Minutes of the February Meeting

Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 7th February at 7.00 pm
in St Mary Magdalene's Church Hall


1. Welcome and Apologies:
Susan welcomed residents from Brookland Road, David Lynn, Sunderland City Council's Anti-Social Behaviour Officer, and PC Kevin Hood.

2. Matters arising from the Minutes:
City-Link Bus (700) Cllr Kay advised Cllr Scanlon is currently awaiting a reply to her enquiries about routing a bus through the hospital grounds.

3. Crime/Anti-Social Behaviour Reports
PC Hood gave his report for the period 13 December 2011 to 10 January 2012 and for the equivalent period 2010/11. Since the renovation of Pocket Park crime figures have dropped for this area, but Cllr Dixon wondered if incidents weren't being reported as he's seen low-level vandalism and damage. David Lynn reported that he has only 7 cases of anti-social behaviour for this area at present, and reminded residents they can report incidents to him anonymously on 0300 1000 101, or to the police on 101. The Council will deal with problems of noise, litter, dog fouling, as well as anti-social behaviour. All reports with be dealt with in strict confidence.

4. Parking Management Scheme – Hospital Area:
Brookland Road: The residents of Brookland Road raised their concerns:
•Rather than congratulating themselves, all the Residents Association has done is to move the parking problem to another street. This is the only street not in the residents' parking zone and consequently everyone is using it.

Susan acknowledged this sentiment and confirmed the problem has migrated to other streets including her own which had voted for the scheme but excluded as it wasn't practical at the time. There wasn't a majority vote in favour of the scheme in Brookland Road so it too was excluded. Residents will be asked to vote again and this time it will go through much quicker. The Council are looking to roll out the scheme as far as possible and as soon as possible, hopefully this calendar year.

Linda recalled the problems she and others experienced for many years living in a 'glorified car park' when others weren't so badly affected. They're not patting themselves on the back, but have started something which is working and will spread out.
•Brookland Road residents have carried out a survey and found there are a number of rented properties and students in the street who aren't interested in a parking scheme.
Susan replied that this was one of the issues discussed at the Working Group meeting the day before when Phase 2 of the Parking Management Scheme was considered. As this is a pilot scheme and objections would have stopped it being introduced, it had been decided to count all abstentions as 'no' votes. However, there are a number of streets with a lot of rented properties and the Council are going to look at this again and may count abstentions as 'yes' votes. A map indicating where the scheme could be extended to was shown.
•There are streets off Chester Road opposite the hospital which are excluded from the scheme.
Susan explained that the majority of residents weren't in favour of the scheme.
•Expensive cars are being parked in Brookland Road. It was considered the owners should be able to afford to park in the hospital grounds.
•The Council must have made a fortune in parking tickets.
Susan replied this was also discussed at the Working Group meeting. Fines are generating an income at the moment but are expected to trail off as the scheme expands and more people use public transport to reach the hospital. Also drivers will be accustomed to the parking scheme.
•When will the next ballot be carried out?
Susan advised it would probably be July at the latest. Traffic Regulations are already in place so it shouldn't take so long this time. The Council have parking problems all over the city and want to introduce the scheme elsewhere. Kate added that although the scheme isn't perfect, this was our last chance to put something in place, and it can be extended.
•Residents without cars may not have voted for the scheme.
Susan acknowledged this could be the case. We can only point out the benefits of the scheme.
•Drivers are parking on grass verges, spreading mud onto the pavements.
Cllr Dixon has proposed raising the kerbs. This is being looked at.
•For the past 4-5 years the Council has refused to tarmac/block-pave the grass verges in Brookland Road as it isn't cost effective. Residents would prefer this to the mud created by cars parking on the verges but would need to keep the trees.
Susan offered to take this up with the Chief Executive if the residents can get signatures to a petition.

Other comments:
•A Westwood Street family with 2 cars but only 1 off-road parking space has received a parking ticket. Not eligible to park on Henderson Road, they were advised to park in Brookland Road or the back lane (thereby causing an obstruction).
Susan replied that the Council have recognised the problem and such streets will be included in the next ballot, along with Ewesley Road and ABC streets.
• It is wrong that hospital expect staff to pay to park in their car park.
It was pointed out that the hospital charges staff to park but doesn't provide enough spaces for them. On the other hand, some park in the side streets even though there are places available in the car park.
•It is wrong there should be a charge for visitors' permits when we already pay Council taxes; the hospital should pay.
If residents don't pay, it will come from the Council taxes. The scheme has to be self-financing and costs kept to a minimum.
• Is it an offence to park on the kerb?
PC Hood advised it's an offence to cause an obstruction, eg if a double-buggy couldn't get past, or is blocking an access. Police will respond to reports, but pulling on to a drive to allow cars to pass isn't an obstruction. David Lynn added that if obstructions aren't reported, then there's no data supporting future issues. Susan circulated a notice she puts on windscreens of offending cars and PC Hood made a note of a persistent offender mentioned by several residents.
5. Treasurers Report
Elizabeth reported that the Association is still running on a shoe-string and has money in the bank.

6. Blog Update
Kate is looking for more feedback and photos about the parking scheme. Cllr Dixon has given her details of the Community Shop in Pallion and they'll appear on the Blog soon. Any other items of interest will be welcome.

7. Any Other Business
Helping Hand Service – The Community Shop, 5 St Lukes Terrace. Cllr Dixon announced that a handyman service, where there is no labour charge but parts/materials are paid for, has started in Pallion. The service is for those aged over 60 or registered disabled and live in Ford, Pallion and Millfield. Services include gardening, electrics, plumbing and house maintenance. It is run from a charity shop whose profits go to the Helping Hand Service and local youth group Four Seasons. The charity are looking for quality donations to sell and will collect. Cllr Dixon circulated The Community Shop leaflets giving further details.
Leaves in the street
A resident reported that leaves which fell in November have still not been cleared in Brookland Road, although litter has been picked up. David Lynn advised ringing 0300 1000 101 and the matter will be dealt with within 5 working days. There are managers with teams of staff to deal any problems. Residents with any issues need to report them to the Council to make them aware of the problem.
Council Planning Meeting re: Mosque
Cllr Dixon advised that the meeting to be held on Tuesday 14th February has been cancelled. He asked for this information to be relayed to anyone who'd expressed an interest in attending.

8. Date of Next Meeting
Tuesday, 6th March 2012 at 7.00 pm in St Mary Magdalene's Church Hall.

The meeting closed at 8.20 pm.