the First World War.

The Council marks Remembrance Sunday and the service in Peace Park. Peace Park has organised a service for November 11th 2017.

 

Wigston Civic Society Heritage Walk.

 

The Heritage walk has been organised to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Civic Society and the six conservation areas.

 

On April 30th 2017 a planned walk was to take place around parts of the conservation areas. The walk has been organised to end at the Framework Knitting Museum. An entry fee of £4.00 has been agreed. For more information Residents were advised to go to Age Concern `s website at

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/oadbyandwigston/contact-us/

or ring: 0116 2885203