Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Graham Payne, welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Trowbridge Area Board. The Chairman also welcomed the visiting Cabinet representative, Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, responsible for Economic Development and Strategic Planning.

A petition was presented to the Area Board which contained the signatures of 1,025 local people who were in support of the Innox Riverside development planning application that had recently been refused by the Western Area Planning Committee.

The Chairman accepted the petition on behalf of the Area Board. The petition would be handed to Democratic Services and would be formally acknowledged, and would be brought to the attention of full Council and the Cabinet.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ernie Clark, Councillor Tom James, Mike Franklin of Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service and from the Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG).

      i.        To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 17 May 2012.

    ii.        Matters arising from the previous meeting.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 17 May 2012 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillors Graham Payne, Jeff Osborn, John Knight, Peter Fuller, and Helen Osborn all declared general, non-pecuniary interests in Trowbridge Town Council issues due to being members of the Town Council.

To include the following:

      i.        Wiltshire Online Digital Literacy Project

    ii.        Localism Act Briefing

   iii.        Wiltshire Community Bank: Tackling Social Exclusion (a short film can be viewed at http://youtu.be/5alT_uAvwmo)

   iv.        Older Peoples Themed Area Board – change of date from 11 October to 18 October, 10am to 12pm.

The Chairman drew attention to a number of briefings contained within the agenda pack.

The Chairman also announced that the date of the Older People themed Area Board meeting had been changed from Thursday 11 October to Thursday 18 October 2012, from 10am to 12pm.

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

      i.        Wiltshire Police

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

   iv.        Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

    v.        Town and Parish Councils

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

Update reports were received and noted from Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service, NHS Wiltshire, Trowbridge Town Council and Trowbridge Community Area Future.

The Parish Councils Liaison Group would be meeting on Wednesday 25 July when it was expected that an update would be received regarding the Cleveland Bridge.

It was reported that the Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG) was continuing to meet on Monday afternoons, and thanks were passed to the Studley Green TARA for allowing the use of the building.

It was also reported that the Studley Green Youth Group might lose the use of the meeting room at the Community Centre. This was a concern because there was a problem with anti-social behaviour in the area and the loss of the youth group could potentially compound this.

Wiltshire Councillors appointed as representatives to Outside Bodies will report on any recent news, to include:

      i.        Transforming Trowbridge

    ii.        Collaborative Schools

   iii.        Trowbridge Shadow Community Operations Board.

Updates from Outside Bodies were received as follows:

      i.        Transforming Trowbridge

The next meeting would be taking place on 13 July when the future of Transforming Trowbridge would be discussed, including how it would operate and what support would be available from Wiltshire Council.

Action: a letter would be sent on behalf of the Trowbridge Area Board to confirm that the Area Board supported the continuation of Transforming Trowbridge.

    ii.        Collaborative Schools

It was reported that things were progressing very well and that various projects and developments were taking place. A fuller update would be provided at the next Area Board meeting.

   iii.        Trowbridge Shadow Community Operations Board

The first phase of public consultation was being launched and a questionnaire had been produced which people were urged to complete.

The Chairman asked everyone in attendance at the meeting to stand for a moment’s reflection in memory of George Bright of Wiltshire College who had recently passed away.

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe will talk about her responsibilities for Economic Development and Strategic Planning, and respond to any questions.

Questions may be submitted in advance. Please email any questions to penny.bell@wiltshire.gov.uk by Thursday 5 July.

Councillor de Rhé-Philipe provided an overview of her cabinet responsibilities for her Economic Development and Strategic Planning portfolio.

Strategic Planning

Wiltshire Council had recently produced a Core Strategy document, which would guide development in Wiltshire until 2026. The next stage in the process was for the document to be assessed by an independent inspector appointed by the Secretary of State, and then an Examination in Public would be held later this year. Following this, the document would come back to Wiltshire Council for adoption, and it was hoped this would happen early in 2013.

Economic Development

Since the abolition of the Regional Development Agency, the Government had been encouraging the development of Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs). Wiltshire Council had developed a LEP with Swindon Borough Council, which was proving successful at securing government funding to increase local development.

With regards to the Bowyers site in Trowbridge, Councillor de Rhé-Philipe reported that a meeting had been held between herself, the Leader of the Council and the developer, to discuss options for a development that would be appropriate for the town. It was confirmed that Wiltshire Council had no intention to impose leisure facilities on this site.

Following the presentation by Councillor de Rhé-Philipe, a number of points and issues arose, as follows:

·         One of the biggest priorities at present was to get the Core Strategy adopted by the Council as soon as possible in order to prevent speculative development.

·         Other priorities included the provision of more jobs in Wiltshire, and improving the connectivity of the A350 between the north and south of the county.

·         There was an issue with the sewer system underneath the Peter Black site in Trowbridge, and it was possible that this could be moved but a specific proposal was required before the Council would consider committing the funds for this.

·         High-level transport studies had been completed, but more detailed work would be required as and when developments came forward. It was hoped that Section 106 (developer contribution) agreements would help to bring transport improvements forward.

·         With regards to affordable housing, 40% of all new housing developments would be affordable. This would complement existing plans for PFI housing schemes and extra-care housing in the West Wiltshire area.

The Chairman thanked Councillor de Rhé-Philipe.

a.    Community Area Grants

To consider the following application:

Sukosta Theatre Company – Theatre movement project - £3,850 requested.

b.    Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

To consider a claim from TCAF for core funding for 2012/13.

Community Area Grant Scheme

The Area Board considered the following application to the Community Area Grant Scheme:

Sukosta Theatre Company

The sum of £3,850 was requested for a theatre movement project.

Decision

The Area Board refused the application from Sukosta Theatre Company.

Reason: The applicant should be seeking income from those businesses and organisations that would benefit from the project.

Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

The Area Board considered a recommendation to approve the core funding to TCAF for the financial year 2012/13.

Decision

The Area Board agreed:

      i.        To approve the whole year’s core funding of £15,556 with an agreement to release the first tranche of £7,778 immediately.

    ii.        To release the second tranche at the January 2013 Area Board meeting as long as conditions set by the Partnership Development Officer, and agreed by the Area Board, had been met.

To receive a presentation from Sandie Lewis Head of Community Strategy and Voluntary Sector Support on the work being undertaken by Wiltshire Council with partners to develop and support volunteering in Wiltshire.

Sandie Lewis, Head of Community Strategy and Voluntary Sector Support, Wiltshire Council and Vanessa Wells of Volunteer Centre Wiltshire delivered a presentation on the work being undertaken by the Council and its partners to develop and support volunteering in Wiltshire.

Work was ongoing to make volunteering available to all, and to ensure that volunteering was well managed, supported and recognised through schemes such as the new ‘Time Credits’ scheme, a scheme whereby volunteers were rewarded by the time they gave by receiving a time credit which could be redeemed against certain time-related activities.

There were plenty of opportunities available for volunteers; 1,500 volunteering opportunities had now been promoted through the Volunteer Centre and the number of volunteers had doubled in the last year to 2,265.

Further information on volunteering opportunities was available by telephoning 0845 521 6224 or by visiting www.volunteercentrewiltshire.org.uk

Following the presentation, the following comments arose:

·         A large number of new volunteers had come forward recently, particularly in the Trowbridge area, with approximately 300 new volunteers in libraries & arts.

·         Some areas of volunteering attracted more volunteers than others, and it was hoped the Time Credits initiative might help with this.

·         The most popular form of volunteering was to be a Youth Mentor for the Youth Funding Team.

·         Wiltshire Council had a strict policy whereby any volunteer working with vulnerable people would have to be CRB checked.

The Chairman thanked Sandie and Vanessa for their presentation.

      i.        To receive an update on the Trowbridge Joint Surgery/Primary Care Centre from Dr Steve Rowlands, Medical Director, NHS Wiltshire, Dr Stephen Locke, GP and Tony Barron, Chairman of NHS Wiltshire.

    ii.        To receive an update on developments in Trowbridge as a result of the Health & Social Care Bill from Dr Steve Rowlands and Sarah MacLennan, Head of Communications and Public Engagement, NHS Wiltshire.

Sarah MacLennan, Head of Communications and Public Engagement for NHS Wiltshire, and Dr Stephen Rowlands, Medical Director of NHS Wiltshire & NHS B&NES, and Chairman of Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group gave presentations on the national and local picture of the NHS Reform.

Dr Stephen Locke provided an update on the plans to merge two Trowbridge-based surgeries on the Adcroft Surgery site. Plans to merge the two surgeries had been ongoing for some time now, but had unfortunately been delayed by the Pathways for Change programme.

In 2009, outline planning permission was granted for the provision of a single surgery on the Adcroft site, but the following year saw the worse of the financial problems take effect and the funding for the project was lost.

The two surgeries were continuing to push forward with their plans to merge. Developers had been engaged and financial support from the bank had been secured. Negotiations with the Primary Care Trust regarding final funding for the project were ongoing.

The surgeries had also been engaging with the Royal United Hospital in Bath to determine what services could potentially be delivered from the new Trowbridge surgery. They were currently considering transferring the provision of diagnostics and radiology (x-rays and scans).

With regards to the next steps, draft plans were in the process of being drawn up with architects, and it was hoped that a planning application would be submitted by the autumn.

A number of points and comments arose in the discussion that ensued, as follows:

·         The Clinical Commissioning Group would have a budget based on £25 per patient head with regards to the patient population of all the GP practices in the Clinical Commissioning Group.

·         The Great Western Hospital in Swindon was now responsible for managing all community hospitals across the county. The key focus with regards to community hospitals was on services; not buildings. The Clinical Commissioning Group would determine what facilities would be delivered where.

·         With regards to the new joint surgery, the build was estimated to take one year, so the facility could be expected to be complete approximately one year after receiving planning permission.

·         The other two Trowbridge surgeries were fully involved and engaged in the joint surgery plans, and it was hoped that the other surgeries would be able to utilise the facilities at the new surgery.

The Chairman thanked Sarah MacLennan, Dr Rowlands and Dr Locke for their presentations and contributions to the meeting.

A discussion item led by the Chairman regarding the future of the Peter Black Factory site in Trowbridge.

The Chairman led a discussion regarding the former Peter Black site in Trowbridge which, since the developer had gone into liquidation, had become run-down, and subject to vandalism and graffiti.

Officers from the Council’s enforcement team advised that there were actions that could be taken under the Town and Country Planning Act, but that in order to consider this, it would be necessary to undertake a more detailed investigation first.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to request officers on the enforcement team to investigate and seek to remedy the poor condition of the site and to report back with progress on their investigations to the September Area Board meeting, which would allow councillors to consider the issues at the site in light of a full appraisal.

To consider a Notice of Motion submitted by Councillor Jeff Osborn regarding the future use of land at Innox Hall in Trowbridge.

Councillor Jeff Osborn withdrew his motion regarding the future use of the land at Innox Hall in Trowbridge.

This matter was due to be considered by the Cabinet Capital Assets Committee on 24 July and the use of the site as changing facilities had been identified as a feasible option by officers.

To consider recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group for small-scale local transport and highways improvements.

Decision

The Area Board considered recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group and approved the following:

      i.        To allocate £330 to fit an SDR to measure traffic on West Street in response to the ongoing issue of West Street being used as a rat run.

    ii.        To allocate £2,850 for dropped kerbs on Sherborne Road and Widbrook Meadow, Trowbridge in response to requests relating to disability/mobility access.

   iii.        To allocate the Speed Indicator Device to Horse Road, Hilperton.

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 Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting.

The next meeting of the Trowbridge Area Board would take place on Thursday 13 September, 7pm at the Civic Centre, Trowbridge.