Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence had been received from:

Inspector Ron Peach.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2011 and extraordinary meeting held on 6 October 2011 were agreed as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

11 to 19 Commissioning Strategy

The Chairman announced that the Commissioning Strategy for 11 to 19 year olds had been approved by Wiltshire Cabinet on 13 September 2011.

Further details can be found attached to these minutes.

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Representative for Highways and Transport provided the Board with a brief outline of his responsibilities which included:

That Highways and Public Transport received a budget of approximately £60m per annum of which half was used on highways repairs.  This included an additional £3m received from central government which had been given due to the bad weather conditions experienced the previous year. 

The Council had purchased significant salt supplies in preparation for any potential severe weather conditions that may be experienced over the ensuing year. 

The help of the public had been tremendous and had proved imperative in assisting the Council to keep minor access routes open and this would again be encouraged should the need arise.

A main theme for highways was road safety, in particular skid resistance on roads with the Council undertaking a survey of all surfaces and road signage every two years. 

Although Wiltshire was statistically a safe county lots of work was being undertaken in combination with the police and fire authority to educate the public in the potential dangers.  As part of this each area board, as part of Community Speed Watch, had been allocated speed indication devices to use where the Area Boards felt appropriate. 

Consultation had been undertaken for speed reviews on A and B classified roads.  In line with this a further consultation will take place for C and unclassified roads where CATG would prioritise need and put forward two priority roads for consideration.

A representative from Milton Lilbourne Parish Council addressed the Cabinet representative in relation to the speed review on the B3087 and expressed concern that the speed restriction should be reduced to 30mph from the current 40mph.  Although it was recognised that a speed limit review had already been undertaken on A & B classified roads in line with DfT guidelines, Milton Lilbourne Parish Council requested that consideration be given to their request at the next CATG meeting.  His request was supported by Pewsey Parish Council.  The Cabinet representative said that it was unlikely that any further changes will be made following the comprehensive review as all limits were consistent with DfT guidelines.

The CATG would meet again in February 2012 where further consideration would also be given to the need of any additional speed indication devices.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Dick Tonge for attending.

The CATG held its latest meeting on 17 October 2011.  A report outlining the main considerations and ensuing recommendations was provided within the report as circulated with the agenda.  This included feedback on current priorities as detailed below:

·         Pedestrian Access to Pewsey Station – application for substantive funding

·         High Street Great Bedwyn

·         A342 Rushall

·         Wilcot Road One-Way System

·         Upavon Footpath (Grey Flags).

And also provided further information on new requests/issues:

·         Speeding/danger at Huish Corner, Oare

·         Road Improvements at the Swan Junction, Wilcot

·         Extension of 40mph limited from Oare to Prospect

·         Woodborough – new crossing

·         Speeding, Ball Road

With specific reference to the new crossing at Woodborough, clarification was made that the Woodborough Road Safety Group may need to return to the Area Board with an increased set of requests due to the Path Improvement Grant (PIGS) application being rejected due to the crossing being used primarily to the benefit of the school rather than the wider community as a whole.

Feedback was awaited from Wiltshire Highways before costings could be finalised.  These were expected shortly.  With this in mind a revised application was likely to be presented directly to the Area Board rather than through the CATG group due to time constraints.

Upon discussion the recommendations contained within the report were passed as follows:

Pedestrian Access to Pewsey Station

Decision:

That the £9,597.54 that was put aside for the scheme be spent on priority schemes that have already been identified and can proceed this financial year.

Brook Street/High Street, Great Bedwyn

Decision:

That the Scheme go ahead and that £4,000 be allocated towards it.

Rushall

Decision:

That a further £4,043 be put towards this scheme which will allow the path to extend as far as the Old Barnyard.

Wilcot Road, Pewsey

Decision:

That the sum of £1,000 be put towards a topographical survey.

Swan Junction, Wilcot

Decision:

That the scheme request be rejected, but that some tweaks would be made to white lines, and that the parish council be invited to request some parking restrictions in the interests of road safety.

Woodborough

Decision:

That the Board receive design and costings for traffic calming measures at its next meeting and, if appropriate, a councillor led application for a financial contribution.

SID site allocation

Decision:

That Milton Lilbourne and Marlborough Road, Pewsey be reassessed.

Caroline Brailey will feedback on any matters raised at the meeting of the Area Board on 5 September 2011.

The Community Area Manager confirmed that the wall had been rebuilt and the road was now open for King’s Corner and, as a result, this would be now be removed from the Community Issues list.

Helen Lines from Community First was welcomed to the meeting where a presentation was made on the work taking place within the community by the Wiltshire Good Neighbour Scheme.

The county wide service had representation in the form of Good Neighbour Co-ordinators (GNCs) in 8 parishes within the Pewsey community area with an intention to increase to full coverage within the next few years.

The GNCs were employed by Community First for approximately 10 hours per week.  Their primary role was to meet with residents to establish their needs and assist them in accessing the right services for them.

Upon invitation from the Chairman of the Shadow Community Operations Board it was agreed that further discussions would take place outside of the meeting to investigate ways in which the GNCs could utilise the final campuses and vice versa.

A leaflet was circulated by Helen Lines providing further information on the Wiltshire Good Neighbours Scheme.  A link to the Community First website which provides further details is provided below:

http://www.communityfirst.org.uk/index.php/community-health-and-wellbeing/good-neighbours-scheme

The Chairman thanked Helen for her attendance.

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);

·         The Board will also be asked to endorse the Community Area Plan.

e.            Parish Councils;

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

g.            Extended Services; and

h.            Pewsey Campus - Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB)

(a)       Wiltshire Police

Acting Inspector Ian Thomas referred the meeting to the written update in the agenda which included:

·         Most areas of crime had fallen with the exception of non-dwelling burglaries which continued to be a problem nationwide.  Wiltshire Police continued to urge residents to be vigilant and to take steps to secure property.  Wiltshire Police continued to share intelligence with other authorities, including Thames Valley, in order to reduce the numbers.

·         Local council authorities had also been working with the police authorities to target scrap metal merchants to check records on the purchase of metals.

·         Violent crime continued to be the number 1 priority for the police force.  Within the Pewsey area an increase of 67% in detection rates had been seen which was an impressive statistic.

·         Wiltshire Police achieved the highest reduction in violent crime across the County in the previous year.

·         Pewsey Carnival had passed with minor incidents, including one offence of criminal damage.

·         A question was asked from the floor about the burglary at the garage at Oare and whether there had been a prosecution.  Acting Inspector Thomas would make enquiries and provide feedback accordingly.

(b)       Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

            Mike Franklin, of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, referred the meeting to the written update within the agenda and clarified that a further update had indeed been issued since the agenda publication.  A copy can be found attached to these minutes.

            In addition to the update the Board were reminded of the importance of having chimney’s swept this time of year as the trend in the number of chimney fires increased over the winter period.

            Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service also referred to the event described by Cllr Dick Tonge, the attending Cabinet Member, in relation to ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’.  Further details can be found via the link below:

            http://www.wiltsfire.gov.uk/Departments/Community_Safety/safe-drive.html

            Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service also encouraged home safety checks and was working in partnership with the authority to ensure the message was widely spread.

(c)        NHS Wiltshire

The written updated provided by NHS Wiltshire was noted.

(d)       Pewsey Community Area Partnership

Bob King, Chairman of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) gave an update on the work of PCAP and requested that the Board endorse the Community Area Plan, copies of which were provided for each table.

Village Design Statements and Parish Plans will continue to help inform the design and appearance of new development. These documents can also be used to help inform and develop any subsequent neighbourhood plans. However, they are not a prerequisite of the neighbourhood planning process.

Decision

To endorse the Pewsey Community Area Plan.

(e)       Parish Councils

The update from Woodborough Parish Council as circulated with the agenda was noted.

In addition clarification was provided that a number of complaints had been received from the Broadfield area in relation to lights not working.  Although the relevant electricity companies had been contacted the problem still remained unresolved. 

The Service Director confirmed that he would investigate the legalities of where the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To receive an update on the transfer of community health services, including details of service provision at Savernake Hospital.

Apologies were received from Helen Bourner - Great Western Hospital who, due to illness, was unable to make the meeting to make a presentation on the Transfer of Community Health Services.  The item was therefore deferred for a later meeting.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler provided an update on the Community Issues which had been received by the Area Board. 

In addition to the update further information in relation to issue number 1594 (Problems with commuters parking in residential area, The Knapp, Great Bedwyn) was provided which included that a Parish Council meeting was to be held on Wednesday 9 November in the hope that some resolution could be reached.

A statement received by the Knapp Tenants Association was read out by the Community Area Manager.  The Tenants Association expressed concern about the way that the Parish Council had dealt with proposals to address parking issues at The Knapp

The statement was noted.

The Area Board considered a number of applications for Community Area Grant funding.  The Chairman invited the local Councillor to introduce 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

Super Strings was awarded £4,060 towards promoting string playing for children between 5 and 18.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support several Community Area Plan priorities, including widening opportunities for young people, in diversionary activities for young people and in supporting the Arts.

Decision

Wilton Cricket Club was awarded £1,000 towards improvement of the practise net area and additional kit for youth training.

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

There was no urgent business for consideration.

Those present were invited to give their views on the meeting by means of the electronic voting handsets.  The results of the evaluation are attached.

To note the Forward Plan attached.

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board is scheduled for Monday 9 January 2011, 6.30pm at Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage SN8 3AJ.

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board was scheduled for Monday 9 January 2012, 6:30pm at Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage SN8 3AJ.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.