Agenda and minutes

The Committee acknowledged the passing of Margaret McKean, Advanced Youth Work Practitioner in Youth Service and paid respect to her work with one minute of silence.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

There was no exempt information.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any apologies for absence

The Committee received apologies from Councillor Ragan, Councillor Maqsood and Councillor Khan prior to the meeting.

In accordance with Paragraphs 4:16 and 4:17 of the Community Committee Procedure Rules, at the discretion of the Chair a period of up to 10 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Community Committee. This period of time may be extended at the discretion of the Chair. No member of the public shall speak for more than three minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair

In accordance with the Community Committee Procedure Rules, the Chair allowed for a period of up to 10 minutes for members of the public to make representations or ask questions within the terms of reference of the Community Committee.

·  The Local Plan Update, including issues with accessibility for people who do not use digital services and do not visit the city centre.

o  The Resident cited Minute 40, in which the planned visit from officers from City Development to discuss the Local Plan Update (1) Public Consultation was cancelled due to officer absence. The consultation ended on 19^th December 2022.

o  The Committee explained that there were 2 parts to the Local Plan Update and confirmed that consultation was currently open for Local Plan Update (2) 2040 which ran between 10^th February and 24^th March.

o  Engagement for the Local Plan Update included newsletters, drop in sessions and online access.

o  The Resident reiterated issues with publicly accessible documents in public buildings such as  their local Library & Community Hub.  The Committee resolved to feed information back to relevant officers and suggest mechanisms to ensure further consultation is publicly available.

·  The unsuccessful bid for the Levelling Up Fund for the Fearnville Sports Centre was discussed. Residents expressed their  concerns due to the community need. The Committee confirmed that the capital programme funding that Leeds City Council raised will be used towards a part of the master programme, although some elements will need to be removed due to not receiving the levelling up funding. Council Officers are currently revising the master programme to accommodate this.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8^th December 2022.

RESOLVED: The minutes of the 8^th December 2022 meeting of the Inner East Community Committee were confirmed as a true record.

To consider the report of the Team Leader, Safe and Sustainable Travel which provides the Committee with information regarding the recently adopted Vision Zero Strategy.

The report of the Team Leader, Safe and Sustainable Travel provided an introduction the Leeds Safe Roads Vision Zero.

In attendance were;

• Gillian MacLeod, Transport Development Services Manager
• Becky Murray, Transport Planner, Influencing Travel Behaviour

The Transport Development Services Manager introduced the item and provided some background context on the Leeds Safe Roads Vision Zero and explained how this was adopted by the Executive Board in September 2022. It is a partnership based approach developed from the rising road deaths and serious injuries rates since the pandemic lockdown ended. The Vision aims for there to be zero road deaths or serious injury within Leeds by 2040.

The Vision is built on five pillars;

1.  Speed

2.  Roads

3.  Vehicles

4.  Behaviours and people

5.  Post collision learning

The Vision has also identified the following factors as the ‘fatal five’, factors which increase the likelihood of death or serious injury;

1.  Speed

2.  Distraction

3.  Drink and drug driving

4.  Seatbelt non-compliance

5.  Careless dangerous driving

Key areas for Leeds City Council to develop include

·  Traffic management policy.

·  Encouraging and supporting vulnerable road users

·  Fleet management

·  Taxi and private hire

The Vision will also emphasise a new road user hierarchy, with those who can cause the most harm to take the most care.

Infrastructure changes will include lower speed limits in some areas. Speed limits is a matter for Local Authorities, in accordance with national guidance, such as speed limit reduction takes place once driving speeds have been lowered through other methods.  Other infrastructure changes include additional pedestrian crossing points and average speed cameras. There will not be speed camera warning signs as drivers ought to be driving at a safe speed consistently.

Officers provided the following statistical breakdown of deaths and injuries by Inner East wards for the 2017 – 2021 period;

Burmantofts & Richmond Hill

Fatal: 4

Serious: 60 

Slight: 308

Gipton & Harehills

Fatal: 2

Serious: 75

Slight: 393

Seacroft & Killingbeck

Fatal: 5

Serious: 41

Slight: 205

Officers clarified that e-scooters are not legal unless on private land, and that Leeds did not participate in the recent trials on their use. There are currently seven pieces of legislation relating to e-scooters that are being developed within Parliament.

Parking near schools has been identified as a priority, with some schools having the roads around them closed tor parking, although this is not feasible for all schools.

The Committee noted that bus schedules have been reduced, and whilst this is a matter for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) in conjunction with the bus companies, the Vision is working collaboratively with WYCA to integrate the vision into the wider public transport strategy for West Yorkshire.

The Committee emphasised the importance of road safety information being available in all languages used by communities. Officers noted that this is of particular note, and that whilst requests for additional languages can be made, those requests are rarely made.

The Committee and Officers discussed how the Committee can support the Vision, with a consensus that organisations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

To consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships presenting an update of the work undertaken by the Communities Team, based upon the priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provides Members with opportunity to discuss or request more detailed information on a particular issue.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships updated the Committee on work undertaken by the Communities Team on the behalf of the Community Committee and provided an opportunity for Members to provide feedback. This report provided updates on some of the key activities between Community Committee meetings and functions delegated to Community Committees including Community Champions roles, community engagement, partnership and locality working.

YOUTH SUMMIT

The Committee noted the contribution that the late Margaret McKean made towards the youth summit.

The event was noted as being a success, as detailed to the Committee by Councillor Dye in her capacity as Children and Families Champion to the Committee. Climate change was integrated into the event through a climate quiz and a stall by Leeds By Example to promote the website. Future events were noted as possibly requiring an age split as some feedback received felt that the activities were tailored more for the younger children.

POLICING

Sergeant Alec MacDonald and Police Community Support Officer attended the meeting (West Yorkshire Police). Further details to crime and policing were provided.

The Committee discussed violence in the Compton Lane area and the Sergeant assured the Committee that whilst there has been a statistical decrease in reported crime, the public are encouraged to report crime using the 101 telephone number. Proactive measures the Police have put into place include the use of dispersal orders and the deployment of new Police into the area. The Police noted that Harehills is the highest demand area in West Yorkshire for policing, however due to budget constraints the Police focus is on quality not quantity of presence.

Letterbox robberies, whereby criminals follow delivery drivers, were discussed by the Committee. The Police informed the Committee that the responsible party is the leaseholders of the buildings, as they ought to be ensuring that the buildings are secure for their tenants.

The Committee highlighted the importance of police visibility across localities. Whilst the police confirmed that hotspot locations will be prioritised in terms of visibility, it was acknowledged that low visibility is also important and being in the ‘right place at the right time’.

One resident informed the Police that one issue around the Ashtons area is the high amount of supported accommodation for individuals under probation or requiring drug support, due to the lower cost of rent in the area. The idea of contacting Selective Licensing was suggested by Councillor Arif due to their house-to-house visitations within Harehills.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Councillor Jenkins informed the Committee that Leeds is to become a Marmot City, a framework which arose from the Marmot report into health inequalities which identified austerity and NHS funding as having exacerbated existing health inequalities.

OTHER UPDATES

The Committee noted updates regarding Employment & Skills and Ward Updates. The Ward Updates included activities such as cost of living work, warm spaces, cooking classes and community sports.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

To consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships presenting the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget and Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2022/23, and which seeks the Committee’s determination of the funding applications, as detailed.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships provided the Community Committee with an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund as well as the Capital (CRIS) and Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2022/23.

The Committee noted the following;

·  There were no Delegated Decision Notices

·  The Wellbeing remaining figures were, including overspends;

o  Burmantofts & Richmond Hill: £14,318.35

o  Gipton & Harehills: £15,005.37

o  Killingbeck & Seacroft: £4,494.07

Projects set out in the report and supplementary information were discussed and determined as follows:

RESOLVED:

a.  To note details of the Wellbeing Budget (Table 1) (paragraph 19)

b.  To consider and determine funding proposals (Paragraph 20 - 38)

c.  To note details of Delegated Decision Notice (Paragraph 39)

d.  To note details of Declined Projects (Paragraph 40)

e.  To note details of Monitoring Information (Paragraph 41)

f.  To note details of the Youth Activities Fund (Table 2) (Paragraph 42)

g.  To note details of the Small  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services, which proposes dates, times and venues for the municipal year 2023-2024 and to consider and agree the Committee’s meeting schedule.

The report of the Head of Democratic Services presented the Committee with a series of suggested dates and times for the Committee in the 2023 – 2024 municipal year.

RESOLVED:

To confirm the dates and times of the Inner East Community Committee for the year 2023 – 2024 as;

1.  15th June 2023 at 6.00pm

2.  14th September 2023 at 6.00pm

3.  7th December 2023 at 6.00pm

4.  14th March 2024 at 6.00pm

The meeting concluded at 19:45.