Agenda and draft minutes

Tim Leaman (Chair of the NP) welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

At the start of the meeting there were two short presentations which were not on the agenda but had been agreed by the Chair.

1a ACORN (the Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now)

Karen van Hoey Smith representing ACORN explained how this organisation, founded by residents of Easton, Bristol is a community based union which is campaigning for the voluntary reform of the private rented sector (PRS) in Bristol.  There are 43,000 private renters in Bristol and 15,000 are now ACORN members.

ACORN promotes a scheme it calls “The Ethical Lettings Charter” Residential letting and managing agents or landlords can sign up to ACORN’s Charter on a voluntary basis.  The campaign has been backed by Bristol City Council demonstrating its support for improving property conditions and management for private tenants in Bristol.  Karen indicated that she also represented ACORN on Bristol Homes Board.

One project currently being delivered by ACORN is ‘Renters Rising’ which is a community organising workshop & skillshare for renters. It is a chance for renters to collaborate and learn together, and to share skills and ideas.

It was noted that the NP could support the cause by spreading the word, or as individuals get involved by volunteering or donations.  Training is provided and activities include organising friends, colleagues, and neighbours to take action together, educating the local community, running a campaign, or building local solidarity activities to change communities for the better.

There would be a peaceful protest taking place on Monday 19^th December from 10.00am at 26 Saltmarsh Drive, Lawrence Weston.  This family including four children were being evicted just before Christmas because they could not afford the rent which had been significantly increased by a private landlord.

Contacting ACORN:-

Local Contact Karen 07708229871

Post: ACORN, CWU Building, 20 Church Rd, Bristol, BS5 9JA

Sign in with Facebook, Twitter or email info@acorncommunities.org.uk

1b Avonmouth & Lawrence Weston NP Achievements – Dec 2016 & Current BCC budget situation

Keith Houghton, NP Co-ordinator gave a presentation of NP Achievements under the following headings:

·       Active Citizenship, Equalities and Community Cohesion

·       Community Buildings and facilities

·       Environment, Parks and Streetscene, Pollution & Quality of Life, Green Capital

·       Families, Younger & Older People

It was noted that a wide range of projects had been delivered using devolved NP budget to improve the local area.

Keith Houghton reported that BCC has a current-year Revenue over-spend of £27million to recover.  Therefore BCC has frozen all expenditure, except essential maintenance/repair and statutory service delivery. This is to identify and remove the overspend from this year’s budget in order to achieve a balanced year end budget.

Under the circumstance, all new Wellbeing spend is frozen which included the recommended allocations in todays agenda, however, wellbeing funding already committed would be honoured.  All NP budget that hasn’t already been committed is also frozen except Section 106, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and any money held by NPs from external sources outside BCC.

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Apologies were received from Andrew Wootton, Rosemary Newman and Theresa Cox.

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 & action sheet

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the minutes of the last meeting.

The Neighbourhood Partnership AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September were a correct record and were signed by the Chair.

Action Sheet

The Neighbourhood Partnership considered the Action sheet.  All outstanding actions had been completed and was noted.

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 Thursday 8th December

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 Tuesday 13^th December.

One item of public forum had been received from Deborah Marsh, member of Oasis Academy Council regarding major concerns over safety of children travelling to and from the Academy by foot, cycling and public transport.  There is no pavement along Penpole Lane and the bus stop is dangerous.  There have been incidents and near misses.

Deborah Marsh took the opportunity to speak to her statement.  She indicated that the Academy had approached the Traffic and Transport team at BCC directly on numerous occasions but had received no reply.

Cllr Jo Sergeant indicated that a question had been submitted on this subject to Full Council from the Head Girl, Oasis Academy Brightstowe.  In his reply the Mayor had committed to engage with the school to talk through the issues, potential measures and possible Safer Routes to School Schemes depending on funding and priorities. 

Following discussion, the NP supported the contents of the statement and AGREED to write to BCC Traffic and Transport team to request a response at their earliest convenience.  The NP also AGREED to refer the issue to the Traffic & Transport Sub-group for consideration for future schemes, once the budget freeze was lifted.  Action Keith Houghton/Chair of NP  

Wellbeing decisions,  Accepting £5,000 Transformers Youth funding; Traffic Scheme updates and decisions about S106 allocations; Terms of Reference for sub-groups

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

Councillor Matt Melias chaired the Neighbourhood Committee during the devolved  decision making process at the appropriate time.

1) Wellbeing Fund

In light of the information received at the start of the meeting regarding the budget freeze no funding requests could be considered.  The NP Co-ordinator confirmed that he would write to individual applicants to explain the current situation.  Action Keith Houghton

The Neighbourhood Partnership RESOLVED to approve the recommendation to accept £5000 Transformers funding from Avon & Somerset Police Community Trust to be used as set out in the report to support projects which benefit young people.

2) Traffic & Transport Activity

Development of 2017/18 Local Traffic Scheme: Kingsweston Lane pedestrian crossings at roundabout.

It was noted that as alluded to at the start of the meeting the budget which comes from Highways to NPs (£17, 147 per annum) as part of the un-ringfenced Neighbourhood Budget was included in its entirety as a potential budget saving in the Corporate Strategy.   If this cut were to go ahead it would therefore make it difficult for the NP to go ahead with the scheme as the S106 funding available would not provide sufficient funding to support the scheme. It consists of:-

Rockingham Lane S106 of £21,286.53, leaving a shortfall of   £40,000 for the full implementation of the above scheme. 

The NP AGREED to refer the scheme to the Traffic & Transport Subgroup for review and recommendation to the NP meeting in March 2017.   Action Keith Houghton/Traffic & Transport subgroup.

Re-allocation of the Valerian Close S106 - £14,856.720

At its March 2016 meeting the NP approved S106 funding for an ‘upgrade of the Valerian Close bus stop (Portway) travelling in an inbound direction’.   The advice of the Sustainable Transport team was that there was a possibility that the limited services stopping at Valerian Close may be reduced or even removed all together.  There had also been some adverse local comments because of the very limited use of this stop.  BCC Transport had therefore suggested that the S106 allocation be transferred to the Woodwell Road bus stop 355 metres from the Valerian Close entrance and used to increase the 3 bay shelter to 4 bay at this busy stop.  It was noted that Oasis  Academy Brightstowe was not in the immediate vicinity of the Valerian Close development so this S106 funding could not be used for traffic improvement outside the school.

NP members were not satisfied with the proposal to upgrade Woodwell Road.  It was felt that this stop was adequately provisioned.

The NP Co-ordinator was asked to explore the option of upgrading the stops on Shirehampton Green – installing real time information, for example. Action Keith Houghton.

During discussion it was noted that there is a time limit on this S106 spend of 27^th January, however the S106 Planning Obligation Manager had advised that this was a low-risk condition.

The NP AGREED that further details of the scheme be brought back to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Decisions on revised NP Plan priorities and Fundraiser allocation; workshop discussions on communication, Transformers fund and fundraiser; decision on responding to SCAF funding request; on Mayor’s Clean Streets Campaign

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

The following key issues were noted during discussion:-

NP Plan and Governance and Equalities/Engagement Event 22 October

- In light of potential budget cuts in the Corporate Strategy 2017-22 the group had considered the delivery priorities from the current NP Plan and reduced officer resources available.

- The group also explored ways of increasing engagement and communication, particularly in the light of the Equalities information we got from the monitoring in April – June quarter of 2016.

The group agreed to refine the delivery priorities of the NP Plan to the areas of activity as outlined in the report which would be likely to produce the most lasting benefit to the four village areas in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston and to focus on leaving a useful legacy in the event of the discontinuation of NPs.

The Neighbourhood Partnership APPROVED the focus on ‘legacy’ impacts and the priorities identified as most significant to deliver them up to July 2017 (revised delivery plan in appendix 2)

NP Fundraiser

The option of using funds from the available £24,813 of currently un-committed NP Neighbourhood Budget to employ a fundraiser was agreed in principle at the June 2016 NP meeting (£10,000).  However, in light of the current BCC budget freeze it was noted that this could no longer be funded from this particular budget.  It was noted, however, that the NP had other non BCC monies available to it and could also still work with other NPs to explore whether a joint piece of work could secure a better service.  With the expertise of a fund raiser an investment of £10,000 had the potential to attract a significant return which was much needed in the current economic climate.

At the same time, there are other, alternative requests and options which the NP could consider to use the £10,000 available from the Wind Turnbines monies, these include:

·       Re- considering the SCAF request for £5000 in the light of their improved prospects

·       Support to elements of the ‘slimmed-down’ delivery priorities in the NP Plan, such as Community Plan developments

The NP AGREED that a working group be set up, consisting of the following volunteers Cllrs Melias, Alexander, Sergeant, John Muse, Renee Slater , Jason Budd, Mark Pepper and Tim Leaman in order to:-

1) bring back a full report setting out options and recommendations to the next meeting in March 2017.

Mayors Clean Streets Campaign

It was noted that the Mayor has made a Pledge that Bristol will be measurably cleaner (less litter, fly tipping, fly posting, graffiti, dog fouling, gum and weeds in the City as well as much more reuse, repair and recycling so that less waste is produced and disposed of in landfill).

In response to the following questions, the NP were invited to put suggestions on ‘post it notes’ and at the end of the meeting put them on the Flip Chart that was located in the room;

·       How  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Decision on NP resident representation on PCRF Board and presentation on issues and ideas arising from PCRF Conversation on 19th November

Robin McDowell, Economy and Enterprise Team Manager and Keith Houghton, NP Co-ordinator provided an update on the PCRF Community Conversation that took place on Saturday 19^th November.

It was noted that there was representation from all four Ward ‘village communities’ and background presentations were given on the three key themes of the fund:

·       Thriving High Streets

·       Jobs and Enterprise

·       Community Facilities/Social impact

This was followed by 3 workshops to explore how the three themes should be delivered and what work they should aim to deliver.  The notes from each workshop and a summary of the key outcomes were presented to the NP (also attached at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the report).

It was noted that a broad range of consensus had been reached and a number of recommendations will be presented to the PCRF Board at its first meeting on Thursday 15^th December.  However, there were also  a number of queries, concerns and challenges from participants to PCRF Board for response and resolution.

Next steps recommended

·       Participants were keen that on-going communication on progress developing the Fund should happen

·       Track the journey – Progress, invite comments using a social media tool and website

·       Generate ideas and sharing between potential applicants – create an Ideas Bank

·       Clarify how many rounds of funding might be available so people know if they can take more time to apply to a future round or not

In addition to the 3 A&LW Cllrs on the PCRF Board, the NP APPROVED the appointment of 4 resident Members of the Board, one for each ‘village’ area of the Ward as follows:-

David Thomas – Shirehampton

Andrew Wootton - Sea Mills / Coombe Dingle

Tim Leaman – Lawrence Weston

Jonathan Morris - Avonmouth        

It was AGREED that substitutes be permitted to represent any of the above as long as they were members of the NP.

NP to decide if it wants to become a member of the Bristol Walking Alliance

Cllr Don Alexander introduced the report of Keith Houghton, NP Co-ordinator.  He explained that the Bristol Walking Alliance is a consortium of organisations and individuals campaigning to improve Bristol’s walking environment to make it welcoming, safe, convenient and inclusive. 

The Bristol Walking Alliance Manifesto was attached to the report and the NP were asked whether it wanted to commit to support it aims and become a member of the Walking Alliance.  Their website can be viewed at http://www.bristolwalkingalliance.org.uk/

It was noted that a number of NPs across the City have already joined and are participating in their work through the following actions:

·       Individual members attending Walking Alliance meetings

·       Publicising events and activities

·       Encouraging activities which support Walking alliance aims within their Neighbourhoods, NP work and funding

The NP AGREED to become a Member of the Bristol Walking Alliance and sign up to their Manifesto.

If NP resident members, Cllrs or members of the public want to take part in activities representing the NP they should contact Keith or Cllr Alexander.  Action all