Together we will agree which actions from the Malmesbury Area Board and Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership special ‘Moving Forward’ event to take forward. We will identify by whom and how best the issues should be tackled.
Minutes:
Miranda Gilmour, the Community Area Manager, spoke about the ‘Moving Forward’ event. This was held in February 2012 hosted by Malmesbury Area Board and MVCAP to examine evidence based information and agree actions to take forward.
Miranda explained that eight themes for improvement in the local area had been discussed at the event, as below:
Community Safety – a top priority was to encourage and support parental social responsibility regarding driving, alcohol and drug use.
Decision
Malmesbury Area Board would support an event to show the Safe Drive Stay Alive road safety programme in the community area for anyone who was interested to be able to watch it.
A Fire Ambassadors Scheme would be investigated to include advice about fuel poverty although this might be able to be carried out by people already going into other people’s homes, for example home visits by Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Concerns had been raised regarding Malmesbury retaining its level of policing given its reputation as a safe area to live. Sergeant Martin Alvis commented that it was important the community continued to help itself, for instance through Community Speed Watch and Neighbourhood Watch. People should talk to their neighbours to solve smaller issues before turning to Wiltshire Police/Council.
It was important for parents and guardians to know where their young people were on an evening as policing minor anti social behaviour took up a lot of time.
Decision
Wiltshire Police would link with Malmesbury School and Neighbourhood Watch to contact parents and guardians to underline the need to take responsibility for their young people and know their whereabouts as much as possible.
Arts, Leisure and Culture – Malmesbury leisure centre planned to carry out a survey of non centre users during the autumn to see how they could encourage greater use. The Chairman hoped that local groups would be supportive of the survey.
There was the desire to develop more joint working between Malmesbury Library and the Athelstan Museum.
The benefits of keeping people of all ages physically and mentally active were discussed. It was commented that walking routes in the community area would help. Great Somerford was one of the first places to receive funding from the Paths Improvement Grants Scheme to create a circular route which was now very well used. The idea of having a ‘dog park’ in Malmesbury was being looked in to by Malmesbury Town Council. Stephen Leonard, Rights of Way Warden, was thanked for his good work improving access for walkers to the countryside. It was highlighted that individuals could also make a difference by getting out and helping, for example cutting back overhanging branches, themselves.
Health and Wellbeing – Equality and access to services were issues. MVCAP had agreed to look into a University of the Third Age to help to keep people’s minds alert. It was pointed out that the WEA ran a range of courses in Sherston and Hullavington. Inviting older people into schools at lunch time for company and a hot meal was seen as a good idea, especially in the winter months. Dauntsey Parish Council invited the Chairman to attend their luncheon club after a few trials had taken place and this was agreed.
Transport – a big issue in the rural area. Informal car share schemes and thinking of other people when making car journeys could make a significant difference. Wiltshire Council had a freight team and would look into any freight and HGV issues. Please raise these through the usual community issues system. The condition of the roads was also spoken about.
Decision
The condition of local roads would be an item for discussion at a future Malmesbury Area Board meeting.
Housing – many changes regarding rural housing and the housing allocations process were taking place and the Wiltshire Council housing team would be visiting all area boards in the county when more information was available.
Decision
Housing issues would be an item for discussion at a future Malmesbury Area Board meeting.
Children and Young People – there were issues related to mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, transport related to NEETs (young people Not in Education, Employment or Training) and providing integrated services for young people.
Decision
The Community Area Manager would work with the Extended Schools Co-Ordinator, to look into issues related to children and young people in the Malmesbury Community Area.
Economy, Jobs and Skills – Malmesbury had bid for funding to improve the town from the Portas pilot scheme. The first round of outcomes from this would soon be available. The Chamber of Commerce were looking into how they could take forward some of Portas’ ideas. The Chairman reported that broadband improvements were in hand and contracts were going out to tender. This would help to support working from home.
Environment – raising awareness about the rural environment and water quality, promoting sensible energy consumption and improving recycling, especially for businesses, were concerns to work on. Councillor Sturgis explained that council tax payers had been subsidising businesses with regards to their waste collection services. Commercial charges had now to be reset to recoup losses and reflect their true cost.
Decision
The environment would be an item for discussion at a future Malmesbury Area Board meeting, with representatives from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency invited to the meeting to promote a better understanding of what the area board could do.