Agenda and minutes
PDF 145 KBVenue: Hilmarton Community Centre, Poynder Way, Hilmarton SN11 8SQ
Contact: Alexa Smith (Democratic Services Officer) Tel: 01249 706610/ Email: alexa.smith@wiltshire.gov.uk
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6.30 pm |
Chairman's Welcome and Introductions The Chairman will welcome everyone to the meeting. Minutes: The Chairman welcomed everyone to Calne Area Board and introduced the councillors and officers present. The Chairman welcomed Councillor Jane Scott OBE, Leader of Wiltshire Council. |
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies were received from Laurie Bell (Director of Communications), Geoff Dickerson (Heddington Parish Council), Councillor Alan Hill and Will Kay (Youth Development Coordinator). |
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Minutes To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2012. Supporting documents: Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2012 were approved and signed as a correct record. |
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Declarations of Interest Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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6.40 pm |
Chairman's Announcements The Chairman will provide information about:
a. A masterplan for Calne (attached). Supporting documents: Minutes: The Chairman drew attention to the written announcement included in the agenda pack regarding a masterplan for Calne. A display stand was available to view at the meeting. |
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6.50 pm |
Partner Updates To receive an update from the partners listed below:
a. Wiltshire Police (attached) b. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (attached) c. NHS Wiltshire (attached) d. Calne Community Area Partnership (attached) e. Calne CAYPIG (Community Area Young People’s Issues Group) f. Town and Parish Councils. Supporting documents:
Minutes: a. The written update from Wiltshire Police was noted. Inspector Phil Staynings introduced himself and Sergeant Simon Wright. Inspector Staynings highlighted that Halloween had been a success in terms of crime and he was working with Calne Town Council to improve use of CCTV. Councillor Trotman added that Wiltshire Police now had a Facebook page. A question was raised about monitoring Facebook and the team explained it was a good medium to link with younger people and they tried to respond to any comment, positive or negative.
b. The written update from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was noted. Mike Franklin added that Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service also had a Facebook page. He was pleased to report that 53 home fire safety checks had taken place in October. There had been a local incident in which five members of a family had been treated for carbon monoxide poisoning; this highlighted the importance of having a carbon monoxide detector fitted. There had been 12 chimney fires in the county in the first week of December. Please get your chimney swept if you intend to burn fossil fuels over the winter and visit the Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service website if you would like further information on having your Christmas decorations tested for fire safety purposes: http://www.wiltsfire.gov.uk/.
c. The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted.
d. The written update from Calne Community Area Partnership was noted.
e. The Chairman stated that an update on the Community Area Young People’s Issues Group would be requested for the next area board meeting.
f. Calne Without Parish Council reported that white gates installation at Derry Hill was complete and the next project for the village was to have a defibrillator. The village was planting a tree at Chapel Street. Hilmarton Parish Council reported that a Community Speed Watch scheme was going ahead. |
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6.55 pm |
Spice Project Malcolm Gull (Calne Community Area Partnership) and Elly Townsend (Wiltshire Time Credits Coordinator at Spice) will provide information about the introduction of the Wiltshire Time Credits scheme in Calne. Minutes: Elly Townsend (Wiltshire Time Credits Coordinator at Spice) provided information about Wiltshire Time Credits.
Wiltshire Time Credits was a tool to encourage more people to get involved in volunteering. There were personal benefits to volunteers in becoming involved in volunteering and wider benefits for the community. People can earn credits for an hour of volunteering and then spend them in a number of ways, for example by hiring a DVD from the library. Organisations external to Wiltshire Council were also involved, including Bowood House.
The pilot scheme now engaged 200 people and 30% of these had not previously volunteered.
Malcolm Gull (Calne Community Area Partnership) spoke about the introduction of the Wiltshire Time Credits scheme in Calne. There would be a meeting in late January with interested partners, including the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. The scheme was welcomed in Calne as an ideal vehicle to extend the large amount of volunteering already taking place in the community area. |
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7.00 pm |
Community Conversation In Calne, the area board meetings are scheduled around a ‘community conversation’, and the theme for this meeting is ‘Welfare Reform in Wiltshire’. Ian Brown, Head of Revenues and Benefits, and Sarah Cardy, Chief Executive Officer of Wiltshire Citizens Advice, will introduce the subject and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Minutes: Ian Brown, Head of Revenues and Benefits, and Sarah Cardy, Chief Executive Officer of Wiltshire Citizens Advice, introduced themselves and the theme for the meeting, ‘Welfare Reform in Wiltshire’.
Sarah explained the benefits system at present was confusing with 80-100 benefits available. Reform was taking place to make going to work pay, to reduce the benefits bill, to reduce dependency and to make the system simpler.
Changes were already in place related to housing, tax credits (in particular child benefit), pregnancy grants and sickness funding.
The welfare reform would put into place a universal credit, which would wrap up a series of benefits, including housing benefit. Most claims would take place online, any changes to circumstances would only need to be reported once, there would be a monthly payment made to households and a cap on the total amount of benefits awarded to a household, for example for larger families.
Ian explained that 30,000 households were awarded benefit money in Wiltshire. Wiltshire Council had a role in collecting council tax. There were also plans to address under occupancy in social housing with 3,000 people affected in Wiltshire.
With the reform, there would be locally discretionary social fund payments available to help with one off needs. A personal independence payment would replace disability living allowance as a fixed benefit for five years after an assessment had taken place. From 2013, the Government would reduce funding for benefits and from April, council tax bills would all have to contribute towards local support for council tax.
More information on this subject was available to view on the Wiltshire Council website.
There was then the opportunity to ask any questions. Points raised included:
· Planning applications should be linked to council tax locally – any extension now had to be reported to the valuation office and change to council tax would take place once the property was sold · There was the need to provide advice on budgeting since the new payments would be delivered on a monthly basis – GreenSquare had funding to provide this advice in the north of the county, but lacked this elsewhere · Wiltshire Council had agreed to fund a town and parish council shortfall, but were waiting for Government legislation. |
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7.30 pm |
Wiltshire Online Jenny Wilcockson, Digital Literacy Coordinator, will brief the area board about the Wiltshire Online Programme and how this is related to future availability in the area. Minutes: Jenny Wilcockson, Digital Literacy Coordinator, gave a presentation on the ‘Wiltshire Online’ project, which aimed to improve access to broadband, ensure that local people could access free computer support and increase usage of online government services.
Jenny explained that an estimated 68,000 in Wiltshire and 3,300 people in Calne had never been online. The majority of these were older people but a high proportion were people with disabilities or families on low incomes. These were the target groups for the programme of delivering free computer support.
The benefits of helping people to get online include: · Avoiding loneliness and isolation by promoting free/cheap communication via email, Facebook and Skype · Helping people develop IT skills which could lead to better job prospects and higher earning potential · Helping people to save up to £560 per year by shopping online, using price comparison websites, using online auction websites or paying bills online.
As part of the programme, Wiltshire Council was seeking to recruit local volunteer coordinators and digital champion volunteers who could then provide the support in community venues such as libraries, or in someone’s own home.
Volunteers were now sought from the Calne Community Area and people were also invited to pre-register for support. Suggestions were also welcomed as to any WiFi hotspots in the area which might be suitable as venues under the scheme and could receive a ‘Wiltshire Online’ sticker. It was hoped that local computer groups would get in touch so that learners could be signposted to them. Working with the Community Hub would be important to the Programme. |
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7.50 pm |
The Legacy of 2012 Jane Scott and Laurie Bell, Communications Director, will recap on the year’s events, discuss the effect the year has had and talk about how to carry on the legacy through 2013 and beyond. Minutes: Councillor Jane Scott OBE, Leader of Wiltshire Council, provided a summary of the year’s celebration events, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Olympic Torch Relay, the Festival of Celebration at Hudson’s Field and the iconic picture of Michael Johnson at Stonehenge. This included showing a short film.
£290,000 had been invested by Wiltshire Council to support communities, to support the economy and to publicise the county. A legacy board had now been established to carry on the success of this year through 2013 and beyond. The focus of the board would be to encourage every level of sport, from basic keep fit to promoting our future Olympians.
Please get in touch through your Community Area Manager, Jane Vaughan, on 01247 721447 or jane.vaughan@wiltshire.gov.uk, if you would like assistance with arranging celebration events for your community.
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8.10 pm |
Your Local Issues Councillors will provide an update on community issues and progress on area board working groups. This will include:
a. Skate board park working group – Councillor Marshall b. CATG (highways working group) – Councillor Crisp c. Calne campus working group – Councillor Hill d. Section 106 (Sandpit Road) working group – Councillor Trotman e. Air quality working group – to include consultation on the Air Quality Management Area - Councillor Hill. Minutes: Councillors provided an update on community issues and progress on Calne Area Board working groups.
a. Tom Harries reported that since the previous Area Board meeting, the skate board park working group had held a non uniform day and undertaken bag packing in Sainsburys to raise funds for their project. The Push it Wheel Good campaign to raise their profile was working well and some people modelled their badges and a sweatshirt. An illuminated skateboard made for the Calne lantern parade was on display at the meeting. A bid for funding from Viridor was nearly complete. Councillor Marshall added that any donations for the group towards a new skate park would be gratefully received. b. Councillor Crisp reported that there had not been a meeting of the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) since the previous Area Board meeting. c. Councillor Hill had provided information about the Calne campus working group in advance of the Area Board meeting, please find this attached to the minutes. d. Councillor Trotman reported that the Section 106 (Sandpit Road) working group had put in metro lines at Oxford Road. This would be a possible solution to traffic calming at Abberd Way. Section 106 contributions would be discussed at the next ABC (agenda setting) meeting by the councillors and with the individuals concerned. e. Councillor Hill had provided information about the air quality working group. The group was in the middle of a public consultation regarding the geographical extent of the area, which was due to finish at the end of December.
Decision Calne Area Board agreed to defer the decision on the choice of site to the Area Board Co-ordinating group that would meet on Tuesday 8 January (based upon the results of the community ballot online and from the ballot box that had been in the Community Hub since the start of this piece of work and was available at the meeting). |
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Campus news 1 Supporting documents: |
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8.20 pm |
Area Board Funding To consider three applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme, as follows:
a. Calne Community Area Partnership – seeking £995 to provide two projects promoting reading and literacy amongst children aged 8-11 and 11-14 for the Page Turners project .
b. Calne Tennis Club – seeking £5,000 towards four new floodlit hard tennis courts at the Beversbrook Sports facility.
c. St Laurence Church Hilmarton Parochial Church Council – seeking £4025 towards the provision of a new kitchen/disabled toilet and nappy changing facilities.
To include delegated authority over the elections period. Since there will be a longer than usual gap between meetings early in 2013, decisions may be taken under delegated powers to avoid the need for extraordinary meetings being held over this period.
Recommendation That in respect of urgent matters that may arise from time to time between meetings of an area board, the Community Area Manager, in consultation with the unitary councillors on the area board, be granted delegated authority to make any necessary decisions (such as agreement of CATG funding allocations and Community Area Partnership Funding). A report explaining the decision and the reasons why it was considered to be urgent shall be reported to the next ordinary meeting of the area board to ensure that such decisions are subject to public examination.
Reason for Recommendation To facilitate the smooth and efficient running of area board business and to reduce the need for unnecessary extraordinary meetings.
And to note:
Push it Wheel Good campaign - at the ABC meeting held on 30 October 2012, the Area Board Co-ordinating group used it’s delegated authority to spend £250 as a contribution towards promotional items for the use of young people involved in the Calne Bowl Project ‘Push it Wheel Good’ campaign, to raise a positive image of young people in the Calne Community Area.
Supporting documents:
Minutes: Consideration was given to the three applications made to the Community Area Grants Scheme.
Decision Calne Community Area Partnership were awarded £995 to provide two projects promoting reading and literacy amongst children aged 8-11 and 11-14 for the Page Turners project.
Reason The application meets the 2012/13 grant criteria and it provides positive activities for young people.
Decision Calne Tennis Club were awarded £5,000 towards four new floodlit hard tennis courts at the Beversbrook Sports facility, conditional on the balance of funding being in place; all lease/landownership issues being confirmed and on the applicant’s agreement to provide evidence of accessible membership opportunities and attempts to involve young people and families on low income to the Area Board following completion of the project.
Reason The application meets the 2012/13 grant criteria and the club intends to reach out more widely to the community.
Decision St Laurence Church Hilmarton Parochial Church Council were awarded £4025 towards the provision of a new kitchen/disabled toilet and nappy changing facilities.
Reason The application meets the 2012/13 grant criteria and it will provide accessible space within the Parish Church in Hilmarton that will allow it to be used for secular activities.
Councillors were then asked to consider delegated authority over the elections period.
Decision That in respect of urgent matters that may arise from time to time between meetings of an Area Board, the Community Area Manager, in consultation with the unitary councillors on the Area Board, be granted authority to make any necessary decisions (such as agreement of CATG funding allocations and Community Area Partnership Funding). A report explaining the decision and the reasons why it was considered to be urgent shall be reported to the next ordinary meeting of the Area Board to ensure that such decisions are subject to public examination.
And it was noted that:
At the ABC meeting held on 30 October 2012, the Area Board Co-ordinating group used it’s delegated authority to spend £250 as a contribution towards promotional items for the use of young people involved in the Calne Bowl Project ‘Push it Wheel Good’ campaign, to raise a positive image of young people in the Calne Community Area.
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8.30 pm |
Close The Chairman will set out arrangements for the next meeting. Minutes: The Chairman thanked everyone for attending in the unpleasant weather and wished all a Happy Christmas. The next Area Board meeting would be held at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 5 February at Calne Town Hall, with refreshments available from 6.00 pm. |