Agenda item

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

·       Warminster Community Police Task Group (CPTG)

·       Warminster Health and Wellbeing Forum

·       Local Youth Network

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board received a verbal update from Sergeant Louise Oakley which included the following points:

·       Structural change had taken place in the Warminster area team, with Inspector Al Lumley having been promoted to the role of Chief Inspector. Sergeant Kevin Harmsworth would be the new Inspector from January in the new year.

Sergeant Oakley provided an update of the local priorities for Warminster:

·       Anti-social behaviour and youth crime – has escalated since summer and the team have been working hard to tackle this with communication taking place between ER CCTV and Kingdown school. A dispersal order was placed on Warminster over the weekend of 29 and 30 October with a number of youths stopped and taken home.

·       Shoplifting – The number of thefts took a dip between September and October however it is expected that this will increase due to the cost-of-living increase.

·       Speed enforcement and Community Speed Watch – Data from the last quarter suggested that the Upper Deverills have had the highest proportion of speeding motorists. Road policing units are therefore increasing their presence in this area.

·       Rural crime – There has been a decrease in hare coursing, however an increase in shed and garage breaks involving the theft of farming equipment. An operation set to take place soon to combat this.

Following the presentation there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       It was questioned how much officer time can be spent on speed enforcement, to which it was clarified that little time is spent on speeding due to the team being driven by a threat, harm, risk, and demand approach. Recently the team spent a day in Chitterne and Heytesbury but are reliant on numbers produced by Community Speed Watch, which allows the team to dedicate themselves to the areas with the highest proportion of speeding. Parishes were encouraged to get in touch with Sergeant Oakley should they wish to set up a Community Speed Watch group.

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda which contained a link to a 10-minute video which showed notable incidents that the force had attended, and the good work that was achieved across the Service in the last three months. The Area Board also noted a further written update included in agenda supplement 3.

The Area Board received an additional verbal update Group Manager for Wiltshire Jim Weston. The update covered the following points:

·       A lot of prevention and protection work has taken place recently with 60 safe and well visits conducted a month across the Wiltshire Area, with the service keen to conduct more.

·       Further protection work has included making sure that local buildings are safe.

·       Though Warminster has always had a good number of staff, recruitment continues with the Warminster team looking to diversify the team as much as possible.

·       Over firework weekend there was a low number of incidents with calls having dropped from 27 in August, to 14 in September and then 6 in October.

·       Recent incidents included a property fire in Crockerton where a dog was rescued as well as a low-level car fire within the lion enclosure at Longleat Estate.

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

·       It was questioned where there had been any call outs relevant to flooding, to which it was clarified that though the figures had not been provided for November, leading up to the end of October there had not been any. Work has been conducted to prepare for this risk with table-top exercises having taken place.

·       The Chairman thanked the fire service for attending and for their open day which they had hosted the previous week.

·        BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda.

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda.

·       Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Cllr Ridout updated that the Warminster and Villages Community Partnership had not recently had a meeting and though members were still involved, the Partnership was currently on hold.

·       Warminster Community Police Task Group (CPTG)

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda. Cllr Ridout stated that she had been grateful for the villages that had attended the last meeting, though it could have been better attended by others. The meeting was positive and discussed a number of issues as included within the report.

·       Warminster and District Health and Wellbeing Forum

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda. David Reeves noted that they had been trying to increase engagement of local parishes with the help of Cllrs Parks and Newbury. Additionally, David updated that planning for the Health Fair in 2023 was progressing with 37 exhibitors arranged, with the event set to take place on the King’s coronation day. It was also noted that a review of the Forum’s internal budgets was set to take place.

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

·       Regarding engagement, Cllr Ridout drew attention to a presentation on Neighbourhood Collaboratives that had taken place at the Health Select Committee, which suggested that forums should get in touch.

·       It was suggested that Cllrs Parks and Newbury make further contact with the parishes to increase engagement, with the Forum also willing to visit them to provide presentations.

·       Local Youth Network

Liam Cripps (Strategic Engagement Partnerships Manager) noted that though no applications for youth grant funding had been received for the meeting, a meeting with representatives from Kingdown and Warminster Schools was set to be planed within the next weeks. This would encourage grant applications where suitable as well as organising Local Youth Network meetings. Attention was drawn to the Community First reports included within the agenda pack, which provided feedback on the successful rural youth projects in Codford and Chapmanslade.

·       Town and Parish Councils

The area board noted that a written update had been attached to the agenda from Sutton Veny, Chapmanslade and Chitterne Parish Councils.

Cllr Sue Fraser provided an update on behalf of Warminster Town Council, which covered that work is currently being completed on the Neighbourhood Plan which will go out to consultation once sufficient progress has been made.

Cllr Neil Carpenter provided an update on behalf of Corsley Parish Council, with it noted that their most recent Parish Council meeting had taken place earlier in a week and had involved a good presentation from Longleat. Other local issues included the on-going lorry issue as well as fly-tipping.