Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to Seend Community Centre and then  introduced the Wiltshire councillors who made up the area

board, supporting Wiltshire Council officers and Cllr Richard Gamble, (Portfolio holder for Public Transport), who was attending the meeting.

The Chairman thanked the various stake holders and parish representatives in attendance.

The following Chairman’s announcements contained in the pack were noted:

·         The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, June 2012 – that the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire would be holding an event in Salisbury, all towns would be invited to have a jousting tent in which to present a display of their community history. It was hoped that local businesses would sponsor the tents.

·         Wiltshire Council senior management – Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet had met on the 6 October. The Cllr Jane Scott, (Leader) had presented a report which proposed changes to the senior management structure of the Council. The changes would result in the deletion of the posts of Chief Executive and one Corporate Director.

           Andrew Kerr, (Chief Executive)  had taken the option to apply for voluntary redundancy.

           Recommendation concerning his dismissal on the grounds of redundancy would be subject to confirmation by full Council when it meets on the 8 November.

·         CCTV – that the Area Board backs the idea of Melksham CCTV and would discuss it at the next meeting in December.

·         Parliamentary Boundaries - that the towns of Melksham and Bradford-on-Avon, which are currently located in the Chippenham constituency, are included in the proposed Trowbridge constituency with the town of Trowbridge.

·         Outcome of 13-19 consultation - On 13^th September 2011 Wiltshire Cabinet approved the Commissioning Strategy for 11 to 19 year olds. This included seven broad priorities on

Employment and training.

            Educational attainment.

     (These were the top 2 commissioning priorities selected by young  people)

Housing.

Transport for young people.

Involving young people.

Volunteering

Improving integrated youth services

     Cabinet also approved a Wiltshire Youth Work Offer The key features of      the Youth Work Offer are:

Open Access Youth Work

Higher level targeted youth work support

Better co-ordination of positive activities for young people

Stronger partnerships

Increased use of volunteers

      An implementation group which includes Councillor representatives had been established.

·         Community Area Transport Group – that the group had met prior to the area board meeting and had agreed four Speed Indication Device sites.

Apologies were received from Cllr Rod Eaton.

Agenda Item No.11 Community area grant application – Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.

Cllr Steve Petty – Personal interest, member of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, would leave the room when this application was discussed and voted on.

Decision

• That the minutes of the meeting on 20 September 2011 were approved and signed as a correct record, it was however noted that Cllr Chris Petty had given the Melksham Town council update, and not Cllr Richard Wiltshire.

Graham Ellis gave an update on the work that the Trans Wilts Railway Partnership had been carrying out to improve services from Melksham railway station.

Points made by Graham Ellis included:

·         Trains run every 30 minutes from Swindon to Chippenham, and at least every hour from Trowbridge to Salisbury.

·         In the middle section of the line (Chippenham – Melksham - Trowbridge) there are just two trains each way per day:

From Chippenham at 06:30 and 19:01

From Trowbridge at -7:07 and 18:42

·         North to South connectivity is dire; major roads run East-West and the North-South A350 trunk road is congested and slow.

·         Good public transport is important to local people, not everyone can drive or owns a car.

·         The A350 road is busy and bottlenecked and likely to become more so with housing growth and the heavy lorries diverted away from Bath / A36 Cleveland Bridge weight restrictions.

·         Feedback from local residents, businesses, visitors to the area is for an appropriate service that:

Is affordable by the user that can be provided at affordable cost.

Services that do not require major capital investment to work.

·         An extra service was trialed this summer on eight high summer Sunday mornings, It gave people the opportunity for a day out, It gave people the opportunity to use rail (as opposed to road or air) for some very long distance Sunday journeys. The feedback and take up of these extra services was very good.

·         Next summer it is hoped to extend the trial service to start in May and run to mid September, and would look for it to carry on all through the year.

·         First Great Western have withdrawn from the final three franchise years; First Great Western in “Cap and Collar” which means they pay around 75% of any extra revenue to the government; New Franchise process underway.

·         The new franchise is a golden opportunity to get the right service. The Melksham line is perhaps the best prepared line in the South West with all the reports, and a line which needs no infrastructure work to run the trains.

·         Electrification of the main line from London via Swindon and Chippenham will provide extra capacity, an extra draw of traffic from Trowbridge / Melksham, and an opportunity for small infrastructure and signalling measures to be included.

·         TransWilts Rail and the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership would continue to liaise with both the rail industry and with local communities and operators of other transport (buses, cars, etc.) for a truly integrated door-to-door, linked multimode system.

·         From the reports that TransWilts have generated, the surveys undertaken and the extra evidence gathered, TransWilts Rail is now in a position to take service improvement forward for the good of all who use it – and for the wider economy of the area too. Better access to work and businesses. Congestion relief. And to help to bring people into the town to make use of the new canal, the new campus, follow the blue plaque trail  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Area Board members and all attendees were given the opportunity to take part in round-table discussions  to gather people’s ideas and opinions on how to develop car parking on Wiltshire Council owned land near Melksham station.

Cllr Richard Gamble gave a brief outline of where the land was situated and how it could be developed as part of the Melksham station expansion plans.

Points made from the discussions included:

·         A rental service.

·         Student transport.

·         Car park used to hold a regular Melksham market.

·         A bus service from the car park to the local communities.

·         Taxi rank.

·         The car park forming part of the town parking.

·         Children’s safety.

·         HGV parking.

·         Barrier parking to avoid the car park becoming a rat run if a one-way system way introduced.

·         An information building.

·         A small multi-storey car park.

·         Bicycle hire and lockers.

·         Wild life area and community café.

·         A safe environment with CCTV.

·         A transport hub with links to tourism.

·         Caravan storage during the winter months.

·         Electric car charging points.

The Chairman thanked everybody for taking part in an interesting discussion.

a.Melksham CAYPIG – not in attendance.

b.Community Area Partnership Representative.

Colin Goodhind advised that:

·         Community plan – now at consultation stage, an open day had been held on Saturday 22 October to encourage people to discuss the plan.

·         Saturday 5 November would be Melksham Energy day, with an information event focusing on solar and renewable energy sources.

·         Good partnership working with Melksham Community Radio to get the community area partnership message out to the villages.

c.Wiltshire Police

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted, Inspector David

Cullop also advised that:

·         The police now a new operational policing model.

·         The Neighbourhood policing teams would remain the same.

Questions raised from the floor:

Will the Divisional HQ remain in Melksham?

a.Yes, the custody suite is currently being refitted.

How has the new 101 number been received?

a.Not had any feedback so far.

d.Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

e.NHS Wiltshire

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

f.Melksham Town Council

Cllr Chris Petty advised that traffic lights in the town centre continues, the Chairman advised that the Community area transport group were looking at this issue.

g.Parish Council Nominated Representatives

Melksham Without parish council advised:

·         That a small number of the new Berryfields allotments were still available to rent.

·         That Melksham Without parish council supported the Golden Fleece cricket club grant application.

h.Melksham Chamber of Commerce

Graham Ellis advised that:

·         The Chamber of Commerce were looking forward to the opportunities that the 2012 Jubilee celebrations, Melksham Campus and the Wilts & Berks canal would bring to Melksham.

·         The Chamber of Commerce supported the Wessex Chamber of Commerce in its opposition to the new Wiltshire Council parking charges.

i.Shadow Community Operations Board

Cllr Roy While advised that:

·         The purchase of the Melksham Campus site had now been completed.

·         The Shadow Community Operations Board had now held two good meetings and were now looking at design principles.

·         The Shadow Community Operations Board would now be looking at the Melksham House facilities, arranging equality and travel workshops and looking to talk with young people.

Cllr While also advised that he had taken advice on Mike Sankey becoming a full member of the Shadow Community Operations Board.

Resolved:

·         That Mike Sankey becomes a full member of the Shadow Community Operations Board.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their updates.

Community Grants Scheme

The Wiltshire Councillors considered two applications seeking 2011/201Community Area Grant Funding:

Decision

The Golden Fleece Cricket Club were awarded £3,700 towards the creation of a new cricket field in Whitley.

Reason

This application demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan by ensuring that playing fields are not lost when the lease at the current Golden Fleece cricket club finishes.

Cllr Steve Petty leaves the room.

Decision

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust applied for £497 for replacement of signs along former route of Wilts & Berks canal in Melksham. Members agreed to defer the application until the next meeting in order to look at the funds of the applicant which had changed since the initial application was made.

Cllr Steve Petty now back in the room.

Cllr Initiated Projects

Cllr Steve Petty, on behalf of local residents was awarded £569.90 to repaint the 'antique gas' street lights in Canon Square, Church Walk and Church Street in Melksham