Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Area Board for the year 2014/15.

Nominations were sought and following a vote it was,

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Jemima Milton as Chairman of the Marlborough Area Board for the forthcoming year.

The Chairman then welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited the Councillors and Officers present to introduce themselves and invited members of the public to do the same.

To elect a Vice-Chairman of the Area Board for the year 2014/15.

Nominations were sought and it was,

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Stuart Dobson as Vice-Chairman of the Marlborough Area Board for the forthcoming year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from the following:

• Rob Bailey, Mildenhall Parish Council
• Nic Coome, Chilton Foliat Parish Council
• Karen Davis, St John’s School
• Andrew Williamson, Avebury Parish Council
• Andrew Ross
• Shelley Parker, Marlborough Town Clerk
• Claire Fitzpatrick, Broad Hinton Parish Council

a.            To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 31 March 2014.

b.            Update on actions and outcomes arising.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2014 were presented for consideration and it was,

Resolved:

To approve as a true and correct record and sign the minutes.

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

Cllr Stewart Dobson declared a non-pecuniary interest in the grant application from Marlborough Cricket Club owing to his nephew being a member, and declared he would not speak or vote on the item.

To note the following items for information – written briefing notes are available in the full agenda pack, or online.  If you would like the Area Board to consider or discuss any of these items in more detail, please speak to the Community Area Manager, or the Democratic Services Officer.

a)    Mini Recycling sites

b)    Public Health and Wellbeing Grants

The Area Board noted the written announcements on mini-recycling sites and public health and wellbeing grants.

To note any Partner updates and receive any further information partners wish to share:

1. Wiltshire Police
2. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
3. Wiltshire CCG
4. Parish Forum
5. Town / Parish Councils
6. MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)
7. Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

1. Wiltshire Police

The written update as attached to these minutes was noted. Attention was drawn to a 10% reduction in overall crime since the precious year, although residents were alerted to a recent string of thefts of catalytic converts from cars in Marlborough which was being investigated.

2. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

Mike Franklin, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, read a statement from the fire service on its proposed merger with Dorset Fire Authority as part of plans to eliminate a sizable budget deficit. It was stated the decision would be taken in September 2014 following the development of a business case and consultation from 16 June to 24 August, and that the Chief Fire Officer would be happy to meet with the Area Board to discuss any issues if there is enough interest from the Area Board.

3. Wiltshire CCG

No update was received.

4. Parish Forum

It was stated that the Parish Forum was currently in abeyance.

5. Town / Parish Councils

Marlborough Town Council updated on plans for commemoration of the English Civil War on 26-27 July, as well as preparations for the commemoration of Britain’s entry into WW1 on 4 August.

6. MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)

Details were provided on the progression of the Community Wi-Fi programme, along with plans for how content filtering would work.  Also the piloting of a new “Distributed TIC” system involving a tablet giving visitors access to the internet for tourist information.  This is available in the Food Gallery coffee shop and others will be rolled out depending on the success of the pilot.

7. Youth Advisory Group

The Area Board was informed about forthcoming changes to the Youth Service following the decision of Cabinet on 15 May.

For information, a council press release on the decision is attached to these minutes.

h.    Transition Marlborough

The Area Board was informed that work on the community orchard scheme was progressing, along with plans for a ‘Bus Walks’ leaflet to be produced and the Communities Market planned for 1 June.

To appoint members to Working Groups, Task Groups and Outside Bodies of the Area Board.

The Area Board made appointments to outside bodies as follows:

i)             Avebury Solstice Operational Planning Meeting - Councillor Jemima Milton

ii)            Avebury World Heritage Site Steering Committee - Councillor Jemima Milton

iii)           Youth Advisory Group (YAG) - Councillor James Sheppard

The Area Board made appointments to working groups as follows:

i)             Community Area Transport Group (CATG) :

Cllr Stewart Dobson

Cllr Nick Fogg

Cllr Jemima Milton

Cllr James Sheppard (Chairman)

Town Cllr Richard Allen (Marlborough Town Council) – Sub: Cllr Marion Hannaford-Dobson

Parish Cllr Geoff Martin (Broad Hinton & Winterbourne Bassett PC)

Parish Cllr Nic Coome (Chilton Foliat PC)

Parish Cllr Sheila Glass (Ramsbury & Axford PC)

Parish Cllr Andrew Williamson (Avebury PC)

Parish Cllr John Hetherington (Ogbourne St Andrew PC)

Parish Cllr Anne Duechar or Cllr Richard Price (Aldbourne PC)

Parish Cllr Mike Morrissy or Cllr John Harding (Fyfield & West Overton PC)

Judith Woodget (resident) (Fyfield & West Overton PC)

ii)            Shadow Community Operations Board (COB) - Councillor Nick Fogg

Resolved:

To appoint Outside bodies and working group representatives for the forthcoming year as stated above.

To receive a report on feedback arising from the JSA events and to identify priorities for the area board to take forward.  This will show the results of discussion and subsequent voting from the JSA event of 31 March 2014.  The area board will ratify the priorities for the area raised by this event.

On 31 March 2014 a conference was held to consider the data set out in the Community Area Joint Strategic Assessment 2014-16 (JSA) to identify local priorities to enable the Area Board to stimulate local action and outcomes. A report was presented on the decisions of the conference, which included over 90 members of the public and partner agencies.

The meeting then split into four groups, each to consider several of the local priorities identified by the conference, to discuss practical outcomes which the Area Board and other bodies would be able to investigate further and deliver action on those priorities. After 25 minutes of discussion, each group presented suggestions including the following:

·         A local Sports Forum to be established to enable links between Marlborough and rural sports clubs to share resources and encourage cross membership.

·         Increased promotion of local websites to promote cultural assets.

·         A drive to increase volunteers beyond the small base of those who can volunteer full time or for large numbers of hours - for example, a local website listing volunteering opportunities ranging from even a few hours a week to full time.

·         Improved cooperation between communities on development, to encourage a decrease in the need for large developments in one community to alleviate housing pressures in the wider areas.

·         Wif-Fi outreach to the rural villages.

The Community Area Manager noted these and other suggestions, which would be used to investigate and encourage practical projects to address the priorities and facilitate local action to tackle the priorities.

To inform the Area Board of the new way that Wiltshire Council will allocate social housing.  Nicole Smith, Head of Strategic Housing, Wiltshire Council, will be in attendance.

James Cawley, Associate Director (Adult Care Commissioning, Safeguarding and Housing), Wiltshire Council, presented an update on the council’s Housing Allocation Policy which had been approved at Cabinet in November 2013. Attention was drawn in particular for the new requirement for a local connection to Wiltshire that would be required in order to ensure that local homes were assigned first to local people of a community area in need of housing, and changes to the banding that people were assigned to were detailed.

The Area Board discussed the update with the public, and the focus on providing affordable social housing for local communities based upon local need was approved of, although there were concerns from some about the local infrastructures still not being able to cope with increased demand, and it was stated that communities needed to develop Neighbourhood plans which would identify local need and problems so that these could be met through legal agreements from any local developments. The need for professional assistance from Wiltshire Council in particular to assist parishes in the development of their local plans was highlighted.

Also James Cawley asked for local parishes to come forward with their housing needs and work with Wiltshire Council to help build new affordable homes, in particular bungalows.  This housing need has to be identified via a neighbourhood plan or other document.

It was also clarified that those employed within a community area were defined as having a local connection, to ensure that mobility of labour was not restricted by preventing people from moving around to find work.

Resolved:

To note the update.

To note discussions held at the CATG meeting on 1 May 2014.  To ratify the list of Wiltshire Highways Major Maintenance schemes for 2014/15

The report from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) was presented.

It was,

Resolved:

To note the discussions held at the CATG meeting of 1 May 2014 and the progress towards developing priority schemes. 

To agree the list of Highways Major Maintenance 2014/15 for the Marlborough Community Area as detailed in the report papers.

The Wiltshire Councillors will consider 5 applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme, as follows:

a)     Ramsbury Recreation Centre – requested £3,000 towards construction of a new machinery store.  Recommendation: Meets criteria. 

b)    Ogbourne St George and St Andrew C of E VC Primary School – Requested £3,482 towards updating and refreshing the outdoor play facilities at the school.  Recommendation: Meets criteria.

c)     Marlborough Cricket Club – requested £5,000 towards purchasing new gang mowers for the cricket pitch outfield.  Recommendation: Meets criteria.

d)    MinalPlay – requested £5,000 towards installing new outdoor gym / fitness equipment in the village.  Recommendation – Meets criteria.

e)     Marlborough Rugby Football Club – requested £4,000 towards an extension of the social space in the club.  Recommendation – Meets criteria.

Copies of the completed application forms and grant application packs for the

Community Area Grants Scheme are available from the Community Area

Manager or electronically at

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/areaboardscommunitygrantsscheme.htm

The Area Board considered 4 applications for Community Area Grant funding following the applicants for the MinalPlay grant application deferring until a future meeting. The Community Area Manager introduced each application, following which a representative of the applicant was given an opportunity to give a brief overview of their project to the Area Board.

Decision

a)    Ramsbury Recreation Centre was awarded £1,500 towards construction of a new machinery store.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2014/15.

b)   Decision

Ogbourne St George and St Andew C of E CV Primary School was awarded £3,482 towards updating and refreshing the outdoor play facilities at the school.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2014/15.

c)    Decision

Marlborough Cricket Club was awarded £2,000 towards purchasing new gang mowers for the cricket pitch outfield.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2014/15.

     Cllr Stuart Dobson abstained from voting on this item.

d)   Decision

Marlborough Rugby Football Club was awarded £2,000 towards an extension of the social space in the club.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2014/15.

Details were sought about the schedule for grass cutting in the area, and it was stated the contractors for the Council had planned to cut those areas they were instructed to in June.

There was also a question regarding the installation of new speed signs in Broad Hinton, and it was stated the Cabinet Portfolio Holder had been contacted and a response was pending.

The next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board will be held on Tuesday 22 July, 7.00pm at Marlborough Town Hall.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and asked that the evaluation forms be completed.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board would be on Tuesday 22 July in Marlborough Town Hall, 6.30 for 7.00 start.