Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome Councillor Toby Sturgis, Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services. Information will be provided about:

a)    Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge

b)    Help to Live at Home

c)    Consultations regarding Wiltshire Core Strategy (to end Monday 8 August 2011), Waste Sites (to end Friday 5 August 2011) and The Wharf (to end Monday 8 August).

The Chairman provided information about the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, Help to Live at Home and consultations regarding the Wiltshire Core Strategy, Waste Sites and The Wharf, as included in the agenda pack.

Councillor Mayes underlined that one of the sites included in the draft Waste Site Allocations Development Plan Document, Nursteed Road, had been withdrawn from the consultation, as the land owner wanted the land to be used for employment purposes.

Councillor Mayes welcomed Councillor Toby Sturgis, Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2011 were approved, subject to the amendment of item 10, to read ‘The issue would be considered at a Cabinet meeting to be held on 26 July and there would be the opportunity for members of the public to comment on the proposal.’, with the removal of ‘A second letter had explained that ...’.

Councillor Burton declared an interest in agenda item 11a, the Community Area Grant application from Devizes Carnival, as her son’s partner was Devizes Carnival Queen. She did not vote on the application.

a.    The written update from Wiltshire Police was noted. Sector Deputy Head Mark Gale added that Devizes was one of the highest performing sectors in the county. The sector had achieved a number of recent successes, including the arrest of two of the most prolific dwelling burglars.

b.    The written update from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was noted.

c.    The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted.

d.    The Chairman thanked Councillor Ody for all his hard work with the Traffic Working Group. Councillor Ody had now stepped down from this position and Councillor Mayes would take his place. An important meeting had been held on 4 July, when it was agreed that no issues would be put to the Traffic Working Group unless they were approved by the Parish Council. The main body of the meeting was agreement to take forward the following improvements in the London Road area, with the approximate available budget of £100,000.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to support the following proposal of the Traffic Working Group.

·         Toucan crossing for pedestrians and cyclists close to where Windsor Drive meets London Road.

·         Shared use of the footway/cycle track from the new crossing to the canal towpath.

·         Provision of marked parking spaces and new road markings on London Road.

·         Relocate existing bus stops from West of Morrisons to the surgery.

·         Provision of secure cycle parking area in town centre.

A question was raised about when a recommendation from the speed limit review for an extension of a 40 mph zone would be implemented. Councillor Gamble confirmed this was not on the work plan for the current financial year, however he would look into when the work might be likely to happen.

e.    The written update from Devizes Community Area Partnership was noted. The Chairman gave thanks to Tony Sedgwick and his transport team for their work on the cycle strategy.  

f.     The Chairman provided information about the Parish Council visit. Early in 2011, Councillor Mayes had written to all the Parish Councils in the Community Area, offering to meet with them. 10 of the 18 Parish Councils accepted the offer and in general all who attended found it to be a very useful time. The following key improvements to Parish Council/Area Board working were agreed:

·         A table would be reserved for Parish Council representatives.

·         The Area Board would be conscious of differences between the Parish Councils. There would be a future Area Board meeting specifically aimed at rural Parish Councils.

·         The Area Board would actively encourage joint parish working and promote the role of the Parish Forum as a way for Parish Councils to share common concerns, best practice and work together.

·         Communication would be improved with Parish Councils contacted directly and frequently. Clerks and members of the Parish Council were encouraged to sign up to the Community Area Network with Richard Rogers in order to be kept informed.

·         Communication produced regarding consultations would be kept as easy to understand as possible and local short summaries  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Area Board set out its priorities for the coming year. Devizes Area Board were already committed to the following five priorities:

1.    Support the creation of neighbourhood plans to complement and strengthen the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

2.    Provision of skate board park and BMX site.

3.    To focus on those local health related issues that need improving in the area.

4.    Continue the work of the Traffic Working Group, with an emphasis on tackling air pollution and congestion.

5.    Develop the Council owned land along the Bath Road as a possible community farm, subject to confirmation.

Six further possible priorities had been identified at the Area Board meeting in May. The Area Board had agreed to work on two additional priorities and an electronic vote was undertaken to establish which issues from the list below those attending wanted to see the Board focus on:

·         Anti-social behaviour

·         Allotments

·         Economy and employment

·         Health provision

·         Increasing volunteering

·         Low cost housing for local people.

Decision:

The result of the vote was:

Health provision (32% of the vote)

Low cost housing for local people (23% of the vote).

Tracey Carter, Service Director for Waste Management Services, provided information on the changes to waste and recycling collections.

All residents who already had a bin collection would receive a new blue lidded wheeled bin in Autumn 2011. Those residents who had a bag collection at the moment would receive two new reusable bags for this service.

The new blue lidded bin would be for plastic bottles and cardboard. The bin would be collected once a fortnight. All plastic bottles and cardboard could be recycled, including drinks bottles, cleaning bottles, shampoo bottles, cardboard egg boxes, cereal boxes and corrugated cardboard.

The bin or bags would be delivered to your house before your collection would start. You do not have to be in to receive your bin or bags. You would be given a collection calendar to tell you when your bin would be collected and you could go online to confirm collection dates.

Councillor Sturgis then gave a short overview of his role as Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services.

The consultation on waste management services had been straightforward and received an excellent response. Councillor Sturgis underlined that landfill tax would continue to rise and the more material we could recycle the better.  An assessment of Wiltshire Council property from the former district councils was coming to an end. Wiltshire Council was committed to making energy savings and had adopted a Carbon Management Plan for this purpose. Energy monitors were available to hire from libraries across the county for use in the home. Councillor Sturgis had inherited responsibility for Development Control Services in the last meeting of the Annual Council. The service was awaiting improvement in the form of a new IT system which would help with the planning process.

Councillor Sturgis was also involved in what would happen at Lyneham and an announcement had been made on the day of the meeting that the military base would be closed as an RAF centre and retained and replaced by a defence training facility.

This was followed by a short question and answer session, which included the main points below:

·         Household recycling centres would still collect plastic types 1, 2 and 3. It was difficult to find a market for certain types of plastic. 

·         The amount of material delivered to household recycling centres would be monitored with the introduction of the new service.

·         An application had been submitted for the collected plastic and cardboard to be delivered to a temporary facility at Porte Marsh Industrial Estate in Calne. A longer term facility was planned for at the existing Lower Compton waste site.

·         Wiltshire Council did not have a policy on bonfires as this would be very difficult to police in rural areas.

Decision

The Area Board would investigate whether a bonfire policy would be appropriate as a special measure to help improve the air quality at Shanes Castle.                   

Damian Haasjes, Voluntary Sector Youth Development Co-Ordinator, provided a presentation to inform the meeting of a new strategy that would affect youth services in the area.

Wiltshire Children’s Trust draft commissioning strategy for services for young people aged 13 to 19 had been issued for consultation. This was an important strategy which outlined plans for improving services for the 13 to 19 age range. The draft had sections on:

•           Purpose and scope of the strategy.

•           The national and local context for work with 13 to 19 year olds.

•           Local needs and services.

•           Analysis of the current position from the points of view of young people and staff and managers who work with the 13 to 19 age range.

•           Commissioning priorities including suggestions for the future delivery of youth work services in Wiltshire.

If you would like a copy of the draft please email Pathways@wiltshire.gov.uk. The draft strategy is also available at www.wiltshirepathways.org.

Young people and representatives from a range of agencies working with 13 to 19 year olds have been involved from the start with developing the strategy and their views have informed the draft including the commissioning priorities and youth work suggestions.

Consultation was taking place for 12 weeks from 13 May to 5 August 2011. The final strategy would be presented to Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet in September 2011 along with a report making specific proposals on future plans for youth work. Written responses to the consultation should be sent to Pathways@wiltshire.gov.uk.

The presentation was followed by a short question and answer session. This covered the main points below:

·         Lavington had received Youth Opportunity Funding for a facility in the past. Unfortunately this source of funding from the Government would no longer be available.

·         There might be the opportunity for Parish Councils to help with provision of youth services, for instance through taxi services for rural parishes.

·         Devizes Community Area Partnership had valuable information about youth provision.

·         Young people living in the villages should be considered as well as those with easy access to the town.

·         Cycling facilities were important for access into the town.

·         A challenge in Devizes was that all young people did not attend the same school, unlike, for example, a large proportion of the young people in Malmesbury.    

Noel Woolrych provided an excellent summary of some of the results of the recent Devizes Community Area Partnership consultation and the updated community plan.

The summary included information about the following aspects of the Community Area:

·         Demographics

·         Transport

·         Health provision

·         Housing

·         The environment

·         The economy

Work was ongoing and once all data had been collated a written publication and an electronic version of this would be made available. The Chairman thanked all those who had completed the survey and Noel Woolrych, Beth Hutton and the Devizes Community Area Partnership team for all their hard work. Noel Woolrych added that Andrew Jack, Community Partnership Development Officer, had been very helpful.      

The Area Board were asked to consider a funding request from Devizes Community Area Partnership with an agreed work plan for 2011/12.

Decision

The Area Board would approve the whole year’s core funding of £11,638 with an agreement to release the 1^st tranche of £5,819 immediately and the agreement to release the 2^nd tranche in November 2011, as long as the conditions set by the Partnership Development Officer and agreed by the Area Board (as set out in the DCAP Claim for Core Funding Report included in the agenda pack) had been met.

Councillors were asked to consider the Community Area Grants Report and make recommendations on the applications received.

Decision

Devizes Carnical were awarded £2,200 to expand an outreach involvement project to bring new people into the carnival.

Reason

The application meets the 2011/12 grant criteria and it would allow for greater opportunity for communities and schools to benefit from events such as workshops led by professional artists.

Decision

White Horse Opera were awarded £999 towards mobile stage lighting.

Reason

The application meets the 2011/12 grant criteria and demonstrates a link to the community plan (improving quality of life and cultural enrichment).

Decision

Market Lavington Parish Council were awarded £1,275 towards providing activities and a meeting place for young people aged between 11 and 14, on condition that if the pilot project ceased after the 6 month trial, Market Lavington Parish Council and the Area Board would need to agree what was best to do with the equipment.

Reason

The application meets the 2011/12 grant criteria and demonstrates a link to the community plan (as it is to work with young people).

The Chairman thanked those at the meeting. The next meeting would take place on Monday 3 October 2011 at 7.00 pm at Devizes Bowls Club.