Agenda and minutes

Nominations for the Chair and Vice-chair of the Forum are invited at this meeting.

Any person nominated needs to be present and seconded in order for the nomination to stand.

If there is more than one nomination then the matter will be determined by vote.

If the position of Chair is taken by an Advisory Group Member, the position of vice-chair must be taken by a core member.  A core member may take the position of Chair or vice chair.

Nominations were sought for the positions of Chair and Vice Chair of Bury East’s Township Forum for the 2016/2017 Municipal Year.

It was agreed:

That Jimmy Hill, Advisory Group Member representing Pimhole’s Residents Association be appointed Chair of Bury East Township Forum for the 2016/2017 Municipal Year and Councillor Holt be appointed Vice Chair of Bury East Township Forum for the 2016/2017 Municipal Year. 

The Chair began by welcoming everyone to the meeting.  Apologies were addressed above

Members of Bury East Township Forum are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters on the Agenda and, if so to formally declare that interest.

        There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes of the last meeting held on the 14^th March 2016 are attached.

          It was agreed:

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 14^th March 2016 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

                The Chair asked if there was an update in respect of the Street signs in the Pimhole area, Councillor Holt stated that as he understood it the new signage is expected to be installed in the Summer.  Councillor Holt said he will chase an installation date with representatives from the Highways department.

                Councillor Tamoor Tariq, requested that the Leader of the Council be invited to the next meeting of the Township Forum to present on the plans for Devolution in Manchester.

                   It was agreed:

                   Councillor Rishi Shori, Leader of the Council would be invited to attend a future meeting of the Bury East Township Forum to discuss the plans for Devolution in Manchester.

The Principal Democratic Services Officer reported that the Advisory Group Membership was currently as follows:

Tan Ahmed – ADAB: Tim Boaden – Seedfield TRA: Harry Reed – Bury East Sports Association: Gemma Philburn – Streetwise 2000: Lesley Wildeman – Topping Fold TRA: Jimmy Hill – Pimhole Resident’s Association: Malika Street – Young Persons’ Representative.

There are currently two vacancies for advisory group representatives.

Inspector Vicky Shaw informed the meeting that she had taken over responsibility for policing in the Moorside and Redvales wards.  A number of events are planned in the forthcoming months including; the Safer Summer campaign and the walking rainbow.    Inspector Shaw reported that she looked forward to working with the residents of Bury East.

                Dave Thomas, Township Co-ordinator gave a presentation on  the future work of Bury East Township Forum in terms of determining the key priorities for the Forum for 2016/2017.  The presentation put into context the work done by the Forum over the past 12 months in relation to the key priorities set by the Forum in collaboration with residents who had contributed to the round table discussions in 2015 and the progress made in meeting the key priorities.

The presentation was followed by round table discussions with the aim of identifying what is good about Bury East, as well as highlighting residents concerns, in order to put these forward as priority areas.

The priorities suggested would be considered and three would be chosen for inclusion in the new town plan and this would be fed back to the September meeting of the Township Forum.

        It was agreed:

That the suggestions and ideas raised be collated and reported to the next meeting of this Forum.

A verbal presentation will be giving at the meeting by Dave Thomas, Township Co-ordinator followed by round table discussions.

                   Dave Thomas, Township Co-ordinator gave a presentation on  the future work of Bury East Township Forum in terms of determining the key priorities for the Forum for 2016/2017.  The presentation put into context the work done by the Forum over the past 12 months in relation to the key priorities set by the Forum in collaboration with residents who had contributed to the round table discussions in 2015 and the progress made in meeting the key priorities.

The presentation was followed by round table discussions with the aim of identifying what is good about Bury East, as well as highlighting residents concerns, in order to put these forward as priority areas.

The priorities suggested would be considered and three would be chosen for inclusion in the new town plan and this would be fed back to the September meeting of the Township Forum.

        It was agreed:

That the suggestions and ideas raised be collated and reported to the next meeting of this Forum

Members of the public present are invited to ask questions or raise issues of concern relating to the provision of local services.

          The Chair, Jimmy Hill, 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.

                The Township Forum Co-ordinator undertook to obtain a reply to matters which could not be dealt with at the meeting.

·           Members of the Township Forum discussed issues in respect of housing, including the shortage of affordable housing in the Borough, to buy and to rent; prioritising development on brown field sites; issues with empty properties falling into disrepair.  Sandra Walmsley Cabinet Member Strategic Housing and Support Services reported that a Spatial framework is currently being developed as well as an Empty Property Strategy.  Difficult decisions will need to be made in respect of where the Council allows future development within the Borough.

·         A local resident highlighted the problems with blocked grids on Nuttall/Heywood Street.

·         A local resident raised concerns about overgrown trees on Heywood Street

        It was agreed:

        That the Bury’s Spatial Framework will be considered at a future meeting of the Bury East Township Forum.

There was no urgent business reported.

The Council has allocated £8,000 to each Township Forum to be allocated through a sub group of the Township forum four times a year in June, September, November and March. A maximum of £250 individual grant is available for formally constituted organisations.

Additionally, a borough-wide allocation of £8,000 is available for “cross-ward” applications for activity that takes place across more than one ward. The “cross-ward” applications are determined by the Council’s Small Grants Panel.

The Township Co-ordinator submitted details of applications from the latest round of funding.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.