Agenda and minutes

Delegated decisions:

1.   That Councillor Black be appointed Chair of the Forum for the Municipal Year 2016/17.

2.   That Dr E Finch be appointed Vice Chair of the Forum for the Municipal Year 2016/17.

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.

Delegated decision:

Leigh Webb, Democratic Services Manager, reported that the Advisory Group Membership was currently as follows:

Mr D Stanley - Prestwich Clough Centenary Group

Mr F Adam – Manchester and District Jewish Representative Council

Dr E Finch – Patients Cabinet

Mr P Gresty – Churches Together Prestwich and Kersal

It was explained that the above Advisory Group Members were one year into a two year appointment period.

Minutes of the last meeting, held on 10 March 2016 are attached. A copy of the Action Checklist from the meeting is also attached.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting, held on 10 March 2016, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair

Inspector Lorraine Crossman and Sergeant Steve Wightman-Love   provided an update on policing matters in respect of Prestwich including providing a verbal statistical breakdown of crimes in the area.

During discussion of this item, a request was made for future figures to include a breakdown of the actual number of prosecutions.

In response to a question from Autumn Depoe Hughes, Sergeant Wightman-Love set out details of the actions and planned actions to tackle off road motor cycles.

Paul Gresty placed on record his thanks to the Police for the hard work they carry out keeping residents safe.

David Stanley thanked the Police for their attendance at the recently held Prestwich Clough Day.

It was agreed:

That the update be noted.

Ruth Shedwick, Township Co-ordinator gave a presentation on  the future work of Prestwich 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 Prestwich, 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 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.

·         David Stanley raised concerns about proposed changes to Planning guidance restricting the ability of the Local Authority to impose conditions.

·         Autumn Depoe Hughes expressed concerns about rats and the fact that the Council do not offer a pest control service free of charge.

·         A local resident highlighted the overgrown privets on St Mary’s Road and the precinct.

·         David Stanley raised concerns about the hedges on Sedgley Park Road

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-odinator submitted details of applications from the latest round of funding.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

Any other business which by reason of special circumstances the Chair agrees may be considered as a matter of urgency.

There was no urgent business reported