Agenda and minutes

Youth Grant applicants will be invited to present their projects to the Board. After discussion the Board will vote on each application in turn.

Special Housing meeting – rescheduled

The Extraordinary Area Board meeting to focus on the Housing Allocations System, which had been planned to take place on 22 November had been cancelled due to  adverse weather conditions around the county. This meeting would now take place on Wednesday 12 December, 6.00pm at Nadder Hall, Tisbury.

Grant application deadline for 2012/13

The deadline for submitting Community Area Grant applications for consideration at the last South West Wiltshire Area Board meeting in February, is the 9 January 2013.

Our Community Matters Blog Site

Communities were urged to upload their festive events to the South West Wiltshire community blog site:

http://southwestwilts.ourcommunitymatters.org.uk/

To note the current consultations listed on the attached document.

To view further information and to take part in a consultation, click on the link: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal

The Board noted the current consultations attached to the agenda.

For further information on current consultations or to take part, click on the link to the consultation portal: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal

Councillor  Toby Sturgis, Cabinet member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services; will provide an insight into his area of responsibility, followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

o   Performance of waste management including collection, disposal and recycling and property management including county farms.

o   Performance of countryside management and the provision of gypsy and traveller services.

o   Climate change and carbon trading.

o   Development control services including planning enforcement and conservation.

Councillor Toby Sturgis Cabinet member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services; gave an introduction into some of the areas of his responsibility:

·         A waste collection service harmonisation had been completed across Wiltshire. Household recycling had increased to over 50%.

·         Council Tax money could no longer be used to subsidise the collection of waste from businesses and village halls which ran commercial operations.

·         The waste to energy plant in Westbury was taking 60,000 tonnes of waste per annum.

·         The target for 2020 would be to achieve less than 20% of household waste going to landfill sites.

·         Following a recent pilot in primary schools which focused on teaching the children ‘energy saving practices’ three schools had made phenomenal savings to the amounts of energy they used. The children were also encouraged to take the message home and to put the practices into place there.

·         Following the Council’s Business Plan, the majority of staff were now working from three main hubs, as smaller offices around the county were sold.

·         The New Mech building at County Hall had been refurbished and huge savings had been made following the move to the new ways of working in a hot desk environment.

·         Development Control had seen the greatest changes since the 1947 Planning Act had been introduced, with the National Planning Policy Framework bringing about some challenges.

·         40 gypsy and traveller pitches had recently been refurbished after the Council had secured a grant to carry the work out.

·         The local Nature Partnership was able to pull together partners from Natural England and the Environment Agency. It was felt that this would help to harmonise green infrastructure across Wiltshire.

Questions and Comments were then received, these included:

·         We hear that the Council is downsizing the number of properties, so why has it recently purchased a resource centre on Castle Road? Answer: If a new property is required to enable a service to be carried out, the Council looks at all of the options available to find the best way of providing that service to the customers.

·         The Council recently withdrew the collection service of plastic and card for some parish council sites across the South of Wiltshire, was this connected to the levels of profits obtained by Hills for recycling? Answer: The withdrawal of this service was not done on a pick and chose basis, but was the result of a score card system carried out across the South of Wiltshire. The Quidhampton site scored one below the score required to keep the site open, however we have agreed to review this site. The Council now provides a free kerbside collection of plastic and cardboard to all households across the county, the majority of the withdrawn sites were used by businesses which is no longer permitted.

·         Quidhampton Parish Clerk, Claire Churchill thanked Cllr Sturgis for keeping their collection site under consideration and confirmed that the parish council would take the previously made offer to meet to discuss the matter in the new year.

Police

Inspector Andy Noble gave some feedback following a question received at the last meeting in October relating to the differences in the Crime Detection Rate across the three community areas in the South West.

Detection means when a crime is resolved. This can be by:

• Local Resolution
• Charge
• Summons
• Caution
• Final warning
• Reprimand
• Fixed penalty

It would be difficult to compare the crime detection rates (CDR) in the South West community area to those of the larger towns, as there are several different factors present which set them apart.

The CDR in the larger towns is usually around 20 – 30%, but in rural areas it is usually no higher than 10%, across Wiltshire. The most similar area to the South West is Pewsey and their CDR is similar, however there is some risk in comparing them directly because the South West Wiltshire Area is unique in having two areas which have very small areas of crime, Wilton and Mere & Tisbury. The issue is that in terms of crime volume the differences between the areas are simply not visible anywhere else, because nowhere else in Wiltshire has such low figures.

Rural areas do not tend to have CCTV in operation and tend to be blighted more from travelling criminals, rather than local criminals in the more built up areas.

When we talk about percentages, we should remember that the sample size is not really significant enough to give a real steer on the end percentage for the area, with resolved crimes only totalling 5 or 6.

The CDR figures for rural areas have nearly always been in single figures, with 10% being a high figure.

The Chairman thanked Andy for his update on crime detection rates and noted that the Pewsey figures could be viewed on the Pewsey Area Board webpage online, should anyone wish to view them.

Phil Matthews, Wilton Town Councillor asked Inspector Noble if PC Rachel Jennings would be returning following the commencement of her maternity leave? Answer: Rachel was expected to return to the wider Salisbury Police team after July 2013. The aim would be to fill the vacancy in Wilton in the new year and the details of Rachel’s placement would be considered once she had returned.

Fire & Rescue Service

Mike Franklin noted that there had only been 3 accidental fires reported for the period.

There had been a recent incident in the Salisbury Plain area where a family of 5 had been admitted to hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning, Mike advised anyone without a carbon monoxide detector in their home to get one fitted.

Following her presentation in August, Jenny Wilcockson, Digital Literacy Coordinator; gave an update on how the Digital Champion initiative had progressed in the South West Wiltshire community area.

Mike Leonard had volunteered to act as a Digital Coordinator for the area, he explained that free support was available to all adults in Wiltshire, although particular emphasis would be placed on reaching older people, people with disabilities and families on low income.  

Mike asked people to spread the word and for local existing groups such as knitting groups, luncheon clubs and coffee mornings, to contact him to arrange for a visit where he would be able to come and chat to people about what could be provided.

There are many different levels of requirement when it comes to providing IT assistance. Digital Champions can provide very basic assistance in showing someone how to turn the computer on and to send an email and search the internet, or at the other end of the scale, assistance could also be provided to people who would like help in creating a C.V. or to apply for a job online.

The Council would like to hear from anyone who is interested in volunteering to become a Digital Champion in their community area, to help people to use computers in a positive way which could improve their lives.

For our full range of volunteering opportunities, visit www.wiltshireonline.org  or contact us on: Tel: 01225 793349 Email: digitalinclusion@wiltshire.gov.uk

David Bowater, Programme Lead (Communities), delivered a presentation on the Wiltshire Community Asset Toolkit, which had been circulated at the meeting and could also be viewed by following the link on the agenda.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wiltshire-community-ownership-of-assets-toolkit.pdf

Many communities in Wiltshire are keen to secure the future of much loved local facilities such as pubs and village halls and would like to see the best possible use of other assets such as high street shops and derelict land.

Community asset ownership can be one way of channelling the resourcefulness of local groups to take over and transform properties for the benefit of the whole community. If something comes up for sale which is on the list, the community are then given 6 months to raise the funds to purchase it first.

Questions and Comments:

·         Could the information provided on the screen during the presentation be circulated to parish councils? Answer: Yes, a copy of the slides will be attached to the minutes from this meeting, which are then emailed to all parish clerks.

·         Fovant PC had applied for a Community Asset Transfer in 2011 but had not yet received feedback on when it would be completed. Answer: David asked the parish council to forward the details to him in an email so that he could look in to the matter.

A copy of the slides from the presentation are attached to the end of these minutes.

Councillor Tony Deane gave an update on the progress of the Tisbury Community Campus.

·         Cabinet had approved the proposed budget request.

·         Planning Permission would be applied for in May/June 2013.

·         The project hoped to be able to incorporate the needs of the stakeholders.

The Board considered three applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme for 2012/13.

Applicants present were invited to speak in support of their project and to answer any questions, following discussion the Board members voted on each application in turn.

Decision

Chilmark Cricket Club was awarded £2,500 towards their project to install an artificial cricket surface for cricket nets.

Reason

The application meets the Community Area Grants Criteria for 2012/13 and  demonstrates a link to the Wiltshire Community Plan 2011 – 2026, as it will assist in fostering strong communities by drawing together members of the community through engaging in sport.

Decision

Chilmark Playground Committee was awarded £346 towards their project to install bench seating in the playground.

Reason

The application met the Community Area ‘Small Grants’ Criteria for 2012/13 and demonstrates a link to the Wiltshire Community Plan 2011 – 2026 as the playground potentially helps to build a stronger and more resilient community, fit for the future.

Decision

Bowerchalke Village Hall was awarded £1,214 towards their project to purchase and install a storage shed for the hall.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2012/13 and demonstrates a link to the Wiltshire Community Plan 2011 – 2026 as the work of the Village Hall potentially helps to build a stronger and more resilient community, fit for the future.

To apply for a Community Area Grant or to find further information, click on the link: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/areaboards/areaboardscommunitygrantsscheme.htm

The deadline for applications to be considered at the next meeting of the Area Board on 6 February 2013 is 9 January 2013.