Agenda and minutes

Chippenham and Villages Area Board - Monday 22 November 2010 7.00 pm

Venue: Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Cocklebury Road, Chippenham, SN15 3QN

Contact: Penny Bell (Democratic Services Officer)

Items
Note	No.	Item
7.00 pm	1.	Chairman's Welcome and Introductions View the background to item 1. Minutes: The Chairman of the Area Board, Councillor Desna Allen, welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre for the use of the venue.
	2.	Apologies View the background to item 2. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Jane Scott, Mike Franklin (Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service), Jo Howes (Wiltshire NHS), Ray Stockall and Nigel Fairley (Christian Malford Parish Council), Sherry Meadows (Stanton St Quinton Parish Council), Jane Clark (Chippenham and Villages Community Area Partnership) and Lt Col Kitchen (Buckley Barracks).
	3.	Minutes View the background to item 3. i. To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 13 September 2010. ii. Actions from previous meetings. Supporting documents: Minutes 2010-09-13 , item 3. PDF 202 KB Minutes: i. Minutes of the last meeting Decision The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 13 September 2010 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. ii. Actions from previous meetings The Democratic Services Officer provided an update on progress with street trading, after concern was raised at the last Area Board meeting. A report was due to be presented to the Licensing Committee on 30 November 2010 requesting approval of a harmonised Wiltshire-wide policy on street trading. If agreed, a draft policy would be taken back to the committee in May 2011 for approval. All other actions were either complete or ongoing.
	4.	Declarations of Interest View the background to item 4. Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests, or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
	5.	Chairman's Announcements View the background to item 5. To include, but not limited to, the following: i. Adverse Winter Weather – Call for Partnership Working ii. Mobile Phone Safety iii. Census 2011. Supporting documents: Chairman's Announcements , item 5. PDF 128 KB Minutes: The Chairman referred to the various corporate announcements which were available in the agenda and online. The Chairman also made the following announcements: Transforming Community Services in Wiltshire A briefing paper from NHS Wiltshire titled ‘Transforming Community Services in Wiltshire’ was handed out contained information on the announcement of the ‘preferred provider’ for the health and care services currently provided through Wiltshire Community Health Services.. Grittleton Multi-Use Games Area The Chairman, along with Victoria Welsh (Community Area Manager) had recently visited the newly completed multi-use games area at Grittleton. The project had been part-funded by a community area grant of £5,000 awarded by the Area Board. Buckley Barracks The Chairman and Community Area Manager had also recently visited Buckley Barracks at Hullavington, which now formed part of Chippenham Community Area. Buckley barracks was currently engaging the public in its Community Engagement Strategy, and would attend the next meeting of the Area Board to talk about this in more detail.
7.05 pm	6.	Town, Parish and Partner Updates View the background to item 6. To note the written reports and receive updates from any partners who wish to contribute: i. Parishes ii. Wiltshire Police iii. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service iv. NHS Wiltshire v. Chippenham and Villages Community Area Partnership vi. Chippenham Vision Board vii. Community Area Young People’s Issues Group (CAYPIG) viii. Children’s Parliament ix. Westlea Housing Association. Supporting documents: Castle Combe Parish Council Update , item 6. PDF 78 KB Christian Malford Parish Council Update , item 6. PDF 144 KB Grittleton Parish Council Update , item 6. PDF 81 KB Kington Langley Parish Council Update , item 6. PDF 88 KB Kington St Michael Parish Council Update , item 6. PDF 91 KB Wiltshire Police Update , item 6. PDF 125 KB There are a further 7 documents.View the full list of documents for item 6. Minutes: The following updates from partners were received: i. Parish and Town Councils Written update reports were received and noted from Castle Combe, Christian Malford, Grittleton, Kington Langley and Kington St Michael Parish Councils. Further verbal updates were received as follows: Grittleton Parish Council The parish was currently focussing on road safety improvements, particularly speeding; however it was not possible to have speed detector strips installed due to a lack of lamp posts to connect them to. Parvis Khansari, Service Director, undertook to look into this issue. There was also an outstanding issue with the pavement at Fosseway, and Adrian Hampton, Head of Local Highways and Street Scene, reported that this work was in the programme and due to be done shortly. Castle Combe Parish Council Inconsiderate parking on double yellow lines continued to be an issue, and it was hoped that Wiltshire Council’s lack of resource to deal with this issue would be resolved very soon. Victoria Welsh, Community Area Manager, would pursue this issue with the Parking Team. The Parish Council also commented on the allocation of grit bins in the community area, being only five. Councillor Tonge announced that parish and town councils could purchase their own grit bins, and Wiltshire Council could supply one tonne of salt provided that there was somewhere to store it. This was explained in paragraphs 2.10 and 2.11 of the report being considered unter Item 9 on the agenda. Wiltshire Police The written update was noted. Inspector Kate Pain explained that reductions in violent crime were one of the main priorities for Wiltshire Police and she was pleased to report that there had been an 18% decline in violent crime in Chippenham Community Area. The hard work and dedication of the Night Time Economy Group had contributed to this success and the Group was congratulated. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service The written update was noted. NHS Wiltshire The written updates were noted. Chippenham and Villages Community Area Partnership (ChAP) John Clark reported on behalf of ChAP that Julia Stacey was now in the position of Partnership Coordinator. It was also noted that the Chippenham and Villages Area Guides at Chippenham train station had been going well, and the common slip on the river was due to be cleaned. Chippenham Vision Board The written update was circulated and noted. Tim Martienssen, Vision Director, added the following verbal updates: · Core Strategy and Vision consultation events were being planned over the next couple of months. · A Vision event was also being planned for the New Year and would involve local people. · A useful meeting had been held with Ashtenne; the owners of the Langley Park site in Chippenham. It was hoped that a satisfactory solution for the site could be found soon. · A traffic modelling assessment of the Chippenham High Street indicated that it would be possible to close the High Street on Friday mornings to allow for the market to take place; however there were further considerations to assess before a decision would be ... view the full minutes text for item 6.
7.25 pm	7.	Reducing Unnecessary Street Lighting To determine which scheme(s) will proceed for reductions in street lighting. Supporting documents: Reducing Unnecessary Street Lighting , item 7. PDF 102 KB Minutes: Under this scheme, which sought to reduce the amount of unnecessary street lighting at night-time, the Area Board considered a bid from Kington St Michael Parish Council to modify 20 lights in the parish. Decision The Area Board approved the bid from Kington St Michael Parish Council for 20 street lights to be modified in the following locations: · Grove Lane – 2 lights · Stanton Lane – 1 light · The Orchard – 2 lights · The Ridings – 6 lights · Kyneton Way – 3 lights · The Skillins – 3 lights · The Paddocks – 2 lights · Stubbs Lane – 1 light. The Chairman announced that there was still funding available for further street lights to be modified across the Community Area. Any queries of expressions of interest should be made to Victoria Welsh, Community Area Manager.
7.30 pm	8.	Car Parking Strategy Consultation Feedback View the background to item 8. i. To receive the results of the Car Parking Strategy consultation from Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport. ii. Councillor Tonge will outline his Cabinet role and answer questions on his Highways and Transport portfolio (questions to be submitted one week in advance). Supporting documents: Car Parking Strategy - Key Points from Consultation , item 8. PDF 53 KB Minutes: Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, provided feedback on the Car Parking Strategy consultation which had been conducted recently to address the inconsistency inherited from the former district councils. Councillor Tonge explained that parking was wider than just charging, and it made up an important part of local transport policy (e.g. improving street scenes, reducing traffic conflicts and supporting bus services). It was also important to review parking policy to ensure it was fit-for-purpose for new developments. During the consultation, responses had been received from some 600 people, making over 5,000 comments. One petition had also been received. In the Chippenham Community Area, a total of 23 responses had been received, with the following points being raised: It was critical that Vision Partnerships were at the centre of parking policy and that this strategy should respond to the emerging Master Plan. On-street parking that took place in Spanbourn Avenue was almost entirely from people working in the town. The car parks in the town centre should have the free hour re-instated. This used to work well and brought more trade to the town centre. People of all religions attending churches would be penalised. Carrying out religion was a basic freedom and charging for attending church by any means was against those rights. The next steps in the process included a Cabinet decision meeting on 14 December 2010, with statutory procedures taking place from January to March 2011. It was planned that the implementation of changes would take effect from April 2011. Following Councillor Tonge’s presentation, a number of questions and comments arose, as follows: · The rationalisation of car parking charges across the county we very welcome, particularly as car parking charges in Chippenham appeared to be higher than those in neighbouring towns. · Parking in residential street to avoid car parking charges was a persistent problem that caused frustration for residents. It was suggested that the small car park at the bottom of Spanbourn Avenue could be used as a free/low-cost car park to dissuade people from parking on residential streets. · More devolvement should be made to parish and town councils in line with the Localism agenda, so that decisions could be made appropriate to local needs. · There was no strategy to deal with problems with parking on residential streets, which was a particular problem on the streets around the train station. Introducing single yellow lines on residential streets was a local solution, but could also move the problem on to the next residential street. · The issue of residents parking needed to be addressed. · The response to the consultation appeared to be poor and a wider consultation should be considered. · The implementation of Sunday parking charges could have very unfortunate consequences, particularly for church out-reach programmes, which may be at risk if people can’t afford to park in the town on Sundays. · The two large out-of-town supermarkets in Chippenham offered free parking at present, and an increase in town centre car park charges could see more trade being ... view the full minutes text for item 8.
7.50 pm	9.	Allocation of New Grit Bins To prioritise the allocation of new grit bins across the Community Area. Supporting documents: Allocation of New Grit Bins , item 9. PDF 145 KB Allocation of New Grit Bins - Appendix A , item 9. PDF 59 KB Minutes: The Area Board considered the allocation of five additional grit bins across the Community Area, against a total amount requested of 24. The 24 requests had been assessed by the Area Highways Officer, who subsequently make recommendations that four of the sites should be awarded an additional grit bin. It was proposed that the fifth grit bin should be allocated to Cepen Park in Chippenham, as this had previously been assessed and agreed in April 2010. Decision The Area Board agreed to allocate the five additional grit bins as follows: 1. Castle Combe – on the hill on the Ford side of the lower village where the spring ran across the road. Christian Malford – on Church Road opposite the school. Nettleton – at the junction in Nettleton Shrub. Nettleton – on Nettleton Road on the bend just after the entrance/exit to Church Hill. Cepen Park, Chippenham – at Redwing Avenue/Fallowfield Close. Councillor Tonge explained that parish and town councils willing to purchase their own new grit bins would be provided with one tonne of grit, on the condition that they had somewhere to store it under cover, and someone to re-fill the grit bins. Adrian Hampton confirmed that there was no liability on parish/town councils or individuals for carrying out this activity.
8.00 pm	10.	Chippenham Area Highways Budget 2010/11: Prioritisation of Schemes To consider recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group for new transport schemes in the Community Area. Supporting documents: Chippenham Area Highways Budget 2010/11: Prioritisation of Schemes , item 10. PDF 138 KB Minutes: The Area Board considered recommendations made by the Community Area Transport Group for the prioritisation of small-scale local schemes for funding from the Chippenham Area Highways Budget 2010/11. The Community Area Transport Group recommended to the Area Board that five local schemes should be prioritised for further assessment, based on advice from Highway’s officers following their initial assessments of the schemes. John Scragg, on behalf of the Community Area Transport Group, asked the Area Board to consider a sixth scheme alongside the five other recommended schemes. The sixth scheme was for a pedestrian refuge at the Lowden/Rowden junction, and had been agreed by the Area Board on 1 March 2010 and assessed by Highways Officers. Decision The Area Board agreed that the following six local transport schemes should be prioritised for further assessment: 1. Lowden/Rowden junction, Chippenham – Pedestrian refuge 2. Brook Street, Chippenham – Pedestrian crossing 3. Main Road/Station Road, Christian Malford – Footway extension and pedestrian safety 4. Pewsham Way near Forest Lane, Chippenham – Pedestrian crossing 5. Canal Road/Pewsham Way junction, Chippenham – Footway on Canal Road to access roundabout splitter island on Pewsham Way 6. Queens Crescent near Conway Road, Chippenham – Pedestrian crossing.
8.10 pm	11.	Area Board Priority Updates View the background to item 11. To receive updates on the Area Board’s Priorities, as follows: i. Road Safety – Lead Councillor: Bill Douglas ii. Skate Park – Lead Councillor: Paul Darby iii. Adult Social Care – Lead Councillor: Peter Hutton iv. Night Time Economy – Lead Councillors: Peter Hutton and Chris Caswill v. Childhood Obesity – Led by Chippenham and Villages Community Area Partnership. Minutes: Updates were received as follows: i. Road Safety Councillor Bill Douglas updated on road safety issues on the A350 following the fatal accident. Investigations had been made into the installation of five no u-turn signs, but it was estimated to cost £45,000. The Coroner’s report was now awaited which was expended to recommend road safety measures for the A350. Councillor Douglas also reported that the local schools were still pursuing ‘safe to school’ plans, and that Kings Lodge School was in need of a ‘lolly-pop person’; anyone interested should contact the Head of the school or Councillor Douglas. ii. Skate Park This update would take place under Item 13 on the agenda. iii. Adult Social Care Councillor Peter Hutton reported that a successful workshop had taken place recently involving several local partners. A further event was planned for March 2011 at the Neeld Hall in Chippenham, and invites would be going out soon. iv. Night Time Economy Councillor Peter Hutton paid thanks to Inspector Pain for supporting the work of the Night Time Economy Group. The funding application to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme for door radios had been successful and the door radios would be purchased and deployed shortly. The Taxi Marshall Scheme would be in place in December for the Christmas and New Year period. The third proposed strand of measures was the introduction of the Street Pastors Scheme, and a grant application for this project would be considered under Item 14 (ii). v. Childhood Obesity Julia Stacey, ChAP Coordinator, provided an update on the work of the Childhood Obesity Group. A multi-agency forum meeting was held at the end of September where the discussion focussed around the way forward for the project, and the ChAP Health and Social Care Group would be holding a meeting on 30 November. It was also hoped that the recent success of Warminster’s ‘Anyone Can Cook’ event could be recreated within the Chippenham Community Area.
8.20 pm	12.	Results of Community Flooding Consultation To receive the results of the community flooding consultation from Cllr Jonathon Seed, Chairman of the Northern Flood Working Group. Minutes: Councillor Jonathan Seed, Chairman of the Operational Flood Working Group (North), gave a presentation on the results of the recent community flooding consultation. The consultation consisted of a mapping exercise in each parish to highlight problem areas and identify areas at risk of flooding. In the Chippenham Community Area, the parishes had submitted informative, quality returns which were now being used to implement the following actions: Date was being imported to Wiltshire Council’s mapping system Overall flood problems were being established and mapped Each plan was investigated to establish work needed Action points and costings were made from each plan Parishes were being prioritised by need and resource (Flood Wardens Flood Plans, etc) Potential areas were being identified to store emergency flood kits Operational Flood Working Groups for resolutions. Castle Combe Parish Council wished to praise Wiltshire Council’s Emergency Planning Team for an excellent emergency exercise undertaken recently. It was highly recommended that other parishes undertook the exercise too. The Chairman thanked Councillor Seed for his presentation.
8.30 pm	13.	A Skate Park for Chippenham Community Area To establish a working group to take forward proposals for a skate park. Minutes: The Chairman announced that a working group had been formed to take forward plans for a skate park in Chippenham. The Councillors representing the Area Board on the Working Group were Councillors Desna Allen, Paul Darby, Nina Phillips and Peter Hutton. The next meeting was due to take place on 10 January 2011. Decision The Area Board agreed to the following Terms of Reference for the skate park working group: 1. To install a Skatepark facility in Chippenham 2. Identify sites 3. Negotiate with landowners 4. Consult with members of the public 5. Consult and work with young people 6. Invite experts/professionals as required.
8.35 pm	14.	Community Area Grants View the background to item 14. To consider two applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2010/11, as follows: i. Sheldon Road Methodist Church – request £4,250 to purchase items to furnish and equip the Community Café and kitchen. ii. Nightshift Council of Reference - request £2,670 to introduce a Street Pastors Scheme in Chippenham. 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 Supporting documents: Community Area Grants Report , item 14. PDF 152 KB Sheldon Road Methodist Church - Grant Application , item 14. PDF 121 KB Nightshift Council of Reference - Grant Application , item 14. PDF 111 KB Minutes: The Area Board considered two applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme, as follows: i. Sheldon Road Methodist Church The sum of £4,250 was requested to purchase items to furnish and equip the Community Cafe and kitchen. Decision The Area Board awarded the sum of £4,250 to Sheldon Road Methodist Church. *Reason* *The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and demonstrated a link to the Chippenham and Villages Community Plan to ‘support village and community hall projects’.* Nightshift Council of Reference The sum of £2,670 was requested to introduce a Street Pastors Scheme in Chippenham. Decision The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,670 to Nightshift Council of Reference. *Reason* *The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2010/11 and demonstrated links to the Chippenham and Villages Community Plan, including ‘anti-social behaviour’ and ‘fear of crime’.*
8.45 pm	15.	Buckley Barracks: Community Engagement Strategy To receive a presentation on Buckley Barracks’ Community Engagement Strategy from Lt Col Kitchen (Commanding Officer, 9 Regiment RLC) and Peter Murton (Station Staff Officer, Hullavington Station). Minutes: This item was deferred until the meeting on Monday 17 January 2011.
8.55 pm	16.	Community Issues Update View the background to item 16. Parvis Khansari, Service Director, will provide an update on issues received and actions taken. Minutes: Parvis Khansari, Service Director, provided an update on issues raised and resolved via the Community Issues System. Since the last Area Board meeting, 17 new issues had been raised, of which six had been dealt with and the remaining issues were all in progress. Issues could be logged via the online Community Issues System, or by contacting the Community Area Manager.
9.00 pm	17.	Evaluation and Close View the background to item 17. The Chairman will invite any remaining questions from the floor. The next Chippenham Area Board meeting will be held on Monday 17 January 2011, 7.00pm at St Peter’s School in Chippenham. The agenda planning meeting will be held on Thursday 16 December 2010, 10.00am at Monkton Park Office, Chippenham. Parish and town representatives interested in attending should contact the Chairman or the Community Area Manager. The Forward Plan of future agenda items is attached for information. Supporting documents: Forward Plan , item 17. PDF 124 KB Minutes: The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and requested that people completed and returned the evaluation forms. The Forward Plan of provisional future agenda items was included for information. The next meeting of the Chippenham Area Board would be held on Monday 17 January 2011, 7.00 pm at St Peter’s School in Chippenham. The agenda planning meeting would be held on Thursday 16 December 2010, 10.00 am at Monkton Park office, Chippenham. Parish and town representatives interested in attending should contact the Chairman or the Community Area Manager.