Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Jo Sergeant, David Thomas and Mark Pepper.

Rennee Slater (Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

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.

None

·       To agree the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

·       Matters arising and action sheet

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the minutes of the last meeting.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2016 were a correct record and were signed by the Chair.

Action Sheet

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Action Sheet.  All completed actions and updates relating to outstanding actions were noted.

Matters Arising

Minute 6(b.) – Avonmouth & Lawrence Weston NP AGM report

Concerns were raised that Highways had still not provided the information on spend to enable reporting on any unspent sums within this NPs devolved highways budget.  It was noted that this was unacceptable as it was delaying the business of this NP.  It was agreed the Cllr Matt Melias would write on behalf of the NP to the relevant Cabinet Member and Service Director for an update on the position. Action Cllr Matt Melias

Minute 7 (vi) – NP Business Activities Report, Option of working with other NPs to employ a Fundraiser to support priorities in the NP Plan.  KH updated that not all NPs in the North of Bristol were interested in taking this forward, however there was potential interest from Henbury, Southmead and Brentry.

It was felt that this would be an excellent opportunity for the NP to be able to part fund the expertise needed to bring in additional external funding.   It was acknowledged that NPs had different priorities but the concept could still work.  It was agreed that it would be discussed further at the NP Plan and Governance event to be held on Saturday 22 October.  Action Keith Houghton

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on Tuesday 20 September 2016

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on Friday 23 September 2016

Two items of public forum had been received relating to public transport service reduction in Bristol/Bath City region.

1.  South West Transport Network.   No representation was made at the NP by SWTN, the contents were noted and supported.

2. Cllr Jo Sergeant - Bus services in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston.  In the absence of Cllr Sergeant, Cllr Alexander spoke to the statement which urged the Council to conduct further research into the effects of the cuts on the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston Ward.  The contents of the statement were endorsed by the NP.

Welcoming new NP resident Members; electing the NP Chair & Vice Chair; adopting Resident Member selection process

a) Approval of new NP Resident Members

The NP APPROVED the following NP Resident Members who had been elected and selected through the agreed new selection process:

            Residents:                   Village Area                Notes

            Gil Osman                   Shirehampton           

Renee Slater               Shirehampton           

David Thomas            Shirehampton           

Christine Chard          Avonmouth   

Jonathan Morris         Avonmouth   

Avonmouth                Place vacant               Laurence Duncan has withdrawn

                                                                                    due to health issues

Ann Hawker                Lawrence Weston     

John Muse                  Lawrence Weston     

Tim Leaman                Lawrence Weston

Andrew Wootton       Sea Mills/Coombe Dingle     

Rosemary Newman    Sea Mills/Coombe Dingle     

            SM /CD                        Place vacant

 b)  Election of NP Chair and Vice Chair      

Expressions of interest for the role of Chair had been received from Renee Slater and Tim Leaman.  Each was given the opportunity to tell the NP why they were suitable for this post.  It was agreed that the person that came runner up in the election would be the Vice Chair.

Each member of the NP was given a voting slip and voted anonymously.

The votes were collected in and counted by the Democratic Services Officer.  The results were as follows:-

Rennee Slater 2

Tim Leaman 6

Abstentions 2

The NP CONFIRMED the appointment of Tim Leaman as Chair of the NP and Renee Slater as the Vice Chair for 2016/17.

c) Election/Selection of Resident Members process for A&L NP

The NP AGREED the Election /Selection process outlined in Appendix 1 to the report

Wellbeing decisions; Traffic Scheme recommendation for 2017/18 and S106 allocation; Terms of Reference for NP sub-groups

Tim Leaman chaired the meeting from this point onwards and Cllr Matt Melias chaired the Neighbourhood Committee decision making process.

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the report of Keith Houghton, NP Co-ordinator.

(1) Wellbeing Fund

The assessment of applications had taken place on Tuesday 30 August and recommendations made for approval by the Neighbourhood Committee were set out in the report.

The Neighbourhood Committee RESOLVED to approve Wellbeing funding as follows, leaving an unspent balance of £9548 

* Approved in principle subject to further meeting with UWE to talk about how it will work.

Renee Slater indicated that she would be interested in attending this meeting and it was agreed that the date once set would be sent to all.  Action Keith Houghton

The NP AGREED to note Wellbeing Fund Balance available £12,822

(2) Traffic & Transport Sub-group

It was noted that the Highways Engineer, Nigel Lapworth was taking voluntary severance so would be leaving the councils employment very shortly.

The NP asked to put on record their thanks to Nigel for his significant contribution to the work of A&LW NP and wished him well for the future.

The noted a concern from SCAF worker in the audience that his departure should not delay delivery of agreed Highways scheme in Shirehampton or other NP schemes. It was AGREED to follow up with Highways on their plan to deliver A&LW NP’s  schemes.  Action Keith Houghton

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the recommendations of the subgroup and following discussion,AGREED :

i) to note the progress on delivery of the existing Shirehampton Village Local Traffic Scheme and that Highways are now in a position to proceed with the Shirehampton Road/Kingsweston Road/Westbury Lane Junction Improvements (and will therefore use both allocations of £12,500 from the NP to deliver that scheme)

ii) the selection criteria developed by the Sub-Group to assess the Traffic Choices long list of potential/requested Highways/Traffic works and against which to develop recommendations to the NP.

iii) the Terms of Reference for the Traffic and Transport Sub group (appendix 1 of the report)

During discussion that ensued around electing a Chair for the Traffic & Transport Sub Group, new resident members of the NP commented that they needed further information about the number of Sub groups and the frequency they met per year so that they could make an informed decision prior to committing themselves.  It was agreed that information on the Sub groups would be circulated to new NP members. 

Action Keith Houghton  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Report back on progress in delivering the SCAF Green Capital Project the NP funded for delivery in 2015

Ash Bearman, Shirehampton Community Action Forum, Community Development Worker reported back on delivery of the SCAF Green Capital Project the NP had funded in 2015.

The funding of £2950 had delivered an extensive programme of 10 free, fun and educational walks and activities on Lamplighters Marsh and the Daisy Field Shirehampton throughout 2015, to approximately 100 people.

The project had been very successful and SCAF hoped to repeat the programme in Spring/Summer 2017.  It was noted that further NP funding could be available if an application was made to the Wellbeing  Budget.

For the benefit of new Members it was explained that one-off additional funding had been made available to NPs in 2015, as a result of the additional funding received by BCC for their award of European Green Capital City 2015.

The NP congratulated SCAF on the success of the project.

It was noted that the NP event on 22 October would also look at the results of the Equalities review and give some thought as to how NP funding could be monitored for Equality and Diversity and also encourage applications from minority groups.  

Equalities Review Information; NP Plan progress updates; actions from Mayoral visit and upcoming flood defence initiatives

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the NP Plan update report from Keith Houghton, Neighbourhood Partnership Co-ordinator.  

The report provided an update on the following issues:

·       Equalities Review 2016

·       NP Plan activities update

- Environment, 4.6 New Bottom Ash Recycling Facility Environment.   It was noted that new member Jonathan Morris is the Chair of Avonmouth Planning Group so will be a useful link for information 

·       Neighbourhood Forums in July 2016

·       Citywide Wellbeing Review; Citywide NP event

·       Mayoral Visit on 13 June

·       Flood Defence and Emergency Planning in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston

·       Communities Prepared – programme of community information and training to help communities respond effectively to protect their vulnerable community members

·       Avonmouth Severnside Ecology and Flood Mitigation Project

The NP AGREED to:-

i) Note the Equalities Review information to be considered in planning the 22nd October NP Plan Review event

ii) Note the updates to the NP Plan priorities, in particular the building developments being planned by Shire Hall and Avonmouth Community Centre and the community impacts in Avonmouth from the Bottom Ash Recycling Facility.  The NP agreed to invite Shire hall and Avonmouth Community Centre to share their plans and how the NP might support them at the next NP.  Action: Keith Houghton.

iii) Note the feedback on July Neighbourhood Forums and SCAF meetings and to agree to consider future delivery of Forum work on 22nd October

iv) Note the updates on the City Wide NP Event and the Mayoral visit record

v) Note the work coming forward around Emergency Planning and Flood Defence to benefit our NP area in the coming period

Fund delivery schedule; NP participation in fund governance; community event and additional external funding

Robin McDowell, BCC Economy and Enterprise Manager updated the Partnership on the outline delivery framework (Appendix 1 of the report) for the £1M Port Communities Resilence Fund and future NP involvement.  The framework had recently been referred by the Council’s Capital Board to the Strategic Director Place for final approval.

The following key issues were noted:

·       The delivery framework summarises the broad objectives, thematic priorities and fund allocations, governance arrangements for the overall fund strategy, and for the consultation and decision-making on commissioned projects and/or grant making under each of the three main priorities:-

- Jobs and Enterprise

- Thriving High Streets

- Social Impact/Community Facilities

·       Key Issues and opportunities for NP engagement

- Community event /Conference on 19 November.  NP is invited to nominate 1-2 representatives to get involved in the planning group to help design and deliver an effective event. Gil Osman and Andrew Woolton put themselves forward which was supported by the NP

- Support provided by 10% allocation for fund management / administration.  To provide information and technical advice to local CVS Organisations and businesses.  As well as providing Fund application admin and monitoring support

- Progress to lever additional funding.  No specific news at this time but waiting to hear about applications made for European and Big Lottery/Coastal Communities Fund Round 4 relating to the Jobs and Enterprise priority

- Overall Timescale for Launch and delivery of the Fund. It is anticipated that the Fund will be able to launch and open for applications from March 2017.

- Role for NP in Governance.  A Strategy Board is to be set up to oversee the overall operation and performance of the Fund and ensure the delivery of the strategic aims as set out in the Mayor’s remit.   It is proposed the board will comprise the Council’s Service Directors for Economy, Neighbourhoods and Communities and Employment, Learning and Skills, plus Ward Councillor, NP and Business representatives.

It was felt by the NP that each of the 4 villages (Shirehampton, Lawrence Weston, Sea Mills/Dingle and Avonmouth) should be represented on the Board.  It was agreed that this would be fed back to BCC. Action RMc.  It was suggested that if he was interested, David Thomas should be considered for the representative for Shirehampton.  If anyone else is interested they should contact Keith Houghton or Robin McDowall. Action all   

The update was noted

Information about the Bristol Ageing Better programme to benefit older people living in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston NP area

Keith Houghton gave a presentation on the Bristol Ageing Better programme to benefit older people living in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston NP area.

The presentation was very well received and it was requested that it be circulated electronically to all NP members. Action Keith Houghton

The NP were disappointed that representatives from BAB had not attended but recognised that they don’t have capacity to attend all the NPs across the City.

The presentation was noted

At the end of the meeting the Chair, on behalf of the NP thanked Renee Slater for being the Chair for 2015/16 and her significant contribution to the work of this NP.

Chair