Agenda item - Residents Question Time

Responses to items raised at the Tenant Only Meeting held on 8 December 2015 (copy attached as ‘blue pages’).

32.1    (Item 1 – Major Improvement Works)

32.2    A written response was provided in the blue pages.

32.3    (Item 2 - Reduced Grass Cutting)

32.4    Alan Cooke stated he was pleased with the response and noted the statistic that 6 out of 10 areas had been cut.

32.5    Chris El-Shabba stated that some residents were willing to pay for their own bollard and enquired as the legal position on this.

32.6    Becky Purnell confirmed that if it was on Highways and not on Housing then the cost would be £100; applications for bollards through the estate development budget would be viable if it fell within Housing.

32.7    Alan Cooke stated that bollards would be of little use and that a more solid surface such as concrete or grasscrete is required. He further noted that Gill Mitchel has taken it up with Highways, however as it does not fall under Housing there is little that can be done.

32.8    Ododo Dafe stated the problem is wide spread and not just with Council land. City parks don’t want to tarmac everything in order to keep green parts of land for drainage.

32.9    Chris El-Shabba suggested talking to Gill Mitchell to follow up.

32.10  (Item 3 – Gardening and decoration for over 70’s)

32.11  Alan Cooke stated Mary Whitner was unaware about decoration service provided to over 70’s.

32.12  Chris El-Shabba stated she applied in October and praised the response time of the scheme.

32.13  Delia Hills outlined the terms of Mears’ gardening service, she noted that due to budgetary constraints there may be an issue with the decorating contract.

32.14  Chris El-Shabba agreed to pass on the details of the scheme to residents.

32.15  (Item 4 – Park Rangers)

32.16  Alan Cooke disagreed with the proposals referencing a large petition signed at a meeting previously at Portslade Town Hall. He noted that Gill Mitchell will review the case.

32.17  Grant Scott stated concern for the biosphere if Park Ranger numbers were cut.

32.18  Janet Gearing expressed concerns over road works taking place by the seafront and the state of the arches.

32.19  Chris El-Shabba noted a situation at Robert Lodge where the removal of scaffolding took over a month, all while causing entrance and evacuation issues.

32.20  Therese Youngman clarified that legislation around heights can cause issues; she noted that positive work with Mears to streamline processes has helped resolve some issues. Further to this she stated that fines are part of a new system should it take too long for scaffolding to be removed.