Agenda item

To receive updates from the following partners:

·       Fire and Rescue Service

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       BSW Together (Integrated Care System) including an update from Dr Richard Sandford-Hill on the Devizes Health Centre

·       Schools updates

·       Town and Parish Councils

·       Sustainable Devizes – Making Devizes Cycle Friendly

In addition to the written updates in the pack, the following verbal updates were given:

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Station Manager Andrew Laskey gave an update to the meeting. The cost of living crisis had resulted in an increase in people using open fires and candles which could be dangerous. People were encouraged to speak to the service for advice. The service had been working hard to recruit on call fire fighters and quite a few new recruits had been found, which would be positive in terms of crewing appliances. It did create additional demand on existing crews in terms of training the new recruits. Two fire fighters were thanked for their long service, one who had 40 years’ service and one 30 years.

·       Wiltshire Police

Acting Inspector Luke Atkinson gave an update to the meeting, he had been newly appointed to the team and to the acting inspector role. There had been a 13% increase in crime compared to the previous year, this was a national trend and was due to lock down ending. Devizes, along with Pewsey and Marlborough was the safest area in Wiltshire in terms of crime.

There had been numerous reports of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and a number of arrests had been made. Several older teenagers were on bail. The police were working with partners to put long term interventions in place. ASB was taken very seriously, and they had a zero-tolerance approach.

The staff on the Community Policing Team (CPT) had changed, Inspector Al Lumley had moved on to Swindon and Sergeant Gareth Cole had moved on as well. PC Sarah Hardwidge was now Acting Sergeant. A new Inspector should be in place in January. They team were hoping for an uplift in staff as at present there were 3 community police officers policing 3 towns which was difficult.

The Station Road Car Park closure order had worked well and had been extended until January 2023. Attendees were urged to report any crimes or ASB that they saw.

Street drinkers in the Market Place were an ongoing issue, the police were trying to obtain evidence to help secure a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), however the PSPO process would be council led. If and when one was in place the police would enforce it. 

In response to a question from councillors regarding the removal of the benches in the Market Place, the Acting Inspector felt that the benches should not be put back in as in his many years of experience removal of street furniture did reduce ASB. He stated that they were struggling to police the area without a PSPO in place. However, PSPO’s took time, there were resource implications for the council and there could be issues with where the street drinkers were displaced to.

·       BSW Together, Devizes Health Centre

Dr Richard Sandford Hill gave an update on the Devizes Health Centre. The health centre was complete, and people had started attending the previous week, which he was really pleased about. It was a great new premises, with lots of space, treatment rooms, plenty of free parking, solar panels, heat pumps and was A+ rated for energy. There were EV charging points for electric cars, but the grid needed upgrading before they would be operational. Patients would be able to access a wide range of services under one roof which included:

o   Same day or next day medical care

o   Physiotherapy

o   Podiatry

o   Diabetes

o   Speech and language therapy

o   Pace and oxygen

o   Dietetics

o   Audiology

o   Maternity

o   Retinal screening

o   Blood tests

o   Neurology

o   Urology

o   Care of the elderly

o   Memory services and dementia services

o   Mental health outpatient services (pre-booked appointments only)

As was a general theme across the NHS, there were not enough doctors, so at the health centre a whole range of healthcare professionals, supervised by doctors, were in place in order to triage and see patients. Same day appointments would often be with a healthcare professional rather than with your own specific doctor. However, this meant people could get help quickly when they needed it. You could request to see your own GP but that would not usually be on the same day.

In response to a question as to whether the provision was adequate due to the growth of the population in Devizes over the time it had taken to deliver the project, it was stated that yes it was. Healthcare changed over time, face to face appointments had reduced, but triage had been increased and was more efficient, the facility had triage suites where a whole team of healthcare professionals supervised by a doctor could assess what was required. Many people were happy to have a telephone appointment. Modelling had been undertaken to assess demand and it was felt that this met the needs of the moment. A minor injuries unit could not be justified and there were not enough staff to provide that. If the integrated care board commissioned it, a minor injuries service could be run from the health centre. There was a plot of land at the back of the centre which it owned, so further development could take place in the future if required.

The Board thanked Dr Sandford Hill for all his hard work and were very glad that the project had been delivered after many years.

·       School’s updates

No headteachers had updates. Cllr Dominic Muns stated that last month Wiltshire Council had held a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) fair at County Hall. This had been really successful with hundreds of primary school age children attending and taking part in activities. This emphasised the council’s strategy to engage and encourage young people.

·       Making Devizes Cycle Friendly

Catherine Read of Cycle Friendly Devizes gave an update to the meeting. Devizes had an air quality management strategy due to poor air quality and by making Devizes cycle friendly you would:

o   Reduce congestion and air pollution

o   Improve health and wellbeing

o   Tackle climate change

o   Boost the economy

The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) was being developed and was currently being reviewed by stakeholders. Amendments by Atkins may be required. It would be looked at by the Active Travel Board and would go out for public consultation. The LCWIP would support funding bids and large cycling infrastructure bids.

An alternate route for cycling to the London Road was proposed which involved the widening of shared paths, signposting, removal of barriers, an all-weather surface and a crossing at Windsor Drive.

The group wished to propose a sustainable travel and air quality event which they hoped the Board would support and would be an opportunity to promote:

o   Local Walking & Cycling Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)

o   Benefits of reducing pollution and congestion

o   Town bus service

o   On demand Pewsey Vale bus

o   Gateway Station

o   Co Cars

o   EV Chargers

o   Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, School Streets and 20mph zones

They also hoped that the board would set clear objectives to increase cycling and walking thereby reducing traffic and would action necessary improvements to make cycling inclusive by removing barriers.

Comments from the Board included that there needed to be safe storage for bikes in towns and villages to increase cycling and that the LCWIP was a cycling and walking plan. There were new standards for segregation of paths between cyclists and walkers so there should be no diminishment for walkers, the plan would support both cycling and walking. A formal funding application should be submitted in order for the Board to consider supporting the proposed event.