Minutes from the previous meeting held on Tuesday 3rd April:
1.
Welcome and Apologies: Susan
welcomed Michael Fascia, Sunderland City Council's Environmental Enforcement
Officer. Apologies were received from: B Blackett, A Clarkson, D Lynn, J Hickman, PC
K Hood, M Peacock, D Rutter, P Tebbs, Cllr A Wilson.
2.
Matters arising from the Minutes:
Brookland
Road: (i) Cllr
Scanlan had emailed Bill Blackett about the leaves awaiting collection. He
apologised for the oversight and arranged their immediate collection.
(ii) Kate projected photos showing the
state of the grass verges. Linda read a
letter from the Council saying it proposes to soil and seed the damaged areas
and that residents may be given another opportunity to vote on the proposed
extension of the PMS. However, a
resident pointed out that reseeding was done over 6 months ago and hasn't
lasted. Linda will reply that this is
not the answer; concrete/tarmac would be preferable. Cllr Scanlan will take up this matter with
Cllr Wilson who took part in the recent Pallion Walk-and-Talk.
Businesses
on Chester Road: Cllr
Morrissey has advised us that Barnes Councillors do not have any funds for a
feasibility study into creating the extra parking bays requested, contrary to
the suggestion made at our last meeting.
Cllr Essl has been in touch with several businesses and together they
are approaching the Council about this problem.
3. Crime/Anti-Social Behaviour Reports:
There
was no monthly report on crime figures but a Barnes resident reported her
garage was broken into 2 weeks ago. Susan
is trying to find out who is running the Pallion Pact meetings since CSO Stuart
Hotchkis has moved beat. PC Hood is to hold
a police ward surgery for the Millfield/Pallion area in the Pallion Community
Shop on Wednesday 25th April, 11am-12 noon.
4. Parking Management Scheme –
Hospital Area:
Phase 2 Working Group Meeting - 13th
March 2012: Susan
reported that, disappointingly, red tape appears to be causing delays and dates
keep getting changed. It is feared that
the budget for Phase 2 may be lost due to the delays. Also, officers seem to be reluctant to class
empty properties as neutral in a consultation.
Cllr Kay questioned why the 'bar' for votes in favour of the scheme is set
so high and Kate commented that if only a few streets manage to reach that
bench-mark each time there's a vote, many more phases and more expense will be
needed to roll out the scheme. Susan felt that while the officers listened to
Mr Mackintosh's concerns about businesses on Chester Road, they weren't
encouraging but expressed concerns for residents living above the shops.
We
are trying to get the scheme extended to include the ABC streets. The next meeting will be in May. Susan will try to arrange it for 15th
May.
Proposed Hospital Multi-Storey Car
Park:
We'll
ask how many extra parking spaces will be created, who's funding it and who
will get the revenue. The PMS needs to
be extended regardless of the proposed car park, along with an extension of the
Park and Ride scheme.
5. Environmental Enforcement
Michael
Fascia, Environmental Enforcement Officer for Sunderland east had kindly come
along to introduce himself to the residents and talk about his work. This is predominantly in Millfield but due to
the illness of a colleague, his area now includes Pallion. Barnes area will be covered by Katie Kelly.
In
Pallion today Michael carried out 9 investigations: 4 instances of offensive
graffiti which will be dealt with by the end of Thursday, and 5 instances of illegal
deposits of waste. Offenders are served
with a Section 46 notice and given an official caution. If they dump waste in the back lane again or
leave a wheelie-bin out, they can be fined.
Sometimes advice is enough but if it's ignored, action will be taken against
them. However, each case is considered
individually. Today, as a resident was clearly
disabled, Michael had moved the waste item himself pending the planned collection
day.
Michael
intends to visit every house in Pallion, introducing himself to residents and
explaining what is expected of them regarding waste. His visit will be followed up with a
letter.
Waste
dumped in back lanes will not be tolerated.
Great improvements have been achieved in Millfield where in just over a
year requests have reduced considerably. This has only been possible with the
co-operation of residents.
Responsive
local services is the way forward. The
team react within an hour and improvements are visible.
In
response to a request from a Brookland Road resident, Michael will find out
what has happened to the mechanised sweeper.
The
subject of dog fouling and waste-bins was discussed. Michael advised that things have improved; offending
owners are fined but where to site dog-waste bins is a problem.
Michael
can be contacted any time 7 days a week.
He issued cards with his contact details:
telephone: 0191 561 4528 or 07776 481457; email:
michael.fascia@sunderland.gov.uk.
6.
Treasurers Report
Elizabeth reported that grant money
has run out and we've submitted a new application.
7.
Blog Update
Kate is continuing to update the
site. Any contributions will be welcome.
8.
Any Other Business
Pedestrian
Refuge – Ewesley/Chester Road: All agreed this is
working very well. Resurfacing of the
road has been postponed due to the weather.
Hospital Parking-Eye: People have received letters threatening them
with bailiffs if a fine is unpaid. A
resident's research has found such letters are illegal. Susan issued details of the website for
anyone wanting to look it up on line.
Cllr Scanlan reported that she has received parking fine through the
post although she'd paid the parking charge and left before the time had
expired. She advised people to retain
their parking ticket for reference. Kate
put add a note to this effect on the blog.
8.
Date of Next Meeting
Tuesday, 1st May 2012 at
7.00 pm in St Mary Magdalene's Church Hall.
The meeting closed at 8.15 pm.
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