Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bennett, Dorgan and Roberts.

Members are requested to give notice of any disclosable pecuniary interest, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the Members Code of Conduct, before leaving the meeting room during the discussion on that particular item.

No declarations of interest were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2012

These items are for general discussion.  Anybody attending the meeting is welcome to speak (subject to the Chair’s discretion)

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2012 be confirmed as a correct record.

A period of 20 minutes (or longer at the discretion of the Chair) will be set aside for a Public Forum.

Members of the public can ask questions, raise matters, or present petitions on issues that are relevant to Sefton Council.  The person asking a question will be allowed one supplementary question.

A question form indicating the person’s name and address must be completed and submitted to the Committee Administrator as soon as possible and by no later than 15 minutes before the meeting starts i.e. before 6.15 p.m. or by 3.00 p.m. for faxed (0151 934 2034) or on-line submissions http://forms.sefton.gov.uk/openforumquestion/

Question forms can be obtained from the Committee Administrator prior to the meeting.

(If the questioner does not attend the meeting or nominate a representative to attend (at the discretion of the Chair), the question will not be read out, but a written response will be forwarded to the questioner).

If a response to a question cannot be provided at the meeting, the Neighbourhoods Division will contact the relevant department for a formal response and the resident will be contacted directly in writing

The following questions/comments/petitions were submitted:

(a)       Mrs. S. Baker, who was not present at the meeting, complained about the condition of the site behind Stamps and Oxfam in Crosby Village and asked whether there were any plans to at least remove the remaining hoardings and perhaps turf the site as a temporary measure.

            The Head of Commissioning and Neighbourhood Co-ordination advised that the Head of Planning Services would be contacting the owners of the site to request that they take remedial works to improve the condition/appearance of the site. It was agreed that the Head of Commissioning and Neighbourhood Co-ordination respond in writing to Mrs. Baker.

(b)       Mr. P. Spiers asked that given that the Council had suspended meetings of the Crosby Area Partnership pending a review of its effectiveness, how would the Council be consulting with existing members of the Partnership about their effectiveness and be seeking ways in which the Council, voluntary, faith, community and private sector could work better together.

            The Head of Commissioning and Neighbourhood Co-ordination had contacted Mr. Spiers with a brief response to his question and it was agreed to follow this up with a formal written response.

            Mr. Spiers asked, as a supplementary question, would the Councillors be pro- actively supporting improvements to, and the regeneration of, Crosby Village.

            Members agreed that they would actively support improvement and regeneration proposals for Crosby Village and would work with the local community and groups such as A Better Crosby to achieve these aims; and advised that the Cabinet Member – Communities and Environment was currently undertaking a review of the operation of all Area Partnerships across the borough.

(c)        Mr. P. Proudley sought clarification on the £20 one-off registration fee per vehicle charged as part of Residents Privileged Parking Schemes and in particular, asked why permits had an expiry date; and complained that he had sent an e-mail to the Parking Services Manager a week ago but had yet to receive a response.

            Mr. S. Johnston, Team Leader (Traffic Management and Road Safety), advised that the charges were one-off registration fees and residents would not be charged again unless they changed their vehicles; and that permits had an expiry date to prevent them becoming worn and difficult for enforcement officers to view. It was agreed that the Parking Services Manager submit a written response to Mr. Proudley.

(d)       Mr. J. Goodall asked who was responsible for the decision to remove the sandhills from the land side of the sea wall at Waterloo which had resulted in sand blowing inland from the now higher sandhills on the sea side of the wall; and stated that the blown sand caused damage to property and cars and inconvenienced people living in the area. Mr. Goodall asked what was going to be done to rectify the problem.

            It was agreed that the Head of Coast and Countryside Service be requested to send a written response to Mr. Goodall as soon as possible.    

(e)       Mr. J.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Update from the Neighbourhood Inspector

on crime statistics and area interventions since the last meeting.

The Committee considered Inspector Barnes’ report on crime statistics for January to June 2012 inclusive, comparing them with the statistics for the same period in 2010 and 2011 as follows:-

Inspector Barnes reported on a number of issues, including:

• The growing trend of burglaries in Crosby. This situation was being closely monitored and resources such as mounted patrols, dog patrols and plain clothed and uniformed officers were being deployed to target the problem. This had resulted in a reduction in the number of offences committed.
• Crimes committed by travelling criminals was still a problem in the area and two incidents were cited where criminals from St. Helens and Toxteth had been arrested for offences.
• Automatic Number Plate Recognition vehicle operations had been undertaken in the Crosby area; and activity had been coordinated with colleagues in neighbouring divisions to disrupt criminals travelling through the borough.

Inspector Barnes also responded to the following points raised by Councillors/Parish Councillors:

• Was there any consistency in “hook and cane” burglary offences, for example, in/at particular areas or times? Inspector Barnes indicated that most offences took place at night but that there were no set patterns regarding locations; and that an article would be appearing in the Crosby Herald offering residents advice on crime prevention measures.
• The Police were commended for retaining front line services in the face of large budget cuts to their service.
• A request was made for the Police to target resources on the issue of rat running traffic in Enfield Avenue. A report on this issue was elsewhere on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning

Update on area management issues resolved since the last meeting

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning on the area management activities that had taken place in Crosby since the last meeting.

The report indicated that the Neighbourhoods Division provided a co-ordination role for dealing with area issues.  Queries were forwarded to the Neighbourhoods Division in a number of ways, via a number of different sources; and in order for Members to be aware of progress made on these issues, the area management report had been compiled.

The role of partner agencies would also be included in this report in the future to update Members as to how other agencies were working on area issues.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the Area Management update report be noted; and

(2)            Members or residents be requested to contact the Neighbourhoods Division with any further area issues.

Verbal update from Parish Council representative(s)

These items are for consultation or information of interest to the local community.  Anybody attending the meeting is welcome to speak (subject to the Chair’s discretion)

(No items in this category.)

These are formal decisions to be taken by the Members of the Council.  Only in exceptional cases will the Chair allow contributions from the public (Advisory Group Members may speak but not vote)

Thornton

Parish Councillor Hounsell complained about the Media Light advertisements on street lighting columns in his Parish Council area; indicated that he still had concerns about them; and wanted to know whether they could be removed.

It was agreed that the Head of Commissioning and Neighbourhood Co-ordination be requested to provide Members of the Committee with a briefing note on the advertisement policy referred to above.

Hightown

Parish Councillor Warren:

• indicated that his Parish Council had successfully planted out their village green and roundabouts; but complained that the areas looked untidy due to large amounts of detritus in the gutters/kerbsides;
• advised that work on the cycle track between Hightown and Formby had stopped due to the width of the track and grant funding issues;
• indicated that Merseyrail had provided additional seating at Hightown station and that the Parish Council would maintain the planters on the station platform.        

Sefton

Parish Councillor Draper indicated that there was nothing to report in relation to the Sefton Parish area.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Further to Minute No. 6(a) of 23 May, 2012 the Committee considered the report of the Director of Built Environment that responded to a petition relating to the current operation of the Prohibition of Driving Order (the Order) on Enfield Avenue, Crosby at its junction with The Northern Road.

The report indicated that at the previous meeting, a petition containing 41 signatures in the following terms was considered as part of the Public Forum:

“We the undersigned, are residents of Enfield Avenue and we strongly request Sefton MBC consider the closure of Enfield Avenue where it conjoins with The Northern Road”; detailed that at present the Order in force at the junction prevented all traffic, except pedal cyclists, from entering Enfield Avenue from The Northern Road and that all vehicles were allowed to exit Enfield Avenue onto The Northern Road; that the restriction was introduced to address the problem of rat-running southbound drivers who were using The Northern Road and Enfield Avenue to avoid queuing traffic at the Liverpool Road/The Bypass traffic signals; that at the time, the more obvious solution of just physically blocking off Enfield Avenue at its junction with The Northern Road was considered, but was rejected due to the lack of any kind of turning facility on Enfield Avenue; and that without the creation of a proper turning head, large vehicles such as refuse vehicles or delivery vehicles, would be forced to reverse the full length of Enfield Avenue to exit back out onto Endbutt Lane which would be extremely difficult for the drivers of large vehicles and potentially dangerous.

To quantify the scale of the alleged contravention of the ‘No Entry’ signs, an automatic traffic counter was positioned on Enfield Avenue, at The Northern Road end, for a full week beginning on 13 June 2012; the results were detailed in the report and highlighted that it was clear that a relatively large number of drivers were deliberately choosing to ignore the prominent ‘No Entry’ signs, either to access properties in Enfield Avenue, or use Enfield Avenue as a short cut to avoid the traffic signals on The Bypass.

The report concluded that contravention of the Order could only be dealt with by Merseyside Police, and as such copies of the traffic count, which detailed times and days when the contraventions were greatest, would be forwarded to Merseyside Police with a request for targeted enforcement.

RESOLVED:          That

(1)      the report on the operation of the Prohibition of Driving Order on Enfield Avenue at its junction with The Northern Road, be noted; and

(2)      the Director of Built Environment forward copies of the automatic traffic count to Merseyside Police with a request for routine enforcement of the Traffic Regulation Order.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Further to Minute No. 73 of 4 January 2012, the Committee considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on the receipt of petitions against a proposal to reintroduce a “1 Hour in any 2 Hours” limited waiting restriction on various roads off St. John’s Road/Handfield Road, Waterloo.

The report indicated that at the meeting held on 4 January 2012, the Area Committee resolved to remove the Residents Privileged Parking (RPP) Scheme from Argo Road, Corona Road, Lyra Road and Norma Road; that the Traffic Regulation Orders which currently applied to the streets showed a RPP bay along one side of the street, whilst on the opposite side of the street there was a bay which restricted waiting to 1 hour, except for holders of residents permits; and that the majority of residents of Argo Road, Corona Road, Lyra Road and Norma Road voted against the re-introduction of the RPP scheme in these roads.  As the RPP scheme was being removed from these streets it was necessary to remove the exemption for residents with permits from the existing limited waiting bays on the north-east side of these streets.

The report continued that petitions had now been received from residents of Argo Road (51 signatures), Corona Road (31 signatures) and Lyra Road (46 signatures) objecting to the reinstatement of the ‘1 hour in any 2’ limited waiting bays on the north-east side of these roads as this would leave residents unable to park for longer than a 1 hour period on one side of the roads; and that an epetition signed by 11 residents of Argo Road had also been received.

The report concluded that as all signs relating to RPP and limited waiting had been removed for the last five years from Argo Road, Corona Road, Lyra Road and Norma Road, and the Council had not received any complaints from residents, shoppers or traders, it was assumed that no-one had any problems with these four streets unrestricted.  In light of the above, it was recommended that the limited waiting bays on Argo Road, Corona Road, Lyra Road and Norma Road be revoked in their entirety; and that Ashlar Road in RPP zone 302 also contained a limited waiting bay with an exemption for residents with permits, however as with the roads in zone 300, all signage relating to the RPP scheme and the limited waiting was removed approximately five years ago.  As the majority of Ashlar Road residents voted to have the RPP scheme removed, it was also recommended that the limited waiting bay in Ashlar Road also be revoked in its entirety.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the limited waiting bays on Argo Road, Corona Road, Lyra Road, Norma Road (RPP zone 300) and Ashlar Road (RPP zone 302) be revoked; and

(2)       the Traffic Services Manager be authorised to undertake the necessary legal procedures, including those of public consultation and advertising the Council’s intention to implement the Orders.

Report of the Director of Built Environment

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Built Environment seeking authorisation for the provision of dedicated disabled parking bays:-

(a)            outside Flat No. 1, 1 St. John’s Road, Waterloo

(b)            outside 5 Rockland Road, Waterloo

(c)            outside 24 Shaftesbury Road, Crosby

(d)       in the vicinity of 10 Dorbett Drive, Crosby;

and the removal of the disabled person’s parking bay outside 15 Milton Road, Waterloo.

All new Traffic Regulation Orders for Disabled Parking Permits allowed for the provision of a numbered permit which restricted the use of the bay to the applicant only.

It was proposed to introduce individual Orders for the roads incorporating all the existing restrictions.

RESOLVED:            That

(1)       the Traffic Regulation Orders providing numbered permits, as set out in the plans at Annex A and detailed in the report and the removal of the disabled parking bay at 15 Milton Road, be approved; and

(2)       the Traffic Services Manager be authorised to undertake the necessary legal procedures, including those of public consultation and advertising the Council’s intention to implement the Orders.

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning

Update on Area Committee budget resources available

Further to Minute No. 17 of 23 May 2012, the Committee considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning indicating that the balance of the budget available for allocation during 2012/13, including sums set aside for the provision of litterbins and street signs, was £64,436.62 and setting out details of the progress of schemes for which funding had previously been approved.

Members discussed the possibility of making a £500 donation towards Crosby and Waterloo in Bloom; and it was agreed that a donation of £125 be made from the Church, Manor and Victoria Ward devolved budgets towards the scheme and that the Blundellsands Ward Councillors be requested to make a similar contribution from their devolved budget.   

RESOLVED:          That

(1)      the Ward budgets for 2012/13 be noted;

(2)      the ongoing schemes for which funding was provided in 2010/11 and 2011/12 be noted;

(3)      the Head of Commissioning and Neighbourhood Co-ordination be requested to process the donation to the Crosby in Bloom scheme as referred to above.

The Chair advised that the Area Committee, at a previous meeting, had agreed to support the Fairtrade Crosby scheme; that a Fairtrade Crosby Steering Group had now been established; and sought a nomination from the Area Committee to represent it on the Steering Group.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Roberts be appointed to represent the Area Committee on the Fairtrade Crosby Steering Group.   

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 5 September 2012, at the United Reformed Church Hall, Warren Road, Blundellsands, commencing at 6.30 p.m.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting be held at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 5 September 2012 at the United Reformed Church Hall, Warren Road, Blundellsands.