NACRA
Newtown Area Community and Residents Association
MINUTES OF NACRA COMMITTEE MEETING
DATE: MONDAY 20TH APRIL 2009
VENUE: STRINGS SQUASH AND FITNESS CLUB, ASHCHURCH ROAD, TEWKESBURY
PRESENT APOLOGIES
Janet Farrow (Chairperson) Steve Tandy (Minutes Secretary)
Julie Greening (Secretary) Jane Lucking
Angela Thompson TCllr Tina Brookes
Dave Witts TCllr Vernon Smith
Pete Aldridge Bill Ritter
John Lucking
BCllr John McCloy
TCllr Andy Smith
1. Minutes from the last meeting held on Monday 16th March were agreed apart from one alteration at the request of BCllr John McCloy. This will be amended as requested and signed as a true record.
2. Matters arising from minutes -
a. It was agreed after further discussion that if following distribution to the committee the minutes require amendment, an e-mail should be sent to committee members and if all are in agreement the Minutes Secretary will make the necessary alteration so that the correct record can be presented at the following meeting and signed as true. This prevents a delay in the minutes being put on the website. This change of procedure requires an amendment to the Constitution which at present states that the minutes shall be made available to members no more than 14 days after a meeting. Dave Witts will amend and bring to the next meeting for committee approval.
b. Street names requiring attention or replacing – BCllr McCloy is dealing with this issue as per list compiled by Michelle Harwood who has subsequently advised that the sign on the bungalow at the approach to Tirlebank Way is also missing and needs replacing with possibly the addition of an indication that it is a cul-de-sac. She is also trying to devise signage clarifying Churchill Grove.
c. A letter has been sent to the Boys Brigade suggesting a combined approach for the use of the building as a Community Centre, NACRA would seek funding for this purpose towards refurbishment. No response received to date. Julie Greening has submitted a “Project Proposal Form” for consideration to the Regeneration Committee regarding the above. Pete Aldridge advised that ITV West (itv.com/west) is offering funding for community projects; the application submission date is early May. BCllr McCloy will discuss this possibility with Colin Durrant of the Boys Brigade and advise the Committee accordingly.
d. An e-mail was sent to John Reilly, Head of Tewkesbury School following the disruptive behaviour that occurred on 16th March, supporting and endorsing the enforcement of the School Rules. TCllr Andy Smith updated the committee that fortunately this appears to have been an isolated incident and the situation has calmed considerably.
e. Vernon Smith has passed all the information regarding the possible supply and maintenance of trees for Knights Way flower beds to TCllr Tina Brookes. As Tina was unable to attend, this will be discussed at the May meeting.
f. BCllr John McCloy contacted Anthony Perry from the Environment Agency regarding the gabion flood defence idea and was advised to suggest to TCllr Vernon Smith and Dave Witts that a detailed copy of the scheme should be submitted to the EA for discussion. BCllr McCloy had informed TCllr Smith of this response.
3. Coffee Mornings at The Canterbury. Janet Farrow reminded the committee about the coffee mornings that are held on the last Friday in the month (soon to be alternated with Saturdays), organised by Becky Jeal from the Priors Park Neighbourhood Project and that interesting guest speakers are invited. Last month she met Richard Waters, Stakeholder (West), Highways and Customer Services, Gloucestershire Highways, who deals with drainage issues and informed her that work will shortly begin on rectifying problems around the Boys Brigade HQ. He is very willing to attend a future meeting and Janet will liaise with him regarding dates.
4. Whilst at the coffee morning, Janet was approached by a resident in Tretawn Gardens to see if there was anything NACRA could do to help regarding damage to his rear garden fence which is adjacent to the footpath (ZTE 45) on the even numbered side of Tirlebank Way. He is quite distressed as this is another in a series of incidents of damage to his property and when he rang the Police (twice) found them unhelpful. During discussion the local Councillors informed the meeting that they are aware that this is an ongoing problem mainly due to the fact that this “public footpath” is rarely used now and is an ideal location for youths to gather. Pete Aldridge will raise this issue at the next SARA meeting in May with the suggestion that if the culprits can be identified could NACRA invite them and their parents to an informal meeting to try to solve this problem.
5. Any Other Business –
a. Gully cleaning signs – BCllr McCloy brought to the Committee’s attention that signs stating dates for this work to be carried out are displayed, but the work is not necessarily being done on these dates. This is creating a problem with drains not being cleaned as required due to vehicles blocking access. Regular gully cleaning is imperative for water control during heavy rainfall and for the efficient functioning of the drains. It was suggested that a letter be sent to Richard Waters (previously mentioned in item 3) stating that in order for this system to be as effective as possible, work must take place on stated dates.
b. Dog fouling in Newtown Lane and along cycle path – this issue was raised by a neighbour of Angela Thompson who was concerned about the amount of dog mess. There is no shortage of “dog waste bins” in Newtown but there are unfortunately inconsiderate dog owners who do not clear up after their pets. It is an offence under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 if you do not clear up after your dog and carries a fine. One course of action that can be taken, if you know/suspect who the culprit is, try and take a photograph and send the details to the Council.
c. Removal of litter – Pete Aldridge raised the point that when the Council Refuse Collection services relocate to Cheltenham, will the standard of litter collection be as efficient. This will have to be monitored and reported to the Council as necessary.
d. Report for Newtown Residents’ Association from TCllr Vernon Smith –
“I do apologise for not being able to attend this evening, Madam Chairman, so I have written a report for the committee to give you an update on various issues.
I am aware that some of you have been invited to London on the 21st April, but to bring you up to date the MP, Lawrence Robertson, has organised a “Back in Business Tewkesbury” reception at the Houses of Parliament where he has invited a cross section of Tewkesbury community and some 200 businesses, large and small, to encourage them to invest and locate in the Tewkesbury area.
This is part of the Tewkesbury Regeneration Initiative which included, as some of you may be aware, the BBC Money Programme (Mary Portus) head of Harvey Nicholls Promotions to Tewkesbury to give us her professional opinion on how to market the “Tewkesbury brand”. Her most important issue was to work all together for a common vision and she suggested Tewkesbury Medieval Market Town along with a number of details which will be forwarded to you when the TRI steering group prepare its report.
I have today received correspondence that I have been invited to the Conservative Party Conference at Cheltenham on 26th April and Ann Mackintosh MP, Shadow Flood Minister, has asked me to speak at a fringe meeting. I am very nervous, but also excited and I will do my very best to put across Tewkesbury and, in particular, Newtown’s issues and concerns on flooding issues. On that note, I am still awaiting TBC’s response to the Land Drainage Act 1991 which allows the Borough, in its precept, to raise £88,000 a year which is to be solely used for drainage maintenance of water courses. This adds up to £1.3m allowing for inflation over the last 16 years and clearly we are all well aware that this work has not been carried out. I do believe a trip has been organised for TBC members to visit the Lower Severn Drainage Board to look at the high standard of work that it carries out which, if compared to Walton Cardiff Lane, is not giving rate payer’s value for money.
Finally on flooding issues, I received a statement from a Mr Walker who previously owned the farm where Wheatpieces Estates has been built. In a signed statement witnessed by a Baptist minister, Mr Walker states that the farm buildings and the fields surrounding regularly flooded to a depth of 3ftand he believes that this is why the Wheatpieces Estate has been built up as it is in the flood plain. I have forwarded this to the Severn & Avon Valley Combined Flood Group.
NB This area known to locals as the Goose Flats.
Highway Issues
I have a meeting at the beginning of May with Stan Waddington, Gloucestershire County Council, lead cabinet member for highways, and I intend to bring to his attention the high camber of the Ashchurch Road and the inadequacies of the drainage system along this road. I know in the new budget for next year, Gloucestershire County Council has £20m for new infrastructure schemes and will be lobbying for Newtown and Oldbury Road in the Town and Bredon Road in Mitton for some of this funding. I will update you in due course.
Play areas
Walton Cardiff Lane Play Area. Some residents of Knights Way and Rosefield Crescent have had some concerns as to the new play area improvement, which I must say Councillor Tina Brookes has done some sterling work in her first year and it looks like the green light for funding has been approved at the County Council.
I believe the residents’ concerns is one of anti-social behaviour and not the new play facilities that are being proposed, although they do have an issue in its location. I think these concerns can easily be ironed out in the near future.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns or issues that the committee may have. I hope you are all well and will see you soon.”
Meeting closed – 9.10pm
Next meeting – Monday 18th May, 7pm Strings