Agenda item

5.1

The Committee received the following questions from members of the public who had submitted questions prior to the meeting, and who were in attendance to raise them:-

5.1.1

Question 1

I wrote to the City Council a few years ago asking that a 20mph speed limit be imposed on Folds Lane.  The Council never got back to me regarding my request, but recently I have noticed that a number of roads at Greenhill have been designated 20mph.  Traffic travels along Folds Lane and surrounding roads at 30 to 40mph sometimes, so I should like to request again that these roads be designated 20mph.

In response, the Chair said that he would find out what the current position was regarding Folds Lane and get back to the questioner as soon as possible.

5.1.2

Question 2 – Callum Wilson-Smith

Asked the question regarding the level of litter around where he lives.  He said he lived on Vincent Road and there was a huge problem with litter on his road and also on the Lansdowne estate.  He said that fly tipping wasn’t a problem but the lack of litter bins on the estate contributed to the amount of litter.  He said that when the estate was developed, it was for single occupants but that has changed.  He has been informed that it was too expensive to provide litter bins.  He asked what could be done to improve the situation, what would be the cost incurred and to find out what was seen as a priority? He stated he had also submitted an FOI in relation to these issues and was awaiting a response.

In response, the Chair stated that the issue of litter was part of the Local Plan and from a Local Area Committee perspective, the Committee would look into taking community action. Acknowledging that an FOI has also been submitted, the Chair said he would request a response to any outstanding issues.

5.1.3

Question 3

(a)  With regard to 20mph zones, the Council states that it would enforce them “where appropriate”.  It was felt that this was a cop out.  She wanted 20mph zones to be enforced to reduce air pollution.  She also wanted to raise awareness around schools benefitting from 20mph zones, as some schools, but not all, have the schemes in place.

(b)  There was no mention in the Draft Community Plan regarding housing.  She felt that there was an issue around repairs not being carried out not only in Council-owned rented properties but also in the private sector.

In response, the Chair stated that the Committee was keen to make sure that there was safe parking around all schools.  With regard to housing, these issues are not within the scope of the LAC Plan and Members have been campaigning for the Council to do more with regard to repairs.  He said that due to the fact that it was a citywide challenge, there wasn’t much that the LAC could do for the time being, but it may be possible to pick up at a later stage.

Councillor Peter Garbutt stated that any issues raised at LAC meetings would be taken on board and passed to the relevant Committee in May when the new Committee structure was in place.

5.2

The following question and response had been received in advance of the meeting as follows:-

5.2.1

Question: David Bower

I have noticed on the Nextdoor social media that a lot of people are complaining about cars parked on pavements and across junctions. This was highlighted by the Highways Breakout group and I would like you to make a statement at the next LAC meeting saying what has been done about it.  I sincerely hope this was not just a paper exercise.

As Mr Bower was not present at the meeting a response has been sent by email, confirming that inappropriate / illegal parking has been included in the South LAC Community Plan and what our next steps will be.