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  • Agenda item
  • Agenda item

    Minutes from the Meeting

    Minutes:

    Notes of the meeting of the SANDWICH Neighbourhood Forum held on 9 October 2008 at the Guildhall, Sandwich at 7.00pm

     

    Present:          DDC Cllr Sue Chandler                      Chairman

                            Worth PC Cllr Ian Martin                     Vice-Chairman

                             

    Other Councillors and members of the public.                     

     

    An apology for absence was received from KCC Cllr Leyland Ridings

     

     

    1.         Chairman’s welcome

    Cllr Sue Chandler welcomed those attending.

     

    2.         Notes of previous meeting

                Were approved as a correct record and there were no matters arising.

     

    3.         Street Scene Consultation

                3.1  Christopher Allen, DDC Street Scene Project Manager, gave a

    presentation on the Street Scene in the District which covered:

    ·         objectives for environment, residents and public realm

    ·         partnerships to ensure clean, tidy, well maintained and safe streets

    ·         top 10 and all other priorities for street scene

    ·         top issues for Community Safety Partnership (CSP)

    ·         service delivery: education, prevention, involvement, enforcement

    ·         partnerships between all tiers of local government and CSP

    ·         measuring how the service is doing

    ·         purpose of the consultation being to understand communities’ expectations from street scene service and how they can become involved

     

    3.2  The Forum broke into three discussion groups to identify priorities and

    suggest means of community involvement:

                Priorities:         anti-social use of vehicles

                                        anti-social behaviour

                                        parking on pavements; inconsiderate parking near schools

                                        speeding vehicles

                                        drug paraphernalia – not an issue for all areas

                                        dog fouling, noisy dogs, loose dogs

                                        pollution from bonfires, especially burning plastic/batteries

                                        flyposting

                                        cars for sale on the highway

                                        state of public conveniences; Eastry takes responsibility for

    theirs

                                        noisy motorcycles in fields

                                        overhanging vegetation

     

                Community involvement:

    ensure all residents know who to contact and how; use Councillor surgeries, local press, parish/church newsletters, public noticeboards, websites;

    be prepared to speak to people leaving litter or allowing dogs to foul if safe to do so or report through tenant groups;

    would role of Street Leader/Champion work?

    take vehicle numbers when parked on pavement/footway, pass to police and be prepared to give evidence;

    target money to local levels for services like public conveniences;

    have one central number for roads and pavement issues;

    more enforcement for overhanging vegetation in private gardens;

    involve schools and youth groups.

                                        Burgess Hill, West Sussex as an example of good practice.

     

    Other issues:  DDC could delegate some of its funding to town and parish councils to spend it on local street scene issues.

     

    3.3       Question and answer:

    Consultation to be completed in November with strategy adopted by Council in March 2009 to start in April 2009.

    No extra money or resources available for street scene so redirection of priorities needed in budget setting process which is starting now.

    Consultation not restricted to Forums; individual responses welcomed.

     

    Action:  investigate comments about having to wait 15 minutes to speak to a person on call centre/switchboard

     

    had Graeme obtain the data from the time given to me that shows the longest wait was around 4 minutes on the call centre.

     

     4.        Kent Highway Service

    Mr Dennis Button, Community Delivery Manager Kent Highway Services (KHS), gave a presentation on restructuring of Kent Highways covering:

    ·         scale of business; total assets £4.7bn

    ·         history of service since 2005; mixed messages from 2007 survey

    ·         how service could be improved; vision for KHS; and how it was improving

    ·         long term investment in service; depots, teams and service delivery areas

    ·         how to contact KHS: 0845 247 800 (24 hour service) or www.kent.gov.uk/highway  David Gasking is Community Liaison Officer.

     

    Question and answer:

    KHS is responsible for setting speed limits; all areas with speed limits will be reviewed  with Dover’s review undertaken in 2009/10.  Lower priority will be given to areas with no limits except national restrictions so any particular areas of concern should be taken up with County Councillor.

    Action:  Dennis Button to supply details of review to be forwarded to Forum.

    Annual survey carried out of 50% of roads in Kent by various methods with findings assessed to determine priorities for re-surfacing.

    Action:  Dennis Button to supply details of amount spent on resurfacing in Dover district.

    Highway Agency is totally separate Government body but does liaise.

    Loose chippings left after resurfacing and potholes create serious hazards for motorcyclists; central white lines wear away making roads dangerous.

    Action: individuals and Parish Councillors to contact KHS re. location of hazards for prioritising as P1 (life threatening) or P2 (less urgent) and areas for white-lining programme. Calls from Parish Councillors are tracked.

    Cutting back overhanging vegetation which obscures road signs is duty of landowner but KHS will deal with safety aspects if resources and Health & Safety allows.

     

    5.         DDC/KCC Small Community Capital Project Grants 2008/09

    Chairman reported results of scoring the various applications and recommendations to DDC and KCC for grants:

     

    Organisation                          Project                                                     Amount

    Staple Youth Club                 replace indoor sports equipment        £500

    Ash Parish Council               upgrade recreation ground                 £3,000

    Small Beginnings               lightweight, portable stage lighting      £1,365

    Preston Parish Council      recreation ground facilities                  £700

    Sandwich Town Council    Improvements to Butts Recreation      £ 5,000

                                                    Area                                                   

    Ash Parish Council              planting bulbs around Ash                 £ 2,000

    Full Throttle UK                      motorbike safari                                 £1,333.11

    Total                                                                                                   £13,898.11

     

    KCC Local Schemes Grant 2008/09

     

    As KCC Cllr. Leyland Ridings was unwell the details of the allocation of hisfunding under the above scheme would be advised later.

     

    Members of the Forum agreed that these amounts be recommended to the Leaders of KCC and DDC for approval.

     

    6.         Suggested topics for Future Forums

    The Forum was asked to let the Chairman know of topics for future discussion.

                 

     

    The meeting ended at 9.00pm.