Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: James Hazlewood  (Senior Democratic Services Officer)

Items
Note No. Item

7.00pm

1.

Chairman's Welcome, Introduction and Announcements

a.     Air Quality Strategy (briefing note enclosed)

b.     Contaminated Land Strategy (briefing note enclosed)

c.      Highways Maintenance Programme 2010-11 (briefing note enclosed)

d.     Reducing Unnecessary Street Lighting (briefing note enclosed)

e.     Flood packs

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Area Board Members, the officers, the visiting cabinet representative, Councillor Lionel Grundy, and the Council’s new Chief Executive, Andrew Kerr.

 

The Chairman made the following announcements:

 

a.    Air Quality Strategy: Details of the consultation on this document were set out in the agenda at page 5.

b.    Contaminated Land Strategy: Details of the consultation on this document were set out in the agenda at page 7.

c.    Highways Maintenance Programme 2010-11: This programme was now available to view on the Council’s website, at the specific link listed on page 9 of the agenda.  Councillor Stuart Wheeler commented that several schemes were proposed for the Pewsey Community Area, including resurfacing, verge protection and tree maintenance.  The Chairman added that the Council continued to fix over 200 pot holes per day.

d.    Reducing Unnecessary Street Lighting: Details of this initiative were set out in the agenda at page 11.

e.    Flood packs: Caroline Brailey, the Community Area Manager, reminded Parish Representatives to submit their completed flood packs.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence had been received from the following people:

 

·         Jo Howes (NHS Wiltshire)

·         Edward Ferguson (Wilcot and Huish Parish Council)

·         Stef Robertson (Chirton Parish Council)

·         David Patterson.

 

3.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

4.

Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 29 March 2010.

Minutes:

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 March 2010 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

7.05pm

5.

Cabinet Representative - Councillor Lionel Grundy

Councillor Lionel Grundy, Cabinet Representative for Children’s Services, will give a brief overview of his area of responsibility.  The Chairman will then invite questions from the public.

 

(Note: Written questions may be submitted in advance – please email to james.hazlewood@wiltshire.gov.uk by 4 May 2010)

Minutes:

Councillor Lionel Grundy, Cabinet Representative for Children’s Services, gave a brief overview of his area of responsibility, which included schools, vulnerable children, and youth and skills. 

 

The budget for the whole area of responsibility was £350 million, £238 million of this was funding from central government and was ringfenced to the 232 primary schools and 28 secondary schools in the county. 

 

In the Pewsey Community Area, there were 11 primary schools and one secondary school.  Of these, three had been rated “outstanding” by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education); another five had been rated “good” and a further three had been rated “satisfactory”.

 

One of the major on-going projects was the initiative to include children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in mainstream education.  These proposals were currently out to consultation.

 

Other significant current issues included:

·         The possible boycott of SATS tests by headteachers

·         The tightening of inspection regimes by Ofsted

·         The increased media focus on Social Services after recent high profile cases in the national press

·         The need to promote employment and apprenticeships for young people.

 

Responding to a question regarding the budget for services to young people, Councillor Grundy referred to the additional £100,000 made available by the Cabinet for Area Boards to allocate towards projects for young people.  This equated to around £5,000 for each Area Board, and was specifically intended to support transport initiatives to allow young people from rural areas to access the locations where facilities and services were provided.

 

Following a comment regarding childhood obesity, Councillor Stuart Wheeler, as the Cabinet Member for Leisure, referred to the work undertaken by the Council’s leisure centres to identify and support children by promoting exercise and regular sport.

 

The Chairman thanked Councillor Grundy for his presentation.

 

7.20pm

6.

Pewsey Library

To receive an update on progress with the redevelopment of the Library.

 

The Area Board will be asked to approve the draft action plan set out in the report.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Tessa Cozens, Area Libraries Manager, updated the Area Board on the on-going re-development of the Pewsey Library.

 

Despite the delay in starting work on the site, it was anticipated that the new facility would open in December 2010 as previously scheduled.  In the interim, a temporary service was being provided from a mobile library situated in the car park adjacent to Bouverie Hall, Pewsey.

 

A consultation had been undertaken on the proposed services for the new library, including opening hours, stock and other facilities.  The results of this consultation were available online at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/libraries.  As a result of the outcomes from the consultation, an action plan had been drawn up, to which the Area Board’s agreement was now sought.

 

In addition, the Area Board was asked to confirm the proposed opening hours for the new library.  Of the two options given in the consultation survey, nearly 60% of the respondents had preferred option 1, which would see the library opening on five days a week, including one evening, and Saturday mornings.  Tessa commented that, although neither option included lunchtime opening hours, it had been agreed that Saturday and evening opening hours would be more beneficial to users.

 

Before putting the matter to the vote, the Chairman asked for a show of hands.  The majority of those present supported the action plan, and option 1 for the opening hours.

 

Decision

The Pewsey Area Board approved the action plan set out in the report at pages 29-31 of the agenda, including option 1 as the preferred choice for opening hours.

 

7.30pm

7.

Wiltshire Core Strategy Consultation Feedback

To receive a presentation on the outcome of the consultation on the Core Strategy, as part of the Local Development Framework (LDF).

 

Minutes:

Chris Minors, Spatial Planning Officer, and Judith Cameron, Planning Officer, gave a presentation on the results of the Wiltshire 2026 consultation which was part of the process of developing the Wiltshire Core Strategy, as part of the Local Development Framework (LDF).  This document would replace elements of the existing Local Plans which set out the Council’s planning policy, and on which planning decisions were based.

 

The consultation had taken place from 30 October 2009 to 31 December 2009, with wide publication and events held across the county.  Over 2,000 comments had been received to the consultation, from a wide variety of individuals and organisations.   The general opinion had been that the Strategy should reflect local issues, and that the level of proposed growth was a concern, along with the need to ensure infrastructure was in place prior to development. 

 

As a result of the issues raised in relation to the Pewsey area, a number of actions were proposed as follows:

 

·         Consideration of how to reduce pressure on Pewsey’s landscape including the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

·         Provision of more affordable housing

·         Development of the potential for tourism

·         Development and promotion of sustainable transport, including cycling and walking

·         Consideration of the effect of delivering housing growth to Pewsey

·         Consideration of the level of employment required in the area.

 

A full report on the consultation would be available by June, then the draft core strategy would be formally submitted to the Secretary of State for consideration around spring 2011.  This would be followed by an examination in public for independent scrutiny by a planning inspector.

 

In response to a question, Chris commented that housing issues had been raised during the consultation, in particular those relating to house prices and the impact on rural communities where local people could often not afford to buy a house.  The Core Strategy would seek to identify a level of development which would allow affordable housing.  The final document would also address other specific issues, such as housing provision for key workers.

 

The Chairman thanked Chris and Judith for the presentation.

 

7.50pm

8.

Update from Pewsey Area Community Trust (PACT)

To receive an update from Terry Kemp and Lee Grafton.

 

Minutes:

Terry Kemp and Lee Grafton gave a presentation on the work of Pewsey Area Community Trust (PACT).

 

PACT had been set up under the former Kennet District Council to work with the Council and the Community Area Partnership, as part of the community planning process.

 

Drawing its objectives from the Community Plan, PACT had overseen the delivery of various projects, supported by local authority funding and volunteer support.  In total around £300,000 funds had been injected in to the area, in addition to an estimated £100,000 worth of volunteer time.

 

Currently, PACT had several on-going initiatives, as well as some financial reserves which had yet to be allocated.  However, recent attempts to generate revenue income for the organisation had been unsuccessful.  Due to this, and to the significant decline in use of its IT facilities, activities at the PACT Centre would be reduced from the end of May.  It was also noted that the proposed community facilities at the Broomcroft Road Development would not be ready for occupation for some time.

 

Lee explained that PACT now wished to seek the community’s views on the future of the organisation in the context of the new local government structure in Wiltshire.  This included whether an area Trust was needed to deliver the revised area plan, or whether this could be achieved through more local organisations.

 

The Chairman commented that this was a wider issue which merited a single issue meeting between the unitary councillors for the Community Area.  It was agreed that this meeting would be set up to consider the questions put in the presentation and to determine the future role for PACT.

 

Caroline Brailey reported that a written question had been received regarding what alternatives would be available for public access to computing facilities in Pewsey between the planned closure of the PACT centre, and the opening of the new library.  Lee responded that various options had been considered, including the Information Centre on the High Street, although this would offer reduced opening hours.  Another possibility was maintaining the PACT centre with volunteers until the end of the lease in December.  It would not be practical to install any of the PACT Centre’s computers in the mobile library due to lack of space and issues over maintenance.

 

8.05pm

9.

Partner Updates

To receive any updates from partners:

 

a)                 An update from Wiltshire Police;

b)                 An update from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service;

c)                  An update from NHS Wiltshire;

d)                 An update from Pewsey Community Area Partnership; and

e)                 An update from the Parish Councils.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

(a)       Wiltshire Police

 

Inspector Andy Peach referred the meeting to the written update at page 33 of the agenda.  It was noted that detection rates had dropped, although this was not attributable to any one specific reason.

 

A resident raised concern regarding speeding in Burbage High Street, suggesting that the Camera Safety Unit could be deployed to help address this.  Caroline Brailey commented that sites could be surveyed to see whether they reached a certain threshold to be eligible for the camera unit or for a Community Speed Watch scheme.  Burbage High Street had been identified as a potential site for a Community Speed Watch Scheme.

 

It was noted that Community Speed Watch had been extremely successful in some other locations, as it provided a community-based solution to the issue.  Prosecution of speeding drivers was not always the most effective deterrent, and evidence from Community Speed Watch schemes showed that the main offenders were often local residents. 

 

In view of the number of concerns over speeding around the Community Area, it was suggested that a single issue meeting could be held in relation to this.

 

(b)       Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

 

            The meeting was referred to the written update at page 35 of the agenda.

 

Following a question regarding the cost of co-responder call outs on behalf of the ambulance service, the Chairman undertook to provide a response at the next meeting.

 

(c)        NHS Wiltshire

 

Caroline Brailey reported that a written question had been received in advance of the meeting, regarding a perceived delay in physiotherapy appointment times at Savernake Hospital. This question would be referred on to the NHS for response.

 

(d)       Pewsey Community Area Partnership

 

Peter Deck, Chairman of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) gave an update on the work of PCAP.

 

A meeting had been held on 22 April 2010 to seek the views of Parish Councils in relation to the British Waterways consultation on residential mooring on the Kennet and Avon canal.  This had been held at the request of Wiltshire Council and had been organised by the Pewsey Community Area Manager and the Pewsey Community Area Partnership.  A briefing note on the main issues discussed was included in the agenda at page 37.  Another meeting was scheduled for 1 June where British Waterways would present their recommendations, and further details were available from Ken Oliver, Wiltshire Council’s Canal Officer.

 

It was also noted that on 11 May, the day after the meeting, a consultation event would be held at the Corn Exchange, Devizes, as part of the consultation on Wiltshire Council’s draft Gypsy and Traveller Strategy.

 

(e)       Parish Councils

 

An update from Woodborough Parish Council was included in the agenda at page 43.

 

8.30pm

10.

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. 

 

Councillor Wheeler commented that the Board was still awaiting the outcome of officer assessment on issues relating to pedestrian footways.

 

8.40pm

11.

Community Area Grants

To determine any applications for Community Area Grants.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to five applications for Community Area Grants.  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

Woodborough Parish Council was awarded £305 towards the erection of two kissing gates and repair of one stile.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2010/11 and would improve access to rights of way in this area.

 

Decision

Pewsey Environmental Action Team (PEAT) was awarded £1,000 towards set up costs, including publicity and events to raise awareness, subject to the remaining funding being obtained.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2010/11 and would allow this group to maximise its impact on the community.

 

Decision

Bedwyn and District British Legion Club was awarded £2,121 towards the refurbishment of the kitchen.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2010/11, would improve the existing community facilities, and would allow the Community Café project to go ahead.

 

Decision

Great Bedwyn Parish Council was awarded £700 towards a display panel to commemorate the 200th year celebration of the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2010/11 and would support this project to maximise tourist assets in the area.

 

Decision

Great Bedwyn Cricket Club was awarded £1,040 towards a new score box, subject to the remaining funding being obtained.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2010/11 and would improve the sports and leisure facilities available to the community.

 

The Chairman added that the next meeting of the Area Board was scheduled for 5 July 2010; the deadline for grants to be considered at that meeting was 21 May 2010.  The deadline for grants to be considered at the September meeting was 23 July 2010.

 

8.55pm

12.

Performance Reward Grant

To consider whether the Board wishes to support any applications for Performance Reward Grant funding.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Caroline Brailey explained the background to the Performance Reward Grant scheme, emphasising that the Area Board was not making a final decision on the bids, but was deciding whether to support the applications to go forward to the Performance Reward Grant Panel for determination.

 

Wiltshire Alternative Youth Sports (WAYS) - Wiltshire Alternative Sports Hub Development

 

It was noted that the bid would support the development of three new alternative sports hubs in Wiltshire, providing healthy diversionary activities for the young people of the county.

 

Responding to some concern that the public awareness of this initiative could be higher, Damian Haasjes of WAYS confirmed that the organisation was working with the local schools and the Community Area Young People’s Issues Groups (CAYPIGs).

 

Decision

The Pewsey Area Board supported the bid from Wiltshire Alternative Youth Sports to go forward for consideration by the Performance Reward Grant Panel.

 

13.

Evaluation and Urgent Business

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

 

Evaluation forms will be available at the meeting – these may be completed and handed to Caroline Brailey at the end of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.  The Chairman encouraged those present to complete and submit the evaluation forms.

 

9.00pm

14.

Future Meeting Dates and Close

To note the Forward Plan attached.

 

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board is scheduled for Monday 5 July 2010, 7pm at Coronation Hall, Grafton.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board was scheduled for Monday 5 July 2010, 7pm at Coronation Hall, Grafton.

 

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.