Agenda item

Written and Verbal Updates:

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

·       Westbury Foodbank

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

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

·       An overview of the Neighbourhood Policing team was provided, with it noted that the Response and Neighbourhood teams had now been split up.

·       An advertisement for more PCs had recently been placed with new recruits set to join the force over the next couple of weeks.

·       The Wiltshire Police Community Commitment was outlined with it noted what the Chief Constable expected from a neighbourhood policing perspective. Further details of this could be found within the agenda pack.

·       The following priorities for the Westbury Area were outlined and discussed:

o   Anti-social behaviour in the parks, Leighton, Penleigh and the town centre.

o   Burglaries, with further ops set to be ran over the next couple of weeks.

o   Speeding, with reference made to the Road Safety unit report included within the agenda pack.

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

·       It was noted that a PC and PCSO had dropped into the Westbury Health and Wellbeing meeting last week and were very welcome.

·       Following on from the stabbing in Bristol, it was questioned whether there was a trend on the streets of Westbury for more knife carrying to which assurance was provided that there is no knife crime in Westbury at all.

·       Cllr Matt Dean stated that in relation to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Annual Report, it was a contentious report and was wrongly headed with its priorities. Reference was made to spending money to redevelop the Police Headquarters in Devizes and then further spending on an out-of-town Police station in Salisbury. Cllr Dean stated that it would be preferred that the manpower and capacity for officers to do their job was developed.

·       Feedback was provided that Cllr Dean was pleased to see anti-social behaviour and escooters and bikes included within the local priorities. It was suggested that there had potentially been consistency issues due to staffing and that Westbury had suffered because of this. It was outlined that there had been anti-social behaviour around the train station and that publicans did not feel supported with people visiting pubs under the influence of drugs. Assurance was provided by Inspector Oakley that time has been taken to go through the statistics and figure out how to deal with them, such as anti-social behaviour and burglaries. Furthermore, that staff would be recruited and want to work together to serve the community.

·       Clarity was provided regarding that a car which had been set fire to in Westbury was a stolen vehicle from Sussex and there was no connection to Westbury and that this was a one-off incident.

·       Clarity was provided that if someone shoplifts a shop, it was important not to confront the perpetrator as this could lead to further problems and assault. Those involved should rather call 999 if the incident is taking place or 101 to report an incident hours after it takes place.

Perry Payne, Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership Manager provided the Area Board with a verbal update:

·       An overview of the role of the Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership was provided as well as the Strategic and Delivery Groups involved within it.

·       Statistics were provided from July 2020 to January 2024, which demonstrated that a total of 1,228 letters had been issued within the Westbury area.

·       The work of the Road Policing Unit was outlined, with it noted that from October to December 2023 they had issued over 2,071 tickets.

·       An overview of the partnership events which had taken place was provided.

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

·       Clarity was sought regarding what the trend was for the number of people killed or seriously injured on Wiltshire roads. Perry Payne stated that the work conducted had led to less people being killed on Wiltshire roads, however it was difficult to quantify the exact number of drivers who had behaved differently following training. Perry Payne exact statistic for the number of people who had been killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) in Wiltshire:

                             Killed                   Seriously Injured

          2018                                   23                                201

          2019                                   20                                183

          2020                                   15                                 89

          2021                                   18                                117

          2022                                   16                                162

          2023 (until 31/08/23)          11                                128

·       The impact of road traffic collisions was discussed, with it noted that each would cost the local economy £1.9million. It was noted that though this was statistic based, road traffic collisions are about families and people rather than numbers.

·       Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

The Area Board received the following verbal update from Cllr Sheila Kimmins on behalf of Westbury Town Council. The update covered the following matters:

·       Discussions are ongoing within the Town Council regarding delegated services, which will hopefully come into force in October this year. A costing and surveyors report has taken place, with consideration of updating the Rotunda and the old BT building in Edwards St.

·       Plans for the Soapbox are coming along well and there has been discussion regarding the use of electric buses.

·       Three members of Town Council staff are undertaking a project managers course with exams set to take place shortly.

·       The Neighbourhood Plan has been completed and will go out to public vote on 14 March 2024.

The Area Board received the following verbal update from Cllr Jeff Ligo on behalf of Bratton Parish Council. The update covered the following matters:

·       The current main issue is the development of the Neighbourhood Plan, with a major consultation event set to take place and the Section 14 process over the coming months.

·       Wiltshire Council recently granted planning consent for 30 houses in Bratton and the Parish Council is going to work with developers to get the best deal they can and welcome the new residents to the village.

·       Westbury Area Network

The Area Board received the following verbal update from Ian Cooper on behalf of Westbury Area Network. The update covered the following matters:

·       Formed of 6 Trustees, the Westbury Area Network registered as a charity in June 2021 and had been fortunate to have received grant awards from a number of bodies including the Area Board.

·       The services operated by the Westbury Area Network was outlined including the following:

o   Foodbank

o   Community Fridge (On behalf of Westbury Town Council)

o   Abraham’s Kitchen (On behalf of Westbury Town Council)

o   Warm Parcels

·       An overview of the number of food parcels was provided, with a month-by-month breakdown starting within the lockdown period. It was noted that the work of volunteers had been significant, and the number of food parcels distributed had risen since 2020 by a 73% demand.

·       The role of the Community Fridge was discussed, with it noted that this was located at the Community Project, Eden Vale Road and that anyone was welcome with surplus food offered from organisations to reduce food waste. The fridge has approximately 400 users per month.

·       The impact of warm parcels was discussed, with it noted that many residents are having to choose between heating and eating. It was outlined that the Area Board had awarded a £500 grant for warm parcels in January 2023, and as of February 2024, 14/20 of these parcels had been distributed.

After the update, the Chairman thanked the Westbury Area Network for their work.