Agenda item

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.4

8.5

The Committee received one public question prior to the meeting, however that member of the public was not present at the meeting.

The Chair summarised the question and answer: -

It was believed that a piece of land at the Manor Lane end of Skye Edge Avenue S2was owned by SCC, previously, (Approx. 20 years ago) it was used as an after-school club site? On the local area plans it was marked as business.

Was the land going to be used for business or housing in the immediate future?

If not, could a conversation take place regarding the use of the land for a community Green Social Prescribing project, and who was the most appropriate person to have a conversation with?

The Chair advised that this would need to be discussed with the relevant officers and local councillors.

Irene Day, Friends of Richmond Park

In regard to Park House, in Richmond Park, the question had been raised several times to the LAC and she had been in contact with her local councillors.  The house had been stood empty for three years, with the previous tenants leaving in 2020.  Since then, the windows had been smashed, the council had bordered these up, but then the front door was smashed in. There had been a continuous amount of ASB from children between 9 and 12 years old. The house was on fire again for the second time with the fire brigade being in attendance for more than 2 hours.  The house had been left empty in a time where there was a housing crisis, but the Councils legal team had said nothing could be done.  Children from the local school were causing a lot of trouble around the house.  From last year alone there were 16 pages of incidents.

The Chair thanked Irene for raising the issue.  Enquiries had been made and it had been advised that the house required extensive repairs, it was understood that because Richmond Park was a charitable organisation the council could not sell or place a tenant in the property.

Councillor Dianne Hurst apologised that residents were having to put up with the issues regarding this property.  Councillor Hurst advised that she had reported the issues to the police (Neighbourhood Inspector), and the Inspector had sent officers out to patrol the area.  Councillor Hurst believed the house had now been boarded up with tin frames, however Iren advised this had not been done, so Councillor Hurst said she would chase this up again.  The Executive Director visited the park in the summer to look at the property and as the council couldn’t sell the property, it was recognised that something else would need to be done with it, such as a concessionary let.  The repair costs for the property were now at £75,000. Councillor Hurst suggested that they get their heads together and sit down with the relevant parties to get some answers.

The Chair requested the LAC Manager to contact the relevant officers in Parks and Property Services about the issue and arrange a meeting.  The Chair also asked that the Police were made aware of all the issues going on at the property.

Vicky – Archers Housing

A resident had raised a concern about the amount of traffic on Balfour Drive, Darnall which was causing a lot of chaos with lorries turning around in the cul-de-sac from Staniforth Road.  Could any barriers be installed to prevent this from happening. The Chair advised that they would get in touch with the relevant officers to take a look at the issue.

Naomi – Local resident of Stradbroke.

The question was regarding the roofing contracts and that it was taking too long to sort out the roofing issue.  Having to live with mould issues.  Other houses and flats had new roofing, but her flat had not.

The Chair advised that she would check with Housing Services and arrange a meeting to discuss with local tenants.

Councillor Hurst advised that when the councils roofing contractor went bankrupt, Noami’s roof was one on the list to be urgently repaired.  As the new contract hadn’t yet been awarded, tenants were having to live in cold, damp and mouldy conditions for another winter.  Councillor Hurst advised that she would pick this up to get this sorted as a matter as urgency.

The Chair advised that any outstanding repairs would be taken today and reported in by the LAC.  It was unfortunately a waiting game until the new contract was awarded.

Questioner

Was it necessary to build a new park, when there was already a park.  The money was required on the housing repairs.

The Chair advised that the money for Richmond Park did not come from the Housing budgets.  Councillor Drabble understood the frustrations of the public and that he would report the issue higher up in the Labour party as an example of ongoing issues with Housing repairs.

The questioner asked if funding was available from the Lottery.  It was advised that the local ‘Friends groups’ could apply for funding through the lottery. Irene Day explained the process with funding through Friends Groups, she advised that the toddler climbing frame on Richmond Park cost £7.5k and this was money raised by the friends group and was separate to the council.

It was confirmed that Councillor Nabeela Mowlana who is the spokesperson for the Housing Committee would go out and visit residents of Stradbroke and see what the issues were and try and assist in getting the support needed.

The Chair of the committee thanked everyone for attending the meeting.