Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited the Councillors and Officers present introduce themselves.

The Chairman also noted those parish representatives who were in attendance.

Apologies for absence had been received from the following:

·         Richard Allen, Marlborough Town Council

·         Sheila Glass, Ramsbury Parish Council

a.               To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2014.

b.               Update on actions and outcomes arising.

The minutes of the meetings held on 30 September 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

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)    Wiltshire’s Car Parking Review.

b)    Car Parking Update.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

a.               Car Park Review: A short video presentation providing details on the car parking consultation across Wiltshire was displayed for those in attendance. There were a number of different options up for consultation and it was heard that the consultation aimed to even out inconsistencies in car park charging, and to come up with the right parking solution for those living within the county. The consultation was stated as being open on the Council’s website.

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

1. Wiltshire Police
2. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
3. Wiltshire CCG
4. Town / Parish Councils
5. MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)
6. Transition Marlborough
7. Marlborough Community Operations Board (COB)

1. Wiltshire Police

A written update was provided. Inspector Matt Armstrong stated that there had been a series of high value thefts reported in the High Street, four people were stated as having been detained.

Notices of community messaging were circulated at the meeting. It was explained that these related to a community messaging system commissioned by the Police & Crime Commissioner in order to provide people with local area information from Wiltshire Police and other partner organisations, including Wiltshire Council, as the service is developed.

2. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

Mike Franklin was in attendance to deliver a verbal update. It was heard that the public consultation on the proposed fire authority merge had finished.

People were reminded to make sure that chimneys were swept before they were used, as accidents had happened in relation to wood and fossil fuel burners.

3. Wiltshire CCG

There were no updates.

4. Town / Parish Councils

Marlborough Town Council:

Elizabeth Marian Hannaford Dobson, the Mayor for Marlborough, was in attendance to give a short presentation on the work of Marlborough Town Council. It was heard that his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent had visited Marlborough to unveil a plaque in remembrance of WWI and to award medals to war veterans. A public meeting on the car parking review held on the 10 November 2014 had produced sensible and productive suggestions to be taken to Wiltshire Council’s workshop in Devizes. More than 4000 people had attended the Marlborough Christmas lights switch-on on 21 November 2014. The Marlborough citizen of the year had been named as Alfie Johnson, a Town Crier of 21 years.

5. MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)

Community WiFi had been continuing on positively with one new village having approached for the scheme to be extended to them.  Other parishes and their councillors were invited to get in touch.

Distributed TIC was said to be extending to other areas of the High Street.

6. Transition Marlborough

A written update was circulated at the meeting. Two options for cycle racks in the centre of the High Street had been forwarded to Wiltshire Council for approval and would be presented by Cllr Nick Fogg MBE in the future.

Transition Marlborough’s request to retain the direct train service between Bedwyn and London Paddington had been unanimously supported by Marlborough Town Council. It was stated that a letter of support from the Area Board to the Department of Transport would be helpful.

Transition Marlborough was in attendance at the launch of Wiltshire Council’s Air Quality website (www.wiltshireairquality.org.uk). It was stated that a real-time “Air Quality Monitor” would be installed by the A4 and that data from it would later be available on the website.

Disappointment was expressed that Marlborough Town Council had not installed a bus shelter for Westerly bus and coach travellers, as it had been a request from villages to the Area Board.

a.   Marlborough Community Operations Board (COB)

The draft notes for the 25 September 2014 COB meeting were circulated.

Community Youth Officer, Jan Bowra, will be in attendance to deliver a presentation on the new community-led model and positive activities for young people, and to answer any questions.

Jan Bowra, Community Youth Officer (CYO) for Marlborough Community Area, was in attendance to introduce the item. Previously she had been the youth co-ordinator in St. Margret’s Mead Youth Centre. Her new role was described as the go-to person for young people or anyone with issues to do with young people.

Siobainn Chaplin from Early Intervention, Youth and Prevention, was introduced.

The youth service was said to have changed and importance was placed upon ensuring that young people were supported. It was stated that young people needed to be at the heart of decisions. The aim was to engage young people in positive activities during their spare time. Many young people were said to not be aware of what was going on in their community, and getting the information to them was stated as key in making them come along.

The LYN management was said to be made up of adults in the community area with an interest in working with young people and would look at youth grants. The LYN was stated as being a sub-group of the Area Board, which would come together at events, workshops, meetings, and consultations. It would encourage the active engagement, improved partnership, and working with key stakeholders and young people.

Those interested or who wished to know more were encouraged to get in contact with Jan Bowra.

Andrew Jack, Community Area Manager for Marlborough community area, was introduced to describe the process of youth activity grants and the role of the LYN.

It was heard that the Area Board had additional funding to pay for youth activities, which was split into two streams: grant schemes and procurement. The grant scheme was stated as being available to fund projects in the voluntary and community sector (for example, football clubs), and was accessible through a straightforward application on the Wiltshire Council website. Once the form had been completed it was said to go through an appraisal process which included being looked at by the LYN, who would decide if it met community needs and fit within the area and strategic plan.

Procurement was said to be available so that the Area Board, through the LYN, could spot a gap in activities and contact someone in order to provide it. A catalogue of safe providers was said to be available.

The criteria for grants was displayed, they were stated to be up to £5000 per project. It was explained that the correct procedures, for example a safeguarding policy, needed to be in place to ensure the safety of young people. The application also must meet the needs, priorities, and objectives of positive activities in the area. Young people also needed to be involved in the development of the project.

Questions were asked on how often someone was able to return for funding. It was explained that usually applicants were limited to two applications per year for different projects, but that it may depend on how much they were applying for.

It was asked what  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Marie Nash from Wiltshire Council and a British Telecom representative will be in attendance to update after the visit to the Area Board in January and to answer any questions.

Marie Nash, project officer at Wiltshire Council, was in attendance to introduce the item. Disappointment was expressed by the Area Board that BT had not attended.

An investment of £30million was said to have been invested in the Wiltshire infrastructure to provide fibre optic broadband. This was said to be deployed into intervention areas, which were identified as areas not deemed commercially viable by providers.

The current ADSL connection service, run through copper wire into a cabinet, then from a cabinet into a home, was described. This was stated as being upgraded to fibre optic. Homes without cabinets would be solved using “exchange only” lines.

A map of the exchange areas was presented. There were 8 covered under Marlborough Area Board: Aldbourne, Avebury, Broad Hinton, Hungerford, Lockeridge, Marlborough, Ogbourne, and Ramsbury.

The map was stated as being available on the website: www.wiltshireonline.org. The website was described as the primary tool for keeping up to date with progress. General information requests could be made through contacting broadband@wiltshire.gov.uk.

It was asked when work in Froxfield was likely to be completed. It was heard that there were problems as Froxfield was a cross-border community and was served by a cabinet that was far away from that community. Froxfield was said to be brought into the intervention area for phase-2 funding as a result.

Questions were asked on whether the website could inform users of which cabinets had been upgraded. It was explained that the website could provide this information, along with which cabinet the community was connected to. 95% of properties were said to be reachable, despite the £30million investment. It was explained that they are trying to make the money go as far as possible.

Ramsbury was heard to have two thirds of its homes on exchange-only lines. The current timeframe was heard to be between 6-9months, as new cabinets needed to be built, along with surveys and for BT to go live in the area.

Thanks was expressed to the presenters for the clarity of the presentation and for stepping in for BT.

To note the discussions held at the CATG meeting of 9 October 2014 and for the Area Board to ratify the funding recommendations.

Cllr Sheppard, as Chairman of the Community Area Transport Group, presented a report on the CATG meeting held on 9 October 2014.

Decision

To note the discussions held at the 9 October 2014 CATG meeting and agree to fund the following new project as requested by CATG:

a.     £300 towards the cost of installing new ‘horse riders in road’ warning signs for Winterbourne Monkton village.

The Wiltshire Councillors will consider one application to the Community Area Grants Scheme, as follows:

a)    Kennet Valley Hall – has requested £822 towards a new industrial dishwasher for use by hall hirers. 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 one application for Youth Activity Grant funding and one application for Community Area Grant funding.  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

1.     Marlborough Youth Club was awarded £1762.50 towards setting up a weekly youth club in the old Youth Centre building, with the condition that Community Area Manager, Andrew Jack, is provided with a list of stock information.

Reason – The application met the Youth Activity Grants Criteria 2013/14.

2.     Kennet Valley Hall was awarded £822 towards a new industrial dishwasher.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2013/14.

There were no questions.

The next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board will be held Tuesday, 27th January, 2015 7.00 pm at Marlborough Town Hall, 5 High St, Marlborough SN8 1AA.

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 held on Tuesday 27 January 2015 7.00pm at Marlborough Town Hall, 5 High St, Marlborough SN8 1AA.