To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd April 2003. 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd April 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.  (For copy see file of Minutes).

A report will be given at the meeting by Shildon Police.

P.C. Mandy Lawton was present at the meeting to give details of the crime statistics.

Members noted that the crime statistics for June were as follows:

It was reported that the house burglary was the result of a window being left open and the thief had been able to reach in and take the object he desired.  Members were warned not to leave any valuables in the vicinity of open windows.

The Forum noted that P.C. M. Lawton and Mrs. B. Gardner had compiled a form to provide information to private landlords regarding prospective tenants.  The draft form was to be discussed at a meeting at Police headquarters that week and hopefully subject to its approval, would be introduced shortly.

It was reported that from Friday 25^th July 2003, there would be a dedicated Anti-Social Behaviour Unit based at Newton Aycliffe Police Station.

Specific reference was made to the problem of domestic violence and it was agreed that figures regarding the incidents of domestic violence for Shildon, compared with the rest of the Borough, would be provided for the next meeting.  It was also agreed that arrangements would be made for the Domestic Violence Co-ordinator to attend a future meeting to give a presentation on her work.

The Forum’s attention was drawn to the problem of youths causing annoyance on land in West Road, Shildon that was owned by Shildon Town Council.  The Town Council members present at the meeting agreed to look into the problem.

Reference was also made to the problem of abandoned cars in Shildon, particularly the one that had been recently abandoned in the vicinity of the Jubilee Public House.

It was reported that the Police had the power to deal with abandoned stolen vehicles very quickly.   Abandoned vehicles that were not stolen, were dealt with by the Borough Council under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.  Details were given of the procedure followed. Officers of the Borough Council’s Environmental Health Department would first have to establish if the vehicle was abandoned. If abandoned, a notice would be placed on the vehicle for a period of 24 hours.  Once the notice had expired, the vehicle would be removed, usually within two hours. 

It was noted that the Borough Council had recently advertised the vacancy of Vehicle Action Co-ordinator.  The postholder would be responsible for the investigation of complaints of anti-social behaviour, particularly in relation to those concerning vehicles and the enforcement of legislation relating to anti-social behaviour.

The Chairman thanked P.C.Lawton and E. Beevers for attending the meeting.

Update on local health matters.

K. Vasey from Sedgefield Primary Care Trust was present at the meeting to give an update on local health developments within Area 4.

In response to the query raised at the last meeting, it was reported that digital, behind the ear, hearing aids would be available early in 2004.    The new hearing aids would provide better quality sound by cutting out extraneous noises. A publicity campaign would be run when the aids were available which would involve the distribution of leaflets to doctors’ surgeries and hospitals.

It was reported that Sedgefield PCT had been rated as one star which was not as high as it would have liked as one of the key targets in respect of patients having access to a GP in 48 hours and health care professionals in 24 had not been met on the day in March when the Trust had been judged.

Members of the Forum expressed concern that it was difficult to make appointments to see a particular doctor in view of the fact that new appointment systems had been introduced at a number of surgeries. It was explained that the new appointments system had been initiated to try and meet the Government’s targets of having access to GPs in 24 hours and to free the system of long term appointments which frequently were not kept.

Reference was also made to the fact that District Nurses, Health Visitors and some Nurse Practitioners would now be able to prescribe from a limited number of drugs.

The Chairman thanked Kath Vasey for attending the meeting.

Arrangements have been made for Oliver Priestly Leach to give a presentation on the kerbside recycling scheme.

Oliver Priestley-Leach, Waste Management Officer for Sedgefield Borough Council, attended the meeting to give a presentation on the kerbside recycling scheme.

He explained that he was a member of the Council’s Local Agenda 21 Team.  Local Agenda 21 had been launched in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio and had been renamed ‘Local Action 21’, following the World Summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in 2002.  LA21 was about working together to make sure that whatever was done today to improve quality of life, did not damage the environment for the future, or the quality of life for others living elsewhere in the world.

It was explained that each household in County Durham produced around one tonne of waste per year and approximately 60% of that waste could easily be reused or recycled.

Sedgefield Borough Council, in partnership with Durham County, Durham City and Chester-le-Street District Councils, had secured government funding to introduce “Kerb it” - a kerbside recycling scheme to all the Borough households.

Every household in the Borough would receive a 55 litre green kerbside recycling box in which to put their glass bottles and jars (washed), steel and aluminium food and drink cans (washed and squashed), newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, catalogues and flyers.  Collections would be fortnightly and would replace the existing

house-to-house paper service.  All the householder would have to do was to place the box at the edge of their property on the designated collection day, which would normally be the regular refuse collection day.  Extra material could be placed in a bag or cardboard box and would be removed at the same time as the box was emptied. 

Each householder would be informed when the scheme was coming to their particular area by leaflets, giving details of the collection days, what could be recycled and how the scheme would work.  Those residents who were already on the ‘assisted pull out’ scheme for their wheelie bins, would receive similar assistance with the boxes.

The boxes were not supplied with lids as it did not matter if the material got wet.  It was pointed out that if every box had a lid, collections would take longer increasing the cost of the service. Lids for the boxes were however, available if residents required them from the Council at a cost of £1.50. 

Members noted that the Council produced 30,000 tonnes of waste each year and currently only 3,000 tonnes were recycled.  It was hoped that the introduction of the kerbside recycling scheme would increase the amount of material that could be recycled to 7,500 tonnes. 

The Forum welcomed the scheme. 

The Chairman thanked Oliver Priestley-Leach for a very interesting presentation.

Report of Chief Executive Officer.

Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Executive Officer regarding the appointment of a representative for Area 4 Forum to the Local Strategic Partnership Board for the Borough.  (For copy see file of Minutes).

Agreed that Councillor M. Stott be appointed as Area 4 Forum’s representative on the LSP Board.

The Chairman will take questions from the floor.

Concern was expressed concerning the number of properties in private ownership within Shildon which had been left in a derelict condition, and the problem of tenants of private landlords causing nuisance/annoyance.  It was agreed that appropriate officers from the Council would be invited to the next meeting of the Forum to discuss the matter.

It was reported that the dog bins in Hackworth Park were frequently full of other rubbish.  Members of the Town Council and the Borough Council agreed to look into the complaint.  

The request was made that the Town Centre should be cleaned more regularly and thoroughly.

It was reported that it was the Borough Council’s intention to increase spending on environmental services over the next four years.

It was reported that Shildon Town Council was undergoing a

re-organisation and a public meeting would be arranged to explain the proposals.

Tuesday 23^rd September 2003 at 6.30 p.m. in the Hackworth Suite, Shildon Sunnydale Leisure Centre, Middridge Lane, Shildon

Tuesday 23^rd September, 2003 at 6.30 p.m. in Hackworth Suite,  Shildon Sunnydale Leisure Centre, Middridge Lane, Shildon.