Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Finance and Support

To support the original recommendation made in the report to Cabinet on 23 September 2009 to agree to the disposal of the land designated as public open space (edged red upon the plan shown at Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report) by way of a lease, on terms referred to in that report.

Mr Alan Brown addressed Cabinet in his capacity as Chair of Friends of Hunsbury Hill Country Park.  He called for the Cabinet to decline the proposal  and asked them to support the charitable trust to safeguard the heritage of the park. He claimed that the Cabinet report did not tell the whole story and quoted the Police Area Commander as saying that a café may contribute to crime and disorder and attract criminal enterprise.  He then referred to the high cost of crime prevention in the event that the scheme went ahead as against the relatively small cost of demolishing the existing toilet block.

In response to a question, Mr Brown gave details of the role of the Friends of Hunsbury Hill Country Park.

Mr Peter Sharpe addressed Cabinet on behalf of local residents and as a member of Friends of Hunsbury Hill Country Park.  He described current problems of anti-social behaviour in the area and suggested that alcoholics and drug abusers would be likely to frequent the proposed café. He did not think the proposed crime prevention measures would be sufficient.  He pointed out the duty of local authorities to protect communities and called for a rejection of the proposal.

In response to a query as to how the presence of a café would be likely to exacerbate crime problems, Mr Sharpe quoted comments from the Sector Commander for the Safer Communities Team as set out in the report that suggested a potential for increased crime and disorder.

Mavis Wilmhurst addressed Cabinet on behalf of the Northampton Ironstone Railway Trust (NIRT).  She described the work of the Trust and the activities offered at the site. She felt that the proposed commercial enterprise in the car park would compromise funding applications from the Trust for any improvements to their own café, which was integral to their overall income. She referred Cabinet to the NIRT website for further information about their role.

Ms Wilmhurst confirmed that the NIRT café was only open when the trains were running but that they would like to attract more visitors and if they wanted to upgrade the facilities, they would be unlikely to achieve external funding if there was already a commercial café in the park.

Eileen Daily addressed Cabinet on behalf of local residents and in support of the work of the NIRT.  She suggested that improved facilities at NIRT would encourage more people to the park and that an increased volume of use would make it a safer place for all. She asked for groups to work together on this and called for local residents to act as wardens so that the area could be opened up with a potential to cater for a wider range of people. 

Chris Gutowski addressed Cabinet and spoke about the need for trust. He commented on the existing traffic problems and then described his experiences as a victim of crime that he associated with anti social behaviour in the car park. He asserted that the Cabinet report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7