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Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Corn Exchange, Devizes

Contact: Libby Beale (Democratic Services Officer) 

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome

To welcome those present to the Area Board.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting.

2.

Better Care Plan

To receive a short introduction and 10 minutes video on the Better Care Plan, followed by a Question and Answer Session.

Minutes:

The Corporate Director, Maggie Rae, introduced the Better Care Plan which would centre on providing health and social care for the elderly and was considered increasingly necessary since Wiltshire residents were living longer.

 

A video explaining the Better Care Plan was played followed by a Question and Answer session. During the session Dr Sanfordhill explained that the new Plan was already triggering change in Devizes as a paramedic was now on call in area to attend to patients earlier in the day, therefore reducing hospital stays. It was confirmed that there would be no new funding for the change in service but that money would be better spent and the effectiveness of having a paramedic on call would be monitored and reviewed. Under the new Plan elderly patients would be guaranteed a prompt ‘Access to Care Assessment’ if they were not receiving care in hospital.

 

Thanks were given to Maggie Rae and Dr Sandfordhill for attending.

 

3.

'Our Place'- Loneliness and Isolation Project

To receive a presentation from the Chief Executive of Community First, on ‘Our Place’ project.

Minutes:

The Chief Executive of Community First gave a presentation on the ‘Our Place’ project which she described as the voluntary sector response to issues raised by the Better Care Plan.

 

The project would help to reduce levels of loneliness and isolation amongst the elderly as that was proven to be a cause of depression, increased smoking, drinking and early death. The aim of the project was to keep people fitter and in their own homes for longer by using a community-led approach to support elderly people to live healthy, fulfilled lives.

 

The project would be funded locally and at least 45 people were expected to be helped each year. The project would be cost effective as only a small amount of funding would be needed, for example to pay for transporting isolated people to meet others. The project was in its planning phase which was expected to be finished by March 2015 when the group would bid for funding to get it started.

 

4.

Health and Social Care Forum

To discuss the benefits a local Health and Social Care forum could bring to the Devizes Area.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Judy Rose who was unable to attend.

5.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive the following Chairman’s Announcements:

 

·         Car parking consultation

·         Wiltshire countryside survey

·         Improvements to the canal towpath

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman explained Wiltshire Council was reviewing its car parking service and had produced consultation documents which were available online, full details were available in the agenda pack.

 

Cranfield University was undertaking research into outdoor space in Wiltshire, details of its survey were available in the agenda pack.

 

The Chairman encouraged those present to attend a concert on Saturday 29 November in Devizes with excellent performances from young people.

 

Cllr Philip Whitehead updated the Area Board on improvements to the canal towpath. The improvements were supported by the Town Council and were expected to be finished by April 2015.

6.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

7.

Control of Gulls

To hear from Cllr Laura Mayes on Devizes’ gull problem and a petition to tackle it.

Minutes:

Cllr Laura Mayes highlighted the extent of the gull problem in Devizes which had begun in 2010 but was getting increasingly worse. 324 residents had signed a petition which urged the Council to respond to the problem. The Councillor suggested creating a project group to examine ways to tackle the problem; the group would come back to a future meeting with recommendations.

 

The petition could be signed online through the following website: http://lauramayes.org/

 

Resolved:

 

To form a project group to consider solutions to the gull problem in Devizes and bring back recommendations to a future meeting.

 

 

8.

Joint Strategic Assessment

To receive an update following the Joint Strategic Assessment event in March 2014.

Minutes:

Richard Rogers, Community Area Manager, gave an update following the Joint Strategic Assessment event held in March 2014 which identified community priorities. 30-40 actions and projects had already been undertaken in partnership with Devizes Community Area Partnership (DCAP). New projects, championed by Area Board members, were also being established for instance the creation of a film for children with Special Educational Needs and the introduction of ‘Spice credits’ to incentivize volunteering.

 

Those attending were encouraged to let the Area Board know of any projects they were running in the area which it could then publicize. 

 

9.

Partner Updates

To receive any updates from the following partners:

 

a. Wiltshire Police

b. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c. Health Services

d. Devizes Community Area Partnership

e. Community Operations Board

f. Community Youth Officer

g. Schools updates

h. Town and Parish Councils

i. Devizes Extra Care Scheme

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Written updates from Wiltshire Police, the Community Youth Officer, and Easterton Parish Council were included in the agenda pack.

 

Matt Armstrong, Wiltshire Police, updated that the service was recruiting in Devizes in order to run more street patrols. The Police was also working with the local housing association to focus on antisocial behaviour. The officer promoted ‘Community Messaging’ to help residents keep up-to-date on policing matters. Since shed burglaries in the area the service had altered its patrol strategy and Neighbourhood Watch was encouraged to work with the Police in Devizes. It was confirmed that the Christmas campaign against drink-driving would run again that year.

 

Mike Franklin, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, advised the service would merge with Dorset Fire and Rescue on 1 April 2016. Recent events to be reported included a large fire in Rowde in October, and the officer encouraged residents to sweep open fires to help prevent chimney fires. The fire crew had received refresher training on how to manage fires on house boats and a ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ event had been held at Devizes School.

 

 

Philip Mackey, DCAP Partnership Manager, described how the group was continuing work with ‘Devizes Means Business’ and would attend a neighbourhood planning day for the parishes in February 2015. Voluntary organisations in Devizes were asked to check their contact information online was up-to-date.

 

Cllr Nigel Carter, Campus Operations Board, explained that Wiltshire Council had 7 planned campus projects and 3 active projects however unfortunately Devizes was not included. The campus development team had undertaken thorough consultation and campus priorities had been identified. A potential site for Devizes Campus had also been identified and this information had been provided to the Council for consideration.

 

Sally Willox, Community Youth Officer, updated that she was identifying priorities for young people in the area. The Local Youth Network (LYN) was being promoted in Devizes and sparksite.co.uk was used to promote activities in the area. A youth event was planned for January 2015 and the officer was also working on establishing a Facebook page as a forum for the LYN.

 

A mentoring scheme was run in 2013 with Devizes School and the school would match fund for 2015 to start up the scheme again.

 

Easterton Parish Council requested a 30mph speed limit for Kings Road, Cllr Whitehead confirmed that a metro count would need to be undertaken before this could be considered by CATG.

 

Russell Batten, from the New Housing team at Wiltshire Council, provided an update on the Devizes Extra Care scheme which would help older people to live independently. A planning application was submitted on 6 November for developing the site of Southfield housing and consultation would run until 11 December. The development, if approved, was expected to be completed by September 2015 and would include 47 units of affordable housing for older people.

 

10.

Bus services between Devizes and Pewsey

To receive an update on the consultation being undertaken on the bus services between Devizes and Pewsey.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Kate Freeman explained the consultation running on bus services between Devizes and Pewsey and detailed the alternatives for the bus services between the two towns. It was explained that under the proposals ‘Ring and Ride’ would no longer be necessary, and would therefore save money. No funding had yet been found for evening services and there was concern the new proposals may be put at risk by future budget cuts.

11.

Community Area Transport Group (CATG)

To consider an update and any recommendations arising from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG).

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Area Board heard a CATG update from Cllr Whitehead and considered its recommendations.

 

The building of the Caen Hill crossing point was delayed as resurfacing works were. The proposed crossing on Bath Road had been rejected by Devizes Town Council. It was noted that the town bus review plan was in its draft form.

 

Resolved:

 

To support the New Street Coach Park becoming permanent.

 

To contribute £5,000 towards Urchfont bus stops and crossing.

 

To note that the parish council will pay full costs to install a hard standing at Wedhampton Hard Bus Stop and to give dispensation to carry out the work as long as an approved contractor is used.

12.

Area Board Funding

To consider a motion that:

 

The Community Youth Officer, in agreement with the members of Devizes Area Board and the Community Area Manager, may authorise expenditure from the youth budget in support of positive activities for young people of up to £1,000 in total between Area Board meetings. This will be recorded at the next available Area Board meeting, and this approval will be reviewed annually.

 

Minutes:

In order to avoid delay in supporting positive activities for young people the Area Board considered a resolution to agree funding for these activities between meetings.

 

Resolved:

 

The Community Youth Officer, in agreement with the members of Devizes Area Board and the Community Area Manager, may authorise expenditure from the youth budget in support of positive activities for young people of up to £1,000 in total between Area Board meetings. This will be recorded at the next available Area Board meeting, and this approval will be reviewed annually.

 

 

13.

Minutes

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2014 were presented.

 

Resolved:

 

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2014.

14.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

15.

Evaluation and Close

Minutes:

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board would be on 26 January at 6:30pm. An additional special meeting of the Area Board would be held 1 December 2014 at 5pm to consider one funding item.