Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Richard Britton welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Southern Wiltshire Area Board.

There were none.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 29 January 2015.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 29 January 2015 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

Item 9 – Highways Services – Balfour Beatty and Wiltshire Transport Team.

For information Councillor Britton declared that he held shares in Balfour Beatty, as this item was an information item only this did not constitute a pecuniary  interest.

There were none.

Written Updates attached are:

·       Police – Neighbourhood Team Update

·       Fire & Rescue Service

·       NHS

·       Wiltshire Council Updates – Universal Credit

·       Wiltshire Council - Delivering a Legacy for Wiltshire

·       Southern Wiltshire Issues System

·       Any other comments or reports

Police – Inspector David Minty

The overall figures were pleasing. Victim based crime was down 20% but violence against the person was up 12%, so work was underway to bring that figures down.

During a recent operation called Midas, forces in different areas joined together to work with local farmers to catch people poaching and stealing from farms and across rural areas. Thirty vehicles were stopped and three poachers were removed from the county.

Fire – Cllr Chris Devine

The proposals for a combined Fire Service with Dorset had now been through Parliament and signed off. It was hoped that by 1 April 2016 the combined services would be functioning as a single Fire and Rescue Service for Wiltshire and Dorset. A new Chief Fire Officer had been appointed, this was Darren Gunter.

WFRS - Mike Franklin

On 12 March there had been a significant fire in Redlynch. 19 Fire vehicles, including some from across the border attended the scene. Mike urged anyone with a thatched roofed property to have a home safety check carried out.

Questions and comments:

·       John Martin, Landford PC – We were all aware of the fire in Redlych, the Wiltshire Fire Service was supported by engines from Romsey. Would the current arrangements with the Hampshire Fire Service continue once the combination was in effect? Answer: Yes all arrangements would remain the same.

Wiltshire Council Updates – Universal Credit

The Board noted the written update attached to the agenda.

Wiltshire Council – Delivering a Legacy for Wiltshire

Karen Linaker, Community Area Manager gave information on the proposals for an event scheduled to celebrate the 800^th Anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta. The event would take place on Monday 15^th June at 6pm  and would include a pageant and a parade from the market place to the Salisbury Cathedral.

Local representatives from arts and crafts groups would be sought in the Southern Wiltshire community area to work together on decorating a wooden baron which would then be part of the parade.

Southern Wiltshire Issues System

The Board noted the report attached to the agenda. Issues continued to come in, the majority of them were Highways and CATG themed issued.

Comments and questions:

·       Cllr Randall noted that there was an issue at Stock Lane in Landford Wood, where the narrow road goes round in a loop. The parish council had initially objected to its inclusion in the 40mph limit but were told that nothing could be changed. Local residents would like the 40mph limit to be removed.

Cllr John Thomson advised the Board to take the issue to the CATG who could then consider a sensible scheme to resolve the issue.

Answer: Cllr McLennan felt that the CATG budget for Southern Wilts should not be affected by any scheme to rectify the issue arising from the implementation of a 40mph speed limit.

Action: Area Board to ask Cabinet member to review and reverse the decision relating to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

What’s it like to live in Alderbury?

Chairman of Alderbury Parish Council, Elaine Hartford gave an overview of what it was like to live in Alderbury.

There were many activities and clubs in the village, including a monthly film club, keep fit and arts groups and a coffee shop. The recreation ground had a range of facilities for young people, but also catered for people of all ages with the four pieces of outdoor gym equipment and outdoor table tennis.

Alderbury was one of the first villages in Wiltshire to have superfast Broadband installed. Community Speedwatch and Neighbourhood watch were both also in operation in the area.

Ten bus stops had been adopted by the parish, which had been added to the asset register. A new footpath had been created between West Grimstead and Whaddon.

The parish was working with the Community Youth Officer, Emma Drage to set up a Local Youth Network (LYN).

The Chairman thanked Elaine for the presentation. He added that the footpath had been included in the parish plan years ago as something residents would like. It had taken some years to realise and it demonstrated how things could be achieved with commitment and perseverance.

The Board will receive an update, including details on the roll out of superfast broadband in our community area so far, and a schedule for the remaining villages.

Officers: Sarah Cosentino, WC Business Analyst & a representative from BT.

The Board received an update on the roll out of superfast broadband in the community area so far, and the schedule for the remaining work.

Councillor John Thomson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities, Campuses, Area Boards and Broadband and Ian Baker, Head of the Programme Office were accompanied by Paul Coles – SW Regional Partnership Director and Matt Lloyd, NGA Programme Manager from BT for this item.

There were 9,000 homes within the Southern Wiltshire community area, which would receive access to superfast broadband (SFBB) once works were complete. So far provision to 6,000 of those home had been carried out.

There had been a number of challenges to overcome along the way, to enable BT to get fibre optic out to houses in some areas, but in other areas there had been significant success.

Four new structures would be going live in Alderbury which would see 1,000 houses provided with SFBB.

Further information was available on the website, including a postcode checker and by April 2015, the facility to enter your email address to receive updates would be available.

Questions and comments included:

·       You have made a lot of excuses, surely these issues were considered when entering in to a contract with Wiltshire Council? Answer: The engineering challenges were all genuine.

·       You say that 90% of premises would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The management of reactive maintenance work: ticket submission, prioritisation, scheduling and communication.

Officer: Adrian Hampton, Head of Local Highways, Weather, and Streetscene - South

Adrian Hampton, Head of Local Highways, Weather, and Streetscene – South provided information on the management of reactive maintenance work: ticket submission, prioritisation, scheduling and communication.

There had been quite a lot of change over the last 18 months, following the Government Reduction in grants and increase in demand on key services. This had impacted on Highway expenditure and a reduction in back office staff.

Reactive Service Services - Local Highways:

·       Pot Holes

·       Signage

·       Street Name Plates

·       Graffiti Removal

·       Gulley Emptying

·       Litter Collection

·       Fly Posting Removal

·       Shopping Trolley Removal

·       Dead Animal Removal

·       Any Highway Defect Repair

People could now report issues via the ‘My Wiltshire’ web page or use the app via a mobile phone. Link: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/parkingtransportandstreets/roadshighwaysstreetcare/mywiltshirelogin.htm

A meeting for Town and Parish Council’s had been scheduled for 28 April 2015, at City Hall Salisbury, which would talk in a lot more detail about the services available and how to log issues in the parish.

Questions and comments included:

·       There was great frustration when using the online ‘My Wiltshire’ app as once you had submitted an issue, you did not get any feedback on the progress. Answer: We were currently looking at different software, as we are struggling with the current system,

·       There had been an increase in fly tipping, the response was inadequate. Answer: Littering was up 20% nationally. It was clear that some people would rather fly tip than take their waste to a recycling centre.

·       Cllr Johnson noted that it was most frustrating that the Ward Cllrs were not being kept in the loop and therefore could not advise their communities of planned work. Answer: When I have a solution I will be back.

·       There was a lot of litter on the ‘A’ class roads, the Council had a responsibility to clear this. Answer: We had always had the responsibility for collecting litter, but money had become tight and we must make the best use of our services. When the verge cutting was carried out this time, no litter picking was done beforehand. If the community undertook the litter picking themselves, that would be good for the community, but if not then we will do it, but we must prioritise our work.

·       Are we getting good value from our contractors, as it seemed that some things were not getting done? Answer: In Local Highways, £6 million was spent, £140,000 on maintaining play areas. The price for grass cutting per m² was providing value for money.

·       Were all of the gullies being cleared in the contracted year?  Answer: the contracted year runs from 1 June to 31 May, all gullies must be cleared in that year. Sometimes during flooding, we pull them off the schedule to go and sort out areas in trouble. We will empty a gull in an emergency, if there was risk to road safety or flooding to a house.

·       Cllr Thomson added that where work was not up to standard or failed, that was down to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Inspector David Minty will take us through a demonstration of the new Community Messaging system now in operation.

Due to the previous items running over, this item was postponed until a future meeting.

To receive an update from Community Youth Officer, Emma Drage, on progress of the LYNs since our last meeting.

Officer: Emma Drage, Community Youth Officer

Due to the previous items running over, this item was postponed until a future meeting.

An update on CATG projects and consideration of funding for new schemes as detailed in the attached report.

Officer: Karen Linaker, Community Area Manager

The Board report from the last CATG meeting and considered the recommendations for funding from the CATG budget for 2014/15.

Decision

Southern Wiltshire Area Board approved the CATG recommendations for funding as detailed below:

To consider the nominations for Individual and Group Community Awards as detailed in the attached report. Your votes determine the winners.

Officer: Karen Linaker, Community Area Manager

This was the second year that the Southern Wiltshire Area Board had run the Community Award scheme.  It was a way of recognising the really important contribution to community life made by groups and individuals across our area.

Nominations had been requested for individuals, projects and groups which:

·       could demonstrate real, tangible community benefit

·       brought people together to give up their time for the local community

·       had achieved particular success

Individuals would receive awards of £50; groups/projects would receive £200.

The Board considered the nominations for Individual and Group Community Awards as detailed in the report attached to the agenda.

There had been 13 individuals and groups nominated, all of whom had performed services for their communities, which the Board would like to recognise.

Decision

The Southern Wiltshire Area Board awarded 13 Individual awards of £50 each, and 2 Groups awarded of £200 each as detailed in the report.

The Chairman thanked everyone who had been involved with the project.

The Board will consider 3 applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme for 2014/15, as detailed in the attached report and listed below:

1.     Winterslow Cricket Club – £995 for a new mobile cricket cage.

2.     Pitton & Farley Parish Council – £1,690 for two new village noticeboards and two new map lecterns to guide visitors to footpaths and other local features.

3.     Landford Parish Council - £4,724.22 for new teenage play equipment at the recreation ground.

Officer: Karen Linaker, Community Area Manager

The Board considered 3 applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme for 2014/15, as detailed in the report attached to the agenda.

Decision

Winterslow Cricket Club was awarded £995 for a new mobile cricket cage.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

Decision

Pitton & Farley Parish Council was awarded £1,309 for two map lecternsto guide visitors to footpaths and other local features.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

Decision

Landford Parish Council was awarded £4,724.22 for new teenage play equipment at the recreation ground.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

The Chairman noted that some of the funding for the grants awarded as above would come from the 2015/16, as there was not enough in this year’s budget.

As this is the final meeting of the 2014/15 municipal year the chairman will make a brief report on the year just finishing.

As this was the final meeting of the 2014/15 municipal year the chairman made a brief report on the year just finishing, as attached to the agenda.

Just short of £72,500 had been allocated in Area Board funding during 2014/15, on 34 schemes across 13 parishes. These relatively small amounts mean so much to these parishes.

The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.