Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the area board meeting at Corsham Town Hall.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Dick Tonge – Corsham without and Box Hill

David martin - Corsham Town Council

Mike Franklin - Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

Kevin Gaskin – Community Area Network

Ruth Hopkinson - Corsham Town Council

Anne Nicholas - Colerne Village Hall Association.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2013.

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 September were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the following chairman’s announcements:

·         Carers Grant

·         State of the Environment Report

·         NHS 111 update

·         Update on review of local bus services

The Chairman drew attention to the announcements as provided within the agenda.

These included:

a)    Carers’ Small Grants Scheme

The Chairman reminded the Area Board that the deadline for applications for the Carers’ small grants scheme closes on 30 November 2013. Grants of up to £5,000 were available to groups and organisations for projects and activities which make a difference to the lives of unpaid carers in Wiltshire.

b)    State of the Environment Report 2013

The Chairman drew attention to the State of the Environment Report 2013 for Wiltshire and Swindon which was published in September 2013.

c)    NHS 111

 The NHS 111 service was launched 28 October 2013.

d)    Bus Service Reviews Update

Information was circulated with the agenda papers regarding the bus service that is currently provided and details of the proposed changes. Following public consultation, additional changes to the proposals were made and these new services will be implemented on 2 January 2014.

Responses to the public consultation on Service 36 were being considered. Any changes that occur to this service will be introduced in April 2014 alongside changes to other services in North West Wiltshire. 

e)    Drainage Byelaws

Information was circulated with the agenda papers regarding changes in legislation which will allow Local Authorities to create drainage byelaws. Wiltshire Council invite the public to comment on the draft byelaws which can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/consultations.

To receive any updates from the following partners:

(a)   Wiltshire Police

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

(c)  Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

(d)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

(e)  Chamber of Commerce

a)    Wiltshire police

PC Hazel Anderson gave an updated report: 

·         Two cautions had been issued to males in possession of cannabis.

·         There was a small rise in alcohol related incidents. Two males were arrested for assaulting Police and one male for being drunk and disorderly. Alcohol was confiscated from youths and home visits made following a stop and search at Springfield Recreation Ground.

·         There were reports of shoplifting in the town. Enquiries were ongoing.

·         The Area Board were reminded to secure unattended vehicles and remove valuables from display following several incidents of car crime. An insecure motorbike was stolen from Beechfield Road and items were stolen from a secured vehicle. On another occasion, a laptop and guitar were stolen from beside a vehicle by two unknown males.

·         A burglary occurred on Park Lane where a TV and iPad were stolen. Carwash equipment worth £6,500 was stolen from C K Handwash. The safe at the British Legion was stolen and the cash register drawers from Thomas’ Butchers were stolen. There have been a number of non-dwelling burglaries where sheds were broken into. 

·         The board was reminded to secure, mark and insure bicycles following the theft of a high-value bike.

·         Criminal damage was reported on Lacock playing field. The Police believe the damage was caused by a metal detector. Enquiries are ongoing. 

·         Two females were issued local resolutions after they damaged pumpkins grown by local school children. Each wrote a letter of apology and contributed £20 to the school gardening club.

·         A few incidents of anti-social behaviour occurred. Youth workers were successfully working with the Police to prevent this in the future. 

·         A disco for ages 7-11 took place on 25 October at Corsham School. The disco was funded by the Police. The disco was well attended and another is planned for 19 December 2013.

·         Road safety week ran from 18to 24 November 2013. This was sponsored by the road safety charity, Brake. The Police in Box asked primary school children to show road traffic accident photos to motorists that were pulled over.

·         Corsham NPT have attended a workshop on Restorative Justice which seeks to bring together offenders and victims to discuss the impact of crime.

·         There was an increase in anti-social behaviour. Victim based crime and domestic burglary reduced.

·         The Police Facebook page was proving successful. It can be found at Facebook.com/CorshamPolice.

b) Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

Figures relating to the number of incidents and calls were circulated with the agenda papers.

c)    Box Parish Council

·         A donation to install play equipment on the recreation ground was received. The equipment will be installed in December. 

·         Two meetings with Network Rail to discuss heritage listed bridges had been aborted. This had caused concern amongst Parishioners.

·         The Parish Council had given a grant to Speed Watch to buy school children high visibility jackets.

d)    Colerne Parish Council

·         The skate park committee were seeking funding.

·         The Parish Council hosted a training evening for their new Councillor and a snow warning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive a presentation from James Slater, Deputy Director CCG, and Dr Simon Burrell on the work of the CCG.

James Slater, Deputy Director, gave a presentation on the work of CCG. The group is clinically led, and 7 GPs and 2 lay members sit on its governing body. They seek to build a healthcare system around the needs of patients and communities and aim to provide care closer to home.

Their key priorities include preventing ill health, to provide planned and unplanned care for the frail elderly, and end of life care. The group seeks to work with partners in the council to develop transforming services to meet needs. They welcomed the Health Watch and were keen to hear local issues in Corsham.

Key achievements to date include reducing dementia assessment rates from 12 months to 4 weeks from September. They also helped the Royal United Hospital Bath and the Great Western Hospital Swindon to prepare for winter. Assessment units ensured the speedy passage of people through hospitals. The CCG had supported the recruitment of care coordinators in Wiltshire, which coordinate complex care through agencies.

In the questions that followed, Dr Simon Burrell confirmed that the CCG is a NHS organisation but that it is open to procurements from private sector organisations. Cooperation with the private sector can increase flexibility and reduce overstretching. It was also confirmed that a continence manager had been appointed to review the county-wide continence service and produce a report.

A short DVD will be played to raise awareness of the 100 years anniversary of the suffragettes march through Corsham.

Anne Lock gave a presentation on the Suffragists campaign for women’s voting rights. An event was held to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Suffragist’s march through Corsham which occurred as part of this campaign. A short DVD was played which contained photographs and film clips from the anniversary event.

Three women from Wiltshire signed the women’s suffrage petition, one from Devizes and two from Corsham. Anne Lock expressed her wish to plant an apple tree with a commemorative plaque in Corsham in honour of these women. 

The Wiltshire Councillors will consider the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

Gastard Village Hall - £5,000 towards a new roof

Corsham Explorer Scouts - £500 towards new equipment

Katherine Park Residents Association - £499 towards a noticeboard

The Area Board considered three applications to the Community Area Grants scheme:

Decision

1)    To award £5000 to Gastard Village Hall to a total project cost of £15,472 to replace the roof. Subject to the balance of funds being in place and compliance with building regulations.

2)    To award £499 to Katherine Park Residents Association to purchase and erect a notice-board on the open play area subject to written permission from Wiltshire Council

3)    To award £495 to Corsham Explorer Scouts towards a total project cost of £499 to purchase new expedition equipment.

To receive a report from the CATG and consider any recommendations contained within.

The Area Board considered recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group

Decision:

To approve the recommendations in para 2:3 of the report in relation to:

• Potley Lane Weight Restriction
• Corsham High Street – No Entry Contravention
• Corsham High Street – No Cycling/Prohibition of Vehicles
• C and Unclassified Roads Speed Limit Review
• Pickwick Park, Corsham - Bollards

A representative from Colerne Parish Council will give a presentation on the snow plans for Colerne.

Claire walker, Winter Snow Plan Coordinator, Colerne Parish Council gave a presentation on the Colerne Snow Plan. The plan aimed to keep residential roads clear of snow. The plan was successful last winter, and the village was cut off from the bus services for only one day.

130 farmers county-wide, who are paid by Wiltshire Council are part of the plan. Four farmers cover the Colerne area specifically. The plan is activated by the weather team in Trowbridge. The plan coordinators activate farmers who plough the snow away. Snow wardens are responsible for clearing the paths of snow in a small area and ensuring the safety and comfort of vulnerable residents in this area. In addition, a trailer attached to a 4x4 vehicle is used to apply salt to residential roads.

Those participating in the plan are covered by 3^rd party liability through Wiltshire Council. It was being investigated whether those who use their own vehicle to salt the roads will be also be covered by this insurance.

A reminder was given for the Area Board to apply for their town and village salt request.

Allan Bosley, Chairman of the Corsham SCOB, to provide an update.

Allan Bosley, Chairman of the Corsham Shadow Community Operations Board gave an update on the Corsham campus. Photographs of the construction site were shown to the Area Board.

The build programme will continue and it was expected that the campus building will be fully operational by June. The all-weather pitch at the rear of the centre will be ready to use within a month. The final completion date for the project is October 2014.

The presentation highlighted the need for community involvement in the building and decision making process. The campus demonstrates Wiltshire Council’s new approach to local communities and their aim to obtain more local contact.

The Board continued to look at matters of facilities, operational management and communication.  The first consultation uncovered problems of accessing the campus. The Board was working to address these concerns, and parking continued to be a key issue which would ensure the campus’ success.

Although the community centre will be demolished, the SCOB highlighted the need to capture the centre’s history. They aimed to continue the success of the previous facility.

There will be a new emphasis on using technology to inform others of what is happening at the campus, and to extend the campus into the community area.

The Chairman thanked the commitment of the local community and Allan Bosley to the Campus.

To ask the audience to consider what they might want included as future items on the agendas of the Corsham Area Board.

The Area Board considered what it would like to include in future agendas.

·         School Report – invite a school representative to talk about what is happening in the local schools.

·         Community Issues Review

·         Neston school presentation on recent expansion.

·         Flow of traffic through narrow areas. The Chairman explained that this would be matter for the Community Area Transport Group.

·         Fast broadband into rural areas.

·         Opportunity to express planning concerns.

·         Presentation on pavements and maintenance.

·         Health matters.

·         Provision of public access defibrillators.

·         Themed meetings run by theme owners e.g. education, volunteering, arts performance.

·         Transport.

·         Planning matters. Invite planning officer to explain the planning process.

The Chairman explained that individual planning matters could not be discussed at Area Board meetings due to the rules surrounding predetermination. However, members of the Panel could take concerns on individual planning matters forward to discuss with the relevant cabinet member.

Future meetings of the Area Board will take place on the following dates:

23 January 2014 – 7pm – Corsham Town Hall

20 March 2014 – 7pm – Corsham Town Hall

22 May 2014 – 7pm – venue: tbc

23 January 2014 – 7pm – Corsham Town Hall

20 March 2014 – 7pm – Corsham Town Hall

22 May 2014 – 7pm – Venue TBC