Community meeting 30th March 2023 minutes

MVCA Community Meeting Minutes Thursday 30 March 2023 - 7pm

Monton Methodist Church

Attendees: All members of the Monton Village Community Association/Community Members/Locally Elected Representatives - Rebecca Long-Bailey (MP), Nathaniel Tetteh, Mike McCusker & Sharmina August/Members from Greater Manchester Police - Tony Fletcher & Daniel Welch 

Objective Setting

MVCA’s objectives are set by the topics raised in the Community Meeting
2023’s objectives are based on the last Community Meeting - Christmas Lights/Summer Festival/Keeping Monton Road Clean

Achievements so Far

8 months ago MVCA had no members, just over £100 in the bank account, no insurance, no likelihood of Christmas Lights and no community events
We signed up to the Salford Mayor Match Fund Scheme and fund raised through Crowdfunder Local businesses offered rewards for the Crowdfunder
Local professionals offered their expertise to create our Crowdfunder video
A local print and design company donated 5000 leaflets and several posters
Residents volunteered to deliver these leaflets A group of local electricians volunteered to put up our Christmas lights at no cost We organised the Monton Jingle Mingle on Monton Road as a thank you to the community An army of volunteers signed up to our Village Volunteers WhatsApp group 

£10,000 was raised via Crowdfunder with the additional £10,000 from the Match Fund Scheme 

Events 

Summer Festival will be coming back in 2023 - provisional date is 01 July 23 from 11.00 am

Festival will be a smaller event this year concentrating on two main areas - Monton Road and The Green. Festival will be a family focussed event. We have been communicating with the Council to understand the “red tape” surrounding local events and safety measures including parking 

Potential issue is acquiring a Market License if we have stalls as part of the festival - this could be combated by having stalls in the Church

Local businesses have been offering suggestions on how they can contribute

Forum was offered to the community to offer suggestions on what they would like to see. Ideas included but not limited to:
Sports Day Games/Evening Concert/Film Evening/Bouncy Castle/Band/Buskers/Dog Show/Barge Trips/Crafts/Nature Trail/Mindfulness including Sound Baths/History of Monton/Talent Competition/Poetry Tree

Membership

Monton Membership will resume in 2023

We have 100 members already via the Crowdfund initiative An annual fee will provide your household with a membership - exact costings to be finalised Exact details of the scheme are still to be finalised but it will include discounts and incentives from local businesses

A paperless version of a membership card is being explored/Paper cards will still be available
Committee will be speaking to local retailers to established discounts/incentives 

Website

After extensive research, the Committee have decided to use a system provided by Whitefuse for a new membership database and a website

Whitefuse will make the process of managing members easier and will allow us to promote events/issue tickets 

Individual and Business Members will be able to log on to the website and update their details 

The website will hold news and articles as before. There will also be a Monton Business Directory and a member forum for discussions 

Members who joined via the Crowdfunder will receive a message from us soon

Website Address - www.montonvca.org.uk
Contact Email Address - [email protected]

Christmas Lights

Members of the Committee met with the Street Lighting Team at Salford Council this month to assess what is possible 

We have been advised that you cannot attach anything to the concrete lamp posts 

We have a meeting scheduled with LITE who are commercial lighting contractors with lots of experience in this space 

Permissions needed for lights across Monton Road - Oversailing licence & permission from the business owners (as business owners are likely to be tenants) to connect eyebolts which need annual stress tests. The integrity of the building also needs to be confirmed. 

We are yet to obtain estimated costings as the preparation is still in the research stage but more details will be shared at the next meeting 

Accessibility 

Inclusion is one of the core values of the MVCA
Forum was opened to discuss how to make the meetings more accessible Suggestions included car shares/ramps/local taxi companies volunteering to pick up and take attendees home 

Community Q&A with the Locally Elected Representatives 

Issues Raised:

Bins/Litter - Response was that all black bin bags are taken to Runcorn and burnt for energy. You are able to apply via the Council for a larger black bin if you have a larger family. There is a Government Consultation for a countrywide single solution for waste collection. 

Planning Permission for the 22 Storey Block Building in Eccles - response was that Eccles have received an extra grant for regeneration but they haven’t been told what can be done with the funds yet. The Councillors are planning to involve the local community to gauge public opinion on what they would like to see. These conversations should start from July 23. 

Clear Air Zone/Emission levels being above national average - Response was that the Councillors are in discussions with Northern Rail to try and increase the level of public transport between Patricroft/Eccles to Manchester. Also applied for Government funding to make the train station more accessible. We are 24 on the Government’s list. It would be difficult to extend the tram line due to the motorway. Buses tickets are now at a reduced cost. Also championing electric vehicles. 

Parking on Monton Road/Monton - Response was that the Council can’t enforce anything without double yellow lines. Most business owners own the land in front of their premises on Monton Road so it’s difficult to enforce a no parking rule. Parking enforcement have been asked to monitor the situation. New powers may be introduced which would allow Councils to monitor the highways. 

Potholes - Response was that the highway maintenance budget has doubled this year. Active Travel - Response was that the Councillors have had positive consultations regarding more cycle tracks, extra crossings,linking pathways etc. They need to secure funding for this. 

Pedestrianising Monton Road - Response was that it would be very difficult. We would need the funding and as it’s a through road, not everyone in the community wants this pedestrianising. 

MVCA have received criticism for political affiliation - Response was that 10 years ago, it would have been a Conservative Councillor standing there. As the locally elected representatives, we are here to make sure the community has a direct voice to Salford Council. We understand not everyone here will have voted for us, but we have been elected. 

Community Q&A with Greater Manchester Police 

GMP do not think that the three vandalism incidents that have happened in Monton over the past couple of weeks are connected. 

GMP are working with the local schools to educate young people on vandalism/anti-social behaviour to avoid incidents happening. This strategy will continue in 2023. Crime Statistics for Monton in the past 2 months: 

Anti Social Behaviour - 13 incidents (4 were parking related)
Criminal Damage - 10 incidents Burglary - 5 incidents 

The figures do not suggest that Monton has a high crime rate. GMP cannot target patrols without having a clear focus. The community needs to ensure they are reporting crimes so that the crime statistics are accurate. Main focus of GMP in this area is investigating drug related crimes in Irlam, Eccles & Peel Green. In the past couple of months, GMP have had 7 drug warrants and found 3 cannabis farms. There will be a review of the CCTV cameras to ensure they are effective 

Monton Bee Update from MVCA - the bee is with the creative team at Coronation Street who will be repairing it free of charge. Local children at St Patrick’s High School will repaint it 

Other Business

MVCA Community Meetings will be once a quarter and usually the last Thursday of the designated month
Next meeting was 29 June 2023 however due to the summer festival, this will be moved. Date TBC