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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage, Wiltshire SN8 3AJ

Contact: Sharon Smith  (Democratic Services Officer)

Items
Note No. Item

6:30pm

1.

Welcome and Introductions

Minutes:

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

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence had been received from:

 

Ian Gibbons – Service Director Law and Governance

Steve Hepworth – Alton Parish Council

Richard Netherclift – Manningford Parish Council

3.

Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2012.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Item 27 – Housing Need and Review of Wiltshire’s Housing Allocation System

 

The Chairman confirmed that the population of 13,690 mentioned within the minute of the above item referred to the community area of Pewsey.  The wording would therefore be amended to reflect this.

 

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 September with the above amendment made were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

4.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are requested to declare any pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

5.

Chairman's Announcements

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman drew the Board’s attention to the announcements provided within the agenda, namely:

 

a)    Informal Adult Education update

b)    Community Infrastructure Levy

c)    Victim Support

d)    Impact of Welfare Reform

e)    Understanding Autism

f)     Current Consultations

6:35 pm

6.

Participatory Budgeting - Youth Funding

Pewsey Area Board has funding available for youth projects which it has agreed to award through a participatory budgeting activity. 

 

Young people from the following groups will be presenting their projects at the meeting.  Attendees will be asked to participate in the decision on whether the projects should receive funding.

 

·         Pewsey Vale School - £1,000 to purchase 6 Kindle Fire devices and 8 electronic books per kindle.

 

·         Pewsey Vale School - £1,000 towards a nature garden to increase their practical skills in landscaping.

 

·         Great Bedwyn Youth Group - £686.96 for a Graffiti Workshop as they wish to learn a different form of art.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the Youth Groups in attendance to present their projects for funding from the Area Board.  Each Group was invited to address the Board and the audience invited to vote on whether to support the proposal following each presentation.  £4,494 was made available from the Board which it was agreed would be awarded through a participatory budgeting style activity.

 

The following projects were presented (details of which were provided on page 29 of the agenda):

 

·         Purchase of 6 Kindle Fire devices and 8 electronic books per kindle (Pewsey Vale School)

·         Funding towards a nature garden to increase practical skills in landscaping (Pewsey Vale School)

·         Funding towards a Graffiti Art Workshop (Great Bedwyn Youth Group)

 

Upon vote the audience and the Board members were in support of all three projects.

 

Decision:

 

That Pewsey Vale School is granted £1,014 towards the purchase of 6 Kindle Fire devices and 8 electronic books per Kindle.

 

That Pewsey Vale School is granted £1,005 towards a nature garden to increase practical skills in landscaping.

 

That Great Bedwyn Youth Group is granted £700 towards a Graffiti Art Workshop.

6:55 pm

7.

Cabinet Representative - Councillor Jane Scott

Councillor Jane Scott, Leader of the Council, will give a brief overview of the Council’s current priorities.  The Chairman will then invite questions from the public.

 

(Note: Written questions may be submitted in advance – please email to sharonl.smith@wiltshire.gov.uk by Wednesday 7 November 2012).

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the attending Cabinet Member and Leader of the Council, Cllr Jane Scott, to the meeting.

 

In addressing the Board the following information was provided:

 

·         That Wiltshire Council had been running as a unitary authority for over 3 years.  In 2007 when the decision to apply for unitary status was made the authority was unaware of the recession to come and the reduction in funding of 28%.

 

·         As part of the savings required, back office costs had been reduced from 19% gross spend to just 9% with minimum affect on front line services such as children’s centres, leisure centres and libraries.

 

·         Demographics show an increase and growing aging population, with Wiltshire growing faster than anywhere else in the South West.  At the end of the financial year the authority would have invested £60m into adult social care services.  Further funding cuts from central government and the likely increase in costs associated with an aging population would remain a challenge for the Council. 

 

·         A further priority for the Council was the economy.  The council was working with businesses to encourage growth in the area.  Approximately 2,000 jobs had been created over the last couple of years in the western corridor of Wiltshire.  Wiltshire has amongst the lowest unemployment levels in the country.

 

·         The authority was aware that limited broadband had an impact on businesses moving to the County.  Investment in Superfast Broadband was taking place to achieve a 92% coverage.  Work would continue on the remaining 8% to achieve a 100% coverage.  The bidding process for the Councils partner in rolling out broadband had now been completed and would be announced shortly.  A list of priority areas for roll-out would be announced to Area Boards early next year.

 

·         To reduce fines attached to landfill the council had revised its waste collection service.  As a result recycling figures had moved from approximately 27% to 48% and there was a continued drive to reach 50% by 2020.

 

·         Investment into highways maintenance had been made year on year, this included reducing the back-log on remedial work with repairs being completed within approximately 3 to 5 days.  The authority was aware of the damage heavy vehicles had in particular on country roads which were not originally designed for such heavy use.  Although the authority did not have the power to stop them being used the issues on the A345 and A346 had been noted by the Highways team.

 

·         Work continued to reduce the number of office buildings to 3 main hubs by the end of 2013.  This would result in capital savings of £80m and a further £5m year on year in revenue costs.

 

·         To bring community buildings closer together and ensure efficient running costs in the future, co-location of services in the form of community campuses to serve the current and future needs of residents were being developed.

 

·         Once the Core Strategy for Wiltshire had been approved by the Inspectorate, Town and Parish councils would be able to develop Neighbourhood Plans to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

7:15 pm

8.

The Legacy of 2012

To recap on the year’s events, discuss with communities the effect the year has had on them and to talk about how to carry on the legacy through 2013 and beyond.

Minutes:

Cllr Jane Scott, Leader of the Council, gave a presentation regarding the Jubilee and Olympics celebrations that had taken place throughout 2012, and spoke about the importance of keeping the legacy of these events alive within local communities.

 

Some of the key highlights and positive impacts of the events included:

 

      Additional spend on events days was estimated to be over £1 million – not including any tourism impact

      Hotels and B&B’s in Salisbury were fully booked w/c 9 July for the Hudson’s Field event

      Approximately 300 street parties had taken place over the Jubilee weekend.

      Visit Wiltshire website had the highest monthly number of visits since records began in 2008

      There was a substantial return on investment (£290,000)

      Wiltshire was the only County that had the torch come into the County twice.  The memorable footage of Michael Johnson carrying the torch at Stonehenge had been used significantly during the Olympics.

 

A Legacy Board was being established.  With this in mind, all were encouraged to think of ways and ideas for keeping the Legacy of 2012 alive within their communities.  The Communications team were happy to provide support and advice if required. 

 

The Chairman thanked the Leader for the presentation.

7:45 pm

9.

Partner Updates

To receive any updates from partner organisations:

9a

Wiltshire Police

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Inspector Matthew Armstrong referred the meeting to the written update in the agenda and confirmed that he had taken over responsibility from Inspector Ron Peach.

 

Clarification was provided that although the detection rate provided in relation to non-domestic burglary currently indicated a 0% figure, arrests had been made and charges brought about which would be reflected in future updates.

9b

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Mike Franklin, of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, referred the meeting to the written update and confirmed that since publication this had been superseded as per the copy as circulated at the meeting, a copy of which can be found attached to these minutes.

 

The Risk Management Plan was also being developed.  A request was made for those who may be interested as stakeholders to register on www.wiltsfire.gov.uk so that they could be consulted once the consultation period commenced.

9c

NHS Wiltshire

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The update provided on pages 37 and 38 of the agenda was noted.

9d

Pewsey Community Area Partnership

Minutes:

Bob King, Chairman of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) gave an update on the work of PCAP.  The next meeting would take place on 29 November where there would be someone in attendance to provide further details on ‘time credits’, the initiative to encourage volunteering within communities.

9e

Parish Councils

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Woodborough Parish Council - The update provided on page 39 of the agenda was noted.

 

Charlton Parish Council - Concern over the Great Stones Way was raised where it was understood that ‘Friends of the Ridgeway’ were publicising a walk from Avebury to Stonehenge along agreed rights of way.  An Environmental Impact Assessment report for the route had been undertaken.

 

Chirton and Conock Parish Council - Stef Robertson thanked the Board for its support and confirmed that speed restrictions were now in place on a stretch of the A342.

 

Burbage Parish Council - The Parish Council raised the issue of Neighbourhood Plans which it understood would need to be approved by Wiltshire Council.

 

Cllr Jane Scott confirmed that Wiltshire Council would look to provide a template and guidance for all Parish Councils.  Officers were currently working on the Core Strategy but would be rolling out details in relation to the Neighbourhood Plans, taking into consideration the work undertaken by the pilot groups, in due course.  Parish Councils were requested to hold back any work until this support was available. 

 

The work previously undertaken to produce Village Design Statements could also be used where possible to help steer the Neighbourhood Plans at the appropriate time.

 

The template and guidance would be available to all Parish Councils although neighbouring Parishes may wish to work together to produce joint Plans where appropriate.

9f

Pewsey Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

Minutes:

The Youth Advisory Group held its first meeting on 25 October where services for young people in the Pewsey community area were discussed.

 

Members from the Pewsey Area Campus Team (previously known as the Shadow Community Operations Board) would be invited to attend the next meeting on 13 December to discuss how young people could input into the work of the Campus Team.

9g

Pewsey Area Campus Team

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The update on pages 41 and 42 of the agenda was noted.  Clarification was provided that the proposals put forward to Cabinet on 23 October had been well received and as such had been approved.

 

Talks would now commence with the feasibility study designer with planning applications expected to be submitted later in the Spring of 2013.

 

Pewsey Vale School were helping to produce a film about the Campus Team which would be available on the Campus website once completed (www.pewseyareacampus.co.uk) and would help communicate the purpose of the Team itself.

9h

Wiltshire Involvement Network (WIN)

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The update was noted.

8:05 pm

10.

Update from Superstrings

Iona Hassan will provide a presentation from Superstrings on how project awarded funding by the area board in 7 November 2011 has been used.

Minutes:

Iona Hassan was in attendance to provide a presentation on how project awarded funding had been spent by Superstrings.

 

Superstrings had been running folk music workshops within local community schools, culminating in concerts taking place in May and July 2012.  Links to the project can be found:

 

http://vimeo.com/53070883

http://vimeo.com/31960187

 

The next series of concerts were planned for March 2013.  Further details would be announced once available.

8:15 pm

11.

CATG Update

The notes of the CATG meeting held on 24 October 2012 are attached.  The Board is asked to consider the notes and endorse any recommendations arising.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The notes of the CATG meeting held on 24 October were noted and the recommendations contained within endorsed by the Board.

 

Decision

The recommendations within the CATG notes were endorsed, which included that the Area Board allow CATG to commission a feasibility study for the Pedestrian Access to Pewsey Station Project, using £5,000 of the £10,000 set aside earlier in the year (the remaining £5,000 to be returned to the Area Board budget) and that issue number 2434 in relation to Broadfields be closed.

8:20 pm

12.

Community Issues

Councillor Stuart Wheeler will give an update on the progress made regarding issues which have been raised with the Area Board.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Stuart Wheeler updated the meeting on the Community Issues which had been received by the Area Board, details of which were provided on pages 49 and 50 of the agenda.

8:25 pm

13.

Community Area Grants

To determine any applications for Community Area Grants.

 

The Board will be asked to note that the ring-fenced funding of £1,500 for costs incurred by Leonard Cheshire for transport to Meadow Court, agreed by the Board in January 2012, has not be drawn and will now remain within the Community Area Grant budget for 2012/13.  The Chairman will advise Leonard Cheshire accordingly.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

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

Shalbourne Tennis Club was awarded £5,000 towards the cost of refurbishing the tennis courts.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support several Community Area Plan priorities, including improving community sports opportunities and generating greater volunteering within the community.

 

Decision

Wilcot Cricket Club was awarded £4,360 towards the cost of replacing the astro turf conditional upon the remainder of the funding to enable the project to proceed being in place before the money can be claimed.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support several Community Area Plan priorities, including improving community sports opportunities.

 

Decision

Great Bedwyn Cricket Club was awarded £831 towards the cost of purchasing seed germination sheet for cricket square.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support several Community Area Plan priorities, including improving community sports opportunities.

 

Decision

Bourverie Hall Committee was awarded £2,974 towards the cost of purchasing new chairs.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12.  Although the application does not demonstrate a specific link to the Community Area Plan the village hall is an important amenity for the people of Pewsey and the surrounding areas and a well used community resource.

8:35 pm

14.

Urgent Business

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

Minutes:

There was no urgent business for consideration.

15.

Future Meeting Dates and Close

To note the Forward Plan attached.

 

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board is scheduled for 14 January, 7pm at Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage, SN8 3AJ.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board was scheduled for Monday 14 January 2013, 7pm at Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage, SN8 3AJ

 

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.