Agenda item

To receive updates from the following partners:

a.    Wiltshire Police

b.    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.    Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

d.    Campus Team

e.    Devizes Community Area Partnership

f.     Town and Parish Councils

g.    Health

a)    Wiltshire Police

Inspector Matthew Armstrong presented the update which included:

A replacement officer for Devizes South Rural Area had been recruited.  Thanks were given to Inspector Guy Sanders for all his hard work.

There had been media and public interest on the purse theft that occurred in Morrisons Supermarket. The Police were working with retail outlets to reduce offending in the town, which included placing plain clothed officers in shopping areas.

There had been no significant changes to crime figures.  However, the increase in violent crime had primarily been in relation to domestic violence.

All were reminded of Claire’s Law which allowed women to find out if their partners had any previous convictions for domestic violence.  This was being rolled out across the country, noting that Devizes was one of the areas to pilot the scheme.

Following questions received, the Sergeant confirmed that future updates would include details on rural areas of Devizes where possible.

b)    Wiltshire fire and rescue

Mike Franklin presented the update which included:

In October one accidental fire had been reported which was a 17 month low. The service continued with its fire prevention work.

An update was given regarding the recent changes at Devizes fire station. Community hub fire stations had been created and were crewed by the station manager, supported by a watch manager and three other members of staff. The staff also patrolled the local area and engaged in community safety work.

The three year public safety plan was also now available to view online at www.wiltsfire.gov.uk with hardcopies available on request.

c)    Devizes Community Area YAG

Sarah Howes, Locality Team Leader, gave an update.

The group were seeking to bridge the gap between the young and older members of the Devizes community.

Young people were urged to attend the next meeting which would occur on 6 December 2013 at 18:00 at the Devizes Present Rooms.

d)    Campus Team

Cllr Peter Evans drew attention to the campus consultation sheets circulated at the meeting and encouraged all to complete and return before leaving the meeting.

e)    Devizes Community Area Partnership

Tony Sedgewick from DCAP gave an update which included:

A rural conference had been held at Market Lavington in October to discuss rural issues, including rural broadband. DCAP were disappointed with the attendance at this meeting and encouraged more support from rural communities in the future.

DCAP highlighted the importance of communicating with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and making local views known to them. 

This would be Tony’s last update as he was retiring at the end of the year. He gave thanks to the Area Board for their support. 

The Chairman thanked Tony for his hard work and effort. 

f)     Town and parish councils

No updates were received.

g)    Health

Judy Rose from Devizes Health Matters, confirmed a meeting had taken place with Deborah Fielding and Steve Rowlands from the CCG on 5 November 2013 where the role of the group was explained, including their campaign to improve health services. The CCG had assured the group of their desire to make health services accessible to local communities and that they were working with care coordinators to provide a joined-up response to health matters in Devizes.