Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Area Board Members, the officers and the visiting cabinet representative, Councillor John Brady.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution (part 3, paragraph 4.8), the Chairman announced that he would vacate the Chair for item 2 as he was seeking re-election to the position of Chairman.  In the absence of the Vice-Chairman, Councillor Chris Williams was nominated to act as Vice-Chairman for this item. 

Decision

Councillor Chris Williams was appointed to act as Vice-Chairman of the Pewsey Area Board for item 2.

Councillor Williams in the Chair

The acting Vice-Chairman invited nominations for the position of Chairman of the Pewsey Area Board for the forthcoming year 2011-12.

Decision

Councillor Jerry Kunkler was elected Chairman of the Pewsey Area Board for the forthcoming year 2011-12.

Councillor Kunkler in the Chair

The Chairman sought nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Pewsey Area Board for the forthcoming year 2011-12

Following the nomination of Councillor Stuart Wheeler, it was confirmed that Councillor Wheeler had given written notice that he would consent to being so nominated in his absence.

Decision

Councillor Stuart Wheeler was elected Vice-Chairman of the Pewsey Area Board for the forthcoming year 2011-12.

Apologies for absence had been received from:

• Councillor Stuart Wheeler
• Carolyn Whistler - North Newnton Parish Council
• Stef Robertson – Chirton Parish Council
• Stan Bagwell – Enford Parish Council

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 2011 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

At the Chairman’s invitation, Caroline Brailey (Pewsey Community Area Manager) introduced the announcements listed at item 7, details of which were set out at page 17-24.

a.                  Pewsey Area Board Annual Report - 2010/11 – It was noted that the Area Board had awarded £44,898 of Community Area Grants, which had in turn enabled numerous projects with overall costs of £196,323.  It was also noted that the criteria for 2011/12 did not permit the Area Board to fund certain day-to-day costs for town/parish councils, as these bodies were able to raise some funds via the precept.

b.                  Wiltshire Core Strategy – As set out on page 19, the Council had published the Wiltshire Core Strategy Consultation Document setting out detailed policies and proposals to help guide investment and development proposals across Wiltshire up to 2026.  A series of public exhibitions were being held for people to see the documents and speak to officers.  One of these events would be held in Pewsey on 5 July at Bouverie Hall, between 2pm and 8pm.

c.                  Help to Live at Home – Details of this review were set out on page 23

d.                  Urgent Late Business – It was noted that the Chairman had accepted an item of URGENT LATE BUSINESS onto the agenda, under the provisions of Section 100B (4b) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).  This item related to a grant application from Woodborough Road Safety Group, and was deemed to be a matter of urgency due to the importance of this issue  to the local community, the work undertaken by the group in response to the  tragic accident on 17 March 2011, and the need to take action before the start of the new school year.  As such, the item could not wait until the next meeting of the Area Board.  The application would be considered along with other Community Area Grant applications under item 16.

Councillor John Brady, Cabinet Representative for Finance Performance and Risk, gave a brief outline of this area of responsibility.

The Council needed to find savings of just over £33 million in 2011/12.  After the 1^st quarter, 83% of those savings were on target to be achieved, and it was anticipated that the remainder could be achieved over the rest of the year. 

Responding to a questions about savings achieved as a result of moving to a unitary authority, Councillor Brady noted that this had achieved immediate savings of £18 million as a result of reduced senior management costs.  Further savings would take longer to achieve, for example the merging of four planning systems.

It was noted that Councillors’ allowances and expenses were set by an Independent Remuneration Panel, and were in line with similar authorities.  In terms of the Chief Executive’s salary, this was necessary to attract the best candidate for the job, and was also comparable to other authorities.

In relation to the Council’s business plan, Councillor Brady reported that performance against the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would be reported quarterly to the cabinet.  Scrutiny and the External Auditors would also review progress on this plan.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Brady for attending.

Caroline Brailey, Pewsey Community Area Manager, will give an update on matters raised at the previous meeting of the Area Board:

• Kings Corner
• Locked play areas – Bloor site in Pewsey
• Woodborough School Road Safety

To receive any updates from partner organisations:

a.                  Wiltshire Police;

b.                  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service;

c.                  NHS Wiltshire;

d.                  Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP);

e.                  Parish Councils;

f.                    Pewsey Community Area Young People Issues Group (CAYPIG); and

g.                  Extended Services.

Before inviting the usual updates, the Chairman asked Caroline Brailey to report on issues raised by partner organisations and Parish Councils at the previous meeting of the Area Board:

·                     Kings Corner, Pewsey

There was a brief update on page 53, which referred to the recent site meeting.  The Council had confirmed that it could not fully close the road as there was no capacity for turning.  However, some repair work would be undertaken to address road defects.

Ian Gibbons (Service Director – Legal and Democratic Services) reported that the Council continued to press the owner to remedy the problem, and that there had been some movement in terms of funding being arranged, and steps taken to produce a design.  The Council did have the right to undertake the work and seek to recover costs through a charge on the land.  However, this could cost up to £40,000 which was not available in the present circumstances.  In the meantime, the Council would continue to press for a definitive completion date.

Pewsey Parish Council commented that the resolution of this matter was becoming more urgent due to the Pewsey Carnival which used the road as part if its route.  It was suggested whether an interim support of the wall could be installed to make it safe for the short term.  Bill Parks (Head of Highways and Streetscene – Central Area) commented that a support may be difficult due to the width of the road, however he undertook to take this suggestion back to the structural engineers

ACTION: Bill Parks

The Chairman reported that he had experienced difficulty in contacting the resident, but that he would visit again this evening, to seek a resolution to the matter.

ACTION: Councillor Kunkler

·                     Locked Play Areas – Bloor site in Pewsey

Caroline reported that Wiltshire Council were waiting to take ownership of these areas, but could not do so until they were in a reasonable condition.  It was hoped that they would be ready in the next two weeks, following which there would be a legal transfer taking around 8 weeks.

·                     Woodborough School Road Safety

Caroline referred to a request at the previous meeting of the Area Board that a review of all school pick up / drop off points be undertaken.  This had been raised with the relevant Cabinet Representative, who had advised that such a review within the Pewsey Community Area would be beyond the currently available resources of the council.  However, any specific sites of concern could be referred for consideration and possible review; officers were already in contact with the Woodborough Road Safety Group.

It was suggest that Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) could contact all schools in the Pewsey Community Area and ask them to raise any concerns over their pick up / drop off points.  The Chairman of PCAP, Bob King, undertook to take this forward. It was noted that Rushall Primary School had undertaken their own review with Wiltshire Council highways department, following the accident at Woodborough.

ACTION: Bob  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Further to a request at the 7 March meeting, Bill Parks (Head of Service, Local Highways and Streetscene (Central)) will give an overview of Wiltshire Council’s strategy for resurfacing and emergency repairs.

 The Chairman commented that this item had been requested at the Area Board meeting in March, and invited Bill Parks, (Head of Service, Local Highways and Streetscene (Central)) to give a presentation on the Council’s strategy for resurfacing and emergency repairs.

Bill commented that there were 4463km of roads within Wiltshire, with 297km in the Pewsey Community Area.  As the relevant highways authority, Wiltshire Council had a legal responsibility to maintain the highway to a “reasonable” standard, and the County budget approximated to £4.8 million for routine maintenance (i.e. pot holes, surface patching, drainage cleaning etc), and £11.7 million for structural maintenance, such as resurfacing.

In terms of routine maintenance, defects were prioritised based on the size of the defect, and the classification of the road, with A-roads, B-roads and some C-roads being classified as “group 1”.  For example, a pothole of 75mm depth and width of up to 300mm on a group 1 road, would classify as a priority 1 repair, and would be addressed within 24 hours of notification.  To date 5111 road defects had been addressed across Wiltshire, 528 of which had been within the Pewsey Community Area. 

In relation to structural maintenance, a number of survey methods were used to inform the resurfacing schedule including:

• SCRIM survey – The whole group 1 network (A, B and some C roads) was surveyed each year with this system, to measure the skidding properties of the road surface.
• Deflectograph survey – This measured the structural strength of the carriageway, and approximately 20% of A roads were surveyed each year.
• Scanner Survey – This measured surface characteristics of the carriageway such as cracking, texture and ride quality.
• Coarse Visual Inspector (CVI) Survey – This recorded surface deterioration including fretting, potholes, and failed patching.

Information packs were available showing the work undertaken over the previous four years in each community area, and work planned for the future.  These could be viewed via the following link:
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/parkingtransportandstreets/roadshighwayspavements/areaboardhighwayinformation.htm

The Chairman thanked Bill for the presentation and invited questions and comments:

• Responding to a question, Bill clarified that the £4.8 million spent on routine maintenance did not just consist of potholes and road surface maintenance, but also grass cutting, parish stewards etc.

• The Council had received an additional £2 million from the government towards highway damage resulting from the severe winter; this had been spent on minor repairs.

• It was requested that performance figures be shown at future presentations, to indicate how quickly reported defects were addressed, and to show benchmarking against other,  similar authorities.  Bill reported that some such performance figures were shown in the information pack published on the website (see link above).

• In response to a question regarding national cycle routes, it was noted that these were not prioritised over other roads in terms of repair work. 

• Bill clarified that most surface repairs were designed to last until the surface was replaced.  However, it was also noted that some repairs would require an interim fix, to make the carriageway safe, while  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Tracey Carter (Service Director - Waste Management) gave a presentation on the new Waste Collection Service which was designed to give all Wiltshire residents access to the same opportunities for recycling, and to keep landfill to a minimum.

In the Pewsey Community Area, the main impact of the new service would be that the fortnightly garden waste collection would be free to all residents who opted in.

This new service would come into effect from Spring 2012, with bins being delivered in February 2012.  Residents wishing to register to receive a garden waste bin (and who did not already have one) had until 30 September to do so, via the leaflets available, over the phone or online via the following link:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/rubbishrecycling/gardenbin.htm

Those residents who currently paid for the service would not have to do anything.  The payments would cease from December 2011.

It was also noted that residents in the Pewsey Community Area would receive new blue lidded wheelie bins for cardboard and plastic bottles; these would be delivered in November 2011.

Damian Haasjes (Voluntary Sector Development Manager) gave a presentation on the consultation document “Commissioning Strategy for Young People Aged 13-19).  This document sought to improve outcomes for young people in Wiltshire by providing a good range of quality services, providing an early response to the needs of young people, and by improving partnership working.  The document had a broad scope and included services such as health, education, leisure, housing amongst others.

A number of actions had already been undertaken in order to seek input into this consultation, including a number of workshops and events for young people and those who worked in the relevant service areas.  Key issues for young people were transport, lack of facilities in villages, lack of jobs, and the high cost of housing.

In terms of the future provision of youth services, a number of options had been proposed; these were set out in the tabled paper, and could also be viewed on the Council’s website.  In summary they consisted of:

1. Testing the market for Youth Work services to be provided under contract via competitive tendering. 
2. Developing local partnerships with the voluntary sector or secondary schools / colleges.
3. Local management of services and closer alignment with Campus developments.
4. Changing local youth work offer through reduced reliance of existing buildings – this would probably be via four centres across the county.  It was likely that the nearest one to Pewsey would either be in Devizes or Marlborough.

Damian clarified that the consultation had started on 13 May and would run until 5 August 2011.

It was also clarified that the youth service needed to make savings of around £600,000 – it was hoped that this could be achieved through rationalisation of staff and buildings.  These savings would take effect from April 2012.

The consultation had been advertised in the normal way for Wiltshire Council consultations, and information was being made available at meetings of all 18 Area Boards.  In addition, there was a consultation event on Tuesday 12 July in Devizes, to which all were welcome.

The Chairman thanked Damian for the presentation.

Caroline Brailey (Pewsey Community Area Manager) introduced the report which was set out at pages 47-50 of the agenda.

The Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields initiative sought to protect 2012 playing fields across Britain by 2012 as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

The Area Board was asked to consider possible sites for nomination at its next meeting on 5 September 2011.  The report listed four possible sites in the Council’s ownership in the Pewsey Community Area which met the criteria, although it was noted that the “open space to the rear of Hallgate House” was considered to be too small and unsuitable for the scheme.

Parish Councils were able to nominate sites directly to the scheme; Pewsey Parish Council reported that they had nominated the recreation ground.

The Chairman advised that any suggestions or nominations of land for the Area Board to consider could be emailed to Caroline Brailey, Pewsey Community Area Manager.

At the previous meeting of the Area Board on 9 May 2011, it had been agreed that the Area Board would subsequently discuss and provisionally appoint to the membership of the Pewsey Campus Shadow Community Operations Board (COB), to allow the COB to commence work, before ratifying the membership at the next formal meeting of the Area Board.

The Chairman referred to the provisional membership as listed on page 51.  It was proposed that this be ratified with the addition of John Rogers as the deputy for Bob Woodward as the Parish Council representative.

Decision

The Pewsey Area Board agreed to appoint to the Pewsey Campus Shadow Community Operations Board (COB) as below.

Reason – As set out in the report, and to allow the Shadow COB to fulfil its role in the development of a Campus for Pewsey.

ACTION: Rachel Goff

Caroline Brailey, Pewsey Community Area Manager updated the meeting on the Community Issues which had been received by the Area Board. 

Caroline referred to the written update at pages 53-54 of the agenda, commenting in relation to issue 1665 that Broomcroft Road, Pewsey had met the criteria for Community Speedwatch.

To determine any applications for Community Area Grants.

The Area Board considered three applications for Community Area Grant funding.  The Chairman introduced each application, following which a representative of the applicant was given an opportunity to give a brief overview of their project to the Area Board.

Decision

Burbage Village Hall was awarded £2,500 towards a replacement roof.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support the refurbishment of this community facility.

Decision

Vale of Pewsey Holiday Club (in association with Puddleducks Nursery) was awarded £1760 towards running a Carnival Holiday Club.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support several Community Plan priorities, including improving activities for 8-12 year olds and increasing opportunities for volunteering.

The Pewsey Area Board also considered an Urgent Late Item as noted at the start of the meeting (item 7 refers).

Decision

Woodborough Road Safety Group was awarded £1,000 towards planters to enhance the existing traffic calming outside the school.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would help the group in its aim of enhancing road safety in Woodborough for all road users; with children the priority.

ACTION: Caroline Brailey

The Chairman reported that the deadline for submission of grant applications to be considered at the Area Board meeting in September was 22 July.

The Area Board noted the appointments to Outside Bodies as listed on page 61, which would continue for the 2011/12 municipal year.

Time permitting, the Chairman will invite questions and comments on issues not covered elsewhere in the agenda.

None.

Those present were invited to give their views on the meeting by means of the electronic voting handsets.  The results of the evaluation are set out at appendix 1.

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board was scheduled for Monday 5 September 2011, 7pm at Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage SN8 3AJ.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.