Minutes of October meeting

Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 4th October 2011 at 7.00 pm
in St Mary Magdalene's Church Hall

1. Welcome: Susan welcomed those attending for the first time.

2. Matters arising from the Minutes
Abingdon/Barnard Streets - Potholes and Traffic: A resident reported that these roads are in a terrible state and traffic is racing along them. Doubts were expressed as to whether reinstating the right turn at Ormonde Street would reduce the volume of traffic. Cllr Essl advised there are plans to make this area a 20 mph zone with speed humps in Ewesley Road, Mount Road opposite the school, Colchester Terrace and back lanes in order to stop them being used as a rat-run. Again, residents doubted whether speed humps would work. As HGVs are using these streets to get to Cleveland Road shops, sometimes causing an obstruction, any remedial work to the potholes is soon undone.

As we feel the state of the roads is largely a result of the prohibited right turn at Ormonde Street, we'll write to the Chief Executive asking if Abingdon/Barnard Street can be reinstated to the standard they were before. We'll also write to the retailers requesting they ask the HGV drivers not to use the narrow side streets.

Shackleton House: Linda is still in correspondence with Julie Elliott MP. We're asking who owns the property and what the owner intends to do with it. It is believed that HMRC hold the leasehold until 2014/15 under a contract with Mapeley based in Guernsey. Linda will email Graham March, PA to Julie Elliott.

Newsletter: We've circulated 2000 copies. Anne volunteered to deliver copies to Pallion residents.

Committee/Cabinet Decision-making: A detailed response is awaited to our letter to the Chief Executive expressing our dissatisfaction with the way the planning decision was made regarding the café on St Luke's Terrace. We will also write to complain about the way the Cabinet dealt with the agreement to sell the Council-owned building on St Marks Road. On both occasions we felt the outcomes were 'done deals'.

3. Crime/Anti-Social Behaviour Reports
David Lynn was unable to attend but asked anyone wanting to talk to him to ring him on 561 7886. A Pallion resident reported an incident in her neighbourhood concerning the behaviour of young people, a problem which residents felt had gone away. This was noted by PC Hood.
PC Hood gave his report for the periods 23 Aug-20 Sept 2011 and 17 Aug-14 Sept 2010. Ina offered to show a map of the areas involved on the screen at the next meeting. A resident reported that 3 cars have been scratched in Bexley Street recently; the police were informed.
Although not a police matter, PC Hood advised residents to be careful when opening emails; if an offer looks too good to be true, delete it. Also, if anyone rings saying they're calling from Windows about a computer problem, put the phone down; no-one will ring from them.


4. Parking Management Scheme – Hospital Area
Linda, Morris and Susan attended the last public consultation with officials today. A few residents have been advised to put their complaints in writing, mainly concerning minor issues such as signs and lines. Two people from the hospital are objecting to the scheme.
A resident asked about Brookland Road which has been excluded from the scheme. Susan advised we're talking to officials about this. We would like those streets which actually voted in favour but were excluded from the pilot to be included when the scheme is extended. Cllr Essl added that as we're a democracy, it's up to us to persuade those who voted no last time to change their vote yes.
This month a snapshot survey of residents' and commuter parking will be carried out one day from 5am to 10 pm. The results will be compared with a 2nd survey in the spring which will show where parking has migrated to.
The Royal Hospital has issued memos to staff detailing increased parking charges. Also, staff won't be guaranteed a parking space and will be restricted as to where they can park. We've written to the Hospital and are awaiting a reply.

5. Waste and Recycling Collections
At the last meeting Cllr Watson asked if we could give him our opinions on refuse collections. A questionnaire was circulated for completion in order to provide some feedback at the next meeting.

6. Treasurer's Report
We've paid for the printing of the newsletters and miscellaneous incidentals such as stationery.

7. Blog and Facebook Update
Facebook: concerns were expressed about who was using the site and why. Following a vote, it was agreed to close the site temporarily.

8. Any Other Business
Percival Street - Double Parking: A resident highlighted the problems caused by cars double parked all day in this street.
Volunteers needed to plant bulbs in Millfield: Cllr Dixon has thousands of tulip and crocus bulbs to be planted ready for Spring. He would like as many people as possible to meet at the grassed area facing the Mountain Daisy at 11 am on Thursday, 13th October.
Barnes Park Extension – Friends Group needed: A resident would like to see this improved, but has been advised that a Friends Group is needed to move this forward. Kate agreed to include this item together with resident's contact details on our blog.
Newsletter correction: We apologise unreservedly to Beryl Smith and family for the error in our newsletter. Our late Chairman, Amanda Jane Robinson, died in November 2010 and not September as stated.

9. Date of Next Meeting
Tuesday, 1st November 2011 at 7.00 pm in St Mary Magdalene's Church Hall.

The meeting closed at 8.15 pm.