Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting, including Mark Boden, Corporate Director of Neighbourhood Planning. He thanked Renate Malton, Project Officer, for the display stands available to view before the meeting regarding feedback from the community flooding consultation.

Apologies for absence were received from Sergeant Martin Alvis (Wiltshire Police), Catherine Doody (Malmesbury Town Council), Roger Lee (St Paul Malmesbury Without Parish Council), Terry Mockler (Hankerton Parish Council), John Parmiter (Lea and Cleverton Parish Council), John Tremayne (Easton Grey Parish Council), Jenny Woodcock and Andrew Woodcock (Malmesbury Town Council)

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2011.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2011 were approved and signed as a correct record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will provide an announcement regarding the 2011 census, as in the agenda pack. 

The Chairman drew attention to the written announcements included in the agenda pack. Three late announcements had also been received.

The public were invited to attend an evening seminar on Tuesday 22 March 2011 at 6.30 pm, with refreshments available from 6.00 pm, at Malmesbury Secondary School to look at the implications of the Government’s Localism Bill now before Parliament and what this was likely to mean for public and voluntary services in the Malmesbury Community Area.

The seminar would address how Wiltshire Council planned to develop its own local arrangements through the Area Boards, with new ways of involving people in decisions about services.

It would also address how the Government was proposing to change the current planning system to give local people more of a say over the future development of the places where they live. The seminar would conclude with an update and discussion about the development of local planning policies (known as the Wiltshire Core Strategy) for the Malmesbury Community Area.

Information was provided about changes to bus services. As a result of significant reductions in local authority funding, Wiltshire Council has had to make difficult decisions in setting its budget for the 2011/12 financial year.

The intention behind the proposals was to minimise the impact on users as far as possible, by spreading the changes across the county and withdrawing services or journeys where alternatives were available, or which were relatively poorly used or expensive to run per passenger carried.

There were relatively few changes affecting the Malmesbury Community Area and the main change proposed was withdrawal of the Sunday journeys on service 51A (Cirencester – Ashton Keynes – Cricklade – Swindon).

Communities had the opportunity to respond via their Town or Parish Council if they were aware of particular difficulties that would result. A letter had been sent to all Town and Parish Councils explaining the proposed changes, and asking for feedback. Responses were requested by 1 May 2011. Replies should be sent to ian.white@wiltshire.gov.uk in Wiltshire Council’s Passenger Transport Unit.

Energy monitors would be available from Malmesbury library from Monday April 4 2011. Members of the public would be able to hire a monitor for free for a period of three weeks, which could be used to monitor the energy used by electrical items in the home. A booklet including energy saving advice would be given out with the energy monitor that could be kept for future reference.  The initiative to provide energy monitors in all Wiltshire libraries was funded by the Performance Reward Grant Scheme.

To receive updates from the following partners:

a)     Wiltshire Police

b)     Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (attached)

c)      NHS Wiltshire (attached)

d)     Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership (attached)

e)     Town and Parish Councils.

The Chairman noted the written updates from partners included with the agenda pack. He invited partners to speak if they had further information for the meeting.

a)    The written update from Wiltshire Police was circulated at the meeting, please find attached to the minutes. The main issue in the Community Area was rural theft. Inspector Martin advised the meeting to secure property carefully and take details if suspicious behaviour had been noticed. 

b)    The written update from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was noted.

c)    The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted.

d)    The written update from Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership (M&VCAP) was noted. Sid Jevons emphasised that the Partnership were always looking for volunteers who would like to become involved in their work.

e)    Malcolm Carter from Ashton Keynes Parish Council introduced their new website. He described how the website was created to address people not knowing what was going on in the community, how it was designed using a website design template and the positive feedback it had received. The website could be accessed via the following link: www.akpc.org.uk.   

Ellen Blacker explained that Community Speed Watch had been a real success story in Dauntsey and a prime example of ‘The Big Society’ in action.

The group attended the risk assessed site most mornings and afternoons when they had the device and had seen a significant drop in traffic speeds. When the project was started, the group recorded approximately 30 vehicles exceeding the limit per hour. This had dropped to 15-20, however unfortunately the effect was short-lived and when not visible on duty the traffic sped up. An overall lowering of traffic speed through the village was still noted.

Dauntsey Parish Council had invested in the wheelie bin stickers offered by Advanced Printing Services (UK) Ltd.   The stickers helped to support the work of the Community Speedwatch scheme.  Approximately 50% of homes in the 30mph zone had the stickers, enough to have effect. On bin day, the number of vehicles recorded exceeding the speed limit reduced from 15-20 per hour to 3-4 per hour.

Ellen thoroughly recommended these stickers as a method of reminding motorists to slow down.

Roger Baker from Leigh Parish Council raised concern about the proposed HM Revenues and Customs requirement for parish clerks to register to pay tax and national insurance contributions, given their low earnings. John Marsh, clerk to Ashton Keynes Parish Council, offered to provide support free of charge to Leigh Parish Council. The Chairman expressed his support for this concern and advised parishes to write to their MP.

Wiltshire Council was talking to HM Revenues and Customs and the Wiltshire Association of Local Councils to see whether it would be possible for Wiltshire Council to run the payroll on behalf of Wiltshire Parish Councils. The Wiltshire Association of Local Councils could be contacted at:

Wyndhams, St Joseph’s Place, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1DD, on 01380 729549 or office@wiltshire-alc.org.uk.

Decision

The Chairman would write to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Information will be provided about the Great Western Hospital contract to run the community services currently run by the PCT (health clinics, community hospitals, maternity services and neighbourhood teams). This will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

Helen Bourner, Director of Business Development, provided information about the Great Western Hospital contract to run the community services currently run by Wiltshire Primary Care Trust.

The presentation covered the main subjects below:

·         Background to the changing landscape of the NHS

·         The composition of the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

·         The services currently provided

·         The record of providing good patient care

·         Key facts about the new services that the Trust would be responsible for – providing healthcare in over 30 locations from Malmesbury in the north down to Salisbury in the south and across towards Bath and beyond into Somerset

·         Why the Trust bid for these services – a unique opportunity to improve care for patients across the region

·         What this meant for local people.

Please find slides from the presentation attached to the minutes. The presentation was followed by a short question and answer session. Issues raised from the floor included those below:

·         Services for adults with mental health issues would be taken over

·         Commissioner decisions were to be made about the services that would and would not be provided by the NHS

·         Arrangements for the out of hours service would not be affected

·         Catering and cleaning contracts would be reviewed in 2012.   

Please email Kevin McNamara, Head of Marketing and Communications, with any other questions: kevin.mcnamara@gwh.nhs.uk.

Decision

A representative from the Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust would return to a future Area Board meeting to provide further information about how changes would affect services provided in the Community Area.

The Community Area Manager will provide a summary of current community issues and the Area Board will agree those to be closed.

The Community Area Manager provided a summary of current community issues and the Area Board agreed those to be closed.

Decision

The Area Board would close the following issues:

Issue 1129 – speeding issues in Leigh would be managed through a Community Speed Watch scheme and in the meantime a Speed Indicator Device would be installed.

Issue 1363 – perceived night time speeding in Dark Lane, Malmesbury, was being passed to Wiltshire Police to monitor. To date no excessive speeds had been recorded.

Issue 1482 – the adoption of open space associated with specific properties at Abbey Height was a personal and not a community matter.

Issue 1443 – dog fouling in the Hudson Road/Glovers Court area of Malmesbury had and would continue to be monitored. Additional signage had been provided.

Decision

The Area Board would refer a further four issues to the Community Area Transport Group for consideration at their April meeting.

Decision

The Area Board would consider the issue of speed bumps at the meeting as item 9.  

Martin Rose, Principal Highways Engineer, will respond to the speed bumps survey results and Town Council recommendations.

Martin Rose, Principal Highways Engineer, responded to the speed bumps survey results and Town Council recommendations. He thanked the Town Council for their work. Martin commented that part of the issue was that the speed bumps were grey because they were in a historical town and this made them difficult to see. Vehicles had changed since the bumps were put in place and many larger vehicles were unaffected by them.

The Chairman had met with officers and asked them to look into removing the speed bumps, modifying the speed bumps and other options for slowing down traffic. Priorities for resurfacing roads in the Community Area were also under consideration. The Area Board would make decisions on this issue once the priorities for resurfacing were also available; following which it would be discussed at an Area Board meeting to take into account funding issues and legal requirements.  

Decision

The Chairman would ask the Wiltshire Council officers concerned to meet with the Town Council to discuss options regarding the speed bumps in Malmesbury and to put up a display in the town.       

Councillor John Thomson will provide a short overview of his role as Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Adult Care, Communities and Libraries. There will then be the opportunity to ask Councillor Thomson questions.  

Councillor John Thomson explained how Cabinet members attended Area Board meetings across the county on a rota basis. He provided an overview about his role as Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Adult Care, Community Services and Libraries. He explained this encompassed Area Boards.

Wiltshire Council was committed to retaining libraries and the mobile library service. Opening hours would be reassessed in the context of neighbouring local authorities closing libraries. Input from volunteers and partnership working would be needed in small communities to keep their libraries open. There had been fantastic levels of volunteering across the county.

Wiltshire was set to face a big increase in the number of older people in the county and had a ten year plan to improve services and provide joined up and flexible care. Wiltshire Council was investing in keeping people in their homes with support for as long as possible, the next stage would be extra care in home and the final stage if needed would be residential care.

Councillor Thomson hoped that more powers would shift to Area Boards with increased delegation of decisions and funding. Confidence had already been gained in the system through the work of Area Boards thus far.    

Information will be provided regarding the end of life care strategy that Wiltshire Council and NHS Wiltshire have adopted.

Alison Bell, Public Health Consultant for NHS Wiltshire, provided information about the End of Life Care Strategy that Wiltshire Council and NHS Wiltshire had adopted. The presentation covered the main subjects below:

·         A definition of end of life care – ‘living well until you die’

·         Sensitivity to death and dying

·         The policy context

·         The context in Wiltshire

·         What NHS Wiltshire were already doing to improve end of life care

·         What NHS Wiltshire planned to do to improve end of life care.

Further information was available from the website: http://www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk. Alison could be contacted by email on: alison.bell@wiltshire.nhs.uk.        

Councillors will provide an update on the outside bodies to which they are appointed.

Updates from Councillor Soden and Councillor Killane regarding The Malmesbury Community Trust and The Activity Zone were circulated at the meeting, please find attached to the minutes.

Councillor Thomson provided a verbal update about the Community Area Young People’s Issues Group. The group were working on a skateboard project and were applying for funding for a youth transport project. Gareth Brown was the new Youth Development Coordinator and was hoping to develop stronger bonds with the Area Board. The Youth Parliament had also appointed a new leader and Malmesbury Secondary School were bringing a group of sixth formers to the localism event on 22 March 2011.  

Councillors will be asked to consider the Community Area Grants report and make recommendations on the applications received, as follows:

a)     Minety Village Hall – seeking £1,504 towards refurbishment of toilets

b)     Glovers Court Amenity Group – seeking £178 towards the purchase of blackout blinds

c)      Malmesbury River Valleys Trust – seeking £120 towards the cost of providing educational materials.    

Councillors were asked to consider the Community Area Grants report and make recommendations on the applications received.

Decision

Minety Village Hall were awarded £1,504 towards the refurbishment of toilets, conditional on the balance of funding being in place.

Reason

The application meets the 2010/11 grant criteria and would improve village hall facilities.

Members recommended that the applicant also seek support from Charities Information Bureau and Community First’s Village Hall Officer in relation to their finances and ambitions for the hall.

Decision

Glovers Court Amenity Group were awarded £178 towards the purchase of blackout blinds, conditional on the balance of funding being in place. 

Reason

The application meets the 2010/11 grant criteria and while Glovers Court was a residential facility in the town, the lounge, where the blinds were needed, was regularly used by other groups. 

Decision

Malmesbury River Valleys Trust were awarded £120 towards the cost of providing educational materials.

Reason

The application meets the 2010/11 grant criteria and would reflect the values of both adults and young people who valued the rural nature of the area they lived in, as well as providing activities for young people.

Decision

To endorse £20 for room hire for ISWE (a pilot website based around the Malmesbury Community Area) training.  

Malmesbury Area Board is pleased to announce that the application made to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme from the Malmesbury Boxing Club has been successful and the club received £20,000. The Eilmer Bridge application was unfortunately unsuccessful.

An expression of interest had been received by all 18 Area Boards on behalf of Wiltshire’s Neighbourhood Watch Schemes seeking funds for the purchase of UV scanning torches for issue to Police officers on operational duties.   

The Chairman was pleased to announce that the application made to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme from Malmesbury Boxing Club had been successful and the club received £20,000. The Eilmer Bridge application had been unsuccessful.

Councillors were asked to consider an expression of interest that had been received by all 18 Area Boards on behalf of Wiltshire’s Neighbourhood Watch Schemes, seeking funds for the purchase of UV scanning torches for issue to Police officers on operational duties.

Decision

The Area Board was minded not to support this expression of interest due to insufficient information.

The Performance Reward Grant Scheme was currently being reviewed alongside funding arrangements for Wiltshire Council and partners, and may not continue in its current form beyond the end of the financial year. As a result of this, the Panel had decided that the deadline date for the sixth tranche of the current scheme would be extended until 31 March 2011. All bids received by this date would be considered under the current arrangements.

The Chairman will provide information about the outcome of the leisure facilities review and the current child poverty consultation, as in the agenda pack.

The Chairman set out that information on public consultations was included in the agenda pack. This comprised the outcome of the library services review and the current child poverty consultation.

In light of the time at 9.10 pm, the Chairman did not undertake evaluation of the meeting. He thanked everybody for coming to Ashton Keynes.