Agenda and minutes

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sue Auckland and Maroof Raouf.

2.1

No items were identified where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.

3.1

Councillor Ian Auckland declared an interest in Item 8 -Community Plan – stating that he was a member of the Sub-Group which determined the funding for community groups “through the South LAC Community Capacity Building Grants” and that he was a member of a club that was one of the beneficiaries of the funding (Norton Country Club) but he said that he had taken no part in the decision to award funding to that group.

4.1

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11^th October, 2022, were approved as a correct record.

4.2

Matters Arising

4.2.1

In Item 5.1, in response to Question 1 from Hazel Daniels, Councillor Paul Turpin said that he had been misquoted and asked that the words “but realise that they cannot prevent the extinction of the planet” be replaced with the words “we are not trying to save the planet for the planets sake, the planet will outlive humanity by a number a of years”.  With regard to Question 2 from Hazel Daniels, Councillor Turpin asked that his response should be amended to read that he was not and never had been a member of the Planning Committee and had never done the training so wouldn’t be allowed on the Committee, and that he had neither supported nor objected to the development.

5.1

Question 1.  Two questions were asked from the Secretary of the Banner Cross Neighbourhood Group regarding the Active Travel Scheme in Nether Edge.  She said that when the scheme was first consulted upon and Archer Lane was closed, a large number of residents said that the closure had affected their lives and these comments were collected and it was found that 90% of residents opposed the scheme.  She said that with regard to emissions, the volume of traffic had moved from Archer Lane to adjoining streets. She said that a survey had been carried out along Sheldon Road and that 800 cars had queued along the road in a short period of time.  She said that she had contacted the Council via a Freedom of Information request asking whether air quality had been taken into consideration and if so, had emission readings been obtained, especially around Nether Edge Primary School, and was awaiting a response.

Secondly,  she asked whether Members were aware of the diversity in the area and the potential impacts in terms of community cohesion. As at the top of the hill, the residents were mainly white, middle-class people, whereas at the bottom of the hill, which was affected the most by the scheme, the residents were largely Asian and levels of deprivation were higher.  She said that she had met with officers and had been told that the scheme was to be extended by a further six months, due to end Summer, 2023.  Her questions to Members were:

(a) Can residents be given a definite date that the scheme will end and also a date for when the decision will go to Elected Members?

(b) Can we have an assurance that before any recommendation goes to Elected Members, that the public will have the chance to see all the data; along with details of the data gathering approaches used, before the data goes to the committee to inform a decision?

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones said that he would make sure that written answers would be provided.  Councillor Peter Garbutt said he had received a briefing on the possible outcome of the scheme and would ensure that members of the public were given an update.  He said that there would be an opportunity for members of the public to be involved in the consultation, and that there were three possible outcomes to the scheme namely, leave it as it is, take it away or change it. In terms of change, options could include alternations so that the traffic lights had definitive timings or had one way traffic travelling uphill but not down.  Councillor Garbutt said that he had received positive feedback on the scheme and that Nether Edge Primary School were happy with the scheme.  With regard to Sheldon Road, residents had asked whether a crossing could be installed.  Councillor Nighat Basharat said that she had held meetings with officers and had asked whether there could be a crossing installed on Sheldon Road for easier access to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1

Diane Owens, South LAC Area Manager, gave a presentation which provided an update on the South LAC Community Plan.   She highlighted the six key themes of the Plan which were based on community engagement and data received and the work that had been carried out so far. She advised that each LAC had been allocated £100,000 to support projects identified in its Community Plan; and that so far the South LAC had allocated £60,000 of this budget.  She said that each LAC had also been allocated £57,000 to focus on preventative projects around fly tipping and graffiti hotspots.  Ms. Owens said that the initial focus had been on fly tipping hot spots and that a short list of key sites had been submitted and that the LAC was now awaiting quotes for the projects. Each LAC had also been allocated £10,000 for youth activities.

Diane Owens said that from the £100,000 budget, £10,000 had been allocated towards clearing up of The Lumb in Gleadless Valley and she gave an update on work carried out so far with the aim of improving community use of the site.  With regard to crime and community safety, £40,000 had been allocated to support community capacity building projects, including responding to the cost-of-living crisis.  This funding was heavily oversubscribed and had now been fully allocated.

Diane Owens said that a speed indication device had been installed in each of the four Wards (and would be rotated around priority locations) and that work with local Police Teams and partners, including the community and voluntary sector, was continuing to support the work of three Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAGs) for priority areas, to reduced levels of crime and anti-social behaviour and increase feelings of safety.

With regard to Children, Young People and Families, Diane Owens said that a group of Councillors from the South LAC had met with young people from the South LAC Youth Cabinet to hear about priorities for young people and to increase engagement with young people.  She referred to grants that were available to help fund youth activities, with a total of £30,000 being allocated through the South LAC. 

Finally, she gave a progress update on the Ward Pots and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  She said that 39 small grants had been given out so far this year through Ward Pot funding which was allocated by local Ward Councillors and had funded a wide range of activities, including community events, equipment for local sports groups, walking clubs, social clubs for older people and family activities and trips.  23 projects had been supported to date through CILfunding, which was also allocated by local Ward Councillors, the projects had included new equipment for playgrounds and highways improvements.

6.2

A number of questions were asked, and responses given as follows:-.  A resident asked whether to which.

Question What was the cost of fly tipping in Sheffield per annum? 

Response  Councillor Alexi Dimond said that under the contract the Council had with Amey, if fly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1

Diane Owens referred to the report and said the presentation had focused on the spends to date.  She said that the report also outlined the spend to date and also gave an outline of proposed spending regarding the remaining balance of £30,000, during the 2022/23 financial year.  She outlined a proposal to spend £11,000 on two portable CCTV cameras; £3,000 for community capacity building and up to £16,000 for street art projects.

7.2

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones thanked everyone for their commitment and involvement in the delivery of the Community Plan and it was agreed to approve the recommendations set out in the report.