Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Southern Wiltshire Area Board, including John Glen, MP for Salisbury.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Leo Randall and Councillor Julian Johnson.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 26 July 2012.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 June 2012 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive Chairman’s Announcements.

There were no Chairman’s Announcements.

To note the attached information on the following current consultations:

The Chairman referred to the on-going consultations as set out in the agenda.

Councillor Ian McLennan also referred to the forthcoming consultation on Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which would begin on 1 October, for six weeks.

To note the following attachments for information:

a)    Wiltshire Council – State of the Environment Report

b)    Wiltshire Council – Barrier Busting

c)    Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire & Swindon Local Nature Partnership

The Chairman referred to the information items listed at item 7 of the agenda, details of which were set out at pages 17-26.

In relation to the Wiltshire & Swindon Local Nature Partnership, the Chairman asked the meeting whether there was specific interest in having this as an agenda item at a future meeting.  There was a little interest in this.

Fire and Rescue Service

The Chairman welcomed David Dunford of the Fire and Rescue Service.  Responding to a question regarding call-outs due to false alarms and failed equipment, Dave commented that the service actively monitored the number of false alarms, with staff visiting any repeat offenders to look at how these incidents could be reduced.

NHS

Noted the written report at page 29 of the agenda.  The Chairman asked the meeting if there was interest in hearing more about the health care reforms and the new GP commissioning Groups. There was interest in this item.

Action: To be pursued by Community Area Manager for a future agenda.

Southern Wiltshire Issues System

Tom Bray, Southern Wiltshire Community Area Manager, encouraged everyone to keep using the Issues System.

In relation to the Rights of Way issue in Firsdown, it was noted that the views of residents were being sought.

Responding to a point about the Speed Indicator Device (SID) which had not been working, the Chairman noted that this had been raised with the Cabinet Member.  He apologised on behalf of the Council and explained that there was a generic fault with the batteries which was being looked into and a full review of the SID deployment process was underway and the SID deployment issues would be dealt with.  It was acknowledged that the lack of response from the Council had been unacceptable.

Feedback on Community Area Grants

Tom Bray also referred to some positive feedback on previous Community Area Grants, including some coverage on the front page of the Salisbury Journal and in the Cathedral.  It was noted that feedback was obtained from all groups who received a grant from the Area Board and it may be possible to fit this into future Area Board meetings.

Urgent Late Item

The Chairman referred to the late report which had been tabled, and which sought permission to proceed with a project to switch off selected lights between 00:00 and 05:30. 

Decision

The Southern Wiltshire Area Board approved the assessed proposals as set out in the report, totalling 20 streetlights on Church Road, Laverstock.

Reason – As set out in the report.

Police and Crime Commissioner

The Chairman spoke in his capacity as a member of the Wiltshire Police Authority, to explain the background of the forthcoming Police and Crime Commissioner Elections on 15 November 2012.

This fundamental change to the governance of policing would see directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) replacing the existing Police Authorities.  The PCC would hire and fire the Chief Constable, set the budget and precept, set the Policing Plan, and hold the Chief Constable to account.  They would not, however, be responsible for operational matters.

In the Wiltshire and Swindon Constabulary a Police and Crime Panel (PCP) had been set up jointly between Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council, to hold the PCC to account.  The PCP had powers to veto the precept and the appointment of the Chief Constable.

Rural Crime Team

Tony Miles from the Rural Crime Team, gave a presentation on the work of the team, which consisted of two Police Officers and one Police Community Support Officer, and which covered the whole of the county.

The team had been set up to respond to Hare Coursing and now had a number of areas of responsibilities, including Farmwatch, Horsewatch, poaching, wildlife crime and cross border collaboration with neighbouring constabularies.

In response to questions, Tony advised that Hare Coursing was seasonal, and that there were around 6 reported incidents per month.  Convictions carried a Level 2 fine, of around £400-700.

Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT)

Inspector Andy Noble reported that his officers had caught a team of burglars red-handed in Laverstock.  This was the result of some proactive work from identifying a spike in incidents, following a route, and waiting for the culprits.  One prosecution had already come out of this and a possible drugs link had been identified.

Referring to coverage in the Salisbury Journal, Andy confirmed that there were currently no plans to reduce police numbers.  It was not certain whether the Wilton Road building would remain operational, with the NPT officers being relocated to the forthcoming Salisbury Campus.  It was also hoped that further savings could be made through more back office functions being shared with partner organisations, including Wiltshire Council.  The Chairman added that the collocation of NPT staff at the campus was not just about savings, but about efficiency of joined-up services.

Responding to a question regarding electric scooters and cyclists on shared surfaces with pedestrians, Andy noted that this could be a danger to visually impaired people.  Some work was being done on this, especially kids on bikes without bells and brakes.

Community Safety Pilot project in Downton

The Chairman gave an update on the above project which sought to run a pilot event in Downton on 17 November to raise awareness on community safety issues.  This would be run jointly between the Area Board and the Parish Council, and if successful could lead to further projects in other areas.

A member of the Strategic Housing Team will deliver a presentation regarding the review of the current Housing Allocations System. A briefing paper is  attached.

Officer: Nicola Smith, Head of Strategic Housing

Janet O’Brien, Head of New Housing, gave a presentation on the review of the current Housing Allocations system.

Commenting on the stock profile of the Community Area, Councillor McLennan noted that there would be a large increase in affordable Housing due to the Old Sarum development.  Janet added that all new developments of 5 or more dwellings would be required to provide 40% of the units as affordable housing.

There was a query over the figure provided that 17 affordable homes had been delivered in the Community Area during 2010-12.  Janet undertook to check this. (Note – Following the meeting it was clarified that there had actually been 89 new affordable homes delivered in 2010-12.  The discrepancy was due to a misunderstanding over the Community Area Boundaries).

Janet referred to the new arrangements regarding under-occupation, whereby tenants would only receive the rent for the size of property they needed, as an encouragement to prevent under-occupation.  This would affect 52 households in the Southern Wiltshire Community Area.  It was noted that there was an appeals mechanism for under-occupation.

In response to question regarding the provision of affordable housing, Janet explained that the 40% rule was a basis for negotiation as it was also important to ensure the developments remained viable.  Another consideration was the mix of tenure and type of properties, to ensure balanced demographics depending on the suitability of locations.

The meeting took part in an interactive voting exercise as part of the consultation on the Housing Allocations review.  The results are attached at Appendix 1.

To receive an update on this Area Board Theme.

Officer: Tom Bray, Community Area Manager

To receive an update from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) and to consider recommendations for funding projects from the 2012/13 CATG budget.

Officer: Tom Bray, Community Area Manager

The Chairman referred to the report set out at pages 43-44 of the agenda.

Councillor MacLennan advised that, following the recent meeting of Laverstock and Ford Parish Council, it was confirmed that the parish would not be contributing the extra £500 towards extra works on the Milford Mill Road scheme.

Decision

The Area Board approved the allocation of CATG funding as set out in the report and listed in the table below, noting that the Milford Mill Road project would not receive the additional £500 from the Parish Council, and so the total cost of the project would be revised to £1000.

The Board will consider the proposals for the allocation of the £4,109 Youth Initiative Funding for 2012/13.

Officer: Tom Bray, Community Area Manager

The Board will consider applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme.

Officer: Tom Bray, Community Area Manager