Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to Calne Area Board and introduced the Councillors and officers present.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Howard Marshall and Ross Henning (Community Safety Forum).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 August 2013.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 August 2013 were approved and signed as a correct record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will provide information about: 

·         Pest Control Service

·         What matters to you survey

·         Carers’ small grant scheme

The Chairman drew attention to the written announcements included in the agenda pack, which were:

Pest Control Service

The announcement included a link to the relevant webpages where further details on the services offered could be found.

What matters to you survey

All attendees were urged to complete the survey which was an opportunity for residents to give their views on what services were important to them.  Hard copies of the survey could also be provided where required.

Carers’ small grant scheme

The next round of the grant scheme had now been launched applicable to groups and organisations (but not individuals) for projects and activities which demonstrated a tangible difference to the lives of unpaid carers.  The deadline for applications was 30 November 2013.

Waiting Restrictions Review

Although not included within the agenda, the issue of the waiting restrictions review had been raised.

The Area Board had fed comments received from councillors, officers and the blog site back into the consultation that had now been completed.

Attendees were asked to note that the identification of areas to be considered had been devolved to town and parish councils and, as such, the Area Board had not been involved in the process beyond promoting the consultation.

However, in noting the above, the Chairman was aware that several members of the public were in attendance and wished to express their views regarding a proposal to impose a parking restriction in North Street.  The Chairman, with agreement of the fellow Board members allowed people to speak; the following concerns were raised:

·         That implementing the proposals could result in faster traffic in the town centre, noting that currently parked cars had an effect of slowing down the traffic;

·         The impact on pedestrian safety, including those walking to school;

·         Residents would not be able to park as close to their homes which could have a detrimental affect on those with young children;

·         The potential economic impact on shop owners;

·         That the congestion in Curzon Street would not be affected by the proposed changes and that a solution to this problem should have been factored into the proposals made;

·         The proposals were likely to have a detrimental affect on North Street; and

·         There would be less parking for customers using the town centre.

The Chairman thanked the residents for their comments.  Several letters had been received from residents by Cllr Tony Trotman raising these same concerns and these had been passed on to the appropriate Highways Officer for consideration as part of the consultation that had taken place.

The Chairman clarified that the review had begun approx 18 months ago and that it was worth noting that the proposals, as well as setting restrictions also included a lifting of some others.

Once the process was complete the relevant Highways Officer would then investigate the cost implications for any works required.

As indicated, the comments received had been considered as part of the consultation process.  However the Chairman would also draw attention to the fact that the issue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Glenis Ansell (Chair of the Area Board Air Quality Working Group) will provide an overview of the issue in Calne and the work of the Air Quality Working Group and children’s painting/drawing competition to design a poster to launch the Air Quality Action Plan campaign.

Cllr Glenis Ansell, Chairman of the Air Quality Working Group, gave an overview of the issues in Calne and the work undertaken by the Group.  This included:

Background

There had been significant changes in Calne over the past 30 years.  This included the closure of the Harris’ factory which at the time of its closure caused a significant increase in unemployment in the area.  Today Calne was a thriving market town which was growing and developing rapidly.

A Town Plan, outlining how the community sees itself developing over the next few years, was now well under way.  As the town was so close to many historical sites there was a desire for Calne to be seen as a centre for tourism.  However alongside this the town was facing ever increasing levels of traffic and pollution and this needed to be addressed.

Wiltshire Council had been monitoring Air Quality in Calne for 3 years by means of diffusion tubes placed across main roads.  These had identified 3 areas where pollution exceeded acceptable levels.  As a result the Task Group had been established to try to manage the situation.

Work of the Group

The Group acknowledged the need for a reduction in traffic through Calne to reduce the levels of pollution.  Ways in which this could be achieved included:

·         Minimising the amount of short journeys taken.  The Group were liaising with schools and colleges to try and find ways to reduce school traffic.  The Group were also promoting walking, cycling and using public transport and would be talking to the business community to establish ways in which they could help (i.e. encourage car sharing, use of public transport, etc).

·         Leaving the car at home where able.  Where possible parents were encouraged to walk their children to school.  Not only would this benefit the environment but it would provide valuable family time and improve fitness.  This would also instil positive habits to the next generation to help reduce pollution, obesity levels and increase health and wellbeing generally.

The future

·         Reducing car journeys – this would benefit health and help minimise pollution levels.

·         Reduce school traffic – this would reduce the number of parking complaints received from local residents.

·         Improved health and wellbeing – more awareness of the environment with less likelihood of using the car.

Following the presentation Cllr Ansell proposed that the Board move straight to the next item where an informal round table workshop would take place.

The Air Quality Working Group will run an informal round table workshop to start the community action planning campaign.

Attendees were encouraged to spend the next 20 minutes working together in table groups to think of ways in which encouragement could be given to help reduce future pollution levels.

Cllr Ansell also highlighted the artwork on the walls provided as entries by local children to a competition to design a poster that will be used to launch the group’s clean air campaign.

Those in attendance were also asked to complete the voting slips on the tables to select their favourite picture by the end of the item so that the winner could be announced later in the meeting.

Following group discussion the following points were highlighted:

·         Encouragement for school children to use public transport with ‘cleaner’ buses where required with kiss and ride schemes encouraged. 

·         Encouragement for school children to start ‘walking buses’

·         Promotions to encourage use of greener cars, such as electric cars

·         Car share schemes, including car parking space allocation

·         Increased car parking charges but reduced bus fares

·         Better spaces to encourage footfall

·         Using technology to highlight omission levels, i.e. texting service to alert re high pollution levels.

·         Reducing vehicular access to the town centre, particularly by heavy goods vehicles.

·         Pedestrianisation of the High Streetpro

·         More and improved cycle routes into town

·         Implement the use of ‘Borris Bikes’

·         Reduced speed limits

·         Better operation of town centre traffic lights

·         Free flowing traffic schemes to avoid stop/start traffic

·         Planting schemes (i.e. planting trees)

Cllr Ansell thanked all for their involvement and having added up the votes received for the evening confirmed that the winner, receiving the most votes, was Finlay, with second place going to Kate both from Fynamore School, Calne.  The Chairman congratulated the entrants on the high standard achieved and said that the winners would be receiving a prize from the Area Board and certificates would be given to all entrants in recognition of the wonderful pictures submitted.

To receive an update from the partners listed below:

a.    Wiltshire Police and Police and Crime Commissioner

b.    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.    NHS Wiltshire

d.    Calne Community Area Partnership

e.    Calne YAG (Youth Advisory Group)

f.     Town and Parish Councils.

The partner updates provided were noted which included:

a)    Wiltshire Police and Police and Crime Commissioner – Inspector Phil Staynings confirmed that the information provided gave a flavour of what the neighbourhood policing team had been doing since the last meeting of the Area Board.

Cllr Trotman noted that PC Hans Monahan would be leaving the Neighbourhood Policing Team at the end of October 2013.  Clarification was provided by Inspector Staynings that his position would be refilled.  All agreed that PC Monahan would be missed and expressed thanks for all his work during his time within the team.  A letter of recognition would be sent to the Inspector from the Area Board accordingly.

Clarification was provided by Inspector Staynings that his position would be refilled.

Cllr Ansell drew attention to the Police Commissioners report where it was noted that the perception of the Calne area was that of high anti social behaviour.  Inspector Staynings confirmed that the PCC office would be asked to provide clarity on this which would be provided as an update in the next Area Board meeting agenda.

b)    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue – The update provided by Mike Franklin was noted.

c)    NHS Wiltshire – no update was provided.

d)    Calne Community Area Partnership (CCAP) – Malcolm Gull presented the update where the following points were raised:

·         Joint Strategic Assessment (2013)

CAPs across Wiltshire had been asked to assist with the ‘culture’ segment of the Joint Strategic Assessment (JSA) for 2013.  The community JSAs were expected to be published in 2014.

·         Calne Tourism Strategy

A draft strategy had been produced by CCAP to ultimately implement actions to improve tourism within the community area.

·         Calne Transport Strategy

Since the publication of the update as provided agreement had now been made to hold a further meeting to finalise the terms of reference for the Strategy.

e)    Health and Social Care Forum

A meeting had been held earlier in the day which had resulted in the possibility or organising a ‘memory’ group similar to that as already in place in Wootton Basset and Melksham.

f)     Town and Parish Councils

·         Calne Without Parish Council

Calne Without Parish Council would be working with Calne Town Council to produce a Joint Neighbourhood Plan.

·         Cherhill Parish Council

A survey of Cherhill and Yatesbury had been carried out with 92% of replies indicating there should be a reduction in the speed limit in Cherhill and Yatesbury to 30mph.  This had been reported to the Highways and Transport services team as part of the 20mph limit consultation.

·         Bremhill Parish Council

Concerns over the Lyneham application had been raised.  The Council were disappointed that the Wiltshire Council Planning team had not been more prescriptive on the application.  The Parish Council were also in the process of creating a Neighbourhood Plan and had established a working group to take this forward.

Oliver Cripps will talk about the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding (AONB) and the Management Plan for 2014/19.

The North Wessex Downs AONB Management Plan presents objectives and policies that partners can apply to help conserve and enhance this nationally important landscape. The Plan also contains priorities that the North Wessex Downs team intends to lead or carry out with others. The Partnership is currently putting together the plan for the period 2014-19.

A consultation draft  is now available for comments which can be found here. Following an informal consultation, held in May and June, a number of experts have reviewed various aspects and made suggestions for changes which appear in the document.

   North Wessex Downs AONB Management Plan 2014-19 Consultation Draft

An online survey has been set up, which contains questions relating to the content; the delivery plan; the structure and presentation; and any other amendments that you would like to suggest. It would be helpful if comments were related to the relevant page, section or an example.

 You can access the consultation survey by following this link.

Please ensure that any colleagues, organisations or individuals that may wish to comment are aware of the opportunity. The North Wessex Downs team will also be undertaking consultation sessions at each Local Authority and relevant public events during September.

 Details of the public consultation events can be found here.

The twelve week consultation will close at 12 noon on Tuesday 29 October 2013. All comments will then be gathered and presented to the Council of Partners. A project team will make necessary amendments in order to create a final draft for adoption by statutory partners and the Plan will be launched at the North Wessex Downs Forum 2014.

Oliver Cripps was welcomed to the meeting to give a presentation on the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Management Plan for 2014/19.  This AONB covers approximately 1722 square kilometres.

A consultation on the Management Plan for 2014/19 was underway and would ultimately determine priorities over the next few years.

There was a sustainable development fund which could be applied for towards small scale community projects in the area.

Until recently a European grant scheme for rural enterprise existed to be used for things such as land management and tourism.  This had now changed but it was hopeful that there would be further funding available in the future.

Our Land portal was a major collaborative project to develop and promote sustainable rural tourism in the National Parks and AONBs of the South East.  The website was run by Responsible Travel and was a platform for businesses to promote themselves.

North Wessex Downs AONB were also involved with other projects RDP funded.  This included 1 South West, which encouraged off road cycling routes of differing levels to suite differing abilities.

A number of walks identified by local communities had been produced with assistance of funding from North Wessex Downs AONB, as well as support for the Friends of the Railway Path Group in developing and maintain the railway path.

Other projects included the mapping of wildlife in the various parishes and the team had worked with a group in Cherhill to develop this.

Details of how to apply for funding from the Sustainable Development Fund could be found via:

www.northwessexdowns.org.uk

The Chairman thanked Oliver Cripps for the presentation and encouraged attendees to view the site for further information.

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.    Highways working group (CATG) – To include recommendations for consideration by the Area Board.  Report to follow.

c.    Calne campus working group

d.     Sandpit Road (Section 106) working group – To include recommendations relating to the proposed Abberd Way traffic calming scheme for consideration by the Area Board.

Councillors provided an update on community issues and progress on Calne Area Board working groups as follows:

a)    Skate board park working group

As clarified earlier, Cllr Howard Marshall, was unable to attend this meeting due to illness.

b)    Highways working group (CATG)

Cllr Alan Hill presented the report as circulated as a supplementary paper which highlighted the work of the Group.

The Board’s attention was drawn to the recommendations contained within the report, Councillors voted to approve the recommendations as follows:

Decision:

To note that a meeting would take place to set the parameters of the Community Transport Strategy;

To note the actions laid out in the report; and

To note discussions/actions relating to recently received/ outstanding issues.

c)    Calne Campus Work Group

The Group had held its latest meeting on 14 October where discussion took place on the links between the Campus Project Site and the Calne Masterplan.  The Group would now be working on developing further the Centre Site Allocation Schedule which would be the main agenda item for the next Group meeting.

A ‘Heads of Terms’ agreement for the Beversbrook site was nearing completion and was expected to be agreed by Calne Town Council and Wiltshire Council within the next month.

The Leisure Centre layout was also near completion.  Ahead of any planning permission being sought discussion would take place between Wiltshire Council (as the owner) and Calne Leisure Centre Board (as the tenant) regarding any future lease terms.

The next meeting of the Group would take place mid November.

d)    Sandpit Road

The Board were asked to note the report as presented within the agenda and were reminded that funding existed to promote safe cycling routes in Calne Town Centre and also the promotion of traffic calming from the development of 258 houses.

The Group had met on 12 September to draw a consensus on the Abberd Way traffic calming scheme and received an overview of the work that had previously been undertaken.

The Group considered plans that took into consideration advice/information received from a Wiltshire Council audit and also from Sustrans.

As a result of discussions by the Group, the plans were amended to reflect the consensus of all members and local residents who had expressed concerns in relation to the traffic calming scheme at Abberd Way.  These revised plans were made available at the meeting where Board members were asked to approve to allow the design to be submitted to Highways for further consultation.

The Board members, upon voting agreed as follows:

Decision:

To approve the revised plan as presented to the Board which would now be submitted to the relevant officers within Wiltshire Council to progress. 

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

Goatacre Village Hall – Refurbishment Project - £3,500

Consideration was given to the report provided which included an application made to the Community Area Grants Scheme from Goatacre Village Hall for a refurbishment project.  The Board members, upon voting agreed as follows:

Decision

1)    To award Goatacre Village Hall £3,500 towards the cost of refurbishing the village hall, conditional on the balance of funding being in place;

Reason

The application meets the 2013/14 grant criteria.

2)    To agree an extension of the Splash project which received funding from the Area Board in February 2013;

3)    That a £300 shortfall in the budget for 2012/13 would be made up from the 2013/14 budget; and

4)    To encourage applications for Community Area Grants.

The next Area Board meeting would be held at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 10 December 2013 at Calne Town Hall, with refreshments available from 6.00 pm.