BOROUGH OF POOLE – CANFORD HEATH EAST AND WEST,
CREEKMOOR AND OAKDALE AREA COMMITTEE – 9 FEBUARY 2011
BOROUGH OF POOLE
CANFORD HEATH EAST AND WEST, CREEKMOOR AND OAKDALE AREA COMMITTEE
9 FEBRUARY 2011
The Meeting commenced at 7.00pm and concluded at 7.47pm
Present:
Councillor Rampton (Chairman)
Councillors Adams, Allen, Burden, Curtis, Gillard, Matthews, Mrs Moore and
Mrs Walton
Also present:
Kate Gibbings, Legal and Democratic Services
Mike Gotobed, Leisure Services
Members of the public present:Approximately 10
CHE14.11APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs Butt.
CHE15.11DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None
CHE16.11MINUTES
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Area Committee Meeting held on 8 September 2010, having been previously circulated, be taken as read, confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
CHE17.11INSTALLATION OF A REBOUND WALL AT MILLFIELD
The Play Development Officer/Allotment Manager advised the Meeting of the proposals to install a rebound goal at Millfield in Creekmoor and explained that any feedback from this Meeting would be reported back at the next Planning Obligations Working Party Meeting.
If approved the Installation was scheduled to commence either just prior or just after the Easter Holidays.
It was noted that a copy of draft proposals were available on the Leisure Services Website;
All those present at the Meeting, having read the Report included within the Agenda, were fully supportive of the Proposals.
RECOMMENDED that the Planning Obligations Working Partybe requested to approve the allocation of up to £9,000 from the Creekmoor Fund, as a contribution towards the installation of the rebound wall.
UNAMINOUS
CHE18.11INFORMATION ONLY ITEMS:
Members had read the Report included within the Agenda and no discussion took place.
(i)TRAFFIC PANEL
RESOLVED that the Report of Head of Transport Servicesbe noted.
(ii)CHANGES TO FOOTPATH BARRIERS AT HARWELL ROAD FOOTBRIDGE
RESOLVED that the Report of Head of Transport Servicesbe noted.
CHE19.11OPEN FORUM
The following issues and concerns were raised by residents;
- The Next Neighbourhood Watch Annual General Meeting (AGM) was to be held on Wednesday 11 May, 7pm at St Pauls Church, 1 Culliford Crescent, BH17 9DY. At this Meeting the Agenda was set as follows:
- 1hr presentation from a retired Fire Officer
- Chairman’s Quiz and Prizes
- AGM
- Inspector King to give an update
- Planning Applications - An Oakdale resident advised the Meeting that following the approval of his next door neighbour’s Planning Application he had suffered distress, as a result poor building work, which had affected his property. He outlined a few of the issues, which included major driveway damage. He explained that he tried to address his concerns with the Neighbour to no avail. He wanted the Planning Committee to consider and understand possible issues as experienced by him,before approving planning applications.
The Chairman advised the Resident that this was not a Planning Committee issue but related to building control. He was advised to speak in detail to his Ward Councillors outside of this Meeting.
Councillors Adams, Gillard and Mrs Walton all agreed to meet the Resident and support him wherever possible.
A Member advised that the problems the Resident had experienced related to 3 issues:
- Building Control
- Planning Enforcement
- Civil Issue
In respect of any Civil Action Claim the Resident was recommended by a Member to see a Solicitor.
- Central Government was undertaking an initiative to get employers to take on apprenticeships and highlighted the engineering industry. He explained that companies used to take on apprentices and many served 5 years within the engineering trade to gain their skills and understand the profession. He asked that the Council supported this Government Initiative and the importance of 16-21 year olds learning trades.
The Chairman advised the Meeting that the Council did support apprenticeship initiatives and highlighted the various services where such schemes had been implemented, but felt Central Government needed to invest money in order to support companies and Schemes.
A Member advised the Meeting that Poole and Bournemouth had very good specialist colleges, which offered excellent qualification training and it was important to maintain such levels of training, as some companies could not afford to take on apprentices. The one area that he felt was still missing was the Artisan profession.
A Member highlighted the fact that many university graduates were unable to get jobs and the need for Central Government to financially support employers. He felt accountants were now running many businesses.
The Resident advised the Meeting that experienced engineers were out of work and the number of companies that had now ceased trading.
A member of the public explained that his son had undertaken voluntary work in order to try and secure paid employment.
The Chairman agreed with the comments raised and highlighted how important it was that Poole had maintained its manufacturing base and sited Siemens as an example, which had continued to trade. He also advised that some factories and production lines were coming back to the area.
A Member highlighted that productivity and technology advancements were also factors in the decline in production lines. Tasks that may have taken 1 hour to achieve in the past were now completed in 10 minutes.
A Member of the public advised the Meeting that when he was at school there was little career information available and this may still be an area that needed to be improved.
- Traffic incident reported in the Daily Echo on 2 February 2011, which involved a dog being seriously injured by a hit and run driver. The dog had unfortunately slipped its collar whilst chasing a fox and was left in the middle of road having been struck by a car, which failed to stop. The Resident stated this could have easily of been a child and that the driver was speeding when the incident occurred on Sopers Lane. He felt speed camers had not worked and more needed to be done to slow drivers down and prevent such incidents from occurring.
The Chairman advised the Meeting that whilst he was sorry to hear about this incident the speed of the driver was not known. Speed camera had been effective and that the majority of drivers had adhered to the road speed limits.The Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) Meeting was the best forum to raise and discuss such incidents. Soper Lane was a long straight road and as a result a small number of drivers had been reported to the Police for speeding.
A Member advised that the Police were fully aware of the issues highlighted in Soper Lane and random speed cameras were used, however very few people had been caught speeding. The incident to which the Resident was referring happened at 6.15am, at a time when the road was normally quiet and it was unfortunate that the dog had slipped its collar and hit by a car.
The Chairman highlighted the importance of attending the Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) Meetings, as these Meetings were supported by the Police.
- Progress update on theremoval of the chicanes on Stinsford Road.
Members advised the Meeting that due to lack of funding the removal of the Chicanes and the implementation of a ‘Pinch-Point’ width reduction scheme had to be put on the back burner. He was aware that of the issues residents had raised, especially where lorries were concerned.
It was originally proposed that 106 Development Money would be used to implement a similar width reduction scheme to that used on Cabot Lane, however, the Development had not proceeded and as a result no funding was now available to execute the Scheme.
If the refurbishment of the Waste Transfer Station goes ahead it was likely that Stinsford Road would be used during the 15 months that the Household Waste Recycling Centre was to be temporarily relocated to the car park area on the Councils’ Hatchpond Depot. In order to limit the amount of traffic during this period clear signage would be displayed.
The Meeting discussed various traffic calming options and the Chairman advised the Committee that the Ward Councillors would keep on top of this situation.
- The Chairman of the Local Residents Association drew attention to the lack of water supply at the nearby Allotments and felt the Council was in breach of Human Rights.
The Chairman advised of the recently adopted Allotment Policy and a Member advised the Meeting that as the Resident had previously stated he would report the Council to the Secretary of State, Health and Safety Executive and the European Court of Human Rights no further discussions on this matter should continue. The Chairman agreed and no further discussions took place.
The Resident felt his Ward Councillors were not always available at Councillors' Surgeries.
The Ward Councillors’ concerned advised the Resident that they had attended Councillors' Surgeries and the Chairman advised the Meeting that it was not appropriate to discuss the residents’ views and opinions.
- Bus Routes – A resident enquired as to whether or not the No.18 Bus Route, which was sponsored by Bournemouth and Poole would continue?
A Member advised the Meeting that the current Bus Routes and Boundaries were up for re-tendering. There were funding issues relating to the Free Bus Passes, however these would continue. The final judgement was to be discussed at the next Transport Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting.
A resident advised that extra buses were also being considered and that decisions were evidence based.
The Meeting was advised if you ‘don’t use, you will loose it’.
A Member advised the Committee of a Good News Story. The Traffic Island at Culliford Crescent, Canford Heath, which was deemed dangerous,was soon to be replaced with a Zebra Crossing.
CHAIRMAN
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