Agenda and minutes

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rules 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.

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 ti the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(the special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

There were no late items.  Supplementary information was submitted for Agenda Item 10, Inner North West Community Committee Finance Report.

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

There were no declarations.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors A Marshall-Katung and I Wilson.

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th March 2024.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th March 2024 be confirmed as a correct record.

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 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.

Concerns were raised with problems during the student changeover period with fly tipping and rubbish being left out on the streets.  It was reported that arrangements during the changeover had been handled differently this year with 53 donation points made available for people moving and daily waste collections and street cleaning.  Views were sought as to whether this had been an improvement on previous years.  There were also concerns regarding the lack of PSPO enforcement.

Crime/Anti-Social behaviour – Reference was made to recent PACT meetings and drop-in sessions for anti-social behaviour.  There was concern regarding low council attendance at the PACT meeting.  It was reported that there drop-in sessions had been held due to serious issues with drug dealing, drug use and rough sleepers.  There had been work with the Anti-Social Behaviour Team and the new Police Inspector and there was a commitment to getting resources into problem areas.

It was asked if the community shops that were used for donations could be kept operating over a longer period.  It was reported that these were difficult to staff as they were all run by volunteers.

There had been problems at St Michael’s churchyard.  The area was overgrown and LCC had responsibility for maintenance.  It had attracted rough sleepers who had caused damage to trees and further damage by digging.  The churchyard was on the route of the Otley Run and had become full of rubbish and broken glass.  There had also been an incident of a young woman being attacked by someone leaving the churchyard.  It was reported that the Council had a contract for grass maintenance.  The church warden was asked to contact Councillor Pryor following the meeting.  There had also been problems with rough sleepers at Hyde Park Methodist Church.

Graffiti – this was a recognised problem in the area and was occasionally difficult to clean up as permission was required from landlords/property owners.  There was a meeting scheduled with the Deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire to discuss this and other issues.

Abandoned cars – if cars were taxed and insured then unfortunately these could not be removed.

Speeding on Hyde Park Road – this was an issue that had regularly been reported to the police.

To provide information regarding personal & community resilience to the Inner North West Community Committee to support preparation of Household Emergency Plans and Community Emergency Plans.

The report of the Emergency Resilience team provided information regarding personal and community resilience to support preparation of Household Emergency Plans and Community Emergency Plans.

Ian Cairns, Emergency Planning Officer gave the Committee a presentation.  Issues highlighted included the following:

·  The need to develop Household Emergency Plans and Community Emergency Plans.

·  Involvement of partners – West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, West Yorkshire Police, Utility Companies

·  The kind of emergency incidents that could occur – terrorism. Flooding, pandemics, severe weather, loss of power/utility services.

·  Development of Household Emergency Plans – how to ensure you have access to food, clothing, medication.  Alternative accommodation should you need to evacuate your home.  Do you have a grab bag prepared in case of the need to evacuate quickly?

·  Development of a Community Emergency Plan – Communication was considered to be key.  The need for emergency contacts within the community, resources available including temporary accommodation – use of community buildings, support for vulnerable people, role of volunteers and community organisations, how can local businesses help?

Further to questions and comments, discussion included the following:

·  Resilience shown throughout the community during previous incidents – 2005 terrorist attacks, 2015 floods in Kirkstall and the covid pandemic.

·  The role of faith organisations and faith leaders.

·  Support already provided by community organisations across the area.

·  Support for animals – links with the RSPCA.

·  Having safety equipment at home such as a fire extinguisher.

·  A number of self-help groups were established during the pandemic – could these be used as part of the Community Emergency Plan?

·  Volunteers were sought from within local communities to engage in the development of Community Emergency Plans.

Jonathon Moxon, Flood Risk Management addressed the meeting to give the Committee an overview of the work of the Flood Risk Management Team.  Issues highlighted included the following:

·  The role of the service in responding to incidents.

·  There were flood risk areas across the whole of Leeds.

·  Different kinds of risk from drainage, sewerage and water courses.

·  Recent flooding events which had seen the worst flooding in Leeds since the Boxing Day floods in 2015.

·  Difficulties implementing preventative measures due to issues with land ownership.

·  Local flood risks – reference was made to the Meanwood Beck scheme and the interventions taken to reduce flood risk.

·  The Environment Agency published a warning system for rivers which displayed water levels.  Could local flood warning systems be developed?

The Chair thanked Ian and Jonathan for their presentations and reiterated the importance of developing resilience and emergency plans.

Members were issued with a template for developing a Community Emergency Plan and further information could be found at www.westyorkshireprepared.org.uk.

RESOLVED – That the report and discussion be noted.

The report of the City Solicitor is to note the appointment of Councillor Abdul Hannan as Chair of the Community Committee for 2024/25 as agreed at the recent Annual Council Meeting, and also to invite the Committee to make appointments to those positions detailed in section 6 / the appendices.

The City Solicitor submitted a report that invited the Committee to note the appointment of Councillor Hannan as Chair of the Inner North West Community Committee for 2024/25 as agreed at the recent Annual Council Meeting, and which also invited the Committee to make appointments to Outside Bodies and a range of other positions, as detailed within the report.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the appointment of Councillor Hannan as Chair of the Community Committee for the duration of 2024/25, as agreed at the recent Annual Meeting of Council, be noted;

(b)  That the Committee’s schedule of appointments be agreed as follows:

The following sub-group appointments be made:

Children’s & Families Sub-Group – Cllrs T Goodall and J Akhtar

Environment Sub-Group – Cllrs I Wilson & T Goodall

Employment & Skills (Inclusive Growth_ - Cllrs J Akhtar & J Heselwood

Climate Change – Cllr T Goodall

This report provides the 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 that set out the overall delegated budget position for the Community Committee and invited Members to note the latest position, as submitted, and determine the funding applications contained within the report. The report also invited the Committee to review the ‘Minimum Conditions’ which would need to be satisfied prior to  an officer delegated decision being undertaken in between Community  Committee meetings in relation to the determination of funding applications.

The projects set out in the report and supplementary information were discussed and determined as follows:-

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the details of the Wellbeing Budget position, as set out within the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That having considered the funding applications submitted to the Committee, all applications, as referenced within the submitted report and the supplementary information circulated, be determined as set out in the minute above;

(c)  That the ‘Minimum Conditions’ which would need to be satisfied prior to an officer delegated decision being undertaken in between Community

Committee meetings with regard to the determination of funding

applications, as set out in paragraph 13 of the submitted report, be

agreed for operation in 2024/25;

(d)  That the monitoring information of the projects funded by the Community Committee, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted;

(e)  That the details of the Youth Activities Fund (YAF) budget position, as set out within the submitted report, be noted;

(f)  That the details of the Small Grants & Skips budget position, as set out within the submitted report, be noted;

(g)  That details of the Capital budget position, as set out within the submitted report, be noted; 

(h)  That details of Community Infrastructure Levy position, as set out within the submitted report, be noted.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships brings to members’ attention 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 Committee received a report which provided an update on the key activities being undertaken by the Communities Team based upon the priorities identified by the Community Committee. In presenting the report, it provided the Committee with an opportunity to discuss or seek further information on the range of actions currently being undertaken.

The meeting was informed of two recent community engagement events that had been held at Charing Cross and Royal Park Gardens.  Further information was available through the link in the report.

John McKimmings, ASB Team Manager gave the Committee an update with regards to ongoing work surrounding the Otley Run.  There had been bi-monthly meetings with Ward Members and West Yorkshire Police and work in the area with Entertainment Licensing and Sia Licensing.  There had been higher visibility patrols operating at peak periods.  There were still problems with people wearing inappropriate fancy dress and there had been licensing issues at a public house.  There had also been fines issued in the PSPO area.  Support had been made available to residents affected and people were urged to report any incidents at the time they were happening.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To note the next Inner North West Community Committee will be on Wednesday 25^th September 2024, at 6pm.

Wednesday, 25^th September 2024 at 6.00 p.m.  Meeting to be held at All Hallows Church.