Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will provide information about:

a.     Special housing event (verbal)

b.     ‘Bike It’ event (verbal)

c.     ‘From Drought to Flood’ event (attached)

d.     Street lighting savings (attached)

e.     State of the environment report (attached)

f.      Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Partnership (attached)

g.     Barrier busting proposals (attached)

h.     Minerals sites in Wiltshire and Swindon (attached)

i.       Victim support (attached)

j.       Police and crime commissioner (attached)

k.     Informal adult education (attached).

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. Councillor Mayes highlighted a special housing event and a ‘Bike It’ event coming up. The housing event would be held on 15 October 2012 at the Devizes Sports Club to inform and consult regarding the review of housing need and Wiltshire’s housing allocations system. The ‘Bike It’ event would be run by Devizes Community Area Partnership and held on 6 October 2012. It would be a cycling event for all ages to promote cycling in and around Devizes.    

Councillor Mayes explained that information was also available in the agenda pack about a ‘From Drought to Flood’ event being held on 17 October 2012 from 10.00 am – 3.00 pm at Warminster Civic Hall, street lighting savings, the state of the environment report, Wiltshire and Swindon Local Nature Partnership, barrier busting proposals, minerals sites in Wiltshire and Swindon, Victim Support, Police and Crime Commissioners and informal adult education. 

Apologies had been received from Councillor Carter, Ted East (Devizes Town Council), Councillor Ody, Douglas Roseaman (Devizes Community Area Partnership) and Councillor Winchcombe (Devizes Town Council and Chair of Parish Council Forum).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 July 2012.  

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 July 2012 were approved and signed as a correct record.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Councillor Burton declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 8a, a grant application for Devizes Community Area Partnership for a cycling event, because she had voted to give funding to the project before. She did not vote on the application.  

To receive updates from the following partners:

a.     Wiltshire Police (attached)

b.     Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (attached)

c.     NHS Wiltshire (attached)

d.     Devizes Community Area Partnership (attached)

e.     CATG

f.      Parish Forum

g.     Wiltshire Involvement Network Update Report (attached).

a.     The written update from Wiltshire Police was noted. Councillor Humphries provided information about the new Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). PCCs would be elected for every force area in England and Wales outside London. Elections would take place on 15 November, with PCCs taking office on 22 November. The new PCC would replace Wiltshire Police Authority (WPA). PCCs were being introduced by central Government to increase the accountability of the police.

The Chief Constable would remain responsible for operational matters. A Police and Crime Panel would be set up by local authorities to support the PCC. Please see the Wiltshire Police Authority PCC section of the website for further information: www.wiltshire-pa.gov.uk/pcc.

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

c.     The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted. Councillor Mayes explained that further information would be provided in agenda item 6.

d.     A verbal update was provided about Devizes Community Area Partnership. The ‘Bike It’ event would be part of a larger ‘Leave Your Car at Home’ campaign. On 29 September from 10.00 am - 2.00 pm there would be an event in the Corn Exchange to showcase the range of possibilities for reducing your use of fossil fuels and your carbon footprint. The Partnership was also about to launch a new children’s and young people thematic group. Please get in touch if you would be interested in becoming a lead member.      

e.     An update on the Community Area Transport Group would be included in agenda item 7, the Devizes Transport Strategy.

f.      The written update from the Parish Forum was noted.

g.     The written update from Wiltshire Involvement Network was noted. An event for carers and services that help people to live at home was being held on 19 October at 10.30 am - 2.30 pm in City Hall, Salisbury. 

Councillor Bryant added an update about the Marsh community farm and training centre. She was meeting to discuss options for short term tenancy, seeking Government funding and a community asset transfer in the longer term.        

Sarah MacLennan, Head of Communications, NHS Wiltshire, and Dr Steve Rowlands, Chairman, Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, will explain what reforms to NHS Wiltshire are taking place and the regional and local implications they will have.    

Simon Truelove, Director of Finance for Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Groups, explained the reforms taking place to NHS Wiltshire. This included the following main points:

·       Our vision – providing care closer to home, managing and improving health, community-based provision led by GPs and new ways of working and sharing best practice.

·       Six key priorities – planned care, unplanned (i.e. emergency) care, mental health, services for people with long term conditions, end of life care, community services and integrated care.  

·       A diagram to show how the patient would be put first, supported by primary care, community teams, expert providers and tertiary care for specialist services.

·       Challenges faced by NHS Wiltshire – an ageing population and disease associated with older people (for instance dementia), long stays in hospital, delayed transfers of care, use of community beds, mental health and limited resources.

·       Developing the plan for Devizes – information was gathered from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, Clinical Commissioning Groups, meetings with GPs, stakeholder events and more.

·       Finance – investment to bring services where appropriate from acute providers into the community.

This was followed by an extensive question and answer session, assisted by Maggie Rae, Corporate Director of Public Health and Public Protection, Sarah MacLennan, Head of Communications, NHS Wiltshire, Dr Dick Sandford Hill and Dr Helen Osborne.

Question: What would the drive to reduce hospital stays and the move from acute providers mean on a practical level?

Answer: Step up and step down beds would be used (these were a way of enabling people to leave hospital by moving to and being specially cared for in a residential care home bed). A move from acute providers into the community was best in terms of end of life care. This would involve working with social services and organisations such as Dorothy House to help people access services at the right time.

Question: How much money would it cost to set up the Clinical Commissioning Groups? How different were these in structure to the Primary Care Trusts?

Answer: In its primary year 2011/12, resource directed to GPs was just under £1 million and this was an ongoing commitment for 2012/13. For 2013/14 the funding envelope would be approximately £10 million. In terms of structure, Wiltshire’s Clinical Commissioning Group had established a Governing Board, which had 14 voting members. These were a Chairman, three GPs who would act as ‘locality representatives’, three additional GPs, a registered nurse and a secondary care doctor, one Chief Accountable Officer, one Chief Finance Officer, one practice manager and two lay members. The CCG was considering its staffing structure while developing those commissioning functions it intended to keep in house.            

Question: What were the plans for Devizes hospital?

Answer: The plans were to maintain and in some cases improve local services. The rebirth of the hospital was not a potential option. However there would be the provision of services in the community, with day care surgery, ultrasound and a pilot for x ray services.

Question: Devizes had been promised a Primary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Councillor Gamble will present the Devizes Transport Strategy and request that the area board members agree for it to be used to support the Wiltshire Core Strategy.   

Councillor Gamble presented the Devizes Transport Strategy to the room. During the presentation a demonstration of the Devizes Traffic Model was run to illustrate the congestion that would occur if the proposals were not adopted, and to illustrate the effect of the Strategy if adopted.

Councillor Gamble said the Transport Strategy had been prepared to provide evidence for the soundness of the Wiltshire Core Strategy at the forthcoming public examination by an Inspector.

The Wiltshire Core Strategy lays down the planning policy for the county for the period up to 2026, with sections on each community area, including Devizes. Proposals for Devizes include the provision of 9.9 hectares of employment land and at least 2,150 more houses than there were in 2006. In fact, most of those have already been built or have received planning permission.

Councillor Gamble said that, in preparing the Transport Strategy, the consultants had also looked at existing transport issues in the town including congestion, air pollution, public transport needs and other matters.

The Transport Strategy includes measures to improve:

·       Walking routes

·       Cycle routes and facilities (Councillor Gamble reported Councillor Carter’s concerns for Quakers Walk)

·       Public transport, including a feasibility study for a railway station at Lydeway

·       Travel planning for schools, employment and new developments

·       Road junctions where current configurations contribute to congestion

·       Routes to and from the central car park

·       Signage

·       On street parking.

Together, the measures described would have beneficial outcomes. Healthy lifestyles would be encouraged, air pollution would be reduced and congestion would be minimised. 

The proposals would need nearly £3 million capital, plus £280,000 revenue spending in the first year or so. Revenue costs would drop in later years. There is already about £1.35 million available from developments already completed.

Cllr Gamble reported that Councillor Ody had spoken of his wish for a bypass or relief road. This was not included in the Devizes Transport Strategy because most of the traffic causing congestion was not passing through. In addition, a relief road would cost more than £16 million. The area board confirmed that it would support the principle of safeguarding from development possible routes for a relief road in the forthcoming Neighbourhood Plan.

In summary, Councillor Gamble said the Devizes Transport Strategy was a statement of policies but much detailed design work remained to be done and would be continued through the Community Area Transport Group and other appropriate bodies.   

Resolution

The Devizes Area Board welcomed and approved adoption of the Devizes Transport Strategy as a supporting document to the Wiltshire Core Strategy and would work with all relevant parties to prepare detailed plans to implement its policies over the years ahead.    

Councillors will be asked to consider a member initiative to agree a process for ring fencing £5,000 per year to support Devizes outdoor celebratory arts.

Councillors will then be asked to consider two applications made to the Community Area Grants Scheme, as follows:

a.     Devizes Community Area Partnership – seeking £1,250 to hold a one day event on 6 October to promote cycling in Devizes.

b.     Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts – seeking £2,100 towards lantern making for the Christmas festival.

Decision

Councillors agreed as a member initiative brought forward by Councillor Mayes to ring fence £5,000 per year to support Devizes outdoor celebratory arts.

Councillors were then asked to consider two applications made to the Community Area Grants Scheme.

Decision

Devizes Community Area Partnership were awarded £1,250 to hold a one day event on 6 October to promote cycling in Devizes.

Reason

The application met the 2012/13 grant criteria and would improve leisure and recreational activities as well as helping with health and traffic issues.  

Decision

Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts were awarded £2,100 towards lantern making for the Christmas festival. 

Reason

The application met the 2012/13 grant criteria and would increase cultural activities.   

Councillor Mayes explained there were only two more meetings before May 2013, if you are a community group, please get in touch if you would like a grant. The new customer access point in Snuff Street, Devizes was now open for a full range of services and would be officially opened in a few weeks time. The next Devizes Area Board meeting would take place on Monday 26 November at 6.30 pm, with refreshments available from 6.00 pm, at Devizes Sports Club.