Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the extraordinary meeting of the Corsham Area Board which had been convened specifically to discuss the Corsham community campus proposals.

Digital Inclusion

Wiltshire Council’s business plan for 2011/15 has prioritised a number of area for investment, of which digital inclusion and supporting the rollout of superfast broadband for both business and home users is a key area.  A survey would take place between 26 April and 3 June 2011 to allow people to say what type of service they are currently able to access over the internet and how well the service performs.

The survey would have a link within it to an on-line speed checker so that people could check their current broadband speed, www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk

The survey would be available on-line and also available as a printed document. Details are available from:

www.wiltshire.gov.uk/digitalinclusion

Printed versions can be requested by calling and asking for the digital inclusion survey from the start date of the survey - 0300 456 0100.

ACTION

The Community Area Manager, Dave Roberts, to send out an email about the survey to his community area network contacts.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Councillor Allan Bosley – Corsham Town Council

Councillor Jennie Hartless – Box Parish Council

Councillor Dick Tonge declared a personal interest in item 4 on the agenda – the community area transport funding request.  Councillor Tonge was a member of the Colerne Parish Council and also the Cabinet member responsible for highways and transport issues.

To consider allocating a proportion of the 2011/12 community area transport funding to contribute to the construction of the proposed footpath adjacent to the C151 between Silver Street and the Recreation Ground, Colerne.

The Area Board considered a report which provided an update on the position of the proposed footway adjacent to the C151 (between Silver Street and the Recreation Ground in Colerne).  The Board was asked to consider allocating a proportion of the 2011/12 Community Area Transport Group funding to contribute to the construction of the proposed footway.

This project had been identified by the Area Board as a priority at its meeting on 15 September 2010.  Colerne Parish Council had agreed to contribute £10,000 towards the construction cost.

DECISION

To allocate £5,000 of the 2011/12 Corsham Community Area Transport Group (CATG) funding towards the construction prior to the next formal meeting of the CATG.

ACTION

Gareth Rogers, Senior Engineer

To confirm the membership of the Shadow Community Operations Board for the campus project.

At its meeting on 24 March 2011 the Area Board agreed to set up a Shadow Community Operations Board to be involved with the indirect management and strategic planning of the proposed campus facilities.  Nominations had been invited from any interested parties who represented specific sectors, groups or organisations.

DECISION

To confirm the membership of the Shadow Community Operations Board as follows:

To receive an update from Lucy Murray Brown – Campus and Operational Estate Management Lead.

Lucy Murray Brown, Lead Officer on the Community Campus Project gave a presentation regarding the proposals to build a campus in the Corsham community area.  The following issues were covered:

·         In February the Cabinet had approved the development of community campuses across Wiltshire.  If agreed, the Corsham campus would be one of the first in the county.

• Community consultation was very important to the project and two consultations had already taken place.
• The benefits of a campus would include extended opening hours and co-location with partners.
• There would be three tiers of service provision – core services, community services and partner facilities.
• Some audit and research work had already been undertaken and this was available on the Council’s website.
• The Shadow Community Operations Board would also undertake further consultation as the project progresses.
• The next steps would be for the area board to develop the proposals which would be considered by the Cabinet in July.  In the interim the plans would be further developed to enable planning consent to be applied for by the end of the year with the aim of the new campus being open in the summer or autumn of 2012.

To receive an update from the Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN).

CCAN had undertaken a consultation which had consisted of:

• Distribution of 2000 questionnaires to random postcodes throughout the area.
• Sending copies of the questionnaire electronically to various organisations.
• A public meeting for organisations and groups – 35 groups had been represented.
• A public meeting open to anyone wishing to attend – over 150 people had attended.
• Copies of the questionnaire had been made available on the Corsham Town Council website.
• 686 people had returned the questionnaires out of the 3,000 distributed which was a 22% return.   76% had been in favour of a community campus, 8% had been against and 16% had been undecided.
• A newsletter had then been sent out asking whether CCAN had reached the right conclusion.  This was also posted on the Wiltshire Council website.  40 responses had been received, 22 from organisations and 19 from individuals.  These had been sent to Wiltshire Council to form part of the consultation.
• Young people had also been surveyed including both primary and secondary schools.  Parents and teachers had also been included in the consultation.  There had been 769 replies, 713 from children and 56 from adults.
• One of the top requests from children had been a climbing wall.
• CCAN had a list of the requirements for a community campus and now wished to discuss practical issues such as the design and transport arrangements.
• It was noted that a petition had been received from the community centre in Corsham which had been sent on to Wiltshire Council.  The Community Centre Association had requested that all the facilities currently available should be reproduced in the new campus.

To consider any questions and comments regarding the campus proposal and consultation.

The Chairman then opened up the meeting for a question and answer session.  The following questions and comments were raised:

• There was a planned facility for young people, can there be assurance that the new facility will include the services requested by the young people e.g. toilets, a quiet area?

Officers would look at the work already undertaken with the young people and the Shadow Community Operations Board would consider this.  It was likely that some form of dedicated space for young people would be available along with use of flexible spaces within the proposed facility.

• 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?

It has not yet been decided exactly what facilities would be included in the campus.  The proposal is currently only a baseline.  The detail will be discussed at the Shadow Community Operations Board.  There are still choices to be made.

• It was proposed that there would be a facility for a bar, darts, snooker and skittles.  It was important for there to be a social meeting area with a licensed bar.  The current community centre has a bar which makes a profit and the users of the centre would like a similar facility in the new campus.

It was made clear by the Chairman of the Area Board that the Council was not prepared to subsidise a bar although a licensed catering facility was included in the current proposal.

• A consultation has taken place but it was felt that the outcome was not being portrayed accurately.  Patrons of the community centre use the bar for social events and this was very important.

Wiltshire Council could not build a new “pub” facility.  The Chairman explained that the community centre had a membership so was able to subsidise drinks from their fees.  He also stated that the community centre was being replaced because it was in a poor state of repair.

• Why has Rudloe got a club and Corsham has not?  Wasn’t it cheaper and better for the environment to repair the community centre and not to knock it down?  It is the only place to drink in Corsham that has wheelchair access.  The public meeting held by CCAN took place in very bad weather and a number of people had been unable to attend.  Another meeting should have been held.

The new campus facility would be very environmentally friendly and this was easier to maintain in a new building which could be specially designed to save energy.  A number of public meetings and consultations have taken place throughout the process of developing a campus proposal for Corsham ensuring many opportunities for people to have their say.

·         Is the Pound Arts Centre to be considered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider making the following recommendation to the Cabinet regarding the Corsham Community Campus proposal:

That based on an assessment of the overall service improvement possibilities and to ensure long term security of service delivery for the wider Corsham Community Area, the Corsham Area Board ask cabinet to:

(a)    Support a community campus on the Springfield Site that will service the Corsham Community Area and ensure that this includes, as a minimum, all services outlined to the meeting.

(b)    Develop this proposal so it is delivered with minimal disruption to the existing services and facilities.