TMSTH Area Forum Meeting - 17th October 2019

Item 2: A338-Wessex Fields scheme

Chair: Ray O’Luby;

Minutes: Conor O’Luby

Treasurer: Jean Kirk

Ray: tried to contact the police about coming, but they didn’t respond. Introduces Dele Ogundimu from Townsend Youth Centre.

Item 1: Dele Ogundimu, Townsend YMCA Youth Centre

Dele: manage Townsend and Pokesdown youth centres for Fusion YMCA. ‘Empowerment’ – Has a background in Jamaica, worked supporting young people and people with dementia. Youth of today seem a bit different from our time.

Been in Bournemouth for 12 years, is an artist. Comes from a middle-class background. He tries to empathise with young people, tries to have a conversation with young people about why they do the things they do, what interests them.

Townsend is beautiful, London’s estates mostly tower blocks. Tried to find out what young people thought of their local area; the different greenery, cultures. Issues of isolation come up, young people not wanting to leave the estate. Helped with children who were out of school, tried to bring police and young people together. To meet each other, to prevent stereotyping. I try to engage with the young people by taking an interest in the things they take an interest in. E.g. young people using ‘bad’ Jamaican terminology. Many didn’t know what the words meant.

Young people are easily ‘put in boxes’. I’ve been put in boxes e.g. people think I smoke weed. I’ve got dreadlocks, I don’t smoke or drink.

Music is a thing that we engage on. Some of the young people were in the town centre to take part in an event about youth violence, they used spoken word poems. This was something really new for them.

I learnt a lot from living on an estate in Brixton, which still had a sense of community. The downside was that people sometimes felt stuck there. I want to help the young people find out more about life out of the estate. We held an event in town with music and lights which the young people organised, some of them thought it was great that they were ‘down town’

Group peer evaluation sessions. Trying to address negative issues. In the summer a young person was attacked. Instead of simply banning the people from the youth club, we tried to engage with all those involved to work out why it happened. Also had parent young person sessions.

Engagement from outside services, some people are looking to volunteer with us. I enjoy working in Townsend, there are problems but they’re not a bad bunch. I’m doing an art piece, a bonsai tree to represent peace and growth/knowledge. After two weeks they started to debate what they had written up on the walls at the time beside the painting.

Question: Well done

Q: What are the major issues for young people?

Dele: ‘Boxes’. I hate ‘boxes’, I live in a circle. Townsend has box categories, but it’s a mixed bag. I can’t say that all kids are coming from a fragmented past. Some kids want to be a bit bad, that’s part of their upbringing, they’ve had some difficult upbringings. I’d like to bring young people together (Pokesdown and Townsend). Upper and middle classes have more ‘access’ to information, the ‘access’ to information issue is one of the major issues when considering young people’s futures.

Q. How often Do the kids leave Townsend? They go to school obviously.

Dele: I do events at Fusion in town, I was speaking to some of the kids. Some didn’t want to go to town “it’s too far”, why can’t we do it here? They’ve got their comfort zone in Townsend. Some don’t even go to the beach. Try to break through the ‘indoctrination’ that they sometime suffer from.

Q. Do you engage with the wider community to get the message out there about the youth centre’s work?

Dele: First thing I did was go to the local shop. Some of the kids worked there they often go there. I speak to the council, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), youth offending team. Also work with Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA) as well. I’m going to reach out to the local community. I’m going to get some young people out and about volunteering in the community. Got an event coming up in December, another large show for March to get the young people’s message out to the local community.

When I was younger I made a video to help stop young people getting into trouble (though we did the video in part to get out of school ourselves!) But then I got a letter from John Major and that’s been a major impact on my life. Chris (Townsend Youth Centre) has done so much, she should be recognised for the volunteering she’s done.

I do youth work because I although I may never see a change in someone, if you give people time there may be positive change down the line. But sometimes things don’t work.

Q: What about visiting nursing homes?

Dele: My partner works in a local home; I’ve thought about doing things like this. One of the young people who comes to Townsend, she works at a dementia unit. I need to engage with the young people first (I’ve been there 6 months), but I think they might be up for things like that. A lady wanted to come and talk about mental health issues, I wasn’t sure about how it would go, but the whole of the youth centre engaged. The whole thing about judging people, give them some time many – maybe not all – will engage.

Thanks

Ray: Townsend has its issues but this work is very positive

Dele: there’s a young guy who gives 8 hours a week voluntarily.

Ray: There aren’t that many youth centres across town

Dele: I like to set things up for the kids to engage in, help with homework. If young people want to ‘mess about’ they can, but we want to give them options to do other things.

Ray: Townsend is very green

Item 2: A338-Wessex Fields Link updates

Regarding the proposed A338-Wessex Fields Link access road to the rear of Bournemouth Hospital, the Council have announced that a consultation will take place on 19th November 2019 at the Bridge, Littledown. See www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/wessexfields

Cllr Kieron Wilson: the consultation event will be to get the public’s thoughts about what should be on site. You must pre-register. Link’s on the Council website.

Q. How will people find out about this consultation?

Cllr Wilson: It will be in the Echo, it will be on the website

Ray: put the links on the Forum website

Q. What about radio?

Cllr Wilson: I can get on the radio

Q: The venue seems quite small and are the council trying to under-advertise

Cllr Wilson: I can look into why it seems so small

Q: the plan affects many people, 2500 objected to the plans. Have the new councillors seen any signs of interest in development, the application was very dubious. Have you seen any plans for the site?

Cllr Wilson: I have seen things over the past two years but nothing ‘concrete’. We’ve had lengthy discussions in Cabinet, we’re coming under pressure from different angles e.g. with the Local Enterprise Partnership. Everyone should get on board with the consultation, we need to get as many of the right people as possible involved. How can we get this advertised?

Q. What do you mean by the ‘right people’? How will attendance be decided?

Cllr Wilson: First come first served. By ‘right people’ I mean you here.

Q: The capacity of the Bridge Centre is sixty, this seems too small.

Q: We know what the capacity is, we know how many sessions there will be. Can there be a question about this at Full Council?

Cllr Wilson: I’m trying to do something about this, we’ve been under pressure from LEP and the opposition. But I will take this back to Cabinet.

Q. An outsider would think that the Council aren’t interested in really engaging with local people.

Q. How will the council know how many people have attempted to register?

Cllr Wilson: I don’t know, will look into it.

Ray; we’ll put the info on the Forum website

Item 3: Hicks Farm and SANG

Regarding Hicks Farm, Throop, Michael Rowland, Head of BCP Council Parks Development, has informed the Forum that a Planning Application is due for a change of use at the farmland at Hick’s Farm to a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), following exhibitions held in September 2019, with ecological assessments, traffic surveys and level surveys.

Sara Fisher (Throop Village Conservation Group): The SANG had a two-day public consultation about a month ago. The main point about why we have to have a SANG is because of the Winter Gardens development and Natural England requires a SANG because of an impact on local heathland sites.

We’re the fall guys for this site, we’re going to be saddled with the SANG idea to get the people from Winter Gardens site to visit Throop Hicks farm to reduce pressure on heathland.

There was a consultation, but the leaflets weren’t delivered early enough about it (Sarah points out the various areas on the SANG map which are for dog walkers). That’s the point of it.

There will be a car park. East of Taylor Drive corner is quite dangerous, there are large vehicles going past Hicks farm area; it’s a rat run. There hasn’t been a traffic survey yet. Last time the Council’s Parks Depart didn’t give us any factual info. We are been held hostages to fortune, this is for dog walkers, ‘dog turd’ management I call it. What happens down at the River? It floods. There is an unguarded drop from the walkway. The Council refuse to put flood warnings up, you’re responsible for your own safety. I think that’s very serious.

I spoke to the Flood Advisory meeting 2 years ago, was told that it wasn’t policy to put flood warning signs up.

Are the Council telling the truth about the car park size? We’ve been told that the car park isn’t anything to do with Hicks Farm.

I’d like to say it’s refreshing dealing with the new administration.

Ray: reads out current info from Michael Rowlands (Head of BCP Parks Development).

Q. 2 problems. You’re talking about many more cars opposite my front door. We’ve got five where are we going to put them?

Cllr Wilson: we can set up a meeting between yourselves and Parks to talk that through. The SANG is a requirement we have to meet, if we don’t start delivering housing we can have matters taken out of our hands.

Q. I didn’t get a leaflet, why not?

Conor: we’re volunteers, we’ve delivered 2000.

Q. How many houses do we have to build? Is the SANG a fait accompli for this reason?

Cllr Wilson: Effectively yes.

Q. the Council own quite a lot of land, is the expectation that there will be other SANGS in the area? We need clarity about this.

Cllr Wilson. I’ll look into this, I wasn’t aware of this.

Q. Why is the Council encouraging car driving to the SANG?

Cllr Wilson: we are forced by law to provide a certain amount of car parking.

Ray: there are quite a few on the Cabinet who want to reduce private car use

Wendy Sharp (Holdenhurst Parish Meeting): There is no public transport in Throop and Holdenhurst.

Q. I emphasised the importance of flooding at the last meeting. We need something like Flood Advisory group (there isn’t one at the moment).

Q. I spoke to Michael Rowlands and with a smirk he admitted the car park would get bigger. People are not supposed to let dogs off the lead in a SANG. But they’re all doing it. It’s dangerous, corner of Taylor Drive. The Council have it all wrapped up they don’t want to hear from us. Stupid idea of a beach, using excavators. I don’t trust the Parks Department.

This business of the SANG if they walked along to come out at the Mill car park you could understand it but coming out at Taylor Drive is dangerous. There are no life belts, I spoke to police about going to the weir to take a look but they won’t go there.

People let dogs off the lead with cattle about. This is a problem, the farmer can shoot them. Don’t allow dogs on a fishery.

Item 4: Local Plan development

BCP Council has issued five pages of details regarding preparation of a new Local Plan. Comments to be sent to bcplocalplan@bcpcouncil.gov.uk by Monday 18 November 2019. The Council declared a climate change emergency in July 2019 and an action plan is due to be considered later in the year.

Cllr Northover: the issues that the Local Plan is trying to address includes (reads out the listed issues) See List

Long process, three years, comes to public consultation 3 times once a year.

Comments in for first consultation by 18th November 2019

Q. I got an email about the Local Plan with the aims, but haven’t replied. Fine aims but how are you going to achieve them?

Cllr Wilson: the idea is to consult first on the basic aims and then to come back again later for further consultation on specific, practical measures.

Item 5: Throop and Holdenhurst Parish Council developments

Details of a Community Governance Review for Throop and Holdenhurst are contained in a Consultation Paper, by the Head of Democratic Services at BCP Council, issued on 15th July 2019.

Sara Fisher: Wendy and others in Holdenhurst and Throop have been doing wonderful work. As a parish council you have a statutory right to be consulted, former Cllr Leader said there weren’t going to be any parish councils in BCP. We got a lot of signatures and along with former Cllrs Trickett and Adams we submitted an application for a parish council.

We got more than 310 responses during the first consultation which was a great number to support a parish council being set up. Mr Jones in the Council’s legal department has been wonderful. The water meadows are actually in Hurn, we sorted out Wood Farm and Manor house which are now inside the Parish boundary.

Has been passed at Cabinet now going to Full Council in November. Stage 3 will ask people outside the area to find out what they think. On 18th March 2020, Task and Finish Group will go through responses. With luck on 31st March 2020 to get thumbs up. 1st April to become Parish Council. We’ve put forward that the main things we want to do is community sustainability, road infrastructure and safety, conservation areas.

We’ve got a meeting (Throop Village Conservation Group) with Tobias Ellwood MP, Vicki Slade etc. 1st November 2019. Leaflet going round asking residents what they think for this meeting.

Throop Village Conservation Group looks at the massive impacts on the local conservation areas. We want to be positive, we want a legal voice and to be heard by council officials.

If anyone wants to be a parish councillor they’ve got 18 months to think about it.

Q: We’ve heard about feedback from the councillors to the questions asked tonight. Can it be fed back through the Forum website?

Ray: yes.

Meeting ends