Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Brian Nichols, Christiana Owusu-Akuffo and Gill Shadbolt (Care and Repair).

Minutes were agreed as a true record.

Matters arising:

The Housing Office for Leicester Street has been contacted and hoping for a resolution on Leicester Street. JFS has stated that some land has not been cleared and it is difficult for a disabled man to put his scooter in a shed due to this.

JR mentioned that a sign in Abington Street is confusing. It should be put on the actual road. RR stated that Highways department is responsible for his.

ACTION: AM to invite Andy Leighton from the Highways Dept to attend a future meeting. 

Health & Wellbeing Strategy – Peter Lynch had given an update – there will be consultation on the strategy in September.

Veronica Male, Chair of Northamptonshire Dementia Action Alliance gave a presentation. The main aims of the organisation are to make communities more dementia friendly, and to raise awareness of dementia and would like NBC to be involved.

Presentation attached. ACTION: AM to send out presentation.

MB stated that she would like to know more and highlighted that she felt there is a lack of support for dementia sufferers in Northampton.

Cllr Oldham asked if the County Council adequately cover the care people get especially at home. VM suggested that improvements still need to be made. Little information on the website and information is out of date. The importance of independence for sufferers was emphasised and there is still little support for this.

JR asked how people are assessed and how well they are cared for. VM stated that they would contact family members and look out for warning signs e.g. – unexplained bruises, weight loss etc. DH highlighted the lack of care in the Care industry and the population of the elderly is growing which will make the situation worse.

Cllr Oldham asked what would happen if there is no one to look after sufferers. There is a danger when people live alone and some people do not want help. MB suggested that Age Concern were very good at helping sufferers but found that the council did not help.

KF explained her role and how Olympus Care Services raises awareness of dementia and help sufferers and carers. They also give specialist care.

KF and VM explained that other organisations and individuals can sign up to become Dementia Friends at: https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/. As a Dementia Friend, you are asked to commit to an action to put Dementia Friends training into action. KF talked about the Dementia Friends action plan Olympus Care. There is a need to look at buildings that sufferers use and to make them more dementia friendly. The organisation would like to recruit more volunteers too.

MB highlighted that people do not always use computers, so cannot access the website. KF advised that you can contact via telephone - 01245 454319.

Gwyn gave an overview of the services provided by Northamptonshire Carers, which is funded mainly through County Council contracts. The organisation provides support and advice to Carers and Young Carers and links with other organisations to provide services, such as the Dementia Care Advice Service in partnership with Northamptonshire Alzheimer’s Society.

A leaflet was circulated which explained the work of Northamptonshire Carers further. More details can be found here: http://www.northamptonshire-carers.org/ or contact 01933 677837

PS Greg Taylor from Northamptonshire Police visited the forum to discuss any issues of concern.

Forum attendees asked for an overview of any scams that older people in Northampton should be made aware of. GT gave an overview of ‘The Paddington Scam’, whereby Fraudsters are ringing members of the public asking for bank details. PS Taylor stated that the public should never give out their bank details to anyone over the phone. Moreover AT kindly notified the forum of a book called “The Little Book of Big Scams”. AT read out an article from the newspaper, which outlines security questions you can ask on the phone to deter any potential fraudsters. Please find the article attached.

GT also made the forum aware of a thief who is stealing handbags from shoppers in Weston Flavell Shopping Centre, and urged attendees to be alert to this.

Forum attendees raised the question of cycling sign enforcement, as discussed in previous meetings. Cllr Oldham questioned the legality of cycling signs. RR stated that in the past, he has been advised that the ban on bicycles cycling on some paths is a bylaw and they have to be enforced. GT explained that the enforcement of this bylaw can prove difficult as the police have to prioritise their work and this may not be deemed to be a high importance call. However, GT advised the forum that there are days of enforcement that take place to try and tackle the issue, especially around Abington Street. This was followed by a discussion about hot spots in the town where cyclists ride on the paths where they should not be, and the dangers this can cause. AT added that the Spencer Bridge Road is a dangerous road for cyclists, so they cannot be blamed for riding on the pathways - more cycle tracks are needed.

MH emphasised that there are dangerous spots in Duston for pedestrians and there is an issue with lighting. Cllr Oldham suggested it would be helpful for PS Taylor to recommend extra lighting in the area.

WW1 Intergenerational Project – The Youth Forum are meeting on 12^th August. This is the suggested date for a memory gathering session for the WW1 project. NM will be in contact with forum attendees with this date. 

AM asked for ideas for future activities the forum would like to organise – for discussion at the next meeting. 

AT asked about the development of houses on land that had been previously earmarked for green space, and questioned the decision making process for this. Cllr Oldham explained that there are grey areas but explained the general NBC and NCC Planning process. 

MH asked what was going to happen on the old bus station site. Cllr Oldham advised that this would be used for retail development.

DH congratulated NBC for the creation of the wild flower strip towards the Barnes Meadow Way roundabout. DH did comment however that there is a huge amount of ragwort weed outside of Abington St which needs to be cleared.

MB enquired about St Edmunds Hospital and asked what was going to happen with the building. It was advised that plans for the site are being progressed.

Thursday 17^th September, 2-4pm, The Jeffrey Room

Thursday 12^th November, 2-4pm, The Jeffrey Room

Date of the next meeting 17 September 2 – 4pm, The Jeffrey Room.