Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Brian Dalton.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2024 (as attached).

The minutes of the last meeting were presented.

It was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2024 as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

In relation to Item 11, Area Board Funding – Cllr Paul Sample JP declared an Other Registerable Interest (ORI) in relation to the Youth Grant application from Wiltshire Creative as his daughter worked for them. Therefore, Cllr Sample would not vote on that application.

The Chairman will give an update on outcomes and actions arising from previous meetings of the Area Board.

The Chairman gave the following updates:

Agenda Order

The Chairman noted that he would be amending the agenda order slightly, so that the City Hall update is be taken earlier in the agenda, at item 6 (at 6.15pm).

Salisbury Transportation Strategy

At the last meeting the Board moved a motion under the LHFIG Item:

“This Area Board writes to the Cabinet Member for Highways, Street Scene & Flooding and the Director of Highways requesting a report with answers to the Area Board Bid for Funding for Local Schemes from the Salisbury Transportation Strategy held funds and present the report and answers to the requests to the next Area Board meeting”

The Chairman stated that unfortunately, no response had been received to that request, which had caused frustration. The Board discussed next steps and the possibility of submitting a motion to Full Council. Cllr Ricky Rogers stated that he could draw something up and they would discuss this further outside of the meeting.

Cllr Sven Hocking stated that he had been talking to the Cabinet Member for Highways and the Cabinet Member for Transport and was leaning quite heavily on them for answers. Cllr Hocking would feedback to the board.

A303 Stonehenge tunnel

In July 2024 the government cancelled the A303 Stonehenge tunnel project due to the unavailability of the funding required to deliver the scheme. This decision was extremely disappointing given the many years of working with our partners and key stakeholders to make the case for A303 improvements, and to have reached the point where the main construction work was almost ready to begin following the successful delivery of an extensive piece of advance works along the A360 route north of Salisbury.

The Chancellor’s statement did not recognise the huge investment and amount of work that has already taken place to deliver this much-needed scheme to ease traffic congestion and provide opportunity for significant economic growth along the A303 corridor and within the region.

The cancellation also meant that local road network improvements, which were part of the wider project, would now not be delivered.

The project was now being closed down by National Highways. Once the details of this and the implications for the council were known, there would be a paper taken to Cabinet for consideration later in the year.

Wiltshire Council would be considering the next steps to take, both in terms of continuing to press for improvements to the A303 corridor and for local communities, and the potential for alternative solutions to mitigate the impacts of the cancellation of the A303 Stonehenge scheme.

Cllr McClelland queried where the update had come from and the Chairman clarified that it had come from Wiltshire Council Communications at the request of the Cabinet Member for Transport and Assets for her Area Board, and Communications had requested that it go to other relevant Area Board’s such as Salisbury and Stonehenge.

The Board is asked to note the following Information items:

·       Community First

·       Update from BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal

·       Wiltshire Council Information Items:

o   FACT Family Help Project

o   FACT Transitional Safeguarding Project

o   Wiltshire Youth Council

o   Gypsies & Travellers Development Plan Consultation

o   Cost of Living

The Board noted the Information Items as set out in the agenda pack, these were:

·       Community First

·       Update from BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal

·       Wiltshire Council Information Items:

o   FACT Family Help Project

o   FACT Transitional Safeguarding Project

o   Wiltshire Youth Council

o   Gypsies & Travellers Development Plan Consultation

o   Cost of Living

An update from David Redfern, Director Leisure, Culture & Communities.

To include the response to a question submitted by Cllr Paul Sample (attached).

Note: This item was taken earlier in the agenda than planned, as announced by the Chairman under his updates. 

At the Chairman’s invitation, David Redfern, Director – Leisure, Culture & Communities, gave an update to the meeting regarding ongoing developments relating to the City Hall.

It was that progress was being achieved and that regular updates were issued via the council’s communication channels. Savills had been marketing the venue since mid-June 2024 and that process would conclude in September 2024. An article had been also been published in Arts Professional to ensure that the opportunity had been widely circulated. Savills had confirmed that there had been interest from multiple parties in operating the building on a long lease. At the end of September, Savills would ask interested parties to confirm views on the lease and scheduling. Savills would then make recommendations to the council based on the submissions, and officers would then follow the necessary decision making processes to take things forward.

It was stated that given the commercial nature of the discussions until such time as any formal contract was agreed, those discussions would be required to remain confidential, but that the Board would continue to receive updates as soon as possible and practicable.

The Board then discussed the update, raising various questions and comments.

Cllr Paul Sample JP had submitted a question ahead of the meeting which was published with the agenda. A written response had been prepared and this would be attached to these minutes.

Cllr Ricky Rogers stated that he and his wife used to regularly attend events at City Hall. They now had to go to the Weymouth Pavilion which was costing him a small fortune, and he would rather that he was able to attend events locally and spend that money locally. A representative from Wiltshire Creative who was in the audience suggested that he may wish to look at the Salisbury Playhouse Programme so that he could attend events there.

Chris Bradley of the group Friends of City Hall requested that a reasonable timeline be provided. Whilst the update was slightly positive, he had concerns there was not yet sufficient progress.

Mr Redfern acknowledged the concern, and highlighted the three person team working on the matter, additional service matters within his wider directorate that also required focus, and that as City Hall was a commercially sensitive situation he was limited in the information that could be divulged at this time.

Cllr Caroline Corbin queried how a contractor could be expected to take up the opportunity if there was no timeline to adhere to, and also highlighted that it took a long time to get a programme of events up and running. Cllr Corbin felt that officers needed to provide a timeline so that contractors could meet it. Mr Redfern stated once an operator was chosen they would develop a timeline which could be met.

There was also discussion of the length of time the building had been empty and if Wiltshire Council could provide  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

·       Underpasses working group update – Cllr Hocking

·       Environment Action Group –Cllr Hocking

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minute slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Chairman

Written Updates

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

·       Environment Acton Group Notes from June (September meeting notes available after the AB meeting)

·       Neighbourhood Policing Team & Road Safety

·       Salisbury BID – website link

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda and received the following verbal updates:

·       Underpasses Working Group - Cllr Sven Hocking

The group had met earlier in the week. Their mission had been to produce a document detailing who was responsible for what, what works needed doing and who was going to fund it. Progress has been made towards the first two objectives. Examples of the type of works required were extra lighting; grounds maintenance; signage (with phone numbers to report any issues) and walkway improvements. A report commissioned from Atkins had stated that the works would cost £250,000. However National Highways stated that it would cost £1.8 million. Hopefully there would be something tangible to report at the next meeting. 

·       Environment Action Group - Cllr Sven Hocking

The notes from the June meeting of the group were in the agenda pack. The group had also met the day before the Area Board and a report on that could come to the next Area Board in November. There was a new Air Quality officer called Bret Warren.

An update from the Chief Constable Catherine Roper, followed by an opportunity for public questions.

At the Chairman’s invitation, Chief Constable Catherine Roper introduced herself to the meeting.

The Chief Constable stated that in 2022 Wiltshire Police had been put into ‘engage’ which was similar to special measures as it had not been performing well enough. The Chief Constable had joined in March 2023 and had really focused on what was said in the report. In May 2024 Wiltshire Police came out of the engage status as they had improved, however there was still improvements to be made.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) undertook the independent assessments. Back in 2022 the force had 8 questions from the HMICFRS and had received poor grading. There had been another assessment in August 2024 where they had 9 questions to be graded on. They had improved in 6 of the areas and remained static on 2. A summary of the report and findings could be seen on the Wiltshire Police website: https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/news/wiltshire/news/2024/august-2024/Wiltshire-Police-improvements-recognised-in-latest-PEEL-inspection-report/. The force would respond to the recommendations, such as improving 999 and 101 call handling. It was noted that the dataset for the report was gathered in March, so was already out of date, with some improvements made since then. The Chief Constable wanted to ensure that Wiltshire Police was providing a consistently excellent service.

The Chief Constable then invited questions from those in attendance.

Cllr Ricky Rogers queried how often the reports by the HMICFRS were done and whether there was a better system to work with the Police to ensure that they were getting things right.

The Chief Constable responded that was a continuous programme of assessment and self-audit. It would be a bit overwhelming if there was a large inspection more than every 2 years, so the Chief Constable liked the way it was done and thought it was a good system.

Cllr Caroline Corbin asked if the force were tested on section 136 of the mental health act (section 136 gives police emergency powers. Police can use these powers if they think someone has a mental disorder, is in a public place and needs immediate help. Section 136 says police must think the person needs immediate 'care or control').

The Chief Constable stated that if someone was in mental crisis and needed support, calling 999 was not always the best response. The force was being assessed on their response to these types of calls and were trying to improve things. There was strategic oversight with the right agencies involved, they wanted vulnerable people to get the right care and to get the correct public service to respond at the right time.

Furthermore, the Chief Constable stated that the police were working really hard on engagement, they were the second smallest force in terms of numbers and covered a large geographical area. So, the force was trying to improve visibility, increase social media presence and were also working with some youth organisations. Wiltshire police had launched a Girlguiding challenge badge, and a Scouting version would be launched  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

An update on recent works and repairs around the city and any other planned works.

Presenter: Susan Day - Stakeholder and Community Manager

At the invitation of the Chairman Susan Day, Stakeholder and Engagement Manager and 2 of her colleagues from SGN provided an update on recent and future gas works around Salisbury. They presented a slideshow which is appended to these minutes.

In addition, it was noted that damage to gas mains was usually caused by third parties.

SGN received a lot of criticism for blocking off sections of road when there was no one working there. It was explained that when there was a gas escape the area would be shut off for works, but then another leak might occur which was more serious, so they had to go and work elsewhere. It was unplanned activities which caused the issues locally, but they did have to undertake repairs to keep the network safe.

It was noted that the future planned work starting on 23 September 2024 was not on The Avenue as stated in the slides, it was Wilton Road. They did try to minimise disruption.

Apologies were given that communications had not always been as good as one would hope. SGN would work to improve this.

In response to a question from Cllr Charles McGrath on the works in Wilton Road and Devizes Road, why all the issues seemed to be occurring at once and at what point they decided that it was necessary to replace the gas mains. SGN stated that in those areas most of the pipes were cast iron and had been put in at a similar time, and therefore expired at a similar time. There was a replacement plan in place, however this had to be undertaken on a risk basis. They analysed the different types of failures to give a risk score to determine what work was required.

Cllr Ricky Rogers stated that he was a builder and had accidentally damaged a gas main recently, and SGN responded within 30 minutes.

Cllrs highlighted that the public got frustrated and anxious when there was traffic lights set up and no one working there.

SGN stated that they used contractors to undertake traffic management for them, for example setting up and taking down temporary traffic lights. There had been some mistakes made with communications to the contractors and SGN had learned from those. A new contractor was being employed to undertake traffic management and SGN would be working more closely with them. It was also highlighted that they needed to follow timelines, for example, tarmac needed time to set, so lights may be up and no one working there as they were waiting for the tarmac to set.

In response to a question as to who the traffic management contractor was and whether their contact details could begiven so that Cllrs could contact them directly to report issues such as lights being in place and no one working there, it was stated that those issues did have to be reported via SGN. Cllrs could let Susan Day of SGN know of any issues.

An update on the Area Board priority areas for 2024/25.

Cllr Sam Charleston, seconded by Cllr Ricky Rogers, proposed the Area Board priorities and lead Cllrs and it was,

Resolved:

To agree the following Area Board priorities and lead Cllrs for 2024/25:

·       Youth engagement, employment and positive activity opportunities – Cllr Ricky Rogers

·       Addressing climate change – Cllr Sven Hocking

·       Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing – Cllr Caroline Corbin

·       Supporting under-represented groups – Cllr Caroline Corbin

·       Improving transport and access – Cllr Sven Hocking

Karlene Jammeh, Engagement and Partnership Lead, then gave some further details on actions against the priorities, as follows.

Youth engagement, employment and positive activity opportunities:

·       Continue to support the Salisbury Youth Forum of partners and to set up and develop a Safe Spaces network – “The YOU Network”.

·       Develop the AB youth grants panel in partnership with St Joseph’s School.

·       Practical support of 2 initiatives in 2024/25 for young people’s mental wellbeing.

·       Practical support that facilitates access to career development.

Addressing climate change:

·       Design, deliver, lead a Flood Preparedness event in the Guild Hall – Nov 2024.

·       Support the City Council and partners to strengthen Salisbury’s Flood Plan.

·       Achieve up to date position regarding air pollution.

·       Monitor outputs of Transportation Strategy and LCWIP in achieving modal shift, joining with community initiatives to support this.

Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing:

·       Support engagement activities and initiatives with Safer and Supportive Salisbury.

·       Continue to support the Salisbury Area Board’s Carer’s Champion and Older People’s Champion in promotion of the Silver Salisbury Programme.

·       To support dementia support groups and activities.

·       Improve access to healthcare – Develop new digital support sessions for people needing help to book appointments and renew prescriptions online.

Supporting under-represented groups:

·       Lead the 'Foodie' network of local partners.

·       Support all cultural-based community groups/projects to develop opportunities for support.

·       Support the community conversations project in Bemerton Heath.

·       Design, deliver and lead a disability themed engagement event.

Improving transport and access:

·       Co-ordinate the Underpasses Working Group to support improvements, including community artwork initiatives.

In addition, thanks were given to the Salisbury Area Board’s Carer’s Champion Helen Dowse and Older People’s Champion Irene Kohler, and many other individuals and community groups for all their hard work.

Furthermore, Cllr Ricky Rogers highlighted that with the help of John Glen MP, an accreditation programme for young volunteers at football matches had started and they presented the first awards a week ago.

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

Remaining Budgets:

Area Board Initiatives:

Community Area Grants:

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

Young People Grants:

Delegated Funding

No delegating funding has been awarded since the last meeting.

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

The Board noted the budgets remaining for allocation at the meeting in particular noted that there was not enough budget remaining to award all grants in full.

Community Area Grants:

·       God Unlimited (GUL) requested £5,000 towards a GUL Riverside classroom.

James Dwyer of GUL spoke in support of the project. The representative explained that GUL had been operating for nearly 24 years and was requesting the grant to replace a classroom. He was aware that the budget was oversubscribed and was happy to be accommodating however it was quite a time critical project. They mainly supported vulnerable and neuro diverse 8 – 14 year olds.

Cllrs discussed the grant and comments included that the applicant had applied to 3 Area Boards for the maximum of £5,000. There was a suggestion of possibly deferring the grant to the November Area Board and for it come back as a Youth Grant having go through the Youth panel. Some Cllrs highlighted that there were several applications for the maximum of £5,000 which they were not so keen on, as it seemed as though applicants were applying for the maximum that they could rather than knowing specifically the amount required and applying for that.

The applicant highlighted that the total cost of the project was £30,000, hence applying for the maximum of £5,000. There was match funding in place as well.

Cllr Sven Hocking proposed to award £2,000 of the £5,000 requested, this was seconded by Cllr Ricky Rogers.

It was clarified that if this was approved, GUL would not be able to go to the Youth Panel for funding the same project in this financial year.

Decision:

God Unlimited (GUL) was awarded £2,000 towards a GUL Riverside classroom.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

·       Community Transport South Wilts requested £5,000 towards a minibus replacement.

Elizabeth Piner of Community Transport South Wilts spoke in support of the application. The aims and objectives were to provide door to door affordable transport for people struggling to get out.

Cllrs were supportive as they wanted to maximise people’s opportunity to get out and about.

Cllr Caroline Corbin proposed to award the full amount of £5,000, this was seconded by Cllr Mark McClelland.

Decision:

Community Transport South Wilts were awarded £5,000 towards a minibus replacement.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25.

·       Broken Bridges Nature Reserve requested £5,000 towards the purchase of land.

Anne Trevett of Broken Bridges Nature Reserve spoke in support of the application and explained the project.

Cllrs discussed the grant and comments included that Broken Bridges was a lovely path, which many had walked on. Many of the users would be from Salisbury, despite the fact that it was located in the South West Wiltshire Community Area. It was also a small percentage of the total funds required. Others were not sure that Community Area Grant Funding should be used for land acquisition. 

Cllr Ricky Rogers proposed to award £3,000 of the £5,000 requested, this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 4 September 2024, as set out in the attached report.

Recommendations:

Items requiring a funding decision are:

• 4d – Wyndham Road Unsuitable for HGV Signs – £260
• 4j – Harnham 20mph Speed Limit Assessment - £3,100
• 4l – Antelope Square Street Lighting Improvements – £6,400

Further information on the LHFIG process can be found here.

The Board considered the report and funding recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 4 September 2024. On the proposal of Cllr Caroline Corbin, seconded by Cllr Paul Sample it was,

Resolved:

To approve the LHFIG funding recommendations to the following schemes:

·       4d – Wyndham Road Unsuitable for HGV Signs – £260

·       4j – Harnham 20mph Speed Limit Assessment - £3,100

·       4l – Antelope Square Street Lighting Improvements – £6,400