Agenda and minutes

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dawn Dale, Jayne Dunn, Abtisam Mohamed and Peter Price.

3.1

There were no declarations of interest.

4.1

The minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 2^nd March 2023 and 17^th May 2023 were approved as a correct record.

5.1

The Committee considered a report of the Community Services Manager, Lindsey Hill, which set out the details of the spend in respect of the £100,000 which was authorised by the Community Services Manager in consultation with the LAC Chair and in accordance with the delegated authority granted in September 2021 and July 2022.

5.2

Mick Nott from Friends of Abbeyfield Parkasked whether funding not used would be available for the coming year’s budget. Ms Hill responded gave some background on the allocated funds and their usage. She confirmed that funding not spent in 22/23 would be carried forward to 23/24.

5.3

RESOLVED:

-       That the North East Local Area Committee notes the expenditure against the £100,000 budget to address local priorities in the North East Local Area Committee in 2022/3, as detailed in the report.

-       That the North East Local Area Committee notes that consultation will be carried out on the priorities in the Community Plan which may result in proposed revisions to the Plan.

6.1

Malcolm Camp from Green City Action was in attendance to give a presentation on a Plastic Rake and Trug Worker method which allowed members of the public to clean up large areas. He shared images of local areas both before and after clean-up efforts, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Rake and Trug method.

6.2

Councillor Hussain thanked Malcom Camp for his presentation, and stated the LAC would consider the information and work with Green City Action to see what could be learnt.

6.3

Malcom Camp stated he was suggesting that Green City Action continue this work, and that he was asking for funding and a partnership. He said that giving funding to local community groups would reduce the cost of litter clearing for Sheffield City Council.

6.4

Sheena Clarke from Friends of Firth Park stated she would be keen to learn more about this litter picking method and said that the wider team at Friends of Firth Park would want to assist.

6.5

The Chair of Wensley TARA asked whether fines were being given for littering, and asked what ideas there were to prevent littering. He referenced a rat infestation due to littering in his area. Malcom Camp stating that removing litter reduced locations for rats to nest and stated that overcrowding by private landlords also increased litter and rat infestations.

6.6

Councillor Mark Jones agreed that the Plastic Rake and Trug Worker method should be only one strand of many strands dealing with both preventing litter and cleaning up litter.

6.7

Lindsey Hill advised that a proportion of the £100,000 budget had been spent on littering over the previous year. She emphasised that littering was a key concern mentioned in previous LACs. She stated that provisions such as rakes and trugs were available and could be provided to members of the public in order to allow them to litter pick. She mentioned a Dog Fouling project which was ongoing, and an increase in the number of bins in parks. She encouraged members of the community to feed into the LAC to assist in its aims for the coming year.

6.8

Councillor Safiya Saeed spoke to her experience working with Green City Action. She also outlined some of the work taking place to encourage children and young people to assist with litter picking, including encouraging them to add these roles to their CVs.

6.9

A member of the public raised a specific complaint regarding mess and noise at Paige Hall, and the introduction of a camera which she stated was not making a difference. Councillor Hussain stated it was their intention to find a solution to these issues, and he added that this would unfortunately not be a quick process.

7.1

The live webcast was paused, and the public participated in a Roadshow Interactive Session through browsing the information stalls situated around the building which contained information relating to the different priorities of the North East Local Area Committee Community Plan.

8.1

The Committee received the following questions from members of the public who had attended the meeting to raise them: -

(a)  Margaret Whelan from Friends of Concord Park

We were successful in getting funding for a Knit and Natter event last year, will the money be available again this year?

In response, Linsey Hill confirmed that the LAC had agreed to continue with the funding whilst reassessing what requirements the group might have.

(b) Margaret Whelan from Friends of Concord Park

We were told there would be a consultation regarding the Concord free tennis courts; however, there hasn’t been a consultation to date although she said she was aware that one had taken place at Hillsborough.

Councillor Belbin responded and stated that the Lawn Tennis Association had provided some investment at Hillsborough Park.

Stuart Turner from Parks and Countryside added that the plan for Concord Park was to continue with the current arrangements; however, he stated that the existing plan was for 5 years and would now be reviewed with a view to extending the current arrangement for 25 years.

The Chair thanked those present for attending the meeting.