Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Councillor Dick Tonge sought nominations for Chairman of the Area Board for the forthcoming year.

Decision

To elect Councillor Alan Macrae as Chairman of the Corsham Area Board for the forthcoming year.

To elect a Vice Chairman for the forthcoming year.

(Cllr Alan Macrae in the chair)

The Chairman sought nominations for the position of Vice Chairman of the Area Board for the forthcoming year.

Decision

That Councillor Peter Davis be elected Vice Chairman of the Corsham Area Board for the forthcoming year.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Cllr Nikki Kenna – Corsham Town Council

Cllr Allan Bosley – Corsham Town Council

Cllr Peter Anstey – Corsham Town Council

Cllr Philip Glen – Lacock Parish Council

Fiona Allen – Corsham School

Rita McLaughlin – St Patrick’s School

Pearl Garland-Spedding

Karen Jones – Senior Project Manager, Wiltshire Council

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2011 and of the extraordinary meeting held on 27 April 2011.

Decision

(1)  To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2011.

(2)  To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2011 subject to the following amendments:

(a)  Item 9 – insert the following question:

Is the Pound Arts Centre to be considered within the new Community Campus?

No, the Pound Arts Centre is completely separate from the Campus.

(b)  Item 9 - Insert the following question

CCAN produced the consultation results, who interpreted them to create the working proposal?

 Wiltshire Council

(c)  Item 9 – Page 7 of 8 – Bullet point 4 – Amend to read:

There was a feeling from some people present that the working proposal for the Campus which was included in the second consultation and circulated with the agenda did not fully reflect the comments fed in.

(d)  Item 9 – Page 7 of 8 – Bullet point 6 – Amend to read:

Who had put together the paper circulated with the agenda?

CCAN had forwarded a large report based on the consultation outcome and Wiltshire Council officers had put together the paper circulated with the agenda.

(e)  Item 9 – Page 5 of 8 – Bullet point 2 – Delete:

Does the proposal include a community hall and facilities such as darts and snooker?

Replace with:

In the proposal it appears that activities such as snooker, darts, skittles etc are incorporated into the main hall.  This proposal would be impractical and render the provision for these activities or the use of the main hall useless.  Is this a drafting error or is there a complete lack of understanding of the basic requirements requested during the consultation process?

Action

Marie Todd to amend minutes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the following Chairman’s announcements:

(a)  Consultation on Waste Sites

(b)  Street Trading Consultation

(c)  Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields

(d)  Westwells Road Update

(a)  Consultation – Wiltshire and Swindon Proposed Submission Draft Waste Site Allocations Development Plan Document

Wiltshire Council is updating its policy framework to ensure that future proposals for waste development in Wiltshire are for the right types of facilities in the right locations.  Consultation will commence from 13 June to 5 August 2011.  The consultation will be available on the Council website http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal.  Hard copies will also be available for inspection at Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council main offices as well as all libraries throughout the County and Borough.  For further information please contact the Minerals and Waste Policy Team at Wiltshire Council by telephone (01225 713429) or email: mineralsandwastepolicy@wiltshire.gov.uk.

(b)  New County Wide Street Trading Scheme

At a meeting on the 5 April 2011 Wiltshire Council’s Licensing Committee considered the issues raised by public consultation on the proposed council-wide street trading scheme.

The main issues raised by public consultation were:

·         The scope of the street trading scheme

·         The level of bureaucracy and length of time it would take to process applications

The level of the proposed street trading fees

The street trading scheme will now be revised in the light of these decisions. Council officers will undertake a second, two week, public consultation commencing mid June 2011 with all interested parties including area boards.

The consultation document will be available on the Council’s website: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/consultations.htm

The Licensing Committee will consider the revised street trading scheme and the results of the second public consultation at a meeting in September 2011, with a view to the council adopting the council-wide street trading scheme by the end of 2011.

(c)  Queen Elizabeth II Playing Fields

The Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire on behalf of HRH Prince William has asked Wiltshire Council to assist in supporting the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge. The aim of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge is to protect 2,012 playing fields in communities all across Britain by 2012.  Further details will be sent to the Town and Parish Councils in the Corsham Community Area for action.  Suggestions for playing fields will then be put forward will be brought to the next meeting of the Area Board on 18 August when the two nominations for the Corsham area will be decided.

Action

Dave Roberts, Community Area Manager

(d)  Waiting Restrictions Westwells Road

The consultation period for the proposed waiting restrictions on Westwells Road were finalised on Friday 27 May 2011.  During the consultation the Council received a significant number of objections (approximately 23 in total) with an additional number of letters in support (approximately 10 in total).

It is now the Council’s intention to proceed with the statutory report to the Lead Cabinet Member for his deliberation.  The report will address the concerns and objections raised as well as noting the notices of support made.  It will take approximately 2-3 weeks for the report to be considered which includes a statutory period of advert on the Council’s website and it was hoped that a final  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive any updates from the following partners:

(a)   Wiltshire Police

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

(c)  NHS Wiltshire

(d)  Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

(e)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

(f)   Chamber of Commerce

(a)  Wiltshire Police

Sgt Allan George from the Chippenham neighbourhood policing team presented the police update report.  He reported that over the summer period Sgt Alex Bevan would be covering the Corsham area.  There had been a 17% reduction in violent crime in the area.  The area was 1^st out of 15 for general crime and 3^rd out of 15 for violent crime so was generally a low crime area.  The actual number of crimes had reduced by 300.  The Police were very keen to continue with partnership working and neighbourhood policing teams.  A new camera had now been positioned at the Martingate Centre.

Gill Stafford from the Police Authority reported that there would be some changes to the neighbourhood policing teams.  These would be reduced from 55 to 20 to correspond with Wiltshire’s 20 community areas.  This was an administrative change only and would not affect staffing numbers or team structures.

The recent consultation carried out by the Police Authority regarding options to reduce funding was now complete and the following issues were reported:

·         1,134 responses had been received.

·         There was wide support for PCSOs and community policing.

·         There was support for reduction in bureaucracy and retaining frontline services.

·         85% of people were happy with the 1 minute response rate for non-emergency calls.

·         People did not want to lose police stations but supported shared facilities and greater use of the telephone and internet.

Following on from the consultation the Police Authority had identified the following four priorities:

·         Reduce violent crime

·         Manage those people who cause the most harm

·         Tackle anti-social behaviour

·         Develop a sustainable policing model

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

A report was circulated with the agenda papers.

(c)  NHS Wiltshire

A report was circulated with the agenda papers.

(d)  Town and Parish Councils

·         Colerne Parish Council – The footpath adjacent to the C151 (between Silver Street and the Recreation Ground in Colerne) had now been completed.  The Parish Council thanked the Area Board and all those who had helped this to happen.

·         Corsham Town Council – Cllr Peter Anstey had been elected Chairman of the Town Council.  Cllr Ruth Hopkinson had been elected as Vice Chairman.  Cllr Hopkinson thanked Cllr Allan Bosley for all the work he had undertaken in his role as chairman of the council.  Wiltshire Council had now served notice on the Tourist Information Centre and the lease would then revert to the Corsham Town Council.  It was hoped that the Town Council could work with the Information Centre to maintain a presence in Corsham.  The Town Council thanked the Area Board for its recent grant to provide lighting for the skatepark.

(e)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

The campus consultation was now complete and the results passed to Wiltshire Council.  The CCAN website was now up and running with links to local Councils and organisations in the community area.

(f)   Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce had recently organised a business competition and the local winner was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Sian Walker, Service Director for Adult Care will give a brief introduction to the following items relating to health and social care.

Sian Walker, Service Director, explained that the Council aimed to provide additional adult care developments to help people to live as independently as possible.   Members of the Adult Social Care Team were based in hospitals and could help with the discharge of people from hospital and the two services worked very closely together.  The Chairman had visited Florence Court, a new development in Trowbridge, which was an excellent new facility.

Karen Jones, Senior Project Manager, will give a presentation regarding Wiltshire Council’s Older People’s Accommodation Development Strategy.  The Cabinet has recently approved this 10 year strategy which will modernise the way that older people’s accommodation is provided.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda as Karen Jones was unable to attend the meeting due to illness.

Tim Edmunds, RUH Communications Manager, will give a presentation regarding the hospital’s application to become a foundation trust.

Lynne Vaughan, Director of HR at the RUH, gave a presentation regarding the hospital’s application to become a foundation trust.  The following issues were covered:

·         Various improvements were taking place at the RUH with the focus being on patient safety, patient experience, emergency waiting times and finances.

·         The hospital was well on the road to a good financial position.

·         MRSA and clostridium difficile incidents had now reduced considerably.

·         The RUH was in the top 20% of acute hospitals in England and Wales for stroke care.

·          The Trust was improving the ways in which it cares for people with dementia and setting local standards

·          The RUH was expanding its role as a regional provider of specialised treatment for patients with prostate cancer

·         The hospital would continue to provide comprehensive acute care.

People were invited to become a member of the Trust or a Governor.  Responsibilities of a Governor would include:

•  Representing the members
•  Appointing the Chair and other Non-Executive Directors of the Board of Directors
•  Approving the appointment of the Trust’s Chief Executive
•  Receiving and commenting upon forward plans, including Trust strategy, submitted by the Board of Directors
•  Receiving the Trust’s annual report, annual accounts, quality accounts and annual plan

Key dates in the Trust application process were:

·         Staff engagement and involvement – 21 Feb to 20 March 2011

·         Public Consultation – 21 March to 19 June 2011

·         Formal recruitment of members – March 2011 onward

·         Electing and appointing Governors – December 2011 to March 2012

·         Becoming an NHS foundation trust – April 2012

Further information would be provided in the following ways:

·         Public meetings

·         Consultation booklet and membership leaflets (which were made available at the meeting)

·         RUH website - www.ruh.nhs.uk/foundationtrust

·         The hospital magazine – “Insight”

A number of questions were then raised:

·         Is there a minimum number of people who were required to become members of the Trust?

It was important for the Trust to be representative so a minimum number of around 6,000 members would be required, however, if there were more this would be better.

·         How is the budget set?

The Trust would be responsible for its own budget.  At the moment the PCTs allocated funding but this may change to GP commissioners.  The changes were currently on hold pending further consideration by the Government.

·         Was the merge with the Bath Mineral Hospital a physical or administrative merge?

This was as yet undecided but nothing would happen until Autumn 2012 at the earliest.  Further discussions would have to take place.

·         Some concern was raised regarding the new signage at the RUH as they had recently changed from Department names to Department numbers.  Some people found this easier but the RUH was aware that this had caused problems for others.

To receive a presentation from Jane Shuttleworth, Interim Head of Joint Commissioning, regarding the 13-19 Commissioning Strategy.

Jane Shuttleworth, Interim Head of Joint Commissioning, gave a presentation regarding the 13-19 Commissioning Strategy.

·         Wiltshire Children’s Trust draft commissioning strategy for services for young people aged 13 to 19 has been issued for consultation.  This is an important strategy which outlines plans for improving services for the 13 to 19 age range.

·         There were 1,787 13-19 year olds in the Corsham area and it was important to look at their requirements for health, education, transport and youth development and to set priorities.

·         There was pressure on expenditure and it was important that services provided are not duplicated or overlap in any way.

·         There would be input from a number of people.

·         It was noted that lack of jobs is currently a key issue for young people.

·         The draft strategy outlined four suggestions for future youth work services including some initial thoughts on making the savings from youth work budgets noted in the Council’s financial plan.  The suggestions are put forward to promote discussion and debate.

The following issues were then discussed:

·         The Corsham CAYPIG had asked for a safe place for young people to meet.  This had not yet happened and there was some concern that the campus would not provide this requirement.

·         There was also concern about the reduction in the number of Connexions offices which would make it difficult for young people to access advice and guidance.  This should be a priority. 

Jane Shuttleworth explained that this issue was addressed in the strategy and that she was meeting with Connexions staff next week to discuss this matter.

·         It was pointed out that young people in Rudloe also needed services and something for young people to do.   Not all the services should be located in Corsham itself.

Jane Shuttleworth agreed to take this request back to the youth development officers and consult with young people and those in Rudloe.

Action

Jane Shuttleworth to feed back the concerns raised.

(a)  To receive an update from Cllrs Allan Bosley and Alan Macrae regarding the Corsham Community Campus Project.

(b)   To consider appointing a new representative to the Shadow Campus Operations Board following the resignation of one member.

(a)  Update on Community Campus Project

The Area Board noted the update report submitted by Cllr Alan Bosley, Chairman of the Shadow Campus Operations Board (COB).  The COB had met on 4 and 23 May.

The following issues were discussed and questions raised:

·         It was confirmed that the full minutes from the COB would be made available on line and would be brought to future meeting of the Area Board.  A copy of the minutes from the meetings held on 2 and 23 May will be made available on the Council website www.wiltshire.gov.uk/corshamcommunitycampus

·         It was noted that an offer had been made by the Princes Foundation to use the “enquiry by design” method as a tool to engage the community in the design of the campus.  This would have been provided free of charge.  However, the COB had rejected this offer and a number of people were disappointed by this decision.

The Chairman explained that the COB had carefully considered the offer but due to the short timescale for the project had decided against using this method of community engagement.  He agreed to forward the details of the offer to other community areas whose campus projects were not subject to such tight deadlines.  It was noted that the offer would not necessarily be free of charge to other community areas.

·         Would the funding for the project be lost if the project was not completed within the planned timescales?  Why is the time frame driving the project forward?

The Chairman explained that the Cabinet had agreed a number of pilot campus schemes.  Corsham was one of these.  One of the main reasons for Corsham’s inclusion in the pilot phase was due to the urgent need to provide facilities for young people in the area.  The Cabinet still had to formally approve funding for the Corsham scheme.

·         Concern was expressed that although Corsham had been promised a youth centre this had never materialised.  Is the campus the right location for a youth centre?  There was concern regarding the tight timescales and that due to these timescales the Council was not listening to the views of the community.

The Chairman explained that the COB shared these concerns.  Any person who wanted to raise issues about the campus should contact one of the representatives on the COB who could bring any concerns to the meetings for discussion.

·         A petition had been organised asking that the existing community centre be allowed to continue and requesting that it should not be part of the new campus.  Over 600 signatures had already been collected.  The Board was advised that the wider public of Corsham were not all in favour of the new campus facility particularly users of the library, youth service and community centre.

The Chairman stated that he would be happy to receive a copy of the petition as soon as it was available.

·         Corsham Town Council fully supported the campus and the consultation process but accepted that there were some concerns.

·         Would there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To consider recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group.

The Area Board considered a report which set out recommendations from the Corsham Community Area Transport Group.

The following issues were discussed:

·         Cllr Ruth Hopkinson stated that Corsham Town Council was keen for the crossing on the B3109 at Bradford Road to go ahead as soon as possible.

·         It was noted that crossing the Bradford Road was the main problem for people travelling to Rudloe.

·         There were also concerns regarding the safety of children walking or cycling to Corsham Primary School.  It was felt that a crossing would encourage children to walk and cycle.

·         It was suggested that the Section 106 agreement funding which had been allocated for Corsham railway station should be used to provide the crossing.

·         Cllr Dick Tonge explained that officers had thoroughly investigated the provision of a crossing on the B3109 but had not been able to recommend further action at this time.  The Council would not provide a crossing that could be less safe than the current situation.  However, the report produced did not preclude this location being reviewed at a future date in the light of the ongoing discussions regarding the development of the Corsham Cycle Network.  Cllr Tonge agreed to send a copy of the full report to Cllr Ruth Hopkinson and Anthony Styles for information. 

Decision

(1)  To note the completion of the footway linking Silver Street with the Recreation Ground at Colerne.

(2)  To support the recommendation that no further action be taken on the pedestrian crossing at the B3109 Bradford Road, Corsham at this time.

(3)  To approve the implementation of the South Place scheme subject to financial support from Corsham Town Council.

Action

(1)  Spencer Drinkwater

(2)  Cllr Dick Tonge to send a copy of the report regarding the crossing on the B3109 to Cllr Ruth Hopkinson and Anthony Styles.

To confirm the following appointments to local outside bodies:

(a)  Corsham Area Young People’s Issues Group – Cllrs Shelia Parker and Peter Davis

(b)  Pound Arts Centre – Cllr Alan Macrae

(c)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN) – Cllrs Peter Davis and Alan Macrae

Decision

To confirm the following appointments to outside bodies for the forthcoming year:

Corsham Area Young People’s Issues Group (CAYPIG) – Cllrs Sheila Parker and Peter Davis

Pound Arts Centre – Cllr Alan Macrae

Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN) – Cllr Sheila Parker

To note that future meetings will take place on:

Thursday 18 August 2011 – Corsham Town Hall

Thursday 20 October 2011 – Corsham Town Hall

Thursday 1 December 2011 – The Pavilion, Box

Thursday 2 February 2012 – Corsham Town Hall

Thursday 22 March 2012 – Corsham Town Hall

It was noted that meetings of the Corsham Area Board would take place on the following dates:

Thursday 18 August 2011 – Corsham Town Hall

Thursday 20 October 2011 – Corsham Town Hall

Thursday 1 December 2011 – The Pavilion, Box

Thursday 2 February 2012 – Corsham Town Hall

Thursday 22 March 2012 – Corsham Town Hall

Cllr Macrae thanked Cllr Dick Tonge for his excellent work as chairman of the Corsham Area Board over the last two years.