Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman, Councillor Ross Henning, welcomed those present to the meeting and invited members of the board to introduce themselves.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Andy Phillips, Chippenham Town Council.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 10 February 2021 and 18 May 2021.                                         

The minutes of the meetings held on 10 February 2021 and 18 May 2021 were presented for consideration and it was;

Resolved

To approve the minutes 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 receive the following announcements through the Chairman:

·       Area Board Model May 2021

·       Chippenham Ambulance Update

·       Litter Pickers

The chairman gave the following updates:

·       Area Board Model May 2021

The announcement outlined the new annual Area Board model of four Area Board Business meetings, with multiple Area Board engagements at other times of the year focused on specific Area Board priorities. Additionally, the announcement informed that working groups of the Area Board such as youth networks, health and wellbeing groups and community area transport groups will continue to meet and link with the Area Board.

It was clarified that capital cannot be used to pay for revenue items, however revenue can be used to pay for capital items. Additionally, the importance of using grant money to leverage other funding than paying for applications outright was stressed. This therefore prompted discussion that it would be useful to set up a working group to discuss funding and distribution, which would therefore develop a wider network for community engagement and partnership funding.

·       Chippenham Ambulance Update

The chair brought to the attention of the Area Board the report attached to the agenda regarding Chippenham Ambulance Station. The written report detailed which departments of the ambulance service would be relocating as well as a description of the service that each department provides.

·       Litter Pickers

Councillor Peter Hutton provided an update on local litter pickers, who had recently completed a litter pick to support a national spring clean campaign, which received support from other organisations such as McDonalds. Councillor Hutton stated that such events aren’t solely about litter picking but an opportunity for people to get together to discuss other ideas and issues.

Councillor Hutton identified that an issue for litter picking is the short life span of the equipment involved, particularly grabbers. He will therefore be looking for the Area Board to support funding in the future for equipment.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

·       Parish and Town Councils

·        Wiltshire Police

·       Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       Future Chippenham

·       Older People/ Carers Champion

·       Other Community Groups

Some written updates have been received and are included in this agenda.

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Parish and Town Councils

The Area Board noted that it is currently the early stages of the new Council and therefore there would not be much to be updated on.

·       Wiltshire Police

Inspector James Brain provided the Area Board with an update which covered the following issues:

·       There have been slight changes to the neighbourhood model which will now allow Inspector Brain and his team to focus on neighbourhood priorities through the neighbourhood and response teams working together.

·       Though the Prime Minister has announced that there will be a 4-week extension to Covid restrictions, this hasn’t changed the policing plan that has been used over the past 18 months which has focused on education rather than enforcement.

·       The government have looked to recruit an extra 20,000 police officers nationally, locally Wiltshire was promised 49 but is now up to 60. These officers have been going through training and some are now through to their probationary period. Additionally the PC recruitment campaign recently closed after it received over 400 applicants in 48 hours.

·       5 weeks ago the police did a media release about priority work, drug arrests and warrants which has contributed to the seizure of £10,000 worth of drugs in the last 18 months.

·       Though there has been a rise in anti-social behaviour in the Saddlers Mead carpark, the number of calls has reduced with the police having undertaken a collaborative and partner approach.

·       The police have prioritised monthly areas to enforce speeding in, this has been dictated by evidence-based policing. Community speed watch members have also been back out.

Following the verbal update there was time for the following questions:

·       It was questioned how local people can report crime. The importance of locals reporting criminal behaviour was stressed as this can build a bigger picture for evidence-based policing. Suggested ways of reporting included calling 999 and 111, getting in touch with crime stoppers anonymously as well as through the police website and local officers.

·       It was queried whether police cars have been affected by the Station Hill traffic lights. Though the first week was challenging due to restrictions easing, this has not been an issue.

·       This issue of catalytic converter theft was raised, which was noted to have been a common crime in the past. Though no arrests have been made, staff have been made aware and letter drops to the public have taken place as a preventative action.

·       Concerns of speeding on West Cepen Way and Bumpers Farm were raised. Inspector Brain informed that speeding gets brought up at many forums and there is a national road safety strategy which each local force links into, as well as a local sub-road safety strategy team. This sub-group links in with community speed watch teams as well as a local force tasking meeting which identifies hotspots through data to be targeted and consequently educated and enforced.

·       During a trip to Dorset and Devon, Councillor Hutton noticed the deployment of mobile CCTV to present  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To agree the memberships and representatives for Outside Bodies and Working Groups for 2021/2022.

The following appointments to outside bodies and working groups for the forthcoming year were made:

·       Chippenham Multi-Agency Forum – Councillors Kathryn Macdemid and Ross Henning.

·       Chippenham Safer and Strong Communities Group – Councillors Liz Alstrom and Clare Cape.

·       Chippenham Community Area Transport Group (CATG) – Councillors Nic Puntis, Ross Henning and Nick Botterill.

·       Chippenham Local Youth Network (LYN) – Councillors Peter Hutton, Kathryn Macdermid and Ross Henning.

·       Chippenham Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) - Councillors Clare Cape and Adrian Foster

The following appointments of Area Board Lead Councillors for the forthcoming year were made:

·       Highways and Transport, including Community Area Transport Group (CATG) – Councillors Nic Puntis, Ross Henning and Nick Botterill.

·       Children and Young People, including Local Youth Network – Councillor Peter Hutton, Kathryn Macdermid, Ross Henning and Adrian Foster.

·       Health and Wellbeing, including the Health and Wellbeing Group – Councillors Clare Cape and Adrian Foster.

·       Economy and Employment – Councillor Dr Nick Murry and Howard Greenman.

·       Environment – Councillor Dr Nick Murry and Howard Greenman.

·       Older People – Councillor Peter Hutton

·       Arts, Culture and Leisure – Councillor Liz Alstrom

·       Community Safety – Councillor Liz Alstrom and Clare Cape.

·       Housing and Development – Councillors Dr Nick Murry, Nic Puntis and Clare Cape.

To agree and adopt the Delegated Powers to the Community Engagement Manager proposals.

The Area Board referred to the document attached to the agenda regarding Community Engagement Manager Delegated Decisions which included the following proposal:

In order to expedite the work of the Area Board and to deal with urgent matters that may arise between meetings, the Community Engagement Manager, following consultation with the Chairman (or in their absence, the Vice-Chairman) of the Area Board, may authorise expenditure to support community projects (including youth, health and wellbeing and community area transport) from the delegated budget of up to £5,000 per application between meetings of the Area Board. The Community Engagement Manager should seek the views of all Area Board members to obtain a majority in support, prior to the expenditure being agreed.

Decisions taken between meetings will be reported in the funding report to the next meeting of the Area Board explaining why the matter was considered urgent or necessary to expedite the work of the Board. Where a significant number of urgent matters arise between meetings, a special meeting may be called, following consultation with the Chairman to determine such matters.

In a previous discussion, the Chippenham Area Board members agreed that the following caveat be added to the proposal: “The Community Engagement Manager must attempt to seek approval from Area Board Members prior to approving any grant application”

Resolved

The Area Board agreed to move and voted to accept the proposal.

To discuss the findings, recommendations and next steps. The report sets out the full set of actions and the board can agree up to five as priorities for Chippenham and Villages.

Ollie Phipps (Community Engagement Manager) provided an overview of the Community Area Status Report to the Area Board. The Community Area Status Report combined local data from sources in order to form an evidence base to therefore identify priorities from.

The Area Board then agreed upon the following priorities for Chippenham and Villages for the forthcoming year:

·       Community Climate and Environment Projects

·       Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour/Community Safety

·       Health & Wellbeing:

a)    Loneliness & Isolation of Older People

b)    Rural Isolation

c)     Physical Health & Wellbeing

d)    Mental Health & Wellbeing

·       Youth Engagement & Mental Health

·       Economy/Night-time Economy

The chosen priorities would in the future be fed into an action plan system, which would rate the priorities as being Red/Amber/Green. Councillor Hutton also acknowledged that though all of the chosen priorities fit with the work of the Area Board, it is important to keep communication up to date with the projects involved so that the budget can fit.

To consider the report and recommendations arising from the last meeting of the Community Area Transport Group held on 1 June 2021.

Councillor Ross Henning introduced the minutes and recommendations from the CATG meeting held on 1 June 2021.

Resolved:

To note the minutes from the CATG meeting which took place 1 June 2021 and approve the following included recommendations within the report:

5. 4-21-2 Park Farm Bends, C86 – (CATG £1323, PC £567 (shared between both PC)

8. Bristol Road, Chippenham – Pedestrian Crossing Assessment (CATG £700, TC £300 tbc)

Paddy Bradley will be providing a presentation about the economy of Chippenham High Street,

Paddy Bradley, CEO of Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP), provided the Area Board with a presentation focused on the economy of Chippenham High Street.  Mr Bradley introduced that the Local Enterprise Partnership was 1 of 38 in the country, with a focus on the sustainable economic growth of Swindon and Wiltshire. The data provided was based on labour market intelligence tools as well as real time historic data from job postings, totalling 40,00 data sources. Key issues from the presentation included:

·       Figures showed that Chippenham had high employment rates, with a high proportion of active and highly skilled workers as well as a lower proportion of claimants aged above 25.

·       The strongest sectors for jobs in Chippenham were manufacturing as well as the public defence and construction sectors. These larger employers listed more available jobs over the past year.

·       According to job search websites, Chippenham’s job listings fell in April 2020, however this was broadly in line with the rest of the UK. The greatest drops being in construction, hospitality, and finance.

·       Figures showed that all sectors are recovering, including hospitality since May 2021.

·       Nationally, job postings have generally recovered to pre-lockdown levels, however high streets have changed significantly with a number of large brands closing shops.

·       Chippenham does not appear to have seen many shop closures, with limited commercial property vacancies in the town centre. Nationally, this has increased but is still below rates taken from the 2009 financial crisis.

·       It was detailed that hospitality and retail job postings have been recovering in Chippenham, however this is still below pre-lockdown levels.

Following the presentation there was time for the following questions:

·       Members of the Area Board raised concerns regarding Chippenham being a commuter town. Questions were asked surrounding why this was the case and what could be done to resolve this situation. Mr Bradley stated that from population surveys, Chippenham presented as being self-contained with 78% of those living there also working there. It was stated that some commuting does take place as a result of Chippenham’s proximity to Swindon and Bristol as well as the electrification of the railway. Mr Bradley stated that working from home could potentially resolve the issue as well as if the town was to change what was on offer in the centre to avoid the risk of creating a donut development, therefore enticing the population to remain. One potential suggestion was to increase the amount of town centre housing.

·       Rural commuting into Chippenham was referenced, to which Mr Bradley identified that there is a need to level up those who are in rural locations, by means of public transport and recharging points.

·       Employment figures were queried as there have been reports of shortages of employees in the hospitality and retail sectors. Mr Bradley stated that this is a countrywide problem, especially for locations that previously relied on tourism and have expanded due to population. There has also been an impact caused by Brexit, with people from European countries leaving posts as well  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To receive an update from Ollie Phipps on the Local Youth Network.

Ollie Phipps, Community Engagement Manager (CEM), provided the Area Board with an update on the Local Youth Network. The Local Youth Network is currently focused on summer youth provisions and has been working on this with partners in and around Chippenham. A poster and digital copy have been produced to promote this.

To determine the following grant applications:

Community Area Grant Applications:

To consider the following applications for Community Area Grant funding:

·       Independent Artist Group - £243 for Independent Art Group Art Fairs and Craft Markets.

·       Chippenham Cricket Club - £2,186.40 for Chippenham Cricket Club facility improvements.

·       Friends of Monkton Park School - £5,000 for Converting Monkton Park School Bungalow to a Community Facility.

·       Ivy Wildlife Garden - £510 for Ivy Wildlife Garden purchase of wood chip for paths.

·       Friends of Queen’s Crescent School - £2,997.30 for Queens Crescent School sensory room equipment.

·       Biddestone Tennis Club - £5,000 for Biddestone Tennis Club Floodlights.

·       Friends of Seagry School PTA - £5,000 Seagry School Multi use games area.

·       Kandu Arts - £5,000 for Park Life (£2,500 recommended).

·       The Rise Trust – £4,812 for Rise Trust Youth Café.

·       The Rise Trust - £4,762 for Rise Trust Youth holiday sessions.

·       4Youth - £4,030 for Teen Talk Chippenham 2021.

Health and Wellbeing Grant Applications:

To consider the following applications for Health and Wellbeing grant funding:

·       Families Out Loud - £3,944 for Families Out Loud service delivery costs.

Youth Grant Applications:

To consider the following applications for Youth Grant funding:

·       Youth Adventure Trust - £2,388.64 for supporting disadvantaged young people through the pandemic and beyond.

·       Rag and Bone Arts CIC - £750 for Summer of fun.

Area Board Initiatives:

·       Doorway Wiltshire Ltd - £4,775 for Doorway move to the Citadel equipment.

The Area Board considered the following as detailed in the reports attached to the agenda.

a)    Community Area Grants

1)    Independent Artist Group - £243 for Independent Art Group Art Fairs and Craft Markets.

Decision

Independent Artist Group was awarded £243 towards Independent Art Group Art Fairs and Craft Markets.

2)    Chippenham Cricket Club - £2,186.40 for Chippenham Cricket Club facility improvements.

Decision

Chippenham Cricket Club was awarded £2,186.40 towards Chippenham Cricket Club facility improvements. The Area Board also added a caveat that the applicant would be expected tooffer a free community day and explore options for young people’s scholarships.

3)    Friends of Monkton Park School - £5,000 for Converting Monkton Park School Bungalow to a Community Facility.

Decision

Friends of Monkton Park School was awarded £5,000 towards           Converting Monkton Park School Bungalow to a Community Facility.

4)    Ivy Wildlife Garden - £510 for Ivy Wildlife Garden purchase of wood chip for paths.

Decision

Ivy Wildlife Garden was awarded £510 towards Ivy Wildlife Garden purchase of wood chip for paths.

5)    Friends of Queen’s Crescent School - £2,997.30 for Queens Crescent School sensory room equipment.

Decision

Friends of Queen’s Crescent School was awarded £2,997.30 towards Queens Crescent School sensory room equipment.

6)    Biddestone Tennis Club - £5,000 for Biddestone Tennis Club Floodlights.

Decision

Biddestone Tennis Club was awarded £5,000 towards Biddestone Tennis Club Floodlights. The Area Board also added a caveat that the applicant would be expected tooffer a free community day and explore options for young people’s scholarships.

7)    Friends of Seagry School PTA - £5,000 Seagry School Multi use games area.

Decision

Friends of Seagry School PTA was awarded £5,000 towardsSeagry School Multi use games area.

8)    Doorway Wiltshire Ltd - £4,775 for Doorway move to the Citadel equipment.

Decision

Doorway Wiltshire Ltd was awarded £4,775 towards Doorway move to the Citadel equipment.

b) Health and Wellbeing Grant Applications

1)    Families Out Loud - £3,944 for Families Out Loud service delivery costs.

Decision

Families Out Loud was awarded £2,000 towards Families Out Loud service delivery costs.

c)  Community Area Youth Grants

1)    Youth Adventure Trust - £2,388.64 for supporting disadvantaged young people through the pandemic and beyond.

Decision

Youth Adventure Trust was awarded £1,500 towards supporting disadvantaged young people through the pandemic and beyond.

2)    Rag and Bone Arts CIC - £750 for Summer of fun.

Decision

Rag and Bone Arts CIC was awarded £750 towards Summer of fun.

3)    Kandu Arts - £5,000 for Park Life (£2,500 recommended).

Decision

Kandu Arts was awarded £2,500 towardsPark Life.

4)    The Rise Trust – £4,812 for Rise Trust Youth Café.

Decision

The Rise Trust was awarded £4,812 towardsRise Trust Youth Café.

5)     The Rise Trust - £4,762 for Rise Trust Youth holiday sessions.

Decision

The Rise Trust was awarded £4,762 towardsRise Trust Youth Holiday Sessions.

6)     4Youth - £4,030 for Teen Talk Chippenham 2021.

Decision

4Youth was awarded £4,030 towards Teen Talk Chippenham 2021.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Chippenham Area Board will be held on 27 September 2021.

The date of the next meeting is Monday 27 September at 7.00pm.