Agenda item

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

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Warminster Health and Wellbeing Forum

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

·       Warminster Community Police Task Group (CPTG)

·       Warminster Garrison

Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives are encouraged to attend the meeting and provide an update on issues and successes arising in their respective areas.

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:

·       A new policing model had been introduced in January with the response team based in Warminster now moved to Trowbridge with there now being no response from Warminster station.

·       An overview of the team was provided, with it noted that there were two officers for each area and that it was tricky to deal with demand because of this.

·       The team was hit hard last year with management changes, however Inspector Oakley planned to stay in Warminster to provide a consistent approach and to build the team.

·       Detail was provided within the report about Community Commitments, which was launched by the Chief Constable in January 2024.

·       A list of public engagement activities and resources was provided as well as data for Police visits made in the Warminster and Westbury area, with it noted that since January there had been a 26% increase in community engagement.

·       The local priorities for Warminster were included within the report attached to the agenda, these specifically were as follows:

o   Anti-social behaviour

o   Burglaries

o   Shoplifting

o   Vulnerable people

·       Reference was drawn to the road safety update which had been included in the agenda, which included an overview of the Community Road Safety Team as well as data produced in the Warminster Area from July 2020 to February 2024.

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

·       Clarity was provided that the local priorities set for Warminster were identified by Inspector Oakley and that the operational priorities set by the Chief Constable were worked towards as part of these.

·       Further clarity was provided on the JSNA data, which had suggested that Warminster had high knife and hate crime. Inspector Oakley noted that knife crime had been minimal with the incident that did take place occurring through a stop and search. Regarding hate crime there had only been two reports since Inspector Oakley had returned to post. It was agreed that discussions would take place to investigate what had happened with the JSNA data.

·       Regarding the Community Police Task Group, it was clarified that Warminster was the only Area Board with such a group and that it might be a better use of time not to have such a meeting to get officers back onto the streets.

·       It was questioned why the Community Speed Watch numbers were so high for the Upper Deverills, to which it was clarified that that this area records the highest number of checks compared to other areas, which therefore shows in the data. This area has also always had the highest amount of speeding.

·       A detailed overview of the staffing was provided by Inspector Oakley, with it noted that there were no more funded posts for the team.

·       It was noted that the rural area was covered by one PCSO who worked between 8-10 hours a day for four days a week.

·       Gratitude was placed to Inspector Oakley for recent Police presence in the villages with the example of the support which had been given to Speed Watch in Chapmanslade.

·       Warminster Health and Wellbeing Forum

The Area Board noted the written update attached to the agenda supplement. The Area Board received the following verbal update from David Reeves, which noted that there was set to be a Valuing Volunteering Fair on 1 June 2024, with the Forum looking for volunteer organisations to sign up.

·       Town and Parish Council Nominated Representative

The Area Board received a written update from Cllr Sue Fraser on behalf of Warminster Town Council which would be attached to the minutes for reference.

The Area Board received the following verbal update from Cllr Neil Carpenter on behalf of Corsley Parish Council. The update covered the following matters:

·       A recent Parish Council meeting had taken place where a team from Wiltshire Housing (Homes 4 Wiltshire) delivered a talk on the housing plans for Corsley. There had been concern about the level in which rents would be set as well as the calculations for shared housing. It was voiced that they were acting as a housing developer rather than delivering affordable housing.

·       Concern had also been raised due to the level of charges from Selwood Housing for sewage collection, which had increased.

·       A positive note to report was that the new Tree team at Wiltshire Council had done a very good job and the new warden was working as hard as possible to ensure as many trees as possible could be planted in the area.

·       Warminster Community Police Task Group (CPTG)

The Area Board received the following verbal update from Cllr Pip Ridout, which covered that a discussion would take place with Inspector Oakley about what direction the police group would take in the future, with reference to joining up with the Community Safety Partnership, which were attended by the Police and Fire services.

·       Warminster Garrison

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

Cllr Ridout noted that though the Fire service were no longer attending Area Boards, any questions could be submitted to her as she was on the Board.