| BETF.67 | No declarations of interest were made in relation to any items considered at the meeting.
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| BETF.68 | The Democratic Services Officer invited nominations for the appointment of Chair and Vice Chair of the Bury East Township Forum.
Councillor Cassidy nominated Mr Tan Ahmed as Chair and this was seconded by Councillor Tariq.
Councillor Walmsley nominated Councillor Cassidy as Deputy and this was seconded by Councillor Holt.
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| BETF.69 | The Chair, Tan Ahmed, invited questions, comments and representations from members of the public present at the meeting. Questions were asked and comments made on the issues detailed below.
Dave Thomas (Township Co-ordinator) undertook to obtain a reply to matters which could not be dealt with at the meeting.
Tan Ahmed asked if the position of Public Question Time on the agenda should be changed from earlier to later.
The response indicated that Public Question Time should be later on the agenda.
Reference was made to the attendance of Council Officers and representatives of the GM Police.
Mrs Bond stated that she had a number of issues she wanted to raise but was unable to because the officer concerned or police representative were not present at the Township Forum meetings.
Councillor Walmsley informed the meeting that if residents had a matter of concern they wanted to raise they could do so quickly by contacting their local councillor. They would then be able to take up the matter directly to the officer or department concerned. Each Township Forum can request the attendance of an officer at meetings to answer questions on a specific area of service. It was not possible to have officers from the Highways Section at every meeting unless there was a particular issue for them to answer questions on. The Police could be requested to attend but may not be able to send a representative to every meeting of the Township Forum.
Mr Ainsworth referred to the need for road markings on Church Street and Bell Lane.
Councillor Holt reported he was aware of the matter and would take it up with the officer concerned.
Mrs Bond referred to an area of land off Gigg Lane where young people were gathering and local people had been asked for ideas for its use. No action had been taken since.
Councillor J Smith informed the meeting that this was a disused garage colony and he would make enquiries and give an update.
Councillor Cassidy referred to the difficulties encountered by local groups interested in bidding for money due to their non constituted status and lack of insurance.
Mr Reed asked if a blanket cover could be arranged for local groups which might be paid for using some of the community funding allocation. Mr Reed stated that he had regular contact with local volunteers and support was needed with the insurance arrangements.
Dave Thomas undertook to speak to the officer responsible for community funding to contact Mr Reed regarding the Community Funding application criteria.
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| BETF.70 | Mr Ainsworth referred to minute number BETF.741 and asked for an update.
Councillor Holt reported that funding had been made available for a piece of modern public sculpture. It was reported that the funding for the sculpture was not from Bury Council. The proposed themes suggested for the art work were not accepted by the local community.
In response to questions raised regarding the attendance of an officer from the Highways Section, the Chair stated that a request would be made for the attendance of an officer. The reason for attendance would need to be relevant to the agenda for the meeting. The Chair also stated that the PACT meetings were run by the police and were useful and responsive for reporting local crime issues.
Councillor Holt referred to minute number BETF.470 and the paragraph which Mr Jimmy Hill had stated the statistics used did not properly reflect levels of deprivation in East Bury. Councillor Holt stated that the Pimhole area of East Bury was an improving area with new people moving in as a result of the housing and regeneration investment.
Mr Reed stated that Palace Street appeared to have been missed out by the investment taking place and as a result had not improved.
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| BETF.71 | The Chair welcomed Clare Tymon who gave a presentation on the Olympic Torch Relay that would take place in Bury on Saturday 23 June 2012. A copy of a leaflet providing details of the relay was circulated. Bury would host 8 miles of the relay route with 26 torch bearers. The relay route would also have community entertainment and activation vehicles would travel ahead of the torch and provide freebies from the sponsors (Lloyds TSB, Samsung and Coca Cola).
The relay would coincide with the International Youth Games which was being hosted by Bury. This had been timed specifically for the young people taking part to be able to experience both events.
Local businesses were involved with the day’s events and local schools had been notified. Volunteers were needed to help steward the proceedings.
The event would be televised and plans were in place to ensure that Bury was seen at its best.
The Chair invited questions.
Mr Reed referred to the Party in the Park which usually happened in August but had been moved to coincide with the Torch Relay. The information received about the torch relay was that it would pass the Party in the Park by bus and not a torch bearer. People involved in the Party in the Park had indicated they feel misled by what they had initially been informed about the relay.
It was reported that Bury Council had no control with the route of the torch in Bury or how it would be carried around the areas involved. A request had been made to organisers to carry the torch along Rochdale Road but this was refused.
Councillor Holt stated that the Olympic Torch Relay was a once in a life time experience for the people of Bury and was something to be embraced.
The Chair referred to the use of volunteers and informed the meeting that he had also volunteered to be part of the relay event. It was reported that volunteers must be over sixteen years old and a briefing would take place in the MET on Tuesday 12 June.
The Chair thanked Clare for her attendance and presentation and encouraged people to be part of this special event taking part in Bury.
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| BETF.72 | Dave Thomas (Township Co-ordinator) informed the meeting about funding which had been allocated to Bury East as part of a scheme lead by Baroness Helen Newlove. The funding of £45,000 per year for two years would be used to tackle anti social behaviour.
10 communities have been chosen that will lead work to tackle binge and underage drinking. Bury share a £1 million fund that will put decision making and resources right in the hands of local people to help reduce the effects of alcohol abuse.
Bury’s successful bid identified a local problem and outlined how innovative community-based approaches would deal with it. Bury has also demonstrated how the project would be sustainable beyond the two years of the programame.
Work had been undertaken to identify priorities as well as the perceived issues related to alcohol related behaviour in Bury Town Centre and hospital admissions.
Work will go ahead to develop a participatory budget model with funding being allocated to projects within the community which demonstrate they could successfully achieve their aims and have positive outcomes.
The Council was looking to the local community to harness its strengths and use networking to develop successful partnerships. The partners involved include the Police, NHS Bury, retailers and alcohol help services.
A film would be made of the people involved to introduce them and show the ambitious programme to reduce alcohol related behaviour. A regular update will be made to the Township Forum.
Councillor Smith reminded the meeting that Baroness Newlove had been widowed following an attack by local youths on her husband who had challenged their behaviour outside their home.
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| BETF.73 | Dave Thomas (Township Co-ordinator) reported on the recommendations from the Review of Township Forums.
The key points that were raised included:
- Officer attendance
- Set agenda items
- Improvements to the Township Forum web pages
- Use of Twitter
- Promotion of meetings locally to maximise attendance
- Encourage young people to be involved
- Use of a performance management framework
The Chair invited questions.
Mrs Bond stated that she had only found out about this meeting when she attended a PACT meeting the week before. Could adverts in the local press be re-introduced.
It was reported that there was no budget available for advertising in the press. Posters would be advertised electronically. Advisory members were a link to the local community who could pass on the details of the Township Forum meetings to the people they represented. Information could also be exchanged at PACT meeting organisers and to PCSOs. Local councillors could also promote the meetings. The restricted budget meant that other ways will need to be found of effectively informing the public about what was happening, where and when. Council staff such as Park Rangers could be involved. A press release was also made to the Bury Times giving details of meetings to take place.
Better use of email was needed to remind those people involved as well as using other publications such as the Third Sector Bulletin.
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| BETF.74 | The Township Forum Core Members were requested to consider an application from Miss Becky Mayo for the position of an Advisory Group Member representing young people in East Bury. A copy of the application was previously circulated to the Core Members.
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| BETF.75 | The Chair reminded the meeting of the recent local Council elections and welcomed newly elected Councillor Stella Smith and Councillor Sheena Haroon to the meeting.
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