Agenda item

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

 

a.    Wiltshire Police – including an update on CCTV

b.    Town and Parish Councils

 

 

Written Updates

The Board is asked to note the following written and online updates attached to the agenda:

 

c.     Wiltshire Police

d.    Community First

e.    Healthwatch Wiltshire

f.      BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Together – Integrated Care Board

g.    Age UK

h.    Hilmarton Parish Council

i.      Calne Town Council

-       Pig Parade

-       Joseph Priestley 250^th anniversary of discovering oxygen

 

Written updates were available in the agenda pack from the following partners:

 

·       Wiltshire Police, pg. 43 - 51

·       Community First, pg. 53 - 60

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire, pg. 61

·       BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Together – Integrated Care Board, pg. 63 - 64

·       Age UK, pg. 65 – 77

·       Hilmarton Parish Council, pg. 79

·       Calne Town Council, pg. 81 - 83

 

Ø  Pig Parade pg. 85

Ø  Joseph Priestley’s discovery of oxygen, pg. 87

 

 

The following partners also provided verbal updates:

 

Wiltshire Police

 

 

Inspector Pete Foster gave an update on behalf of Calne Neighbourhood Police Team. Key points included:

 

·       Members of the neighbourhood team supplemented Wiltshire Road Policing Unit in carrying out speed enforcement activity and had been trained how to use speed guns.

·       There had been no personnel changes to the team since the last Area Board meeting.

·       The team had carried out 274 engagement events in the past three months, including attending Calne Pride and a Facebook Live event.

·       Chief Constable Catherine Roper, Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson and Police Community Support Officer Mark Cook had visited the youth club in Calne with the Open Blue Bus and Rise Trust. Chief Constable Roper had been very complementary about the work undertaken as part of the Blue Bus project.

·       There had been two recent arrests in Calne for drug supply offences. Four children had become unwell after taking drugs. 

·       Police cadets had been assisting in proactive operations to purchase vapes and knives. Unfortunately, a number of premises were found to have agreed to sell knives to under-18s and training had been put in place.

·       Training had also been provided to hoteliers as part of the Hotel Watch scheme.

·       Crime figures in the community area were generally lower than during the same period last year. There had been a slight increase in the number of anti-social behaviour incidents linked to a specific individual, who had been arrested a number of times.

·       There had been an increase in car thefts using a keyless system, due to the key signal being copied. It was possible to prevent the signal being copied by purchasing a Faraday Pouch.

·       The CCTV van funded by Calne, Chippenham and Corsham Area Boards in 2014 was due to have its CCTV equipment replaced using funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office. The new equipment was due to be installed in around a month’s time. Once updated, the van would be available for use in the three Area Boards that helped to fund the van and it would also be deployed to support large events, such as football matches, in other areas.

 

 

During the discussion, the following points were made:

 

·       The Area Board thanked Inspector Foster for his update.

·       When asked about how coming out of special measures was impacting Wiltshire Police day-to-day, Inspector Foster explained that His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services now had greater confidence in the service being provided. Wiltshire Police were in a ‘scan phase’ with the Chief Constable attending a quarterly scrutiny panel.

·       It was the Chief Constable’s ambition to make Wiltshire Police an outstanding force and getting out of special measures was only the first stage of the recovery.

·       The current crime recording system was introduced two years ago and definitions of burglary had changed to distinguish between their location in the home or in outbuildings. Earlier figures would be unrepresentative of general trends as they were impacted by Covid-19. 

 

 

Calne Town Council

 

Alan Hill from Calne Town Council provided the following updates:

 

·       The town council had been working with officers from Wiltshire Council to help to open up access along the footpath from Cherhill View estates to Kingsbury Green Academy.

·       There had been a delay to the proposed Lidl development in the town.

·       Part of the river Marden, near to Marden House and the old library, that was the responsibility of Wiltshire Council, was in very poor condition.

·       A Grade II* listed building on Curzon Street was in need of attention.

·       There were issues with bin collection at the nearby underpass.

·       There had been a fire at the Hill’s facility in Lower Compton.

 

 

 

The Vice-Chairman reported that discussions were being held with Wiltshire Council’s Waste Management Team and housing associations about the bins. He also observed that efforts had been made to get funding for the improvement of the area around the river Marden. He noted that Cllr Robert MacNaughton had, along with other volunteers, helped to pull buddleia plants from the riverbank.

 

The Chairman noted that the fire at Lower Compton had been caused by a battery and that education about fire prevention had been provided by Wiltshire Council. Cllr Ashley O’Neill reported that he had held conversations with officers about the fire on Monday and that Hills mitigated against the risk of fire by separating different types of waste.

 

Celia Stevens from Calne Town Council reported that they had been working with the Grant Application and Planting Support Team at Wiltshire Council to plant trees on green space, owned by either council, in the town.

 

 

Bremhill Parish Council

 

Isabel McCord, Chairman of Bremhill Parish Council, provided an update, including:

 

·       They had held their annual parish council meeting on 14 May where issues such as speeding, the condition of verges, passing places and the difficulty of getting young volunteers for community groups, were discussed.

·       They had been working with other parishes led by Calne Without Parish Council to ensure the smooth transfer of responsibilities when the changes made under the Corporate Governance review were implemented in 2025.

·       It was important that damage caused by the additional traffic diverted to avoid Lyneham Banks was repaired and that steps were taken to ensure that Bremhill was not used as a rat run.

·       They had a vacancy in their East Tytherton Ward following the resignation of Jessica Pillow.

 

 

Calne Without Parish Council

 

Doug Price, Vice-Chairman of Calne Without Parish Council, provided an update. Points included:

 

·       The parish council were continuing to push for road improvement projects through Studley and were also working on a defibrillator project.

·       The parish council had helped to distribute sandbags following flooding in the area and were working on a revised flood plan.

·       Their draft neighbourhood plan had been passed to Wiltshire Council for reg 15 approval. 

·       They were working to distribute assets to their successor councils to implement the changes in the Community Governance Review from 2025.

·       The right of way issue that they had raised at the previous Area Board was due to be looked at, and a consultation on the proposals was due to close on Thursday.

 

 

Cherhill and Yatesbury Parish Council

 

Andrew Sadler-Smith from Cherhill and Yatesbury Parish Council provided the following update:

 

·       Thanks were given to volunteers that had helped to re-chalk the Cherhill White Horse.

·       A chief architect had been appointed by the National Trust to oversee the restoration of the Lansdowne Monument. Initial tests to assess the condition of the monument had been carried out in April and further tests would be undertaken over the winter. It was planned to start work in 2025 and it would be carried out by the same steeplejacks that had refurbished Salisbury Cathedral. Funding for the project would be provided by the National Trust.

·       Glenis Ansell from Calne Town Council had been campaigning hard to help drive forward the restoration of the Lansdowne Monument.

·       There had been a delay to refurbishing the Lansdowne Monument as attention had been focussed on repairing the Wellington Monument.

 

 

Older Person’s Champion

 

Diane Gooch, the Area Board’s Older Person’s Champion, made the following points:

 

·       The reconnecting group that met every Tuesday had at least 50 members and was oversubscribed. Members of the reconnecting group particularly enjoyed visits from Wiltshire councillors and found that it was a good forum to hear about policy changes.

·       Wiltshire Council adjusted the waiting time at the traffic lights near Calne Hub and Library to allow people with impaired mobility more time to cross the road. 

·       Chief Constable Roper would be visiting Calne Reconnecting Group on 1 October.

·       A 73-year-old resident had tripped over paving in the Heritage Quarter Car Park on 10 June, at 3:30pm, and had had to wait until 10:30pm for an ambulance. Unsafe Paving was an issue on paths in the town.

·       She was in the process of organising the 2024 Wellness Day. 

 

 

The Area Board passed on its best wishes to the resident that has tripped over. Cllr Tom Rounds noted that he had raised the issue of traffic light waiting times with officers at Wiltshire Council. The red traffic light continued for an additional 10-15 seconds after the green pedestrian crossing light went out to allow for a safe crossing time.

 

Calne Fairtrade Fortnight

 

Stan Woods from Fairtrade Calne gave an update about their plans to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the fairtrade mark in the United Kingdom. He reported that Patrick Kaberia, a tea producer from Michimikuru in Kenya, would be visiting Calne in September 2024. Over £5,000 of funding had been raised to allow Mr Kaberia to visit and letters of support had been sent from local councillors for support of his visa application. Mr Kaberia, a charismatic speaker about fairtrade and climate change, would be speaking at an event in Calne Town Hall on 9 September. Further information was available at calnefairtrade.org.uk.

 

 

Spurgeons Children’s Charity

 

Lilly, the charity’s organiser for North Wiltshire highlighted that they had a contract to run family hubs across Wiltshire and that they wanted to be visible in the community. She explained that they aimed to be in Calne every week to signpost young people to events and offer outreach support. As part of their community outreach, they were in discussions with the manager of Calne Hub and Library to run parenting courses from the building.

 

In response to a query from the Vice-Chairman about the difference between the service offered by Spurgeons and the children’s centre at Priestley Primary School, the charity organiser explained that that centre was run by the RISE Trust. Through family hubs, Spurgeons provided parental and family support for children up to 19, or up to 25 with special educational needs. They would run stalls at events to promote their services and work with schools. When asked by Cllr MacNaughton about whether they received referrals from Northlands Surgery and Beversbrook Medical Centre, the charity organiser noted that they did receive referrals from other organisations at a lower level.