Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Kerry Eatwell and Tara Huntley.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 16 February 2012.

To received Chairman’s announcements on;

The air quality action plan needs updating the Community Area Manager in conjunction with the Community Area Partnership would take this forward.

To receive and consider the petition supporting the reinstatement of free parking for one hour, and its request that Wiltshire Council and Westbury Town Council should negotiate a solution.

Cllr Bill Braid and Cllr David Jenkins presented Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council with the Westbury Car parking petition which wasorganised jointly by Westbury Town Council and Westbury Chamber of Commerce. 

The Leader explained that she would organise a meeting with lead officers, Westbury Town Council and the Chamber of Commerce.

To receive any updates from partners – Parish and Town Councils, Police, Fire and Rescue Service, NHS and Chamber of Commerce. Reports contained within the agenda are;

All partner updates were contained within the agenda (pages 11 to 29 refer).

To receive an update from Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council.

Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council updated the board on the ‘big issues’ the Council were dealing with.

Health

She explained that the Health and Social Care Bill had become an Act and that this would be ‘big business’ for the Council.  The Council was already engaged in establishing the Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) a key element of the NHS reforms. The Health and Wellbeing Board will be responsible for providing strategic leadership in promoting integrated working between the local authority, the NHS, and Public Health. It will be the focal point for high-level decision making about the health and wellbeing needs of the local community, and will set the direction and priorities for local commissioning arrangements.

Policing

Elections of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales would be direct elections in each police area of England and Wales.

Police and Crime Panel would be formal joint committees of the councils within the force area so for Wiltshire the panel will be a joint committee of Swindon and Wiltshire Councils. Work is underway between the two councils and the police authority so that the shadow panel can be in place by the Summer 2012 in plenty of time for when the PCC is elected in November 2012.

Local Enterprise Partnership

The Swindon and Wiltshire LEP have been allocated further funding to help with economic development and infrastructure.

Budget

The budget has been approved by Council and frontline services are stable.  She also announced that there would be free swimming for children (under 16’s) during the holidays.

The Chairman welcomed questions.

Would the Health and Wellbeing board be a panel of elected members?  Jane Scott explained that board would be a mix of elected members, health care professionals and Health watch and would take a strategic role.  She also explained that money in the Primary Care Trust would be transferred to the Council and that opportunity would arise here to make efficiencies.

What was happening with the Core Strategy? After Council in February, the Wiltshire Core Strategy pre-submission document was published for consultation for a six week period and ended in April 2012, hoping for approval around June, but a date is not known.

The Chairman thanked Jane Scott for her update to the Area Board.

To receive and consider the motion detailed below proposed by Cllr Hawker.

Westbury needs an A350 bypass as soon as possible, not least because heavy traffic flows along the A350 are expected to continue to grow for a wide range of reasons. Westbury Area Board calls on Wiltshire Council's cabinet, Wiltshire Strategic Economic Partnership and all other relevant stakeholders, without further delay, to restart substantive  and meaningful discussions and relevant technical work to identify an appropriate and practical route for, and to properly and diligently plan for the implementation of, an A350 Westbury Bypass that will both remove long distance traffic from the town and help to improve journey times along the local A350 corridor, on the basis that by the time the necessary research and planning stages are substantially completed government or other suitable funding is more likely to be available again.

Cllr Hawker thanked Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council and Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe for the hard work that was undertaken with the A350 Westbury Bypass up to and including 2009.

He went on to explain that the motion had been amended to reflect the current work that was being undertaken by Wiltshire Council in light of the Department of Transport proposing the setting up of new “Local Transport Bodies”, based on Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) geography.

Cllr Hawker outlined the key points he felt supported the motion;

·         There is heavy traffic on the A350

·         Traffic is expected to increase

·         Core Strategy supports the expansion of towns and as a direct consequence this will increase traffic

·         B&NES are proposing to implement an experimental weight restriction in Bath between the A36 Bathwick Street and the A36 Beckford Road (commonly known as the Cleveland Bridge restriction).  This restriction will effectively prevent a significant proportion of large HGVs (those over 18 tonnes) from travelling through Bath along the A36 and will be impact on the A350 in Westbury.

·         Seasonal heavy traffic due to routes to the Southwest

·         The A350 is a key economic transport route

·         Congestion is a blight on the town

The Chairman then took comments from those present.  A number of statements had been received prior the meeting. Points made at the meeting were;

·         The resolution, as it stands, is wide open for another attempt at an eastern bypass. Can we therefore have the resolution changed to say an eastern bypass will not be attempted again?

·         Is there really a need for a bypass?

·         The Board has previously supported a Motion for an AONB

·         After a very thorough investigation the Eastern route was not supported it would appear outrageous to start discussion again.

·         To withdraw the motion.

Cllr Jenkins raised a number of points, and acknowledged that this was an emotive subject:

·         Funding of a bypass is an issue

·         A bypass is key to economic regeneration

·         It will have an effect on employment

·         Improve travel times

·         The A350 through the town does get very congested at times

·         Traffic will increase by 44% between 2010 and 2035

·         The enquiry cost £4M and that this was money that did not go anywhere.

Jane Scott explained that at the enquiry the Inspectors had detailed that the usage of the road was not exceptional for a primary route, that the cost and the environmental impact outweighed need and also the Inspectors did not see a strong economic benefit.  She explained that she thought that in the current economic climate Government would be looking at schemes that dealt with the economy.  She went on to make clear that the Westbury Community needs to have a conversation about what should be done before the harder work is taken on by the Council. 

The Chairman explained that her major concerns were financial and that the Council had started to consider over 50 potential major transport schemes ranging in cost from £1m up to +£30m such as Westbury  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To receive a Police update from Inspector Lindsey Winter.

Inspector Lindsey Winter updated the board.  She was pleased to announce that statistics showed that the Police were performing slightly better than this time last year.

She encouraged people to attend the Neighbourhood Policing Team meetings that were held regularly in various halls around the community.  It is an opportunity to ask questions and have your say!

Lindsey agreed to bring back to the board an update on the Restorative Justice process that she, other agencies and partnerships had been engaged with.

Are there common themes with Anti Social Behaviour and are the vulnerable being supported? Lindsey explained that there was a robust procedure in place, and work is continually ongoing.  She also explained that HMIC had assessed them in April and recommendations have been made. Her team looks at trends and patterns and acts upon them robustly.

It was noted that people had seen a reduction in ASB throughout the Market Place.

To receive a presentation from Scott Taylor on the proposed changes to the Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances Scott Taylor was unable to attend the meeting.

To receive a presentation, on the proposed changes to recycling in our area.

The Chairman introduced Andy Conn, Head of Waste Management.

About 242,000 tonnes of waste is produced a year, 41% is recycled or composted. Roughly 20% is converted into energy this will increase to 30% with the Mechanical Biological Treatment. 37.5% of waste goes to Landfill. Over 1,900t of black box materials are recycled a month.

The new plastic bottle and cardboard recycling services was delivered in Autumn 2011.  In Wiltshire collection is approximately 700 tonnes of plastic bottles and cardboard a month.  220 tonnes is collected in the West.  This service now includes shredded and brown paper.

During recent summers household recycling centres have been open until open until 7pm on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.  As all residents have a new kerbside service to collect garden waste at no extra charge, it is proposed that household recycling centres will go back to normal summer opening every day until 5pm.

The consultation could be accessed on the Wiltshire Council website until 28 May 2012.

Questions raised were;

Why is it only plastic bottles that are allowed in the recycling bins?  Andy explained that is was to do with the quality of the plastic. Good quality plastic bottles per tonne £220, mixed plastic £20 per tonne. He explained that the issue here was quality.

Wouldn’t it be better to open later in the morning and keep the household recycling centres open in the evening, this may lessen the potential to fly tip.  There is always a risk of fly tipping, but Wiltshire have better options than other local authorities.

Will the lorries using the MBT use the A350?  Andy explained that all lorries will be those belonging to the Council, therefore they will dictate and enforce the route they will take which will be through the industrial estate.  There will be no increase in traffic. 

To receive an update from the BA13+ Community Area Partnership on the Westbury Forward event held in January.

The BA13+Community Area Partnership have compiled the Community Area Plan in consultation and with research in the Westbury area as well as meetings with relevant groups and individuals to identify priorities.  The Westbury Forward event in January identified top priorities for action.  The next stage will involve identifying partners to help deliver desired outcomes and a methodology to measure progress against targets.

To ratify the membership of the Campus Operations Board.

Westbury Community Operations Board Membership

Decision

To agree the membership of the Westbury Community Operations Board (COB).

Sally Hendry Community Area Manager reminded those present that issues could be raised through her, local councillor or on-line.

Concern had been raised by a number of people regarding the number of lorries using the Bratton Road (B3098) and then the bridleway to access the White Horse Country Park.  A solution has been worked out and it is hoped in the future lorries will access from the A350.

The rubbish in the stream is causing concern at Leigh Park the problem with this is that parts of it are adopted and some is not! Work is ongoing to resolve this.

Dog fouling continues to be an issue throughout the area, posters that were made by local children in Church Street were a great success and it would be good to organise a campaign throughout the town.

Further to the report in the agenda (page 31 refers) Sally Hendry Community Area Manager explained that in order to get a SID in place your area has to have a community speed watch. Bitham have started and Warminster Road will be starting soon.

To consider applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme and note the Grant Overview Report 2011/12.

An up to date allocation of grants can be found at http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=206642948348490339237.0004a64a0133d7e54b948&hl=en&ie=UTF8&z=12.

Heywood and Hawkeridge Jubilee committee application for £1,000 towards the funding of Diamond Jubilee celebrations for the community including the purchase of a tent which can be used for future community events.

Decision

To approve the grant of £1000.

Reason

 The villages of Heywood andHawkeridge are planninga packed programmeof eventsto celebratetheJubileewith eventsforall ages.The projectdemonstrateslinks to the Local AgreementforWiltshireambition "BuildingResilientCommunities”.

Bratton Jubilee Hall Management Committee application for £1,000 towards the purchase of replacement tables for use by the public and community groups in the hall.

Decision

To approve the grant of £1000.

Reason

The project demonstrates links to the Local Agreement for Wiltshire ambition "Building Resilient Communities”.

Edington Recreation and Leisure Action Committee application for £1,000 towards the funding of Diamond Jubilee celebrations for the community including a big village party for everyone,  a shared village lunch in the playing field, with children's entertainment, punch and judy, games and races. Children will be presented with a celebration mug.

Decision

To approve the grant of £1,000

Reason

The project demonstrates links to the Local Agreement for Wiltshire ambition "Building Resilient Communities”.

Dilton Marsh Carnival Committee application for £750 (since the publication of the agenda an additional event had been organised and the request had increased by £250) towards thefunding of Diamond Jubilee celebrations for the community.

Decision

To approve the grant of £750.

Reason

 The project demonstrates links to the Local Agreement for Wiltshire ambition "Building Resilient Communities”.

The Chairman explained that this project gives an opportunity to showcase various aspects of Westbury community life. It will raise the profile of the community and what it has to offer to a much wider audience. It involved a variety of local groups and individuals including schools and the youth centre. We plan to follow the one day Salisbury event with a mini exhibition in Westbury so people who had been unable to attend will also be able to see the exhibits.

The projects links in with:

Building Resilient Communities

Decision

To approve the grant of £3,000.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 14 June 2012 at Heywood Village Hall.

The next meeting of the Westbury Area Board will be held on Thursday 14 June at Heywood Village Hall.