Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Warminster Area Board and introduced Councillor Seed, Angus Macpherson (Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner) and Peter Binley (Head of Highways Asset Management and Commissioning, Wiltshire Council).

Apologies were received from Barry Pirie. It was also noted that Councillor Pip Ridout would arrive late.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2014 (copy attached).

The draft minutes were amended to include Phil Jefferson and Dennis Barnard in the attendance list and included the following comment made:

A comment was raised about the police cover in the Warminster Rural NPT and it was noted as a matter the Area Board should discuss.

Decision

The minutes of the previous meeting with the amendment 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will introduce the Announcements included in the agenda and invite any questions.

·         Recycling

·         Safe Places

The Chairman made the following announcements which were covered in the

agenda pack:

Recycling Success

Comments were raised in the room about car parks in Warminster and Corsley, noting that they were not aware of any consultation with the public before the recycling bins had been removed which had left rubbish which was not getting cleaned up. The removal of the bins in Corsley at the playing field would mean a loss of money for the area.

Adrian Hampton, Head of Local Highways and Streetscene (South) at Wiltshire Council commented saying that the council owned sites would still be getting cleaned and the private sites would stop being cleared in a few months once the communities were aware that there would no longer be collections.

Safe Places

A new scheme funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner, which had been launched in Salisbury, would hopefully be launched in Warminster. The scheme would provide safe places for the vulnerable and works by businesses signing up to the scheme and being trained on how to help those in need. The businesses which were part of the scheme could be identified by an orange sticker in the window and the employees would carry orange cards.

To receive an update from Chitterne Parish Council on current issues and work in progress.

Mike Lucas of Chitterne Parish Council gave a presentation updating the Area Board on the current issues and work happening in Chitterne.

It was mentioned that over 20 homes and the local pub had been affected by the flooding as well as part of the B390 in the village and most of the Tilshead Road, talks were currently happening with Wiltshire Council and the Armed Forces on ways to mitigate flooding in the future.

It was also identified during the flooding that motorists had shown no consideration and frequently drove too fast through the water, pushing it back into resident’s houses and over the volunteers helping. Another issue with oversized vehicles travelling through the area had been identified with the nearby Valley Farm increasing the amount of waste from 25000 tonnes to 100000 tonnes, without any consultation, meaning more large vehicles would be passing through the area.

Mr Lucas reinforced the speed watch initiative noting that it would only work with continued enforcement and thanked the Community Area Transport Group for helping with traffic calming measures.

Another issue identified was the lack of connectivity and broadband in the area and asked that Chitterne be a priority for the broadband rollout. 

A comment was made to thank Mr Lucas for the presentation and that other villages were experiencing the same issues.

The Chairman thanked Mr Lucas for the presentation.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

Ø  Wiltshire Police

Ø  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Ø  Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Ø  Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Ø  Warminster Community Area Youth Action Group

Ø  Shadow Community Operations Board

Ø  Army Re-basing Updates

Some written updates have been received and are included in this agenda.

The written updates included in the agenda were noted.

Verbal updates were received from:

Wiltshire Police

Angus Macpherson made a comment that the speed watch was getting better.

Inspector Alan Webb referred to the written update on page 13 of the agenda, highlighting the areas of: The revised geographical policing model and flattening of management structure, the team would be giving particular focus to repeat callers, prolific offenders and repeat victims.

The focus in Warminster would be on domestic burglaries and he noted an increase in victim based crime and domestic burglaries in the area.

Questions were asked about the Neighbourhood Policing Teams resources and lack of presence in the rural areas. Inspector Webb noted the comment and said that the team had been under some pressure although there had been some recruitment and once the new recruits had finished their training there would be less pressure.

A question was asked about the crime figures increasing. Inspector Webb explained about the change in the reporting system and how crimes were detected and recorded which had affected the figures.

A presentation was then given on the Community Messaging System by Inspector Webb and Mr Mike Davis, which explained the system to develop neighbourhood support teams which would be in Warminster in the summer. The system would allow for the police to alert the local areas signed up on issues more quickly. The Neighbourhood Alert website provided information on other counties and how they used their system, Cumbria was given as a good example to look at. It was noted that the system could also be linked with other services such as the Fire and Rescue service in the future.

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue

Mike Franklyn apologised for not submitting a written update and explained that the service was having technical issues and hoped to be back in operation in June.

Mr Franklyn explained that the Wiltshire and Dorset Fire & Rescue teams had been working closely and he read a script which explained that there had been a budget shortfall which was threatening the service and the separate Fire Authorities of Wiltshire and Dorset. They had been looking at the business case for combining into a single Wiltshire and Dorset Fire Authority. A decision would be made in December and a public consultation would take place between 16 June and 24 August. Documents would be on the Wiltshire fire and rescue website and a helpline would be set up.

Warminster Community Area Youth Action Group (YAG)

The YAG secretary Megan Feist informed the Area Board that clubs within the area were seeing an increase in their numbers and becoming very successful. The street based youth workers had worked hard to engage with the skaters and get their opinions about the youth services. It was noted that the YAG would be having a celebration on the 13 May at the Westbury youth centre.

The Chairman thanked Miss Feist for the update.

Army Re-basing Update

It was noted that Wiltshire Council was waiting for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Councillor Seed will present his portfolio on Communities, Campuses, Area Boards, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding.

The Chairman introduced and welcomed Councillor Seed.

Cllr Seed thanked the Chairman, explained that he represented his local area of Summerham and Seend and was the Cabinet Member for Communities, Campuses, Area Boards, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding.

Cllr Seed gave an outline of his portfolio and explained his role in helping Wiltshire Council to have more resilient communities through voluntary funding, Campuses, Area Boards and Leisure facilities.

Area Boards were a ground breaking national success and a local Wiltshire initiative which was about communities and there had recently been a review which would be rolled out later in the month.

Cllr Seed informed the Area Board that because Wiltshire Council were doing things differently they were able to retain the leisure facilities in tough financial times by integrating leisure with public health and helping libraries stay open longer through the input of the communities.

Flooding had been an issue and they were now looking at a proactive and reactive system and bringing in community involvement which works.

Cllr Seed agreed with Chitterne Parish Council about drivers being inconsiderate during the flooding, having experienced the same problem.  After witnessing what the drivers were doing he got a press release and radio announcement out to encourage drivers to slow down.

The provision of campuses was the biggest project which would combine facilities that were most important to the communities and by doing this Wiltshire Council would be able to retain facilities and save money in the long run. The current Warminster consultation was coming to an end which would determine what facilities the campus would have and the second consultation looking at where the campus should be.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Seed for his presentation.

Cllr Keith Humphries gave an update on the Warminster area campus informing the Area Board that there had been a good response from a good variety of people.

The current results indicated that 76% of the respondents, supported the campus and 4% did not agree to the campus; 77% wanted more leisure facilities and 85% of the respondents highlighted car parking and safe pedestrian access as their priority. 300 comments had been received.

Cllr Humphries encouraged the Area Board to take part in the consultation and to encourage their friends and families. 

The Area Board is asked to consider the list of proposed highway maintenance schemes in your area for 2014/15, and agree the final list for implementation.

The list of potential schemes for future years could also be reviewed, and consideration given to priorities for treatment in 2015/16. A draft list of sites will be prepared for comment later this year, but an early indication of local priorities would be helpful.

The Chairman welcomed Peter Binley who gave a presentation on the Local Highways Investment Fund 2014/2015.

Mr Binley expressed the importance of the highways network within Wiltshire and that the flooding had been a big setback on repairs. Wiltshire had 3000 miles of road and a budget of £21 million for the next six years. Wiltshire Council was taking a flexible approach and reviewing the priorities each year. The current list of priorities targeted the larger sites which needed work.

Mr Binley explained that the highways team wanted to set up a cycle of repairs with the agreement of the Area Board. Unfortunately this had been held up this year due to the flooding but would come back at the end of the year to seek the views of the community on a priority list for the following year; because of this the community would have an opportunity to bring projects forward.

The chairman explained that he believed an annual event with the Area Board would be the best way forward. 

A comment was raised asking to view the Amesbury area maps as Chitterne would be influenced by the Amesbury area and who the best contact would be in highways. It was explained that it was a county wide project and that the community area website would have a full list of sites. It was also noted that the area highways engineer Dave Button and the local teams would be the best people to speak to.

A question was asked if there was a contingency fund in case of emergencies and it was explained that the highways were trying to remain flexible and review the priorities each year. 

To consider the applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme.

The area board considered the following applications seeking 2013/14 Grant funding:

Community Area Grants

Decision

Corsley Memorial Playing Field – All weather outdoor table tennis table was awarded £999.53 towards this project.

Reason

This application meets grant criteria 2013/14 and is a capital project.

Decision

Corsley Reading Room – Building IT literacy in local community was awarded £383.88 towards this project.

Reason

This application meets grant criteria 2013/14 and is a capital project.

Decision

Corsley Reading Room – To build a new wall at side of the Reading Room was awarded £1700 towards this project.

Reason

This application meets grant criteria 2013/14 and is a capital project.

Decision

Wiltshire Blind Association – For assistive technology workshops/ drop- ins was awarded £3933.25.

Reason

This application meets grant criteria 2013/14 and is a capital project.

The Chairman agreed to consider the grant request for the Warminster Festival and the request for running costs for the Warminster and Villages Community Partnership (WVCP) together because they were both requesting revenue funding.   The Area Board had a total of £7,936 of revenue funding left for 2014 / 15.

Warminster Festival Committee had requested £4,000 revenue funding for the Warminster Festival 2014. 

The Warminster and Villages Community Partnership had requested a total of £6,835 for running costs 2014 / 15.

Cllr Pip Ridout requested that the Board approved a roll-over of funding from the Warminster Job Club of £1,068 to 2014 / 15 which was also revenue funding. This bought the total revenue funding available to the Area Board to £9,004. 

Decision: The Area Board agreed to roll the amount over. 

Cllr Keith Humphries moved that the Festival Committee be awarded £3,461, reserving £5,543 for WVCP.

Decision: The Area Board agreed to fund the Warminster Festival £3,461.

Warminster and Villages Community Area Partnership’s request for funding.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to fund the WVCP £5,543

Reason

This application meets grant criteria 2013/14.

To agree proposed projects and funding.

The Warminster Area Board was asked to agree the budget allocation proposals from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) for the Warminster Community Area.

Decision

To approve the two projects listed in the report for CATG expenditure.

An update from the Community Area Manager and leaders of the groups working on existing issues.

If you would like to raise an issue please contact the Warminster Community Area Manager, Jacqui Abbott on 07771 844 530 or jacqui.abbott@wiltshire.gov.uk or report the issue on the Wiltshire Council Website by using this link.

The Chairman will invite those attending to raise any urgent items of public concerns and will also invite any questions from the floor.

The Community Area Manager introduced her report including new issues since the last meeting, on-going issues and those issues since resolved.

The report was included as part of the agenda pack.

A question was raised about the Victoria Fields Estate issue, if the CATG along with residents, would write to developers to get a response on the issues. The Community Area Manager said they would try to get a response.

The rest of the issues were noted and no further issues were reported.

The board will consider the existing Forward Work Plan for the Warminster Area Board at which point the Chairman will invite those present to suggest topics to be considered at future meetings.

If you cannot attend the meeting and would like to suggest topics please contact the Democratic Services Officer whose details are available on the front page of this agenda.

It was agreed to discuss the Neighbourhood Policing Team.

The next meetings of the Warminster Area Board will be on:

·       Thursday 3 July 2014, 7pm, Warminster Civic Centre

·       Thursday 11 Sept 2014, 7pm, Warminster Civic Centre

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board would be held on 3 July 2014, 7pm at the Warminster Civic Centre.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting.