Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Judith Rowley.

There were no declarations of interest.

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.]

Resolved:

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2015 as a true record.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes.]

There were no matters arising.

[To review the outstanding petitions.]

Resolved:

            To receive the update.

[To support on-going discussions regarding improvements to the Heath Town estate and inclusion of the open ground to the rear of 36-62 Inkerman Street in the Heath Town Regeneration Project.]

Lead petitioner, Fortune Sibanda, explained that the open ground to the rear of 36-62 Inkerman Street had been used by Heath Town Football Club (HTFC) for a couple of years and contributed immensely to the development and wellbeing of children in Heath Town. He explained that he went to the Heath Town Regeneration Project consultation on 6 December 2014 to explain that the land is used by the football club. The lead petitioner explained that the land was not included in the original plans for the area. He explained that the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) was discussed at the meeting however this was not suitable for football as the hard surface has resulted in injury to players. Local residents would like the MUGA to remain but also for the open ground to the rear of 36-62 Inkerman Street to be developed, with better lighting and drainage, so that it could be used in winter. The coach of HTFC explained that if the club were to train elsewhere, it would cost a lot of money. The lead petitioner explained that HTFC would be willing to take over the land to develop it for the team and the community to use.

Jane Trethewey, Service Lead for Housing Strategy and Development, explained that the land to the rear of 36-62 Inkerman Street was not part of the original proposals but was added to ensure there was enough volume of development for the project to be viable. She explained that the Council had spoken with the Heath Town Tenant and Resident Association prior to including this land in the proposals, however they were not aware of the football club using the land until the lead petitioner attended the consultation on 6 December 2014 and so the designs were drawn up. The Service Lead for Housing Strategy and Development explained that the state of the land to the rear of 36-62 Inkerman Street and the cost of development will be assessed before a final decision can be taken to take the project further.

The Service Lead for Housing Strategy and Development explained that the Council had undertaken a lot of consultation with residents of Heath Town and had received far more support than objection to the proposals. After reviewing the petition, the Service Lead for Housing Strategy and Development noted that only 63 signatures were from the Heath Town estate itself.

The Service Lead for Housing Strategy and Development explained that the MUGA did deserve further development if a decision to build on ground to the rear of 36-62 Inkerman Street is taken, and discussions had taken place around finding a solution to improve the area and to address prevention of potential injury. She explained that a CCTV camera at the MUGA showed the area was well used, mostly by footballers.

The Service Lead for Housing Strategy and Development acknowledged the work of HTFC but did not want to rule out the possibility of the development of the open  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.