Agenda and minutes

To welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting, ran through the procedures for remote meetings and invited Members to introduce themselves.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Laura Mayes and Cllr Dominic Muns.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2021.

The minutes of the last meeting were presented for consideration and it was,

Resolved

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2021.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Cllr Kelvin Nash declared a pecuniary interest in agenda item 15, the Health and Wellbeing grant application from the Bassline Circus as he was a trustee of the organisation and was also the Chair of DOCA, he therefore declared that he would not take part in the debate or vote on that item. For transparencies sake Cllr Nash also declared an in agenda item 6, St Joseph’s Pupil Parliament as he was related to a teacher at the school. There was no vote planned on that item.

Cllr Iain Wallis declared an interest in agenda item 13, Air Quality and Sustainable Transport, in particular the proposals for new, moveable cycle parking in Devizes marketplace as he was a member of the Devizes Town Council working group. He declared that he would not take part in the debate or vote on that item. Cllr Iain Wallis also declared an interest in agenda item 16, Area Board Funding, in particular the application from Devizes Open Doors, as he was a trustee of the charity. He declared that he would not take part in the debate or vote on that item.

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman:

·       Procedural Note

Please note that all decision recommendations (such as grant awards) at this meeting will be ratified by the Leader of Wiltshire Council following the meeting. This is to comply with legal requirements as the meeting is being held online.

·       Changes to Wiltshire’s Taxi Tariffs

·       Update on Leisure Centres transferring to Wiltshire Council

·       Youth Council update

The Chairman made the following announcements.

·       Procedural Note

The Chairman announced that all decision recommendations (such as grant awards) made by the Area Board at the meeting would be ratified by the Leader of Wiltshire Council, via his decision making process following the meeting. This was to comply with legal requirements as the meeting was being held online.

·       Changes to Wiltshire’s Taxi Tariffs

The Chairman highlighted the written update on pages 17-20 of the agenda pack.

·       Update on Leisure Centres transferring to Wiltshire Council

The Chairman directed people to the written update on page 21 of the agenda pack

·       Youth Council update

The Chairman encouraged schools to look at the written update on pages 23-25 of the pack so that schools could take part in the Youth Council.

·       Agenda order

The Chairman announced that item 9, Devizes Urban Gulls, would be brought forward and considered after agenda item 6.

To receive an update on St Joseph’s School Pupil Parliament and Station Road.

Gemma Payne, Assistant Headteacher, St Joseph’s Primary School gave an update to the meeting on the school’s pupil parliament and their efforts to improve road and traffic safety in Station Road. Devizes. A video was played featuring the children from the school and the problems caused by people parking illegally, especially at school drop off and pick up times. The children were fundraising and creating posters to try to address the issues.

Devizes Area Board discussed the situation, and the Board were going to raise the issues to the Highways team, Parking team, and to other officers regarding a school travel plan, which could lead to additional funding sources. It was highlighted that parents could park in the Station Road car park for 20 minutes, free of charge at school pick off and drop up times. Russell Holland (Deputy PCC) stated that he could also share the video with his team.

The Board applauded the efforts of the youngsters.

To receive updates from the following partners:

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Schools updates

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       CCG B&ANES, Swindon and Wiltshire

·       Town and Parish Councils

·       Devizes indies

·       Sustainable Devizes

·       Devizes Opendoors

In addition to the written partner updates in the agenda the following verbal updates were given:

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

David Geddes of the DWFRS referred attendees to the written report in the agenda. Recruitment was was highlighted, Devizes Fire Station was an on call station and more on call firefighters were needed. Further information could be found at www.dwfire.org.uk/working-for-us/on-call-firefighters/. Devizes station had received 72 call outs in the period 1 September 2021 to 23 November 2021 and just over half of those were false alarms. 4 of the call outs had been for chimney fires, so the representative stressed the importance of making sure chimneys were swept and serviced. In response to questions regarding the recent waste fire at a landfill site in Devizes, the representative explained that due to the amount of damage the actual cause of the fire would probably never be known but it was possible that it had been caused by the careless disposal of batteries, so people were reminded of the importance of disposing of batteries properly. Cllr Tamara Reay thanked the service for the help they had provided with flooding in Potterne.

·       Wiltshire Police

Inspector Allen Lumley gave an update to the meeting and ran through the update published with the agenda. Sergeant Gareth Cole, a new member of the Devizes Community Police Team was now in place. The overall volume of crime had reduced by 7% in the last year and there had been a 31% reduction in burglaries.

Officer verification checks had been introduced as a result of the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving MET Police officer. These checks would mean that if a person was stopped by police, they could request that the officer verify that they were conducting lawful business. To do this the officer would put their radio on loudspeaker and contact the control room for verification. The aim of this was to reassure the public and help to build confidence.

It was stated that anti-social behaviour was an ongoing issue in the Quakers Walk/Keepers Road area. The majority of youths responsible were known and a multi-agency approach was being taken to tackle the issue, although this would not be a quick fix.

There had been a decrease in rural crime compared to the same period last year, however there had been some issues with hare coursing.

There had been a spike in bike thefts, some key suspects had been arrested and people were reminded to be careful with their bikes, ensuring they were locked up in secure areas.

The Deputy PCC, Russell Holland stated that Operation Sceptre focusing on knife crime and a weapons amnesty had been a success, with over 450 knifes being handed over. Speeding which was an ongoing issue was also mentioned and the Deputy PCC explained that more cameras had been ordered to help with speeding enforcement.

·       Schools Update

Ralph Plummer, Headteacher of Lavington School gave an update to the meeting. The school was busy approaching  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Sarah Dyke (Senior Development Officer, Economic Regeneration) to give details regarding Vibrant Wiltshire, a £2 million grant scheme for local independent businesses.

The Chairman announced that a grant scheme for Wiltshire independent businesses had been due to be launched, but unfortunately had been delayed, therefore there was no presentation for this item. Details of the grant scheme would be advertised once available.

Update on the Devizes Urban Gulls situation.

Note: This item was considered after item 6 on the agenda.

Danny Kruger, Devizes MP, thanked the Board for the invitation and explained that the blockage in dealing with the Devizes Urban Gulls situation was at a national policy level. The policy had been changed to prevent the culling of birds or disturbing of nests and attempts to get a licence to control hatching of eggs in Devizes had not been successful. He intended to get other MPs with the same issue in their constituencies to join a lobbying campaign to DEFRA and Natural England to change the policies. Mr Kruger stated that he had written to all the relevant MP’s and responses were starting to come back, he would follow up and report back to the Board.

The Chairman thanked Mr Kruger and hoped that some progress could be made on the issue.

Update on the recent fostering campaign in Devizes.

Andrew Jack (Community Engagement Manager) gave an update on the recent fostering campaign in Devizes. The campaign was held during November 2021 and highlighted that there were 23 children in the Devizes area who needed foster families. Being fostered locally helped to keep children in their own school, with their friends and in a place they know.

Several engagement sessions had been held, and well attended, as well as information being shared online and at various locations around Devizes. As a result of this target effort the team had received numerous contacts which were now being followed up.

It was highlighted that if anyone was interested in being a foster carer they could visit https://fosteringwiltshire.uk/ for more information.

Residents are invited to ask questions of their local councillors.

A question was received from Sue Buxton who worked with Devizes Opendoors, regarding the Devizes Library and when the hub would start operating again. There were concerns that vulnerable people who needed contact with the Council face to face, rather than by email or telephone were missing out.

The Community Engagement Manager stated that he would feedback this back to colleagues and respond directly to Ms Buxton.

To consider the update and any recommendations arising from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG).

The Chairman, on behalf of Cllr Dominic Muns (Chair of the CATG) gave an update on the CATG.

The following high priority schemes were progressing well with the Highways Engineer:

·       Speed limit review, A342 Lydeway:

·       No through road, Rotherstone, Devizes:  This project confirmed as complete

·       New footway linking Tanis, Conscience Lane, Rowde: A bid for Substantive Funding was submitted summer ’21 – awaiting outcome.

·       Signage for amenities, A342, Bromham: This project confirmed as complete

·       Speed limit review, A342, Bromham:

·       New 20mph limits, various roads, Devizes: Metrocounts undertaken November ‘21

·       New dropped kerbs throughout Market Lavington: This project confirmed as complete

·       New warning signage for pedestrians in road, Bromham village

Progress had also been made on the following schemes:

·       Pedestrian visibility at Seend High St. Agreed to develop new signage and high friction surface; moved to High Priority list

·       Request for new footway, Townsend, Poulshot: Construction length is approx. 75m; awaiting High Priority slot

·       Parking issues at Duck St, West Lavington: To investigate solutions to parking problems and obstruction near care home; awaiting High Priority slot.

·       Sockets/posts for SIDs at Worton. Agreed to install up to 5 sockets for posts at various locations within village that would carry a SID; awaiting High priority slot

An additional project had been added:

·       Speed limit review, Horton Rd, Bishops Cannings: to reduce speeds after building of new developments there; moved to High Priority slot.

It was,

Resolved:

That Devizes Area Board:

·       Note the discussions from the CATG meeting of 9 November 2021

·       Confirm the seven high priority schemes agreed by CATG (as detailed at pages 51 – 68 of the agenda and below)

1)    Issue 6120, Speed limit review, A342 Lydeway.

2)    Issue 6-19-02, New footway linking Tanis, Conscience Lane, Rowde: A bid for Substantive Funding was submitted summer ’21.

3)    Issue 6675, Speed limit review, A342, Bromham.

4)    Issue 06-20-21, New 20mph limits, various roads, Devizes.

5)    Issue 06-20-17, New warning signage for pedestrians in road, Bromham village.

6)    Issue 09-20-10, Pedestrian visibility at Seend High St. Agreed to develop new signage and high friction surface.

7)    Issue 06-21-09, Speed limit review, Horton Rd, Bishops Cannings: to reduce speeds after building of new developments there.

Note: There were no CATG financial commitments to confirm.

To receive any updates from the Devizes Air Quality and Sustainable Transport  Group and to consider any funding requests.

To include updates on:

·       Devizes Gateway Station

·       Devizes Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)

·       Proposals for new, moveable cycle parking in Devizes marketplace.

Cllr Tamara Reay as Chair of the Air Quality and Sustainable Transport group highlighted the detailed reports within the agenda pack and gave the following updates.

Air Quality

Air quality levels in Devizes were below the 40?g/m3 threshold. Much of this was due to a drop in the number of vehicle journeys during the pandemic. However, levels appeared to be rising and it was anticipated that 2021 levels would be higher than 2020. Sources of this pollution were looked at by vehicle type and a major contributor to pollution in Wiltshire was private diesel cars. Wiltshire Council was developing an Air Quality Action Plan, which would be ready in 2022.

Devizes Gateway Station

The Strategic Outline Case (SOC) for Devizes Gateway had now been submitted to government. Danny Kruger MP had written to Secretary of State regarding the scheme. £34,000 had been committed by Devizes Town Council which was very welcome and showed the strong local commitment to the project. Details regarding the scheme and the full SOC could be seen online here: https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/transport-public-transport-train.

Devizes Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)

There had been strong collaboration with Cycle Friendly Devizes and Sustainable Devizes to develop a brief in order to create a new Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). Wiltshire Council’s contractor, Atkins, were to be commissioned at a cost of £20-30,000. LCWIPs also enable bidding for further money from government. The AQST group recommended allocating up to £30,000 from the AQST budget to deliver the LCWIP.

Proposals for new, moveable cycle parking in Devizes marketplace.

Devizes Town Council had developed plan for new cycle parking in the marketplace, comprised of two moveable racks, each for up to 4 cycles, which would be trialled at different locations across marketplace. It was highlighted that these locations should be covered by CCTV. The total cost for the racks was £1,08161 which the AQST recommended funding in full.

Buses

Service use was up on 2020 but overall demand was just 75% of pre-pandemic levels. There was an industry-wide shortage of drivers making it hard for improvements to be made. However, the No. 49 and the town bus were unaffected. £1.2m had been made available for demand responsive service in the Pewsey Vale, including a direct service between Devizes and Marlborough.

EV Charging Point Strategy

Wiltshire Council had now published a new strategy (available under minute 72 at the following link). The plan was to restore current chargers across county (including 2 in Station Rd car park). The group may also be able to support installation of additional charging points elsewhere. A package of funding for town & parish councils was available to bid for in order to support residents without off street parking. There were also opportunities for employers with EV charging points in staff car parks to open them to the community as well.

It was,

Resolved:

·       To note the discussions from the AQ&ST meeting of 18 November.

·       To confirm the allocation of up to £30,000 towards the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

To receive updates on youth work in the area.

To consider the folloiwng application for youth grant funding:

·       Market Lavington Parish Council, £1,200.00, towards a Skateboard and BMX Pro Shows and Workshops event.

Further details in the grant report under item 16.

Bromham Youth Club was now moving forwards and things were looking more positive after the club had been affected by COVID.

Steve Dewer (WYFC) stated that WYFC was committed to supporting Devizes Town Council and Wiltshire Council wherever they can in order to hear young people’s voices. There was a concern that Local Youth Networks (LYNs) should be consistent across the county, more strategic in nature and it was hoped that the Devizes LYN could go from strength to strength. Mr Dewer was currently working with 3 schools in order to support young people. Mental health was an issue for young people and measures should be put in place to support them. The Chairman stated that these were good points and asked the Community Engagement Manager to pick these up.

Andrew Jack, Community Engagement Manager, gave an update on a Youth Survey which had been undertaken. The survey had been county wide, with over 4820 respondents, 85 of which stated that Devizes was their nearest town. The survey looked at who the youbng people were, the activities they currently took part in and those they would like to do. Sport was currently very popular and young people wanted more access to art facilities, cooking facilities and self-defence.

Questions around mental health were asked with young people stating that they were affected by anxiety and depression, exam pressure and difficulties with self-esteem. For those who responded, drug and alcohol use did not appear to be issues.

There were a large number of open questions asked and the data received was still being analysed.   

The Board then considered the application for Youth Grant Funding and a representative of Market Lavington Parish Council spoke in support of the application. It was,

Resolved:

·       To grant Market Lavington Parish Council, £1,200 towards a Skateboard and BMX Poor Show and Workshop Event.

To receive an update on the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group and consider the following application for Health and Wellbeing funding:

·       Bassline Circus, £5,000.00, towards Creative workshops and community street theatre event.

Further details available in the grant report under item 16, please note that this application is a HWB application not a Community Area Grant as stated in the report.

Cliff Evans, Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Group (HWBG) gave an update. The group had organised a charity awareness week, where each of the groups involved with the HWBG came to Morrisons to promote awareness of what they did and to try to raise funds. In all 13 organisations took part. The event was a success, but feedback included that due to the cold weather, it would work better to run the event in warmer months. The group would like to repeat the event, possibly in April.   

Plans were underway for the Platinum Jubilee and the group were planning a “trolley Olympics” in Hilworth Park on 4 June 2022. The plan was for this to be a fun and accessible event for all.

The group were planning to meet face to face again in 2022, with meeting at St James’s every 2 months.

The Board then considered the Health and Wellbeing grant application and a representative of the Bassline Circus spoke in support of their application. It was,

Resolved:

·       To grant Bassline Circus, £5,000 towards creative workshops and community street theatre event. It was noted that this application was incorrectly labelled as a Community Area Grant in the grant report.

To consider the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

·       Drews Pond Wood Project, £1,950.00 towards fencing and path improvement to Drews Pond wood LNR.

·       Bishops Cannings Church of England Primary School, £5,000.00 towards their Reading and Well Being Project.

·       Devizes Open Doors, £2,250.00 towards Devizes Open Doors Storage Building.

·       Area Board Initiative, £1,899.00 for the provision of a Defibrillator for Needham House

The Chairman introduced the Community Area Grants for consideration and representatives of the organisations applying for grants spoke in support of their applications. It was,

Resolved:

·       To grant Drews Pond Wood Project, £1,950.00 towards fencing and path improvement to Drews Pond wood LNR.

·       To grant Bishops Cannings Church of England Primary School, £5,000.00 towards their Reading and Well Being Project.

·       To grant Devizes Open Doors, £2,250.00 towards Devizes Open Doors Storage Building.

·       To grant an Area Board Initiative, £1,899.00 for the provision of a Defibrillator for Needham House.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on 7 March 2022.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and announced that the next meeting of the Devizes Area Board would be held on 7 March 2022.