Agenda item

To receive an update from the Community Engagement Managers about the actions resulting from the Community Area Action Plan.

Community Engagement Manager (CEM), Jane Vaughan, explained that she had been working alongside her fellow CEM Alexa Davies to develop a community action plan. The plan reflected the priorities identified by Area Board members, as well as local partners, and was designed to address the issues highlighted in the Community Area Status Report. She explained that a lead members had been appointed to focus on particular aspects of the plan. The CEM stressed that the document was intended to be adaptable, so issues could be removed once they had been completed and then new priorities added.

Together with the lead members, the CEM provided an update on the progress made towards meeting the goals. Progress made included:

Young People

• The Community Area Youth Forum was due to be reconvened in late January 2022.

• The Area Board hoped to build upon the formal county wide youth engagement by working alongside the Wiltshire Youth Council’s local representatives as well as the PCC’s Young Commissioners.

Older and Vulnerable People

• Work was underway to re-establish the Health and Wellbeing Group, as well as to establish an Older and Vulnerable People and their Carers Group. It had been agreed that the two groups needed to run in parallel. A survey had been sent to towns and parishes and an informal meeting would be held at the end of January to develop the proposals.

Environment

• A community consultation had been completed on Wiltshire Council’s Climate and Green and Blue Infrastructure strategies. Towns and parishes had also been signposted to the council’s environmental toolkit.

• It had been decided to establish an Area Board wide environment group and proactively engage with local communities.

• Representatives from Royal Wootton Bassett Environmental Group were at the meeting and stressed that they were keen to be involved.

Economy

• It was planned to discuss how the Vibrant Wiltshire grant scheme, when launched, could be used to help to support local businesses. The importance of business working together was also noted.

• The Area Board were identifying local initiatives to address, food, fuel and IT poverty. Engagement had taken place with groups, such as Swindon Food Cooperative, Malmesbury and Cricklade Trussell Trust Group and Warm and Safe Wiltshire. Further work would be undertaken to identify specific actions resulting from the community feedback.

• It was explained that the issues of food, fuel and IT poverty were very important and statistical information would enable outcomes to be measured.

Community Resilience

• Dialogue was taking place with local parishes to see whether they wished to re-establish the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Parish Forum, as it had not been running since the start of the pandemic.

Resolved

1. To note progress on priority actions identified in the Area Board Action Plan (Sept 2021 – Jan 2022)

2. To confirm removal of completed priority actions identified in the action plan as follows:

·       Young People - Develop the Local Youth Forum (Practitioners group). The Forum is being re-established and will update the Area Board directly in future.

·       Older and Vulnerable Adults - Re-establish the Health and Wellbeing Group – Complete (group will now update Area Board directly).

·       To set up an Older and Vulnerable People and their Carers Group – now combined with the Health and Wellbeing Group.

·       Environment - Promote the Wiltshire Council Climate Strategy and COP26 – Complete 12/11/21.

3. To request the Community Engagement Manager work with local                                               groups and organisations and the relevant Area Board Champions to   consider new actions (appendix 2) for inclusion in the Action Plan priority list (appendix 1).

4. To confirm that, where appropriate, the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Board will focus its time and resources upon existing and new priority actions during 2022/23.