Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Area Board for the 2012/13 Municipal Year.

Councillor Mark Packard called for nominations for Chairman of the Area Board for the 2012/13 Municipal year.

Decision

Councillor Desna Allen was elected Chairman of the Area Board for the 2012/13 Municipal Year.

Councillor Allen took the Chair.

The Chairman called for nominations for Vice Chairman of the Area Board for the 2012/13 Municipal year.

Decision

Councillor Mark Packard was elected Vice Chairman of the Area Board for the 2012/13 Municipal year.

The Chairman, Councillor Desna Allen, welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the councillors and officers present.

The Chairman welcomed the visiting Cabinet representative, Councillor Dick Tonge, responsible for Highways & Transport, and thanked Yatton Keynell Village Hall Committee for facilitating the use of the hall.

Also welcomed to the meeting was Mary Wilson, representing the Wiltshire Involvement Network (WIN). Mary announced that WIN was working to reach out to communities and increase engagement, and requested that they be allocated a regular slot on the Area Board agendas under Partner Updates. The Chairman announced that this would be discussed at the next agenda planning meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Andrew Noblet of Chippenham Town Council and Parvis Khansari, Service Director to the Area Board.

      i.        To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 30 April 2012

    ii.        Actions from previous minutes.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 30 April 2012 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

There were no outstanding actions or issues arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

Councillors are requested to declare any pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests, or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To include the following:

       i.          Petitions update – verbal update on request for dropped kerbs at Greenway Lane

      ii.          Helping People to Live Safely in Their Own Homes (attached)

    iii.          Wiltshire Community Bank – Tackling Social Exclusion (attached)

    iv.          Localism Act briefing (attached).

The Chairman announced that a petition had been received requesting dropped kerbs to be installed at Greenway Lane in Chippenham. This matter had been considered by the Community Area Transport Group and recommendations would be considered by the Area Board under Item 7 on the agenda.

Further announcements had been distributed with the agenda for information, including briefing papers on Helping People to Live Safely in Their Own Homes, Wiltshire Community bank and The Localism Act.

      i.        Cabinet Member

Councillor Dick Tonge will talk about his cabinet responsibilities for Highways and Transport, and respond to any questions.

Note – questions for Councillor Tonge may be submitted in advance – please email penny.bell@wiltshire.gov.uk.

    ii.        Community Area Transport Group

The Area Board will consider recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group for small-scale local transport and highways related improvements.

   iii.        20 is Plenty

The Area Board will consider a report on the 20 is Plenty initiative.

Cabinet Member

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, provided a brief overview of his portfolio responsibilities, which included new projects and repairs to the highways, passenger transport including trains, flooding, markets, cemeteries, speeding, grass cutting and car parking.

Councillor Tonge introduced two officers to the meeting; Bill Parks, Head of Local Highways and Streetscene, and Martin Rose, Principal Traffic Engineer.

Bill Parks gave a presentation regarding Wiltshire Council’s Highways and Streetscene service and the new Community Teams.

Community Teams would be asset-led and matched to the Area Board areas, and there would be a shared ‘pull service’ for larger kit and other resource. There would be direct engagement with the community regarding need, priority and co-delivery arrangements. There would also be minimum handoffs and duplication in customer contact, and customers reporting defects should get through to local service teams in one step.

This new way of working aimed to deliver:

•         Community and asset priorities as the driver

•         Improved community relationships and partnerships (community resilience)

•         Flexibility to meet changing needs

•         Quality, fit for purpose service and improved asset

•         Removed waste and duplication

•         Continuous drive for improvements.

Following the information from Councillor Tonge and Bill Parks, the following questions, issues and discussion points arose:

·         From June next year, all Highways and Streetscene works would be outsourced.

·         The Community Teams would deal with routine maintenance and repairs and so was different to the work of the Community Area Transport Group, which aimed to identify improvement needs.

·         Towns and parishes were encouraged to continue to identify and report any works required, but schedules for routine works would be provided.

·         Working in partnership with Community Payback had been trialled in Trowbridge. There were some technicalities with this but it could be looked into and developed further, particularly if the parishes took lead on this.

·         To ensure efficient running of the Parish Stewards scheme, each parish had intentionally been encouraged to provide a single point of contact, and all issues should be fed in through this nominated contact.

·         It was important that statutory duties, such as cutting the grass and foliage around road signs, should not be lost.

·         The new, structured approach was welcomed, and it was suggested that a further meeting with parishes should be arranged to provide an opportunity to review the scheme and provide/receive feedback.

Councillor Tonge provided some information on the Council’s programme of highways resurfacing.

The Council carried out an annual assessment of all roads to detect condition and safety. Specialist, laser-mounted equipment was used to look under the surface of the road to check the condition compared to the previous year. This process was applied to all main roads across the county, and the smaller, residential roads were visually inspected. The Council also measured the skid resistance of roads on a regular basis in order to monitor safety and prevent accidents.

The resurfacing of estate roads was dependent on the condition of the roads, not the time period since the roads  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

       i.          Youth Funding

i.                 Green Stag Youth Theatre and Noonday Demons – seeking £1,173 for two productions

ii.                Integrated Youth Services, Arts and Media Group – seeking £3,600 for ‘Creative Explosion’ at the Arts and Media Suite

     ii.          Community Area Grants

To consider the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme:

i.                 Castle Combe Village Hall Committee – seeking £420 towards the installation of double glazed windows in the village hall.

ii.                Eco-Kids North Wiltshire – seeking £909 for the Eco-Enterprise School Farmers Market Project

Grants application packs for the Community Area Grants Scheme are available from the Community Area Manager or electronically at

www.wiltshire.gov.uk/areaboardscommunity grantsscheme.htm

iii.             Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership – Core Funding

To consider an application from the Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership for the first tranche of funding for 2012/13.

a.    Youth Funding

The Area Board had been allocated a budget of £6,900 for 2012/13 specifically for youth projects.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to allocate the youth budget of £6,900 via participatory budgeting.

Two applications for youth funding had been received as follows:

                      i.        Green Stag Youth Theatre and Noonday Demons - £1,173 was requested for two productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

                    ii.        Integrated Youth Services, Arts and media Group - £3,600 was requested for ‘Creative Explosion’ at the Arts and Media Suite.

Representatives from both groups gave presentations regarding their bids, following which, a voting exercise was conducted and everyone present at the meeting was given the opportunity to vote in support of the applications.

Decision

                      i.        Green Stag Youth Theatre and Noonday Demons received 94% of the votes in favour of the application and was awarded the sum of £1,173.

                     ii.        The Integrated Youth Service Arts and Media Group received 91% of the votes in favour of the application and was awarded the sum of £3,600.

Green Stag and Noonday Demons were encouraged to bring their performances to Chippenham. The Chief Executive of Chippenham Town Council invited the groups to contact her to discuss the possibility of using the Neeld Hall as a venue.

b.    Community Area Grants

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme:

                      i.        Castle Combe Village Hall Committee

The sum of £420 was requested towards the installation of double-glazed windows in the village hall.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £420 to Castle Combe Village Hall towards the installation of double-glazed windows in the village hall.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Community Area Plan.

                    ii.        Eco-Kids North Wiltshire

The sum of £909 was requested for the Eco-Enterprise School Farmers Market Project.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £909 to Eco-Kids North Wiltshire for the Eco-Enterprise School Farmers Market Project.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2012/13 and demonstrated a link to the Community Area Plan.

c.    Community Area Partnership – Core Funding

The Area Board considered an application from the Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership (ChAP) for the first tranche of funding for 2012/13.

Decision

The Area Board:

                      i.        Approved the whole year’s funding of £13,779.66 with an agreement to release the first tranche of £6,889.83 immediately.

                    ii.        Agreed to the release of the second tranche in January 2013, as long as conditions set by the Community Partnership Officer and agreed by the Board, have been met.

James Skinner from Yatton Keynell Parish Council will give a presentation regarding issues and news within the parish.

Councillor Packard announced that the Area Board wished to offer a short agenda slot to one parish at each meeting, in order to provide the parishes with an opportunity to highlight any news or local issues of concern.

Yatton Keynell Parish Council had been invited to present to the Area Board at this meeting, and James Skinner from the Parish Council gave an interesting presentation about the history, main projects, news, and main issues within the parish.

One of main issues within the parish highlighted by James was the threat to local services, such as the ‘Under 5’s Club’ due to problems recruiting and maintaining local volunteers, particularly younger people. A suggestion was made that the ‘Time Credits’ project, a project which rewarded voluntary work, might be successful at encouraging more volunteers in the community.

The Chairman thanked James for his presentation and asked the parishes to contact Penny Bell or Victoria Welsh if they would like to make a presentation at the next Area Board meeting.

To note the written reports and receive updates from any partners who wish to contribute:

       i.          Parish and Town Councils (attached)

      ii.          Wiltshire Police (attached)

    iii.          Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (attached)

    iv.          NHS Wiltshire (attached)

     v.          Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership (ChAP)

    vi.          Chippenham Vision

  vii.          Chippenham Shadow Community Operations Board (attached)

 viii.          Community Area Young People’s Issues Group (CAYPIG)

    ix.          Youth Strategy Update (attached)

     x.          Lyneham Steering Group

    xi.          Chippenham Partnership of Schools (attached)

  xii.          Skate Park Task Group.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

The written report from Wiltshire Police was received and noted. It was acknowledged that there had been some issues of young people congregating in John Coles Park, and patrols had been increased in this area in response to this, and the situation was improving.

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written report from Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service was received and noted.

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

The written report from NHS Wiltshire was received and noted.

   iv.        Parish and Town Councils

The written reports from Chippenham Town Council, Christian Malford Parish Council, Grittleton Parish Council, Kington Langley Parish Council and North Wraxall Parish Council were received and noted.

    v.        Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership (ChAP)

The written report was received and noted.

   vi.        Chippenham Vision Board

It was reported that the first phase of the masterplanning process was nearing completion, and public consultation will take place as part of the next phase.

 vii.        Chippenham Shadow Community Operations Board

The written report was received and noted.

viii.        Community Area Young People’s Issues Group (CAYPIG)/Youth Strategy Update

It was reported that the Youth Strategy Task Group was set to become a Youth Advisory Group, and terms of reference were being developed for this merge. A summer programme of events was available, along with a promotional Jubilee flyer which was being distributed to schools, agencies and partners.

   ix.        Lyneham Steering Group

There was no update.

    x.        Chippenham Partnership of Schools

Thanks were extended to the Area Board, Chippenham Town Council and local businesses for supporting the Chippenham Games. Approximately 1000 children had been involved and it was a very successful event. The next meeting of the Children’s Parliament would take place in November and any issues or suggestions for consultations were welcomed.

   xi.        Skate Park Task Group

It was reported that the noise impact assessments were ongoing and it was hoped that they would be complete by the end of July, at which point the public consultation would begin. The young people would continue to be updated via the CAYPIG.

A request had been received for written progress updates to be provided at each meeting of the Area Board. The Chairman reported that this would be discussed at the next agenda coordinating meeting.

To receive updates on the Area Board’s Focus Areas, as follows:

      i.        Road Safety – Lead Councillor: Bill Douglas

    ii.        Night Time Economy – Lead Councillor: Peter Hutton (to include an update on the spray art wall)

   iii.        Deprivation – Lead Councillor: Chris Caswill.

Updates were received as follows:

      i.        Road Safety

Councillor Bill Douglas reported on the ongoing success of the Community Area Transport Group (CATG). The CATG was so successful that it was creating a lot of work for officers, so there was wish for more support to assist with the increasing workloads.

    ii.        Night Time Economy

Councillor Peter Hutton reported that the Night Time Economy Group had been re-named and would now be referred to as the Crime and Community Safety Group. This group would still work on night time economy issues, but would also focus more on crime and community safety in general.

Since the previous Area Board meeting, when concern regarding graffiti in the town and on the torch route was raised, Wiltshire Council and the Town Council had worked hard to clear-up the graffiti and improve the visual appearance of the torch route. Thanks were also extended to the Community Safety Officer, Mark Rippon, for liaising with Highways and getting the graffiti on the Frogwell Lane footbridge removed.

With regards to the improvement of the local economy, the group was currently looking into plans to have a Victorian market in November or December. Further details would be reported in due course.

Mark Rippon, Community Safety Officer, provided an update on the pilot of a spray art wall in Chippenham, which to date had been a success. The wall had been whitewashed by Community Payback, and the wall was being creatively used by local artists. The Community Safety Team was working closely with the Police to dissuade graffiti artists from using unauthorised areas.

Councillor Douglas reported that the group was planning to hold a drugs awareness week next year, and it was hoped that the Area Board would be involved. It was suggested that the group should work with the Public Health Team on this.

   iii.        Deprivation

Councillor Chris Caswill reported that the time since the previous meeting had been spent understanding the deprivation and child poverty issues in the area. Meetings had taken place with representatives from Public Health and Chippenham Partnership of Schools, and further meetings were planned including with the Rise Trust. It was then proposed that a paper would be brought to a future Area Board meeting to consider potential actions that could be taken.

Action: Councillor Caswill to report to the Area Board in due course.

To approve representatives to Outside Bodies, and membership and Terms of Reference of the Area Board’s Task Groups.

Decision

      i.        The Area Board approved the representatives to Outside Bodies, and the membership and terms of reference of Task Groups.

    ii.        The Area Board approved the following parishes as having a nominated representative on the Community Area Transport Group:

·         Biddestone and Slaughterford

·         Christian Malford

·         Grittleton

·         Kington Langley.

The next meeting of the Community Area Transport Group would be held on 20 August 2012.

The Chairman will invite any remaining questions from the floor and will welcome the submission of new Community Issues.

The next agenda planning meeting will take place on Wednesday 18 July 2012 at 10am at the Monkton Park office. Any parish or town council representative interested in attending should contact the Community Area Manager or the Chairman.

The meeting is asked to note the future meeting dates below and is reminded to complete the evaluation forms in the packs.

The Forward Plan is attached for information.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting. The next meeting of the Chippenham Area Board would take place on Monday 3 September 2012, 7pm at Hardenhuish School.

The next agenda planning meeting would take place on Wednesday 18 July 2012 at 10am at the Monkton Park offices. Any parish or town council representative interested in attending should contact the Community Area Manager or the Chairman.