Agenda item

Update on community issues and recommendations from area board working groups. This will include:

·         Highways working group (CATG) –Cllr Crisp

·         Calne Campus Working Group –Cllr Hill

Ø  An update to be provided on the whole campus project; including the library and community hub

Ø  Consideration to be given to a potential Calne Campus logo

·         Sandpit Road (Section 106) working group –Cllr Trotman

·         Air Quality working group –Cllr Ansell

·         Dementia Friends working group- Cllr Crisp

·         Older People’s Champion –Cllr Crisp

An update on community issues and recommendations from the Area Board working groups was received.

Cllr Crisp provided an update on the Highways working group (CATG) and noted that the next CATG meeting would be held on 12 April.

Cllr Hill provided an update on the Health and Wellbeing Programme for Calne and detailed the plans for the Calne Library and Community Hub. He also informed the meeting that the Beversbrook Crossing had been installed and that the Beversbrook all-weather pitch was aiming to be opened in summer 2016. It was also noted that the Calne Leisure Centre was in the process of being transferred back to Wiltshire Council and it was intended that, once back in the ownership of Wiltshire Council, the leisure centre would receive a refurbishment; however, details of the programme were yet to be decided.

Cllr Hill showed the meeting a logo that the area board had chosen for the Calne Health and Wellbeing Programme. It was noted that the logo had been adopted unanimously by the area board councillors.

In relation to the Calne Library and Community Hub, Cllr Hill explained that the Calne Library was being refurbished from 18 April 2016 to encompass both the Community Hub and the Library itself and that this would allow customers to be able to access a wide range of community services under one roof. As a result of the Community Hub being housed within the Calne Library; the number of hours that the library would be open and accessible, would be greater than the current library opening hours. Cllr Hill further detailed that any closures to the library service, due to the refurbishment, would be communicated at the earliest opportunity.

Joan Davis, Head of Libraries Heritage and Arts, was in attendance to present a short film on the Open+ (Open Plus) building management system planned for the Calne Library. She highlighted that the Open+ system was being successfully used in 200 libraries in Scandinavia and 20 in the UK. She reiterated that such a system would ensure that access to the library would be extended beyond normal opening hours.

A discussion was then held in relation to the Calne Library where several points were raised by a number of local people. The points raised included the following; the continuation of current activities and events for children, the security of the Open+ system, the management restructure to the library service, as a part of the reduced budget, and the public consultation on this new system being adopted.

Cllr Seed, Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding, confirmed that, once refurbished, the Calne Library would continue to operate in its current format and would be provided with a £200,000 investment; which would lead to an enhancement of the service currently provided. He explained that the library would remain staffed by trained and professional librarians, as was the present case. There would also be the same number of services and facilities as was presently provided for the community, such as; reading activities provided for mothers and their children. Cllr Seed stressed that there were no plans to reduce activities and events for children. Furthermore, he noted that the refurbishment of the library was due to finish at the start of the school summer holidays, in order to ensure that planned activities for children in the summer holidays would experience no or minimal disruption.

Cllr Seed drew attention to the library contained at the Springfield Community Campus in Corsham. He highlighted that whether the library was manned or not, users were still able to borrow and return books; and that the experience of new operational arrangements in Corsham over the past 12 months had not included any reports of problems with theft. Cllr Seed noted his appreciation of security dilemmas for users, however, he stressed that the Open+ system provided users with a choice that they had not previously had; the same number of library opening hours, where the library was manned with trained and professional staff, as well as greater accessibility to the library, that extended beyond the current opening times. 

Ms Davis highlighted that, should there be any problems with individuals stealing books whilst the library remained unmanned; CCTV equipment would be able to effectively identify the perpetrator. In addition, the library service would be able to check which individuals had accessed the library at a particular time, due to the swipe-card system.

Ms Davis also confirmed that, due to the financial challenges it was facing, Wiltshire Council had to make changes to the way that it operated in many areas; including the staffing restructure due to take place for Wiltshire Libraries. However, she stressed that there would be a full-time member of staff responsible for the Calne Library; who would have the same responsibilities, training and professional expertise to deliver the same standard of service as was currently provided and therefore, members of the community could be assured that the current service that they were provided with, would be maintained. 

Ms Davis detailed that the Open+ system was costing the Council approximately £27,000, plus installation costs and that, in order to access the library out of the normal and staffed opening hours, one would need to be a member of the library and to register to be a part of the out of hours scheme; access would require swiping a card and entering a security pin number. Attention was drawn to the fact that the Calne Library was intended to be a trial and, if it was deemed successful, it could be rolled out to other Wiltshire libraries. It was emphasised, however, that feedback from members of the community on the trial would help to decide whether the scheme was rolled out to other areas.

Cllr Hill then drew the meeting’s attention to the Calne Library leaflet and several Councillors noted their encouragement that the Calne library was being developed in a positive manner and with significant investment. Cllr Hill relayed from the leaflet that the community value of libraries both for Calne and across Wiltshire was recognised; as there were no planned reductions to the Calne Library service neither for the time that people could access the library, nor the time that people could access the library whilst trained and professional staff were on hand. It was further reiterated to the meeting that the use of the Open+ system was intended to be a trial and that feedback would be both welcomed and encouraged by Wiltshire Council, once the facility was open and available for public use. In the meantime, those present were advised to send any questions that they had to either their local Councillor, the Cabinet member, or relevant officers.

Sandpit Road s106 working group:

Cllr Trotman noted that there had been no meeting of the Sandpit Road (Section 106) working group between Area Board meetings.

Air Quality working group:

Cllr Ansell provided an update on the Air Quality working group and noted that 6 trees had been planted in town gardens on 13 March, with the help of the LYN Magna Carta Youth group. This was the first phase in a larger tree planting scheme that the group had planned and Cllr Ansell stressed Calne’s need for green foliage. She encouraged the community to attend more Area Board meetings to find out more about these kinds of projects and to participate in sharing their views and ideas. The tree planting project would continue with further trees due to be planted within the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) of the town. It was also hoped that future funding could be identified to encourage local residents to plant sliver birch trees in gardens fronting on to roads in the AQMA.

Dementia Friendly Calne working group:

Cllr Crisp reported that the working group had developed to become a fully-fledged community group and had been recognised as the first Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) in the whole of Wiltshire. It was noted that, along with 9 other local people, Cllr Crisp and Helen Bradley had both qualified as dementia champions; this took the number of Champions attached to the Dementia Action Alliance to 12.

The group was developing a Dementia Champions network that would encourage local champions to support each other and share experiences.  Dementia Friend sessions had now taken place in Hilmarton and Cherhill, hosted by the Parish Councils and the Calne Community Area now had over 283 Dementia Friends. Attention was drawn to the fact that it would be Dementia Awareness week from 15-21 May during which time the group was planning to hold an official launch of the DAA with a community Dementia Friends session and tea party, the group would also be entering a ‘Dementia Duck’ to the town’s annual Duck Race. Local people who would like to become dementia friends were encouraged to sign up for the community tea party session and local businesses and organisations were encouraged to get in contact to arrange their own staff/member sessions. People were asked to contact jane.vaughan@wiltshire.gov.uk or charris@calne.gov.uk for more information. The Calne Community Area was also about to host the first Wiltshire Dementia Friendly Conference on 20th April.

Older People:

Cllr Crisp drew attention to the briefing note included in the agenda pack, which detailed the opportunity to establish a health and wellbeing group. Cllr Crisp also provided a further update on the Older Person’s Champions and relayed that 2 volunteers had stepped forward and been nominated to become the Champion/Carer Champions; she encouraged further nominations to come forward too and explained that, while only 2 Champions would be appointed, there was a hope to include a voice from each of the Calne parishes. Attention was drawn to the nomination forms and role descriptions provided at the meeting and that these would also be available by emailing the Community Engagement Manager, jane.vaughan@wiltshire.gov.uk. 2 Champions would be appointed at the May Area Board.

Resolved:

That the logo which showed 7 coloured dots and the central ‘C’ in between the dots would represent the Calne Community Hub and Library logo.