Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from:

• Councillor Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council
• Jo Howes - NHS Wiltshire
• Margaret West – Voluntary Action Kennet
• Martin Hamer – Burbage Village Hall
• Alison Rollinson – Extended Services Coordinator

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2010.

a.    Outcome of Leisure facilities review

b.    Local Flood Protection

c.    Public Protection Enforcement Policy

d.    Street Trading Consultation

e.    Car Parking charges – Cabinet Decision

a.            Outcome of Leisure Facilities Review – Councillor Stuart Wheeler, as Cabinet Representative for Leisure, Sport and Culture, reported that an overview of the outcome of the recent consultation was set out at page 21 of the agenda.  An analysis of the responses received from the Pewsey Community Area was available at the back of the room. 

b.            Local Flood Protection – see pages 23-25 of the agenda

c.            Public Protection Enforcement Policy – see page 27 of the agenda

d.            Street Trading Consultation – see page 29 of the agenda

e.            Car Parking charges – Cabinet Decision – to note that the Cabinet had agreed to harmonise car parking charges across the County. 

f.             Burbage and Easton Royal Cricket Club – River Clean up– Caroline Brailey, Pewsey Community Area Manager, reported that further to the presentation on the Living River Project at the previous meeting of the Area Board, the resource packs for parish councils were available at the back of the room.  In addition, it was noted that the Burbage and Easton Royal Cricket Club would be holding a “river clean up” event; more information was available from Caroline on request.

Councillor Jane Scott, Leader of the Council, was due to be in attendance to speak briefly about her role and answer questions. However, Councillor Scott has been required to attend a meeting in London on 10 January and has had to send her apologies to this meeting.  It is hoped that she will be able to attend a future meeting of the Pewsey Area Board.

Angus Macpherson of Wiltshire Police Authority gave a presentation on the £15 million savings required from the Authority’s budget over the next four years, due to the reduction in funding.

The current budget amounted to around £107 million, of which around 85% was spent on staff.  It was anticipated that £4 million of the savings would come from general expenditure and the remaining £11 million from reduced staff costs, with an estimated 150 fewer police officers, and 200 fewer staff.  However, the Authority aimed to maintain the number of officers on patrol and responding to emergency calls.

The Authority also aimed to maximise the potential for its property portfolio, and to operate as one constabulary based on 11, inspector-led areas.  It was hoped that increased use of “local resolution” would help streamline the criminal justice process.  Other non-urgent service may also be affected by the cuts, with some administrative processes taking longer, and general enquiries phone calls taking longer to be answered.

A questionnaire had been circulated to all present, seeking views on the Authority’s proposals to absorb the funding cuts.

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

• In response to a questions, Angus explained that Salisbury, Swindon and Melksham had been selected as the hubs for the response teams, as these were currently the locations of the custody centres.

• A representative of Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) commented that a representative from Wiltshire Police Authority used to regularly attend the PCAP meetings and that it would be helpful if this could happen again.  Angus undertook to pass the request on to the local Police Authority representative.

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

f.             Parish Councils

·         Feedback on joint meeting regarding Great Stones Way

(a)       Wiltshire Police

Inspector Andy Noble referred the meeting to the written update at pages 31-32 of the agenda, commenting that due to the short interval since the previous Area Board meeting, the crime statistics were unchanged from the update given to that meeting.

However, Inspector Noble noted that the recent spike in non-domestic burglary had returned to normal levels and below during November and December.  An arrest had been made, which had been reported in the local press, and a number of local initiatives undertaken by the Rural Crime Team, including use of fuel dye in diesel stored on farm property.

The Rural Crime team had also been active with local scrap yards, undertaking spot checks on stock and books, to prevent and deter the handling of any stolen goods.

Responding to a question as to why detection rates had fallen over the past two years, Inspector Noble explained that local policing now focussed on prevention rather than detection.  In addition, the methods for recording detections had an impact on the rates, as local resolution – arguably a much more effective and efficient solution to crime – was not counted as a detection for the purposes of the statistics.

(b)       Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

            Mike Franklin, of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, referred the meeting to the written update which had been tabled.  Owners and/or residents of thatched properties were encouraged to contact the Fire service and request the thatched property information pack.

(c)        NHS Wiltshire

There was no representative present from NHS Wiltshire, and the Chairman referred to the written update at pages 33-36 of the agenda.  The Chairman explained that the representative would come to any future meeting on request but due to the large area covered could not attend each meeting.

(d)       Pewsey Community Area Partnership

Bob King, Chairman of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) gave an update on the work of PCAP, commenting that the previous meeting had been fairly quiet, with speeding traffic remaining a high priority.  Another issue discussed had been the restorative justice system;Bob reported that the police were hosting two training sessions in Devizes on crime prevention and restorative justice.

(e)       Parish Councils

Susie Brew, from Grafton Parish Council, reported that money for five defibrillators had been raised, and that the scheme would be officially launched in February.

Councillor Robert Hall gave an update on the meeting held with parish councils to discuss the Great Stones Way, further to the presentation at the previous meeting of the Area Board.  The meeting had been attended by Ian Ritchie, of the Friends of the Ridgeway, and representatives of parish councils affected by the proposed route.  A number of concerns had been raised in relation to the potential impact of the route, and a letter had been received from the Avebury Society expressing concerns in relation to the potential increase in visitors as forecast under the scheme.

Councillor Hall moved a motion suggested by a parish representative.  Following discussion, the Chairman asked for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a presentation from Graham Steady (Environmental Protection Team Manager) regarding the informal consultation on consolidating Dog Control Orders for Wiltshire.

David Dawson, of Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, gave a presentation on proposals for establish a bus service between Stonehenge, Amesbury, Avebury, Devizes and the Avon Valley.

This was in response to significant demand for such a service, with numerous requests made at the Avebury and Devizes Tourist Information Centres, and with high levels of interest since the project was first suggested.  The aim of the project was to maximise the duration of visits to Wiltshire by tourists, by linking the main sites within the World Heritage Site.  This would bring benefits for the local community in terms of income and jobs and the increased sustainability of local amenities such as shops and pubs.

It was hoped that the bus service would be cheaper for users than using a car for the journey, and the National Trust and English Heritage had agreed to offer discounts for people travelling on the bus.  However it was considered essential that the service was economically sustainable.

It was hoped that the service could be operating by the May Bank Holidays, and start up funding was being sought from  the Community Transport Fund, the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Wiltshire Council.

Further information was available on the draft leaflet set out at pages 53-54 of the agenda, and at the website: www.stonehenge-avebury-bus.org.uk

David commented that he hoped that the service could be extended to Pewsey in the future, particularly on Sundays, when there were no other bus services operating within the Vale.

In general, the idea was supported and it was considered that the project could help support the economy of the Vale.  The Chairman thanked David for the presentation.

To receive a presentation from Catherine Ramsier, of Great Western Ambulance Service, on the First Responders scheme.

Steve Smith, of St Johns Ambulance, gave a presentation regarding the Community First Responders (CFR) scheme.

The project sought to train volunteers in first aid and life-saving skills, following which they could be deployed by the NHS Ambulance Service to attend to 999 emergency calls within an agreed community and based on their skills and knowledge.

One of the major reasons for the project was to minimise the elapsed time between an emergency call and treatment being administered.  For example, in cases of cardiac arrest, patients were 60% more likely to survive if they were defibrillated within three minutes of collapse.  Community First Responders could often access the patients more quickly than ambulances, as they could already be in the local area.

Clearly, CFRs would not be suitable for all incidents, and a CFR volunteer would never be dispatched to Road Traffic Collisions or known violent situations and a number of similarly inappropriate or potentially hazardous incidents.

Volunteers to be trained as CFRs were sought and suggestions were also welcomed for other potential avenues for seeking volunteers in the area.  Those interested in becoming a CFR would have to go through an application process requiring references, a Criminal Records Bureau check, and medical clearance.  Applicants were also required to be over 18 years old, and to hold a clean driving licence (max 3 points).

In response to a question, Julia Doel, from the Great Western Ambulance Service, confirmed that the CFR scheme was supplementary to the co-responding arrangements with the Fire Service.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler updated the meeting on the Community Issues which had been received by the Area Board. 

In relation to the A342 at Chirton, following the speed limit review, this would now be reduced from a 50mph limit to 40mph at the junction.  A representative from Chirton Parish thanked the Area Board for its support on this issue.

A meeting had been arranged in relation to road safety at the Gores Lane/Broad Street Junction (Bottlesford corner).

An issue was raised in relation to six recent accidents on the C52 at Manningford, with a representative from the parish council commenting that these were due to a variety of issues, including speeding, use by HGVs and lack of gritting during icy weather.  Caroline Brailey commented that a Community Speed Watch scheme was being considered for the village.  It was also noted that gritting had to be prioritised onto major routes, and that gritting may exacerbate the speeding issue during poor weather, as more people would use the route and with less care for the road conditions.  It was hoped that a meeting could be arranged with Bill Parks, Head of Service for Local Highways and Streetscene (Central Division), to discuss some of these issues.

To determine any applications for funding from this budget.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler introduced this item, commenting that the Area Board had a budget of £4,500, some of which had been allocated towards start up costs for reopening the Shak.  Just over £500 was left, and a request for £500 funding was set out at page 57 of the agenda.

Pupils of St John’s School, Marlborough, who live in Ramsbury had been allocated money by the Marlborough Area Board to use taxis and minibuses to travel to the school for evening activities.  This proposal sought to set up a similar scheme for pupils who lived in Great Bedwyn.

Decision

The Pewsey Area Board allocated £500 to Great Bedwyn Parish Council and Great Bedwyn Youth Group towards providing transport for young people to advertised youth events in Marlborough

Reason – To provide safe, free transport to allow young people in the area to benefit from the same youth events and activities as their peers in Marlborough.

To note the Forward Plan attached.

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board is scheduled for Monday 7 March 2010, 7pm at Bouverie Hall, Pewsey.