Agenda and minutes

To welcome those present to the meeting.

Cllr Philip Whitehead welcomed those present to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Simon Jacobs, Cllr Philip Whitehead was to Chair the meeting.

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

Cllr Sue Evans declared an interest in the Community Asset Transfer as she was a member of the Nursteed Committee, the councillor did not participate or vote on this item in her capacity as a councillor.

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

There were no Chairman’s Announcements.

The Area Board is asked to consider an application submitted by Devizes & District Association for the Disabled for the transfer of the Nursteed Centre, Southbroom Road, Devizes

Members considered an application for the transfer of land from Wiltshire Council to Devizes and District Association for the Disabled (DDAD). Sue Evans spoke in a personal capacity to explain that DDAD were struggling to attract funding since they only had a few years left on their lease and would benefit from the transfer of land to them. It was understood that DDAD was already responsible for maintenance of the building on their current lease and this would continue as part of any new arrangements.

Members were in support of the proposal subject to a clause whereby if the land was sold the Council would realise the profits from this. Councillors agreed this would be a positive step for the community and the dissemination of the news was discussed.

Resolved:

a)    To approve the transfer of the land shown edged red on the plan at Appendix 1 to Devizes & District Association for the Disabled by way of a 125 year lease and suitable legal documentation to provide for appropriate parking rights within the land shown edged blue on the plan, subject to a clause in the legal agreement whereby if the land was sold the Council would realise the profits from this.

b)   To delegate authority to officers for the implementation of this resolution.

To consider the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

·        Wiltshire Search and Rescue £698.32 for drones to assist in search and rescue;

·        Wiltshire Police £82 for car security reminder signs.

Councillors considered applications for funding to the Community Area Grants scheme.

On consideration of an application from Wiltshire Search and Rescue it was established the funding for drones would benefit the whole of Wiltshire since the drones could be used county-wide. Members thought the use of drones was a benefit for the community, however encouraged that applications be made to the other 17 Area Boards to part fund the project in equal amounts since it would be to the benefit of their community areas, if this was refused the Devizes Area Board would top it up to the full amount. Since there were 18 Area Boards, Devizes would contribute 1/18^th of the costs initially, however would top up to the full amount if required following consideration by the other Area Boards. 

The Area Board also considered an application from Wiltshire Police for car security reminder signs, it was understood that this application met the grant criteria since it was beyond the statutory requirement of the Police; applications had also been made to neighbouring Area Boards. The Board agreed to fund the signs on the condition that the Area Board’s funding was acknowledged on the signs by way of the Council’s branding.

Members discussed it could be useful to have a mechanism whereby grant applicants could apply for funding from numerous community areas in one application, Cllr Phillip Whitehead agreed this should be raised at the Area Board Chair’s meeting in the new council year.

Resolved:

To grant Wiltshire Search and Rescue up to £698.32 for drones to assist in search and rescue, on the condition that only £38.80 is released initially and further amounts of the allocation are only released in the event that the applicant has not been successful in achieving equal funding from the other 17 community areas within the cycle of two meetings.

To grant Wiltshire Police £82 for car security reminder signs on the condition that Area Board funding is acknowledged by way of a Wiltshire Council logo on the signs.

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

Cllr Richard Gamble raised an urgent query on behalf of the Lion’s Club who had recently cancelled their May Fair. Queries had been raised as to whether the event had been cancelled due to health and safety requirements, however members were not aware these obligations were different to previous years and would seek confirmation of this from officers.

Cllr Philip Whitehead raised an issue of parking by Coral Cove, an issue which had been raised with the Community Area Transport Group on numerous occasions. Members discussed the matter and concluded it was not necessary to change the parking arrangements in the vicinity since the road in question was a dead-end with slow traffic, visibility was considered sufficient and there was significantly less parking around the site at weekends since the neighbouring Wiltshire Council office building was infrequently used during this time. 

Resolved:

To seek confirmation from officers in respect of the May Fair event.

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on 5 June, 6:30pm at Devizes Sports Club.

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board was to be held on 5June 2017.