Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the seventh Devizes Area Board meeting and introduced the Councillors and Officers present, including Councillor Richard Beattie, the Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism.  

Apologies were received from Councillor Laura Mayes (Chairman), Acting Inspector Andy Peach (Wiltshire Police) and Paula Winchcombe (Devizes Community Area Partnership).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 24 May 2010.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 2010 would be approved and signed as a correct record, with the amendment that the decision for Item 11, CCTV in Devizes, reads ‘The Devizes Area Board notes with concern that the town CCTV system may be switched off. It urges Wiltshire Council to provide sufficient funds to maintain the current system, with both capital and revenue, in this financial year and until the council’s policy review of CCTV is completed.’

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

Councillor Gamble declared a prejudicial interest in Item 10d, as he was a member/director of Devizes Development Partnership and also Company Secretary. Councillor Carter declared a prejudicial interest in Item 10d, as he was a member/director of Devizes Development Partnership. Councillors Gamble and Carter left the room for the Item and did not vote.    

To receive updates from the following partners:

a)    Wiltshire Police

b)    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c)    NHS Wiltshire

d)    Devizes Community Area Partnership

e)    The Traffic Working Party

f)     Town and Parish Councils.

a)    The written update from Wiltshire Police was noted. The Chairman thanked the representatives for their ongoing engagement with the Area Board. 

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

c)    The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted. The Chairman stated that although a representative was not present on this occasion, they would be expected at future Area Board meetings.

d)    The Community Area Manager provided an update for Devizes Community Area Partnership on behalf of Paula Winchcombe. Work had been taking place behind the scenes to better fit the structure of the Partnership with the Area Board. A parish forum had been set up linked to the Area Board cycle, the community plan was under development and the Partnership website was up and running: www.dcap.org.uk.  

e)    Councillor Gamble provided an update on the Traffic Working Party. The Area Board had allocated funding to help small scale schemes in the Community Area. The Traffic Working Party would look into the zebra crossing at Long Street, a scheme to reduce congestion on Estcourt Street and an extension or realignment of the footpath on the A360. A range of future possible projects were also identified. The meeting heard about air pollution, especially at Shanes Castle and Rose’s roundabout. The Traffic Working Party looked forward to finding out the results of the May 25 O/D Survey.

f)     Tony Molland from Potterne Parish Council commented that the Devizes Community Area Draft Plan was too town centric. The Chairman sympathised with this and added that possible projects from the Traffic Working Party were not a definitive list of what might be completed, they were discretionary projects. The Long Street crossing had been agreed as the first priority by the Area Board but still awaited confirmation of funding. Easing traffic in Devizes would also benefit those from the villages coming into the town.          

Chris Moore, Reading and Learning Services Manager, will give a presentation on the review of the library service.

Chris Moore, Reading and Learning Services Manager, gave a presentation on the review of how the library service should be delivered. This covered the following main points:

·         £500,000 savings were to be achieved within two years

·         98% of library customers think the standard of customer care is good or very good

·         The impact of reading and literacy on people’s lives, including their career prospects, health and wellbeing and housing

·         What the library service offers now

·         What a future library service may offer, such as time zones for different groups (Noisy Fridays/Quiet Mondays), longer core opening hours and late night opening, meeting rooms for public use, refreshments, e-readers, washroom facilities, Wi-Fi access, game zones and plasma screen broadcasts.

There was the opportunity to contribute to the review through opinion cards at the meeting asking the top five priorities for a library service in the future.

Questions from the floor were also invited. The library service was unable to charge users for books, because provision was a statutory requirement. The level of service detail for a charging system for other facilities, such as room bookings, had not been confirmed. The Chairman added that consultation displays in libraries were a good way to increase the number of visitors.

A presentation on the review of the waste service.

Martin Litherland, Waste Contracts and Development Manager, gave a short presentation on the waste consultation. This was being held with a view to unifying the service across the county and meeting stringent targets to divert more waste from landfill. 40% of waste was at present recycled across the county.

Wiltshire Council was putting forward a proposal that would bring all the different collection arrangements into one. The existing kerbside black box scheme would be complemented by a kerbside collection of plastic bottles and cardboard every two weeks and a non chargeable optional kerbside collection of garden waste every two weeks. However, these additional recycling services could only be offered if the waste that was left over was also collected every two weeks, to enable the re-use of existing resources and vehicles. This service was currently provided in east and west Wiltshire, including Devizes, but would be a change in the north and the south of the county.

If you would be interested in contributing to the review, please have your say on the Wiltshire Council website at:  http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/ focuson.htm?aid=103846

Questions on the subject were taken from the floor. Points covered included:

• Potential savings from garden waste remaining a chargeable service
• Maximising separate garden waste had the effect of reducing mixed waste for landfill
• The purpose of the consultation – it was stressed this had not been a costly exercise (with the price of consultation put at approximately 3p per household) and it was considered important to understand the concerns of residents
• Micro-chipped bins – some bins were micro-chipped because historically Government guidance was unclear on how bin collection would be managed. There was also the potential to trace your bin if it had been stolen or lost
• Concerns regarding collected plastics going to landfill
• Ideas to promote re-use of materials and buying/using less from the beginning
• Food waste – at this stage a separate collection of food waste was not a viable option

All garden waste collected by Wiltshire Council would be composted at the Hills facility at Lower Compton near Calne.  

A presentation by Devizes Community Area Partnership of the results and recommendations from their consultation on improvements to the pedestrianised area of the town centre.

Mitch Roberts, the Chairman of the Devizes Community Area Partnership Economy Group, gave a presentation on the results and recommendations from their two year consultation on improvements to the pedestrianised area of the town centre.

The presentation covered key drivers for improvements to the area, recent enhancements and the consultation that had taken place. The consultation was now complete and feedback had been taken into consideration. Proposals had been fully costed and a mandate was presented to the Area Board for delivery.

The Chairman invited a show of hands from the floor, which was substantially in favour of the mandate.

Decision

The Board welcomes the Devizes Community Area Partnership proposals for the improvement of the Brittox. The Board support the scheme and urge the Council to prioritise the scheme as soon as finances allow.

A presentation by David Roberts, Head of Regeneration, setting out Wiltshire Council’s current position regarding The Wharf site in Devizes and outlining the process for consultation on change.

David Roberts, Head of Regeneration, set out Wiltshire Council’s current position regarding The Wharf site in Devizes. This covered the following:

·         Site plan and key features of the site

·         Existing planning policy – Kennet Local Plan (adopted 2004) and Devizes Town Centre Design Code (adopted 2007)

·         Current understanding of community aspiration

·         Moving forward and working with partners in the community.

Comments were invited from the floor. Points raised included:

·         The importance of linkages to other key sites in Devizes, such as Assize Court and the old hospital site

·         The importance of getting developers on board for funding, balanced by the desire to not have the site dominated by housing land use

·         Concerns regarding loss of accreditation for the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust Museum

·         The wider economic needs of Devizes - employment, retail and tourism

·         The need for public toilets at the site

·         Frustration at the rate of change at The Wharf.  

Decision

David Roberts would come to the next Devizes Area Board meeting in October.

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

a)    The All Cannings Community Store Association Limited, seeking £919 for improvement of marketing environment for the community shop.

b)    Party in the Park, seeking £750 for youth event in Hillworth Park with marquee, music, climbing wall and mobile skate park.

c)    Wiltshire Malayalee Association, seeking £1000 for developing a Chenda Melam Group.

d)    Devizes Development Partnership, seeking £5,000 to secure CCTV system within town centre until such time as county wide review is complete.  

Consideration was given to the x funding applications made to the Community Area Grants Scheme.

Decision

The All Cannings Community Store Association Limited were awarded £919 for improvement of marketing environment for the community shop.

Reason

The application meets grant criteria for 2010/11 and the application demonstrates a link to the Community Plan (protecting rural services and encouraging volunteering), as well as providing a service to canal traffic and providing an informal meeting place.

Decision

Party in the Park were awarded £750 for a youth event in Hillworth Park with marquee, music, climbing wall and mobile skate park.

Reason

The application meets grant criteria for 2010/11 and the application demonstrates a link to the Community Plan through provision of diversionary activity to reduce anti-social behaviour.  

Decision

Devizes Development Partnership were awarded £5,000 to secure a CCTV system within the town centre until such time as county wide review was complete, conditional upon the balance of funding being obtained from alternative sources.   

Reason

The application meets grant criteria for 2010/11 and provision of a town centre CCTV system was a primary objective of the Community Area Plan and its continuation received overwhelming support at the Area Board meeting of 24 May.  

Decision

Wiltshire Malayalee Association were not awarded £1000 for developing a Chenda Melam Group.

Reason

The Community Area Manager had requested further information from the Wiltshire Malayalee Association regarding their application and this had not been received. The officer recommendation had on this basis changed to one of refusal.  

The Community Area Manager will report on highlights and unresolved issues in the community area. A log of the community issues submitted is available to view online at:

http://portal.wiltshire.gov.uk/area_board/areaboard_issues_search.php?issue_location_in=Devizes

The Community Area Manager provided a short issues update. A log of the community issues submitted was available to view online at:  http://portal.wiltshire.gov.uk/area_board/areaboard_issues_search.php?issue_location_in=Devizes.

The Council was doing all it could to adopt the play areas in the Chivers Road area as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the levels of vandalism to one of the play areas meant that a large amount of remedial work was required and they were unlikely to be repaired ahead of the school summer holidays.

Station Road Car Park had been a source of complaints regarding anti-social behaviour for some time, with complaints often going directly to Wiltshire Police. The Area Board had nevertheless been working on the issue with the Police and relevant Wiltshire Council officers. All were working hard to tackle the problem and a number of actions would be taken over the summer. This would include noise monitoring, temporary CCTV and possibly temporary changes to the car park layout. The effectiveness of those actions would be assessed and a detailed report would be prepared for a future Area Board meeting.    

The Chairman thanked those at the meeting and asked for evaluation forms to be completed. The next Area Board meeting would take place on Monday 4 October 2009 at 7.00 pm at the Corn Exchange, Devizes, with refreshments available from 6.30 pm.