Agenda and minutes

Delegated decisions:

1.     That Councillor Heneghan be appointed Chair of the Forum for the Municipal Year 2014/15.

2.     That Mr David Stanley be appointed Vice Chair of the Forum for the Municipal Year 2014/15.

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

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

Minutes of the last meeting, held on 12 March 2014 are attached. A copy of the Action Checklist is also attached.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting, held on 12 March 2014, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Inspector Lorraine Crossman provided an update on policing matters in respect of Prestwich and referred to operations underway to reduce anti social behaviour during the school holidays and during Jewish Holy days.

During discussion of this item, Councillor Simpson informed the Forum that the Sedgley Park PACT meetings had been re-instated, with the next meeting due to be held on 14^th August at Prestwich Library.

In response to a request from Councillor Quinn relating to a spate of burglaries earlier in the year, close to Bowker Vale Metro station, Inspector Crossman undertook to find out and report back.

In response to a question from Frank Adam, Inspector Crossman confirmed that a mobile Police station will be sited outside Parkside shops during the upcoming Jewish holy days.

A period of up to 30 minutes has been set aside for members of the public to ask questions or raise issues of concern relating to the provision of local services.

The Chair 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.

·      A number of local residents expressed concerns in relation to the proposed move to 3 weekly grey bin collections. The concerns raised related to potential problems for large families; fly tipping; and public health concerns. Councillors on the Forum acknowledged the concerns of residents but explained the rationale behind the need to increase rates of recycling in the Borough. The Council are currently charged £282 per tonne for waste sent to landfill. Due to large reductions in the Council’s controllable budget it was reported that all services were being examined. It was explained that help and support would be available for large families who are struggling to manage. With regard to the issue of vermin it was explained that food waste would be collected fortnightly via the brown bin.

·      With regard to the issue of supermarket packaging, Councillor O’Brien highlighted the need to lobby for a reduction via regional offices and referred to the limited packaging used by organisations such as the Village Co-operative.

·      Brian Muir of the Creative Living Centre made a request for potential alternative sites for the Charity as the current site would be cleared in 2016. Councillor Black expressed her willingness to assist in finding a site and the Township Co-ordinator undertook to publicise the request.

·      Richard Hamburg raised concerns in relation to the Parklife Festival and highlighted problems he had encountered including the closure of Sheepfoot Lane. The Chair, Councillor Heneghan, reported that a full de-brief process was currently underway with the event organisers, the Police and Manchester City Council.

·      Robert Atkins expressed concern about the ability of Butterstile Lane to cope with the high volume of bus traffic and referred to the level of vibrations suffered by adjacent properties. It was reported that the area was within part of an area being considered as a 20mph zone. Councillor Black undertook to provide a link to the ongoing consultation. The Chair, Councillor Heneghan, undertook to raise the issues highlighted by Mr Atkins with the Principal Highways Engineer.

The Township Co-ordinator will give a presentation at the meeting.

Round table discussions will take place on the 6 themes within the Plan

Ruth Shedwick, Township Co-ordinator gave a presentation which outlined a number of positive outcomes in Prestwich for each of the themes contained within the Township Plan for 2013-14. 

There are currently 6 key thematic priorities contained within the Prestwich Township Action Plan for 2013/14:

·      Improved Employment Opportunities

·      Community Safety

·      Improved Health and Wellbeing

·      Improved Educational Attainment/Learning Opportunities

·      Town Centre Regeneration

·      Community Pride and Involvement

Following the presentation, all those in attendance at the meeting were invited to take part in round-table discussions on each of the key priorities contained within the Plan.  It was reported that all of the ideas raised at the meeting would be collated, written into the draft Plan and presented at the next scheduled meeting of the Forum. 

It was agreed:

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

A copy of the Community Funding report for Prestwich was submitted, setting out details of funding allocations to date in support of the work of local voluntary and community groups.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.