Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman for 2022/23

Cllr Phil Alford was elected Melksham Area Board Chairman - 2022/23.

To appoint a Vice Chairman for 2022/23

Cllr Nick Holder was elected Melksham Area Board Vice-Chairman - 2022/23.

Chairman’s Announcements:

·         Recruitment of hackney carriage and private hire drivers

·         Update from BANES, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG - May 2022

·         Update from Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Positive Conduct equals Positive Democracy

Cllr Phil Alford welcomed everyone to the Melksham Assembly Hall.

The following Chairman’s Announcements contained in the agenda pack were noted:

·         Recruitment of hackney carriage and private hire drivers

·         Update from BANES, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG - May 2022

·         Update from Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Positive Conduct equals Positive Democracy

Apologies were received from Cllr Jon Hubbard – Wiltshire Council.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 9 March 2022 and Tuesday 12 April 2022

Decision

·         That the minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 9 March 2022 and Tuesday 12 April 2022 were confirmed as the correct records

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

Melksham Carer Café Health & Wellbeing grant - Cllr Nick Holder, Non pecuniary interest – a close relation was employed by the Applicant.

Inspector Gill Hughes / Sergeant James Twyford

Sergeant James Twyford gave an update on behalf of the Melksham Community Policing Team.

Points made included:

Repeat Offenders - The May Statistics show that last Month’s three Top Offenders by frequency, had not come to notice since bespoke interventions were implemented.  This month, teams were focussing on six individuals, who were responsible for 10% of our Demand across the Hub.

Community Events – That local teams were busy planning involvement with a number of Community Events.  Those held over the Platinum Jubilee Weekend were successful and well attended.

That local teams would be attending local carnival events.

Operation Aidant – That the Team had been paying attention to places where there was potential for Human Trafficking and Exploitation, as part of a National Week of Action.  Teams had conducted six visits to businesses which were traditionally susceptible to these sorts of Organised Crime.

Anti-Social use of Vehicles – That teams were looking at two specific problems, which relate to inappropriate use of vehicles, and were in the process of scoping a potential perennial issue at Spitfire Retail Park, Trowbridge; also looking to identify an individual on an e-scooter in Melksham who had caused some fairly widespread local concern with the manner of his riding.

Cllr Seed advised that many of the parish councils were unhappy at the lack of a local police representative at parish council meetings or reports from them, that rural residents were losing confidence in the local policing being carried at the moment and their perceived lack of interest in the local police to tackle rural crimes – this was noted by Sergeant Twyford.

The Chairman thanked Sergeant Twyford for his update.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling - Cabinet Member for Leisure, Libraries, Governance, Facilities Management and Operational Assets and Louise Cary - Head of Capital Projects, Wiltshire Council gave an update on the Melksham Campus and Melksham House projects.

Points made included:

·         That the Campus project had been a huge commitment for Wiltshire Council taking over 10 years to get us where we were today.

·         A challenging and exciting project for the residents of the Melksham community area.

·         A great building – all that we could have wished for when the plans were conceived.

·         That construction was nearing completion, once construction concluded, the fit-out period would then begin.

·         That the parking order had now been approved.

·         That the signage planning application had been approved.

·         The campus will open to the public in early August 2022. More details for the opening day will be announced closer to the time

Library - Relocation

·         That the Melksham library would need to close for approx two weeks. Date to be confirmed.

·         During the closure, stock and ICT equipment would be moved to the campus and staff would receive training on the new building.

·         That customers could use nearby libraries during the closure. Online resources, digital formats and the library app would also be available.

·         That books would be issued for a longer loan period in the lead up to the closure and a few weeks after reopening. Customers could take more items to cover the closure period.

·         That the library team were working to develop an activities and events programme.

Blue Pool – Relocation

·         That the Blue Pool would be closed for a week. Date to be confirmed.

·         That members would be able to use neighbouring facilities during the closure period.

·         That the leisure team would be contacting leisure members directly with further information.

·         To register to become a leisure member prior to the campus opening, you could do this online – search Wiltshire Leisure Hub. Or enquire at the Blue Pool.

·         To find out about making regular or club bookings please email – melkshamcampus@wiltshire.gov.uk.

·         Details of all the leisure facilities that would be available at the campus could be found on the Melksham Community Campus webpage.

Melksham Without Parish Council

·         MWPC will be relocating their office to Melksham Campus. Their current office at the Pavilion at Bowerhill Sports Field will close shortly before the campus opens.

The Campus programme

The opening of the campus is a key milestone in a much wider programme of investment in Melksham:

•      Oakfields Football and Rugby stadium

•      King George Fifth Skate Park

•      Melksham Market Place remodeling

•      Replacing Melksham Cricket Pavilion

•      Refurbishment of Melksham tennis courts

Melksham House

·         Wiltshire Council is working closely with Melksham Town Council to look at how best to utilise the current Melksham Library and Blue Pool sites and how this interacts with plans for the publicly owned assets in the town. This will ensure a long-term strategic approach is taken for the benefit of Melksham and surrounding areas.

·         The refurbishment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

The update contained in the agenda pack was noted.

Get Involved | Joint Melksham Plan (melkshamneighbourhoodplan.org)

David Pafford – Melksham Without PC gave an update on the status of the Melksham Neighbourhood Plan with relation to housing, local green spaces and heritage assets. He encouraged all to get involved in the Housing Needs survey which is hosted on the website at:

Get Involved | Joint Melksham Plan (melkshamneighbourhoodplan.org)

The Chairman thankedDavid Pafford for his update.

Peter Dunford – Community Engagement Manager briefly outlined the following:  

Area Board Review

That the Area Board model was introduced in 2009 and had delivered significant progress to develop stronger, more resilient and connected communities since its inception.

That the overall objectives of the Area Boards remain consistent today however, in an operating model more than 12 years old it was natural that certain elements were subject of review and refresh to ensure they were meeting the current needs of local communities.

That the aspiration of the review was to build on the excellent practice and evident success of the Area Boards and to address areas where there was inconsistency in practice and approach.

That the number of boards, overall format, structure and local autonomy were not part of the review.

That a period of research, analysis and review of data between the Cabinet Member, Portfolio Holder and key Officers had been carried out.

That an Overview and Scrutiny process followed between January – March 2022, had resulted in 24 recommendations.

These were adopted into a single member decision paper on Area Board arrangements which was ratified on the 6 May 2022.

Setting and Working to Local Priorities

An annual cycle of meetings was described with 4 business meetings plus regular community engagements and events.

Up to 5 priorities to be agreed by the Board with at least one councillor nominated as lead for each priority area.

Area Board Working Groups

Where there is an existing community or partner led group addressing this priority, the Area Board should work in partnership with such community or group and not create a working group of its own.

Changes in the Grants Criteria

That funding was available to voluntary and community sector organisations that could show a need for financial support up to a total of £5,000. Town and Parish councils were eligible to apply for revenue funding, in respect of Youth Grants or Older and Vulnerable AdultGrants, where they were able to show a need for financial support.

Matched funding requirement had reduced from £1,000 to £500.

That applications must be received at least four weeks before an Area Board.

That applications must highlight how they were meeting two aims of the Wiltshire Council Business Plan andan Area Board local priority – grant system would reflect this.

That an organisation could apply for a maximum of two projects/ bids per annum across all eighteen boards. Each project/ bid canrequest funding from up to three boards.

Grant Assessment Panel

The panel will review grant applications sent from Community Engagement Managers when meeting all criteria, however are:

Requesting over £5,000

Not from a voluntary or community sector organisation

Applying to multiple boards (more than 3)

Delegated Authority

In order to deal with urgent matters that may arise between meetings of the Area Board, the Community Engagement Manager has the authority to approve expenditure from the delegated grants budget when the following conditions are met:

- the item is deemed urgent by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

The Melksham Area Board agreed the following appointments to outside bodies and working groups for 2021/22:

• CATG, now Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG) – Cllr Jonathon Seed, Chairman

• Melksham Health and Wellbeing Group – Cllr Nick Holder, Chairman

• Melksham Neighbourhood Plan – Cllr Mike Sankey

• CCTV Working Group – Cllr Mike Sankey

Member lead areas from 2021/22:

• Cllr Phil Alford – Environment

• Cllr Jon Hubbard – Children and Young People

• Cllr Mike Sankey – Community Safety

• Cllr Jonathon Seed – Economy and Transport

• Cllr Nick Holder – Older People; Health and Wellbeing

• Cllr Jack Oatley – Culture; Children and Young People

The Melksham Area Board agreed the following appointments to outside bodies and working groups for 2021/22:

Decision

• Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG) – Cllr Jonathon Seed, Chairman

• Melksham Health and Wellbeing Group – Cllr Nick Holder, Chairman

• Melksham Joint Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group – Cllr Mike Sankey

• CCTV and Community Safety Working Group – Cllr Mike Sankey

• Environment and Climate Working group – Cllr Jonathon Seed

Community Grants

·         Keevil Village Hall Committee requesting £2,987 towards new sound system, LED lights and loft insulation

Youth Grants

·         AFC Melksham disabled football team requesting £1,000 towards kit, coaching and operational costs

Health and Wellbeing Grants

·         Melksham Carer Café requesting £1,300 towards staffing, Marketing and venue costs

The following grants were approved by the Melksham Area Board members:

Community Grants

·         Keevil Village Hall Committee awarded £2,987 towards new sound system, LED lights and loft insulation

Youth Grants

·         AFC Melksham disabled football team awarded £1,000 towards kit, coaching and operational costs

Health and Wellbeing Grants

·         Carer Support Wiltshire requesting £1,300 towards staffing, marketing and venue costs for the Melksham Carers Café - It was agreed to defer the application to discuss project costs with the applicant and then to reach a final decision as quickly as possible within delegated powers 

Note: Health & Wellbeing grant - Cllr Nick Holder declared a non pecuniary interest as a close relation was employed by the applicant.

To note written partner updates

The following written partner updates contained in the agenda pack were noted:

·         CCG/Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Melksham Primary Care Network

·         Age Friendly Melksham

Members of the public are invited to ask questions relating to Area Board business

Chris Pickett announced that Jon Hubbard had resigned as the Chairman of Trustees for Age Friendly Melksham and that he, CP, was now acting in that capacity.   He also reported that Mary Cullen had been appointed as the Age Friendly Co-ordinator for the project.