Agenda and minutes

The Chairman of the Board welcomed all in attendance to the Neeld Hall where for the next hour presentations would be made on the following subjects:

Dementia Friendly Community

Older People’s Forum

SWAN

Age Equality South West

Following the informative session, there would be a short comfort break before the Board would continue with the decision making session of the meeting.

Presentations were given as detailed below.

To receive a presentation from Natalia Peremequelo.

Cllr Bill Douglas started the presentations by reminding attendees of the Prime Minister’s desire for all councils to work with the Alzheimer Society to promote dementia friendly communities.  Wiltshire Council itself was promoting a dementia friendly campaign ‘’Before I Forget’ and the Board had pledged to support this too.

Andrew Day (Alzheimer’s Society’s Services Manager) was welcomed to the floor and gave a presentation on dementia friendly communities.  This included reference to the Dementia Friendly Communities Guide, hard copies of which were provided.  The Guide provided links to the Alzheimer Society as well as other useful websites. 

Details of the work undertaken by communities to help develop dementia friendly communities were also provided such as pub landlords hosting pub clubs on a monthly basis and groups working with supermarkets to produce meals for some of the frail elderly. 

There were upwards of 7,000 residents in Wiltshire living with dementia, which was expected to rise to above 10,000 by 2020.

Michael Oakes was also welcomed to the floor and gave an update on the Memory Cafe which was set up 3 years ago.  Attendees were referred by the Alzheimer Society and the Café provided an opportunity for dementia sufferers and their carers to meet others in a similar situation.

Each meeting, which took place on a fortnightly basis, had an activity or themed presentation and all were well attended with attendance numbers continuing to increase over time.

To receive a presentation from Jayne Funnell and Barbara Hearn

Jayne Funnell (Head of Service Age UK Wiltshire) and Barbara Hearn (Chair of Chippenham Age Concern) were welcomed to the floor and gave a presentation. 

This included information on the Older People’s Forums, which were groups set up and run by older people to give older people a voice in what mattered to them as well as helping to campaign on local issues.  Wiltshire had an established network of Forums which included Bradford on Avon, Melksham and Salisbury.

The Forums could be used to help identify the needs of the older population as well as for consultation by service providers and commissioners who recognised that they were often knowledgeable on local issues.

Work was underway with Age Concern Chippenham to establish a Forum for the area.

In partnership with Age UK Wiltshire an event was held in April with over 40 residents in attendance.  Interesting presentations were made at the meeting and as a result there was agreement reached to establish a Forum for the Chippenham area.

Issues identified at that meeting included:

·         The means in which information was distributed

·         Bus services

·         Podiatry service

·         Hospital discharge

·         Accessibility of the proposed campus site

·         Pavement condition

·         Short term parking

The first meeting of the Forum would take place on 11 June and it would continue to meet every 2 months thereafter.

To receive a presentation from Teresa Wells.

Teresa Wells (Chief Executive SWAN) was welcomed to the floor.

Teresa confirmed that SWAN provided an advocacy service to vulnerable adults in Wiltshire.

The majority of enquiries related to those wanting to challenge decisions made.  The service allowed for a greater understanding of what was available to the individual in these circumstances.

Support provided included assisting vulnerable individuals in knowing what their rights were in relation to accommodation as well as helping those wishing to return to work after an accident and examples were provided of cases to give the Board an idea of the type of help available.

SWAN were keen for local communities to get involved and were always looking for more volunteers.  Contact details were provided on the tables and details are also provided below:

E-mail: mail@swanadvocacy.org.uk

Website: http://swanadvocacy.org.uk

To receive a presentation from Brian Warwick

Brian Warwick, Chairman of the South West Seniors Network, was welcome to the floor.

Confirmation was given that the Network had been founded in 2003 and had 34 Forums across the South West. 

It was highlighted that there were over 4,500 charities registered to look after older people and to be their voice in the UK.  The UK Advisory Forum on Aging (UKAFA) had been established to look at the opportunities and challenges of an ageing population as a central government level.  The Regional Chairman of the South West sat on this body representing older people in the region.

Brian Warwick was keen to ensure that Wiltshire took a proactive role in establishing organisations to be the voice of the elderly in the community and five Forums had now been set up in the Wiltshire area.

2 representatives from every county in the South West sat on the Board of membership for the South West Seniors Network.  As well as having a voice at government level the Network also met with local partners, such as fire and police services and regularly worked on consultation processes with local authorities.

The Network was an advocate of ensuring that services were joined up and used in the right way.  Wiltshire Council had invited Brian Warwick, as the Chair of the Network, to be the Chairman of its Older People Strategy Group which would help develop an older people strategy for the county.

The Chairman thanked all the presenters for the information provided and sought questions from the floor where the following was provided:

The Memory Café was funded by the Alzheimer Society.  It was not a drop in service but referrals were made by the Alzheimer Society itself.

The full results of the consultation undertaken to form the basis of the new Older People’s Forum in Chippenham would be sent to the Community Area Manager of the Board for circulation.

Cllr Nick Watts would ensure the views of the Board relating to the proposed site of the Campus would be relayed to the Vision Board who were due to meet shortly.

The intention of Wiltshire Council was to support people to stay in their own homes wherever possible understanding that this was what the majority of older residents in the community desired.  The Council wanted to provide a service to dementia sufferers that allowed them to stay in their own homes as far as possible and recognised and fully supported the dementia friendly community programme.

There were many support groups for carers of those with dementia including some provided by the Alzheimer Support who provided home care support.  Wiltshire Council was working with the NHS to help identify carers that might require additional support, noting that many were sometimes to proud to ask for help.

The Chairman gave thanks to everyone who came along and thanked the presenters for the information provided.

Before proceeding to break, all were encouraged to take away with them a copy of the ‘Life is for Living’ handbook which provided useful information for older residents.

The Chairman, Councillor Linda Packard, welcomed everyone to the next session of the meeting following a brief break.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Howard Greenman, Cllr Jane Scott OBE and Parvis Khansari (Associate Director).

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 3 March 2014.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2014 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To include:

·         Chippenham Area Board Community Awards

·         Chippenham Skatepark update

·         Dementia Strategy

·         One Stop Shop for Your Heart Event

·         Petition received – Chippenham Library

·         Pavements in Chippenham High Street

The Chairman drew the Boards attention to the Announcements within the agenda pack as follows:

·         Chippenham Area Board Community Awards – Nominations were invited for the following 3 categories:

Individual

Team/Group

Junior/ Youth (under 18)

The closing date for nominations was 26 May 2014 and the ceremony would take place at the next meeting in June.

·         ChippenhamSkatepark update – A project team was in the process of procuring the technical surveys and investigations that would contribute to the concept specification for the skatepark.  The Board would receive further updates in due course.

·         Dementia Strategy – The consultation on the strategy would end on 19 May.  A link was provided to the webpage in the announcement but hard copies were also available at the meeting.

·         One Stop Shop for Your Heart Event – The event, to raise awareness of the benefits of defibrillators, would take place on Thursday 15 May at Stanley Park, Chippenham between 10:00am and 3:00pm.

There were a limited number of places still available.  Those interested in attending should contact Alison Butler whose details were provided on the announcement.

Additional verbal announcements were provided as follows:

Petition

A petition had been received from residents of Castle Lodge in response to the current consultation within the Chippenham community area on the proposed position of the Chippenham Campus at the Olympiad/Monkton Park site.  The petition related to the relocation of the library into the campus as part of the proposed plans.

The Campus team had confirmed acknowledgement of the petition and discussed the views expressed and comments made which would be taken into consideration as part of ongoing consultation in the development of the Campus.  

Chippenham High Street

There had been some concerns raised regarding the standard of the pavements in the High Street.  The Local Highways team have met with members of the Town Council and maintenance work was to be undertaken.  In the meantime any broken or loose slabs had been replaced with temporary tarmac to avoid any hazard.

To note the written updates provided and answer any questions arising from the floor:

      i.        Parish and Town Councils

    ii.        Wiltshire Police

   iii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

   iv.        Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

    v.        Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership (ChAP)

   vi.        Chippenham Vision

  vii.        Chippenham Campus Development Team

viii.        Chippenham Partnership of Schools

   ix.        Volunteers

    x.        Other Community Groups

Updates from partners were received as follows:

      i.        Parish and Town Councils

The written updates provided within the agenda pack were noted.

    ii.        Wiltshire Police

The written report from Wiltshire Police was presented by the new Sector Inspector David Hobman who was welcomed to the meeting.

Following questions in relation to the accuracy of the crime figures within the report, confirmation was provided that the way in which crime was reported would change in the future.  The new Sector Inspector confirmed that crime was falling but that recorded crime had increased in some areas because of the way in which crimes were categorised upon reporting at present.

Wiltshire Police had been through a significant restructure which had resulted in 4 key hubs within Wiltshire (Swindon, Chippenham, Trowbridge and Salisbury).  A superintendant now looked after Wiltshire with the Chief Inspector removed from the structure.

The restructure included a review of inspectors across the force which had resulted in Nick Mawson providing temporary cover for the community area.  David Hobman was pleased to confirm his aspiration to remain in the position for the longer term.

In receiving question on the level of support provided to male domestic abuse victims, it was confirmed that domestic abuse in whatever form was taken very seriously irrelevant of gender.

Cllr Hutton in working closely with the local policing team commended the positive work of the team and its continued commitment to engage with the community and with partners.

   iii.        Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership (ChAP)

Julia Stacey confirmed that the Partnership was working closely with the Area Board regarding the defibrillator project and was hoping to have a good turnout on 15 May. 

The Partnership had recently provided support to the ‘That’s Entertainment Dance Group’ and confirmed that work continued on the arrangements for the River Festival on 19 July.  This included the inclusion of a zip wire which would be made possible by Ocean Rock Adventure who would provide the facility for a small fee.

The Board at it’s last meeting considered the priorities identified at the What Matters to You event held on 18 February, agreed to give a focus to 3 areas and appoint a lead Councillor for each.  Following the meeting members of the Board were contacted and the Board is now asked to agree the suggested leads as detailed below:

Outdoor spaces (Cllr Linda Packard)

Child poverty (Cllr Chris Caswill)

Crime and Community Safety (Cllr Desna Allen)

At the last meeting of the Board 3 broad priorities were agreed for the Board to take forward with agreement that members would be contacted after the meeting to propose lead members to each.

Board members were asked to confirm their acceptance of the proposed leads which were detailed on the agenda front sheet as follows.

Outdoor Spaces (Cllr Linda Packard)

Child Poverty (Cllr Chris Caswill)

Crime and Community Safety (Cllr Desna Allen)

Upon vote all were in favour.

The Community Area Manager (CAM), Victoria Welsh, confirmed that the Board wanted to support local action to tackle the other priorities identified at the event that took place on 18 February and invited all local and voluntary groups to consider ways in which the priorities could be addressed.

The CAM encouraged those running related projects to provide an update to the Board to allow it to publicise the work being undertaken which could be included on future agendas.

Cllr Desna Allen provided a brief update on Crime and Community Safety as follows.

The Safe Places pilot project in Salisbury had been supported by the Police and Crime Commissioner for roll out across the County.  The project worked with local businesses in towns to create safe places for those feeling vulnerable or threatened.  It was hoped that Chippenham would have approx 50 safe places within the town. The Town Hall itself had offered its services as had the Visitor and Heritage Centre.

The project would sit comfortably with the Board’s desire for a dementia friendly community and with the Purple Flag project.

An emergency plan was being developed by the Town Council for Chippenham with village communities encouraged to develop their own.  Each would fall under the overarching Wiltshire Council Emergency Plan as part of community resilience.

A meeting was being held at Monkton Park on 15 July where the plans would be discussed.

Decision:

That the following Councillors are appointed as lead members for the following priorities:

Cllr Linda Packard (Outdoor Spaces)

Cllr Chris Caswill (Child Poverty)

Cllr Desna Allen (Crime and Community Safety)

Parvis Khansari, Associate Director, will present the Local Highways Investment Fund report which includes a list of proposed highway maintenance schemes for 2014/15 which the Board is asked to agree for implementation.

The Chairman welcomed Cllr Philip Whitehead, Portfolio Holder Highways Contract, and Jim Bailey, Principal Highways Engineer, to the meeting to present the report on the local highways investment fund.

The presentation included that Wiltshire Council would be investing £21m annually on highways maintenance over the next 6 years, which was a significant increase in investment.

All roads in Wiltshire were assessed on an annual basis to formulate a list of sites to be repaired on a year on year basis.  Appendix 1 of the agenda included details of the list of proposed repairs for 2014/15 which the Board were asked to approve.

Cllr Whitehead confirmed that Appendix 1 showed the work scheduled for 2014/15 but that Appendix 2 and 3 of the report gave details of the known roads requiring attention and requested that the Board may want to look at this list to help shape future priorities.

Cllr Whitehead confirmed that a significant concern on roads was skid resistance and that the works highlighted in yellow were prioritised due to this.

Cllr Caswill recognised the difficulties in altering the list for the current year but proposed that the CATG be used to review the list provided for future works.

The weather conditions over the winter had increased reported highways faults from 3,000 per month to 5,500 per month since December. 

Concern was raised over the quality of the work done to date noting that some repairs made already required additional work.  Cllr Whitehead confirmed that the weather conditions over the winter period had destabilised temporary works which under normal circumstances would have remained until resurfacing works were undertaken.

The Board expressed concern that it was unaware of the criteria used to identify the list for 2014/15, the specific funding available for the community area and the time given to fully consider the list and decide on priorities.

The Board considered whether to delegate the review on this year’s list to the CATG to propose a list of priorities for the Board to agree.  Cllr Whitehead indicated that it would be difficult to amend the list for 2014/15 without delayed planned works for the year.

Clarification was made that it had been planned for the list of works for 2014/15 to be brought to be board at the end of 2013 but the extreme weather conditions over the winter period had understandably diverted resources away from the planned presentation to the Boards.

Following debate the Board agreed to endorse the list of proposed highway maintenance schemes for 2014/15.  The Board would give further consideration to the list of future schemes provided for 2015/16.

Before moving to the next item, a DVD was handed to the Chairman by a member of the public on dropped kerbs.  The CAM received contact details for the member of the public who would be contacted after the meeting.

Decision:

The Chippenham Area Board endorsed the list of proposed highway maintenance schemes for 2014/15 and would give further consideration to the list of future  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To consider the CATG report arising from the last meeting held on 31 March 2014 and any recommendations within.

The Board were asked to consider the recommendations of the CATG detailed on page 63 of the agenda, following its meeting held on 31 March.

Decision:

·         To approve the locations recommended for 20mph restrictions (detailed in Appendix 1 of the report);

·         To note the latest information on schemes in progress (detailed in Appendix 2 of the report);

·         To approve the list of schemes recommend for prioritisation and allocate funding (detailed in Appendix 3 of the report);

·         To approve the list of schemes recommended for retention and further consideration (detailed in Appendix 4 of the report);

·         To approve the list of requests recommended for removal (detailed in Appendix 5 of the report);

·         To note the update from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) (detailed in Appendix 6 of the report); and

·         To note the Briefing note: Sign de-cluttering and requests for Minor Signing Improvements (detailed in Appendix 7 of the report).

To consider the following funding requests:

·         Wiltshire Farmers Markets Association - £2,000 towards the Chippenham Food and Drink Festival

·         Kington Langley Croquet Club - £455 for the purchase of new balls

·         Chippenham Hospital Radio - £3,000 towards new studio equipment

·         Chippenham Harriers Running Club - £500 for the purchase of race equipment

·         Createmovedance - £500 for the purchase of dance equipment

·         No Cold Calling Zone Pilot - £200 towards the purchase of door stickers

·         Chippenham Games 2014 - £1,200 towards the cost of the event for young children

The Board is asked to note a spend of £318 for refreshments at the Chippenham Area Emergency Planning meeting held on 2 April, taken via delegated authority by the Community Area Manager.

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme 2014/15:

       i.        Wiltshire Farmers Markets Associations

The sum of £2,000 was requested towards the Chippenham Food and Drink Festival.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,000 to Wiltshire Farmers Markets Associations.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

      ii.        Kington Langley Croquet Club

The sum of £455 was requested for the purchase of new competition balls.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £455 to Kington Langley Croquet Club

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

    iii.        Chippenham Hospital Radio

The sum of £3,000 was requested towards new studio equipment.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £3,000 to Chippenham Hospital Radio.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

    iv.        Chippenham Harriers Running Club

The sum of £500 was requested towards the purchase of race equipment.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £500 to Chippenham Harriers Running Club

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

      v.        Creativemovedance

The sum of £500 was requested towards the purchase of dance equipment.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £500 to Creativemovedance.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

    vi.        No Cold Calling Zone Pilot

The sum of £200 was requested towards the purchase of posters and door stickers.

Decision

The Area Board allocated the sum of £200 to the No Cold Calling Zone Pilot

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

   vii.        Chippenham Games 2014

The sum of £1,200 was requested towards the cost of Chippenham Games 2014 for young children.

Decision

The Area Board allocated the sum of £1,200 to Chippenham Games 2014

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15

 viii.        Decision

To note the inter-meeting spend of £318 by the Board for refreshments at the Chippenham Area Emergency Planning meeting on 2 April 2014 as delegated to the Community Area Manager on 30 April 2014.

    ix.        Decision

             To ring fence £5,000 for WW1 and D-Day commemoration projects.

The Chairman will invite any remaining questions from the floor and will welcome the submission of new Community Issues.

The next agenda planning meeting will take place on Wednesday 21 May 2014 at 10:30am. Any parish or town council representative interested in attending should contact the Community Area manager or the Chairman.

The meeting is asked to note the future meeting dates below.

The next Area Board meeting on 30th June will focus on rural matters. If you have any suggestions for agenda items or topics you would like included please let us know and we shall do our best to accommodate as many as possible.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and confirmed that the next meeting of the Chippenham Area Board would take place on 30 June 2014 with a focus on rural matters.

Attendees were also thanked for taking part in a brief electronic questionnaire of tonight’s meeting.