Agenda item

To receive any updates from partners, including the Tidworth Community Area Partnership and the work of the thematic groups.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

Parish and Town Councils

The Chairman thanked Everleigh Parish Council for providing a written update for the agenda and encouraged other parish and town councils to do the same.

Everleigh and Collingbourne Ducis Parish Councils reported that a combined village show had been held recently which was a great success and a good example of joint working between the two parish councils.

Janet White, Clerk to Ludgershall Town Council, advised that a public exhibition of the plans for new homes in Ludgershall would be taking place on 29 and 30 September 2010, from 3.00 pm until 8.00 pm at The Memorial Hall.

Wiltshire Police

An update report from Wiltshire Police was circulated at the meeting and its contents noted.

NHS Wiltshire

Updates from the NHS for August and September were noted.

Tidworth Community Area Partnership

Colonel Paddy Tabor, Chairman of the Partnership, and Tony Pickernell, Partnership Coordinator, provided an update as follows:

·         The Partnership met on Friday 18 September and the meeting was reasonably well attended.

·         Four of the Partnership’s nine thematic groups reported to the meeting.

·         The next meeting of the Partnership was scheduled to take place on Friday 10 December.

·         A good level of engagement with parish and town councils had taken place over the past few months

·         Participants were welcomed for the Partnership’s Working Group, including members of the public.

·         Work on the Community Plan continued, with a series of meetings taking place over the next few weeks to obtain the views of the public and various local groups.

·         There were plans to visit various local shows with a stand in order to engage more with the public regarding the Community Plan.

·         The recent Blue Light Day had been very successful and thanks were paid to the emergency services that took part.

·         A proms band concert would be taking place in the Garrison Theatre on 27 October 2010 to raise funds for the Partnership and to bring the community together.

·         A free Christmas Show for the schools was also being organised to take place in the Garrison Theatre.

Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG)

Wendy Higginson, Youth Development Coordinator, reported that both the Tidworth and Ludgershall youth centres had been extremely busy over the summer months with various youth activities taking place. There was also a good series of upcoming projects in the pipeline including a six-week music project, break dancing and sports projects.

Wendy also reported that there was funding for three new posts within the Tidworth Community Area youth service and these were currently being recruited to.

Children’s Centre

Betty Dobson, representing Rural Needs Initiative and the local Children’s Centre, reported that one classroom in Castle Primary School had now been converted into Ludgershall Community Room and was available for community use. A series of free baby massage sessions were also being held, similar to the scheme being promoted by the NHS. Betty also announced the launch of a new scheme called ‘Safe at Home’, which was a referral scheme to help vulnerable people to purchase home safety equipment such as safety gates and fire guards.

The Wellington Academy

Principal Andy Schofield announced the Academy’s excellent exam results achieved by the students this year. This was such an important achievement for the Academy, which had gone from being one of the lowest achieving schools in the county to one of the highest in the last year. He also announced that the new building work would be complete in March 2011, with boarding to follow in September.

Garrison

Colonel Tabor provided the following update from the Garrison:

·         The building programme was due to be completed in 2013 including the personal recovery centre for personnel returning from deployment.

·         The results of a recent government review were anticipated next month and would provide enlightenment on the future position of the MOD.

·         Housing was still one of the biggest issues for the Garrison with provision unable to meet demand.

·         A Christmas Fair would take place on 29 September 2010 at Tidworth House to raise funds for the Army Benevolent Fund.

·         A ‘clean sweep’ would take place on 6 October 2010.

·         The Garrison bonfire night would take place on 4 November 2010 in Bulford.

·         A 10k charity run would take place on 7 November 2010 from Tidworth Park.

Wiltshire Council Cabinet

Councillor John Brady, Wiltshire Councillor and Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Planning and Housing, commented on the housing situation in Tidworth Community Area and the need for more housing provision. The Council was currently reviewing the housing numbers in the Core Strategy and it was clear that Tidworth and Ludgershall had a pressing need and were open to new housing developments. The proposals for 500 new homes near Castledown Business Park should shortly result in a planning application which would go some way to address the issues.

Alistair Cunningham, Service Director for Economy and Enterprise, commented that the Castledown Business Park had 16 units that were now let and there were also plans to convert one of the larger units into smaller units. A solution had now been found for the previous problems with the roof of the innovation centre and full completion of the centre was expected soon.