Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair led the welcome and introductions.

Apologies for absence were received from Kerry Bailes and Lorraine Horgan.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors. They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of

interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

There were no declarations of interest.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Neighbourhood Partnership held on 12 December 2016.

a) to confirm as a correct record

b) matters/actions arising – Action Sheet

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

Matters arising:

Minute 6f - Cllr Eddy confirmed that the neighbourhood highways budget had been released in respect of the Church Road path works.

Minute 9b - Cllr Eddy confirmed that the Business Improvement District had been confirmed for a further 5 years.

To consider any public forum statements submitted.

The deadline for the receipt of statements is:

12 noon on Monday 27 March 2017.

The Partnership received and noted the following public forum statements:

Statement 1: Keith Way – Mayors Fund Park Gates

Statement 2: David Redgewell – Bristol's Public Transport System

a)      Devolved un-ring fenced budget

b)      s106

i)        Local transport proposal

c)      CIL

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Budget Update report presented by Emily Smith.

In discussion the following points were raised:

1. With reference to the implementation of gates on to Dundry Slopes the contractor had already been engaged and therefore the works proceeded.

2. £712.50 CIL money held in respect of Tanorth Road to be transferred across to Stockwood, Hengrove & Whitchurch Park Neighbourhood Partnership following ward boundary changes.

3. Residents commented that it would be useful to note the balance of budget remaining in respect of Wilmott Park work now being completed.

4. Signage for Dundry Slopes was still available as previously agreed.

5. It was noted that Catt bus had been a good investment throughout BS13.  It was agreed that the remaining funds of £13k left in the Transport s106 budget and which had supported the Abus in the past, should allocated to  the Catt bus, as proposed in the papers.

6. CIL monies received in respect of expected new property developments such as at the Bristol Water, could be used to raise money for match funding.

7. It was noted that Councillors would agree a process to allocate CIL monies once a new neighbourhood structure was in place.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

         (i)         To note the spend and allocations made to date

        (ii)        To transfer £712.50 CIL money held in respect of Tanorth Road to Stockwood Neighbourhood Partnership.

       (iii)       HWCP/Catt bus to receive the remaining Transport section s106 spend confirmed from the Pizza Hut development.

The Neighbourhood Partnership to approve the recommendations from the Dundry View Funding panel for the allocation of Transformer Grants Funding.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Transformers Grants report presented by Emily Smith.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

(i)     To approve the recommendations from the Dundry View Funding panel for the allocation of Transformer Grants Funding:

·         £1,415 towards LPW work on the Pod based in Withywood Park and thank Withywood Forum and Park Group who will contribute a further £600 to the work.

·         £1,500 towards Room 13’s new project with the creation of films by the children and young people about the area particularly Dundry Slopes as well as setting up a YouTube channel to stream the films

(ii)   To approve the recommendation from the Dundry View Funding panel not to allocate funding for the Unique Voice funding application for £2,975.

The Neighbourhood Partnership to Note the contents of the report and Agree to use the current Neighbourhood Plan to help agree priorities for the new structure going forward.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Neighbourhood Partnership Updates report presented by Emily Smith.

In discussion the following points were raised:

1. It was confirmed that the existing Neighbourhood Plan could be used to help agree priorities for the new structure going forward. An updated and colour coded neighbourhood plan was available online.

2. Jim Hodgson, HWCP expressed a deep disappointment and concern regarding the announcement received from Bristol City Council regarding the imminent closure of the Customer Service Point at Symes House. The decision was unexpected given the level of protest by local people concerning the cuts and the impact it would have on the local area.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

To note the report.

A verbal report given by Inspector Cheeseman.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Police and Community Safety report presented by Cameron Armstrong.

In discussion the following points were raised:

a.      It was noted that a recent clamp down on drugs offending had produced positive results.  It was important for residents to continue to report activity to police and Crimestoppers.

b.      An increase in motorbikes and quadbikes seizures had been possible due to intelligence from residents.

c.       Concerns were raised over ongoing damage to bus shelters.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

To note the report .

The Neighbourhood Partnership to note the report.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Parks and Green Spaces report by Emily Smith.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

To note the report.

The Neighbourhood Partnership to note the report for information.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Draft Commissioning Plan for future Targeted Youth Services report by Emily Smith.

Councillors urged residents to respond to the consultation as detailed in the report.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

To note the report and actions arising.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Future Neighbourhood Partnership Arrangements report by Emily Smith.

In discussion the following points were raised:

a.      Councillors confirmed that they were keen to see a neighbourhood partnership structure with both wards continuing to work together.

b.      It was important to understand how the new structure would work without funding, staffing and administration, however the changes presented an opportunity for greater operational freedom.

c.       Grant funding had been cut by 50% for HWCP which would affect Jim Hodgson’s role and remove the funding for publication of the ‘Wham’.

d.      It was recognised that there was a strong resident’s voice in the community and there was an opportunity to utilise the wide range of residents’ knowledge, skills and experience.

e.      It was noted that Environmental Sub Group and Highways Sub Group had effectively championed a range of issues across the Dundry View area. Jim had been leading on the Health and Wellbeing sub group which had been a priority in the Neighbourhood plan.

f.        There is a potential for the wards to attract grant funding relating to the level of deprivation in areas of Dundry View. The areas are called Lower Super Output Areas which can attract funding of up to £4k each.

g.      Councillors and Residents expressed disappointment regarding the closure of Symes House and were particularly concerned that residents would have no access to Council services within a reasonable distance.  The distance and cost of travelling was expected to be prohibitive to service users and despite suggestions by Councillors, residents and others, no contingency plan had been put into place

h.      It was anticipated that HWCP would be increasingly relied upon to meet the demand despite reduced funding

i.        It was acknowledged that councillors had requested phonelines, staff, cash machines to be transferred to the library during its opening hours in order to dilute the impact of the cuts, however this had not been agreed.

j.        There was an opportunity to re-establish relationships with other community buildings such as Campus Skate Park, Zion and others to negotiate a voluntary arrangement to use the facilities for future meetings.

k.       Jim Hodgson to arrange a public meeting in June, to discuss next steps. Date to be published in the Wham newsletter.

l.        The Councillors and residents thanked Jim for his work and commitment and thanked the Bristol City Council officers Emily Smith and Louise deCordova and the community for their contribution to the Neighbourhood Partnership to date.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED:

         (i)         That Councillors request an urgent meeting with the Mayor to communicate the strength of feeling across Dundry View to the cuts and closure of Symes House.

        (ii)        To arrange a public meeting in June, to discuss the future of the Neighbourhood Partnership.