Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to Calne Area Board and introduced the Councillors and Officers present. This included a welcome to the new Service Director for Calne Area Board, Brad Fleet. He explained this was the first time the Area Board had used Beversbrook Sports Facility as a venue and he looked forward to using the facility again in the future.   

Apologies were received from Sergeant Phil Connor and Richard Broadhead (Hilmarton Parish Council).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 2011.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 2011 were approved and signed as a correct record.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will provide information about end of life care and digital inclusion. There was also a spotlight on the Area Board at the community hub and there was a trailer in Calne High Street regarding the Area Board on Friday 15 April from 10.00 am until 2.00 pm.

The Chairman drew attention to the written announcements included in the agenda pack. This included information on end of life care and digital inclusion.

The Chairman explained the community hub had highlighted the work of the Area Board and there had been a successful trailer in Calne High Street regarding the Area Board on Friday 15 April.

The Chairman had also received positive feedback on a presentation made by Steve Milton, Head of Community Governance, at the recent localism event held in Calne on 5 April 2011.

To receive an update from the partners listed below:

a.    Wiltshire Police

b.    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.    NHS Wiltshire – to include a pharmacy update from Northlands Surgery

d.    Calne Community Area Partnership – to include progress on the CAP (Community Area Plan) agreement and a presentation from Friends of Abberd Brook

e.    Calne CAYPIG (Community Area Young People’s Issues Group)

f.     Town and Parish Councils.

1. Inspector Steve Cox drew attention to the written update included in the agenda pack. He highlighted there was now a single Calne Neighbourhood Policing Team rather than separate rural and town teams. This would not involve a change in the number of staff.

2. The written update from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was noted. The Chairman thanked Mike Franklin for his ongoing support.

3. The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted.

Alison Ingham from Northlands Surgery provided a pharmacy update. A pharmacist had applied to NHS Wiltshire for a one hundred hour license at the existing surgery site. This would involve long opening hours and the pharmacy, run by two pharmacists, being open for seven days a week.    

4. The written update from Calne Community Area Partnership was noted. David Evans then requested the Area Board’s approval to core funding to Calne Community Area Partnership covering the financial year 2011/12.

Decision

The Area Board approved core funding of £8,466 to Calne Community Area Partnership covering the financial year 2011/12.

The second part of the update from the Partnership was a presentation by Frank Rumble from Friends of Abberd Brook. The presentation covered the following main points:

·         The location of Abberd Brook

·         Prince Charles Drive underpass, which had been identified as an area to improve

·         The 2011 major project to work with local schoolchildren to create mosaics on the walls of the underpass

·         Designs considered for the mosaics and the final design, to be started in the summer months.     

The Chairman thanked Frank and Friends of Abberd Brook for all their hard work.

5. Amy Hammond, a sixth former from John Bentley School, provided an update on the Community Area Young People’s Issues Group. The group had met and were planning a series of events, including camping, fundraising and a family day. Amy thanked Jane Vaughan, Community Area Manager, for her help with the youth group.

6. Shauna Bodman from Cherhill Parish Council thanked Simon Tomlinson and Alan Moore for a successful energy forum meeting. The group had agreed to try and install energy efficient panels in the village hall. Shauna also thanked the Area Board for its funding contribution, as the Tommy Croker playing field had now been completed.   

Collette Som will speak briefly about Fairtrade in the Calne Community Area.

Collette Som spoke briefly about Fairtrade in the Calne Community Area. Traidcraft were a group of volunteers who sell Fairtrade products and work to raise awareness.

Collette explained that her goals were five-fold:

• For the Area Board to pass the recommended resolution
• For a range of Fairtrade products to be readily available in the Community Area
• For products to be used by local work places and community groups
• To improve media coverage and popular support for Fairtrade
• To set up a steering group who were responsible for an annual assessment.

Resolution

That Calne Area Board supports Fairtrade in the Calne Community Area and will use Fairtrade products wherever possible for meetings and in offices and the Area Board elect Howard Marshall as the Area Board representative on the emerging Calne Community Area Fairtrade steering group.  

Councillors will provide an update on community issues and progress on Area Board working groups. This will include:

a.    Skate board park working group

b.    Cycle network working group – to include the Calne area transport group

c.    Highways working group

d.    Turn off the lights working group. 

Information will also be provided about Sandpit Road:

Development of Sandpit Road was approved on appeal. The provision of pedestrian crossings and other improvements at the development will be funded by secured developer contributions. Community views identified by the Area Board will determine priorities for the area.

It is proposed that the Area Board will include an agenda item on the next full Area Board agenda on 28 June 2011 to involve the community in a discussion about what these priorities should be.

Councillors provided an update on community issues and progress on Calne Area Board working groups.

a. Councillor Marshall explained plans for the skate board park had been made and costed and these would be considered at the next meeting of the working group. He expressed disappointment that the existing park had been damaged as a segment of concrete had been removed and there had been a fire at the site.

b. Councillor Berry reported a second community cycle event would be held on 18 June 2011. Anne Henshaw then gave a short presentation about the work of the Calne Area Transport group. A new map was being produced to encourage walking and cycling in and around the town. The condition of existing routes has been assessed by a team of volunteers and areas in need of work had been identified. Lack of dropped kerbs had been highlighted as a common problem. Anne Henshaw was pleased to be able to return an under spend of £417.80, awarded to the group for the project, to the Area Board budget. The Chairman noted how unusual this return of funding was and thanked the volunteers for all their hard work.   

c. Councillor Crisp provided an update about the highways working group. The group had met and considered road safety priorities and traffic issues in the Community Area. A pedestrian crossing on the A3102 at Hilmarton would be overly expensive. Having a refuge was being investigated and a topographical survey had been undertaken with results that should be available mid May. Officers had devised a signage scheme to improve traffic at Curzon Street/The Square. The scheme should be in place by the end of May 2011. New signage should be in place on the A4 at Studley Crossroads by the end of June 2011. The consultant Mouchel had been commissioned for a lighting scheme and work at this site would be carried out at no cost to the Area Board. A pedestrian count was to be undertaken on the A3102 at Goatacre by HAGGIS on behalf of the highways working group. At the Lake View site in Quemerford a vehicle count had been completed and a pedestrian count and analysis was due to be completed with results available by the end of April. A new project for the next year had also been identified in an overused shortcut with an accident history at Sandy Lane. 

d. Jane Vaughan, the Community Area Manager, gave an update on the turn out the lights project. The Area Board had put forward two sites to have their lights turned out. Several sites had since expressed interest in the project. With the help of the Parish Council, a survey had been sent to every household in Yatesbury, to collect views on turning off the lights from 12 pm until 5 am. The majority of surveys which had been returned were in favour of the project.

Resolution

Yatesbury would go ahead with the turn out the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

A presentation to inform the Area Boards of the results of the proposals for the Library Service, agreed by Cabinet, following the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement in October 2011.

John Salen, Project Manager, gave a presentation about the library service review. This included the following main points:

·         The library service review had been started in December 2009

·         A saving of 12% (£505,000) was required over the next two year period

·         The review involved all Area Boards, the web, focus groups, feedback from library staff and consideration of statutory requirements

·         The strategic vision for libraries – to include a strong online service offer, greater community involvement through use of volunteers and investment in self service terminals

·         The Wiltshire library offer from 1 September 2011 – the library service would keep all libraries open and all mobile libraries would continue to operate

·         The position in Calne – all mobile library stops would continue to operate, Calne library hours would be reduced from 45.5 to 40 hours per week and new self service terminals would be introduced to the library.

Mark Salen welcomed feedback on the proposals for future service planning through comment forms that were available on the Wiltshire Council website. If you would be interested in volunteering at the library, please contact Joan Davis, Head of Libraries, on 01225 718518 or joan.davis@wiltshire.gov.uk, or call into the Calne community hub.    

Information will be provided about consultation on plans for waste disposal sites over the next 15/20 years.    

Wiltshire Council was updating its policy framework to ensure that future proposals for waste development in Wiltshire were for the right types of facilities in the right locations. Consultation would commence in June 2011 for 8 weeks on a draft Waste Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) (starting 13 June 2011 and closing at 5 pm on 5 August 2011).

The consultation document allocates a range of sites for a variety of potential waste uses to provide a flexible and responsive framework that would enable waste to be driven up the waste hierarchy - i.e. reducing our dependence on landfill, with a greater focus on recycling and composting of waste. The majority of sites identified were on land currently in use by existing waste management facilities or current/proposed industrial areas.

Once the consultation period had closed, the draft Sites DPD, the supporting evidence base and all comments received during the consultation would be submitted to the Secretary of State (following Full Council approval) for independent examination.

This DPD forms the final key document in the policy framework for the provision of waste sites within Wiltshire and Swindon, which includes:

•           Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Core Strategy (adopted July 2009)

•           Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Development Control Policies Development Plan Document (adopted September 2009)

The draft Sites DPD would be available from the start of the consultation period. The Council encourages anyone wishing to view and comment on the consultation document to use the consultation website: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal.

Hard copies of the documents would also be available for inspection at Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council main offices as well as all libraries throughout the County and Borough. For further information, please contact the Minerals and Waste Policy Team at Wiltshire Council, on 01225 713429 or mineralsandwastepolicy@wiltshire.gov.uk.

A question was asked regarding recycling large items, such as bicycles, at the Hills site. This was separate at present due to a lack of space, however it was an aspiration for the future. Andy Conn, Head of Waste Management, would attend the Area Board meeting on 28 June and this would be an excellent opportunity to discuss the issue in more depth.

To consider one application made to the Community Area Grants Scheme, as follows:

Calne Archers – seeking £461.24 towards setting up an Archery club for all ages and abilities.

Consideration was given to the following application made to the Community Area Grants Scheme.

Decision

Calne Archers were awarded £461.24 towards setting up an Archery club for all ages and abilities.

Reason

The application meets the 2010/11 grant criteria and it provides activities and opportunities for young people.

The Murco company has been in conversation with Wiltshire Council officers and with Area Board councillors and the Calne Town Clerk about concerns over the safe delivery of fuel to their service station on the Oxford Road, Calne. In order to progress this matter in a way that is both safe and which avoids a loss of fuel for local people, it is proposed that the Area Board requests that a temporary, experimental and restricted permit is given to the company to enable them to leave Calne via Oxford Road/Wood Street/Curzon Street in contravention of the normal weight restriction on the highway at that point, approximately once a week between the hours of 5.30 am and 7.30 am, but not on weekends or public holidays.

This arrangement would be monitored and local residents would be contacted in order to assess the impact of this arrangement throughout the period of the temporary permit. The arrangement would last only until a permanent solution was identified.

The Murco company had been in conversation with Wiltshire Council officers and with Area Board councillors and the Calne Town Clerk about concerns over the safe delivery of fuel to their service station on the Oxford Road, Calne. In order to progress this matter in a way that is both safe and which avoids a loss of fuel for local people, it was proposed that the Area Board requests that a temporary, experimental and restricted permit is given to the company to enable them to leave Calne via Oxford Road/Wood Street/Curzon Street in contravention of the normal weight restriction on the highway at that point, approximately once a week between the hours of 5.30 am and 7.30 am, but not on weekends or public holidays.

This arrangement would be monitored and local residents would be contacted in order to assess the impact of this arrangement throughout the period of the temporary permit. The arrangement would last only until a permanent solution was identified.

Decision

The Area Board would arrange that a temporary, experimental and restricted permit was given to Murco to enable them to leave Calne via Oxford Road/Wood Street/Curzon Street, approximately once a week between the hours of 5.30 am and 7.30 am, but not on weekends or public holidays.

The Chairman will set out arrangements for the next meeting.

The Chairman explained that the next meeting would be an Extraordinary Area Board meeting with a single item agenda, regarding proposals for a community campus. This meeting would be held at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 3 May at Calne Town Hall, with refreshments available from 6.30 pm. The next full Area Board meeting would be held at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 28 June at Calne Town Hall, with refreshments available from 6.30 pm.   

The Chairman asked those present to evaluate the meeting using the electronic voting handsets that were available. The evaluation exercise showed that the meeting overall was very good.