Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Services Officer will open the meeting and call for nominations for Chairman for 2023/24.

 

The Senior Democratic Services Officer opened the meeting and called for nominations for Chairman for 2023/24.

 

Cllr Hocking nominated Cllr Ricky Rogers for Chairman. This was seconded by Cllr Sam Charleston

 

It was;

 

Resolved

 

That Cllr Ricky Rogers be elected as Chairman for 2023/24.

 

The Chairman will call for nominations for Vice-Chairman for 2023/24.

Cllr Ricky Rogers in the chair

 

 

The Chairman, called for nominations for Chairman for 2023/24.

 

Cllr Rogers nominated Cllr Sam Charleston for Vice-Chairman. This was seconded by Cllr Caroline Corbin.

 

It was;

 

Resolved

 

That Cllr Sam Charleston be elected as Vice-Chairman for 2023/24.

 

Apologies for absence had been received from:

 

• Councillor Charles McGrath

 

To confirm the minutes of the last Area Board meeting held on 9 March 2023 (copy attached).

The minutes of the last meeting were presented.

 

It was;

 

Resolved:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

 

There were none.

The Chairman will give an update on outcomes and actions arising from previous meetings of the Area Board.

 

The Chairman gave the following updates:

 

Outgoing Chairman

The Board thanked Cllr Sven Hocking for his work as Chairman for 2022/23. Cllr hocking also gave thanks to Partners, Officers and fellow Councillors for their support whilst he was Chairman.

The Board is asked to note the following Information items:

 

·       Wiltshire Council Updates:

1.     Cost of Living

2.     Wiltshire Libraries – support to stay online

3.     Independent Visitor Scheme

4.     National Numeracy Day

5.     Family Help Hubs

 

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Community First

·       Current consultations: https://wiltshire.objective.co.uk/portal/

 

The Board noted the Information Items as set out in the agenda pack, these were:

 

Wiltshire Council Updates:
1. Cost of Living
2. Wiltshire Libraries – support to stay online
3. Independent Visitor Scheme
4. National Numeracy Day
5. Family Help Hubs

·Healthwatch Wiltshire
·BSW Together (Integrated Care System)
·Community First
·Current consultations: https://wiltshire.objective.co.uk/portal/

 

Partners and Members are available prior to the start of the meeting to discuss specific maters and will therefore not be in attendance after 6.00pm.

 

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

 

·       Air Quality Group – Cllr Hocking

·       A36 National Highways update – Chris Hilldrup, Highways England

·       Underpasses working group update – Cllr Sample

 

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minute slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Chairman

 

The Board is also asked to note the following written updates attached to the agenda:

 

a)    Police – Neighbourhood Policing Team

b)    Fire & Rescue

c)     Salisbury City Council (SCC)

d)    Salisbury BID

e)    Maltings Development

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda (listed below) and received the following verbal updates:

 

Air Quality Group – Cllr Hocking

The Air Quality Management Group met in May and were seeking to adopt PM2.5 measurements in Salisbury as an additional dataset to assess air quality. There were a total of eight air quality sensors to be installed, four to be located in schools in the West of Salisbury and four in the local community. Three community citizens had now been identified to install sensors and one school had installed a sensor on their site.

 

Underpasses working group update – Cllr Sample/Cllr Hocking

·       Engagement with interested parties on accessibility.

·       Quality of lighting in the underpasses was now much better and people felt safer.

·       Made contact with SCC about the art work at Blue Boar Row.

·       Discussions regarding the Maltings regarding the work at New Canal and the Old George mall (Pete’s Walk).

·       Next meeting in 3 weeks

 

 

Fire & Rescue – Chris Wood

Amesbury was due to be changed from an on call station to a day crew station. This would have a positive affect for Salisbury, as crews would be called to Amesbury less often and when attending large crew fires, the backup crews would be quicker arriving.

An open day at Salisbury was planned for 26 August 2023.

 

Written Update:

 

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda:
a) Police – Neighbourhood Policing Team
b) Fire & Rescue
c) Salisbury City Council (SCC)
d) Salisbury BID
e) Maltings Development

 

Cllr Dalton noted his disappointment with the Maltings update, stating that it did not include any details on the delay to funding or the situation with the demolished site on Fisherton Street.

 

Comments and Questions:

 

A 1948 plan showed the idea to link Fisherton Street to Castle Street. Would schemes such as these be considered by those developing the Maltings?

 

Answer: No reason why that conversation couldn’t happen once a partner developer was on board.

 

The developers of the site next to the united reform church were in the process of producing final plans for an application.

 

The Area Board is asked to:

 

a.           Appoint Members as Lead representatives to Outside Bodies, any new Non-Priority Working Groups and to the LHFIG, as set out at Appendix A;

 

b.           Note the Terms of Reference as set out in Appendix B.

 

c.           To appoint a Carer and Older People’s Champion for the Area Board (Helen Dowes / Irene Kohler)

 

The Area Board noted the report.

 

Cllr Sam Charleston was nominated to represent the Board on the Cycling Liaison Panel.

 

Action: The Board asked Officers to check on all of the outside bodies listed to verify they were still active.

 

It was;

 

Resolved:

 

That the Salisbury Area Board agreed to:

 

1.     Appoint Members as Lead representatives to Outside Bodies, any new Non-Priority Working Groups and to the LHFIG, as set out at Appendix A;

2.     Note the Terms of Reference as set out in Appendix B.

3.     Appoint a Carer and Older People’s Champion for the Area Board (Helen Dowes / Irene Kohler)

To note the report and receive an update.

 

Officers: Karlene Jammeh, Area Board Deliver Officer & Karen Linaker, Strategic Engagement & Partnerships Manager  

The Board noted the report and received a short update from Karen Linaker, Strategic Engagement & Partnerships Manager.

 

Karen asked the board whether it wished to stay with the 5 priority areas or whether it wished to explore making any changes. The Board would consider this request separately out of the meeting and feed back.

 

The Chairman noted that Staffing Policy had carried out a piece of work on the ask Angela Campaign which was in operation across the county. A new scheme called ‘Get me home safe’ was also due to be rolled out. Further details would be shared in due course.

 

Liz Batten gave thanks to the Board for its support for the safe places scheme. Resource packs we provide to cafes and places around the city and the scheme had joined the national network so was now available via the app. There had also been support from Salisbury Reds to produce leaflets which would be circulated in areas where they were aware people who may use the safe places scheme lived. Always pleased to welcome more places to join the scheme.

 

To consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below.

 

Budget available at this meeting:

 

Community Area Grants (CAG)	Older & Vulnerable Adults (O&VA)	Young People Grants (Youth)
£31,653	£7,633.07	£24,422

 

Area Board Initiatives:

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG1201	Friary Underpass Project Total cost £4169	£889

 

Community Area Grants:

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG1159	River Bourne Community Farm – Improvements to toilets & wash facilities. Total project cost £15,500	£2500
ABG1195	Allotments & Gardens Association Salisbury HQ trading hut re-siting & replacement. Total project cost £16,000	£5000
ABG1199	Pembroke Park Party at Pembroke Community Day Total project cost £6000	£1500
ABG1222	Bemerton Heath IAG Community Garden Accessibility Total project cost £26,000	£5000

 

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

The notes and recommendations for funding, arising from the Health & Wellbeing Group meeting held on 24 May 2023 are attached.

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG1205	Supporting Refugees in Salisbury Movement exercise group Total project cost £500	£500

 

Young People Grants:

The notes and recommendations for funding, arising from the Youth Group meeting held on 23 May 2023 are attached.

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG1193	The Bridge Youth project Wellbeing Course delivery Total project cost £10,100	£2500
ABG1220	Rise 61 – Creative Hub after school clubs Total project cost £26,500	£5000

 

 

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

The Board noted the budgets remaining for allocation at the meeting and heard from representatives in attendance who gave a brief overview of their project followed by any questions by the Board.

 

Area Board Initiatives:

 

Friary Underpasses Project, requested £889

Cllr Hocking spoke on the project to paint the underpasses.

The project had also received Splash funding and SCC had contributed.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount. This was seconded by Cllr Corbin.

 

Decision

The Area Board Initiative – Friary Underpasses Project was awarded £889.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

 

Community Area Grants:

 

River Bourne Community Farm, Toilet & wash facility upgrade project, requested £2500

The Applicant Anthony Gumbrell, spoke in support of the project.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount. This was seconded by Cllr Hocking.

 

Decision

River Bourne Community Farm was awarded £2500 towards the facility upgrade project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

Allotments & Garden Association Salisbury, HQ trading hut project, requested £5000

The Applicant Harry Theobald, spoke in support of the project.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount, subject to planning permission being granted. This was seconded by Cllr Hocking.

 

Decision

Allotments & Garden Association Salisbury was awarded £5000 towards the HQ trading hut project, subject to the application for Planning Permission being granted.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

Pembroke Park, Party at Pembroke park Project – Application withdrawn

 

 

Bemerton Heath IAG, Community Garden Accessibility project, requested £5000

The Applicant Robin Imeson spoke in support of the project.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount. This was seconded by Cllr Corbin.

 

Decision

Bemerton Heath IAG was awarded £5000 towards the Accessibility project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

Older & Vulnerable Adults Grants:

 

Supporting Refugees in Salisbury, Movement Exercise Group, requested £500

 

The Applicant Irene Kohler, in support of the project.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount. This was seconded by Cllr Corbin.

 

Decision

Supporting Refugees in Salisbury was awarded £500 towards the Movement Exercise Group.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

Young People Grants:

 

The Bridge Youth Project, Wellbeing Course Project, requested £2500

The Applicant Paul Cable, spoke in support of the project.

 

The Board noted the importance of encouraging young people to take part in wellbeing courses given the increased levels of mental health issues.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount. This was seconded by Cllr Dalton.

 

Decision

The Bridge Youth Project was awarded £2500 towards the Wellbeing Course project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

Rise 61, Creative Hub after school club, requested £5000

The Applicant Robin Imeson / Sam Goss spoke in support of the project.

 

Cllr Rogers moved the full amount. This was seconded by Cllr Dalton.

 

Decision

Rise 61 was awarded £5000 towards the Creative Hub after school club project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

 

Cllr Hocking noted that he felt the youth group involved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 144.

An update from David Redfern, Director Leisure, Culture & Communities

The Board received an update from David Redfern, Director Leisure, Culture
and Communities and Cllr Ian Blair- Pilling, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure, Libraries, Facilities Management, and Operational Assets.

 

The main points were:

 

•        Conditional survey indicated that repairs would cost in excess of previous estimate at £2 million to make the building usable

•        Desire to make improvements that will provide a beneficial experience for visitors

•        Project group has been set up to investigate all options  on how develop the venue – including potentially incorporating the library and Young Gallery and produce a plan for the any future development in due course

•        Wiltshire Council is still looking to work with a third-party operator to help bring any future vision for City Hall to life.

 

 

Comments and questions included:

 

·       The longer city hall is empty the worse the condition would become. This is a war memorial given to the city to commemorate the war dead. When operational as the city hall as an entertainment venue, it brought revenue into the city. How much was received from the rental and lease by the NHS during the pandemic?

 

Answer: That information would need to be obtained and feedback, however the notion that money gets ringfenced against a single building is not viable and does not work that way.

 

A few weeks ago a study of several assets across Salisbury was carried out, with particular focus on City Hall & the library. The condition survey would only bring the building back to a usable state not to improve it for future uses. The focused was on finding a long term solution for Salisbury.

 

·       It was reported in the Journal that the NHS contract extended to £300k. The Gala bingo building was renovated and now the Everyman Cinema have made use of it after investment.

 

·       It sounds like demolition was being considered. Covid hit the country, but things had returned to normal. In other areas theatres had opened again and they were older than city hall. The library was the second busiest in the whole SW region. Why mess with it. Where will it go?

 

Answer: Due to the dilapidation and current state of the city hall and Library, the Council was looking at something a bit more creative, which would better the provision for the city. The figure invested in the new facility would be far greater than any rent from the lease to the NHS.

 

·       Chair of Young Gallery, noted that to make a destination venue for arts and culture would take a lot of investment.

 

·       Recently the Leader of the Council spoke at a public meeting about a new building and investment of £15m. Where would that funding be found and to what degree would the people of Salisbury be involved in the planning?

 

Answer: A thorough process would be carried out which would include listening to residents views.

 

We were aware of what needed to be protected and maintained and would be looking for best  ...  view the full minutes text for item 145.

To discuss the report (to follow) which provides information on the funding and schemes detailed in the strategy, with a view to better understanding how Councillors and residents can influence and shape the strategy. 

 

Officer: Allan Creedy, Head of Sustainable Transport

Allan Creedy, Head of Sustainable Transport provided information on the Salisbury Transportation Strategy (STS).

 

The Strategy sat alongside the Local Plan (LP), which was a local guide to what could be build where, determining future pattern for growth and the Local Transport Plan (LTP), which was a strategy for local transport, which considered existing and anticipated new transport issues and challenges.

 

The LTP produced a costed schedule of strategic transport schemes that were felt necessary to support growth. The STS linked to both.

 

Funding for the strategic schemes set out in the transport strategy came from a range of resources, including the Department for Transport, new Active Travel England, a government department and contributions secured from development S106.

 

STS dealt with bigger items, strategic projects which would make a larger impact on planning for growth. There was an internal process, with prioritisation reported to Cabinet, and bidding to central Government,

 

The current strategy available on the council’s website, was produced around 5 years ago. This was now due for review, as part of the current review of the LP and LTP.

 

The Strategy would need to reflect changes to assumptions for forecast growth and requirements such as electric charging and have a heightened emphasis on carbon reduction.

 

The Board would have a significant role to play as part of the exercises which were due around early July.

 

Comments and questions included:

 

·       How could people feed in comments and aspirations locally on what was felt the priorities area were?

 

·       There was frustration in that the LHFIG budget was not enough to carry out what was needed. It seemed that there was a big pot of money sat waiting for big projects, whilst on the ground there were plenty of small schemes. There had not been a new cycle way or walkway for years. The board wanted access to the budget to do something with it other than just talk.

 

·       The one big thing that Salisbury was missing since 2009 was the Salisbury joint transportation committee, that should be rejuvenated and brought back to life.

 

·       There were local works which needed doing. Having better consultation through The Area Board would help to identify the need locally.

 

·       Could we have an update on the current strategy, as there were 45 transport projects itemised in the STS. Where were they and what had happened to them?  

·       The hospital was one of the most important routes, but it was poorly and badly used.

·       The lack of a bus station is another consideration. We need to thin down traffic on our road, having a bus station would provide a good footfall into the city.

Updates on the traffic modelling of the Exeter Street Roundabout and Harnham Gyratory junction and on the National Highways scheme at A36 College Roundabout and Southampton Road.

 

 

Officers: Dave Thomas, Head of Highways, Asset Management & Commissioning - Chris Hildrup Highways England

The Board received an update from Dave Thomas, Head of Highways, Asset Management & Commissioning and Chris Hildrup from Highways England, on the traffic modelling of the Exeter Street Roundabout and Harnham Gyratory junction and on the National Highways scheme at A36 College Roundabout and Southampton Road.

 

Salisbury Junction Improvements

Improvements being considered included the following:

·       Changes to lanes at Exeter Street Roundabout to reduce congestion.

·       Additional south bound lane on New Bridge Road to reduce queues at Harnham Gyratory.

·       Widening of the shared use path on New Bridge Road and Downton Road where possible.

·       New bus shelter and footway on Downton Road.

·       Optimisation of crossings at Harnham Gyratory.

·       New pedestrian/cyclist priority crossing at Britford Lane.

·       Upgrade of pedestrian crossings to Toucan crossings throughout

 

Important that all three junctions work together and that the right solution was found. The project was currently at the design stage, with further announcements aimed at being available towards the end of year. When appropriate, a live display of a traffic model could be shared at a future Area Board.

 

Comprehensive slides were shown and explained. A copy of these are attached to the minutes.

 

Comments and questions included:

 

·       Was there a timeframe for the project?

Answer: When a plan was available, it would be shared at a future Area Board meeting.

 

·       Would each of the new signal systems have pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities, and would the end result reduce congestion in key areas?

Answer: Part of the larger scheme was to look at the other large roundabouts, as they all affect each other.  One aim was to update the signal control systems, to allow better movement between junctions.  We will try where possible to implement some crossing points, however as the process was ongoing, we would look at options for improvements to all groups on the highway.

 

·       Which measures were considered key in reducing the rat run and improve College Road?

Answer: Modelling had showed a number of people were using Tollgate Road to cut out a section of the A36, reduced the rat running would not impact on the A30 as those figures were taken into account. If we could get the largest 2 fundamental parts to work (College Road and Bourne Road) then we stand a better chance of getting the rest to work.

 

·       Google maps and sat-nav systems were providing alternative routes which included the rat-runs.

Answer: The issues with the sat-nav systems were not something which could be fixed, however if schemes were implemented on those roads, then they would no longer be show as favourable on the sat-nav.

 

·       During an inspection on Harnham Bridge last week, the traffic management led to catastrophic congestion, with hospital staff held up.  

 

·       If lights were implemented on Tollgate Road, that would be worse on the traffic flow than people slowing to let cars out.  

Answer: Traffic movement would be more coordinated and flowing, rather than on an ad hoc basis.  

 

Update to include timetable of works and Footway information.

 

 

Officer: Dave Thomas, Head of Highways, Asset Management & Commissioning

 

The Board received an update from Dave Thomas, Head of Highways, Asset Management & Commissioning

 

Dave gave an overview of what was considered maintenance and the three headings for work. These were Reactive, Planned, and Asset Management.

 

People were made aware of a county wide webinar on potholes which was to be held the following week. 

 

Dave noted the difficulty in deciding the years planned maintenance programme due to the impact of inflation which had meant that only part of the schedule could be included.

 

The delay in confirming this year’s budget had been due to a late announcement from the Department of Transport regarding an uplift of an additional £3.684m for year to alleviate the deterioration of our roads.

 

Comments and questions included:

 

·       The level of detail in the report is to be applauded. There had been media stories about a multi-function pothole machine, why did Wiltshire not have one of those?

Answer: The machine referred to was a JCB model which Wiltshire Council had looked in to. That specific machine was found to be too large for some of our smaller and narrow roads, or for the areas where there were overhead wires and it did not actually fill the hole, only prepare it for filling. The Council was however exploring other options, one of those was the Dragon Patcher which was due to be demonstrated shortly. 

 

It was;

 

Resolved

 

The Area Board noted the update.

A full report on the Street Lighting Audit and the LHFIG funded feasibility study on the list of dark spots.

 

The Board is asked to note the Report and the continued actions being taken to address the non-working highway lighting assets.

 

 

Officer: Dave Thomas, Head of Highways, Asset Management & Commissioning

 

 

 

The Board received an update from Dave Thomas, Head of Highways, Asset Management & Commissioning on the Street Lighting Audit and the LHFIG funded feasibility study on the list of dark spots.

 

The roll out of LED across the county was coming to a conclusion. Some outstanding lighting columns had been identified in Harnham which had asbestos, which would take longer to replace.

 

There were also some bespoke lanterns which would need to be replaced with bespoke units, slowing down the final delivery. 150 lanterns were still to be swopped over in the Salisbury area, with a total of 45k achieved across the county.

 

A report and appendices were attached to the agenda for information.

 

Questions and comments:

 

Liz Batten thanked Dave for the report and asked whether Salisbury had been the last area for replacement LEDs and when the Atkins report would be available?

Answer: Salisbury was not the last but one of the latter areas in the programme, with the easier areas to manage having been started first. Dave would find out about the Atkins report and feedback.

 

It was;

 

Resolved:

 

To note the Report and the continued actions being taken to address the non-working highway lighting assets.

 

 

Following a request at the last meeting, relating to the content of the system feedback to users, the Board will receive an update on the My Wilts issue reporting app.

 

Speakers: Mark Tucker, Director ICT & Cllr Sven Hocking, portfolio holder for IT

Following a request at the last meeting, relating to the content of the system feedback to users, the Board received an update on the My Wilts issue reporting app from Mark Tucker, Director ICT & Cllr Sven Hocking, portfolio holder for IT.

 

Some of the key points raised included:

 

·       From May 2022 – to May 2023, there had been 45k submissions on the MyWilts app, 30k were Highways and of those 15k were pothole related.

 

·       Come to our attention that there were some issues with the app which were causing frustration to users. Currently rolling out bug fixes, which would include an image attachment function.

 

·       The situation of closure notifications before the work had been done. There were two scenarios where this was happening, where there were duplicates, and where additional commentary on the system to advise why the case was closed had not been completed. This is not always happening. IT was working with colleagues to tackle this. In addition, there were some instances where the info was not transferred to the system. This would require a technical fix.

 

·       The team was looking to add a facility which would allow users to view any issues the same as the one they were attempting to report. The user could then register an interest in it, to enable a notification – reenabling the ability to resolve those issues.

 

·       Currently when third parties were responsible for action, the work was passed on to partners, moving it out of our jurisdiction and ability to monitor, resulting in closure of the case. Now that this had been raised as an issue, they could look into it and to find a resolution.

 

·       A joint team was now running between the software team and the system administrators of MyWilts.

 

·       The plan was to change the notification in some instances from closed to transferred.

 

·       Users were encouraged to use the feedback function so that the support team could act on comments, especially if case numbers were included.  

 

·       The Council was planning to add more services to the MyWilts reporting system over time, changes would need to be agreed and prioritised.

 

 

Comments and questions included:

 

·       The app is useful, I have cases going back to 2020 that are still showing in progress. Would be better if the system told me that something had already been logged. Not everyone has a smart phone.

 

·       A regular review of the product was a good idea to learn from mistakes and gain confidence of the users, with a relaunch to get message out that it was now fit for purpose.

 

·       Jenny sat on the Scrutiny Housing Board offered to provide the information  collated and send to Mark’s Team.

 

 

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 24 May 2023, as set out in the attached report.

 

Recommendations:

 

·       4b – School Keep Clear Traffic Regulation Order Amendment – £1,500

·       4e – Waiting Restriction Requests (2022) – £5,000

·       4h – Glyndebourne Way Dropped Kerb – £2,250

 

The Board considered the report and funding recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 24 May 2023.

 

It was;

 

Resolved:

 

To approve the LHFIG funding recommendations to the following schemes:

 

·       4b – School Keep Clear Traffic Regulation Order Amendment – £1,500

·       4e – Waiting Restriction Requests (2022) – £5,000

·       4h – Glyndebourne Way Dropped Kerb – £2,250

 

6:00 – 8:00pm with networking from 5.30pm

 

·       28 September 2023

·       23 November 2023

·       7 March 2024

 

Meeting details, Agendas and minutes can be viewed here