Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome everyone to the Calne Area Board. 

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Councillors and officers present.

Apologies for absence will be announced.

Apologies were received from Cllr Tony Trotman, Judy Edwards (Calne Town Council) and Cllr Richard Aylen (Calne Without Parish Council).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 4 February 2014 and 19 March 2014 (additional area board).

The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 4 February 2014 and special meeting held on Wednesday 19 March 2014 were approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.  

To note the following announcements:

 a) Dementia Strategy Consultation

 b) Library Memory Groups

 c) Proposed changes to Connect2 Wiltshire bus services in the Calne area

The Chairman drew attention to the following written announcements included in the agenda pack, which were noted. 

a)    Dementia Strategy Consultation

b)   Library Memory Groups

c)    Proposed changes to Connect2 Wiltshire Bus Services in the Calne Area

In addition to the above, a further announcement was provided as follows.

Future provision of Youth Services

Cllr Laura Mayes (Cabinet member for Childrens Services) was welcomed to the floor to give a presentation on the consultation taking place in relation to the delivery of youth activity to ensure that future delivery met the changing needs of young people.

Key points included:

·         The authority had a duty to provide leisure time activity (such as play parks)

·         A desire to consult with young people to seek their views on the type of activity required (noting that a small proportion of young people used the current service)

·         There were approximately 2,294 young people in the Calne community area and the Board had allocated over £10,000 in grant funding in the last year for youth related projects.  These included the bowl project, tennis club and football club.

·         The community were being consulted on 4 possible options, which were to:

1)    Retain the current in-house service but reduce the cost

2)    Outsource the service

3)    Encourage and support staff to form a Public Service Mutual

4)    Develop a community led approach

·         The preferred option currently identified was option (4) which, if agreed, was likely to result in an allocation of funding to each Area Board to work with young people to meet community needs.

·         It was hoped that following consideration of the proposals by Cabinet the new service would be in place at the beginning of October.

·         Young people in attendance were keen to retain the services of the youth worker who they felt provided an invaluable role and welcomed the continued development of the skate bowl project.

·         The Youth Development Co-ordinator stated that attendance at the youth centre was good and asked that the Board note the positive outreach work of the Youth Centre which had contributed to the reduction in under age pregnancies in the community area.

·         How much funding would be provided and how this would be allocated.

·         The Chairman thanked Cllr Mayes for the presentation and encouraged all to respond to the consultation.

The Board will be asked to:

·         Consider the outcomes from the ‘What Matters to You’ event on 18 March.

·         Select priorities for 2014/15.

The Board were asked to consider the report provided in the agenda which included details of the priorities identified from the ‘What Matters to You’ event held on 18 March.

Attendees were asked to participate in helping the Board identify key priorities to take forward over the forthcoming year by way of hand held voting remotes.  In being asked to identify the top 3 community priorities, the results were as follows:

1)    Increase employment opportunities and youth activities (in consultation with young people) to address some anti-social behavioural incidents.

2)    Better opportunities for young people to get into work through initiatives like apprenticeships and work experience.

3)    Recognise child poverty and childhood obesity and engage with parents to address it.

Having considered the results of the survey, attendees were then invited to consider again the list provided and identify the top three priorities which they felt could be achieved over the forthcoming year. The results were as follows:

1)    Increase employment opportunities and youth activities (in consultation with young people) to address some anti-social behavioural incidents.

2)    Build a positive reputation for Calne Community Area to attract more visitors to venues and events.

3)    Better opportunities for young people to get into work through initiatives like apprenticeships and work experience.

Ensuing discussion included the need to encourage more volunteering in the area and the benefits of further engagement with the Chamber of Commerce to build a positive reputation for Calne, ultimately increasing tourism and new business in the area.

The Chairman thanked all in attendance for their participation and confirmed that the Board would discuss the priorities further and present an update on how these could be taken forward at the next meeting.  

A presentation from Georgina Knappe, The Calne Children’s Centre.

Georgina Knape from the Calne Children’s Centre was welcomed to the meeting and gave a presentation on the role of the centre as a ‘one stop shop for families and children under five’.

This included:

·         The centre offered support to children and families to encourage learning and development.

·         The activities available at the centre included promoting learning through play, stay and play sessions, support groups for parents and 1-1 support at home.

·         The Centre were able to provide some financial assistance to low income families for trips.

·         Work undertaken by the Centre included ‘Story Jam’, a project part funded by the Area Board to encourage a love of reading by the whole family.

·         Centres were required by OfSTED to support families in targeted groups where deprivation within the community area had been identified. 

·         From April 2014 the Centre would offer a sign-posting service for families with children aged between 5-11 which would run for the next 2 years.

Ensuing discussion included how vulnerable families were identified and contacted which included the work undertaken by Health Visitors in promoting the work of the Centre. It was understood that central government recognised the positive work undertaken by the Centres themselves.

To receive an update from the partners listed below:

a.    Wiltshire Police

b.    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.    NHS Wiltshire

d.    Calne Community Area Partnership

e.    Town and Parish Councils.

Updates were received as follows:

a)    Wiltshire Police - Inspector Dave Hobman was welcomed to the meeting and presented a written report (attached to these minutes) which was noted by the Board.

b)    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service - A shortfilmwasprovidedwhich displayedthedamagedonebylocalfires and floodsoverthe festive period.

c)    Town and Parish Councils

Calne Without Parish Council - Cllr Ed Jones made the Board aware of ongoing problems at Mile Elm which would be raised at the next CATG meeting andthanked the Board for the funding granted for the digital projector project.

CherhillParishCouncil– The Parish would be consulting residents on the potential creation of a Neighbourhod Plan and reminded all of the memory club in Calne which met every fortnight and was due to meet again on 17 April.

Under this item clarification was made that Wiltshire Council had now designated Calne and Calne Without as one community area for the purposes of a Neighbourhood Plan and that a consultation was now able to place accordingly to seek the views of those residents.

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)

c.    Calne campus working group

d.    Sandpit Road (Section 106) working group – to include a report requesting approval to commission a sign placement study for Calne.

e.    Air quality working group.

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

a)    Skateboard parkworkinggroup(CllrMarshall)– Thegroupwereready to beginconstruction workbutitwasdiscoveredthattheexisting bowlwas not fitforpurpose and would now bedemolishedandrebuilt.A new application forplanning permission had beensubmitted andtenders were out. Young people would be consultedandplansshoulddovetail around thefirstweek of May.

b)    Highwaysworkinggroup(CATG)(CllrHill)– Thenextmeetingwastobe in twoweekstime.An updateonBalfour Beatty wasprovidedanda table with vehiclespeedsthroughCalnewasdisplayed. The needfor additional signagetoprevent further accidentsinlightofa recent fatalitywas also discussed.

c)    Calne Campus Working Group (Cllr Crisp) – Considerable progress was being made in taking forward proposals for the Calne Campus, including discussions on the legal agreements required with Calne Town Council (for Beversbrook Sports Facility) and the Trust Board  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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

·         Calne Archers funding application.

·         To note the awards made to WW1 commemoration projects (previously delegated to the CAM)

The Board was asked to consider the funding application provided within the agenda.

Calne Archery Group

The sum of £1,000 was requested towards the creation of a footpath.

Decision:

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,000 to Calne Archery Club.

Reason:

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2014/15.

The Board noted the awards made to WW1 commemoration projects via delegated authority to the Community Area Manager as follows:

Friends of Abberd Brook -                              £1,000

Calne Town Council/British Legion -          £1,000

Calne Heritage Centre -                                 £500

Derry Hill Bells Project -                                 £2,500

Post Meeting Note:

It has been drawn to the attention of the responsible Democratic Services Officer (DSO) that the figures provided within the funding report had been updated following the publication of the agenda. 

For the 2014/15 financial year Calne Area Board has been allocated a budget of £45,337 (rather than £58,112) for community area grants, digital literacy grants, community partnership core funding, area board operational funding and area board/councillor led initiatives.

Therefore if grants are awarded and retained in accordance with officer recommendations Calne Area Board will have a balance of £44,337 (rather than £57,112).

The next Area Board meeting would be held at the slightly later time of 7.00 pm on Tuesday 3 June at the Corn Exchange, Calne Town Council, Bank House, The Strand, Calne.