Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed the new members of the Committee – Councillor N Manaka from the Burmantofts & Richmond Hill ward and Councillor A Ali from the Gipton & Harehills ward who were elected to Council at the May 2023 local elections.

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 were no exempt items.

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 made at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor J Tudor.

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

The Committee received the following Open Forum submissions;

·  One Harehills resident has faced issues with anti-social behaviour from neighbours, and was put in touch with relevant Leeds City Council services.

·  One resident was paying a bedroom tax on a three bedroom property where he only needs two bedrooms. The resident was provided with information on how to arrange a housing exchange.

·  The same resident has had an issue with people taking away rubbish from bins in the street. This was acknowledged as being a part of a wider financial scam. The resident was encouraged to report all such instances to the police so that they may use the information to build up a map of hotspots.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16^th March 2023.

RESOLVED – That, subject to the amendments below, the minutes of the previous meeting held 16^th March 2023 be agreed as a correct record:

·  Minute 53 Update report – to record the non-emergency police number as 101

·  Minute 54 Finance Update, second paragraph, to attribute the £4,494.07 to the  Killingbeck & Seacroft ward.

To note any matters arising from the minutes

Minute 52 – Councillor D Jenkins had received a response from Transport Development Services Manager regarding the use of road blockading.

Minute 53 – Councillor K Dye had requested Climate teams attend future youth summits which will be the approach going forward.

Minute 53 – Councillor D Jenkins had raised the issue of high turnover of senior police leadership in the Inner East area with the West Yorkshire Mayor.

Minute 53 – Councillor D Jenkins enquired about whether the Marmot City agenda will be incorporated into the Localities report to the Executive Board. The Senior Localities Officer confirmed that the Marmot City agenda underpins the Localities work but it has not been specifically mentioned.

The Committee discussed accessible venues for the December meeting, due to weather and light conditions, with Civic Hall being ruled out as an option in order to keep the meetings within the Inner East Community wards.

To receive and consider the report of The Chief Officer, Climate, Energy and Green Spaces which informs the Community Committee of the work regarding joined up planning within community parks.

The Committee received the report of the Chief Officer, Climate, Energy and Green Spaces which provided information on the new approach to community park development in Leeds. The report is a part of a community consultation designed to capture local residents opinions about their parks ahead of future development of the parks.

The Parks Technical Support Officer, Christopher Megginson, attended the meeting and provided the Committee with a presentation which provided details of the Community Park Vision, and the public consultation exercise within the Inner East area. The aim of the plans for each park is for them all to achieve the Leeds Quality Park (LQP) accreditation, which would entail delivering priorities set out in the accreditation such as ‘Quality parks’, ‘Access for All’ and ‘Health and Wellbeing’. The Vision Plans will include features such as circular paths and improved facilities to meet these objectives

The Parks Technical Support Officer provided the Committee with an oversight of the Leeds City Council Community Parks programme of work. 65 parks across Leeds were identified as Community Parks, which serve primarily serve local residents. City Parks were identified as having amenities which attract people from across the city and beyond.

The Inner East area has six parks identified as Community Parks. The consultation process for East End Park (Burmantofts & Richmond Hill) has begun, with Harehills Park (Gipton & Harehills) due to start. Banstead Park (Gipton & Harehills) has been provisionally scheduled to begin in the next nine months.

The consultation process will contribute to the development of a tailored Vision Plan for each park. The consultation process for East End Park runs until 12^th September 2023, and has so far included 250 local flyers and engagement with  schools and local organisations. There will be Officer presence in the park to capture local residents views. Whilst there is an online survey the focus has been on enabling those who do not use online services to be able to access the consultation.

The order in which to carry out these consultation exercises was determined by a mixture of factors including existing public access to green space, deprivation, current condition of the parks and likelihood of future funding being obtained. One potential source of funding would be the use of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which is raised through local developments, and so areas where future developments are planned have been prioritised.

After the presentation the Committee discussed the following matters;

·  As under 12’s cannot participate in consultations, engaging with parents and schools was highlighted as an appropriate way of capturing children’s views and needs.

·  Killingbeck & Seacroft has had Seacroft Gardens identified as a potential site to be consulted on, but the focus is on six month increments.

·  Members would share details of local groups that would be interested in supporting this work with the Parks Technical Support Officer.

·  The Committee noted that whilst Active Leeds and Parks are in separate directorates they work closely together, and that this work will support the Marmot City  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To receive and consider the attached report of the City Solicitor which invites Community Committee Members to note the appointment of Councillor A Hussain as Chair of the Community Committee for 2023/24 as agreed at the recent Council Meeting, and also invites the Committee to make appointments to those positions detailed in section 6 of the submitted report.

The City Solicitor submitted a report to the Members of Inner East Community Committee asking Members to note the appointment of Cllr A Hussain as Chair of the Inner East Community Committee for 2023/24, as agreed at the recent Annual Council Meeting. The report also invited Members to make appointments to Outside Bodies, Corporate Parenting Board, Local Care partnerships, Champions, Clusters and Local Housing Advisory Panels.

The Clerk to the Committee presented the item.

RESOLVED – That the following appointments be made;

To receive and consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships which provides and update on the Community Committee Youth Summit and the Youth Activity Fund Consultation and informs the Committee of the Youth Activity Fund position for the 2023/24 financial year.

The Head of Locality Partnerships submitted a report which updated the Committee on the Community Committee Youth Summit, the Youth Activity Fund Consultation and requested the Committee take into consideration the youth consultation when determining the Youth Activity Fund for the 2023/24 financial year.

The Localities Officer presented the item and reported the following;

The Community Committee Youth Summit had 70 young people attend physically, and 477 participated in the online consultation.

Key desired activities identified by young people were;

1. Sports

2. Cooking

3. Dance

4. Youth Clubs

5. Outdoor Adventures

6. Music

7. Arts & Crafts

8. Mixed Activity Fun Days

Councillor K Dye provided further detail on the Youth Summit and ways in which it could be further developed in the future. Council Officers working within Climate, Energy and Green Spaces had attended the event which was received well and has been suggested to other Community Committee Youth Summits.

The Committee and Officers considered that, resources permitting, separate group work with younger children and young people would allow the young people to have more engaging conversations on topics such as climate change.

Councillor D Jenkins informed the Committee of his concern regarding children and vaping, and that the Children and Families Scrutiny Board has been requested to provide further analysis on this issue.

RESOLVED -  That the following be noted;

a. Reflections from the last 12 months (paragraphs 15 – 32 of the report).

b. Details of the Youth Activity Fund consultation survey (paragraphs 33 - 35).

c. That the Youth Activity Fund survey informs the Community Committee’s Youth Activity Fund for 2023/24.

d. That any projects funded by the Community Committee from the Youth Activity Fund focus on the themes and activity priorities identified in the Youth Activity Fund Consultation Survey in 2023/24.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Locality Partnerships that provides the Inner East Community Committee with an update on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget, as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2023/24.

The Head of Locality Partnerships submitted a report to update the Community Committee on the budget position for the Wellbeing Fund, Youth Activity Fund, Capital Budget as well as the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget for 2023/24.

The following issues were highlighted;

·  Members were asked to consider the minimum conditions outlined at paragraph 14.

·  Since the meeting held on 16^th March 2023 there had been no Delegated Decision Notices and no declined applications.

·  Monitoring information from the Yorkshire Dance group.

·  The Wellbeing Fund remaining position stood at e £198,319.03.

·  The Youth Activity Fund (YAF) remaining budget stood at £67,676.21.

·  The Small Grants remaining budget stood at £6,364.77 with the following ward breakdown; Burmantofts & Richmond Hill had £3,667.75; Gipton & Harehills £1,283.91; Killingbeck & Seacroft £1,413.11.

·  The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) budget stood at £129,074.13.

·  The Capital budget stood at £69,760.79 with the following ward breakdown; Burmantofts & Richmond Hill had £27,031.76; Gipton & Harehills £23,551.70; Killingbeck & Seacroft £19,177.33.

The project applications set out in the report and supplementary information, were discussed, and agreed as follows:

Regarding the LCC Safer Stronger Communities Team application for a Permanent CCTV Camera for Harehills Road, the Committee discussed the costs and benefits involved in using mobile CCTV.

RESOLVED – That the following be noted;

a. Details of the Minimum Conditions, to review and agree (paragraph 14)

b. Details of the change regarding the administration of small grants (paragraph 15)

c. Details of the Wellbeing Budget (Table 1) (paragraph 19)

d. The determination of funding proposals as detailed above

e. Details of Delegated Decision Notice (Paragraph 36)

f. Details of Declined Projects (Paragraph 37)

g. Details of Monitoring Information (Paragraph 38)

h. Details of the Youth Activities Fund (Table 2) (Paragraph 39)

i. Details of the Small Grants & Skips Budget (Table 3) (Paragraph 42)

j. Details of the Capital Budget (Table 4) (Paragraph 43)

k. Details of the Community Infrastructure Levy Budget (Table 5) (Paragraph 44)

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Locality Partnerships which provides an update of the work which the Communities Team is engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provides opportunities for further questioning, or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships updated Members with the work on the Communities Team had been engaged in based on the priorities of the Community Committee.

The report included a copy of the Social Media Report.

The Localities Officer introduced the report, and summarised key points in the submitted report.

The 2022/23 working sub groups were determined to be;

·  Environment and Community Safety Subgroup: Councillor A Khan, Councillor K Dye, Councillor A Hussain

·  Children and Young Peoples Subgroup: Councillor K Dye, Councillor N Manaka, Councillor A Ali

Policing

There was an update on policing in the Inner East area by Jonathan Attree, recently appointed as Sergeant for Burmantofts & Richmond Hill.

During discussions the following issues were raised -

Bike thefts - the Committee was informed of around 70 arrests arising from police action. The Police have focused their efforts on identifying the causes of the thefts, which was identified as being for the dismantling and sale of parts. Additionally there has been a focus on identifying the lock ups which are used as part of the thefts.

E-Bikes - The Committee sought clarity on the legality of e-Bikes and were informed that whilst the pedal assisted models are legal, they are often modified which makes their use illegal. It is suspected that stolen e-Bikes are modified in this way.

Drones – Discussion focussed on the challenges involved with using drones as part of operations, as a police officer must obtain 20,000 hours of aviation experience in order to be able to use them there is a significant resource issue. Whilst West Yorkshire Police have drones, they are not in constant usage as a result.

Routes into crime were discussed- Comments on urban street gangs targeting pupils who were excluded from school for offences such as drugs and knives were noted. The aspirational influence of gang members has encouraged young people who are educationally excluded to partake in gang activity. Plain clothes officers have been on patrol in areas known to have high levels of organised crime activity, such as Lincoln Green.

Additionally, the Committee requested that the Police Officer stay in post longer than a year, commenting that  the high turnover of senior officers in the area has had an impact on long term partnership working

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted.

To receive any feedback or comments from members of the public on the reports presented to this Community Committee meeting.

 A time limit for this session has been set at 10 minutes.

Due to the number and nature of comments it will not be possible to provide responses immediately at the meeting; however, members of the public shall receive a formal response within 14 working days.

If the Community Committee runs out of time, comments and feedback on the reports may be submitted in writing at the meeting or by email (contact details on agenda front sheet).

Further to minute 7 above, Sergeant Attree engaged with the local resident who had raised issues of anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood, Sgt Attree also noted the reports of rubbish stealing.

To note that the date and time of the next meeting is 14^th September 2023 at 6pm.

RESOLVED - The Committee noted that the date and time of the next meeting is 6pm on 14^th September 2023.

The meeting concluded at 20:00.