Agenda and minutes

Apologies for Absence were received from Councillors Forster, Trenchard and Xhaferaj, and from Suffolk County Councillor Goldsmith.

Resolved:

that the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2024 be signed as a true record.

Resolved:

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

Agenda Item 11 – NWAC/24/05 Funding Request: Ipswich.love

Councillor Murray declared that she had a pecuniary interest in this application as she advertised her business on Ipswich.love and she would therefore leave the meeting during the consideration of this item.

Following the grant of funding in March 2024 towards the costs of their new mess tent (NWAC/23/15) the 37th Ipswich Guides will provide an update to the Committee.

19.1.    Tracy Westley, representing the 37^th Ipswich Guides, reported that their summer camp at Boxford Spinney had been very successful, with 13 girls taking part in a wide range of activities. Unfortunately the Mess Tent which the Area Committee had funded had only arrived a few days prior to the camp and so it hadn’t been possible to test it and when they had gone to use it on the camp some of the parts were found to be wrong; these had now been replaced. Fortunately the weather during the summer camp had been good and so it was possible to do without an indoor eating space and the mess tent would be used for camps for many years to come.

19.2.    Councillor Wright said that he knew from family members the benefits of Guiding and thanked Tracy and all the other Leaders who helped to make it happen in North West Ipswich.

Following the grant of funding in June 2023 towards the costs of the transformation of 4 homes for vulnerable families in North West Ipswich (NWAC/23/03) Dora Brown will provide an update to the Committee.

20.1.    Jo Revett, representing Dora Brown, reported that the funding granted by the North West Area Committee had allowed the charity to assist 12 adults and 16 families to have cleaner, tidier homes. Volunteers had spent 253 hours helping these families and all had been left with a bed, mattress and clean bedding; some of the funding granted had also been used to carpet rooms. Positive feedback had been received from both families and those who had made referrals to Dora Brown and the work had made a significant and lasting difference to the families.

20.2.    Councillor Wright thanked Jo Revett for the update and the Dora Brown team for their work.

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 Tuesday 5 November.

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.

21.1.    A resident explained that there had been lots of weeds in pavements and grass verges had been very overgrown in the summer; this had meant that using pavements had been difficult. The resident noted that he had seen a team of people removing weeds on Colchester Road and asked why this was not done elsewhere.

21.2.    Councillor Wright noted that the cutting of grass verges and the removal of weeds was a Suffolk County Council responsibility.

21.3.    Suffolk County Councillor Murray explained that this work had previously been done by Ipswich Borough Council on behalf of Suffolk County Council but that owing to a disagreement about funding Ipswich Borough Council had returned the responsibility to Suffolk County Council in 2023. Suffolk County Council had contracted the work out but this was not yet delivering to the standards expected. Various types of equipment were being trialled to improve cutting and weed removal. Councillor Murray said that Glyphosate was no longer used to kill weeds due to environmental issues but explained that she was lobbying for it to be used again.

21.4.    Councillor Fisher commented that there had been less of an issue in 2024 than in 2023 and he hoped that there would be a continued improvement.

21.5.    Suffolk County Councillor Lockington noted that many residents had complained about the issue and that it was certainly a matter which was discussed by Suffolk County Councillors regularly.

21.6.    The Director – Operations and Place, James Fairclough, reported that Ipswich Borough Council had done some additional weed clearance in 2024, including the work reported by the resident on Colchester Road; this had not been funded by Suffolk County Council but had been done at the request of Councillors on Ipswich Borough Council’s Executive.

21.7.    Councillor Shaw commented that some pavements had been like green carpets and that she had heard of two incidents where people had fallen over as a result of weeds.

22.1.    Inspector Naomi Lofthouse gave an update on Policing in the area. Whilst there had been some increases in the number of crimes committed they remained low generally. In Whitton and Castle Hill there had been more Drug Offences but this reflected a greater amount of pro-active work to disrupt the supply of drugs. Issues with shoplifting at Anglia Retail Park continued and a plan had been put in place to try to resolve this. There had been an increased number of ‘Stop and Searches’ all of which had led to arrests. In Whitehouse there had similarly been an increase in the number of Drug Offences recorded, again as a result of more pro-active work by the Police. Other types of crime remained low and 80% of ‘Stop and Searches’ undertaken had led to arrests.

22.2.    The priorities for the Ipswich West Safer Neighbourhood Team were:

-       Commercial / Non-Residential Burglaries.

-       Theft from Motor Vehicles.

-       Anti-Social Behaviour, including vehicles.

22.3.    The Southern Area priorities were:

-       Drugs and Violent Crime in Ipswich, with the Operation leading to 59 arrests and 6 convictions so far, with 8 further individuals remanded in custody. 23 drugs warrants had been executed and 104 visits had taken placed to properties suspected of or vulnerable to being cuckooed.

-       Youth Violence in Felixstowe.

-       Youth Drug Related Violence.

23.1.    The Chair noted that there had been a discussion at the last meeting about publicity and reported that the following publicity would be done going forward:

-       Letters and Emails sent to previous attendees who had signed up (10 letters and 70 emails at present);

-       A poster would be displayed at the venue;

-       An Electronic Flyer to circulated to Councillors, Schools and to any Groups nominated by Councillors.

23.2.    The Chair noted that all of the above could be met from core budgets and so the £320 Venue Hire and Publicity Budget was not required.

Resolved:

that £320 of the Venue Hire and Publicity budget for 2024/25 be returned to the main North West Area Committee budget.

Whitehouse Ward

24.1.    Councillor Wright reported that the Flying Horse appeared to be successful as a community venue as well as a pub and now had a good family friendly reputation. Upcoming events included a Meet Father Christmas Breakfast and Christmas Wreath Making. There had been issues with footpaths which had been reported to Suffolk County Councillor Goldsmith who had got Officers to take action.

Whitton Ward

24.2.    Councillor Shaw reported that she hoped to re-start litter picks in the New Year. Improvements had been made to the Fircroft Road shops area and there was now a Fish and Chip Lunch for people with Dementia at Dryden Road United Reformed Church. The Deacon at Whitton Church, Maureen Bonsall, had sadly passed away but the top-up shop she had created there was a great legacy.

Castle Hill Ward and Whitehouse and Whitton Division

24.3.    Councillor Murray reported that there had been an issue with flooding at Ashcroft Road and that there was a project to install Sustainable Urban Drainage Solutions at Ormiston Endeavour Academy to help deal with this; Suffolk County Council was working with Anglian Water on this.

24.4.    Councillor Murray had visited Broomhill Pool as part of the recent open day; there remained concern about parking should the pool re-open.

24.5.    Councillor Murray noted that a Remembrance Wreath had been made by children with Special Educational Needs at Castle Hill School and that she would be laying this on their behalf. Vehicle Activated Signs were being used in Congreave Road and Defoe Road to remind drivers of speed limits. There was an issue with Suffolk County Council’s policy in relation to Speed Indicator Devices as the policy allowed these to be purchased by Town and Parish Councils, which excluded Ipswich.

24.6.    Councillor Murray reported that she had met with the Police and Crime Commissioner about Knife Crime and that she wanted an Ipswich focussed strategy to deal with this.

24.7.    Councillor Murray reported that there had been a delay in the installation of Autism Communication Boards but that these would be installed soon.

St Margaret’s Division

24.8.    Councillor Lockington said that she hoped that the Broomhill Pool application would be considered by the Council’s Planning and Development Committee soon. The Director – Operations and Place, James Fairclough, reported that the application had been considered by Officers and that this would be granted once a Section 106 agreement had been completed. Councillor Richards reported that a small amount of money was needed by Fusion leisure to allow them to start work.

24.9.    Councillor Richards reported that there had been issues with co-op delivery vehicles when turning and a sign was to be installed to prevent this. The service roads alongside Valley Road were also to be resurfaced soon.

25.1.    Having declared an interest, Councillor Murray left the room for the duration of this item.

25.2.    Miranda Acres, representing Ipswich.love introduced the funding request, which sought £500 towards the cost of website improvements and promotion of the platform. Ipswich.love was a new event listing website which had been set up in response to people saying that nothing happened in Ipswich; there was in facts lots going on but this wasn’t advertised in a single place. Ipswich.love had built a free listing website, and social media posts highlighting events were put out every day, as well as frequent blogs and a Love Letters to Ipswich project. 12 Volunteers had supported the project and around £6,000 had been spent on the project so far by the founders.

25.3.    Councillor Fisher noted that the Council was paying Ipswich Central £100,000 to update the All About Ipswich website and asked whether Ipswich.love could work with Ipswich Central on providing one listings website. Miranda Acres explained that All About Ipswich was focussed on larger Town Centre events whereas Ipswich.love was intended to cover all of Ipswich, including those parts of ‘Greater Ipswich’ not within the Borough Boundary. The funding requested was for improvements to the website and promotional merchandise such as postcards; it was not anticipated that any core funding would be needed and Ipswich.love wished to remain independent and unrestrained by politics.

25.4.    Councillor Shaw asked who the volunteers working on the project were. Miranda Acres explained that so far volunteers had largely been invited to join the project owing to their skills but that volunteers were now needed to update events listings and teach others how to do so. She confirmed that Ipswich.love had worked with young people on the Love.letters project and would be happy to work more with young people in the future. 

Resolved:

that the North West Area Committee allocate £500 from the North West Area Committee budget to Ipswich.Love for webhosting and marketing.

Reason: to support Ipswich.Love’s project to promote events happening in Ipswich

26.1.    Taryn Dennis, representing Families Together Suffolk introduced the funding request, which sought £3,957.75 towards the cost of additional hours for their Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Coordinator to support more families from North West Ipswich. Families Together Suffolk supported families with children under the age of 12 through home visits and 15 groups. 21% of the families currently supported by the SEND Coordinator were from North West Ipswich and each family received a tailored package of support to build resilience and confidence.

26.2.    Councillor Shaw asked whether all Schools in North West Ipswich were aware of the service and how to refer families. Taryn Dennis said that she thought they were, but agreed to ask the co-ordinator to make sure that they were aware.

Resolved:

that the North West Area Committee allocate £3,957.75 from the North West Area Committee budget to Families Together Suffolk to extend the hours of their SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Coordinator

Reason: to allow Families Together Suffolk to reach and support more North West Ipswich families with children with SEND. 

27.1.    The Director – Operations and Place, James Fairclough, reported that at the start of the meeting the main North West Area Committee Budget had an unallocated budget of £13,483.56 remaining. Following the decisions made at today’s meeting there was now £9,345.81 remaining.

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 support priorities in North West Ipswich.

Thursday 16 January 2025, 7pm, Castle Hill United Reformed Church

Thursday 13 March 2025, 7pm, Whitton Baptist Church

Resolved:

that the dates of future meetings printed on the Agenda be noted.