Action Note of Ward Forum held on Wednesday 27th February 2008, at the Muirtown Primary School at 6.00pm
Attendees
Councillor Pauline Munro
Councillor Alex Graham
Councillor Jimmy MacDonald
David Haas, City Manager - Chair
Chief Inspector Ian Cox, Northern Constabulary
Iain Wallace, Area Roads and Community Works Manager
Murdo MacLeod, Traffic Technician
Douglas Wilby, Senior Community Learning and Leisure Officer
Veronica Mackay, Education Officer
Karen Hamilton, Ward Manager – (Action Note)
1. Introduction and feedback from previous Forums
Mr Haas introduced Councillors and Officers present and invited the Ward Manager to update the Forum on actions from previous meetings.
The Canal Crossing/TLR issue is now with the Scottish Government pending a decision on funding which is expected in August of this year.
The Youth Forum groups have met again with Councillors since the Forum in November last and agreed a way forward. They will produce questionnaires for a wider audience including local toddler groups, other primary schools in the area, youth clubs and Academy pupils. In this way they hope to gather views on what facilities fit best in what place so that the Play Park strategy of upgrading equipment will have best effect. The next step will be to consult with Community Councils about the Youth Shelter/Skate Park facility. The group have been awarded £8,000 from Area Discretionary Budget for this additional resource and are waiting to hear about an £11,000 donation form the Local Action Fund.
2. Community Safety Update
Chief Inspector Ian Cox have an update on changes to policing structures to take effect from April. The 8 Area Commands will re-organise into 3 Divisions which will result in better use of resources, reduced bureaucracy and most importantly more officers at the front line.
Ward 14 will fall within the Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch Division and will have a designated Chief Inspector.
He described these changes as responding to the changing face of Inverness as it has evolved into City status which has brought with it more complex policing requirements.
He focused on 3 main themes that affect this area:
Under age drinking – irresponsible drink marketing is being addressed nationally which will help. Local by-laws currently focus on drinking from open containers rather than being in possession of alcohol which the police would like to see changed. Experimental test purchasing by young people under supervision and guidance is also under way.
Anti Social Behaviour – Again often linked to alcohol abuse and street violence. The partnership between the Highland Council and Northern Constabulary - described by Ian as being ‘joined at the hip’ enabled information and solutions to be shared across agencies through curfew orders and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts as well as the most extreme measure of Anti Social Behaviour Orders.
Traffic Offences – significant in this Ward in relation to the trunk road, the A82. The police have designated vehicles with Automatic Number Plate Recognition which will help target offenders. In response to a later question he advised that following public concern about speeding on the 30mph limit section of the A82 increased surveillance has resulted in 3 driver charged and 11 warned so far this year.
There were a number of comments and questions from the floor:
The loss of the Police porta cabin within the Ward as a point of contact was seen as a step backwards in Community Policing and there was comment that Police patrol cars were less effective. In relation to one incident CI Cox commented that although visual recognition of offenders carrying an assault might be difficult the police used a variety of methods to identify criminals not only identity and he was proud of the detection rate of the force generally. The person who raised this point agreed that the matter was handled with sensitivity and professionalism by the Police.
In relation to under age drinking the question was put about how the licensed premises were penalised for selling alcohol to children. Councillors commented that whilst this was taken very seriously it did not always result in the loss of license to trade. The use of ‘agents’ to purchase alcohol was also a difficult issue to address.
3. Question time
There were four questions submitted in advance of the Forum:
School Crossing Controller and 20 mph speed limit on Scorguie Road
Veronica Mackay advised the questioner who was present that recruitment of school crossing patroller had been unsuccessful and the Head Teacher was currently developing a bank of volunteers to ensure the crossing patrol was maintained in the short term. Councillor Munro advised that this has been discussed with the Director of Education who is aware of the problem. Although repeated attempts to recruit have been unsuccessful, the authority would review the situation and would re-advertise if necessary.
Mr MacLeod, Traffic Technician has investigated the speed issue and found that average speeds were not excessive on Scorguie Road at the junction. He suggested a solution in the form of part-time 20mph speed limit to coincide with the times when pupils normally arrive at/depart from the school. He provided a map of the location of these signs. This was welcomed by the questioner and the statutory consultation process will now begin, This was accepted and welcomed by the questioner.
Charleston Community Complex staffing
There have been changes in the operation of the Charleston Academy Campus as a community facility:
• The Highland Football Academy project has added sports pitches;
• The school is keen to encourage greater community use of the school building.
Both of these have added to what is available to the public and compliment very well what has been provided at the community complex.
Rather than establishing separate operational arrangement for the Community Complex; School and Football Academy; the Council has sought to bring these together as a single operation. This has resulted in staff working different shifts form what they previously worked and staff who were focused on a single element of the operation previously becoming involved in the operation of the facility as a whole.
We have recognised that this approach has raised the issue of different staff operating the building from those whom customers have been used to. Recently, a member of staff has been seconded to work at Charleston and while she is there she will be able to act a as point of contact for customers. She is also reviewing staffing requirements at the facility and she will be including this issue in the review.
Councillor Graham commented that he recognised the impact changes at the Complex has had on officials, staff and the users of the service and would continue discussions on how to resolve this with Director of Education. The representative of the user group that put the question accepted this response but noted that they would continue to pursue the matter.
New Housing in the Leachkin area and its impact on traffic and schools:
Mr Iain Wallace advised that the Council as local roads authority was a statutory consultee for all planning applications where roads and access may be an issue. In complex cases the developer is required to submit a traffic impact assessment showing how traffic from any proposed development will affect the existing road network and existing traffic flows and behaviour. All roads and access proposals associated with any new development have to be acceptable to the Council as roads authority prior to the grant of any planning consent. Mr Wallace anticipated that any increased traffic build up from the new housing in the Leachkin area would be within acceptable limits. A supplementary point was made that construction traffic continues to use Leachkin Way to access the development at the top of the hill. Mr Wallace agreed to have this investigated and feed back to a future forum.
Veronica Mackay advised that the School roll at Charleston was capped at present as it was at capacity and there are at present 2 temporary Class rooms. It is nonetheless anticipated that the school roll will fall in future years.
Litter in particular Suilven Way and Assynt Road and associated footpaths.
Mr Wallace advised that he had personally inspected the area prior to the meeting and agreed that the level of litter was unacceptable. He will ensure it is cleaned up as soon as possible. He did advise that the Council can only collect litter from public open spaces and the gardens on the sides of the path were the responsibility of the householder even if litter has blown in to them from the path. Councillor Munro advised the Forum that the Administration had put £1,000,000 next year towards improving this problem across the Highlands.
There were two further questions raised on the night:
Why had the 30mph limit sign on Leachkin Road been removed and not replaced. The Forum was advised by Mr Wallace and CI Cox that 30mph is the default speed limit within the city and therefore the sign was not legally required.
Problems have been noted in and around the Kinmylies housing development for people with Special needs with people congregating and upsetting the residents. CI Cox commented that this area (before the houses were built) had been a problem for some time and he hoped that the proposed Youth Shelter in an acceptable location would go some way to resolving this.
4. Thanks and close of meeting
All present were thanked for a well attended and lively Forum – the next meeting will be advertised in due course.