To note the written updates attached to the agenda and to receive any verbal updates from representatives present.
a) Salisbury City Council (SCC)
b) Laverstock and Ford Parish Council
c) Fire
d) Community Engagement Manager
e) H & WB Centre
Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minutes slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Chairman.
Minutes:
Salisbury City Council
City Clerk, Reg Williams gave an update which included:
· The asset transfer was proceeding, it was hoped to be signed off in the next few weeks.
· Two Heritage Days had taken place on Thursday and Friday the previous week where various buildings were opened to the public for tours. These included St Clements Church yard, Devizes Road Chapel and areas in the Guild Hall. This event saw over 200 people visit the usually closed sites.
· The deadline for carnival entries was the end of the month.
· The Harnham bunker project had now begun and would continue over the next few months.
· On 23 September the Adlam Stone would be laid at a ceremony from 9.30 – 12noon.
· The Salisbury Flood Plan was due to be adopted on 26 September, after some final work to complete it next week. This had attracted some national interest, as Salisbury was the only city of its size that had a formal flood plan.
Questions and comments were then taken, these included:
· Could local residents participate in the flood plan? Answer: Yes as well as Councillors, there would be a number of residents who would be trained as wardens, if anyone was interested they could contact Reg.
· The Chairman added that at some point Salisbury would flood, so the more wardens the better. Some integration work with Laverstock & Ford around transportation was also required.
· Who owned the CCTV for Salisbury, and who managed it? Answer: CCTV did not exist at present. Wiltshire Council had appointed a new contractor to implement a new system. Installation of new cameras would begin soon, each one would go live as soon as it was installed, it was thought that there would be a service from about 6 weeks time.
· Could the duties of a Flood Warden be made available so that people understood what was entailed with the role? Answer: Wiltshire Council did have a job description but it is not onerous, it could be added to the minutes for reference. The SCC website had the job specification also.
Laverstock & Ford Parish Council (L&F)
David Burton gave an update which included:
· A Flood Plan and Wardens were place. The parish was available to liaise with WC on this.
· A former proposal from the developers regarding dumped spoil had been successfully been turned back which would result in the green space being released on the 150 person moving in.
· Wiltshire Council Cabinet had approved L&F as the nominee for the new Country Park. Negotiations would take place to make sure they get the best deal for the community.
· A showcase event would be put on for members moving from Salisbury to the L&F parish.
Questions and comments were then taken, these included:
· When did you expect to see the Country Park up and running? Answer: This would depend on negotiations but it was hoped that we would take ownership late autumn. Part of the spoil on the other site meant that we would not take that over until next spring.
· What about people parking on Milford Hill if they live that end? Answer: There were two small car parks in the design and a large amount of parking right next to the park; however we would encourage cycling and walking to the Country Park.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service
District Commander; Louis Minchella circulated a written report and gave an update which included:
· Station and staff continued to liaise with public at events.
· In mid August a Salamander course had taken place, all who attended completed and passed. Further courses would take place in and around Salisbury as well as other parts of Wiltshire.
· All staff had now completed the dementia awareness training, this had been very worthwhile.
· Well and warm checks could now get underway as the new forms and paperwork had arrived.
· With regards to false alarms, the crews never get called to a false alarm, as every shout was considered as real until they arrive and assess the situation. There had been 2000 since April across Wiltshire. There were numerous reasons for alarms being set off. Commercial business were responsible for making sure they had suitable emergency procedures.
· At next meeting Louis would supply data on false alarm alarms.
· Chimney fires were on the up this time of year, please advise anyone with an open fire o get it professionally swept.
Questions and comments were then taken, these included:
· Could you tell us what percentage of your daily trips out do the 6 false alarms a day work out at? Answer: since 1st April there had been 124 false alarm call outs for the whole time appliance, over the whole year that is probably about 30%.
· The Council has installed new doors to their properties, during a recent incident where an elderly man fell inside his home, there was difficulty in gaining access to him. For fires could there be an assessment of these doors to see if there were access issues? Answer: I can look at this if I have more details. The Chairman noted that as this was also a housing issue he would provide the contact for the Officer.
· With the Salamander scheme were you still able to get referrals now there were no longer any Youth Officers? Answer: The Employment Service fund 6 courses for the year, local schools refer in and they choose who should attend. After Christmas one aimed at all of secondary schools would take place.
· Could the Area Board assist in any way to inform people about how to reduce the number of false alarms, as the Health & Wellbeing Group might be able to assist in this? Answer: We just had a business week where safety staff were on hand to give advice, for domestic premises the Well and Warm initiative was the best way.
· It would be a good idea to have an open day to advise residents on how to maintain their detectors. Answer: A Safe and Well visit takes into account all of the individualities in people’s homes; and was a bespoke service with specific advice.
· Karen added that the Health and Wellbeing Centre was headquarters to the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service, so this enabled opportunities to display information in the building.
· Salisbury currently had vacancies and would be holding a recruitment drive. Louis urged anyone interested to attend on 26th Sep 7 – 9pm. People could have a go at some of the tests and ask real fire-fighters what it was like.
Community Engagement - Karen Linaker
Karen had been in conversation with Salisbury museum regarding the 11 -18 year olds free art classes which would feed into an exhibition at the Centre next year. Leaflets were circulated at the meeting.
The Road to Rio sporting challenge had seen 200 people in Salisbury sign up to the initiate and travel 23k kilometres. St Marks primary were at the top of that for achievement.
A walking festival had been held during the first week in September. This was a big success with some members from Salisbury Shop mobility taking part in a walk along town path.
An Older Peoples event was planned for 27 September. Volunteers for the older people’s cafe were urged to come forward.
On 28 September a Wiltshire Council Budget consultation event would be held at City Hall.
On 2 October there would be another Cycle Wiltshire event at the Centre, with opportunities to take part in rides of 83m 46m 10m, with a fun day.
There had been a huge response to the Salisbury Refuge families who had recently settled in the community, with over 30 volunteers registering to help them.
Health & Wellbeing Group
Councillor John Walsh updated on the work of the H&WB group and urged other fellow Councillors to join him on the cycling event on 2nd October. Adding that it was important to encourage health in the community, by putting on activities. The Group did have funding, this year it had been awarded to mainly older peoples projects, however he urged people to get in touch if they had ideas of other groups which might benefit from future funding next year.
A community transport vehicle had been set up to come to the centre on a Thursday. It had been suggested that this day was not most suitable for those that might use the service, so a trial of the service on Mondays would take place for a year.
Police
Sector Inspector; Pete Sparrow gave a presentation on the new Community Police team and showed a DVD. To view the video click on the link: here.
Pilot areas had started in Sep last year. The Salisbury area would start on 17 Oct from the South hub, with the Neighbourhood Policing team (NHP) working together under Inspector Sparrow.
Officers would be able to take ownership of an entire case, working out in their areas to complete reports using mobile technology, thus saving them time.
The NHP team structure had been a fundamental part of policing for past 10 years. PCSOs now had greater responsibility and had the role of a Community Beat officer, talking to people in the community.
Officers would still have the beat responsibility, and would be allocated areas which when not dealing with issues they would be back on beat in those areas.
Special constables were still in the community and there would be a recruitment drive to increase their numbers.
It was recognised that there was still a gap, however the Community Coordinators would act as a central point of contract ensuring information was available when needed.
A control strategy was in place to try and assess what the greatest risk and threats to our communities were.
Planning did not allow the Police to operate out of Bourne Hill 24/7, Planning review was coming up for review.
Update on graffiti
There had been a notable rise in last 3 month of graffiti – initials of PK. Officer Darcy had taken on the task of recording as many of these as she could. Pete urged anyone who saw new graffiti to report it. Graffiti was a broken window syndrome, in that if we ignore it, it would become a bigger problem and common place.
To report graffiti, the police needed a photo of the site and the date it appeared so that it could be tracked by any possible CCTV in the area. However it was then down to the community to clean it. If the issue was publicised in the press it gave the culprits what they need.
Comments and questions were then received, these included:
Michael Pope SCC – Saw no problem with the model as outlined but there was an issue with planning application. The application had been discussed by SCC where there had been concern over lack of consultation over this move. The original plan was to move in to the Health & Wellbeing centre, why change that plan? Answer: You need to refer that to the PCC as we are in charge of staff and not the estate.
Action: The Board would invite the PCC to meet with them, either privately or publicly, regarding the move to Bourne Hill.
Dave L&F – Our parish was worried about the cut backs and the impact of those on our community, so we discussed the matter at a meeting where we tried to think of ways we would be able to remain in contact with you. With regards to the graffiti, in our area we see a lot of it on the train bridges; however Network Rail were funny over its bridges. Answer: PCSOs had flexibility and should be able to make themselves available to come to most PC meetings when required. However it was not feasible for them to be at every one. With regards to the bridges, the public was not advised to climb up and clean off graffiti.
Colin Duller felt that self praise was no recommendation at all. As a resident of Essex Square, he and other residents wanted peace and quiet. Some other residents had mental health issues and caused disruption. He would like to see the same style of police reporting as was in the Valley News repeated in the Journal for Salisbury people. Answer: Issues such as these are community issues; with partnership working we can look at how best we can address them. Some of the people in Essex square had been removed with removal orders.
Tom Corbin SCC – Serious crime figs were often referred to in these briefs, did you have any comment relating to the increase in serious crime reported in the journal? Answer: There had not been an increase of crime in Salisbury, it had been in the boundaries expect for the summer months. There had been a rise in robbery, with 14 reported last year, and a figure of approximately 17 reported by last week already this year. Whether or not that was directly related to no CCTV presence or issues around drug use or crime it was difficult to say. However there was also a high detection rate. The culprits were being caught and locked up.
With the new model going live from 17 October, how would that be affected if your application on the 26 November was refused? Answer: Yes we would continue to work from Bourne Hill however the shift aspect would work from Amesbury as their base.
Cllr Hoque was not very comfortable with this as he had been contacted by several residents around the Bourne Hill area who were concerned over an increase in police cars travelling through a high density area at speed, causing issues for residents. Had you thought of any other alternatives? Answer: As this was an estate issue, the question would need to be put to the PCC. However, the team did not need to use blue lights around 20mph zone areas, unless there was a specific need to put the siren on to alert people of danger, then they would be driving within the speed limits. Alternatives would be to move the entire policing team out of the city. This would result in seeing police officers less than you did now.
Cllr Douglas noted her surprised that as an Area Board member they had not been formally invited to discuss this and invite PCC to come to us. The presentation was all happy, you have been honest that you were tight on staff, I would like some indication on how this was going to work, it would be helpful to have a contact as who is our point of contact was. Answer: Without the resource we cannon address the demand. A recruitment drive on course, the hope was that his will address the need. Once I am able to release the contacts for the areas I will.
Cllr Walsh noted that when he walked his ward, he met mainly older people who liked to see police on the beat, what should I advise those people and what was realistic? Answer: They needed to get to know their PCSOs they were the ones who were there trying to engage with the community. He urged the Cllrs to let them know where would be best areas for them to touch down, where could they use the toilet and where can they stop and carry out work. Please all come back to Karen with a suggested list of Touch Down points.
Cllr Tomes noted that when the public saw graffiti it created a perception that there was a failing from the police. He appreciated that it was not the greatest priority, but it did affect people’s views. Answer: This was a serious act and it was being looked at so hope to be able to come back and give an update report at the next meeting. Catching people takes a lot of luck.
Cllr Rogers agreed that Angus Macpherson should attend a future Area Board to discuss the Estate issues. In addition he noted that there had been a member of the public out taking many photos and reporting these graffiti sites, but that this person had not yet had any contact from the Officer on the case.
Answer: The assistance of that member of the public had been very helpful, the Officer would be in touch. There was a lot of work going on in the background. There was one officer who worked a shift pattern, he would ask her to make contact.
When graffiti was reported via the Wiltshire app did it get fed through to the police? Answer: No. Cllr Clewer would take this back and have the issues fed back to the police.
Cllr Dalton asked who was responsible for cleaning the graffiti off? Answer: The Chairman responded that it was down to owner of the property and if owned by WC then down to them. Cllr Walsh noted that due to a lack of funding only areas being removed were those where offensive writing had been left.
Has there been an increase in race hate crime post Brexit across Salisbury and Wiltshire? Answer: According to our figures, there had not been any significant rise, numbers of hate crimes or incidents were at such low levels that it was difficult to assess. There had been a small rise, mostly in the Swindon area.