Agenda and minutes

Present: – Cllr Edward Smith

Apologies: – Cllr Daniel Pierce, Cllr Robert Hayward

1.      Introductions: Cllr Edward Smith welcomed everyone to the ward forum. The proposed introduction of Council Candidates for the local Council elections next May had met with opposition so candidates were not introduced.

2.      Crime Update from the local Neighbourhood Police Team: Sargent Crookshank attended and provided an update from the Neighbourhood Police Team.

·         There were 7 burglaries from dwellings in August, 3 attempted and 0 non dwelling.

·         There were 2 robberies, 3 incidents of theft from motor vehicles and 3 incidents of criminal damage to vehicles.

·         There was no theft from persons.

·         On criminal damage there is 1 incident being investigated.

·         There was a slight fall in overall crime from June to July.

·         On Chase Side there were 2 domestic incidents and 2 non domestic.

·         There was a decrease in motor vehicle crime

·         There was a question about the 2 assaults that took place in Broomfield Park a couple of months ago when a man attempted to slit a woman’s throat. Sargent Crookshank will ask Sargent Molloy to provide an update on this.

3. Proposed Closure of local police stations: Cllr Smith informed that there are plans to merge Haringey and Enfield and that there is considerable concern. The Chairman of Crime Scrutiny has requested a meeting and visit with Haringey. Problems have arisen with the pilot. There was a suggestion that a link to Barnet would be more appropriate for Southgate rather than Haringey.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has published consultation on policing in London and there are plans to close both Southgate and Enfield Town police stations. There was discussion around response times to Southgate if the station closes. The consultation is available online and closes on 6th October. The consultation documents can be found by searching MOPAC consultation Police Service.

Cllr Smith informed that Police stations like Southgate are still in use, CID and major crime will operate solely out of Edmonton. Police will have to operate out of hubs if there are station closures. There was discussion around how unsuccessful hubs had been to date and that they are never manned. Sargent Crookshank informed that the majority of crime is reported by telephone.

There was discussion around public service assets such as Police stations and how the asset should be considered for another public service before being disposed of.

There was discussion about Edmonton being the sole police station and whether this was due to the large amount of crime in that area. There was concern expressed that by removing Police presence then crime will increase.

Cllr Smith informed that there are 30,000 Police officers across London and this hasn’t changed in last 10 years.

4. Planning Enforcement: The Chairman of Conservation Advisory Group (CAG) is trying to understand how planning enforcement works.

The impression of Customer Services at the Council is very poor and customers are unable to speak with anyone at the Council. 

The call centre is highly pressurised and the telephone system is not fit for purpose and being replaced.

The new Chief Executive of Enfield Council, Ian Davis, has made improvement a priority. A resident suggested that customers do not call out of hours as they are transferred to an out of hour’s team in Lambeth.

a Proposed abolition of Enfield Southgate constituency

b Cycle Enfield update

5.         Enfield Update:

a)         Proposed Abolition of Enfield Southgate constituency: Penultimate draft proposals from the commission are due in a couple of weeks. It is expected that Government are no longer supporting the reduction of MPs from 650 to 600 and that MP numbers will stay as current.

b)         Cycle Enfield Update:

This is an opportunity for residents to raise environmental and other matters with their local councillors. Please email us before the meeting about any particular issues so that we can look into them beforehand. Our contact details are below.

Cllr Robert Hayward

cllr.robert.hayward@enfield.gov.uk

0208 440 5439

Cllr Daniel Pearce

Cllr.daniel.pearce@enfield.gov.uk

02083791706

Cllr Edward Smith

Cllr.edward.smith@enfield.gov.uk

02083511387

6.       Local Concerns: There were questions and discussion on the following raised by residents:

a)      Parking: Parking restriction changes are to be introduced in Wynchgate, Raleigh Way and Queen Elizabeth’s Drive. Local residents have submitted a petition objecting to the proposed changes.  Residents are not happy with the reasons given for the changes which are that visitors and residents are confused by the parking restrictions. The current restrictions have been existence for 30 years so residents do not agree and request that restrictions remain as is. Residents said that signage is confusing, that signs close to each other contradict one another or are in inappropriate places. Raleigh Way has recently had its signage changed and this has better enforcement.

b)      Premier Inn: There have been complaints around the working hours at Premier Inn. Cllr Smith reported delays due to an upgrade in cladding following Grenfell. The project is nearly complete with a target of finishing before Christmas.

c)       Oakwood Park:  Cllr Smith had an update on saplings in Oakwood Park following a question from a resident. The resident was not in attendance.

d)      Kervan: Ongoing issue with planning and a history exists since 2014. Cllr Smith reported that this issue was going through a legal process.

e)      Kentucky Chicken: Nuisance and anti-social behaviour from Kentucky Fried Chicken and customers was discussed. Cllr smith provided an update including a proposed new layout which may help to mitigate the problem. The layout is for parking, rubbish bins and trees. The proposal will require the pedestrian crossing to be moved.

f)       Minchenden Site: Cllr Smith answered a question informing that the Minchenden site is to provide education services to autistic children.

g)      Small Business Saturday:  An event is being run to promote local businesses and encourage community use.

h)      Neighbourhood Watch: Residents are trying to re-establish CAPE meetings for Southgate residents. The last CAPE meeting was two years ago.

i)        Chase Side: A concern was raised regarding the state of one of the shops on Chase Side that seems to have fallen in disrepair. Cllr Smith agreed to look into it.

j)        Ashmolean Rugby Club: The clubhouse was burned down and the site remains insecure. The building is to be demolished and Cllr Smith will find out the reason for delays and when to expect demolition.

k)      Site adjacent to Grovelands: Residents, business and local community groups including Bourne Methodist Church, the Priory, Groveland’s Resident’s Association, a nursery, dog trainers and Neighbourhood Watch met to discuss the site adjacent to Grovelands Park. The land has been neglected and fallen into disrepair and become a location for anti-social behaviour and crime. The community met and have suggested a community project with the Priory Hospital. They have produced a proposal that they have sent to Historic England for review before going to Enfield Council. The proposal includes an Outpatient facility for the Priory, a community facility and a café to be run by volunteers. The proposal includes the possibility of matched  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

1.       Date of next meeting:  29^th November 2017.

Meeting closed:  9.40pm.