Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everybody to the Westwood Social Club.

The Chairman introduced the Area Board members and the Wiltshire Council officers present.

Apologies were received from Mike Franklin – Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service.

i)To approve and sign as the correct record the minutes of the Bradford on Avon Area Board meeting held on 13 March 2015.

ii) To approve and sign as the correct record the minutes of the Local Youth Network Management Group held on 22 June 2015.  

iii)To approve and sign as the correct record the minutes of the Bradford on Avon Community Area Transport Group meeting held on 1 June 2015.

Decision

·       The minutes of the Bradford on Avon Area Board meeting held on 13 March 2015 were signed as the correct record.

·       The minutes of the Local Youth Network Management Group held on 22 June 2015 were signed as the correct record.

·       The minutes of the Bradford on Avon Community Area Transport Group meeting held on 1 June 2015 were signed as the correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were none.

Chairman’s Announcements:

·       Services to the Elderly Workshop, 16 July

·       LEADER funding

·       Changes to Street Lighting

·       Public Transport Review

·       Bradford on Avon Cycling Festival, 5/6 September

Updates:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire – June update

·       Youth Advisory Group

The following Chairman’s Announcements were noted:

• Services to the Elderly Workshop, 16 July
• LEADER funding
• Changes to Street Lighting
• Public Transport Review
• Bradford on Avon Cycling Festival, 5/6 September (with thanks to John Potter)
• Superfast Broadband – Cllr Trevor Carbin

The following Updates contained in the agenda pack were noted:

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire – June update

Youth Advisory Group – verbal update and Youth Funding

Decision

• That the Bradford on Avon Area Board agrees that £2,000 is allocated for Summer Youth Activities.

Update

• A good youth attendance at the recent Magna Carta celebrations in Salisbury.

• The Youth group were currently decorating manikins as part of the Bradford on Avon Fringe Festival.

• The group were looking for volunteers to help run the youth centre.

• Looking to get more young people involved in the group by organising a wider Local Youth Network event.

The Chairman thanked everybody for their updates.

Peter Dunford - Community Engagement Manager.

Peter Dunford - Community Engagement Manager informed the meeting that due to restraints on the budget the Area Board needed to try and obtain greater contributions from the Parish Councils towards future CAT-G projects in order to do more with limited resources.

A report contained in the agenda pack showed a large number of projects that were still awaiting funding before they could be carried out.

Decision

• That the Bradford on Avon Area Board agrees to transfer £15,000 from the Community Grant funding budget into the Community Area Transport Group budget.

i.Westwood PCC requesting £5,000 towards the Parish Room Transformation.

ii.Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust requesting £950 towards the re-opening of the Culver Close toilet in Bradford on Avon.

iii.Wiltshire Music Centre requesting £4,973 towards an equipment upgrade.

The Wiltshire Councillors were asked to consider three applications seeking 2015/16 Community Area Grant funding:

Decision

Westwood PCC awarded £5,000 towards the Parish Room

Transformation.

Reason

The application meets grant criteria 2015/16.

Decision

Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust awarded £700 towards

the re-opening of the Culver Close toilet in Bradford on Avon.

Reason

The application meets grant criteria 2015/16.

Decision

Wiltshire Music Centre awarded £4,973 towards an equipment

upgrade.

Reason

The application meets grant criteria 2015/16.

Westwood Parish Council to report.

Alan Wheals – Chairman, Westwood Parish Council welcomed the Area Board to Westwood and thanked the Area Board for its support to Westwood.

John Bishop - Westwood Parish Council outlined Westwood’s Community Speedwatch scheme.

• That 20mph Zones were now in place.

• More than 20,000 vehicles had been monitored by Community Speedwatch volunteers during their first year of operation.

• That Westwood receives good support from the local Neighbourhood Police Team.

The Chairman thanked Alan Wheals and John Bishop for their updates.

Discussion led by Councillor Magnus Macdonald with views welcome from all.

Cllr Magnus Macdonald outlined a number of priorities for the Area Board moving forward including those that had been flagged up during the last Joint Strategic Assessment workshop. It was agreed that in order to have any impact a small number of priorities should be set where the Area Board can add value

and lever in additional resources maybe.

The Area Board members were given the opportunity to discuss and list possible future priorities:

Cllr Ian Thorn

• Economy, business and tourism
• Cycle ways & paths
• Engaging groups who do not currently attend the Area Board

Cllr Rosemary Brown

• Air quality
• 20mph zones
• Further support for the Local Youth Network

Cllr Trevor Carbin

• Local Youth Network
• Air quality
• Community projects

Cllr Macdonald

• Passenger Transport
• Health and Social Care
• Tourism Promotion

Discussion led by Councillor Magnus Macdonald with views welcome from all.

Cllr Magnus Macdonald was concerned at the limited attendance at board meetings from the parishes and wanted to make the work of the board more relevant to the villages. With Peter Dunford he had been visiting all the parish councils to hear about rural issues and to discuss how the Area Board might be able to help with common problems.  

Priorities raised included:

• Deterioration in the street scene, including pavements, pot holes, grass verges.

• Loss of services e.g. village shops and post offices

• Neighbourhood Plans – support for local planning policies.

• Traffic and parking related issues.

• Traffic and volume of traffic through Bradford on Avon.

   The comment was made that the Area Board is neither a place dedicated to community consultation nor to key decision making, and until its role was clarified it would always struggle to perform a useful task and to engage the masses. 

The Chairman thanked the Parishes for their input.

·       Wednesday 16 September 2015, St Margaret’s Hall, Bradford on Avon.

·       Wednesday 16 September 2015, St Margaret’s Hall, Bradford on Avon.