Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Bridgeman.

Resolved:

that the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2022 be signed as a true record.

Resolved:

that the Order of Business be confirmed as printed on the Agenda.

Councillor John Cook, having chosen Emmaus Suffolk as his Mayoral Charity for 2022/23, declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 (report CAC/22/10) and left the room during the consideration of this item.

Councillor Gibbs, as his partner was a Trustee of Emmaus Suffolk, declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 (report CAC/22/10) and left the room during the consideration of this item.

Residents are encouraged to ask questions at Area Committee meetings. Questions will be answered by an appropriate Officer or Councillor.

To ask a question, residents simply need to email areacommitteequestions@ipswich.gov.uk including their name and address, a contact telephone number, their question, and which Area Committee they wish the question to be asked at. We ask that questions be submitted by 10am two working days before the day of the meeting in order that relevant information can be brought to the committee; for this meeting the deadline is 10am on Monday 31 October 2022. 

Questions may be asked by residents without prior notice having been given, with the permission of the Chair, however it may not be possible for an answer to be given at the meeting. Priority will however be given to those residents who have submitted questions in advance.

All questions must either be:

·       relevant to the area committee they are to be asked at, or;

·       relevant to Ipswich as a whole and be asked by a resident of the area covered by the committee it is to be asked at.

Please note that questions or representations must not contain:

·       references to identifiable individuals (whether by name or other information) unless the consent of that individual has been obtained and included with the notification;

·       potentially defamatory or provocative or abusive comments;

·       discriminatory remarks.

If for any reason a question which has been submitted in advance is not able to be asked at a meeting, the Council will, within 14 days of the meeting date, reply to the resident asking the question explaining why and if possible providing a written answer.

33.1.     The Chair reported that no questions had been submitted in advance of the meeting.

33.2.     A resident referred to a press article that mentioned that 62% of residents in a recent survey had indicated that air quality should be made a priority and asked action what the Central Area Committee would take.  The resident added that he understood that responsibility for air quality at Suffolk County Council (SCC) was about to be transferred to the Cabinet member County Councillor Paul West.

33.3.     The Chair commented that this question would be referred onto County Councillor West for a response.

33.4.     Councillor Jones commented that the Area Committees did not have the powers to deal with strategic matters and added that the question would be more appropriate to raise at meetings of Full Council at IBC and SCC.

33.5.     Councillor Holmes highlighted that there had been discussions a couple of years ago relating to an anti-idling policy for cars in the central area of Ipswich and asked for clarification as to which authority had the jurisdiction to enforce anti-idling.

33.6.     County Councillor Richards noted that a meeting had been held in the town centre last month to seek views on air quality issues, and added that whilst electric vehicles did not produce exhaust emissions, they did emit certain types of particulates.

34.1.     The Chair introduced Sergeant Ben Throssell from the Ipswich Central Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) who provided the following policing update.

34.2.     Operation Hull: Whilst there had not been any incidents of gang-related violence in Ipswich reported since the last meeting, patrols were continuing. 

34.3.     Interaction and diversionary activities for vulnerable young people had been held at Suffolk New College to raise awareness of the potential exploitation of those young people most at risk.

34.4.     Anti-social behaviour at St Lawrence’s Church: There had been reports of youths congregating and drug-related incidents in the churchyard. Link Officer PC Austin had been working with SNT and Kestrel Team Officers, which had resulted in 2 Community Protection Orders (CPNs) being issued.

34.5.     Operation Silverton: CPNs had been served on 3 female street workers and 5 male drivers had been challenged last month.

34.6.     There had been an increase in dwelling burglaries in the area between Tuddenham Road and Foxhall Road, which was being investigated by CID Officers; the public were advised to be wary of cold callers.

34.7.     Extra resource had been assigned to deal with the night-time economy on the run up to Christmas, especially on evenings with key football World Cup fixtures.

34.8.     The Police Community Engagement Officer PC Dominic Woodmansee had been replaced by PC Gavin Bevan, who had previously been working with gangs and youth engagement.

34.9.     Councillor Jones commented that previously male drivers who had been seeking street workers had been challenged by the Police with a letter being sent to the home address of the vehicle owner.
Sergeant Throssell commented that this was a valid tactic and added that the Police had also visited the home address of these vehicle owners.

34.10.  Councillor Inga Lockington commented that previously the Police used to provide cycle safety advice in the autumn/winter to encourage cyclists to use appropriate lighting and clothing to remain visible during the darker months, and asked whether any similar campaign was planned.
Sergeant Throssell commented that Police resource was allocated in accordance with priorities and that cycle safely was considered a lower priority; however, Officers on patrol could stop cyclists without appropriate lighting and give advice as necessary.

34.11.  Councillor Inga Lockington commented that there had been an increased Police presence around Christchurch Park on Bonfire Night.
Sergeant Throssell confirmed that extra resource had been drafted in from the Special Constables on the evenings of 31 October and 5 November as there had been an increase in people possessing fireworks for no particular reason.

34.12.  Councillor Holmes noted the recent increase in burglaries and asked whether any publicity campaign was being considered to encourage residents to report incidents as many people had become reluctant to use the 101 reporting service due to lengthy delays.
Sergeant Throssell commented that reporting non-urgent incidents through the Police website had been promoted via social media, and added that an additional message could be added to encourage reporting from Tuddenham Road residents.

34.13.  Councillor Tim Lockington commented that fear of crime  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

35.1.     Ms Clare Staddon, Chief Executive of Emmaus Suffolk, reported that this funding request had been revised since the previous meeting as the Well-being Hub provision was to remain at Sailmakers rather than expand into the Great White Horse Hotel.

35.2.     The Sailmakers provision would be extended to help cover the increased demand and would operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays up to 5.30pm.  The hub was not an advisory service, but could signpost people onto the appropriate services and provide support to enable people to make that initial contact with other organisations.

35.3.     Councillor Rae highlighted that there was a shortfall of £530 in the project costs and asked how this would be met.
Ms Staddon confirmed that this gap would be met from the organisation’s reserves.

35.4.     Councillor Inga Lockington asked whether a written contract was in place with the new landlord at Sailmakers.
Ms Staddon confirmed that a written contract was in place, but was on a short-term lease that could be terminated on 3 months’ notice.  To ensure that a town centre offer could continue in Ipswich, Emmaus Suffolk had also taken on a letting at the Wahoo Clothing shop on Dogs Head Street.

35.5.     Councillor Inga Lockington advised that if the Area Committee was not able to provide the full amount, an application could be made to her as a County Councillor for SCC locality funding.

35.6.     County Councillor Johnson added that she would also consider an application for SCC locality funding. 

35.7.     Councillor Jones proposed that, in light of limited funds available, a lesser amount of £3,000 be allocated to Emmaus Suffolk towards the extension of its Well-being Hub provision, noting that County Councillors Lockington and Johnson had offered to make contributions from their SCC locality budgets, and this was agreed.

Resolved:

that the Central Area Committee allocate £3,000 from the Central Area Committee budget to Emmaus Suffolk towards the extension of its Well-being Hub provision.

Reason: Demand for Emmaus Suffolk’s services had increased; increasing the opening hours of the Well-being Hub would enable more people in Central Ipswich to be supported.  

36.1.     The Chair reported that she had written to the Police & Crime Commissioner on behalf of the Area Committee about the ongoing poor performance of the 101 reporting service and would report back the response received.

37.1.     Councillor Jones reported that there was a highways issue with Little Bramford Lane where a lorry was stuck on this narrow one-way street for 2 hours due to being blocked in by inconsiderate parking.  The only way to resolve this issue would be to implement double yellow lines, but this would require funding from SCC.

37.2.     Councillor Gibbs commented that he had attended the opening of the new mural at Maple Park with Councillors Kreidewolf and Hughes, and highlighted the excellent community design and encouraged people to visit.

37.3.     Councillor J Cook reported that he had been liaising with the Police in relation to drug dealing activities in part of the Alexandra ward, and had followed up reports of speeding on Cauldwell Hall Road with SCC.

37.4.     Councillor Rae commented that the trial closure of the bridge linking Wellesley Road and Marlborough Road had been made permanent; however, residents had been reporting anti-social behaviour associated with the fixed seating that was installed as part of this scheme. Councillor Rae asked whether the Police Design Out Crime Officer had been consulted about these road closure schemes.

37.5.     Councillor Kreidewolf reported that he had been dealing with a lot of casework from residents.  Councillor Kreidewolf added that the new CCTV camera on Surrey Road had already captured images of 2 fly-tippers and enforcement action was being taken.

37.6.     County Councillor Johnson reported that the long awaited trial road closure at the White Elm Street end of Cavendish Street was finally due to be installed next week.

37.7.     County Councillor Richards reported that some illegal tree planting had occurred on the verges of Westwood Avenue; it was not efficient to try to retrofit root cages, but the trees would not be removed.

38.1.     Mr Williams, Chief Executive, reported that at the start of the meeting the Central Area Committee had an unallocated budget of £6,845.26 available to spend on its priorities.

38.2.     Following the financial commitment of £3,000 arising from the approved funding bid, the unallocated Central Area Committee budget was now £3,845.26.

Resolved:

that the financial statement in Appendix 1 of the report be noted.

Reason: To provide clear and transparent details of the amount of funds available to the Area Committee to deliver the priorities in its Action Plan.

·            Wednesday 4 January 2023, 7pm – Alexandra ward

·            Wednesday 1 March 2023, 7pm – Westgate ward

The Chair highlighted that the dates and times of the remaining meetings for 2022/23 were listed on the Agenda, with the next meeting due to take place on Wednesday 4 January 2023 at 7pm.