Agenda and minutes

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 9 September 2010 were agreed a true record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor Jeff Osborn enquired whether the pathway alongside the John of Gaunt School had been cleared satisfactorily. It was suggested that this was the case; however there was an outstanding issue with lighting along the path. This issue was to be referred to Clarence, with the Community Area Manager to monitor.

Councillor Helen Osborn announced that the Performance Reward Grant bid from Studley Green Resource Centre had been successful and the project would proceed.

Updates were received as follows:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

The written report was noted. Inspector Cullop added that the Comprehensive Spending Review had been announced, and Wiltshire Police would like to attend the next Area Board meeting on 20 January 2011 to talk about the upcoming public consultation on budget matters.

Councillor Helen Osborn congratulated Wiltshire Police on the positive results in Table 2 of the report, which showed a decline in reported anti-social behaviour. The Inspector commented that developments in partnership working, particularly with Wiltshire Council, were likely to be the reason for this success as well as the anti-social behaviour panel which was working to identify offenders and intervene at an early stage.

Councillor Jeff Osborn had been in communications with Wiltshire Police regarding the Dispersal Order at Studley Green Youth Centre, and commented that he wished to see the Youth Centre re-opened as soon as possible. The Inspector stated that this was a top priority in the area, and a partnership plan was being developed to resolve the issues.

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written report was noted. Mike Franklin reiterated the importance of home fire safety, particularly with regards to chimneys, and encouraged households to have their chimneys swept to reduce the risk of accidental fires. He also announced that free home fire safety checks were available, with 227 being conducted in the Trowbridge area so far this year. Anyone interested in a home fire safety check should call 0800 389 7849.

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

The written report was noted.

   iv.        Trowbridge Community Area Future

The written report was noted.

    v.        Trowbridge Town Council

The written report was noted.

   vi.        Parish Council Nominated Representatives

There were no parish council updates.

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

The CAYPIG reported that meetings were being held with other local groups to raise issues, and the findings of this exercise would be presented at the next Area Board meeting.

With regards to the Studley Green Youth Centre, a Youth Council was being established to work with partners to get the centre re-opened. Consultation was likely to take place in December 2010, and it was hoped that the Centre would re-open in January 2011.

The Area Board considered a joint proposal for funding from the Trowbridge Community Area Youth Parliament and CAYPIG.

A presentation was made by representatives of the Youth Parliament and CAYPIG which outlined the proposal. The proposal sought the sum of £7,759 to develop and promote a media campaign against anti-social behaviour, including utilising public transport.

Key objectives of the campaign would be:

·         To highlight that the youth of Trowbridge did not support anti-social behaviour

·         To raise awareness to the public of the routes to report any anti-social behaviour issues encountered or witnessed.

Decision

The Area Board supported the proposal and awarded the sum of £7,759 to the Trowbridge CAYPIG and Youth parliament for the development and promotion of a media campaign against anti-social behaviour.

Jeff James, Chief Executive of NHS Wiltshire, provided an update on progress with plans for a new Primary Care Centre in Trowbridge. The main points made were as follows:

·         The plan was to replace the Bradford Road services with a modern, fit-for-purpose facility.

·         Despite some delays with the plans, the Primary Care Trust (PCT) was still pursuing the project and was committed to trying to bring it forward.

·         The partnership between the PCT and the GPs was fundamental, particularly as the GPs would own the premises.

·         The GPs preferred a model where-by one or more practices owned the premises, with the PCT leasing space for various services.

·         All practices involved and/or affected needed to be in agreement before the plans could proceed.

·         At a meeting on 1 June, the PCT confirmed to the GPs its willingness to proceed, and asked the GPs to present a business case.

·         A range of options were being considered, including a single building site and a two-site solution.

Following the presentation, a number of questions and issues arose as follows:

·         In response to a question regarding where the capital funding came from and who was responsible for obtaining it, Jeff confirmed that the funding would be sought commercially, and that the GPs were responsible for obtaining the funding.

·         Concern was expressed that one of the practices in the area was working beyond capacity and could not obtain permission to expand. In response to this Jeff stated that the PCT was open to proposals that brought together existing services.

·         In response to a comment regarding the main reasons for the delay, Jeff stated that no party was individually to blame, but the different views of all parties needed to be considered which required patience.

·         A number of queries arose regarding the need to proceed with plans as soon as possible; otherwise there was the risk that the plans would cease once new arrangements for the PCT were in place. In response to this, Jeff commented that encouraging the process of dialogue helped greatly and the PCT was open to considering all possibilities.

The Chairman thanked Jeff James for his presentation.

David Growcott, Enforcement Manager, presented information on the issue of vehicles being advertised and/or sold on the highway. A full briefing paper outlining the current situation was circulated.

Legislation being considered to address the issue included the following:

·         The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 - however this legislation required a prosecution process which may prove expensive, unwieldy and ineffective, and so would not usually be the most appropriate option.

·         The Highways Act 1980 – there were several potential sections under this Act, however all of them suffered the same weaknesses described above.

·         The Highways Act 1980, Section 143 – discussions were taking place with the legal department regarding an approach using this piece of legislation. By issuing a notice under this Section, it allowed an individual up to one month in which to remove the vehicle, after which the Council could remove them and recover reasonable costs.

The Council was currently running a trial of the use of Section 143 on two sites within close proximity of each other on the outskirts of Salisbury. If this trial proved successful then the Council may seek to roll out the process across the county in appropriate areas.

The Chairman thanked David for his presentation and requested that a report was brought back to the Area Board to update on the progress with the trial in Salisbury and if it would be rolled out in Trowbridge Community Area.

The Area Board considered the allocation of one additional grit bin within the Community Area. A total of 17 requests had been made for additional bins from the town and parish councils.

Councillor Tonge announced that, despite only one bin being available to Trowbridge Community Area, parish and town councils could purchase their own grit bins, and the Council could supply one tonne on grit provided that the parish/town had somewhere to store it and someone to fill the bins.

Councillors asked that more thought was given to the allocation criteria in future, to ensure a fair approach for all areas in the county.

Decision

The Area Board decided to delegate authority to allocate the one additional grit bin to the Community Area Transport Group and requested guidance from a technical officer on prioritising the requests.

The Area Board considered recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group for small-scale transport and highway improvement schemes for the Trowbridge Community Area.

Decision

The Area Board agreed that the following schemes should proceed:

      i.        Dropped kerbs - to ring fence the sum of £5,000 for the provision of dropped kerbs.

    ii.        Trowbridge, Gloucester Road junction with Bond Street – 1 x dropped kerb.

   iii.        Southwick, Hollis Way – 1 x dropped kerb.

   iv.        Lark Down – costings for proposals of either a refuge/pedestrian build out adjacent to the bus stop.

    v.        Eastbourne Gardens – investigation into pedestrian provision/informal crossing adjacent to Tesco Express.

It was noted that there was still provision in the budget for a further five dropped kerbs to be considered. Any suggestions or proposals should be sent to the Community Area Manager for the Area Board to consider at the next meeting.

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, provided feedback on the Car Parking Strategy consultation which had been conducted recently to address the inconsistency inherited from the former district councils.

Councillor Tonge explained that parking was wider than just charging, and it made up an important part of local transport policy (e.g. improving street scenes, reducing traffic conflicts and supporting bus services). It was also important to review parking policy to ensure it was fit-for-purpose for new developments.

During the consultation, responses had been received from some 600 people, making over 5,000 comments. One petition had also been received.

In the Trowbridge Community Area, a total of 7 responses had been received, with the following points being raised:

•         If car parking at the Country Park was made chargeable then it would encourage parking elsewhere, causing problems in other areas e.g. Frome Road.

•         Trowbridge should be given one-hour free car parking, then chargeable as they have currently in Westbury and Melksham. It is vitally important to keep people visiting Trowbridge.

•         Long stay commuter parking provision should be assessed where adequate sustainable transport alternatives exist, not automatically reduced.

The next steps in the process included a Cabinet decision meeting on 14 December 2010, with statutory procedures taking place from January to March 2011. It was planned that the implementation of changes would take effect from April 2011.

Following Councillor Tonge’s presentation, a couple of comments were made as follows:

·         Consideration should be given to utilising the land near the train station for car parking, as this could prevent cars from parking on the streets.

·         Parking at the library in Trowbridge was currently free and it was hoped that this would remain the case when the library moved to County Hall. There was, however, the issue of staff and members of the public using the free spaces when not using the library.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Tonge for his presentation.

Doug Ross, Joint Project Officer of Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF) provided an update on the initiative to reduce unnecessary street lighting.

Although there had been some initial interest from parish councils in this project, that interest was lost when it transpired that the dimming of street lights was not available in the first round. It was felt that, to turn street lights off completely, could jeopardise highway safety and household security.

It was hoped that there would be a good chance of reviving local support for this project in the next round, if the funding could be used for dimming street lights.

Councillor Tonge requested to be informed if Trowbridge Community Area had no interest at this stage, as the funding could be utilised by other areas across the county.

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, provided an overview of his responsibilities, which included performance and strategy for transport, highways maintenance and improvements, traffic management including car parking, road safety and passenger transport, litter and cleansing, rights of way, public toilets, grounds and open space including allotments, cemeteries and markets.

Councillor Helen Osborn sought advice on two local matters; the locations of bus stops and speeding issues on Brook Road in Trowbridge. Councillor Tonge advised that Community Speedwatch could be used for the speeding issues. He also advised that a survey had been carried out in Corsham by the Community Area Partnership in relation to bus stops, and perhaps a similar exercise could be carried out by Trowbridge Community Area Future in the Trowbridge Community Area.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and requested that people completed their evaluation forms.

The Forward Plan of future provisional agenda items was included in the agenda for information.

The next meeting of the Area Board would take place on Thursday 20 January 2011, 7.00 pm at Wiltshire Council Offices, Bradley Road, Trowbridge.

      i.        Community Area Grants

Councillor Graham Payne left the room.

The Area Board considered five applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme as follows:

a.    West Ashton Village Hall

The sum of £5,000 was requested for the creation of a small meeting room attached to the village hall to provide additional useable space.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £5,000 to West Ashton Village Hall conditional upon the applicant being able to provide evidence that the remaining £29,720 funding had been raised before the grant was released.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and would provide valuable additional space.

b.    Larkrise Community Farm

The sum of £4,000 was requested for construction of a barn for the storage of animal feed.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £4,000 to Larkrise Community Farm, conditional upon the applicant receiving planning permission for the barn.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and demonstrated many links to the Trowbridge Community Area Plan.

c.    Trowbridge Town Council

The sum of £4,980 was requested towards the Trowbridge Christmas Lights Extravaganza event.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £4,980 to Trowbridge Town Council on the condition that the applicant did not apply for this event on an annual basis as it would then constitute regular running costs.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and demonstrated links to the Trowbridge Community Area Plan.

d.    Trowbridge Westbourne Sports Club – Tennis Section

The sum of £734 was requested for the purchase of equipment to increase junior membership and offer competitive opportunities for children in the local community.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £734 to Trowbridge Westbourne Sports Club – tennis section.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and would enable the purchase of this additional equipment.

e.    Trowbridge Town Football Club

Councillor Peter Fuller left the room.

The sum of £2,446 was requested for the purchase of training and match equipment for the youth, girls and adult football club teams.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,446 to Trowbridge Town Football Club.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and demonstrated a link to the Trowbridge Community Area Plan.

Councillor Peter Fuller returned to the room.

    ii.        Area Board Projects

The Area Board considered one application for funding under the Area Board Projects scheme as follows:

a.    Registry Office Bench

The sum of £638.93 was requested for provision of a bench outside the registry office in Trowbridge.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £638.93 for the provision of a registry office bench.

The meeting closed at 9.25 pm.