Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ellesmere, Councillor Man, Councillor Wilson, County Councillor Bridgeman and County Councillor Cenci.

Resolved:

that the Minutes of the meeting held on 31 October 2024 be signed as a true record.

Resolved:

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

Councillor Gardiner declared that his grandchildren had previously participated in the activities provided by Chantry Guides (Agenda Item 7) and Creative Computing Club (Agenda Item 9).

32.1.     PC Simon Cousins of the Ipswich West Community Policing Team reported that the crime statistics had been produced over a longer period, so the number of crimes reported had increased. There had been a seasonal increase in theft, especially of parcels left on doorsteps; retail theft, which was a national issue; and vehicle-related theft, which tended to be opportunistic due to vehicle owners not locking their vehicles and leaving valuables on show; otherwise, there was no trend or crime pattern.

32.2.     There had been one serious crime in Admiral Road, but the offender had been caught and charged with attempted murder and aggravated burglary.

Residents are encouraged to ask questions for Area Committee meetings. Questions will be read out by the Chair of the Committee and 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. All questions must be received by 10am two working days before the day of the meeting, for this meeting the deadline is 10am on Monday 30 December 2024.

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 individuals (whether by name or other information) unless the consent of that individual has been obtained and included within 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 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 confirmed that no questions had been received ahead of the meeting and invited questions from the public.

33.2.     County Councillor West reported that there had been anti-social behaviour caused by a group of young people from the Stonelodge Park/Hawthorn Drive area with windows being broken and eggs thrown in Bridgwater Road and Cherry Blossom Close; the same group of young people had also been seen in the Co-op store in Pinewood. County Councillor West had raised the issues with the Police and asked whether any further incidents had been logged. County Councillor West noted that the Co-op would have CCTV available, and asked if the local schools would be able to help identify those involved.
PC Harper was not aware of any crime trend in this area; County Councillor West offered to forward the information onto PC Harper for further investigation.    

34.1.     Ms Tricia Hale, 10^th Ipswich (Chantry) Guides Leader, gave a presentation on their trip to the Girl Guiding World Centre in London, Pax Lodge, which had been funded by the South West Area Committee, with the following feedback:

·        All members of the unit participated in the trip and paid a £25 deposit.

·        The guides planned the guiding-led trip, based on a budget of £120 each to cover basic transport and accommodation costs, places to visit and a budget for food.

·        The guides voted on their choices, e.g. places to visit, within their groups and were given train timetables and map of the London Underground to plan their routes, which for many of the guides was the first time that they had used a timetable/route map.

·        The guides set off at 7.30am on Saturday with just a small backpack each for their overnight stay and were accompanied by 4 adults and 4 Youth Leaders to provide advice on the decisions taken by the guides.

·        The guides took the spiral staircase at The Monument to the Great Fire of London, which provided views of the London skyline and a certificate for climbing to the top; took the cable car across the Thames and had a picnic; boarded the Thames Clipper to London Bridge; and visited the London Dungeons, making their booking online. 

·        The guides then made their way via the Underground to Pax Lodge, which was located in Belsize Park.

·        The guides needed to decide what and where to eat, being mindful of those with food allergies and whether venues could accommodate the size of their group.

·        Pax Lodge held a ceremony to commemorate their visit and issued the guides with a special pin/badge.

·        The guides took part in a Monopoly board challenge to find places in London including Abbey Road crossing, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Platform 9¾ at Kings Cross, Lego store at Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben/Parliament Square.

·        In China Town, part of the group ate at a Chinese buffet whilst the others ate at Burger King.

·        Outcomes from the trip: how to work together in small groups and make new friends, how to make decisions and compromising where necessary, how to budget for all the elements of the trip, how to read maps and timetables across a range of transport options, having time away from family to just be themselves and have new experiences, e.g. for one girl, this was the first time she had eaten out in public.

·        What next: the guides had stayed on to become Rangers, 2 were Young Leaders, 1 was an Adult Leader, 1 was working at Camp America, 3 were Patrol leaders and 5 had earnt their Guides Gold Challenge award.  

34.2.     Councillor C Smart asked whether there had been other groups attending Pax Lodge for the guides to interact with.
Ms Hale commented that there were guides from Ireland at Pax Lodge and added that the Girl Guiding World Centres were run by volunteers from all over the world.

35.1.     The Chair reported that this application had been deferred at the previous meeting to enable more information to be provided by the applicant; a list of questions and responses were tabled.

35.2.     Councillor Blacker asked whether the SCC locality funding contributions had been confirmed.
Ms Zara Hanman, Community Engagement Officer, commented that there had been no further update.
Councillor C Smart commented that he thought that only County Councillor Wilson had locality funding remaining.
Ms Hanman commented that the County Councillors had originally offered to cover the 10% match funding contribution, but added that match funding would only be required if the Area Committee provided £5,000 or more towards the project.

35.3.     Councillor Rudkin suggested that £3,000 be allocated to this project, as there were other funding requests to consider, and asked what outcomes could be delivered for South West Ipswich from this amount of funding.
Ms Hanman commented that it was possible to stipulate individual elements of the bid or to perhaps fund the delivery of sessions over a shorter period.

35.4.     Councillor Hughes commented that the hall hire costs was a straightforward element to fund.

35.5.     Councillor Connelly commented that there were some elements that didn’t need to be funded again, such as the legislative items, as these should already be in place for the existing classes.

35.6.     Councillor Rudkin proposed that £3,000 be allocated to cover the hall hire costs (£1,200) with the remainder (£1,800) to be used towards staff costs as these elements of the bid would most benefit the South West Ipswich area, and this was agreed.

35.7.     Councillor Connelly suggested that the applicant be signposted to County Councillor Wilson for locality funding towards the project.   

Resolved:

that the South West Area Committee allocate £3,000 from the South West Area Committee budget to StartStrong Fitness CIC towards the hall hire and staffing cost elements of delivering free parent and baby classes in South West Ipswich.

Reason: To improve the mental and physical well-being of pregnant women and new mothers/fathers in South West Ipswich.

36.1.     Mr Matthew C Applegate, Director of the Creative Computing Club CIC, reported that £4,800 was requested to deliver 4 days of workshops during the February half-term for up to 120 young people, featuring activities such as robotics, AI and video game development. Creative Computing Club offered courses for young people, aged 8-12 and 12-16, to encourage them to get involved in technology and learn skills that could be transferred into future employment in that sector.

36.2.     Councillor Rudkin asked whether there was any opportunity for decision-making within the proposed activities.
Mr Applegate commented that the workshops would provide many benefits, including working in groups, potentially with people they might not necessarily like, managing their own transport to the venue, building resilience by making mistakes and learning from them and stealth learning opportunities whilst playing with robotics and video gaming.

36.3.     Councillor Connelly commented on the diverse nature of the young people who engaged with the Creative Computing Club, some of whom did not thrive in mainstream education, such as young people with SEND issues.
Mr Applegate commented that Creative Computing Club was able to work with any young person despite personal challenges, such as ADHD, autism, depression and anxiety, and use technology to empower them and enable them to do more in the world. Attending Creative Computing Club activities had also resulted in greater school attendance. Mr Applegate added that there had been a shortage of females in technology and had found that the best age to get more females involved was by engaging students at primary school level.

36.4.     Councillor Hughes commented that Creative Computing Club had established clear routes into employment in technology and young people who had previously attended were now in highly trusted/skilled positions.
Mr Applegate commented that the activities offered involved 6 programming languages and opportunities to build apps and video games. Former attendees had gone on to get jobs in Government departments, Cyber Security, BT and NASA; one attendee had since set up their own video gaming company in Ipswich.

36.5.     Councillor McSweeney asked whether a certificate could be produced for workshop attendees as this was an achievement that could be added to a CV, especially if a young person had not got any formal qualifications.
Mr Applegate commented that certificates were not normally issued as attendees were encouraged to continue to use their acquired skills at home, especially as the software used was either free or very cheap; however, a certificate could be arranged outlining what the course covered.
Councillor Hughes highlighted that each workshop would also include a reflection session.  

Resolved:

that the South West Area Committee allocate £4,800 from the South West Area Committee budget to Creative Computing Club to run technology workshops for young people during the February 2025 half-term and purchase new equipment and software.

Reason: To provide young people with valuable technology skills, teamwork experience and inspire a passion for learning.

37.1.     Ms Susannah Robirosa, ActivGardens Manager, reported that £2,845.48 was requested to upgrade security at the CRESS Pavilion and upgrade facilities for volunteers at the Chantry Walled Garden and the People’s Community Garden.

37.2.     The CRESS Pavilion was used for ActivGardens activities involving schools and volunteers, training and community workshops; an upgrade was required to the intruder alarm and the security lights needed repairing. Additionally, blast heaters were required to replace the failing boilers at the Chantry Walled Garden, and also at the People’s Community Garden to be able to heat the polytunnel and potting up areas to provide a comfortable environment for volunteers during the winter months.

37.3.     Councillor Rudkin asked whether ActivLives had contacted the Council about the security upgrade quote.
Ms Robirosa commented that there was an existing intruder alarm, but it needed upgrading. ActivLives had contacted IPSERV for advice and the alarm would be upgraded by the same company.

37.4.     Councillor Connelly asked whether the boilers at the Chantry Walled Garden were repairable.
Ms Robirosa reported that there were 2 boilers at either end of the cedar glass houses; one had been repaired by taking parts from the other boiler. To replace the boiler would cost £11k, so the blast heaters was a cheaper option and would only be used to keep the volunteers warm.      

Resolved:

that the South West Area Committee allocate £2,845.48 from the South West Area Committee budget to ActivLives to upgrade security at the CRESS Pavilion and upgrade facilities for volunteers at the Chantry Walled Garden and People’s Community Garden.

Reason: The CRESS Pavilion is used for many community activities and storage and the improvement to facilities at the Chantry Walled Garden and People’s Community Garden will enable activities to continue during the winter months.

The Chair reported that there were no actions raised at the previous meeting.

Gipping Ward:

39.1.     Councillor Gardiner commented that the Police were dealing with an anti-social behaviour issue on Hawthorn Drive.

39.2.     Councillor Hughes reported that the Council had cut back the shrubbery at the Co-op store before Christmas and this had made a real difference. Councillor Hughes commented that the anti-social behaviour on Barrack Corner and Portman Road was continuing; Gipping and Westgate ward Councillors were working with partners to address this.

39.3.     Councillor Hughes was looking to start a litter picking group for London Road, and a garden project for volunteers on Dickens Road, led by Reverend Carey, was looking for equipment, e.g. lawnmower, hedge trimmer.

Bridge Ward:

39.4.     Councillor Connelly commented that work was ongoing to find strategies to deal with litter and fly-tipping in the Old Stoke area; Tyler Street had improved but the issue moved elsewhere. Councillor Connelly stressed the importance of residents reporting anti-social behaviour otherwise it would not be addressed.

39.5.     Councillor P Smart commented that meetings had been held with officers to tackle the accumulation of rubbish in the area and the Parks Team would be looking at improvements to the shrubbed areas on Vernon Street and Austin Street.

39.6.     Councillor Rudkin commented that there had been a housing issue in the Austin Street flats. There were parking issues on the Rectory Road as residents on this street had chosen not to join the residents parking zone scheme that had been implemented on other nearby streets.

Stoke Park Ward:

39.7.     Councillor Blacker reported that a resident on Evesham Close had set up a community scheme similar to Neighbourhood Watch to connect up with other similar groups and raise local issues. Councillor Blacker commented that some tree works had been completed to the satisfaction of the residents; however, there was another area of land that was not being maintained and did not appear to belong to anyone, and this was proving difficult to resolve.

Sprites Ward:

39.8.     Councillor C Smart commented that he had been dealing with casework and issues relating to overgrown vegetation.

39.9.     Councillor McSweeney commented that there had been less issues at Chantry Library recently. Issues with dog waste on Kingfisher Avenue and Robin Drive were continuing; Councillor Rudkin commented that the Council’s Environmental Health Team might be able to help with some targeted patrols.

39.10.  Councillor Smith commented that a well-being group had been set up to offer exercise to music for those with limited mobility with referrals via social prescribing; a second group was being considered for residents as there was a waiting list for this activity.

40.1.     Ms Lisa Stannard, Head of Parks and Cemeteries, reported that the Area Committee started the meeting with an unallocated budget of £17,465. The following financial commitments had been made:

·        £3,000 – StartStrong Fitness

·        £4,800 – Creative Computing Club

·        £2,845.48 – ActivLives

leaving an unallocated budget of £6,819.52.

Resolved:

that the financial statement in Appendix 1 to 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.

·            Thursday 27 February 2025, 6.30pm – St Francis Church Hall, Hawthorn Drive

The Chair reported that the next meeting would take place on Thursday 27 February 2025 at 6.30pm at St Francis Church, Hawthorn Drive.