CLOUGH HALL RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 11th DECEMBER 2007
AT HOLLINWOOD SHELTERED HOUSING at 7.30pm.
PRESENT :-
COMMITTEE :- G Sutton, C Brammer, B Collis, C Brough, J Gallacher,
C Gallacher, M Moore.
GUEST SPEAKERS :- PC Dave Woodward, Damien Flynn, Rev Paul Howard
GUESTS :- Clr J Taylor, Clr S Burgess, Clr P Crank, Clr D Richards,
RESIDENTS :- 41
TOTAL ATTENDANCE :- 58
APOLOGIES:- T Dale, Paul & Sue Fisher, Tina Evans, Andy Boyes - Planning for Real, Catherine Fox, Peter & Hazel Hammond, PCSO C Stepney.
The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone to the new venue. He introduced Councillor John Taylor from Staffs County Council, the Steering Committee from Planning for Real, PC Dave Woodward, and Damien Flynn from Beat the Cold.
A Planning for Real Steering Group Committee Meeting was held last week which covered all areas; the purpose of tonight's presentation is to focus on items deemed High Priority in the Butt Lane/Clough Hall area.
A selection of handouts covering various topics, and calendars, were available for residents to take later.
Mrs Bromley has been in hospital but is now due to come home; a card will be circulated to be signed by all those residents who knew her, and the card will then be delivered together with a small gift.
Christmas Carol Evening - Monday 17th December at 7:30pm - mulled wine and mince pies will be available, and volunteers are needed to help provide the mince pies. The Salvation Army Band will be present this year.
Christmas dinner - to be held at the Clough on Wednesday 19th December.
Clough Hall School are to hold a drop-in session for local residents on Thursday 20th December from 2pm to 3pm; sherry and mince pies will be provided, and people will have an opportunity to talk to the Headteacher and some of the staff.
Litter picks - the next one will be held on the 18th, 19th or 20th January. There are several areas which need clearing.
The Westmorland Unit - the next meeting will be held on Thursday 20th December at 5pm at Hollinwood.
The next meeting of the Residents' Association will be held on Tuesday 15th January;
Jane Finnemore will be the guest speaker, with the rest of the evening devoted to residents' concerns.
Graham then thanked Laura and Helen for the buffets and light refreshments they have provided during the last 12 months, and they were each presented with a gift. Chris then presented a gift to Graham on behalf of CHRA in appreciation of all his hard work. Graham said that there have been some real achievements this year, and that good progress has been made with Planning for Real. He wished the residents a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. He then invited PC Dave Woodward to speak.
PC Woodward warned residents about bogus officials, who have been a particular problem in Butt Lane, Kidsgrove and Audley; they pretend that there is a problem with the water supply which needs to be checked, and several thousand pounds and jewellery have been stolen recently. He also introduced the ‘Nominate a Neighbour' (NAN) scheme, which encourages neighbours to support and look out for each other. NAN packs were made available to residents, and PC Woodward asked that anyone who took a pack, either for themselves or for someone else, should let him know who the packs would be going to. He also has £1500 available for providing door chains with a keyhole and separate key; Aspire housing residents will have one fitted free, and Beth Johnson have also been approached and will take up the offer. The William Sutton Trust will be approached next, and then the offer will be made to private individuals - those who have the NAN packs will be given priority. He emphasised that more than 20 officers per day are detailed to deal with bogus officials - the police will flood an area in the hope of catching them.
Graham then thanked PC Woodward and apologised for omitting to mention the location of the fire door and the toilets in the building. He then introduced Damien Flynn.
Damien explained that Beat the Cold is a small local charity funded by the N. Staffs PCT. Its aims are to combat fuel poverty and to reduce the incidence of cold-related illness. Those who are defined as suffering fuel poverty are people who spend more than 10% of their income on fuel, particularly the elderly on a fixed income and especially those who are also ill. He said that there are 25,000 - 30,000 excess winter deaths (ie above the summer totals) which are due to cold-related illness, particularly cardio-vascular problems. Beat the Cold will give advice to individuals (there is a freephone number) or to groups, or they will visit a home by appointment. They will advise on how to get the best out of your heating system, and how to insulate the home efficiently. He said that the heating level in a home should be appropriate, but that it was also important to retain the heat in the home. The most vulnerable people can apply for a grant from Warm Front (£2,700) for insulation or heating measures, but this can take 6 months to come through. Anyone who is 60 or over is entitled to £300 off the cost of a new boiler and £150 off the cost of cavity wall insulation. Finally Damien emphasised that Beat the Cold are a non-profit making organisation which gives independent advice; he gave out packs of energy-saving bulbs and provided information booklets.
Graham thanked Damien then gave an update on Planning for Real (PFR).
During the initial consultation process there have been 21 consultation events, 3,000 flags used by the community, and 4,089 ideas and issues arising from this; this is to be the final prioritisation meeting. Graham then gave a Powerpoint presentation to clarify the priorities for the Butt Lane/Clough Hall area which are summarised as follows:
Community facilities
- Club/daycare centre for elderly people (7 flags highlight this issue)
- Youth club or shelter (14)
- Community café (5)
- Toilets with accessible facilities (8
- Soundproof rehearsal facility at Clough Hall School (7)
Traffic and transport
- Gritting and grit boxes required (16)
- Roundabout/pelican crossing/lights (21)
- Parking issues in various areas, including around Clough Hall School (55)
- Bollards/give way signs/pavement improvement (16)
- Rat run/one way system (14)
- HGVs banned in Congleton Rd (4)
- Traffic calming/20mph/speed ramps (122)
- Improved bus service (5)
Health
- Chemist's shop required (25)
- Free issue of condoms (5)
- Parenting classes (3)
- HIV/AIDS addiction advice (3)
- Support and counselling/bereavement support/support for the terminally ill (3)
- Diabetic clinic/minor accident clinic/improved waiting times at doctors (4)
- Smoking cessation group (7)
- Hospital ear service/healthy eating/needles exchange programme (7)
Leisure and recreation
- Volunteers to assist with activities (2)
- Summer club (5)
- Art club for children (8
- Under 5s playgroup (8
- Day trips (6)
Local environment
- Clean-up needed (22)
- Dog mess/dog poopscoop bins (62)
- Used condoms left here (5)
- Clough Hall Park - many issues including recycling, clean-up, picnic area, area to encourage wildlife (28
Crime and safety
- Illegal dumping (20)
- Afraid to go out at night (25)
- Don't feel safe (24)
- Vandalising problems (18
- Graffiti problems (14)
- Young people hanging around (25)
- Drug problems (56)
- Night noise and rowdiness (9)
- Car dumping/burning (3)
- More police on foot patrols (3)
- Car theft (3)
- Antisocial behaviour (3)
- Drinking problems (35)
Housing
- Residents' Association required for Mitchell Ave (3)
- Flats/housing required for first time buyers/the elderly/the disabled (28
All of the above were highlighted as high priority issues.
The Rev. Paul Howard then thanked the workers at the Steering Groups and the consultation/prioritisation events. He asked ‘Where do we go from here?' and described the next objectives for PFR:
1. To expand the PFR Steering Group to form an Action Forum for Talke, Talke Pits, Butt Lane and Clough Hall.
2. To write a PFR report which could be available to the public by January.
3. To form Action Groups to identify workable solutions and to take these forward.
4. To identify partners and agencies who can advise and take the process forward.
5. To recruit motivated local people to be involved in the Action Groups (anyone interested was invited to leave their contact details).
Finally one of the residents, Mr C Poole, spoke about new facilities which have been authorised at the Congleton Road Community Centre in Butt Lane. A Petanque (Boules) pitch is to be installed and a new club formed; an inaugural meeting will be held probably in March, and interested residents were invited to go along.
Refreshments were then served and the meeting was closed.
Signed G Sutton (Chairman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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