Agenda item

Part I – Looking Back

·       To receive the Area Board End of Year Report as well as to report on progress made in addressing the Area Board priorities selected for 2023/24:

Part II – Looking Forward

·       To receive a summary of JSNA Survey Results.

·       To highlight potential priorities for the Area Board to consider for 2024/25.

Part I – Looking Back

The Area Board received a presentation from Caroline LeQuesne, Engagement and Partnerships Lead on the Area Board End of Year Report. Caroline thanked local community groups for their hard work, as though the Area Board met four times a year, a lot of work took place in between. It was also outlined how the Area Board had been able to support areas in the most need through looking at deprivation quintiles. The presentation included the following points:

Youth engagement and positive opportunities.

·       This included such work as the Pewsey Youth Café and the Blue Bus in the Villages.

Valuing and supporting vulnerable and older people.

·       It was outlined that for the vulnerable population, work which had taken place included funding for defibrillators, vouchers, and boaters’ access to energy grants.

·       For the older population, work had included the Memory Café and Alzheimer’s Art Group.

Addressing environmental issues.

·       Sylvia Wyatt of Great Green Bedwyn outlined that it had been a busy period for the community group including open and rain gardens which had taken place on 16 June. The event had seen over 800 garden visits over 4 hours and raised over £1,5000.

·       Hard work had been taken place with the Southern Streams Farmers Group and that a small grant for farming in a protected landscape had been received. Presentations had taken place in schools as well as an evening meeting to enable better communication with the farmers and villages.

·       Regarding heat usage, a green open homes event had taken place to offer visitors the opportunity to see how they might improve their own homes.

·       The organisation had picked up an infrared camera which enabled 30 homes to be surveyed, which had seen an increase in heat pumps, draught proofing, and new windows as a result.

Part II – Looking Forward

Richard Rogers, Strategic Engagement Partnerships Manager (SEPM) provided a summary of the Community Survey/CAJSNA Data:

·       There had been 76 responses to the survey (2.8% of the Wiltshire population).

·       The following 5 priorities were identified by respondents:

Health:

o   Almost 40% of respondents had chosen this as their first choice.

o   The top 5 health issues in order were support for keeping physically active, support for living longer better, care for those living with dementia, mental health support and tackling levels of obesity.

o   CAJSNA data was provided to support this, including that in general the Pewsey community area scored healthy or above average for Wiltshire.

          Environment:

o   12% of respondents chose this as their first choice.

o   The top 5 environment issues in order were increasing biodiversity and quality of landscapes, addressing flooding, supporting public transport services, tackling fly tipping, supporting/improving active travel.

o   It was outlined that locally a lot of work had taken place to support the above, including the DRT bus services and encouraging walking and cycling.

          Cost of Living:

o   11% of respondents chose this as their first choice.

o   The top 4 cost of living issues in order were support for housing/rent affordability, support for households and children living in low-income families, tackling fuel poverty and debt and support for foodbanks.

o   CAJSNA data was provided to support this, including that fuel poverty/rental costs were amongst the highest in Wiltshire.

          Children and Young People:

o   10% of residents chose this as their first choice.

o   The top 4 children and young people issues in order were improving positive activities for young people, young people’s mental health, supporting those living with special needs (SEND) and support for young carers.

o   CAJSNA data was provided to support this, including that Wiltshire had 0.26% of all ages admitted to hospital for self-harm compared to 0.16 for England as a whole.

          Economy:

o   10% of residents chose this as their first choice.

o   The top 3 economy issues in order were empty businesses and shops, low education or skills gap, unemployment.

o   CAJSNA data was provided to support this, including that during 2023 on average there were 9 empty businesses on average in Pewsey.

Information was provided about Rural Hubs, which was outlined as being a market towns initiative for rural areas and was being delivered by Future Smiths using government funding. The aim was to support local rural business by providing free tailored support and some access to grants and funding as well as to create jobs, modernise businesses, improve products & services.

After the presentation, there was time for the following questions and points to be made:

·       The reasoning for the high self-harm data was questioned, to which clarity was provided that there was a myriad of reasons for this, including that during the pandemic things got a lot harder emotionally and psychologically and that the services available were over-subscribed. It was acknowledged that this had possibly been taking place for years however people were now more willing to discuss it.

·       A discussion took place regarding SEND provision at Pewsey Vale School and how the number of SEND students had risen over the reason years as well as the potential reasonings for why this might be the case.

After which, it was;

Resolved:

That Pewsey Area Board decided upon the following priorities it wished to focus on in the coming year as well as the respective lead councillor representatives:

·       Improving opportunities for young people – Cllr Jerry Kunkler

·       Addressing environment issues – Cllr Paul Oatway QPM

·       Valuing and supporting our most vulnerable and older people – Cllr Stuart Wheeler