Agenda and minutes

The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone to Devizes Area Board. Each member of the board was asked to provide a brief introduction of themselves.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Jeff Ody (Devizes Town).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2013.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 September 2013 were approved and signed as a correct record.

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

Following questions received the Chairman confirmed that he did not have a conflict of interest as an estate agent.  Confirmation was also provided that he did not sit on planning committees or discuss planning matters.  

a)    Pest Control service

b)    What matters to you Survey

c)    Carers Grant

d)    Skatepark update

e)    Recognising local volunteering

f)     State of the Environment Report

g)    Wiltshire Heritage Museum – Prehistoric Wiltshire Galleries

h)   Drainage Byelaws

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

These included:

a)    Pest Control Service

The Chairman thanked Claire Francis from Environmental Services for the pest control display stand. Leaflets regarding the pest control service were circulated.

b)    What matters to you survey

The Chairman invited attendees to complete the survey, which wasavailable until December at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/whatmatterstoyou.htm.

c)    Carers grant

The deadline for the next round of applications for the Carers’ small grants scheme was 30 November 2013. Grants of up to £5,000 were available to groups and organisations for projects and activities which made a difference to the lives of unpaid carers in Wiltshire.

d)    Skate Park

The contract to build the Skate Park had been awarded to the company ‘Wheel Skate’.  All were encouraged to contribute to the consultation by contacting the Community Area Manager, Richard Rodgers. A planning application was expected to be produced in January and it was hoped that the park would open in the spring.

In the questions that followed, the Community Area Manager confirmed that the road adjacent to the skate park would not necessarily be re-laid as part of this project.

e)    Recognising Local Volunteering

The Board were keen to recognise and celebrate the work and achievements of volunteers in the Devizes community area, noting how incredibly hard they worked for the benefit of local people, the town and surrounding villages. To ensure they were recognised and commended for their efforts nominations were being sought in the following 3 categories:

• Individual
• Youth (under 18)
• Team or Group

All were encouraged to make nominations, noting that the closing date was 16 December 2013.

f)     State of the Environment Report

Attention was drawn to the State of the Environment report which was published in September 2013. Hard copies were also available at the sign in desk.

g)    Wiltshire Heritage Museum

The official opening of the Prehistoric Wiltshire Galleries was also taking place on 25 November 2013, with a special tour organised for 17:15.

Devizes Area Board were among the organisations who helped to fund it. The Chairman encouraged attendees to visit the exhibition which was described by the Times as a ‘dazzling display’.

h)   Drainage Byelaws

The consultation was open until 10 December 2013.

i)     Coate Road Development

Cllr Laura Mayes gave an update on the proposed development of Coate Road which included that the developers had appealed against the decision made by the Strategic Planning Committee.

Members of the public were able to make submissions on this appeal and could do so via the Wiltshire Council website.

To receive updates from the following partners:

a.    Wiltshire Police

b.    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.    Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

d.    Campus Team

e.    Devizes Community Area Partnership

f.     Town and Parish Councils

g.    Health

a)    Wiltshire Police

Inspector Matthew Armstrong presented the update which included:

A replacement officer for Devizes South Rural Area had been recruited.  Thanks were given to Inspector Guy Sanders for all his hard work.

There had been media and public interest on the purse theft that occurred in Morrisons Supermarket. The Police were working with retail outlets to reduce offending in the town, which included placing plain clothed officers in shopping areas.

There had been no significant changes to crime figures.  However, the increase in violent crime had primarily been in relation to domestic violence.

All were reminded of Claire’s Law which allowed women to find out if their partners had any previous convictions for domestic violence.  This was being rolled out across the country, noting that Devizes was one of the areas to pilot the scheme.

Following questions received, the Sergeant confirmed that future updates would include details on rural areas of Devizes where possible.

b)    Wiltshire fire and rescue

Mike Franklin presented the update which included:

In October one accidental fire had been reported which was a 17 month low. The service continued with its fire prevention work.

An update was given regarding the recent changes at Devizes fire station. Community hub fire stations had been created and were crewed by the station manager, supported by a watch manager and three other members of staff. The staff also patrolled the local area and engaged in community safety work.

The three year public safety plan was also now available to view online at www.wiltsfire.gov.uk with hardcopies available on request.

c)    Devizes Community Area YAG

Sarah Howes, Locality Team Leader, gave an update.

The group were seeking to bridge the gap between the young and older members of the Devizes community.

Young people were urged to attend the next meeting which would occur on 6 December 2013 at 18:00 at the Devizes Present Rooms.

d)    Campus Team

Cllr Peter Evans drew attention to the campus consultation sheets circulated at the meeting and encouraged all to complete and return before leaving the meeting.

e)    Devizes Community Area Partnership

Tony Sedgewick from DCAP gave an update which included:

A rural conference had been held at Market Lavington in October to discuss rural issues, including rural broadband. DCAP were disappointed with the attendance at this meeting and encouraged more support from rural communities in the future.

DCAP highlighted the importance of communicating with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and making local views known to them. 

This would be Tony’s last update as he was retiring at the end of the year. He gave thanks to the Area Board for their support. 

The Chairman thanked Tony for his hard work and effort. 

f)     Town and parish councils

No updates were received.

g)    Health

Judy Rose from Devizes Health Matters, confirmed a meeting had taken place with Deborah Fielding and Steve Rowlands from the CCG on 5 November 2013 where the role of the group was explained, including their campaign to improve health services. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cllr Jonathon Seed, Cabinet member with responsibility for Communities, Campuses, Area Boards, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding, will give an overview of his area of responsibility.

Cllr Jonathan Seed, Cabinet Member for Community, Campuses, Area Boards, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding gave a presentation to the Area Board on his area of responsibility.  This included the following information.

A key focus for Wiltshire Council was to deliver more resilient communities. This approach included a need to use volunteers to help deliver a number of key services.

The Council had recently given approval for each area to build a campus within this council’s life-time to deliver a programme unique in the country and valued in the region of £120m.  The purposes of the campus were to provide a central hub providing key services to the local community. Cllr Seed confirmed that there were no plans to close the 23 leisure centres and 31 libraries in Wiltshire.

A county-wide review was taking place on Thursday 28 November 2013 to reflect back on how the Boards have worked to date and to ensure the Boards fully reflected the needs of the community areas in the future.

A key objective for Wiltshire Council was to ensure that communities were resilient allowing them to help themselves with less intervention from the local authority.

Central government had cut funding to local government by 18% and therefore there was less funding available for local communities. As a result of cuts there would be fewer staff with expertise and there would be a need to utilise volunteers to plug this gap.  Greater interaction between community groups and Wiltshire Council Officers would therefore be required.

The Chairman highlighted the relationship between the Area Board and DCAP as an example of the kind of collaborative relationship that would be required.

Upon receiving questions in relation to whether fracking was planned in the local area, confirmation was given that no applications had been received in Wiltshire.

Cllr Jonathan Seed explained that whether Wiltshire would become a potential fracking site would depend on whether it was a suitable area for such activity, but that all energy sources would be considered.

Alan Bosley will lead a discussion on the work of the Campus Boards and what it might look like in Devizes.

The Board will also be asked to appoint representatives to the Devizes Shadow Community Operations Board, noting that there are currently vacant positions.

Wiltshire Council officer – Rhys Schell

Area board representative – Cllr Peter Evans

Town/parish council representative – Nigel Carter

Education and young people representative – (vacant)

Wider community representative - (vacant)

User and community group representatives – Mike Weston and Jasper Selwyn (2 vacant)

Alan Bosley, Chairman of the Shadow Communities Operation Board for Corsham gave a presentation on campus development.

The Corsham campus has developed as a result of many hours of hard work from the voluntary group (approx 3500 hours). The achievements made were as a result of the trust between the local community and Wiltshire Council..

The campus in Corsham would incorporate a library to replace the out-dated building currently used. The campus development team had worked closely with the community, allowing them to create a building to suit the community’s unique needs of which the library had been identified as one.

The development began with extensive consultation with over 700 responses received from school children. These responses highlighted the desire for the campus to incorporate a climbing wall and an all weather pitch and these had therefore been incorporated within the plans.

In the second phase of development, the campus team collaborated closely with architects, engineers and construction companies with the campus plans considered by the Strategic Planning Committee and subsequently approved.

A key issue for the campus was cost and the campus team were tasked with trying to ensure that the cost of running the campus was managable in the long term.

A key focus was to ensure facilities were accessible for everyone, allowing many different groups to use the building.

Deborah Fielding, Chief Officer and Dr Helen Osborn, CCG and were in attendance and were asked whether they would be happy to answer questions relating to the campus project and specifically the CCG’s potential involvement within the Devizes campus.

The CCG were keen to adopt a local approach to delivering healthcare and had. 57 member practices which fed into the decision making process.

The delivery of health services would need to change to meet demand and to work within the resources available.

The CCG were keen to work with local communities to ensure that each community received the services it needed and the Devizes campus would therefore be a key part of this new way of working. The CCG therefore looked forward to future partnership working.

Cllr Peter Evans addressed the Board to request that the Board approve the appointment of 4 new representatives to the Devizes campus team. Confirmation was provided that public opinion about a Devizes campus was also being sought and to this note a mobile van would be in situ within the market place in Devizes on 7 December between 9:00 and 13:30.  All within the community area were encouraged to attend and contribute.

Decision:

That the following representatives are appointed to the Devizes Campus Team

• Educational and young people representative – Reverend Jonathan Triffit

• Wider community representative – Liam Tatton-Bennett

• User and community group representatives – Zoe Millington and David Dawson

The following to be appointed as a substitute where required as a User and Community Group representative – Lorraine Reeves

To consider a proposal from Cllr Simon Jacobs and Malcolm Irons (Headteacher of Devizes School) for developing the mentoring scheme to include careers advice.

A Councillor Initiative application is attached for consideration.

As Malcolm Irons, Headteacher of Devizes School, was absent the Chairman explained that a pilot mentoring scheme had taken place at the school a few years ago. Students were mentored by businesses and organisations in the community and over 20 year 12 students took part in the scheme. Devizes School did not currently provide careers advice to year 12 and 13 students and there was therefore a desire to extend the scheme accordingly.

The scheme has struggled to maintain student and mentor participation. Margaret Bryant was appointed as the leader of this scheme and would contribute approximately 200 hours of work for the £5,000 funding with the Area Board contributing 50% (£2,500) and the school contributing the remaining 50% (£2,500).

In the questions that followed, it was confirmed that it would be difficult to extend the scheme to other schools at present as many did not currently have sixth form provision..

Decision:

To provide 50% of the proposed funding (£2,500) to extend the mentoring programme at Devizes school through the use of a consultant to improve the provision for careers advice.  

To receive a presentation from the Weather Emergency Officer, Simon Rowe, on preparing for winter and consider a proposal from Cllr Philip Whitehead to part fund salt trailers for Parishes.

A Councillor Initiative application is attached for consideration.

Simon Rowe, Weather Emergency Officer, gave a presentation on Wiltshire’s winter weather plan.

Wiltshire Council had a legal obligation under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, to keep roads clear of snow and ice.

The Weather and Emergency Team, which consisted of 4 members of staff and 24 drivers, collected weather information from points across the county. This information was given to the MET office who provided a 2 to 5 day rolling forecast. This included a road surface forecast which helped the team to decide whether to apply salt to the roads.

Wiltshire had 8 strategic road routes, which made up the minimum network that the team needed to clear. The remainder of the road network consisted of 24 primary routes, 24 secondary routes and 40 all routes. In the last 10 years the Council had been able to keep the primary network open and as per previous years the local authority had sufficient salt to last through the winter period.

The team worked closely with Parish Councils to develop community routes and footway routes to ensure that more roads were clear and usable in bad weather conditions. They were offering a new scheme to manage the salt bins in villages and towns to encourage better use of salt. Under this scheme, Parish Councils would be given a one tonne bag of salt.

Parish Councils could also implement a snow warden scheme to clear pavements and paths and use portable spreaders on 4 x 4 vehicles. These schemes would be activate by the central team.

The work of the team could be followed via its twitter page @wiltshirewinter.

Cllr Philip Whitehead introduced the Councillor Initiative regarding the purchase of salt spreaders for Parish Councils and requested the support of the Board

Decision:

To ring fence £5,000 from the Area Board budget to match fund any requests received from Parish Councils for salt spreaders. This was sufficient to purchase 6 spreaders.  

Mark Bouch from the Devizes Canoe Club will introduce plans for the Canoe Club and a request for the community asset transfer of the land at Lower Wharf, Couch Lane.

A report is attached for consideration.

The Chairman introduced the application received by Devizes Canoe Club for the transfer of the former depot at Lower Wharf, Devizes to the Devizes Canoe Club in accordance with Wiltshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Policy..

James Mahoney, member of Devizes Canoe Club, in attendance to present the application, confirmed the need for the asset transfer. The club, which had Club Mark status, had over 100 members ranging from 9 to 80 years old and participated in many events such as the Devizes to Westminster marathon. The club were hoping to engage local schools and introduce students to paddle sports.

He explained that without the asset transfer the club would struggle to survive. They relied on the goodwill of local neighbours. Only one third of the club’s equipment was securely stored and there was no indoor training space or changing facilities at present.

Cllr Sue Evans spoke in support of the transfer due to the opportunities it offered the local community.

Decision:

To agree to the Asset Transfer request to transfer the former depot at Lower Wharf, Devizes to the Devizes Canoe Club.

To consider the report from CATG following its meeting on 11 November and any recommendations within.

Cllr Philip Whitehead gave an update on the last meeting of CATG held on Monday 11 November 2013, highlighting the information contained within the report.  This included the recommendations within which the Board were requested to approve.

In the questions that followed it was confirmed that the Whistley village road gates had not been approved.

Concern was also expressed by the recent voluntary redundancy of Paul Snook, Community Coordinator at Wiltshire Council. Cllr Philip Whitehead assured the Area Board that the Council hoped to maintain this type of link with the community.

Decision:

To approve the recommendations within the report as follows:

1)    The proposal by Worton Parish Council to be delivered when resources allow and the additional cost of the pedestrian count to be covered by the CATG budget ( at £500)

2)    A contribution of £5,000 to be made to pay for the zebra crossing at Dauntsey’s school

The proposal for 3 crossings in West Lavington including funding required as outlined in the report

To consider the funding applications as detailed below:

Wiltshire Farmers Market Association - £1,000

Potterne Cricket Club - £5,000

Trinity CofE Primary School - £5,000

Urchfont Cricket Club - £5,000

Urchfont Village Hall - £1,430

Bishops Cannings Cricket Club - £5,000

The Area Board considered applications for community area grant funding.

Decision:

To award £1,000 to Wiltshire Farmers Market to expand within Devizes

Reason for Decision: The application meets grant criteria 2013/14.

Decision:

To award £5,000 to Potterne Cricket Club to improve their facilities.

Reason for Decision: The application meets grant criteria 2013/14

Decision:

To award £5,000 to Trinity School towards a trim trail.

Reason for Decision: The application meets grant criteria 2013/14

Decision:

To award £5,000 to Urchfont Cricket club to refurbish their pavilion.

Reason for decision: The application meets grant criteria 2013/14

Decision:

To award £1,430 to Urchfront Village Gall towards IT facilities within the village hall. 

Reason for decision: The application meets grant criteria 2013/14

Decision:

To award £5,000 to Bishops Cannings Cricket Club to improve their coaching facilities. 

Reason for decision: The application meets grant criteria 2013/14

The next meeting will take place on 27 January 2014.