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Minutes of Committee Meeting held in Thorpe Primary School

Committee Room on 7^th March 2011 at 7pm

Apologies for absence were received from Mrs. Audrey Goodwin, Mrs. Sue Dunthorpe.  Mrs. Jane Koe and Mrs. Diana Richard did not attend.

Minutes of meeting held on 10^th January and previously circulated on NNA Web Site and attached to Agenda were read through item by item by the Chairman and found to be a true record of the meeting and duly signed by the Chairman.

There were no matters arising.

The Chairman reported that there was considerable concern being expressed by residents of Atherstone Avenue regarding the continuing indiscriminate car parking by, it is alleged, PCH employees who refuse to pay the car park fees or cannot obtain a parking place on PCH Site.  The demolition of ECH site was in progress but it was not known when the cleared site would be available for car parking or that staff would be allowed to park on site.  It was rumoured that the site would be used for car parking of patients, and patient visitors.

The Chairman also reported that work had commenced on the Thorpe School Teachers car park on part of the school playing field site.  Residents had petitioned PCC and the School Governors for changes to be made within the planning approval but these comments had either been ignored or discarded as unworkable.

The Secretary said that his report would be contained in the remaining parts of the Agenda.

The Treasurer spoke to her Report which was accepted with thanks and placed on File.  It was agreed that the Business Account be closed and all monies would be accounted for in the General Account.  In answer to a question the Treasurer replied that it was impossible to increase the financial grant received from PCC even though there was £25.000 on offer to Associations such as ours.  This money was for betterment of the area and was approved by Neighbourhood Council, West Ward Councillors and PCC.

A Neighbourhood Council for all members of the public in Bretton, North and South, West and Raventhorpe to attend a meeting of the Peterborough West Neighbourhood Council on Tuesday 1^st March 2011.

The meeting was well attended with many local residents as well as several local Councillors.

There was a pre meeting starting at 6.15 pm regarding Capital Programme of Works for 2011/2012.  Although budgets had been cut there remained several projects which Mr. Mark Speed, Transport and Planning Team Manager was determined to undertake in our area.  Mainly relaying of footpaths but there were several transport problems which he wished to solve.  Mr. Speed said he would wish to make arrangements to visit with NNA and due to his enthusiasm NNA intends to take up his offer.

Mr. Andy Tatt, who is responsible for Traffic Management, spoke at length on Verge Parking to the assembly and although he was seriously interrupted at almost every word he was nevertheless forthright and determined to bring to our attention that his problems were nearly unsolvable as so soon as he solved one problem of grass verge parking the perpetrators moved to another.  So his work was really never ending.  NNA representatives brought top his attention our local grass verge problems and we came to an arrangement where under he would come and talk with us in the near future to help solve the destruction of our local grass verges by parked cars on Ledbury Road.

NNA will endeavour to have these two PCC Officers talk with us at the Annual General Meeting in October if arrangement cannot be made for an earlier meeting.

The remainder of the meeting ranged over many subjects and areas of concern not least of which was the chagrin of a Flood Warning at Water End who had had no communication for several years with PCC Local Emergency Planning Officer and had to attend meetings in Lincolnshire in order to find out what was happening in Peterborough.

Following a question of a Committee Member The Chair of Neighbourhood Council informed him that the £25,000 pounds allocated by PCC to Resident and Associations had been spent on three projects outside NNA Area.  Two projects in Bretton 1. Outdoor Gym Equipment 2. Outdoor Gym Equipment and 3. Resolving Flooding Issues at Bretton/Whitecross.  These three items went to vote and were approved by our Local Councillors although No 3 should, perhaps, have come out of PCC Capital Works Budget.  Some £28,000 was spent outside our area.

Peterborough Local Development Framework Public Consultation. There were three important planning policy documents attached to this letter of 9^th February 2011.  In this letter NNA was asked to read and digest these three documents at our Local Library and then reply to PCC by 24^th March with our comments, observations and or objections.  Two Committee Members visited the library and spent several hours reading these technical documents, statistics, proposals, intentions.  Eventually we came to the conclusion that although  we were not planning officers we began to piece together the intentions of the Council and became of the opinion that the plan for submission of  Site Allocations, Planning Policies, Design  and Development in the surrounding villages and in and around Peterborough lacked cohesion, was a schematic plan and what appeared to be worse was that there was no infrastructure, of road  improvement, construction of schools, community centres etc to support the proposals.  A secondary difficulty was that the local MP produced a completely different plan for the future of Peterborough and residents may have become more confused.

NNA had received an invitation from our local MP, Mr. Stewart Jackson to attend a launch and publication meeting of his Peterborough Housing Strategy on 25 February 2011.  His proposals involved slashing housing targets from 25,000 to 8,000 new homes.  This was a 32 page document which moved away from PCC provision of affordable homes of 1 and 2 bed properties to homes for executives who may or could be the managers who would manage the anticipated new industries coming into Peterborough over the next 15 years.  Although PCC had approved their target of 25,000 houses over the period Mr. Jackson believed his publication was a step forward in the debate of which was better strategy and which was right for Peterborough.  Over 100 people attended the launch.

Mrs. Griffin opened the discussion on the way forward by proposing that NNA write an invitation to be circulated and delivered to all houses in our area telling residents what NNA does or attempts to do and inviting them to become Members of the Committee, attend the Annual General Meeting or simply unobtrusively support NNA.  NNA is lacking younger residents and whilst we know the problems of the lives of the younger group of residents if we, they, wish to maintain the residential, social and environment standards of Netherton then there must be residential support even if it is only to maintain the financial value of our homes against the insidious attacks of the developer or planning officer.

Consideration to be given to inviting Mr. Speed and Mr. Tatt of PCC.

There was no other business. The meeting closed at 9 pm.

Eric Dent

Acting Secretary

March 2011

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