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Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Cotswold Space - County Hall, Trowbridge BA14 8JN. View directions

Contact: Kieran Elliott  ( Senior Democratic Services Officer)

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

To receive details of any apologies for the meeting.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Helen Osborn, Mr Colin Kay (Campus Working Group) and Inspector James Brain.

2.

Minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 2015.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 2015 were presented for consideration. The Chairman drew attention to the discussion on Children’s Centres with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, and noted that when the new model of services had been approved by Cabinet, Trowbridge had retained two of its three current centres as it the Board had requested, rather than retaining only one.

 

Resolved:

To APPROVE and sign as a true and correct record.

3.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

Councillor Graham Payne declared a non-pecuniary interest in grant application 1616 under minute 11a by virtue of a relative being connected with the grant applicants, and did vote during the item.

4.

Chairman's Announcements

To include the following:

 

      i.        Your Care Your Support

    ii.        Trowbridge Public Space Protection Order

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Through the Chair there were the following announcements:

 

1)    Your Care Your Support - A written announcement was circulated with the agenda.

2)    Public Spaces Protection Order - A report was considered on the proposed Public Space Protection Order(PSPO) for Trowbridge.

 

Resolved:

To note the further work carried out to develop the proposed PSPO in Trowbridge, and

 

To mandate that the PSPO Working Group carry out the necessary consultation on the agreed conditions to be contained within the order, and the area of Trowbridge affected.

 

3)    Arts Workshop in relation to cultural strategy, to take place on 18 January at the Civic Centre.

 

4)    Wiltshire Passenger Transport Review - A written announcement was circulated as attached to these minutes. It was noted the review was only in relation to bus services.

5.

Partner Updates

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

 

      i.        Wiltshire Police

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

   iii.        Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

   iv.        Town and Parish Councils

    v.        Local Youth Network

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Updates from partners were received as follows:

 

      i.        Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner(OPCC)

Naji Darwish from the OPCC delivered a presentation on behalf of Commissioner Angus MacPherson detailing the proposal that the policing element of the council tax be increased by 1.9%, and the consultation on the proposal which would end on 3 February 2016.

 

Details were also provided on performance statistics for the past year, noting despite a slight increase in reported crime Wiltshire had the 7th lowest crime rate in England and Wales, as well as explanations of increased costs and reduced grant funding.

 

Queries were raised on the estimates used to calculate the increased costs, in particular in relation to forthcoming increased national insurance contributions, where some members felt the assumptions to be too high given the proposed measures taken by the Fire Authority and Wiltshire Council finance officers for the same issue. A response from the chief finance officer of the OPCC would be sought and circulated to the Area Board.

 

Details were also sought on the integration of administration and increased cooperation with Avon and Somerset Police, and how these savings from shared support services and other measures were progressing. It was stated around £0.500m was predicted to be saved through such methods for the next financial year.

 

It was also noted by the Board that the police element of the council tax was currently the lowest in the region, and that it received the second lowest grant funding of any police service.

 

    ii.        Wiltshire Police

The written update from Inspector James Brain was noted. Sergeant Mark Hough in attendance reported on recent pilot programmes to improve response times, and provided details on crime data for the area.

 

   iii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

It was noted the Combined Wiltshire and Dorset Fire Authority would come into being on 1 April 2016. It was stated the Authority had received the fourth largest reduction to its grant of any UK Fire Authority, and that though some district councils and Police and Crime Commissioners had been given the right to increase their council tax precept by £5, that is by more than 2%, this had not been the case for Fire Authorities.

 

The Board also expressed thanks to the service for their excellent Christmas Party, and drew attention to the in-house magazine offered by the Fire Authority on recent activities and plans.

 

   iv.        Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

The written update was noted. Lindsey Millen, TCAF Coordinator, reported that the government had accepted TCAF’s application or charity status, which would open up further opportunities for the group and its work in the community area.

 

Details were also provided on the continuation of the Wellbeing report as detailed in previous meetings, a skate group working with Wiltshire Council, and a meeting of BA14 Culture on 9 February 2016 at Bridge House from 1230-2000. A meeting with parishes regarding Speed Indicator Devices had also been arranged for 8 February 2016.

 

    v.        Town and Parish Councils  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Outside Body and Working Group Updates

Wiltshire Councillors appointed as representatives to Outside Bodies, or other representatives of those bodies, will report on any recent news, to include:

 

      i.        Transforming Trowbridge

 

Updates will also be provided on any working groups of the Area Board, to include:

 

    ii.        Trowbridge Area Board Campus Working Group

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Transforming Trowbridge

A meeting was to take place 21 January 2016 and it was reported there remained a lot of interest in the Bowyers site.

 

Campus Working Group

A written update was provided as detailed in the agenda. Concerns were expressed over delays, and a note provided to the Chairman, attached to these minutes, from Maggie Rae, Corporate Director, in response to some of the concerns.

7.

Julia House Initiative

Minutes:

Ian Wadley from children’s hospice Julia’s House was in attendance to provide details of the organisation and its plans for expansion within Wiltshire. Details were provided of the family support focus of the charity, and it was explained they were already operating within the Wiltshire community, but would be opening a hospice in Devizes to complement their hospice in Dorset, to be able to provide community and home care across the entire two counties.

 

Anyone who was interested in donating or supporting the charity was encouraged to contact them at https://juliashouse.org/

8.

Trowbridge Business Improvement District (BID)

Kevin Bromwell (BID Consultant) will provide an update on the progression of the proposed Trowbridge Business Improvement District.

Minutes:

Kevin Bromwell from Mosaic Partnership, the lead consultant for the Trowbridge Business Improvement District (BID) project, provided a presentation on the Partnership’s previous work developing BID schemes, with a 100% success rate, and an explanation of the process undertaken.

 

It was explained the purpose of the BID was to identify priorities for the central business areas of urban areas, propose how these could be met, and a levy on local businesses to fund these with the purpose of improving the area and so increase investment and attractiveness of the area. It was highlighted that the priorities would be identified by businesses themselves, who would also be responsible for managing the allocation of funds raised by any levy, and that any plan produced and approved would need to specify what money would be spent on, and would be a legally binding agreement.

 

It was explained that the feasibility and project support stages of the BID scheme had been completed, and consultation was underway for a draft plan to be subject to a ballot in June 2016.

 

In response to queries it was stated common themes focused on by BIDs included increasing security and safety, maintenance and cleaning, marketing and business assistance, and that some BIDs focused entirely on one aspect. It was also clarified any levy would be based upon the rateable value of businesses in the area, and be set between 1-2%. Another option was a set amount per the size of each business, with a cap on the maximum, which would bring in a lower total amount. As the plan had not been completed with a proposed levy rate, it was not currently possible to confirm how much each business would be asked to contribute.

 

The Board discussed the proposals, noting additional monies for town improvement was welcome, but that some businesses stated they had concerns, and that every effort must be made to contact all businesses to attempt to address those concerns. The Board requested further updated as the BID progressed.

9.

Review of Provision of Support for Homeless People

To receive a report and update on provision of support for homelessness in the community area.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

A written report was presented by Nicole Smith, Head of Housing Operations, on behalf of James Cawley, Associate Director, Adult Care Commissioning and Housing. The report detailed figures held by Wiltshire Council on homelessness in the community area and the county, with Trowbridge the area by far with the largest hub, along with the housing options available in the area to support this.


In response to queries it was clarified the reference to Towpath House was a bedroom scheme in the town that was different to the children’s home building in Hilperton which had also been referred to by that name.

 

The Area Board discussed the report, along with contributions from the public and representatives from local homeless support charity organisations, some of whom disputed the Wiltshire Council figures as too low based on their work in the town.

 

The Area Board expressed its continued concern that properties that might be available or made available to provide further support for this problem, but that separate departments did not communicate to each other or councillors effectively on what those properties were or what the problems might be. With the withdrawal of Alabare Care drop-in centre due to the lack of a suitable property, despite some continued work through Breakthrough at the Salvation Army building, there was significant concern very vulnerable people were not going to be supported.

 

The Board requested that the Community Engagement Manager coordinate a group to look into solutions and in particular assist in coordinating and communicating with council officers with local groups and volunteers to improve cooperation and information sharing.

 

Resolved:

 

To direct the Community Engagement Manager to oversee a community group to work with council officers to improve communication and outcomes for Homeless support.


10.

Funding

10a

Community Area Grants

Applicant

Amount requested

Applicant: Rainbow Early Years
Project Title: Rainbow Early Years New External Door Secure Key entry

View full application 

£950.00

Applicant: The Learning Curve (Voluntary Sector Development)
Project Title: Catering equipment for healthy cooking sessions

View full application 

£920.00

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme 2015/16:

 

Community Grants

       i.        Rainbow Early Years

The sum of £950.00 was requested for the New External Door Secure Key Entry project.

 

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £950.00 to Rainbow Early Years.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2015/16.

 

      ii.        The Learning Curve (Voluntary Sector Development)

The sum of £920.00 was requested for Catering equipment for healthy cooking sessions.

 

Decision

To not award the grant.

Reason: The applicant was considered to have sufficient resources to fund the project without support from the area board.

10b

Local Youth Network Recommendations

ID169

Applicant

Amount requested

Project

Chambers of Commerce

£5000.00

WOW – Preparing for the World of Work

ID170

Applicant

Amount requested

Project

Chambers of Commerce

£5000.00

Create Energy ….Release your potential

ID173

Applicant

Amount requested

Project

Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF)

£4720.00

Opline – Trowbridge Skate Park Development 

ID179

Applicant

Amount requested

Project

Trowbridge Sports Forum – Hayley Bell -  Active Trowbridge

£7910.00

Active Street Football

ID180

Applicant

Amount requested

Project

Trowbridge Sports Forum – Hayley Bell -  Active Trowbridge

£5000.00

Olympic Play Day

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Area Board considered funding requests from the Local Youth Network (LYN).

 

i)             ID170 - Create Energy….Release Your Potential

Decision

To award £5000.00 toward the project from the Chamber of Commerce.

ii)            ID169 - WOW-Preparing for the World of Work

Decision

To not award the grant, as recommended by the LYN.

iii)           ID173 - Opline - Trowbridge Skate Park

Decision

To award £4720.00 toward the project from TCAF.

iv)           ID179 - Active Street Football

Decision

To award £7910.00 toward the project from Active Trowbridge

v)            ID180 - Olympic Play Day

Decision

To award £5000.00 toward the project from Active Trowbridge

 

10c

Community Area Transport Group (CATG) Recommendations

West Ashton Traffic Calming - £8000

Maple Grove White Bar Marking - £300

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Area Board received the report from the Community Area Transport Group, with recommendations to award £8000 toward traffic calming in West Ashton, and £500 toward white bar marking in Maple Grove.

 

It was also raised that the draft notes from the CATG should have included a request for records of traffic flows, and for officers to explore the possibility of a traffic census for all main routes in and out of the town.

 

Resolved

 

To award a total of £8500 to the 2 schemes as detailed in the report.

 

11.

Community Engagement Manager Update

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Community Engagement Manager provided an update, as attached to these minutes, on recent work throughout the community. Details were provided on initiatives in relation to Older People such as the Men’s Shed scheme,  community resilience workshops, , Child Poverty actions relating to teenage pregnancy and joining up initiatives, as well as workshops on arts development, increased work on equalities following the successful Black History Month event and legacy events for 2016.

12.

Urgent items

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.