Community Visit to Nottingham Forest Match

Following the grant from the West Area Committee as group of residents spent the afternoon on a community cohesion trip to a Nottingham Forest match on Saturday 5th December.

Twenty seven residents went in total to the match played against Leicester City. This was the first time some had been to a football match played in the major leagues.

It was a very exciting game to go and see with nearly a 30,000 crowd attending and a pitch walk by the Mercer Regiment who had currently finished a tour of duty in Afganistan.

In the end Forest managed to thrash Leicester City 5 - 1 which made the day even more enjoyable.

Another grant has been applied for to enable the residents of the estate to visit Skegness on a day trip by train during the summer months. We shall have to see if we are successful

Ainsley Area Residents Association - Meeting 4th November 2009

Ainsley Area Residents Association

Held Wednesday 4^th November 2009

6pm Robert Shaw Primary School

Present:

Anthony Kelly (Chairman)

Michael Thomas (Secretary), Christine Thomas (Treasurer), Lynn Shepherd, Chris Earley, Jo Bride, Brian Bird, Peter Dixon

In Attendance:

Councillor Gary Long

Councillor Alex Foster

Karen Coker (Head Teacher, Robert Shaw School)

Susan Ward-Rice (NAO, Nottingham City Council)

1. Apologies

Roger Codling

2. Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes

These were agreed as a true record.

David Lloyd Leisure Centre

Following a letter to David Lloyd a response was received thanking the committee for bringing the Grassington Road part of their property to their attention. Members of staff from the centre cleared the existing litter and they had asked their gardening company to trim back the vegetation. At the time of this meeting it looks as though this work has been carried out.

Grab-a-Grand Competition

The association was unsuccessful in its attempt to be shortlisted for this competition but Robert Shaw was. Robert Shaw Primary School was the winner within Area 3. Congratulations to the school for winning.

Football Match Community Event

Applications were received from residents of the estate and on this occasion there are sufficient funds from last year’s community chest application to send everyone to the match that applied. Tickets for the match are on general sale from the 21^st November. The Secretary will go to purchase the tickets at this time and it was agreed to distribute the tickets to the residents a day or 2 before the match.

Action : Michael Thomas

Arbrook Drive

Given the relatively small amount of traffic that would seem to be using Arbrook Drive, possibly as a cut through, an official traffic survey is unlikely to take place. There is always the possibility of the residents conducting a mini-survey in traffic volume themselves at the times they feel are the worst during the day.

3. Robert Shaw Playing Field Updates

With a great effort from the Karen, Susan, Gary and Alex the field has now been opened. The meeting has been informed that the field has started to be used already and Karen told the meeting that it already seems to be having a positive impact on the reduction in the illegal use of the school grounds.

A combined litter and dog waste bin is on order as well as a new sign for the gates and a notice sign for the school informing anyone thinking of using the school grounds that the field is now open.

A litter pick has been initially done around the entrance which seems to have been litter exposed following the ground works. Brambles near the entrance have been cut to the floor and one of the committee was hoping to try and remove these stumps this Saturday afternoon to neaten the area up further dependant on the weather. Any helpers would be welcome on any weekend.

4. West Area Committee Community Chest Application

A few suggestions were put forward for the application for this years Community Chest grant application. The closing date is 27^th November. It was agreed that the Secretary would put together a costed application from the previous year’s ideas or this years suggestions.

Action : Michael Thomas

5. Any Other Business

No other business was raised.

6. Date of Next Meeting.

Wednesday 6^th January 2010 at 6pm Robert Shaw School

A Bit More Work

The grounds people have done the best job they can so far with the field given the state that it was in. Whilst I was there at least 15 different children and a couple of Adults came on the field to use it and we have been informed that illegal use of the School grounds has dropped significantly which is fantastic.

Hopefully we can get some goal posts on soon and sort out the insurance issue regarding these. Who would have thought that had to be so exacting.

Whilst not essential to the use of the field, one of the Residents Association cleared up a bit of the debris where the brambles had been removed and cleared the entrance up some more to give them field a more inviting feel. A lot of the debris has been moved but while a couple of stumps were removed they are a little challenging to get rid of so this is a job for another day with a sharp spade.

It was gratifying that while the committee member was working several of the youngsters on the field were wanting to help out. They level of assistance they offered was debatable given their young age but the thought was there.

Southfield Road Playing Field

Thanks to a large amount (10 years) of effort by Robert Shaw Primary School, local Neighbourhood officers and the local Lib Dem Councillors the Southfield Road Playing Field is finally open again.

At the moment a significant square has been cut to enable football to be played on a marked mini-pitch. The ground is in an OK condition but now it is being maintained again hopefully it will start to recover and reach a better condition.

The entrance has been improved and cleared to enable access and as I was passing saw one young lad venturing on to have a look.

The company have cut away significant amount of brambles close to the entrance but hopefully with some assistance from other members of the Residents Association we can litter pick and weed this area to remove the remaining stumps and flatten the ground a bit more.

In the years to come, hopefully, with more council and school assistance we can make further improvements now that the ground work has been completed.

A big thank you to everyone involved.

Ainsley Area Residents Association - Meeting 9th Sept 2009

Held Wednesday 9th September 2009
5.45pm Robert Shaw Primary School

Present:

Anthony Kelly (Chairman)

Michael Thomas (Secretary), Christine Thomas (Treasurer), Lynn Shepherd, Chris Earley, Eve Earley, Jo Bride, Roger Codling, Brian Bird, Lyn Thompson.

In Attendance:

Councillor Gary Long
Councillor Alex Foster
Karen Coker (Head Teacher, Robert Shaw School)
Susan Ward-Rice (NAO, Nottingham City Council)

1. Apologies

None

2. Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes

These were agreed as a true record.

Arbrook Drive
The residents still felt that some cars users were still using Arbrook Drive as a short cut from either Grassington Road or off Western Boulevard especially during peark time and were asking about the feasibility of some speed reduction humps being installed on the road. It was agreed to ask Councillor Long or Councillor Foster to follow this up with the Highways Agency to see if a supplementary survey had been carried out following installation of humps on Grassington Road / Northdown Road and about the possibility of an additional survey during peak times on Arbrook Road.
Action : Councillors Foster and Long

3. Robert Shaw Playing Field Updates

The field is almost complete. There have been problems surrounding the intermittent weather and equipment problems leading to clearing company being delayed on all is commitments. Outstanding currently is the clearing of the entrance, a low cut followed by assessment of the ground and the marking out of the pitch. Should the ground require more remedial work after the low cut this may take slightly longer.

4. Football Match Community Event

A selection of matches was made available for committee members to choose for inclusion on to the new Forest Match Visit Application. The match agreed was against Leicester City on the 5th December 2009. The age range of the applicable children was also increased. A new set of application forms will need to be delivered at the beginning of October with the closing date being the last day of October. Successful applicants will then be randomly chosen at the next meeting.


5. Community Involvement Ideas

A list was drawn up to put to residents at some point to see if there is any interest from anyone to take part in community events and groups. This list contained a brief set of ideas and committee members were asked to think if there were any other suggestions to put to residents.

After the list has been compiled it was agreed to put this to residents and take forward any suggestion that shows sufficient interest.

Action : All committee members

6. Provisional Dates for Future Meetings

The following dates were agreed as provisional dates for future committee meetings.

Wednesday 4th November 2009

Wednesday 6th January 2010

Wednesday 3rd March 2010

Wednesday 5th May 2010 - Annual General Meeting

7. Any Other Business

Beechdale Library
It has been discovered that St Johns Ambulance Service are no longer interested in Beechdale Library although the issue of closure has not disappeared. There seems to be an issue with a reduction in the numbers of people using the library and now the possibility of a reallocation of services has crossed the Leisure Services minds the library problem is a matter of use it or loose it.

Grab a Grand / Community Chest

Both these grant application schemes are here with us again. The Grab-A-Grand is an application suggestion that is then open to public vote. Once the application has been made the more people that vote in the community the better the chance of there is of winning.

The Community Chest will be an application to the West Area Committee for an event, local improvement or activity that is for the benefit of the local community. If anyone one can think of ideas please bring them to the next meeting.
Action : All committee members

David Lloyd Leisure Centre Trees/Foliage/Litter

The condition of David Lloyds Leisure Centre’s property bordering Grassington Road was raised. The foliage is getting overgrown, litter is contained within this foliage and some of the trees have grown quite a distance in to Grassington Road. Given that this is a private property the Council can only really act if there is a hazard to the public. The only course of action is to write to the management of the leisure centre and see if they would address these issues.

Action : Michael Thomas
8. Date of Next Meeting.

Wednesday 4th November 2009 at 6pm Robert Shaw School

"Letter Before Action" from Local Police

Having talked to a resident it seems that some letters have been posted through some doors on the estate asking people to ensure they have a clear garden to bring the environment on the estate up to scratch.

Whether you agree with this approach or not it does seem to have pulled a few people to get some clearance done. A pile of rubbish, sofa or building rubbish never looks attractive and can bring an estates appearance down.

I would have prefered a dialogue first with the resident then maybe a letter as a dialogue has more nuances to community cooperation when a letter can come across brutal if not worded properly.

I'm sure we all agree that a good appearance is attractive for everyone.

Dates of Future Meetings

Dates have been set for the next meetings of the Residents Association and residents are more than welcome to attend.

Wednesday 4th November 2009

Wednesday 6th January 2010

Wednesday 3rd March 2010

Wednesday 5th May 2010 - Annual General Meeting


These meetings take place at 6pm before the Local Action Group at 7pm.

Usual location is Robert Shaw Primary School, Southfield Road.

Community Involvement Ideas

One future direction we hope to take is trying to get groups of residents together to become involved in community groups they are interested in and would hopefully benefit the area as a whole.

A few of the ideas we came up with were as follows;

Community Garden (Allotments)

- If enough residents were interested, make a request to the Council for use of an unused allotment for a community garden.

Friends of the School

- Any residents interested in getting together every month or 2 and volunteering to help the school with general gardening/tidying for a 2 to 3 hours.

Litter Patrol

- Once a month a patrol working together to litter pick in a more detailed way than the Council could ever hope to manage.

Road Island Gardeners

- Any residents interested in maintaining the appearance of the road island near number 4 Ainsley Road. The other island has planning permission for Severn Trent to improve the pumping facilities and landscape.

Street Champion

- Any resident interested in being the voice of their street in regard to resident’s thoughts. Preferable one per street with 2 covering both ends of Grassington Road. Even if not able to attend meetings would be a contact point for the committee to become aware of any issues.

We plan on leafleting the estate to get a feeling of the level of interest in any of these ideas and go forward from there.

Anyone else with any ideas or passions are welcome to come forward with those.

Block Gullies Update

The block drains on the estate now seem to have been emptied. Thankfully just before all the heavy downpours of recent times. I did see new lakes forming on other roads near our estate on the way home from work so I thnk Ainsley Estate got off lightly.

Ainsley Area Residents Association Minutes 8th July 2009

Ainsley Area Residents Association

Held Wednesday 8^th July 2009

5.45pm Robert Shaw Primary School

Present:

Anthony Kelly (Chairman)

Michael Thomas (Secretary), Christine Thomas (Treasurer), Lynn Shepherd, Chris Earley, Eve Earley, Jo Bride, Roger Codling.

In Attendance:

Councillor Alex Foster

Karen Coker (Head Teacher, Robert Shaw School)

Susan Ward-Rice (NAO, Nottingham City Council)

1. Apologies

Pete Dixon

Councillor Gary Long

2. Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes

These were agreed as a true record.

Arbrook Drive

It was reported that the residents of Arbrook Drive felt that traffic still persisted on the road. It was felt that we were unsure whether there was an increase in traffic due to the now finished Grassington Road works or whether the traffic was using increased speed to travel this down the road. It was agreed to review again at the next meeting to see if the problems persisted. It was agreed that there may be only a perception of increased speed and volume at certain times and without a traffic survey these questions may not be answered.

3. Gullies on the Estate

All the gullies on the estate have been surveyed and any blocked have been reported to the Highways Department for rectification. The response from Highways stated that this work would be carried out within 10 days. Most of the blockages were on Grassington Road.

4. Football Match Visit

As of this meeting no applications for the free football tickets had been received. It was agreed to make another delivery with an increased age range and a specific match for attendance. This would be done after the next meeting.

5. Robert Shaw Playing Field Update

After a very positive meeting held on Monday 6^th July between the School and members of the Parks department there was general agreement with the Parks official having to take all the agreed items back to his superior for a final signature.

The general plan is for the field to be locked during school hours during school terms as this is when the schools insurance covers the use of the field. The gates would then be opened out of normal school hours for general community use and would be covered by Parks insurance. A quick general check would be done by the school during term time for any problems that may be seen. A volunteer or the Parks department may have to check for any problems out of term time and inform the school of problems that would need addressing.

It was agreed that information would be circulated to all residents when the field is available for use with a part telling of the substantial work involved in achieving this. It was also agreed to emphasise the fact that this cooperative agreement would be reviewed should major anti-social use become an issue for the school or residents. The major fear of unauthorised motor vehicle use has been addressed with the restrictive barriers and the limited ground being cleared although this would not stop medium or mini bikes. This situation would not be tolerated and active involvement of the local police team would be sort to address any offending individuals.

6. Any Other Business

Beechdale Library

An article regarding Beechdale Library was to appear in Private Eye magazine (issue 10^th July 2009 No. 1240). The petition was to be handed in to the Full Council Meeting on Monday 13^th July 2009 with about 1900 signatures.

7. Date of Next Meeting.

9^th September 2009 at 5.45pm Robert Shaw School

Block Gullies on the Estate

Whilst delivering leaflets to inform residents of the possible closure of Beechdale Library I did a survey on these road of the gullies to see if any needed reporting. I found about 16 that were blocked and some severely.

These have been reported and after a little hiccup with Nottingham City Councils online reporting system the matter has been forwarded to the Highways Department to get these sorted out.

Unfortunately instead of checking themselves to roads on the estate I haven't checked yet to save themselves a return visit I will have to pay a visit to these roads myself and make a second report to Highways and then they may have to make a return visit to clear these out!

How efficient some of these departments are. Hey-ho

Annual General Meeting 10th June 2009

Annual General Meeting Minutes

Held Wednesday 10^th June 2009

6pm Robert Shaw Primary School

Present:

Anthony Kelly (Chairman)

Michael Thomas (Secretary), Christine Thomas (Treasurer), Lynn Shepherd, Chris Earley, Eve Earley, Jo Bride, Lyn Thompson, Roger Codling, Peter Dixon, Pete Uvegas, Brian Bird, Alice Dale.

In Attendance:

Councillor Gary Long

Councillor Alex Foster

Karen Coker (Head Teacher, Robert Shaw School)

Susan Ward-Rice (NAO, Nottingham City Council)

1. Welcome and Introductions

The Chairman welcomed attendees to the meeting and introductions were made.

2. Apologies

Cheryl Rawling (Nottingham City Homes)

3. Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes

These were agreed as a true record.

Beechdale Library

The Council had received a proposal from St Johns Ambulance to purchase the library as part of their intended purchase of the building next door. It is believed they wished to use it as a training centre. It is also believe that the Council had not made a formal decision regarding this request and were hopefully consulting users before this decision was reached.

This proposal has quite a response from various sections groups who do not agree with this decision. A resident from outside the estate had organised a rota to obtain signatures on a petition and Councillors Long and Foster are in this process of printing information for distribution to all local residents telling them of the events, hoping to gain more signatures against. Petition forms were distributed at meeting for committee members to help obtain any further signatures and a letter to oppose this action would be sent to Councillor Trimble (Portfolio Holder for Communities, Leisure and Culture).

The petition forms are to be returned to Councillor Long by the 30^th June in preparation for the next Full Council Meeting.

Action : Michael Thomas

4. Chairman’s Statement

The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and work over the previous year and hoped to see everyone again over the coming year.

5. Activities from the Previous Year

A review of the activities the association had been involved in was read out by the Secretary. These included the Big Spring Clean event at Robert Shaw School, securing a grant for a visit by certain residents to a football match, road potholes on Arbrook Drive, house energy efficiency promotion; several litter picks and the clearance of New Bridge Steps and Southfield Road garages. A major item hopefully nearing completion with the great assistance of Karen Coker is the reopening of Robert Shaw Playing Fields.

6. Election of Officers

The meeting was handed over to Councillor Foster as an independent to carry out the elections of the officers of the committee.

The follow people were proposed and seconded and after a vote of all carried out of those present were elected to the following positions for the coming year until the next Annual General Meeting.

Chairman - Anthony Kelly

Treasurer - Christine Thomas

Secretary - Michael Thomas

7. Election of Independent Examiner of Accounts

It was agreed to ask Nottingham City Homes if they would again act in this capacity.

Action : Michael Thomas

8. Robert Shaw Playing Fields Update

Councillor Long had a meeting to clear up the final remaining insurance obstacle to the re-opening of the field and this now seems resolved and the re-opening can move forward. They only change is that any inspection requirement carried out during school holidays have to be completed by an employee of the school, council or the Police. Councillor Long was going to ask the local area PSCO or CPO if they could perform that duty on our behalf.

A big thank you goes to Karen and the School for the commitment to fund regular maintenance of the field for it to be able to be used in the long term. Hopefully because of this commitment the youths trespassing on the school grounds for sports play then will no longer have any reason to do so.

9. Any Other Business

Allotments at the Corner of Aspley Lane and Western Boulevard

An issue was raised with the overgrown bushes/trees that impeach in to the pavement area on this corner. There is a problem with the fact that these are privately owned and the association governing these allotments have no recourse ensure that they are kept in a reasonable state. This also makes it difficult for the council to bill for works carried out as some of these owners have passed away and the ownership passed to relatives who do not live in Nottingham or even in the country and just tend to ignore any correspondence.

Arbrook Drive Traffic

A matter of increase activity in traffic recently using Arbrook Drive as a through route had been received. The impressions of the residents were vehicles were approaching a good speed because of the lack of speed-retarding humps. It was unclear whether the speed-retarding humps on Grassington Road had diverted traffic to another route or whether because of the pavement replacement had reached the area of Grassington causing a hold up meaning Arbrook drive would be quicker. It was agreed that since the pavement replacement on Grassington was nearing completion Roger would keep in touch with the residents on Arbrook to see if the situation eases. Councillor Long informed the meeting that usually after the installation of speed humps on a road a repeat survey was carried out after a certain period of time.

Action : Roger Codling

10. Date of Next Meeting.

8^th July 2009 at 5.45pm Robert Shaw School

Grassington Road Litter 30th May 2009

This morning I was delivering the Resident Association Information leaflets to my designated section of the estate. It doesn't take to long even though the road is the longest at about 1/2 mile. On the way back up the street I decided to do my usual litter pick and by the time I'd finished was astounded the amount I'd collected.

As you may see from the picture the litter that abuses our streets are mainly drinks can (soft and alcohol), cigarette packets and ice pop packets. It grieves me as the drinks can and cigarette packets are recyclable and the estate has a bi-weekly recycling collection by the council.

No matter what the council could do, unless they had unlimited resources, they could never keep on top of a litter problem in any city. We need resident involvement and pride in where you live
to become the norm again and help us fight this menace.

Ainsley Area Residents Association Meeting 19th May 2009

Ainsley Area Residents Association Minutes

Held Tuesday 19^th May 2009

5.30pm Robert Shaw Primary School

Present:

Anthony Kelly (Chairman)

Michael Thomas (Secretary), Christine Thomas (Treasurer), Lyn Shepherd, Eve Earley, Jo Bride, Lyn Thompson

In Attendance:

Councillor Gary Long

Karen Coker (Head Teacher, Robert Shaw School)

Susan Ward-Rice (NAO, Nottingham City Council)

1. Apologies

Roger Codling

Chris Earley

2. Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes

These were agreed as a true record.

Southfield Road Garages

Councillor Long arranged for the remaining stump from these garages to be removed, which it now has been.

Arbrook Drive,/ Holbeck Road

Councillor Long took the information about the identified potholes on Holbeck Road to the Highways people. These holes have now been filled in.

Grassington Road Pavement

Work on the pavements has started and at the time of this meeting were nearing completion.

3. Possible Closure of Beechdale Road Library

The Council has been approached by a party interested in buying the building Beechdale Library is located in as well as the vacant building next door. No decision has been made by the Council as this was not a planned action. The money saved from this sale and closure has been identified as possibly being able to make improvements to other library services. At Councillors Long and Fosters’ recent surgery there was significant feeling presented against this course of action.

A resident from the Aspley area plans to start a petition to enable people to show their disagreement with this course of action so it may be presented to the relevant Council committee when any decision is made.

Karen is acting for the school as she feels this is a valuable local resource and is used by the school on many occasions.

Councillors Long and Foster are going to be leafleting the area to canvas local opinion. Residents will have a chance to meet and discuss this proposal with the Councillors at a meeting.

29^th May 2009 at 6pm at Beechdale Library

The committee agreed to assist the resident from Aspley in trying to obtain signatures from any residents in the Ainsley Area that may disagree with the proposal.

Action: All committee members

4. Vale Crescent North Road Surface

Compared to the road surfaces on the rest of the estate, Vale Crescent North’s road surface seems to have suffered worse than others. Councillor Long informed the meeting that a technical inspection of road usually takes place about every 2 years. Councillor Long is going to contact the relevant department to see if the road inspections are due and if not ask if they could look at the worst portions of the road.

Action : Councillor Long

5. Robert Shaw Field Update

Through a lot of hard work everything other than the insurance has been put into place ready for the reopening of the field. The Parks department have agreed to insure the field as long as certain conditions are met. Councillor Long, Karen and Susan met prior to the meeting and see no issues with most of the demands as the agreements are already in place for these. There is only one issue on the list that seems over demanding and that is the daily check for glass. Councillor Long, as well as we, felt this was unattainable in any situation. Councillor Long was going to press Parks department for a more reasonable checking regime.

Another issue Councillor Long thought the Parks might require is for some form of checking during the holiday periods. It was agreed that the committee could do this checking on a rota basis with a contact number to ring should an extreme situation occur e.g. abandoned cars.

Hopefully the insurance issue can be resolved soon as the lead-time on the entrance protection gates may delay opening the field before the start of the summer holidays.

The Committee members can draw up a rota for the summer holiday when a rough opening date is known.

Action : Councillor Long

6. Annual General Meeting.

Leaflets were distributed at the meeting for delivery to advertise the Association and the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. It was agreed to post these leaflets roughly a week before with posters put up earlier to meet the 2 week notice requirement. Karen has kindly agreed to put posters on the school boards. One will also be placed in the library.

Councillor Long has agreed to preside over the election process of officers at the meeting.

Committee members volunteering for election;

Chairman - Anthony Kelly

Secretary - Michael Thomas

Treasurer - Christine Thomas

Action : Michael Thomas

7. Correspondence

Road Sweep on the Estate

Correspondence between the Secretary and Streetscene had taken place to try and coordinate efforts between the Residents Association and the street cleaning service to facilitate car removal to enable cleaning of the worst effected areas. The initial trial had not started well with the stated clean date of the 8^th May not happening. A road sweep is meant to be every 2 weeks after this date. Unfortunately the clean then took place on the 15^th May for which we were not prepared. Councillor Long had not been responded to on his request for the cleaning schedule. The Secretary was still awaiting clarification on the no show and will make further contact regarding the event happening a week later.

Action: Michael Thomas

Nottingham City Homes

Emails have been exchanged between the Secretary and Nottingham City Homes to arrange joint involvement in coordinated inspections. The program of inspections and an identified meeting place have yet to be forthcoming. As there are only a small amount of NCH homes on the estate a general report had been requested on any issues that have arisen and are currently being addressed. This has also, as of yet, not been forthcoming.

8. Any Other Business

Big Spring Clean

Karen thanked the Residents Association for its involvement in organising the spring clean around the school grounds. Everyone involved at the school and RA on the day made a big difference to the environment around the grounds. She also thanked a couple of the committee for returning on the following Saturday for some follow up work clearing foliage.

9. Date of Next Meeting.

Annual General Meeting, 10^th June 2009 at 6pm Robert Shaw School

Meeting closed 18.10

Robert Shaw Primary School Big Spring Clean

The Spring Clean took place as planned on a lovely sunny afternoon with a class of year 4 pupils, parents, Residents Association members and Local Councillors. Whilst the children and parents concentrated on clearing the school of the litter that had built up under the folliage the RA members cleared and pruned some of the overgrown plants. About 20 bags of litter and garden rubbish was collected. A great effort was made by all the spruce you the place with the results looking wonderful. Whilst this was taking place the Local Councillors made a start on Southfield Road collecting almost a full bag by scrabbling under hedges to clear as much as possible. The event took about 2 hours with support for the rubbish clearance in relation to equipment, bags and waste removal bring provided by Susan Ward-Rice of the Area Committee and Streetscene. One of the Residents Association also managed to give the access subway a good sweep making the place look generally better.

After the main clean up event of Tuesday we thought we wish we had a bit more time to freshen up the front of the School. One of the Association was gagging to carry on with the clean up on the day itself but unfortunately we had run out of time. I thought as I had some spare time we could go back and complete a little work. Between 2 of us we managed to do a half decent job that will hopefully surprise the school when they return on Monday.

A big thank you to all those who helped.

Ainsley Area Residents Association Meeting 18th March 2009

Present:

Anthony Kelly (Chairman)

Michael Thomas (Secretary), Christine Thomas (Treasurer), Chris Earley, Eve Earley, Jo Bride, Pete Uvegas, Roger Codling

In Attendance:

Councillor Gary Long

Karen Coker (Head Teacher, Robert Shaw School)

1. Apologies

Councillor Alex Foster

Susan Ward-Rice (NAO, Nottingham City Council)

Lynn Thompson

Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes

These were agreed as a true record. Error in the spelling at Mr & Mrs Earley’s name corrected.

Southfield Road Garages

The grown section has been cleared by a local resident. Someone from either Nottingham City Homes or the Council did attend with a mini digger to remove the remaining stumps as requested but could only access one of them as a car had parked in the way. Councillor Long was going to contact the relevant section to see if they are going to make a return visit to remove the remaining stumps.

Action : Councillor Long

Arbrook Drive,/ Holbeck Road

The potholes on Holbeck Road seem to have already been repaired with a temporary measure. Councillor Long was asking if the Highways department to see if they could do the same to the ones on Arbrook Drive to at least the worst ones on the road especially near Number 1. This is as much as we can ask Councillor Long to do because of the way the roads are managed. We are grateful for him bringing this section to their attention.

Action : Councillor Long

Grassington Road Pavement

Councillor Long brought to the meeting that had been informed that Grassington Roads pavement works should hopefully start in the next couple of weeks.

Robert Shaw Playing Fields Update

The group review the information attached to the minutes regarding clearance and maintenance and the differing costs. Because the quotes are for the School and not the Council the School can use one company for one and one for the other. It was agreed the quoted number of cuts each year was probably too high and we need to keep the costs down if the school are going to pay for the annual maintenance. This information was thought to be based on the level of cuts for the school itself. This information would be passed to Susan Ward-Rice so she may get an adjusted figure when speaking to the companies involved. It was also agreed that initially a basic field with not extras would be provided but at some future point grant applications by the Residents Association be made for further development. Councillor Long is in the process of meeting with an official of the Parks Department to clarify their position of the insurance cover for the field.

Hopefully these processes can be put in to position soon as the lighter nights have seen a return to the trespassers on the school grounds for ball games and Karen receiving vial abuse from some of the individuals when they are asked to leave.

Action : Councillor Long, Susan Ward-Rice

Nottingham In Bloom Painting Competition

The Secretary was handed information from Susan regarding a painting competition being run in connection with “Nottingham In Bloom”. This competition is available for children up to 16 years old. A couple of copies were provided to the school by the Secretary and Karen kindly allowed the group to pin a larger copy of their public notice board so hopefully more residents will see the information. It was suggested putting a poster in the library and the local newsagents also if they didn’t already have one.

Action : Michael Thomas

Big Spring Clean

As part of Nottingham’s “Big Spring Clean” an event has been suggested that would give the school grounds a general spruce. The event involves a litter pick and light tidying up of the border of the school on Southfield Road and Dorothy Grove. Karen has organised a class to be involved in the litter pick and a couple of the committee have already committed to helping out. Susan Ward-Rice is organising the equipment and one of the Community Support Officers is also coming to help. Anyone else who can attend would be greatly appreciated including any local residents they would be willing to give up some time. Karen is asking the Evening Post to attend to show an event of School/Resident cooperation.

Information has already been put on the Ainsley Estate Group on Facebook but if you know anyone that is willing to help let them know the date.

EVENT DATE Tuesday 21^st April 2009 at 1pm

Meet: Robert Shaw School Main Entrance

Action : all committee members.

6. Annual General Meeting.

The next Annual General Meeting is due. The date for this has been set 10^th June at 6pm. Thank you to all of the volunteers for offering to delivering leaflets to advertise the meeting and the Residents Association. The information leaflets will be printed and handed out at the next meeting.

7. Any Other Business

Road Sweep on the Estate

The estate gives the impression that a general road sweep has taken place for a while. A member of the committee has cleared 3 bags of litter of the road and pavement recently took a review of some of the roads. A particular problem raised by Councillor Long is when cars are parked in the worst areas the workman can not gain access to the edge. A certain section of Southfield seems to have suffered from this problem for a while. A request was made that if Councillor Long spoke to Streetscene if he could let Michael know the date and a message could be pushed through the doors of the properties with cars in this section asking them if they could relocate on that day.

Action: Michael Thomas, Jo Bride, Councillor Long

Western Boulevard/ Robert Shaw School

Karen in negotiation with the Highways Agency had organised to back to be cleared. So far they have cleared most of the trees and shrubs but at the moment have failed to finish the job of removing the litter and some of the shrubbery near the subway on the school side. Karen has already asked Susan to become involved to enquire about the Agency completing the work and asked Councillor Long if he could investigate also in coordination with Susan.

8. Date of Meeting

Tuesday 19^th May 2009 at 5.30 pm at Robert Shaw School