Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Tony Jackson who stated that he would not be able to attend the Area Board meeting due to a clash with another meeting. Cllr Jackson paid tribute to the Wiltshire Council Officers who had provided support to the Area Board over the last four years.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 2024 were presented for consideration. After which, it was;

 

Resolved:

 

To approve and sign as a true and correct record of the minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 2024.

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

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the following announcements and briefing notes through the Chairman:

 

·       Devolution Briefing Update

·       Elections Update

·       Cost of Living Update

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue -  Service Update December 2024

·       Community First Monthly Update

·       Family and Community Learning Impact Report 2023-24

·       Highways dashboard of completed defects from April 2025 to Jan 2025 and potholes reported and repaired Dec 2024 and Jan 2025

·       Completed Surfacing Schemes 2024/25 to end of December 2024

·       Adult Social Care Update

·       Pharmacy Consultation

·       Look to the Sky in Warminster - https://cranbornechase.org.uk/look-to-the-sky-in-warminster-this-march/

The Chairman made the following announcements as per the agenda pack:

• Devolution Briefing Update
• Elections Update
• Cost of Living Update
• Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue - Service Update
• Community First Monthly Update
• Family and Community Learning Impact Report 2023-24
• Highways dashboard of completed defects from April 2024 to Jan 2025 and potholes reported and repaired Dec 2024 and Jan 2025
• Completed Surfacing Schemes 2024/25 to end of December 2024
• Adult Social Care Update
• Pharmacy Consultation
• Look to the Sky in Warminster

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

 

Remaining Budgets:

 

Community Area Grant	Older & Vulnerable	Young People
£5,502.59	£3,400.00	£2,637.01

 

Area Board Initiatives:

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG2213	Warminster Area Board - Activities for those with SEND	£1000.00
ABG2265	Warminster Area Board - Transport and Supervision for a nature project	£500.00
ABG2267	Warminster Area Board - Skate Park event	£637.00

 

Community Area Grants:

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG2163	Heytesbury and Sutton Veny Cricket Club - New Kitchen Sutton Veny Cricket Pavilion	£975.00
ABG2268	Codford Village Hall - Codford Village Hall Improved Insulation	£5000.00

 

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG2159	Open Door Warminster - Open Door Warminster provision of drop-in support groups the Chat Cafes	£3000.00

 

Young People Grants:

 

Ref/Link	Grant Details	Amount Requested
ABG2244	Corsley War Memorial Playing Field - Summer Wildlife Days run by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust	£500.00

 

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

The Area Board considered the following applications for funding:

 

Area Board Initiatives:

 

Warminster Area Board - £1,000 towards Activities for those with SEND.

 

Decision

 

Warminster Area Board was awarded £1,000 towards Activities for those with SEND.

 

Moved – Cllr Bill Parks

Seconded – Cllr Pip Ridout

 

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

 

Warminster Area Board – £500 towards Transport and Supervision for a nature project.

 

Decision

 

Warminster Area Board was awarded £500 towards Transport and Supervision for a nature project.

 

Moved – Cllr Bill Parks

Seconded – Cllr Andrew Davis

 

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

 

Warminster Area Board - £637 towards Skate Park event.

 

Decision

 

Warminster Area Board was awarded £637 towards Skate Park event.

 

Moved – Cllr Andrew Davis

Seconded – Cllr Pip Ridout

 

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

 

Community Area Grants:

 

Heytesbury and Sutton Veny Cricket Club - £975 towards New Kitchen Sutton Veny Cricket Pavilion.

 

Decision

 

Heytesbury and Sutton Veny Cricket Club was awarded £975 towards New Kitchen Sutton Veny Cricket Pavilion.

 

Moved – Cllr Pip Ridout

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

 

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

 

Codford Village Hall - £5,000 towards Codford Village Hall Improved Insulation.

 

Decision

 

Codford Village Hall was awarded £4,900 towards Codford Village Hall Improved Insulation with the funding to be provided as £4,500 from the Community Area Grants balance and £400 from the Older and Vulnerable Grants balance.

 

Moved – Cllr Pip Ridout

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

 

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

 

Older and Vulnerable Grants:

 

Open Door Warminster - £3,000 towards Open Door Warminster provision of drop-in support groups the Chat Cafes.

 

Decision

 

Open Door Warminster was awarded £3,000 towards Open Door Warminster provision of drop-in support groups the Chat Cafes.

 

Moved – Cllr Andrew Davis

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

 

Reason – The application met the Older and Vulnerable Grants Criteria 2024/25.

 

Young People Grants:

 

Corsley War Memorial Playing Field - £500 towards Summer Wildlife Days run by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

 

Decision

 

Corsley War Memorial Playing Field was awarded £500 towards Summer Wildlife Days run by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

 

Moved – Cllr Andrew Davis

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

 

Reason – The application met the Young People Grants Criteria 2024/25.

To receive a presentation from Verena Buchanan (Selwood Housing, Group Operations Director) on the services being provided locally in Warminster by Selwood Housing.

The Area Board received a presentation from Verena Buchanan (Selwood Housing, Group Operations Director) and Mike Grizzell (Neighbourhood Manager). The presentation included but was not limited to the following points:

 

·       An overview of Selwood Housing was provided, having been formed in 1989 with 7,200 homes in the Wiltshire, Somerset and BANEs area.

·       Detail was provided that Selwood Housing was regulated by the regulator of social housing to economic and consumer standards.

·       Selwood Housing handles circa 53,500 enquiries a year from customers and makes circa 27,000 repairs a year which is increasing.

·       Key regulator metrics for Selwood Housing were provided, with it noted that they had 88% satisfaction and was in the top quartile of housing associations.

·       Positive feedback was shared from an all-customer survey conducted by Selwood in 2024.

·       An overview of the services offered in Warminster was provided, including that there were 1,130 homes in Warminster and surrounding area, 252 homes had investment works in 2024/25 and 3,900 repairs (excluding the villages) in 2024/25.

·       Detail was provided that Selwood has 32 sewage treatment plants, which had received an Outstanding audit by the environment agency in 2024, with plans to further upgrade some plants.

·       Warminster had been chosen to be a priority neighbourhood in 2023/24 with community action days having taken place as well as the implementation of a CCTV project in Westleigh, which went live in February 2025.

·       An overview of the Warminster rehousing project was provided, which included that it had taken circa 15 months to rehouse 44 people, in order to redevelop Westleigh and Alcock Crest.

·       Positive feedback from the rehousing project was shared.

 

After the update, there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       Collaboration between Open Door Warminster and Selwood Housing stakeholders and residents could be worthwhile with some special activity days that might appeal to residents with additional needs.

·       It was agreed that a separate meeting would be organised outside of the Area Board to discuss the sewerage charging issue in the villages.

·       Reference was made to insulation upgrades that had taken place in Codford, with it suggested that feedback be passed back to Selwood due to the programme being new with learning points available.

·       Praise was given to Selwood for their responses which had been given to a Local Member when dealing with queries from residents.

·       Further detail was provided regarding mutual exchanges in the area, with it noted that though this had been busy, there had been no clogging in the system.

 

The Area Board placed gratitude towards Selwood Housing for attending the meeting and for the work they were conducting.

A brief recap of the last four years of Warminster Area Board successes.

The Area Board received a presentation from Strategic Engagement Partnerships Lead, Caroline LeQuesne. The presentation included but was not limited to the following points:

• It was noted that attendees and residents had been important to what was going on in Warminster and that without help from local partners it would not have been possible to achieve what the community wanted.
• It was the following spending outcomes were outlined:
  • Community Area – £93,549.47 awarded for 52 projects
  • Older and Vulnerable Adults – £25,153.70 awarded for 28 projects
  • Youth - £64,463.01 awarded for 34 projects.
• An overview of community impact was provided, with it noted amongst many projects that a lot of villages had upgraded their halls through funding and football goals had been purchased.
• An overview of wellbeing impact was provided, with the work of Dave and Deb from the Warminster Health and Wellbeing Forum cited as an amazing series of meetings which brought people together as well as that the Forum had run projects including a booklet. The work of Riding for the Disabled and Warminster Action Group was also credited.
• An overview of youth impact was provided with it noted that the Local Youth Network had recently convened and brought together a mix of agencies to discuss how young people in the area might be helped and how young people could be encouraged to become part of the community.
• Gratitude was placed to all partners who had been involved in projects over the past four years.

 

After the update, the success of the events was discussed, with it acknowledged that there was a variety of opportunities that had been provided, with Councillors often attending the events that had taken place. Gratitude was placed to Caroline LeQuesne and Liam Cripps for their help and advice.

To note the written reports and receive any verbal updates from the following:

 

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Warminster Health and Wellbeing Forum

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

 

Updates were received from the following partners:

 

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board noted written updates attached to the agenda. In addition, Inspector Lou Oakley provided a verbal update which covered the following points:

·       An overview of the local neighbourhood policing team was provided, with it noted that the process to recruit for the currently held vacancy was underway and that the team had been provided assurance of gaining another officer following an uplift in funding for the neighbourhood policing teams.

 

Detail was provided on local priorities, which included the following:

 

Shoplifting

·       Back in 2023 retail crime had been highlighted as a national major issue, therefore at the beginning of 2024, a strategy was put in place by the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner, with a team formed to focus on retail crime.

·       It was stated that in Wiltshire, retail crime was down by 11%, however it was suggested that this was not the case due to under-reporting.

·       The Further Action Taken (FAT) rate in Warminster was discussed, with it outlined that this had seen a 38% increase, with more people being arrested due to more reports being received as well as the CCTV in place.

·       A criminal behaviour order panel had been established to consider prolific offenders as well as potential intervention options.

·       There was an awareness that the petrol station in Codford had experienced regular shoplifting therefore a prevention officer had attended the site to give tips and a funding bid for an ANPR camera for Salisbury Road has been placed with the PCC office.

 

Youth Anti-social Behaviour

·       Funding had been received for a more detached youth work in the area and Warminster town centre had been added as an ASB hot spot area for Government funding for officer over time for patrols.

·       It was noted that the PCC had granted funding for Westbury and Warminster to run a five-day Synergy Course (similar to Salamander) working with 8 prolific local youths to combat low level anti-social behaviour. This would take place in conjunction with partner organisations.

 

Rural Crime

·       It was noted that there had been a spike in the beginning of last year however hare coursing and poaching numbers were currently down in the Warminster Area.

·       There was set to be a day of action on 8 April with officers set to educate people on livestock.

·       A huge rural operation for farm machine vehicles recently took place on the A303 to stop and check that they were not stolen.

 

Drugs

·       It was outlined that work was taking place regarding drugs in the area behind the scenes with work not highlighted publicly until warrants had been executed.

 

The update also covered the following points:

·       The importance of reporting was stressed via 101, 999 or online as this enabled the Police to build data bases and then target areas.

·       The mobile police van would be back out in rural Warminster communities in 7 weeks’ time.

 

After the verbal update, there was time for the following questions and points to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on Wednesday 22 January 2025, as set out in the attached report.

 

Further information on the LHFIG process can be found here.

Cllr Bill Parks introduced the minutes and recommendations from the LHFIG meeting held on 22 January 2025. 

 

Cllr Neil Carpenter of Corsley Parish Council thanked Cllr Bill Parks for his work towards the work involving weight limits and HGVs in the villages.

 

After which, it was;

 

Resolved:

 

The minutes of the Local Highways and Footway Improvement Group meeting held on 22 January 2025 were agreed as a correct record with it noted that there was no new spending recommendations within.

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

In his absence, Cllr Pip Ridout read out an Environment Lead Report on behalf of Cllr Tony Jackson, which covered the following points:

• Sustainable Warminster organised 2 Warm & Well Energy Advice tea parties offering advice on energy reduction and bill optimisation. The final 3rd party is this month on 29th at Civic Centre.
• Following Warminster Town Council support and funding, Wiltshire Council has promulgated closure of Smallbrook Road overnight during amphibian breeding season. Sustainable Warminster is organising toad patrols and Warminster Police CPT is supporting.
• The prospect of Electrical Vehicles drawing nearer creates challenges for EV infrastructure. Local Authorities will be affected in authority manged housing estates and car parks. All are encouraged participate in Wiltshire Council Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure Consultation.
• Wiltshire Council’s development of Warminster Sports Centre is forecast to be complete by end of March. It will offer increased leisure facilities for the loss of sports i.e. squash facilities.

 

The Chairman placed gratitude towards the officers who had supported the Area Board as well as to fellow councillors.

Future Meeting Dates:

 

• 20 May 2025
• 10 July 2025
• 9 October 2025
• 11 December 2025
• 5 February 2026

 

For information on applying for a grant or grant application deadlines for these meetings, contact the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Lead, Caroline.LeQuesne@wiltshire.gov.uk

The date of the next meeting was 20 May 2025 as an extraordinary meeting on the rising of Full Council.