Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will explain the purpose of the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Extraordinary meeting for Calne Area Board. He explained the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the development of community campus facilities and introduced the Councillors and Officers present.  

Apologies were received from Councillor Christine Crisp, Councillor Tony Trotman and David Evans.  

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

There were no declarations of interest.

Lucy Murray Brown, Campus and Operational Estate Management Lead, will give a presentation about the development of a community campus proposal for Calne Community Area.

Lucy Murray Brown, Campus and Operational Estate Management Lead, delivered a presentation about the development of a community campus proposal for Calne Community Area.

The presentation included the following:

·         Background to the proposal – a campus is a building, or buildings, in a Community Area that will provide the services the local community needs in an accessible location

·         Developing a campus proposal for Calne and an indicative sequence of events

·         Preliminary management project – testing the principles of community led management of local services

·         The role of the Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB) and representation on the Board.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers regarding the above presentation.

There was the opportunity to ask questions regarding the presentation received. Questions raised covered the following main issues:

·         SCOB would be able to recommend a single consolidated site if they felt this option was best for the Community Area

·         If the community would prefer to improve existing facilities rather than develop a campus, local Councillors would have to put forward an appropriate recommendation and business plan to Cabinet who would be responsible for the decision

·         The term ‘campus’ was considered to be misleading

·         The proposal was a genuine move to collect the views of local people about how Wiltshire Council services should be delivered

·         It was commented from the floor this was an opportunity for Wiltshire Council to sell property and buy new. A list of existing property and land owned by Wiltshire Council should be taken into account in the process

·         Bank House was identified as an existing good facility in Calne

·         Existing groups in the Community Area, such as the Partnership, should not be overlooked

·         There were financial benefits to the co-location of services

·         Concern was raised over the relevance of the proposal in these difficult economic times

·         The level of involvement from young people was questioned. There was a place on SCOB for a representative of young people.

·         Community led management could put a burden on those people with the skills and time available to help

·         Historic buildings were important to the town.   

There will be a short break in the meeting.

There was a short break in the meeting.

There will be the opportunity for the meeting to break into smaller groups and discuss issues related to the proposed campus project.

There was the opportunity for the meeting to break into smaller groups and discuss issues related to the proposed campus project. Each smaller group was given three questions to consider as a starting point for discussion:

1.    Is a community campus relevant for people in the Calne Community Area?

2.    How can we make sure that everyone in the Community Area knows about and feels included in the development of a community campus?

3.    What things would local people want included in a community campus?  

Groups will provide feedback to the meeting regarding their discussions. There will also be the chance to ask any remaining questions.  

The smaller groups provided feedback to the meeting regarding their discussions.

In relation to the relevance of a community campus, it was commented the proposal should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat. Reservations were expressed about how the proposal would pan out in practice. The need to involve the community and young people in particular in the project from the earliest stage of planning and design was highlighted.

Many ideas to make sure that as many people as possible know about and feel included in the development of a community campus were recognised. The community hub was seen as an excellent vehicle for communication with local people. Other suggestions made at the meeting were use of posters, flyers, websites, newsletters, twitter, Facebook and working with the Community Area Partnership. It was important to consider people who come into the town to use the facilities as well as the people living in the town.

A great range of things were wanted if a community campus was to go ahead. A recycling centre, post office, social venue, leisure centre, stadium for sports, transport hub, meeting room, job centre, crèche, further education facility, tourist centre, point of contact for Wiltshire Council and Town and Parish Councils and space for a library service, Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and health services were among the things put forward. The idea of a purpose built central main building with outlying facilities with good transport links was proposed. 

The Chairman asked for a show of hands for those keen to take the proposal forward. A large majority of the room were in favour of doing so.

Resolution

Calne Area Board welcomes the opportunity to be part of the Wiltshire Council pilot campus project and accepts the task on behalf of the Calne Community Area.

Resolution

In order to progress the project, Calne Area Board will establish a Shadow Community Operations Board. The Board will operate in accordance with the Terms of Reference. Responsibility for acceptance of the Terms of Reference is delegated to Mark Stone, Interim Programme Director, in consultation with the Area Board.

Resolution

Councillor Hill was nominated to sit on the Shadow Community Operations Board.                

Lucy Murray Brown will explain how the development of a community campus proposal will be taken forward. The Chairman will then set out arrangements for the next meeting.

The Chairman drew peoples’ attention to the expressions of interest forms on the tables around the room and urged anyone who wished be considered for a place on the Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB) to complete one. If people wished to take forms away with them to complete later, or for other people who might be interested, they could be returned to the Community Hub where blank forms would also be available.

Lucy Murray-Brown explained that expression of interest forms for the SCOB would be collected and passed to Area Board Councillors for their decision. Two weeks would be allowed for people to submit forms, the deadline therefore being the end of 17 May 2011. The make-up of SCOB would be notified to applicants as soon as possible and confirmed at the next Area Board meeting. The first step for the project was likely to be consultation with the community.  

The Chairman asked for those present to evaluate the meeting using the electronic voting handsets that were available. The meeting overall was deemed to be good.

The next Area Board meeting would be held at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 28 June at Calne Town Hall, with Fairtrade refreshments available from 6.30 pm.