Agenda and minutes

Councillors Jazz Dhillon and John Morse attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillor.

Concerns and suggestions raised by the petitioner included the following:-

·         Advised the Cabinet member that he was the neighbourhood watch co-ordinator for the area, which had made a difference.

·         Had various concerns in relation to security and drug related issues.

·         The trees in the road had been pruned.

·         The Victoria Public House (VPH) had caused a lot of anti social behaviour in the area in the past but since it had closed this had decreased.

·         There were ongoing issues with youths congregating on the wall of No 2 Northfield Close.

·         Families who lived in the area had been followed and young girls harassed and physically intimidated.

·         There had been a number of prostitutes operating in the area.

·         Since the VPH had closed down the crime rate had reduced, but there were still pockets of drug related issues occurring.

·         There was drug dealing occurring by the parade of shops in North Hyde Road and the security gates were often left open.

·         There were concerns around CCTV cameras in a residential area and how this could be overcome on a permanent basis.

·         Made reference to the Ickenham Neighbourhood Watch alert scheme that had been introduced, which had reduced the number of crimes and robberies in the area.

·         This was something that residents would be happy to do with the support of the Council and was felt this would work in this area.

·         Understood there were no legal issues with private residential properties having their own CCTV installed.

·         Improved lighting was a key requirement if drug and anti social behaviour issues were to be addressed properly in the area.

The Ward Councillors raised the following concerns and suggestions.

·         All three ward councillors supported the petitioners.

·         Northfield Park and Northfield Close were small roads opposite the VPH.

·         The petition initially arose because of the problems associated with the VPH.

·         Because of the nature of these two roads it was easy for crime/drug related offences to be committed in the area.

·         Confirmed that the trees had now been pruned but the street lighting was poor and required to be updated as soon as possible

• Although the problems caused by the VPH had reduced since it had been closed, there were concerns that this would increase if another licence was granted and the public house re-opened.

·         There were still drug related issues occurring in the vicinity of Black Rod Close and if the issue was not addressed now, could become an issue again in the future.

·         The installation of temporary CCTV and improved lighting would help to reduce the anti social behaviour in the area.

·         Now the issue of tax discs had gone it was not possible to identify illegally parked cars.

The Cabinet Member advised the petitioners that the only place that temporary CCTV could be installed was at the junction of North Hyde Road and Northfield Park.  There was a plan to upgrade residential street lighting and generally but would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

HARLINGTON HOSPICE AND PINGLESTONE CLOSE

Councillors Peter Money and Manjit Khatra attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

The Lead petitioner was not in attendance due to health reasons.

Ward Councillors made the following concerns and suggestions.

·         There had been an increase in the fly tipping across the whole of Heathrow Villages Ward.

·         Rubbish was being cleared on a regular basis in this area covered by the petition but as soon as it was removed another load of rubbish replaced it.

·         As the ward had a transient population this was a serious problem in the area.

·         The fly tipping was a mixture of bags left for the Hospice and other rubbish.

·         The only solution that residents could see working was for the installation of CCTV cameras.

·         Ward Councillor regularly received emails from residents about fly tipping and residents seeking robust action for it to be cleared.

·         The area was being made untidy and unsafe by the continuing fly tipping

·         Asked consideration to be given to the authorisation of CCTV cameras as this would be helpful and appreciated.

·         This had been an ongoing problem since May and the 30 incidents referred to in the report was an under estimate.

·         The leaflet circulated at the end of last year on rubbish recycling was out of date and asked that it be updated an re-circulated.

A local resident attended the meeting making the following points:-

·         Pinglestone Close was a magnet for rubbish as the car park was used by taxi's operating out of Heathrow Airport.

·         Rubbish increased on refuse collection day.

Officers advised that a visit had been made to the area that morning and it was noticed that some residents had already put recycling sacks out on the pavement.  As the refuse collection day for this area was a Thursday, officers from the Enforcement Team would be asked to visit the properties concerned to provide advice about rubbish recycling, as rubbish should not be put out on the pavement until the night before the collection day.   

The Cabinet Member for Community, Commerce & Regeneration advised that there was a process that the Council had to follow when dealing with those offenders who dumped rubbish.  Officers would be asked to distribute an updated leaflet to households in the area and set out the consequence if people continued.  If there had been no improvement in the area by April 2015 this would be followed up by the installation of temporary CCTV cameras to see if the perpetrators could be caught.

Resolved

1.         That officer's update the rubbish recycling leaflet and distribute in the local area. 

2.         That if the problem was still continuing in April 2015, that temporary CCTV cameras are installed on an ad hoc basis to deter the fly tipping that occurs in this area.

FAIRFIELD ROAD AND COLHAM ROAD, YIEWSLEY

Councillors Peter Davies, Ian Edwards and Shehyrar Wallana attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

·         Had run the corner shop in Fairfield Road for a number of years.

·         Had been personally robbed 4 times and this was having an effect on his whole family.

·         There was a lack of support in the area from the Police for residents and businesses.

·         Fairfield Road was a main thoroughfare to and from the High Street and was used for criminal activity in and around the area over the past ten years.

·         All incidents that occur in the area were not being reported due to the lack of police support.

·         The installation of CCTV at the two locations requested in Fairfield Road and Colham Avenue would support the police in catching the culprits of crime/anti social behaviour.

The Wards Councillors made the following points:-

·         Supported the petitioners in their request for permanent CCTV cameras to be installed as mobile CCTV was not felt to be sufficient.

·         109 residents had signed the petition and the Council must take note of this.

·         The reason for the lack of reporting of crime in the area was due to the lack of support being provided by different agencies.

·         The current fixed CCTV at the corner of Yiewsley High Street and Fairfield Road does not cover the area covered by this petition.

·         Youths congregate in the area acting in a menacing and threatening manner.

·         There was a Church, children's centre and residential properties close by.

·         Understand that resources are stretched but the expense was justified to protect our residents and give them peace of mind.

·         The Council needed to put residents first and with the support of the law enforcement agencies this can be done.

·         It was felt there would be a backlash if a major incident occurred.

·         Request that permanent CCTV was installed at Fairfield Road and Colham Avenue to deter and detect criminal activities.

·         Recognised that the number of incidents being reported were small but urged the installation of CCTV in the requested locations.

·         Installation of temporary CCTV cameras would provide the information required to look at a more permanent solution. 

The Cabinet Member for Community, Commerce & Regeneration recognised that the activities being carried on in this area were not tolerable but that there needed to be further information on the number and times of incidents.  The residents were urged to report all incidents as without that information the solutions would be limited, as the provision of fixed CCTV would need to meet specific thresholds.  Residents concerns were understood and would suggested that local residents establish with the support of their Ward Councillors set up an active Neighbourhood Watch in the area.  This would provide support in the local community and self action so that residents were aware of what was happing in the area.

Officers were asked to contact the local Police Inspector for the area highlighting the concerns being raised by the local community and that residents felt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.