Minutes:
Question: Councillor Vincent asked if the Executive Member for Environment could please comment on the Council’s new green waste scheme and current participation levels in Longbridge ward.
Response: Councillor Mckenzie said that the green garden waste scheme has been an incredible success. 3,608 residents have signed up to the scheme, which is 1 in every 12 homes. In Longbridge ward 343 people have signed up, which is closer to 1 in 10 homes.
Residents have welcomed the ability to choose how they want to store their waste, with roughly a third of them deciding to purchase a wheelie bin and the rest deciding to continue to purchase the biodegradable bags. However, the major success is that in the first month of the scheme the Council composted 76½ tonnes of green waste which is an incredible 10 times more than was achieved in the same month last year.
Councillor Mckenzie concluded that he thinks this scheme shows that, with support from this Council, residents are committed to the environment and welcome the Council’s policy to encourage them to make their own decision about using bags or wheelie bins.
Question: Councillor N Gill asked ithe Executive Member for Community Safety could please comment on both the crime figures and the new bobby van scheme in Longbridge ward.
Response: Councillor Mrs Rush said that she was pleased to be asked about the crime figures for this year and the year just gone, given that the Borough finished the year with a reduction of 6.5% in that group of ten crimes which are deemed to be of most concern to residents and are measured by the British Crime Survey.
Earlier in the year Barking and Dagenham was seeing increases and the progress that the partnership has made in the last six months has been remarkable. Concerns remain, for example, about residential burglary. However, with the new ‘Bobby Van’, which has been branded as the Safer Homes Project, Councillor Mrs Rush said she is confident that the partnership will continue to reduce this particularly distressing crime. Under this scheme a van manned by a carpenter will go to residents in the Borough, irrespective of tenure, who have become victims of burglary and he will fit new locks to their homes. The police will visit near neighbours, their locks will be surveyed and, if necessary, new locks will be fitted to their properties. Since this project started some five weeks ago there have been 135 referrals to victim support from the police, 97 surveys have been carried out and 32 properties have been made secure.
The crime figures at Ward level go out from the Metropolitan Police and can be accessed on their website. Councillor Mrs Rush said she would be happy to give Members the address so that they can look at this.
Question: Councillor S Gill asked if the Executive Member for Environment could please outline what actions the Council is proposing to tackle illegal crossovers in Longbridge Ward?
Response: Councillor Mckenzie said there are a number of residents in Longbridge Ward, as with other Wards, who gain access to their gardens without an approved crossover. Discussion is underway as to how the Council can increase enforcement to deter this practice. Warning notices are already issued, but consideration is being given to installing physical measures preventing access where there is a safety implication and in other circumstances to installing a crossover and transferring all construction costs for this work. There are obviously legal ramifications that have to be carefully considered but once these are resolved the Council will advertise this action via the press and the Citizen.
Question: Councillor Mrs Knight asked why the majority party sees fit to downsize the Town Show. Every year it gets smaller and smaller? It used to be the pride and joy of the borough but failing attendances show how disappointed people are. It used to take two days to see all the marquees and the fantastic attractions in the big arena. Now even the arena has been downsized. It seems that our traditions and culture come last on a long list behind everybody else. Dagenham Town Show used to attract people from far and wide, now even the locals do not attend as it is a washout in comparison to how it used to be. It would be nice if it could be organised with a better standard in mind as the Town show has been going for well over fifty years and more. Mrs Knight said please let our children experience our traditions in the borough and enjoy them as we did when it was bigger and far better. She said she had also been asked by various residents of the borough if it was their intention eventually to scrap the show altogether?’
Response: Councillor Fairbrass said that attendance at Dagenham Town Show has not been falling over the past few years, indeed in 2005 and 2006 the attendance held steady at approximately 80,000 visitors over the weekend period.
The Show itself has not been downsized in any way. The Show evolves each year. What people would have found entertaining 50 years ago or even 10 years ago is not the same today, as people have far more access to entertainment via multi media and technology. When Councillor Fairbrass first attended the Three Towns Show, as it was originally, there were rabbits, cage birds, pigeons, and tropical and cold water fish to be seen, not to mention the handicraft work, the homemade cake competition and various other arts and crafts.
In terms of overall attractions, there is a greater range of entertainment around the showground, as opposed to being concentrated around the main arena as used to be the case in the past. The size of the arena is dependent on the specification submitted by the performers, all their requirements are different. One of this year’s features in the main arena will be Monster Truck stunts. In addition, there are a number of static arenas and interactive workshops around the showground for all the family to enjoy.
Such is the reputation of the show as one of quality and significant visitor numbers, that the Greater London Authority will be bringing elements of their successful RISE Festival to the event this year.
In terms of fewer marquees on the showground; consultation with various organisations in the Voluntary Sector shows that organisations who would like to come to the show are unable to do so, due to not being able to get people from within the community to volunteer their time freely to help staff stalls. However, it is also true to say that exhibits within each of the marquees are of a much higher standard than in the past.
Those attending the event come from across Essex, London and the South East due to the high quality and extensive marketing campaign. High profile stage acts over the last four years have assisted in increasing attendance at the show and we know from surveys conducted that it is the stage and the entertainment on it that most attracts people to visit the Show
The community play an active role and indeed the Parade, a traditional part of the show, is organised by the community with support from the Council. Councillor Fairbrass said his column in the June edition of the Citizen encourages people to enter the Carnival Parade. The Town Show will continue to offer opportunities for our community to be entertained and to experience and see new things.
The events programme for the Borough is expanding and with the success of events like the Molten Festival and the Barking Mela there are more opportunities than there has ever been in the Borough for the community to enjoy socialising and taking part in art and dance.
In conclusion, Councillor Fairbrass said the Council is anticipating extra sponsorship this year and it is expected that a further £15,000 will be available for even more entertainment to be provided. The Town Show has not been downsized and he confirmed that this Council has no intention or plans to cancel the Town Show now or in the future.