Agenda and minutes

Resolved:

that Councillor Riley be elected Chair of the Central Area Committee for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J Cook, Councillor Gibbs and County Councillor Bridgeman.

Resolved:

that the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 March 2023 be signed as a true record.

Resolved:

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

Councillor I Lockington, being a SCC Governor at St Margaret’s Primary School, declared an interest in Agenda Item 12 (report CAC/23/05), but added that she had had no prior involvement in this application.

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 19 June 2023. 

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.

6.1.        The Chair reported that 1 question had been received in advance of the meeting.

6.2.        Question 1: How much revenue has been generated per year through the 22 million pound Peterborough purchase please?

6.3.        The following response was provided by the Chief Executive:

Peterborough Business Park was part of an investment portfolio held by Ipswich Borough Assets, a limited company set up for that purpose by the Council.  The company provided in excess of £3million of revenue to the Council each year with Peterborough Business Park playing a key role in that.

6.4.        The resident questioned whether the question had been adequately answered.  The Chair highlighted that it was not possible to provide a more detailed response as the information would be exempted under Freedom of Information regulations on the grounds of commercial sensitivity.

7.1.        The Chair introduced PC Gavin Bevan, Police Community Engagement Officer, from the Ipswich Central Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) who provided the following policing update.

7.2.        Inspector Nicola Turner would be replacing Inspector Mann from 26 June, joining from the Ipswich East SNT. There had been a change to town centre policing with more of a community style policing approach taken to provide greater reassurance to the public.

7.3.        Operation Silverton: There had been reports of new girls in the area, but it was not confirmed whether they were involved in street prostitution.

7.4.        Town Centre ASB: There had been a reduction in ASB at St Lawrence Church in the last month following environmental improvements around the Buttermarket, including new CCTV cameras.  Link Officer PC Austin was dealing with issues at the Cattle Market bus station, Wingfield Street and Suffolk College.

7.5.        Operation Hull: The Kestrel Team were working with shops and businesses to rebuild public confidence with patrols around the Town Hall, Westgate Street and Carr Street.

7.6.        PC Bevan reported that there had been an increase in mess on the streets in parts of Westgate, primarily glass and seeds, especially at the weekends, and regular instances of young children on roofs causing ASB and tipping over bins.  The Council’s Cleansing Team had been clearing up the mess, but it was an ongoing problem.

7.7.        Councillor Jones confirmed that the Council’s cleansing staff were clearing up around Maple Park every day. Residents were concerned about the young children causing problems, some of whom were very young and out on the streets unsupervised late into the evening, so there might also be safeguarding issues to consider.  Councillor Jones added that people did get taken to court and fined for littering offences, but it took time to collate all the evidence needed for prosecution.

7.8.        Councillor Inga Lockington reported that ASB was taking place at the Cattle Market bus station during the day at weekends, with drunk people on benches, which was unsettling for elderly people waiting for buses; this area needed to be patrolled more regularly.

7.9.        Local resident: There needs to be more activities to engage young people from hanging around on the streets, such as youth clubs and skate parks.

7.10.     Councillor Kreidewolf commented that Handford Hall Primary School had a diverse intake of children, but the school had engaged with their varying cultures and the children were well behaved in school. The parents needed to take more responsibility for how their children behaved outside of school. Due to public sector budget cuts over the years, there was no funding available to set up and sustain youth clubs or similar activities. The Council had engaged with the local communities to explain about littering and fly-tipping; taking enforcement action required evidence of the offence taking place.  A CCTV camera had been installed on Surrey Road to tackle the fly-tipping in the alleyway at the rear of the houses.

8.1.        Mr Payne, Interim Assistant Director for Operations, reported that since the last meeting, the following Making a Difference (MAD) budget spends had been made:

·        £500 – St Helen’s Top Up Shop

·        £500 – Litter Bin outside Broomhill Library

8.2.        Mr Payne highlighted the following unspent budget items that would be returned to the Central Area Committee unallocated budget:

·        £52 - Venue Hire and Publicity budget 2022/23

·        £500 - Making a Difference budget 2022/23

This would result in a starting unallocated budget of £14,552.

8.3.        The Committee was asked to consider how much funding to allocate to establish a Making a Difference budget for 2023/24 and it was agreed that this budget should be set at £1,500.

Resolved:

that the Committee:

a)             note the financial statement in Appendix 1 to the report;

b)             note the return of unspent budgets to the main unallocated Central Area Committee budget as follows:

- £52 Venue Hire [2022/23];
- £500 Making a Difference [2022/23];

c)             allocate £500 per ward, a total of £1,500, from the Central Area Committee budget to establish a Making a Difference (MAD) budget for 2023/24.

Reasons:

(a)           To provide details of the amount of funds available to the Area Committee to deliver the priorities in its Action Plan;

(b)           To release any Central Area Committee budget funding where there is no further expenditure anticipated;

(c)           To allow the Central Area Committee to devolve up to 10% of its annual budget to support small scale community initiatives.

The Committee decided to hear all of the funding request presentations before considering how much funding to allocate to each request.

9.1.        Mr Mark Whiting, Commercial Development Operations Manager, reported that £2,500 was being requested for the Events Team to deliver a Family Fun Day in the Central Ipswich area on 28 July 2023, with Alexandra Park as the proposed location. This event would provide a variety of activities and opportunities for community engagement.

9.2.        Councillor Inga Lockington requested that the event be publicised across all of the Central Ipswich area, not just in the Alexandra ward.
Mr Whiting commented that this event would be promoted by the Communications Team via the website and social media platforms; there was also an opportunity to advertise this event in schools.

9.3.        Councillor Tim Lockington commented that this was a worthwhile event but was concerned that an IBC project was being funded out of the Area Committee budget.

9.4.        Councillor Rae asked how many people had attended the equivalent event last year. Mr Whiting commented that approximately 450 residents had attended.

9.5.        Local resident: The Ipswich Maritime Trust had held an event on the docks in 1982. The Ipswich Maritime Festival was a family event; could the Ipswich Maritime Trust take on running event this type of event?
Councillor Kreidewolf highlighted that it was the Council’s Events Team that funded and ran the Ipswich Maritime Festival.

Resolved:

that the Central Area Committee allocate £2,500 from the Central Area Committee budget for the delivery of a Community Family Fun Day within the Central Area boundary as set out in Section 2 of the report.

Reason: To deliver the Family Fun Day programme within the communities of Ipswich

10.1.     Ms Ankita Aggarwal from Inside Out Community requested £4,995 towards the delivery of 25 creative workshops to support the mental health and well-being of people aged 18+ through dance, creative writing, music and performing arts. The workshops would be delivered in partnership with over 20 organisations in Central Ipswich and would seek to engage with people from different ethnic communities.

10.2.     Councillor Jones commented that not all of the organisations listed in the application were based in Ipswich. Councillor Jones noted that the workshops would take place at Eastern Angles and asked whether participants would be invited through existing members or if there were plans to invite participants from nearby communities, for example, at the YMCA and social housing in the Mountbatten Court/Wellington Court/Rendlesham Court flats.

10.3.     Ms Aggarwal commented that participants could decide how long to be involved in the programme and had the option to become members through the Member Growth Pathway.  Inside Out Community had already delivered some training at the YMCA and would be happy to consider inviting participants from the nearby social housing.

10.4.     Councillor Inga Lockington asked whether any funding was provided by the NHS, Mental Health Trusts or other organisations that made referrals given the mental health benefits of the programme.
Ms Aggarwal commented that Inside Out Community previously had a contract with Suffolk MIND for social prescribing creative workshops. The amount of funding requested represented about 5% of their annual budget.

10.5.     Councillor Kreidewolf commented that Inside Out Community had already held workshops at Eastern Angles, which was becoming an important community hub, and added that CCGs might also have funding available.

10.6.     County Councillor Richards asked where the remainder of their budget came from.
Ms Aggarwal reported that Inside Out Community were funded by the NHS Foundation Trust, Suffolk Community Foundation, The Baring Foundation and Pargiter Trust.

10.7.     In light of the limited funding available, Councillor Jones proposed that a lesser amount of £3,000 be allocated to this project and this was agreed.

Resolved:

that the Central Area Committee allocate £3,000 from the Central Area Committee budget to Inside Out Community towards the cost of delivering creative workshops for one year.

Reason: To support the mental health and well-being of participants from local communities within Central Ipswich by providing activities within a safe and friendly environment.

11.1.     Mr Dan Sedgwick from Chapter 82 requested £2,100 towards the delivery of 4 free storytelling sessions for children in Central Ipswich at The Hold and Ipswich Library. These sessions would be aimed at children aged 7-11 from St Helen’s, St Margaret’s and Clifford Road Primary Schools and would provide an opportunity to interact with storytelling and then work with an artist to create a sculpture.

11.2.     Mr Sedgwick highlighted that 69% of JobCentre customers in Suffolk did not have access to creative materials at home and 90% stated that finance was a barrier to not participating in creative activities. Furthermore, where children were falling behind on attainment, they would often be taken out of creative activities in order to undertake additional Maths/English tutorage. Participating in storytelling activities had been shown to improve literacy and self-confidence.

11.3.     Councillor Rae queried the hourly rate of the storyteller and artist, which equated to £75 per hour, which was much more than a schoolteacher was paid. Mr Sedgwick commented that he been paid £37 per hour when he had been a teacher previously; the rate for a high quality expert was £500 per day.   

11.4.     County Councillor Richards asked whether Springfield Road Primary School could be included in this project and added that she would be prepared to allocate some of her SCC locality budget to this project.

11.5.     Councillor Holmes asked whether there was any scope for funding for areas of educational deficiency following the review of the Opportunity Area funding.  Councillor Kreidewolf commented that the Ipswich Opportunity Area funding had now closed.  Councillor Riley added that this was not specifically a school project.

11.6.     Councillor Jones asked whether it was possible to engage with those children who had no cultural capital at home; even if teachers could identify families that were most affected by economic deprivation, how could the children be encouraged to attend in the school holidays.

11.7.     Mr Sedgwick reported that the sessions would be promoted in the schools and via leaflets and social media, but it would be difficult to identify those families with no access to cultural activities.

11.8.     Councillor Inga Lockington asked whether Handford Hall Primary School could be included in this project. Mr Sedgwick confirmed that both Springfield and Handford Hall Primary Schools could be included.

11.9.     County Councillors Inga Lockington and Richards indicated that they would be prepared to allocate a quarter of the costs each from their SCC locality budgets.

11.10.  Councillor Jones proposed that a lesser amount of £1,000 be allocated to this project and this was agreed.

Resolved:

that the Central Area Committee allocate £1,000 from the Central Area Committee budget to Chapter 82 towards the delivery of 4 free storytelling sessions in Central Ipswich during August 2023.

Reason: To enable children to participate in two-hour sessions designed to engage them in literacy through the magic of storytelling.

12.1.     Mr Graham Bricknell from Ormiston Families requested £4,000 towards the delivery of the ‘Breaking Barriers’ service in Central Ipswich, which provided individual support for children adversely affected by the imprisonment of a close family member; without this early intervention, 63% of children were likely to become offenders in the future.

12.2.     Ormiston Families would work with children over an 8-10 week period to identify and work towards personal goals to improve their lives, and where appropriate, build a better connection with the imprisoned relative.

12.3.     Project costs across the East of England were over £91,000; there was no financial support from the Ministry of Justice and the previous funding of £20,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) had now ended. The requested funding would only be used in Central Ipswich, with referrals taken from St Helen’s, St Margaret’s and Clifford Road Primary Schools.

12.4.     PC Bevan asked how the success of the intervention would be measured. Mr Bricknell commented that the child would self-assess their improvement against a set of personal goals, for example, how they felt and their behaviour, throughout the course of the intervention.

12.5.     Councillor Tim Lockington commented that there was a continued need for the PCC to support this type of intervention. Councillor Lockington asked how the relationship between a potentially damaged child and their imprisoned relative could be addressed within the prison environment.

12.6.     Mr Bricknell commented that most offenders would be in a local prison, and where possible, prison family support and the prison visitor service would work together to enable this, where appropriate.

12.7.     County Councillor Richards asked how many children were helped each year. Mr Bricknell reported that 5 children had been helped in Central Ipswich last year, and a similar number were expected to need help this year.

12.8.     In light of the limited funding available, Councillor Jones proposed that a lesser amount of £3,500 be allocated to this project and this was agreed.

Resolved:

that the Central Area Committee allocate £3,500 from the Central Area Committee budget to Ormiston Families towards the delivery of its ‘Breaking Barriers’ service in Central Ipswich.

Reason: To support children and young people affected by the imprisonment of a close family member, working closely with St Helen’s, Clifford Road and St Margaret’s schools.

13.1.     Ms Beth Robinson, Community Engagement Officer, reported that £500 was requested towards the costs associated with advertising and venue hire for the Central Area Committee for 2023/24.

Resolved:

that the Central Area Committee allocate £500 from the Central Area Committee budget for costs associated with advertising and venue hire for the Central Area Committee for 2023/24, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

Reason: To facilitate the good running of the Area Committee thereby meeting the goal of devolving power closer to the people.

14.1.     The Chair reported that a question had been raised by a resident at the previous meeting in relation to wheelie bins being left on the pavement. The following response was provided by the Head of Public Protection:

14.2.     The Waste Enforcement Team would investigate complaints of bins left on pavements. They would consider certain factors to determine if further action should be taken, which included whether the bin was causing a regular obstruction to highway users and/or if the bin was causing persistent dumping/litter/side waste around the bin. If the bin was attracting other waste, then it would be dealt with under legislation. If it was causing an obstruction, Officers would speak to the bin owner and advise that they would need to move their bin due to the issues being reported and affecting residents.

Regarding powers/penalties available to the Council, the Council did not currently have the powers adopted to place any fine on residents for bins on pavements. The Council was considering adoption of these powers. Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 allowed councils to instruct residents when, how and where to place waste for collection. This was an administrative rather than enforcement provision.  At present, the Waste Education Team would undertake a leaflet drop in the area to advise residents of the best place to store their containers when not out for collection. Officers would try to educate residents in the first instance once it had been established whether there were any extenuating circumstances, such as the bin being on the pavement as the result of someone being less able to move the bin.

15.1.     Councillor Kreidewolf reported that he and Councillor Jones had been dealing with reports of ASB in 3 locations within Westgate ward. Councillor Kreidewolf highlighted that the Brighten the Corners music festival had taken place last week at a number of venues across the town centre, including the new music venue at St Stephens Church, which had a capacity of 225 and provided a new purpose for this building whilst preserving its heritage features.

15.2.     Councillor Inga Lockington reported that there had been an incident at the park lodge in Christchurch Park, which had been sub-let out by the tenant; the incident had been swiftly dealt with by the Police and Parks staff and additional patrols were deployed to provide public reassurance.

·            Wednesday 6 September 2023, 7pm

·            Wednesday 1 November 2023, 7pm

·            Wednesday 3 January 2024, 7pm

·            Wednesday 21 February 2024, 7pm

16.1.     The Chair reported that the dates of future meetings were listed on the Agenda, with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday 6 September 2023 at 7pm.