Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed Members and officers to the meeting and wished everyone a Happy New Year.  He also welcomed Cllr David Hayes BC who was in attendance.  The Chair advised that he had agreed that Cllr Hayes could present an item regarding on street parking later in the meeting.  The Chair also advised that he had agreed for Cllr M Smidowicz to present an item on cycling in Loughborough Town Centre.  The Chair advised that these items will be presented but officer responses will be brought back to the next meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from County Cllrs Bentley, Houseman, Radford and Knaggs and Borough Cllr Williams.

There are no urgent items.  

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 13th September 2016 were confirmed and signed as a true record of the meeting.    

The Chair informed Members that following a report to the last meeting regarding flooding, a leaflet had been produced with emergency flood advice and who to contact.  A copy of this leaflet will be attached to these minutes.  Mr Vears emphasised that members of the public should be advised that the emergency services should be called in the event of a flood. If they have concerns about the possibility of flooding and they are in any doubt about who to call they can contact the County Council’s Customer Services on 0116 305 0001.  He also asked if Members could disseminate this information in their areas and add it to their local Newsletters and information sheets where possible.

The Forum considered an update by the Director of Environment and Transport regarding grass cutting.  This update was introduced by Mr Vears with a copy filed with the minutes.

Mr Vears took Members through the update and highlighted the key areas of the report.  He advised that the number of customer contacts with regard to grass cutting had reduced in 2016 following a number of changes including a renewed proactive approach to customer care.  Mr Vears emphasised that the County Council cut the grass for safety purposes and not for amenity and he asked Members to use their roles to assist with the public’s expectations of this.  He added that there would be no change in cutting visibility splays (as per para 7f of the report).

Mr Vears went on to say that this was all good news but if Members are aware of any issues they must contact the Customer Service Centre.  This will ensure that all issues are logged and responded to quickly and efficiently, this will also allow us to see the hot spots which in turn will help us to continue to improve our services.  He also added that a real-time dashboard technology is used now which ensures quicker responses.

Cllr P Lewis CC thanked officers for their assistance and support during the recent Loughborough in Bloom event.

RECOMMENDATION

That the update of the Director of Environment and Transport be noted.

There are no current petitions.

A petition was received by officers after the deadline so didn’t make it onto this agenda.  The petition was from M Lee asking for the removal of the mini roundabout at junction of Barrow Road and Loughborough Road, Quorn.  This petition will be formally presented at the next meeting.

The Forum considered a report by the Director of Environment and Transport with regard to the Highway Maintenance Strategy and Policy Review.  The report was introduced by Mr Vears with a copy filed with the minutes.

Mr Vears took Members through the report and advised that this followed on from the report to the meeting on 4th July 2016 on the A-Roads to Zebras – A Comprehensive Maintenance Review which detailed the reasons for the review and the current extreme financial challenges and the changes in the way that funding is provided, together with the changes that will need to occur to comply with reducing budgets. 

Mr Vears went on to say that the responses to the consultation were mixed but gave a good steer as to what services the public think are important.  A detailed analysis of the responses was presented to the Cabinet on 13th December 2016.  Following Cabinet approval, a draft Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy have been produced and are attached to the report for information. 

Mr Vears encouraged Members to feed into this process and their thoughts and feedback would be welcome.  The results will be rolled into the 2018/19 programme.

Mr Vears highlighted para 7.3 of the report which details the 78% reduction in spending power. 

Cllr K Pacey BC advised that he had observed that quite frequently, almost weekly the red bricks at the end of some roads in  his area get damaged and need replacing and asked would it be more cost effective and efficient to get these removed and replace them with tarmac.  Mr Vears responded that we do need to think about what can be changed to improve the network in an efficient way and Members need to keep us informed of any issues.

Cllr M E Newton CC agreed that this was a difficult budget to manage, especially with the public’s expectations being so high.  She asked if a public relations exercise was needed to alleviate fears with regard to the link with part-night street lighting and recent burglaries in Loughborough.  Mr Vears responded that this was part of the process and that if residents do have any issues that these need to be raised with officers who can then discuss these with the police.  Mr Vears asked if this issue had been raised, Cllr Newton replied that it had been raised with the police, Mr Vears asked her to raise this with both the police and officers. 

Cllr R Shepherd CC asked how Members can help officers and help with public expectations.  Mr Vears stated that it was about how we communicate and let the public self-help and if officers can’t assist, we need to look at how we facilitate i.e. third party funding.  Mr Vears went onto say that improvements are being looked at as to how to allow the public to self-track issues without officer involvement. 

The Chair highlighted para 12 on page 49 which talks about the importance of two-way communication.

Cllr Shepherd stated that we didn’t communicate to the public when the decision was made for the grass verges not to be cut and the number of complaints that were received due to this.  He advised that lessons could be learned from this.  Mr Vears agreed although stated that even when leaflet drops are carried out the public don’t always read them.  He went onto say in Northampton County Council their budget is much less than ours but the public satisfaction appears to be better, we can learn from what they have done.

Cllr M Smidowicz BC raised an issue about reinstatements following  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Members noted the report.

Members noted the report.

There are no on-going actions.

Cllr Hayes and Cllr Smidowicz were asked to present their items:

Cllr Smidowicz has had several requests from the Nanpantan Residents Group about a big problem with cyclists riding through Loughborough Town Centre, particularly Beech Yard and Wards End.  Cllr Smidowicz would like more ‘No cycling’ signs erected if possible or painted signs on the road to ask cyclists to dismount.  Mr Vears agreed to ask officers to investigate and an update be brought to the next meeting.

Cllr David Hayes BC introduced himself as the Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services which includes car parking and he has attended a couple of Scrutiny meetings where they have discussed the Car Parking Strategy and how this affects the on-street car parking in Charnwood.  Cllr Hayes would like better communication with LCC and does not understand why this is difficult, he has requested a simple guide for Members to know and understanding about CPZ, what they are and the process of requesting one in their area  if on street parking is a problem.  Mr Vears agreed that an update would be brought back to the next meeting.

Cllr Hayes raised an issue about the danger of cyclists riding through Loughborough Market and asked that this be looked at.  Mr Vears agreed that an update be brought back to the next meeting.

Cllr Hayes also raised concern about the delays following the successful pedestrianisation of Market Street.  A TRO was agreed to extend the Market area so the stalls can spread out away from the shops near Lloyds Bank.  Mr Vears agreed that officers will look into this and an update be brought back to the next meeting.

RECOMMENDATIONS

i)          That officers look into having more ‘No Cycling’ signs erected or painted through the Loughborough Town Centre, particularly Beech Yard and Wards End; and

ii)         that officers investigate how the car parking strategy will affect the on-street car parking in Charnwood and provide a simple guide for Members to know and understanding about CPZ; and

iii)        that officers look into the danger of cyclists riding through Loughborough Market.; and

iv)        that officers investigate the delays following the TRO agreed for the pedestrianisation of Market Street, Loughborough. 

The Chairman asked Members to let officers have in writing any items for consideration for future agendas within 10 days of the date of the meeting. These items can be sent to Sue Dann, e-mail sue.dann@leics.gov.uk

There are no urgent items.

The Chairman confirmed that the date of the next meeting has now been arranged and will be on Tuesday 20th June 2017 at 4.30pm in CR2

The Chairman thanked Members and officers for their attendance at the meeting.  He stated that he is not standing for re-election as a County Councillor and that this will be his and Cllr T Kershaw’s last meeting.  The Chairman thanked Members for the work that the Forum has achieved.  The Members thanked Cllr Snartt for his time as Chair.