To notify the Chairman if you have an interest in the following items.

No declarations of interest were received.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd April 2007.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd April 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

A representative of the PCT will attend the meeting to give an update on local health matters.

Alan Inglis and Ian Rooney, County Durham PCT, attended the meeting to give an update regarding the staffing structures of the new PCT and Spennymoor Health Centre.

The Forum was informed that it was anticipated that the new staffing structures would be in place within the next few weeks.

It was reported that County Durham PCT had inherited a large number of premises from the five predecessor PCTs and needed to develop a single estates strategy, which would incorporate all the strategic service development schemes that had been planned by the previous PCTs.

Sedgefield PCT had entered into a contractual partnership with LIFT to provide capital investment to modernise estate within Sedgefield Borough, and had identified seven schemes, including Spennymoor Health Centre.

County Durham PCT needed undertake further business planning to prioritise schemes in accordance with local delivery plans and consider the capital and revenue implications for the PCT in the long term. 

With regard to Spennymoor Health Centre, a detailed feasibility study needed to be undertaken. This would involve further consultations with GPs and the public to ascertain what services should be provided.  The revenue implications would then need to be worked out and a suitable site identified.

Arrangements have been made for appropriate officers to attend to discuss the issues raised at the last meeting.  (Minute No. AF(1)39/06 refers)

R. Brown, Neighbourhood Warden Co-ordinator Community Safety,

D. Maughan, Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction Manager and J. Bennett, Street Scene Controller, were present at the meeting to address the concerns expressed at the last meeting of the Forum regarding the amount of dog fouling and litter in the town centre and areas of Spennymoor.

R. Brown, who was responsible for enforcement in respect of litter, dog fouling and abandoned vehicles, reported that 143 Fixed Penalty Notices had been issued for the 2006/07 financial years, of which 50 related to the Spennymoor area.  13 people had been fined in respect of dog fouling, 19 for fly-tipping and 18 for littering.  It was pointed out that his staff carried our both high visibility and covert patrols as well as education programmes within schools.

Members of the Forum were of the opinion that more enforcement action was needed. 

Concern was expressed regarding the amount of rubbish, especially packaging from takeaways located around the seats in the Town Centre and it was proposed that litterbins should be located nearer to the seats.  It was pointed out that there were a large number of litter bins within the Town Centre and so people should not be any great distance away from a bin.

Specific reference was also made to the lack of street cleansing on weekends.  It was pointed out that the Town Centre/Zone 1 was cleaned on Saturday and Sunday mornings. 

The amount of chewing gum deposited on the pavements in the vicinity of schools was also highlighted.  It was noted that the Council was looking to buy a new chewing gum removal machine as the existing machine had not been as successful as anticipated in removing the gum.

With regard to the provision of dog bins, it was suggested that the Council should consider purchasing foot pedal operated dog bins as they were much easier to open.  It was pointed out that the Council had investigated the possibility of using such bins, however, they were more expensive and did not have a long life.

The suggestion was also made that those people caught dropping litter should be asked to undertake community service rather than pay fines.  It was pointed out that the Council was currently working with the Probation Service regarding a horticultural/street cleansing project in Shildon, which, if successful, would be rolled out throughout the Borough.

It was pointed out that residents needed to be made aware of the huge amount of money the Council spent on street cleansing and it was proposed that an article should be included in a future edition of Inform stating the cost per taxpayer of picking up litter.

A representative of Spennymoor Police will attend the meeting to give a report on crime statistics and initiatives in the area.

Inspector Adrian Green was present at the meeting and gave details of crime figures for the area.

The reported crime figures for May 2007 were as follows:

With regard to road safety, there had been three minor injury incidents and ten damage only incidents.

The Inspector reported that following some analysis work he had carried out approximately some eight months ago, he had received notification that five extra officers were to be imported to the Ferryhill /Spennymoor area.

Members of the Forum expressed concern regarding vehicles parking on the pavement.  It was reported that the Police would deal with specific complaints where vehicles were causing obstructions, however, it was not envisaged that there would be dedicated patrols to look at the problem. 

Reference was also made to the problem of motorists speeding along Rock Road and to the accident that had occurred there a few months ago.  It was reported that all road traffic accidents with fatalities/serious injuries were investigated to ascertain whether any road safety initiatives/measures should be introduced. With regard to Rock Road, the use of the mobile safety camera could not be justified.

Concern was also expressed regarding the consumption of alcohol in public places by persons under the age of 18 years.  It was noted that a number of off-licences had now joined the Pub Watch Scheme and a number of joint operations had taken place between Sedgefield Borough Council and the Police.

Concern was also expressed regarding the opening hours of the front office of the Police Station.  It was pointed out that it was less expensive for officers to visit people at their homes rather than keep the front office of the Police Station open 24 hours a day.  Spennymoor front office was open 8 a.m. to

6 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Monday 3^rd September 2007 at 6.30 p.m. at Byers Green Village Hall

Monday 3^rd September at 6.30 p.m. at Byers Green Village Hall.