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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Pavilion Hall, Beversbrook Sports Facility, Beversbrook Rd, Calne SN11 9FL

Contact: Natalie Heritage (Democratic Services Officer)  Tel: 01225 718062, Email:  natalie.heritage@wiltshire.gov.uk

Items
Note No. Item

6.30 pm

1.

Chairman's Welcome and Introductions

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting and asked the Councillors and key Officers to introduce themselves.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

 There were no apologies for absence.

 

3.

Minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 December.  

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 December 2015 were approved and signed as a correct record.

 

Resolved:

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 8 December 2015 be agreed as a correct record for signing by the Chairman.

4.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

6.40 pm

5.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive the following Chairman’s Announcements:

·         Passenger Transport Review

·         Your Care Your Support

·         Emergency Planning Workshop

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman drew attention to the written announcements included in the agenda pack: the Passenger Transport Review, Your Care Your Support and the Emergency Planning Workshop.

 

The Chairman noted the importance of the Emergency Planning Workshop scheduled for Wednesday 10 February from 6:30-9pm at Calne Town Hall and encouraged interested parties to attend.

 

The Chairman informed the meeting that the Associate Director for Economy and Planning, Alistair Cunningham, would provide a briefing on the Chippenham sites allocation at the end of the meeting. Development in the Chippenham area could affect Calne; therefore it was important for Calne to be given the opportunity to ask any questions and to seek any further clarification.

 

The meeting was also encouraged to take part in the Council’s budget consultation meetings that were to take place across the County.  

6:50pm

6.

Partner Updates

To receive an update from the partners listed below:

 

·         NajiDarwish, Commissioning and Programme Manager from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

 

·         Neighbourhood Policing Team

 

·         Fire and Rescue Services

 

·         NHS Wiltshire CCG

 

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

 

·         Calne ‘Our Place’ Project

 

·         Town and Parish Councils

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Naji Darwish, from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, to present on the proposed precept consultation. Mr Darwish relayed that The Commissioner wished to increase the Police precept by 1.9%; in order to protect policing in Wiltshire at a time of increasing financial pressure. Mr Darwish drew the meeting’s attention to the consultation leaflets provided on which any comments on the precept increase could be submitted. The financial plan for the police was available on their website where members of the public could also submit responses to the consultation.

 

An update on Police performance was provided and it was noted that the recording of crime had improved in the County, which remained one of the safest areas of the country. It was highlighted that Wiltshire Police had been rated ‘Good’ by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate.

 

In response to questions, Mr Darwish informed the meeting that Wiltshire Police had approximately £15-16 million in reserves and that this money would be used over the coming year to ensure that officer levels remain protected; the Police and Fire services were collaborating as much as possible to make efficiencies and would continue to do so.

 

Sgt Ronnie Lungu took questions on behalf of the Neighbourhood Policing Team. In response to a question on how statistics had indicated an increase in theft in Calne, it was explained that recording systems were more robust, therefore there had not necessarily been an increase in crime. Sgt Lungu drew attention to the fact that vehicle crime had seen an increase in real terms and that the community should remain vigilant; the Officer also encouraged those present to visit the Police’s social media pages, as these were where a large amount of information could be found.

 

The Chairman thanked Sgt Lungu and informed the meeting that at the next Area Board meeting, on 5 April 2016, officers would be present to discuss in further detail the combination between the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Services.

 

The Chairman then drew the meeting’s attention to the information contained in the pack regarding the partner updates from ‘NHS Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group’ and ‘Healthwatch Wiltshire’.

 

A representative from the Calne ‘Our Place’ Project updated that the team was hoping to raise £5000 for a project to promote Calne on the ‘Great West Way’; a tourism route from London to Bristol. £2500 had already been raised and thus, the group were looking to raise a further £2500, this would be considered by the Board later in the meeting.

 

It was heard that at future Area Board meetings John Bentley School would provide a regular update.

 

Cherhill Parish Council updated that on 15 February it would be having a meeting on countryside access. Cllr Hill then raised the issues of bridleways and clarified that the application to re-route a bridleway on Calston was still on-going.

 

Mr Ian James, Bremhill Parish Councillor, outlined his unease about the proposed new development of 1500 houses in the Bremhill Parish as the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7:10pm

7.

Local Youth Network (LYN)

Rebecca Green, Chairman of the Local Youth Network and Helen Bradley, Community Youth Officer will provide an update and present the following requests for consideration:

 

·         £5,000 for John Bentley School for a mentoring project to raise awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation;

 

·         £3,295 for Friends of Abberd Brook for an outreach conservation project;

 

·         A procurement request for £15,466.54 to support a weekly youth club for young people with special educational needs and disabilities;

 

·         To note that the total expenditure incurred for the Unfair Funfair was £25.05 granted between meetings of the Area Board.

 

The notes of the last LYN Management Group meeting are also attached for information.

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Rebecca Green, Chairman of the Local Youth Network (LYN), Jordan Holt, Vice-Chairman and Beth Wheeler gave an update on the LYN and presented recommendations to the Area Board.

 

The LYN had worked with 45 groups since inception and had given out around £20,000 in grants. The LYN’s recent ‘Unfair Funfair’ had been a success and the Board was asked to note the expenditure incurred between the meetings of the Area Board to support this event was £25.05 in total, rather than the £20 noted at the previous meeting.

 

Mr Holt spoke in support of John Bentley School’s application for £5,000 for a mentoring project to raise awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). 18 young people would be mentored over 6 weeks by the charity ‘Relate’. Although John Bentley School would host the programme, it would be open to any young person. It was confirmed that this provision was beyond the statutory duty of the school and grant money would be awarded from the LYN budget.

 

Miss Wheeler outlined the application from the Friends of Abberd Brook for an outreach conservation project, it was hoped that the application would also be building blocks for ‘Friends of Abberd Brook’ for young people.

 

Helen Bradley, Local Youth Officer, then introduced the procurement request for Groundworks South for £15,466.54 to support a weekly youth club for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The LYN usually only allocated £5000 as a maximum for procurement requests, however, this request was deemed to be an exceptional circumstance due to an identified need to support those with SEND. The LYN had preferred this provider, on the grounds of how the centre would be organised and managed and that it included a volunteer training programme; where individuals would have the opportunity to be trained to professional qualification standard. Due to the funding required being a significant sum of money, a 6, 9 and 12 month review would be undertaken to evaluate its progress.

 

In response to questions, it was confirmed that the initial request for the club had originated from young people and carers of young people with SEND, which had led to a full needs assessment for the centre being completed. Young people and adults without SEND would be able to volunteer in the centre, thus raising awareness of SEND amongst the more able.

 

Members spoke in support of the application as it was based on the identified needs of the young people it would affect and the interim reviews would provide the opportunity to evaluate progress and consider whether it would be appropriate to involve young people without SEND.

 

Resolved:

 

      i.        To award £5,000 for John Bentley School for a mentoring project to raise awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation;

 

 

    ii.        To award £3,295 for Friends of Abberd Brook for an outreach conservation project;

 

   iii.        To award £15,466.54 to support a weekly youth club with Groundworks for young people with special educational needs and disabilities on the condition that a review of this provision be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

7:20pm

8.

Calne Positive Tickets Presentation

To award Positive Tickets to young people who have taken a positive action in the community.

Minutes:

Sgt Ronnie Lungu explained the ‘Positive Tickets’ initiative, which involved the Police recognising young people who had acted in a positive way in the community. The local Police and the Area Board wished to celebrate positive behaviour from young people.

 

The following young people were presented with their ‘Positive Tickets’:

 

Miss Charlotte Jones: for her work collecting products for 218 Christmas hampers of food and other items to be sent to older residents of Calne.

 

Miss Alex Gingham: for her work assisting with emergency care of an 86 year old lady, who had fallen ill on a bus. Miss Gingham was not present, but her positive contribution to the community was recognised in her absence.

 

An anonymous young man was also recognised for his contribution to regularly, independently and voluntarily sweeping the skate bowl.

 

A group of 16 students were recognised for their positive contribution to the community through the Magna Carta and Legacy celebrations; these individuals had showed themselves to be excellent ambassadors for the Calne Community Area.

 

Those awarded positive tickets under this realm were:

Connor Brunsdon, Connor Kosma, Emily Jenkins, Joseph Provis, Kayleigh Hargreaves, Megan Wright, Molly Shearsby, Rebecca Green, Shania Harris, Tiffany Ineson, Jordan Holt and Michael Kerr.

7:30pm

9.

Child Poverty in Calne

Sarah Heathcote and Kate Blackburn (Public Health) to present on child poverty in the area and discuss how it can be addressed.

Minutes:

Kate Blackburn and Sarah Heathcote, from Public Health, were welcomed and presented on child poverty in Calne.

 

The officers provided official definitions of child poverty, however, the meeting was informed of how poverty was dynamic and children could go in and out of poverty throughout their lives.

 

Key statistics for Calne included that 690 children were classed as living in poverty, 1.3 % higher than the County average. Persistent child absences from school were higher in Calne than in other areas of the County and it was noted that there were higher levels of obese children in Reception and Year 1 in Calne, than in other areas of Wiltshire.

 

The impact of extreme neglect on the brain development of a child was shown and explained that the early years of child’s life were most important for their development and thus. In response to this understanding, Wiltshire Council was working in partnership with National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and maternity providers to help support vulnerable new mothers and parenting programmes were run in children’s centres across the County.

 

The Community could help to tackle child poverty through being aware of obesogenic environments in Calne and supporting parks to be smoke free, as well as promoting the ‘Warm and Safe Initiative’ to make homes warmer throughout winter.

 

The Chairman thanked officers for their presentation and invited the meeting to submit their thoughts on how to reduce child poverty in Calne. A workshop on this subject would be held at a later date with the Healthy Active Calne Community Area (HACCA); and those with ideas were encouraged to contact Jane Vaughan, Community Engagement Manager.

 

7:45pm

10.

Our Community Matters

Update on community issues and recommendations from area board working groups. This will include:

 

·       Highways Working Group (CATG) update from Councillor Christine Crisp

·       Calne campus project update from Councillor Alan Hill

·       Sandpit Road (Section 106) working group update from Councillor Tony Trotman

·       Air quality working group update from Councillor Glenis Ansell

·       Dementia Friends working group update from Councillor Christine Crisp

·       Older People’s issues

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillors provided an update on community issues and progress on Calne Area Board working groups. 

 

Cllr Crisp updated that there had been no meeting of the Highways Working Group (CATG) and that the work on Lickhill Road would not be able to take place.

 

Cllr Trotman informed the meeting that a metro count along the Sandpit Lane had been conducted by the residents and that a majority of vehicles, mostly HGVs, were found to speed along the road. Cllr Trotman asked that the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) place additional 30 mph signage along the road, in order to help reiterate the speed limit to drivers. Cllr Crisp noted that the CATG would look into Cllr Trotman’s proposal.

 

Cllr Hill provided a campus project update: a toucan crossing would be built onsite along with a footpath and an extension to the pavilion and an all-weather football pitch was due to be installed for the summer of 2017. The Calne Community Hub would move to share a space with the existing library. Councillors were pleased that the campus project for Calne was starting to take shape.

 

Cllr Trotman updated on the Sandpit Road (Section 106) Working Group; cycleways and footpaths were being built in Calne, in order to ensure safer routes to schools. Cllr Trotman advised that temporary bollards were in place at Woodhill Rise. Traffic calming measures had been put in place and that there was a clearer passageway for traffic in the area.  A recent concern was that debris was being distributed by vehicles using the Sandpit Lane.

 

Cllr Ansell confirmed that the tree planting scheme was in progress and explained that the LYN were helping with the scheme. The meeting heard that a nitrogen dioxide monitor had been installed at a location along the A4 road.

 

Cllr Crisp spoke on behalf of the ‘Dementia Friends’ Working Group; she advised that she would be doing a course to become a Dementia Friends Champion and encouraged those present to learn about becoming a Dementia Friend.

 

Updates on Older People’s issues would be available at a future meeting

 

Resolved:

 

      i.        To note the updates

 

    ii.        To note residents’ concerns in relation to speeding in 30mph zones along Sandpit Lane and to recommend this to the Community Area Transport Group for consideration.

 

8pm

11.

Area Board Funding

To consider a member-led initiative from Cllr Trotman for £2,500 to support the ‘Our Place’ project.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Calne ‘Our Place’ Project application made to the Community Area Grants Scheme.

 

Cllr Trotman spoke in support of the application from the Calne ‘Our Place’ Project for £2500; he explained that Calne needed a boost in its local economy and that this could be delivered through additional revenue from tourism. The Project would help to ensure that Calne could become the centre of the tourist route from either London to Bristol or Newbury to Bath, as it would capitalise on the B&Bs, quaint shops and the tourist attractions that Calne proposed.

 

Helen Bradley, Community Youth Officer, updated the Board on the latest figure that remained in its budget for the youth provision as £2,741, rather than the £3,500 cited in the report. The Board considered that in this exceptional circumstance, funding for this project would be drawn from its revenue budget allocated to the Board, as explained in the report. 

 

Resolved:

 

To grant £2,500 to support the ‘Our Place’ project to help enhance the local economy of Calne.

 

8:15pm

12.

Update on the Chippenham Sites Development Plan Document

Alistair Cunningham, Associate Director for Economy and Planning, will provide an update from Wiltshire Council and take questions on the Chippenham DPD.

Minutes:

Alistair Cunningham, the Associate Director for Economic Development and Planning, provided an update on the Chippenham Sites Development Plan Document which had been suspended following concerns raised by the appointed Inspector.

 

The Council was now undertaking additional work in response to feedback from the Inspector, taking a more in-depth approach and testing all reasonable sites in all strategic areas and their sustainability, rather than just testing sites within the preferred strategic areas. The approach was to be evidence driven and, so at this stage, there should be no presumption as to what would be proposed.

 

A timeline of April/May 2016 was highlighted as the proposed consultation period with an aim of, if necessary, taking proposals back to the Council’s Cabinet. Hearings were expected to resume in September 2016.

 

A number of detailed questions were posed by members of the public and the officer advised he would respond to the details, if put in writing. General points confirmed included; that if the Council was unable to demonstrate a five year land supply it could not use the settlement boundaries alone (Core Policy 2, Wiltshire Core Strategy) as a reason to refuse speculative planning applications coming forward.  However, planning applications could be refused on other grounds, if they were not appropriate once all considerations were taken into account. The Associate Director also verified that the Council would consult the Environment Agency and follow their advice when considering flood risk matters, and that under the Wiltshire Core Strategy, brownfield sites within settlements could be developed. A question was raised over an application from Chippenham 2020 and it was confirmed that the Council owned some of the land being promoted; however, the Council as land owner was separate to the Local Planning Authority. Any issues relating to the Council as land owner should be addressed to Barry Pirie. 

 

Questions were raised over health and air quality impacts arising from traffic in relation to Calne.  The Associate Director advised that this matter could be reported back at a future meeting of the Board.

 

The Community was concerned by the site ‘east of Chippenham’ in the Plan, as this was part of the Calne Community Area, however, this was unclear on the plan. The Associate Director advised that the plan did not reflect community areas, but instead, urban form and the plan had been consulted on many occasions.  Concerns were also raised on how planning applications would be handled, particularly in relation to the Chippenham 2020 application. The public were advised that the Council had a duty to consider applications once they had been submitted and that this particular application would be determined by the Strategic Planning Committee at an appropriate time. All applications were determined on their merits.

 

Those present encouraged local councillors to review the site allocation proposals thoroughly.

 

The Chairman thanked Alistair Cunningham for his update and responses to questions and reassured the meeting that Councillors considered such matters very thoroughly.

8:05pm

13.

Community Engagement - activities for 2016

Jane Vaughan, Community Engagement Manager,will provide information about activities that will take place across the county this year, including the Queen’s birthday celebrations and the ‘Road to Rio’ and invite discussion about how the local community might like to be involved.

 

Minutes:

Jane Vaughan, Community Engagement Manager, presented on activities on offer across the county in 2016 as part of the ‘Legacy’ campaign which followed on from the successful community events of the 2012 London Olympics and Jubilee year.  The community was encouraged to host street parties for the Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations and also ‘Clean for the Queen’

 

The ‘Road to Rio’ walking initiative and many cycling events would also be available in 2016 and members commented this would also keep the community active and work to reduce air pollution.  Information packs were available from the Community Engagement Manage upon request.

8:30pm

14.

Urgent items

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

8:30pm

15.

Close

The next meeting of Calne Area Board shall be held on 5 April 2016.  

Minutes:

The next Area Board meeting would be held at 6:30 pm on 5 April 2016 at The Corn Exchange, Calne Town Hall, with refreshments available from 6:00 pm.