Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Jeff Osborn, welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Trowbridge Area Board, and particularly welcomed the presenters and the increased attendance of members of the public.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Stephen Oldrieve, Michael Hudson (Service Director, Wiltshire Council), Joy Hillyer of Wiltshire Police Authority and Kath Noble of Southwick Parish Council.

Councillors Jeff Osborn, John Knight, Peter Fuller, Tom James and Helen Osborn all declared general personal interests in Trowbridge Town Council issues due to being members of the Town Council. All councillors had dispensations allowing them to speak and vote on such matters.

Councillor Graham Payne declared a general personal interest in Trowbridge Town Council issues due to being a member of the Town Council. No dispensation was in place.

      i.        To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 7 July 2011.

    ii.        Matters arising from the previous meeting, to include:

a)    Cabinet member response regarding employment and economic concerns

b)    Area Board response to draft 13 to 19 Commissioning Strategy

c)    Update on CAYPIG funding

d)    Update on outstanding Performance Reward Grants.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 7 July 2011 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Matters arising from the previous minutes:

      i.        A response from Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Strategic Planning, with regards to concern for the employment and economic conditions in Trowbridge was received and noted.

    ii.        As suggested at the previous meeting, a response to the draft 13 to 19 Commissioning Strategy had been submitted on behalf of the Area Board. The Council’s Cabinet would be considering the draft Strategy at its meeting on 13 September 2011.

   iii.        Following discussions at the previous meeting it had been agreed that the CAYPIG/Youth Parliament would be permitted to retain £1,500 of the funding originally awarded by the Area Board if their change of use proposal was approved by the Chairman and Vice Chairman, with the remaining £1,500 to be reclaimed and added to the Area Board’s youth funding budget for 2011/12.

   iv.        Trowbridge Annual Festival of Fun – this organisation had now been dissolved. The IT equipment that had been purchased with a Performance Reward Grant had been donated to Wiltshire Council’s Youth Development Service primarily for use by the Studley Green Youth Group.

Councillor Tom James declared a prejudicial interest in the following item but spoke as a member of the public, and then left the room.

Seymour TARA – the Town Council was now acting as the new landlord for the TARA. The work for this project had commenced.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to extend the period of this Performance Reward Grant and requested that the Community Area Manager liaised closely with the group to ensure that the project was completed within a satisfactory timescale. The Area Board agreed that this approach was a one-off and would not set a precedent for future grants.

Councillor Ernie Clark wished it be minuted that he did not take part in the discussion for this item.

Councillor James returned to the meeting.

To include the following:

      i.        New Waste and Recycling Service

    ii.        Trowbridge Town Hall

   iii.        Help to Live at Home

   iv.        Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge

    v.        Screen Me.

The Chairman’s Announcements were included in the agenda pack and noted by the Area Board.

The Chairman also announced that the issue concerning the Headteacher at Clarendon School was being dealt with by the Governors, who were taking advice on the matter from the local education authority.

To note the written reports and receive any updates from the following:

      i.        Wiltshire Police (attached)

    ii.        Wiltshire Police Authority

   iii.        Wiltshire Police Federation

   iv.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (attached)

    v.        NHS Wiltshire (attached)

   vi.        Trowbridge Community Area Future

  vii.        Town and Parish Councils

viii.        Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

The written update was noted. Inspector Dave Cullop reported that the new national non-emergency telephone number of ‘101’ would go live from Monday 19 September 2011. The 999 number should continue to be used in emergency situations, which included when crime was in progress, when a crime had been committed and the offender was nearby, when there was a danger to life and if violence was being used or threatened.

    ii.        Wiltshire Police Authority

Kieran Kilgallen, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Police Authority, reported back on the recent public survey that had been conducted. The survey results indicated that Wiltshire Police was performing well and that overall satisfaction was high. Kieran also announced that the elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner would take place on 15 November 2012.

   iii.        Wiltshire Police Federation

Copies of a letter from the Police federation to the Area Board were distributed, raising concern about the effect that spending cuts were likely to have on the quality of local policing in the near future.

   iv.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written update was noted. There were no further updates.

    v.        NHS Wiltshire

The written updates were noted. There were no further updates.

   vi.        Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

The new Community Plan was complete and copies were distributed. The newly appointed Project Officer, Tracey Sullivan, was now in post and would be working closely with Kate Oatley. The ‘Not the Trowbridge Fringe Festival’ would be taking place from 10^th to 17^th September 2011.

 vii.        Town and Parish Councils

Trowbridge Town Council reported that the new Civic Centre project was currently running to schedule and on budget.

The next meeting of the Parish Councils Liaison Group would be taking place on 12 October 2011, when the discussions would be focussed on Extended Schools.

The Chairman announced that investigations were currently underway into the Pubwatch Radios Community Area Grant that had been awarded by the Area Board at a previous meeting.

Action: an update would be provided at the next Area Board meeting.

viii.        Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG)

Various members had recently left to go to university, and a recruitment drive was underway to attract new members to the group. Discussions with the Town Council regarding the skate park and the Bowyers/Tesco site were ongoing.

Councillor Helen Osborn, who sat on the Arc Board, encouraged people to look at the current cinema listings as there was a great selection of films on offer.

To consider the following applications:

                      i.        SPLASH – to run a cultural dance project for young people at the Arc Theatre – £1,742 requested.

                    ii.        Monday – Wednesday Club – to develop the physical skills of elderly people through the purchase of curling equipment - £231 requested.

                   iii.        Trowbridge Tigers FC – to host a national 5 a side football competition to raise the participation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people in football – up to £920 requested.

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme 2011/12:

       i.        SPLASH

The sum of £1,742 was requested for a cultural dance project for young people at the Arc Theatre in Trowbridge.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,742 to SPLASH.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Trowbridge Community Area Plan.

      ii.        Monday – Wednesday Club

The sum of £231 was requested to develop the physical skills of elderly people through the purchase of curling equipment.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £231 to Monday – Wednesday Club.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Trowbridge Community Area Plan.

    iii.        Trowbridge Tigers FC

Up to £920 was requested to host a national 5 a side football competition to raise the participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in football.

Decision

The Area Board refused the application from Trowbridge Tigers FC.

Reason: The project would mainly benefit the Westbury and Warminster areas and it was felt that there were sufficient alternative sources of funding for adult football initiatives.

To consider the proposal for the allocation of the Area Board’s youth budget for 2011/12.

The Area Board considered a proposal for the process for the allocation of the funding allocated for supporting youth-related projects. The sum of £7,797 had been allocated for projects in the Trowbridge Community Area, plus the reclaimed funds from the CAYPIG/Youth Parliament of £1,500, giving a total youth budget of £9,297.

The proposal was to hold a participatory budgeting session where young people, councillors and members of the public would be allowed to vote for the youth projects they found most deserving. It was noted that the Area Board would take the final decision on funds to be awarded.

It was proposed that groups of young people (a group being six or more young people) would be invited to apply for funds towards projects/activities/equipment that they felt would make a difference to them in their local community. Groups would be able to apply for a maximum of £1,000.

Decision

The Area Board:

      i.        Approved the proposed process for the allocation of the 2011/12 youth funding, on the basis that the Area Board retained overall responsibility for the allocation of funds.

    ii.        Agreed to convene an Extraordinary meeting of the Area Board on Thursday 19 January 2012 at 6.30pm in order to allocate the youth funding and also receive reports back from 2010/11 Area Board grant recipients.

Introduction from Adam Nardell, Vision Director, Trowbridge Vision.

To receive presentations as follows:

      i.        Angus Horner, Managing Director of Prorsus – the developer of the Bowyers site in Trowbridge.

    ii.        Proposals for the expansion of the ASDA store in Trowbridge.

   iii.        L&G development proposals for St Stephen’s Place.

Adam Nardell, Vision Director of Trowbridge Vision, introduced the following presenters, who would each be outlining their various development proposals for sites within Trowbridge:

      i.        Proposals for the expansion of the ASDA store in Trowbridge

Ross Bowen, the Planning Consultant working on behalf of ASDA, outlined ASDA’s plans to extend the current store in Trowbridge. The current store was limited in terms of floor space, which meant that the store was unable to stock a full range of lines and compete effectively with out of town developments.

Options to extend the store had been examined extensively, and a side extension towards the river was considered to be the only viable option available. It was proposed that the riverside would be improved by the extension, which would replace the current, dated facade, and a pedestrian walkway would help to improve the river corridor.

Following the presentation, the following comments and issues arose:

·         It was not possible to create a mezzanine floor within the existing store as there was not sufficient roof height and there were issues with the load-bearing capacity of a mezzanine floor.

·         It was acknowledged that the car park was not ideal and concerns would be passed back to ASDA, however the car park was not owned or managed by ASDA.

·         There was some concern that the extension of the store would encroach on the river corridor. The plans proposed by ASDA sought to improve the riverside both in terms of access and visually.

·         All other options had been fully considered and were not viable. This would have to be justified in the planning application.

·         It was acknowledged that this proposal had some conflicts with the Supplementary Planning Document for the area, but ASDA was keen to reduce any negative impact by reducing the height and width of the extension.

    ii.        L&G development proposals for St Stephen’s Place

Tim Russell and Simon Russian of Legal & General outlined the development proposals for St Stephen’s Place in Trowbridge. The proposal was to create an eight-screen cinema, and 80-bed hotel and six restaurants on the site.

Following the presentation, the following comments and issues arose:

·         Legal and General already had a legal interest in the multi-storey car park and it was hoped to integrate this with the proposals for the site.

·         The site was purchased in June 2010, and there has been an ongoing dialogue with Wiltshire Council regarding the options ever since.

·         This proposal was based on deliverability and it was scheduled to open autumn 2013 subject to planning permission being granted.

·         There were concerns regarding insufficient car parking spaces to cope with the scale of the development. The developer had consulted with the occupiers on this matter and was confident that the car parking provision would be sufficient.

   iii.        Proposals from Prorsus for the Bowyers site in Trowbridge

Angus Horner, Managing Director of Prorsus, outlined development proposals for the Bowyers site in Trowbridge. The proposal was to reinvigorate this site and open up access to the River Biss as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To receive a presentation from Lucy Murray-Brown, Campus and Operational Delivery Programme, on proposals for a Community Campus in Trowbridge Community Area, as detailed in the attached Cabinet paper dated 15 February 2011.

The Area Board will be asked to consider and approve proposals for the campus delivery and associated Terms of Reference (attached), and will invite expressions of interest from those wishing to sit on the Shadow Community Operations Board.

Subject to the above, the Area Board will also nominate one councillor to act as the Area Board’s representative on the Shadow Community Operations Board.

Lucy Murray-Brown of Wiltshire Council’s Transformation Programme gave a presentation on proposals to develop a Community Campus in Trowbridge Community Area; a Community Campus being a building, or buildings, in a community area that would provide the services the local community needed in an accessible location.

Local community involvement was critical to the success of the Campus project, and the aim was to reduce the long term financial, environmental and operational pressures on operating aging, low quality buildings.

Community Campuses had potential to co-locate with partner and voluntary organisations, and core criteria to all campus buildings included a shared reception, community space, accessible IT provision, personal care facilities and catering facilities.

The indicative sequence of events for the development of a Trowbridge Community Campus was as follows:

•         January 2012 – April 2012: Further background work

•         April 2012 – December 2012: Consultation and design

•         January 2013 – July 2013: Planning process

•         July 2013 – December 2014: Construction period

•         Late 2014: Occupy new facility

•         Early 2015: Availability for community use.

In developing the Community Campuses, Wiltshire Council was testing the principles of community led management of local services.

It was proposed that a Shadow Community Operations Board would be set up in order to, subject to the agreement of the Area Board, take on a key role in coordinating and leading the project.

Following the presentation a number of comments and queries arose, as follows:

·         The facility would be financed through the Council’s Capital Programme but would be suject to the agreement of Cabinet once the proposals had been fully developed.

• It was acknowledged that it would be ideal if the development of a Campus could run in parallel with the other proposed developments in the town, however the programme of campuses around the county had been drawn up based on need.
• The Council’s Transformation Programme was a huge programme that related to all hubs and offices as well as the new campuses.
• Part of the savings to be made under this programme was in relation to the disposal of the Councils’s existing assets. Any such proposals to take over management of surplus assets would be considered on an individual basis.
• It was envisaged that a Campus would deliver as many local services as possible under one roof, with a single point of contact. The Council was encouraging local people and services to rethink how services were and could be delivered.

Decision

Trowbridge Area Board agreed:

1.    To approve the proposals for the campus delivery

2. To approve the draft Terms of Reference for the Shadow Community Operations Board
3. To establish a Trowbridge Shadow Community Operations Board and invite expressions of interest for members
4. To nominate Councillor Peter Fuller as the Area Board’s representative on the Shadow Community Operations Board, and Councillor Helen Osborn as the deputy.

The Area Board welcomed expressions of interest from people wishing to sit on the Shadow Community Operations Board. The deadline for submissions was Friday 21 October 2011; further information  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To receive an update from Bill Parks, Head of Service – Local Highways and Streetscene Central, Wiltshire Council.

Bill Parks, Head of Service – Local Highways and Streetscene Central, provided an update on Elm Grove Play Area in Trowbridge.

The play area was prone to flooding during wet periods and had also been a target for continued vandalism including arson.

A safety inspection in September 2010 identified further vandalism and deterioration of the equipment and the decision was taken to close the play area and remove the equipment.

The recent closure of another Council owned play area had resulted in some play equipment becoming available. A small amount of Section 106 funding had also been sourced which could cover the installation of this play equipment to Elm Grove.

Decision

The Area Board:

1. Accepted the new pieces of recycled equipment
2. Agreed Section 106 funding should be used to install the new equipment and relocate the play area onto Elm Grove playing field
3. Requested that other play equipment should be relocated to Elm Grove should any be identified as being surplus.

To consider recommendations for small-scale transport improvement schemes.

The Chairman will take any items of urgent business.

The meeting is asked to note the future meeting dates below and the Forward Plan.

The Trowbridge Area Board Forward Plan was attached for information, providing details of provisional future agenda items.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting. The next meeting would take place on Thursday 17 November 2011, 7.00pm at the Atrium in the Bradley Road offices.