Wilford Community Group

Minutes of the committee meeting

held on Monday 13^th November 2006

at Wilford Social and Bowls Club

Present: Brian Hardy (BH) Chairman

Bill Roughton (BR) Vice Chairman

Dave Boulton (DB) Secretary

Sheila Atherton (SA) Treasurer

Ed Armstrong (EA)

Brian Clark (BC)

Kate Clark (KC)

Roger Steel (RS)

Stephanie Taylor (ST)

Frank Wakelin (FW)

Councillor Brendan Clarke-Smith

Andrew Nembhard – Team Leader, Community Neighbourhood Protection

Jill McLaren – Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Fundraiser

Six residents were also in attendance.

The meeting was preceded by a presentation of a cheque for £334.50 by Group Chairman Brian Hardy to Jill McLaren. This money was raised by the committee from a raffle held in place of the cancelled summer 2006 event.

Andrew Nembhard reported that he was leaving his position and that his position would be taken by Neil Hopgood from 20^th November. AN gave DB Mr Hopgood’s contact details and DB will contact him to make him aware of the Group’s work and invite him to future meetings. AN also reported that a new Community Safety Officer had been appointed.

			Action
1	Apologies Chris Allsopp Absent Jonathan Shewell-Cooper
2	Minutes of 9^th October Committee Meeting Agreed.
3	Review Outstanding Actions
	a.	Conservative Newsletter BH repeated the Group’s disappointment at the wording of the Conservative Party Newsletter about the organisation of the recent public meeting. Councillor Clarke-Smith apologised on behalf of the Clifton North councillors and said that in future the group would be credited with the organisation of any such events.
	b.	2006 Summer Event Cheque See above.
	c.	2007 Summer Event See agenda item 7.
	d.	Listing of Dorothy Boot Homes Carried forward.	JS-C
	e.	Recycling ST had circulated the information she has received prior to the meeting. It was agreed that this information should be posted on the website and notice boards.	DB
	f.	Nottingham Neighbourhoods Meeting Carried forward until after the meeting on 28^th November.
	g.	Notice Boards RS had tidied up the boards. A number of concerns were expressed by committee members, as follows: SA was unhappy that a notice she had placed recently had been removed. RS apologised for this. SA was concerned that the existing information notices had been folded or cut and squeezed into a small space to make room for bonfire publicity. DB reminded committee that the boards were owned by the City Council and were used by the Group under licence from the City Council. Licences were also in place between the Group and the owners of the sites at which the boards were mounted. These licences prevent the display of any material promoting commercial organisations. BH also reminded committee that permission to display a notice advertising a plant sale by a local allotment owner had been refused as the proceeds were to be kept by the seller. RS then informed committee that he had agreed with the Head Teacher of South Wilford School to display pictures of the bonfire event made by school pupils. DB stated that he did not believe there was enough room to do them justice and concern was also expressed that some of the pictures showed children’s names and that in any case, it was possible that permission would need to be sought from parents to display them. BC-S suggested that the pictures be scanned and combined to form a smaller montage that could be displayed. Other committee members thought this was a good idea and DB volunteered to do this. RS requested that votes be taken on whether he should continue to maintain the boards and on whether the pictures should be displayed. The motion that RS should continue to maintain the notice boards was not carried. RS then withdrew his request for a vote on displaying the pictures and subsequently retained the drawings, along with notices advertising the school’s admissions meetings.
	h.	Condition of Vernon Avenue Road Surface BC-S reported that roads in the city were repaired according to a rating given by the council’s surveyors. At the present time, Vernon Avenue (and other roads in Wilford) were not high up the priority list. Funding for road repairs is increasing and as other roads are repaired, other roads will move up the list of priorities. He could not give any timescales for repairs to any roads in Wilford.
	i.	Dates of Future Committee Meetings Committee was informed that WI meetings took place on the first Monday of the month and History Society meetings clashed with Group committee meetings. DB agreed to list meeting dates in 2007 based on the third Monday of the month and to distribute to committee members in time for the December meeting.	DB
4	Secretary’s Report
	a.	Street Name Plates DB reported that the Highways department has now committed to replacing the road sign at Bradbourne Avenue. In addition, the sign at then end of Main Road will be moved and the developers of the “Looking Good” site will be asked to replace the Bell Lane sign.
	b.	NET Transport Works Act Order DB reported that a letter had been received from NET outlining the next steps in the development of NET Phase 2. It was agreed that DB would contact NET to determine what input the group could have to the Transport Works Act Order.	DB
	c.	“1,000 New Bins” DB reported that based on the consensus of replies he had received, he had contacted the City Council to request additional bins be placed along Main Road.
	d.	School Patrol Sign DB reported that the inappropriate nature and positioning of the School Patrol sign on Main Road had been reported to the City Council “clutter buster”.
	e.	Embankment Planting DB reported that he had reminded John Lee at the City Council once again about the outstanding requirement for planting of the embankment at the rear of Chancery Court.
	f.	WCG Planning Appeal DB reported that a letter had been received informing the Group that WCG had appealed against the Council’s decision to refuse permission for the expansion of the plant. As the Group had not made any representations on the original application, it was agreed that no further action is required.
	g.	Marathon Complaint Letter DB reported that a letter had been sent to the organisers but no reply had been received.
5	Resident Representation – Vernon Avenue Traffic Speed DB reported that a Vernon Avenue resident had complained to him about perceived excessive speed of vehicles on Vernon Avenue and had suggested a speed inhibitor at the junction of Vernon Avenue and Holly Avenue. DB reported that his efforts to obtain information about training to use speed guns was ongoing and Vernon Avenue would be included in any assessment of traffic speed.
6	Bus Service 191 A number of concerns were expressed by residents about the revised bus service for Wilford Village, as follows: · The first service of the day (and sometimes the second) was often full by the time it reached Wilford. Residents were, therefore, being prevented from boarding. The buses provided were 16-seaters. The service provider claimed that these were the only buses available and their suggested solution was that residents should stagger their journeys. Residents stated that this was not possible as journeys were often timed with medical appointments. On occasion, passengers had been prevented from disembarking the bus at The Meadows, despite reassurances from the operating company. The company had since confirmed that passengers will be allowed to get off at The Meadows. The route change now prevents residents from attending medical facilities at Compton Acres and West Bridgford without having now to take two buses – a journey of up to an hour instead of the previous ten-minute journey. There have been occasions when the bus had not turned up, both in Wilford and in the City. The latter caused residents to take a bus into The Meadows and then take the long walk into Wilford over the Toll Bridge. The size of the buses provided means that a maximum of three passengers can stand, but residents reported that standing was dangerous because there was nothing for standing passengers to hold for safety. Councillor Clarke-Smith reported that councillors were aware of the problems with the route and they have been lobbying the service provider to improve the level of service. He conceded that there was little that could be done about the current 191 service as it was a tendered service, funded by the City Council. However, he did say that councillors were looking into the possibility of a larger vehicle being used for the first service of the day, if/when ones becomes available. The service provider has only a limited number of vehicles at its disposal. Councillor Clarke-Smith also stated that councillors were looking into rerouting the LocalLink service through Wilford and into Wilford Village. This service currently serves places including Silverdale, Clifton, Ruddington, Asda, Musters Road Health Centre, Central Avenue West Bridgford and Gamston. This is a free service operated by Nottingham City Transport and is jointly funded by Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and the Greater Nottingham Transport Partnership. Councillor Clarke-Smith agreed to report back to the Group with any progress.
7	2007 Summer Event DB reported an email from CA which said that he had organised some more stalls and approximately fifteen have now signed up. He hoped to make more progress in the New Year, including looking at sponsorship and advertising opportunities.
8	Aircraft Over Flying / Noise RS expressed concerns that it appeared that aircraft (particularly those landing at Nottingham East Midlands Airport) were over flying Wilford and the city centre instead of along the Clifton/West Bridgford corridor which was the route described in the latest consultation paper. FW reported that flight routings can be found from a link on the NEMA website. It was agreed that DB would write to the Civil Aviation Authority to obtain a definitive statement on the permitted flight path(s).		DB
9	Any Other Business
	a.	BH informed committee that he had received an email from a resident regarding the new processing plant at Players which detailed the times and dates when smells from the plant drifted over Wilford. BH informed committee that Players had invested several million pounds on dealing with the ongoing odour problems but have admitted that there is a real problem with the plant. BH will continue to monitor the situation and will report back to committee when he has any further information.
	b.	EA asked if anyone knew why the emergency services appeared to be driving regularly along Queen’s Drive at 4am with sirens sounding. It was agreed that DB would contact PC Nigel Brown to find out.	DB
	c.	BR reported that he had been contacted by South Wilford PTA seeking the Group’s view on a crossing or lollipop warden to help children cross Main Road. At this point, DB also reported that the City Council Highways department were proposing to install No Waiting restrictions at the “pinch point” on Main Road near its junction with Bader Road, enforced by the use of double-yellow lines, although it would take twelve months to implement due to technical procedures and consultation requirements. It was agreed that the best place for such a crossing would be at the centre of the Bee Bank opposite the school itself. A crossing near the point used by the previous “walking bus” would be too dangerous, being near the bend in the road. If the crossing was placed at the northern end of the Bee Bank, it is unlikely that people would walk past the school to use the crossing. DB stated that there was a gap in the trees mid-way along the Bee Bank that might give enough room to place access to such a crossing. It was agreed that BR would contact the PTA saying that the Group acknowledges the problem and agrees that it is an issue and that the Group does not have any objection to the installation of a zebra crossing on Main Road, but the Group is also happy to look at alternatives, such as the possibility of a "Lollipop Lady" at peak times.	BR
	d.	BH reported that the History Society had informed him that the Society was planning to visit Boon Island, the site of the wreck of the Nottingham Galley, captained by John Deane. They were inviting any committee members to accompany them at an estimated cost of £1,260. BH circulated the information and requested that anyone interested contact the History Society direct.
	e.	RS reported that the consultation mechanisms for the proposed developments between Clifton, Barton and Gotham had been published in the Nottingham Evening Post. At this point, BH declared an interest in that he was the accountant for some of the landowners affected. After discussing the issues, it was agreed that no representation from the Group would be required at this stage.
	f.	RS asked whether any feedback had been received from residents. None was reported and those members that attended reported a well-organised and enjoyable event.

The meeting closed at 22.00

Approved……Brian Hardy. (Chairman)

Date………12^th December 2006………..