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Minutes of the Public Meeting on the Recreation Ground Redevelopment and Anti-Social Behaviour.
Date: - 10th June 2008 Location: - Banwell Village Hall Present: - Cllr Davies Cllr Dickinson Cllr Green (in the Chair) Cllr Griffin Cllr Haden Cllr Rosier Cllr Shipton District Cllr Tim Marter Harry Cadwallader Banwell Primary School
Sheila
French Social Services
Sharon
Bradley Play Rangers Members of Public: - 21 Apologies: - Cllr Elsey Cllr Found John Penrose MP Dr John & Ptns Dr Barry Wratten D. Cllr A. Harley
Cllr Green opened the meeting at 8.00pm.
1. Welcome and introduction. Cllr Green opened the meeting and thanked everyone for coming.
2.
3 - 5 minute
talk from each representative on how they can help in developing a plan to
reduce Anti Social behaviour. Mr Cadwallader explained that the school liases with outside agencies on matters of anti-social behaviour. Banwell Primary has a Learning Mentor at the school that supports the children and doubles up as a Parent Support Advisor.
Sheila French, Social Services. Social Services work with children with statutory problems. There is a Family Support Centre and the service also provides home visits.
Mike Rees, Youth Offending Team. The Youth Offending Team is an amalgam of several agencies and it covers the whole of North Somerset. They provide a service for young people, their families and also for victims of crime. 4 young people from Banwell have been referred to the Youth Offending Team, 1 is doing voluntary work via family referral and the other 3 have been given statutory orders.
Sharon Bradley, Play Rangers. The NSC Play Rangers are ‘out in the field’ supporting children’s play. Banwell has the most successful project in North Somerset.
Gail Smith, Strategy Manager, NSC Play & Childcare Workforce Development. Gail gave a brief overview of the Play Ranger project. The Play Rangers promote play and work with everyone in the community. In Banwell PCSO Maggie Evans has been working closely with the Rangers.
Pauline Trapp, Churchill Community School. The school operates similarly to Banwell primary liasing with outside agencies, such as those attending the meeting. The school works closely with students and their families on matters relating to anti-social behaviour. The school is keen to work with the community to prevent anti-social behaviour at the school and in the community. Students are only excluded when all other avenues have been explored.
Rev John Franks, St Andrews Church. Rev Franks explained in his previous vocation he was a teacher for young boys with emotional difficulties so he has a good insight of how to work with them. He believes that you should talk TO young children and not DOWN to them, it is important to talk as equals, patience and consistency are essential.
Ian Samsun, North Somerset Housing. North Somerset Housing works with outside agencies and enforcement organizations on anti-social behaviour issues. In some cases mediation is also used. On issues causing major problems North Somerset Housing can issue a Breech of Tenancy notice, in some cases if things are seen to be not improving the tenants are given notice of eviction from the address.
District Cllr Tim Marter. D. Cllr Marter is a Governor of Churchill Community School; he also ‘sits’ on the Children & Young Persons Committee, the Youth Matters Working Group and the North Somerset Youth Parliament. He feels that there should be a partnership between people who live and work in Banwell and the young people. Young people should be involved in the process of re-developing the Recreation Ground; they should feel that it’s their own and should take ownership of the area. The new Banwell and Winscombe Children’s Centre will provide excellent facilities for young people and their families. The young people in the village have heavily supported the Play Pod. He also said he personally felt there was no problem with the youths in the village and he had no experience of any problems.
PC A. Woolacott. Banwell is no different to anywhere else on issues of anti-social behaviour; the village is small and occasionally gossip is expanded. PC Woolacott has tackled some of the main offenders. In the period January to June 2007 46 incidents of youth disorder were reported. In the same period in 2008 the figure dropped to 23 incidents. 4 neighbourhood watch meetings have been held in the village, they were not well attended but 3 schemes have got off the ground. He also explained that he and PCSO Evans covered not only Banwell but Locking and Hutton as well.
Sgt D. Holtby. Sgt Holtby said PC Woolacott holds Beat Surgeries, he commented that members of the public should come to these Surgeries and pass on information. It is important to remember that it is not just the young people in the village that are causing problems.
Derek Carter, Community Safety & Drug Action Team. The Community Safety and Drug Action Team deals with crime and funding. They work with the Police, PCT, the Youth Services and other outside agencies.
Paula Bromley, NSC Youth Services. There are 13 Youth Clubs in North Somerset. Banwell is a typical part time Youth Club. The Youth Workers also work with the students at Churchill Community School. Banwell Youth Club has developed a successful partnership with the new Children’s Centre. The young people have chosen some equipment to go in and outside the building.
3. Questions from the floor. Q. A Banwell Resident – ‘how many on the panel go to bed at night and can sleep?’ the parishioner explained that they are under the doctor for the worry they suffer due to their doors being knocked late into the night and the problems that occur in the Village Hall during dark hours. A. Sgt Holtby replied that the Police are there for anyone who feels threatened in any way.
Q. A Banwell Resident – ‘there are more good children than bad in the village; we are swamped with children who have been moved from other areas in the intention that the good kids behaviour will rub off onto them but they are just forming gangs in the village. Youths should be taught to respect older people they show no respect at all. North Somerset Housing should ‘vet’ families moving to the area.’ A. Harry Cadwallader – the primary school aims to provide a stable learning environment, this is not necessarily consistent at home. A. PC Woolacott explained that North Somerset does not have the control over council houses like they used to have. Private rentals sometimes cause trouble.
Q. A Banwell Resident commented that the Banwell Ladies in Bloom are doing a great job considering quite often their displays are spoilt by Young People. Banwell has a litter and dog mess problem. A. Cllr Green reported that the Parish Council is in the process of installing several new dog bins.
Q. A Banwell Resident reported that she has experienced problems with local youths for several years, on occasions they enter her garden and even her house, she has also been waiting for the chain link fence to be repaired at the bottom of her garden for several years. She has CCTV installed by the police in her garden but it hasn’t been checked. A. PC Woolacott stated that trespass is not a criminal offence; the CCTV camera is there to gain evidence from a substantive offence. The Police need sufficient evidence in order to prosecute an offender.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked Gail Smith if her job was 9 to 5? He said that perhaps we should talk to these problematic young people and ask them what they need/want.
Q. A Banwell Resident ‘Elderly people in the village are experiencing problems with young people, who do they report the incidents to? They are too scared of reprisal to call the Police.’ A. Sgt Holtby said that the incidents should be reported to the Police; if they aren’t aware of the incidents they can’t do anything about them. A. D. Cllr Marter said that the Poppins Community Café is held each month, several services attend including the police, and it is a good opportunity to speak with them about any concerns. A. Harry Cadwallader said that he would be happy to hear of any incidents involving Banwell School children on or off the premises when in school uniform; he would speak with the children and their parents. A. D. Cllr Marter said that Churchill School held a special assembly for Banwell pupils following a racial incident in the village.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked’ what happens when students are excluded from Churchill School?’ A. Pauline Trapp said that in the first instance the pupils are excluded within the school site, there is a special room provided.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked ‘why don’t the children wear seat belts on the school bus? There is an unacceptable level of disruptive behaviour on the bus.’ A. Pauline Trapp said that there is only a driver on the bus; there is no other adult supervision. Disruptive behaviour on the school bus is unacceptable and any offenders would be severely disciplined by the school. A. Derek Carter said that he would discuss this matter with North Somerset Council. A. Sgt Holtby said that the Police would look into it.
Q. A Banwell Resident reported that Littlefields Avenue is very busy at school drop off and pick up times, there is an accident waiting to happen. A. Harry Cadwallader said that he would send a reminder letter to parents.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked when the Recreation Ground would be re-developed? A. Cllr Griffin gave a brief overview of the project. The first phase will be starting hopefully in September. CCTV cameras are being looked at for the Recreation Ground. Cllr Griffin also gave a brief overview of the forthcoming Youth Council meeting that is being held on the 26th June.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked if a list could be published of contact numbers for the ‘key people’ at the meeting. A. Cllr Green said a list would be published on the notice board and on the Parish Council website.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked how are we going to deal with the offending young people? A. Sgt Holtby said that the Police are working with the families to help alleviate the situation. A. Ian Samsun said that the last resort would be to evict the families from their homes if a breech of tenancy had occurred. It would be useful if witnesses would come forward with evidence to help assist investigations.
Q. Banwell Resident asked for a higher Police presence in the village. A. Sgt Holtby commented that the manning levels are set by the amount of call outs and Banwell and the other areas do not warrant any further manning.
Q. Banwell Resident commented that language has cleaned up at Banwell Primary School since Mr Cadwallader has been there. A. Harry Cadwallader thanked the resident for his comments.
Q. A Banwell Resident said that it was very annoying to the Banwell Ladies in Bloom when the plants are vandalised, but they carry on re-planting them. The Resident asked Sgt Holtby if Special Constables were still recruited? A. Sgt Holtby confirmed they are still recruited. A. Paula Bromley said that if the youths are disrupting the flower arrangements in the village then perhaps the Youth Workers and the Play Rangers could organise for the youths to replace them, it might prevent this type of thing happening.
Q. A Banwell Resident asked how much of PC Woolacott and PCSO Evans time is being spent in Banwell? A. PC Woolacott said that 65% of their time is being spent on Banwell issues. The main issues relate to the youth. A. Ian Samsun commented that Wardens might be a possibility worth considering.
4. Plan for a way forward. o Cllr Green said that he would organise for the contact numbers of the ‘panel’ to be published. o Harry Cadwallader said that ‘joined up thinking’ was one way forward. o Sgt Holtby said that questions would be asked and solutions sought. o PC Woolacott asked for the public to report ALL INCIDENTS by phoning the police. He also asked for more residents to come forward who would be interested in joining the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. o A Banwell resident asked if follow-up meetings could be held perhaps twice a year.
5. Close. Cllr Green thanked everyone for his or her participation and agreed another meeting should be held in 6 months to see if any progress has been achieved he closed the meeting at 10.10pm. |
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