Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Peter Edge welcomed everyone to the extraordinary meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board.

There were none.

It was noted that Cllr Jeans would join the meeting later.

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

There were none.

Cllr Led Initiative – Cllr Peter Edge

To consider allocating up to £5,000 to pay for scoping work for the viability of a Wilton Parkway Railway Station to enable a wider consultation to be carried out. Report attached.

The Chairman introduced the Cllr Led Initiative, explaining the background to the proposal detailed on pages 3 – 6 of the agenda.

Funding was sought for scoping work for the viability of a Wilton Parkway Railway Station; this would include illustrations, the production and printing of a leaflet and promotion at the Wilton Business Chambers event planned for 12 September 2015.

In 2017 the franchise for the National Rail Network was up for renewal, so any new stations would need to be underway by then to be included in the tender.

A station in Wilton would reduce the travel pressures on the A36, reducing the need for Network Rail to provide additional commuter parking in Salisbury as commuters would be able to use the Wilton Park and Ride (P&R).

This could also be a location for visitors to Stonehenge travelling by rail to be able to transfer to coaches for their visit to the World Heritage site, which would again relieve the traffic problems of Salisbury.

The project would also improve the travel for Wilton commuters and would raise the profile of Wilton both nationally and internationally as the gateway to Stonehenge. This in turn should have great economic benefits for the tourism and shops in Wilton.

The project was supported by Wilton Town Council, Wilton Town Team, Wilton CLT and Wilton and District Chamber of Commerce, TransWilts and many others.

There had been misconceptions following recent photos of the old railway station published in the Salisbury Journal, that this would be reopened. That was not the case.

There had also been talk of a separate Metro project and a TransWilts link from Swindon to Salisbury; this did not involve the Wilton Parkway Railway Station.

Several major players had expressed interest in the project, including English Heritage and Southampton Airport. Scoping work would establish what was viable.

A process was underway to assess this project for potential inclusion in the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) capital transport schemes. At that point a feasibility study would be carried out. If the LEP decided to support the scheme, then it was thought that a Station could be in place within 2 years.

Questions and comments were then received, these included:

·         The Wilton Parkway idea would improve the area no end, whilst there would be benefits for the Area Board and the community areas, the main benefits would be for Salisbury and Stonehenge.

·         The project was estimated to cost around £5 – £10 million, therefore the consultancy fees would be quite substantial.

·         Where was the site and how big was it? Answer: The site was located at the junction on the Packway, close to the bridge. It was envisaged that it would be a three carriage length station.

·         Would there be any additional parking to the P&R? Answer: No the P&R would serve as the parking.

·         Would it be a shuttle service, or a stop on the mainline? Answer: Yes the station would be on the main  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Wiltshire Council has recently taken the decision to communicate directly in future with the Area Board about all campus related issues, rather than through a SCOB.  The Area Board can choose to have an advisory group in the form of a COB or working group and they can use this group as required to help with their recommendations on the best way forward for the campus.

Members are asked to make a decision on whether this Area Board would like to have such a group.

Cllr Tony Deane, Chairman of the Tisbury Community Operations Board (SCOB) explained that the Nadder Community Campus was one of seven new campuses in Wiltshire. Other areas had not been as lucky with their SCOB’s as Tisbury had been. In Tisbury the SCOB had stayed under the management of the Board.

The new role of Stephen Harris was as the Community Engagement Manager, one of his tasks was to make the Campus vibrant. The Nadder Community Campus was due to open early 2016. There would be a range of services within the campus, including business incubation units.

Spaces within the building would be utilised in the best was possible to promote a joined up way of working, with support for local community groups.

Wiltshire Council had recently taken the decision to communicate directly in future with the Area Board about all campus related issues, rather than through a SCOB.  The Area Board could choose to have an advisory group in the form of a COB or working group and they could use this group as required to help with their recommendations on the best way forward for the campus.

Members were asked to make a decision on whether the South West Wiltshire Area Board would like to have such a group.

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board agreed to work towards forming a Group to help with Campus related issues and decisions. Councillor Deane would continue to lead on this. The Board asked that:

1)    Membership of the Campus Board also be opened to Mere & Wilton so that the Communities were aware of the Campus concept and ready to embrace, any future Campus programme for their Communities.

2)    The makeup of the Board should be kept to the minimum with members from the community possessing relevant skills. Stakeholders to be invited to nominate a single member who could co-ordinate with them.

3)    As it was recognised that this was a fluid development, Councillor Deane would take part in the relevant Scrutiny Task Groups with other Campuses in the County.

The next meeting of the Board is on Wednesday 7 October 2015, 6.30pm at Dinton Village Hall.

The next meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board will be held on Wednesday 7 October 2015, 6.30pm at Dinton Village Hall.