Agenda and minutes

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

Resolved:

that the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 January 2024 be signed as a true record.

Resolved:

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

There were no declarations of interest.

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 February 2024. 

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.

Please note that responses will not be provided where the question requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information.

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.

58.1.     The Chair reported that one question had been submitted in advance of the meeting.

58.2.     Question 1: First Port were informed on 14 September 2023 that a provisional Tree Preservation Order (TPO 4 of 2023) had been placed on the Robinia tree adjacent to the car park entrance of Westwood Court and were also informed that the Council’s Legal Department would have notified the landowners/leaseholders of this provisional TPO. As far as I am aware, no residents who have purchased their flat in Westwood Court had been informed of the TPO and some of the elderly residents became worried when they received a letter informing them of works to be done on the Robinia and an Oak tree that had been added to the TPO.
Why were the leaseholders who were residents of Westwood Court not informed of the TPO in September 2023 and what procedures have been or will be implemented to avoid similar worries being imposed on Westwood Court residents or those of similar retirement properties within Ipswich?

58.3.     The following response was provided by the Head of Planning & Development:

The TPO was made on 29 January 2024, which was the first step of the formal TPO process. The provisional TPO could be confirmed in due course following the consultation process if the Council wished, with or without modification. Notification of the provisional TPO was sent out in a letter to individually named leaseholders in Westwood Court, notifying them of the TPO being made and giving them a period of time in which to respond; the letter clearly indicated that responses should be made by 26 February 2024. This letter was also emailed to First Port. Following the consultation, the Council would consider any representations received and decide whether to confirm the TPO, with or without modifications, or to not proceed further.

58.4.     The resident queried why residents had received a letter on 18 January 2024 notifying them of works to be done to the trees under the provisional TPO when they hadn’t yet received the notification of the TPO being made; First Port had been notified in September 2023.
Action: Clarification to be sought from the Planning Department.

59.1.     The Chair introduced Inspector Nicola Turner from the Ipswich Central Community Policing Teams who provided the following policing update.

59.2.     Inspector Turner commented that the new Community Policing Teams model focused on engaging with the community, increased visibility, especially in the town centre, and problem solving ongoing issues. Engagement activities, such as pop up events and coffee mornings, would provide an opportunity to engage with a diverse community and hard to reach groups; events could either be arranged by the Police or the Police could attend those arranged by the community. Police Officers had been attending schools across the town centre to advise on issues such as gangs and knife crime, and this had been well received.

59.3.     The Suffolk Police website had been updated to reflect the new structure, with each ward-based Community Policing Team having its own page with a list of Officers allocated to that team, priorities, crime statistics, social media updates and details of upcoming community events. To access these pages, go to the Suffolk Police website https://www.suffolk.police.uk/ and type in the road name or postcode.

59.4.     Two new PCSOs funded by the Council had been recruited and would start soon; more Officers would be out on the streets, providing a greater Police presence. Joint patrols with the Ipswich East and Ipswich West Teams and the Council’s Parking Enforcement Officers had been undertaken to tackle vehicle crime through targeted enforcement days, and a day of action was planned for Central Ipswich in March. A further week of action was also planned for March to tackle shoplifting and acquisitive crime affecting businesses.

59.5.     Current priorities were: tackling anti-social behaviour in Arras Square and the Buttermarket with increased visibility and hot-spot patrols; reducing drug activity across the town centre through a multi-agency approach with patrols and targeting the individuals involved; targeting prolific offenders in the town centre, who were causing persistent anti-social behaviour, and using powers such as Criminal Behaviour Orders.

59.6.     County Councillor Richards commented that there had been someone begging by the cashpoint machine behind the Marks and Spencer store, offering to show people how to use the cashpoint machine.

59.7.     Councillor I Lockington asked how often the website would be updated and how much notice would be given of upcoming community events.
Inspector Turner commented that 2 people would be updating the website in the next few days and would be posting details of events for the coming month.

59.8.     Councillor T Lockington reported that the Police had attended the dementia café in NE Ipswich, organised by the Ipswich Dementia Action Alliance, and the Officer had been well received; there was a very useful leaflet provided about cybercrime which was a concern for vulnerable older people.
Inspector Turner commented that the Police had a range of literature and free crime prevention materials available, which would be selected to best suit the target audience at events.

59.9.     Councillor Holmes commented that illegal parking was happening on Arras Square outside St Stephens Church and asked whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

60.1.     Ms Lisa Stannard, Head of Parks and Cemeteries, reported that following the financial commitments made at the previous meeting, the Central Area Committee now had an unallocated budget of £21.61. Ms Stannard confirmed that there was still an allocated budget of £2,272 available for fly-tipping and graffiti removal.

Resolved:

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

Reason: To provide details of the amount of funds available to the Area Committee to support priorities in Central Ipswich.

61.1.     Ms Beth Robinson, Community Engagement Officer, provided the following updates on projects that had previously been funded by the Central Area Committee.

61.2.     Eastern Angles - Work Furnace Project: £1,900 allocated to extend the hours of the Project Officer to 3 days a week to enable planning workshops and production of the festival to celebrate the heritage of working class people in Ipswich after the Second World War.
Project outcomes included: 118 volunteers involved providing 590 volunteer hours; exhibition materials available for future use; 1,000 contributors on Facebook; 200 attendees at the reminiscence and co-creation workshops; stories shared on website.

61.3.     St Elizabeth Hospice - Before I Die Mural Project: £450 allocated to provide materials for the Before I Die wall that allowed people to reflect on how they would like to live their lives and tie in with the ‘Dying Matters’ week.
Project outcomes included: 25 volunteers; wall was made available for 744 daylight hours; 1,400 people wrote on the wall; national media coverage and raised awareness of St Elizabeth Hospice; QR codes frequently accessed; partnership work with Art Eat.

61.4.     Caribbean & African Community Health Support Forum – Windrush Exhibition: £1,500 allocated to deliver the exhibition, in conjunction with the Suffolk Windrush Select Committee, which celebrated the significant impact and heritage of the Windrush Generation within Ipswich and Suffolk.
Project outcomes included: Windrush event on 22 June with special tent for Windrush elders; exhibition subsequently moved onto The Hold; 8 volunteers involved providing 200 volunteer hours; 1,000 people at the event; 2 follow-up lectures online; partnership working with Windrush elders, young people and ethnic groups.

61.5.     Ipswich Greyfriars Defibrillators: An advertising campaign would run throughout March using IBC marketing.

62.1.     The Chair provided the following updates in relation to points raised at the previous meeting:

62.2.     Minute 45.5: Feasibility of adding road markings to sub-divide Residents’ On-Street Parking Bays:

In common with many other local authorities, the Council did not sub-divide parking bays in residents’ parking zones into individual spaces as in most cases this would result in a reduction in the overall number of spaces available. This was because if individual spaces were marked, each space would need to be long enough to allow for the largest car that might reasonably be expected to be parked in a space, whereas if the bays were not individually marked, it could allow for a greater number of cars to be parked within in the same road space if some of the cars were smaller.

62.3.     Minute 45.10: Request for a 20mph zone on Back Hamlet:

Suffolk County Council’s (SCC) Transport Strategy Team have advised that Back Hamlet formed part of their Active Travel Fund scheme between Ipswich Hospital and the Waterfront, which was subject to a further bid for funding from the Department for Transport. A 20mph limit was not currently being proposed, but conditions for cycling on this route would be supported. A consultation was held in the autumn on the principles of the scheme, and a few people had responded about speeding concerns, but not that many. Any traffic calming considered for this route would need to support cycling.

Historically, 20mph speed limits were encouraged to be self-enforcing with physical traffic calming measures such as speed humps and buildouts. These measures could be unpopular with residents and were expensive to install and maintain. Whilst 20mph speed limits had been introduced locally in Ipswich, they would need to be supported by Councillors and funding would have to be identified.

The Police generally did not enforce 20mph speed limits. The National Police Chiefs’ Council speed enforcement guidelines included thresholds for enforcement across all speed limits and were intended to underpin a consistent policing approach. Within that framework Suffolk Constabulary would take a responsible and proportionate approach to the enforcement of 20mph limits based on the assessment of risk to individuals, property, and the seriousness of any breach. Police enforcement in 20mph limits and zones would not routinely take place but might be appropriate if:

·       There was clear evidence of significant non-compliance or injury collision history supported such action.

·       Where drivers were regularly and wilfully breaking the law, Officers would enforce the limit and seek to prosecute offenders.

The Suffolk Roadsafe website (https://suffolkroadsafe.com/) provided details of how communities could apply and pay for speed indicator devices; however, this would rely on volunteers to manage their deployment and rotation based on their use at a least two sites and so was more suitable for Parish Councils. In Ipswich, the situation was more suited to adding requested locations to the rotated schedule for temporary vehicle activated signs (TVAS), which was managed by SCC whose Road Safety Team had confirmed that their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

63.1.     County Councillor Richards reported that the Museum of the Environment was organising an art exhibition for school children for Easter based on animals that were either extinct or facing extinction. Details had been sent to all schools in Ipswich and exhibits could be delivered to Arlington’s in the week prior to Easter.

63.2.     Councillor I Lockington had provided funding for a TRO for Berner Street to prevent parking on corners; however, this TRO had been put back until at least September 2024 as there was concern that it would be confused with the TRO for the town centre pedestrianised areas.

63.3.     Councillor Kreidewolf commented that the town centre TRO had been further delayed due to an incorrect email contact in the public consultation information.

63.4.     Councillor I Lockington commented that a sink hole had appeared in the car park on Chelsworth Avenue; SCC Highways had originally thought it was an Anglian Water issue, but there were no drains involved, so the issue was referred back to SCC Highways to resolve.
Councillor Lockington thanked the Street Cleaning Team for removing the decaying leaves from Westerfield Road next to Christchurch Park.
Ms Stannard reported that over 5 tons of wet leaves had been removed.

63.5.     Councillor T Lockington commented that the detritus from vegetation was causing issues with blocked drains, for example, outside the former nursery on Westerfield Road; keeping the gutters and drains clear was an ongoing issue between the Council and SCC.
Ms Stannard commented that it was difficult for the Council to fully clear gutters if there were vehicles parked on the street, so sometimes a parking suspension would be considered to enable street cleaning.