Agenda and minutes

Janis Grant

Kirstie Hercules

Tricia Roberts

Mark Nedderman

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests or Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the agenda.

None

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a total period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the Committee on any matter relevant to the work of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers.

Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research it would be helpful if questions were submitted at least one working day before the meeting.

There were no Members of the public present who wished to address the Committee.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2009

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2009, be approved as a correct record

To receive a presentation of the Planning and Performance Manager

Janis Grant, Head of Planning and Performance gave a presentation on Performance Information relating to the Sustainable Communities Committee. The Committee had responsibility to scrutinise the performance of the Local Area Agreement (LAA). Currently, the Council was being assessed by the Audit Commission on its performance in relation to LAA targets agreed by the former constituent authorities in April 2008.

Initial indications suggested that many of the targets were in the top quartile compared with other authorities. Out of 46 indicators relating to Sustainable Communities, targets had been set for 29 indicators. The 15 remaining indicators were new. Of the 29 indicators with targets :

• 10 had met the targets
• 14 had missed the target
• 5 were awaiting performance information.

The key missed targets were:

• Numbers killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents
• Under 18 conception rate
• 16-18 year olds not in employment, education or training
• Achieving independence for older people through rehabilitation/intermediate care
• Number of new affordable homes

In addition, details of the Place Survey carried out in November 2008 were circulated, which provided data from 18 National indicators relating to :

• Respect and Consideration
• Quality of Life
• Information
• Local decision making
• Getting Involved and helping Out

RESOLVED –  (a) That the presentation be received and noted

(b) That the Head of Planning and Performance be requested to  produce a basket of Performance indicators to be submitted to the next meeting for regular monitoring  by the Committee in future.

To receive a verbal update on the Community Warden Service

The Community Safety Manager reported on the review of the Community Warden Service in Cheshire East which had begun in April 2009. The main challenge had been to draw together two separate arrangements in Crewe and Congleton and to integrate the individual arrangements that existed in Macclesfield. There were currently 10 Community Wardens in Cheshire East including 2 dog wardens. Work was continuing to merge some of the team from the former Macclesfield warden service into the Cheshire East team which would then create a team of 13 Wardens.

One immediate task was the need to harmonise the dog warden service. However, it was intended in the longer term to move to a multi skilled team of wardens, so that all wardens were trained to undertake all duties.

The warden service was expected to receive formal police accreditation in the near future which would mean that wardens would have the same powers as Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s)

The Warden service was facing a number of challenges in the future to:

• Fully integrate the wardens service to include park rangers
• Review the total number of wardens required in Cheshire East
• Develop links with registered Social landlords
• Develop links with Local Area Partnerships (LAP’s)
• Develop Area Working and deployment strategy

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

To comment on the draft project plan in relation to the review of CCTV

The Committee considered a report of the Community Safety Manager setting out a project plan for the effective delivery of the Council’s CCTV systems, including traffic monitoring systems.

Cheshire East had inherited 3 independent legacy CCTV systems, using a mix of technologies managed under individual arrangements by in-house staff or by external contractors.

The project aimed, amongst other things, to reduce the operating costs of the CCTV function, to establish a legal framework and Code of Practice, and to improve the evidential quality of images.

The Community Safety manager informed the Committee that work was currently underway to rationalise the Traffic Control cameras within the CCTV contract which may mean that the traffic control cameras would be monitored from Westfields Sandbach.

The Council was also looking at the business case for refurbishing the Macclesfield data Centre which would transform that facility into a strategic data centre which would in turn free more space at Westfields.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and noted.

To comment on the draft strategic assessment and make recommendations to the Safer Cheshire East Partnership

The Committee considered a report of the Community Safety Manager relating to the strategic assessment of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership (formerly CDRP). Each Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) was required by law to produce an annual strategic assessment which was a survey of crime and disorder levels and trends over the past year (and up to three years). The strategic assessment was used for planning future Partnership activity as part of a three year rolling annual plan to reduce the levels of crime and disorder and their impact on the community.

The partnership had focussed on the broader strategic themes to identify the areas where deeper partnership and multi-agency working could ‘add value’ to the partners’ core business.

Two broad themes were evident from the analysis. The first was the need to maintain operational activity and processes that had successfully reduced crime across Cheshire East over the last three years. The second was to develop approaches to crime and disorder that had the most impact on people, and which most concerned them. Therefore an emphasis would be placed on the strategic management of crime and disorder in Borough’s towns and in those neighbourhoods that sufferered most.

Tthe committee highlighted the key priority relating to  NI 47 concerning the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents.

RESOLVED –  (a) That the report be received

                            (b) That a representative of the Safer Cheshire East Partnership be invited to the next meeting of the Committee to present more details about the partnership’s response to NI 47 relating to road safety.

To receive a presentation of the Head of Planning and Policy

RESOLVED – That the presentation on the LDF be deferred to the next meeting.

To give consideration to the work programme

The Committee considered a report of the Borough Solicitor relating to the work programme.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and noted.