Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Corsham Area Board meeting and invited members of the Board to introduce themselves.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Jennie Hartless - Box Parish Council

Ed Deedigan - Kandu Arts

Elaine Marston - Corsham Town Council

Allan Bosley - Corsham Town Council

Peter Kallmeier - Youth Development Service

Ian Storey - Chamber of Commerce

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2010.

After considering a point of accuracy the minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2010 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman informed all present of the following:

• Bradford Road Re-surfacing: Wiltshire Council had completed the work following the damages caused by the bad weather;

• Road markings: Station Road / Pound Pill area and Leafy Lane:
  • Delays, due to the unsettled weather, for road markings in Station Road and the Pound Pill area;
  • Plans for road markings at Leafy Lane in the late spring / early summer, which it was hoped would deter drivers from straying into the middle of the carriageway;

• Consultation on Waste Sites: In the summer the Area Board would consider a consultation on a plan for civic waste sites over the next 15/20 years. The consultation would start following and subject to the approval of the draft strategy by Wiltshire Council Cabinet in July. Two possible sites would be located within Corsham Area Board (land near Hatham Quarry and Leafield Industrial Estate) and the Chairman invited everyone to take part in the consultation. All documents would be available on the Wiltshire Council’s website. The outcome of the consultation would be reported at a future Area Board meeting;

• Local Development Framework (LDF) consultation: due to the volume of information provided at the workshops on the LDF consultation there were delays in publishing the outcomes. The Chairman informed all present that the outcomes of the LDF consultation would be brought to the next meeting of the Area Board;

• Provision of Out of Hours Medical / Dental Services: As of 1 April 2010 Wiltshire Medical Services would provide a single service across the county. The Chairman referred all present to the NHS leaflet which contained all the details of the new service, the main information being:
  • For urgent primary care advice and treatment patients would ring their normal GP surgery telephone number and would be redirected to the out of hours service;
  • Patients could also choose to ring the out of hours service directly on 0300 111 5717;
  • For urgent dental advice and treatment patients would be able to telephone the out of hours service. At weekends urgent dental clinics would be held in Chippenham, Salisbury, Swindon and Westbury;
  • Further information was available on the NHS Wiltshire website http://www.wiltshirepct.nhs.uk/Newsroom/PressReleases/20100315_changes_to_out_of_hours_service.pdf  and the person to contact was Sharon Charity, Communications Manager, 01380 733930, Sharon.charity@wiltshire.nhs.uk.

• Gypsy and Traveller Consultation: Wiltshire Council was preparing a plan that would identify land for gypsy and traveller sites and would include a policy for assessing the suitability of other sites Wiltshire Council is asked to consider through the planning application process. The Chairman invited everyone to take part in the consultation starting on Tuesday 6^th April until 5 pm on Friday 4^th June 2010. Details of the consultation and how to take part would be available on the Wiltshire Council’s website.    http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/planninganddevelopment/planningpolicy/localdevelopmentframework/gypsyandtravellersdpd.htm

• The Review of Special Educational Needs Provision: The Chairman invited Councillor Alan MacRae, portfolio holder for Schools, to provide some details. Councillor MacRae pointed out that the review was considering special  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Maggie Rae, Joint Director of Public Health, will deliver a presentation on the findings of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment which details the current health priorities of Corsham community area residents.

Maggie Rae, Joint Director of Public Health, gave a presentation on Corsham Community Area Health Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) 2009/10.

She explained that the aim of the JSNA was to assess the needs of the local population as part of a complete partnership. It was hoped that the Area Boards would highlight one or two issues and their partners would support them through lessening or resolving these issues.

If anyone wished to ask questions following the meeting they should contact Maggie or a member of her team. They could also submit questions on the JSNA via www.wiltshirejsna.org.

The presentation highlighted the following issues:

• The next Strategic Assessment would include more details on poverty;
• The gap in life expectancy between men and women and its possible factors, one of which being men’s reluctance to consult their GPs;
• Teenage pregnancy and its possible impact on other areas such as deprivation, health and poverty;
• The hope to see a reduction in traffic collisions in the near future;
• Tackling childhood obesity with a weighting programme (Children in the school reception year had their heights and weights measured in 2007/08 and this would be compared to the same measurements when in Year 6), Maggie Rae offered reassurance that this was being handled very sensitively. The NHS had also invested £0.25m in a Healthy Schools programme;
• NHS Wiltshire had supported 2,600 people through giving up smoking in 2009;
• The fact that people would often rate their own health at a better level when living in a safe community and the importance of considering more than pure data when assessing health;
• The work being undertaken to reduce domestic violence;
• To consider some prevention work to avoid falls, especially for elderly residents, as it often leads to health problems and loss of confidence.

A number of questions were raised including:

·        the fact that the local population was being directed to Warminster for general care beds and whether more beds would be provided in Chippenham

·         the possibility of providing a breakdown of age for people killed or seriously injured in traffic collisions

·        some examples of good practice for Town Councils wishing to support well being in their community.

Maggie Rae offered reassurance that her service was committed to “giving power to patients” and that they were working with the Royal University Hospital to improve Care Pathways to maximise the use of beds.

Ed Deedigan, Director of Kandu Arts, will give a presentation on the needs of young people who live in Potley and Pockeridge.  This evaluation was funded by Corsham Area Board in February 2010.

Unfortunately Ed Deedigan of Kandu Arts was unable to attend the meeting.

Kieran Killgallen, Chief Executive of the Wiltshire Police Authority, will give a presentation on the work of the Police Authority. There will be an opportunity to discuss how members of the Authority can help improve communications between Wiltshire Police and local communities.

Kieran Killgallen, Chief Executive of the Wiltshire Police Authority, gave a presentation on the work of the Police Authority. He divided his presentation into four main areas:

• What are we?
• Who are we?
• What do we do?
• What can we do for you?

He explained that every county force in England and Wales, of which there are 23, has a Police Authority. A Police Authority was an independent body made up of Wiltshire Councillors, Swindon Borough Councillors and independent members and its role was to govern the police force.

He informed those present that Wiltshire was the fourth lowest funded county force yet it ranked tenth nationally on the equivalent of league performance table.

He pointed out that there were five strategic priorities and the top one was to address the local issues of crime and anti-social behaviour and to restore confidence. He stressed that the Police Authority was accountable to its community and that it would report through the Area Boards.

He also invited everyone to consider becoming an independent member of the Police Authority when they advertise for three new members later in the year.

The Chairman thanked Mr Killgallen and welcomed his offer to report back to the Corsham Area Board when possible and the Police Authority’s involvement with Area Boards.

Acting Inspector Mark Gale will update the meeting on the latest neighbourhood policing issues in the Corsham community area.

Acting Inspector Mark Gale updated the board on Neighbourhood Policing issues in the Corsham community area and highlighted the following areas of work:

• Distraction type burglaries and rogue trader offences: he was pleased to report that positive results had been achieved although these were difficult crimes to detect and prosecute for. Two arrests had been made previously and a further three more recently. He advised people to call 999 when the crime was happening or to contact their local police team if they had a suspicion that a crime had taken place;
• The Police Volunteer scheme: the project was moving forward despite limited full opening times. It was hoped that the hours could be extended once people had settled in their posts; 
• Community Speed Watch: positive progress had been made however support was still being sought across the Corsham community area;
• Violent crime: the Acting Inspector was pleased to announce that numbers were lower than the previous year and serious violent crime was 22% below target;
• Dwelling burglaries: rural areas in particular had been targeted in recent past when a spate of burglaries had been committed, however it should be noted that only 42 dwelling burglaries had been committed throughout 2009;
• Partnership working between the Area Board Manager, Community Safety Manager, Anti Social Behaviour Reduction Officer, Fire Community Engagement Manager and the Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeants: an example of this process working well was the significant reduction of calls to the Police regarding Anti Social Behaviour in and around the Martingate Centre.

Inspector Gale also ran through priorities and on-going work for the Corsham community area.

Detective Sergeant Martin McDonagh, Wiltshire Police, will give a presentation on the work of its Protective Services Department, including vulnerable person teams, child protection, major and organised crime as well as Specialist Operations such as public order and critical incidents.  Questions will be invited following the presentation.

A list of the departments covered is set out in the attached papers.

Note: questions may be submitted in advance – please email to julia.densham@wiltshire.gov.uk by Thursday 26 March 2010.

Detective Sergeant Martin McDonagh gave a presentation on Wiltshire Police Protective Services.

He explained that the following departments were covered by “Protective Services” and provided some insight into each of these:

• Major Crime
• Special Branch
• Economic crime
• Public order
• Civil Contingencies
• Critical Incidents
• Organised Crime
• Public Protection
• Forensic Department
• Operations (including Roads Policing / Dog section / Firearms Departments)

He stressed that partnership and Multi-Agency working were at the heart of the Protective services and that they worked in co-ordination with the Neighbourhood Policing Team and other partners and were directly linked through intelligence and Community support.

He pointed out that following 16 years spent in police service in London he had been amazed by the amount and quality of work undertaken by the Wiltshire Police Protective Services.

He invited any volunteers to come forward and get involved as an additional 100 specials would be sought in the coming year.

Contacts:

Neighbouring Policing Team

www.wiltshire.police.uk

Crime Prevention Unit Offices - direct number

Melksham 01225 794614

Swindon 01793 507910

Salisbury 01722 435316

Domestic Abuse Unit Offices - direct number

Melksham 01225 794766

Swindon 01793 507869

Salisbury 01722 435390

Vulnerable Adult Unit Offices - direct number

Devizes 01380 733260 (Swindon 01793 507828, Salisbury 01722 435215)

Switchboard - 0800 408 7000

Graeme Hay, Wiltshire Council, will talk about planned maintenance of the pedestrian area in Corsham Town.

Graeme Hay, Service Manager for Wiltshire Council, introduced Adrian Hampton, Head of local highways and streetscene north.

He then gave a presentation on the planned maintenance of the pedestrian area in Corsham Town centre and pointed out that the Code of Good Practice asked officers to consider three key criteria when planning highways maintenance:

·        Safety

·        Sustainability

·        Serviceability

He explained that:

·        all roads and footways were submitted to a stringent and rigorous inspection system, the frequency of the inspections depending on the group the road or footway belonged to, and pointed out that Wiltshire even exceeded national guidelines for group 3 with 6-monthly inspections rather than the recommended yearly one, the reason for that was to allow officers to consider the state of the roads or footways in different seasons.

·        all defects and repairs were recorded to allow for patterns to be spotted and addressed

·        all utilities reached households through the highways network and utilities were starting to work together to limit disruptions and inconvenience to the highways.

He also explained that the increase in defects was probably due to an increase in use, access by heavy vehicles and normal aging; none of which would have been helped by the tremendously cold and wet winter in 2009.

He added that this was the same throughout Wiltshire and the country as we expected so much from the highways network (increased traffic, heavy good vehicles, etc) and the severe weather throughout the winter had caused a lot of damage, some of which was still to appear.

In response to questions it was noted that:

• There were currently no proposals to continue with the street improvements made by North Wiltshire District Council in the town centre.  The area between the town hall and “Bliss” had not been completed.  The Chairman advised that this should be raised through the issues system.

• There was a separate budget for pavement improvements at Pound Pill and residents were asked to feed any requests through the area board.

• £15k had been allocated to the area board for local schemes to give some flexibility as to how the money was spent.

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe will provide an overview of her Cabinet responsibilities for Performance, Finance and Risk; this will be followed by the opportunity to ask any questions.

Note: questions may be submitted in advance – please email to julia.densham@wiltshire.gov.uk by Thursday 25 March 2010.

Councillor Fleur de Rhe-Philipe the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Risk attended the meeting. She explained that her role was to put a councillor’s perspective on the budget, to monitor the use of money, ensure targets were being met and assess the risks Wiltshire Council had to take.

The following issues were discussed:

• A 2.3% increase in Council Tax to provide a firm basis for the coming years;
• A 15 to 20% decrease in government funding over the next four years was “predicted”;
• The fall-out from the Icelandic Banks collapse and the plan for recovering the funds. It was confirmed that the council expected to recover about 90% of the funds invested with these banks.  £2m had already been received and there was currently £8m outstanding.

To receive updates from any the following partners:

a)            Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

b)            NHS Wiltshire

c)            Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

d)            Corsham Community Area Network

e)            Corsham Area Young People’s Issues Group

f)             Chamber of Commerce.

The Area Board received the following partner updates:

a) Corsham Town Council

The annual meeting would take place on 15 April.

A march in support of the Armed Forces was being organised for 26 June to take place at the Springfield Rec.

Neston Fete would take place on 3 July.

c) Box Parish Council

The play area refurbishment could start since the £10,000 required had been obtained, including a £5,000 grant from the Corsham Area Board.

d) Lacock Parish Council

Half the duplicated and redundant road signs had now been removed, and the second half would be dealt with shortly.

e) Corsham Community Area Network

Due to the length of the agenda for the Area Board meeting the Chairman of the Corsham Community Area Network offered to give the Annual Report at the June meeting of the Area Board.

A new clerk, Kevin Gaskin, had been appointed following the previous clerk’s retirement.

Future projects included:

·        A hustings meeting on 23 April to be chaired by Adam Bosley

·        A second newsletter to be published

·        Establishing a Communications Group to publicise events

·        To encourage more joint working between the Area Board, the Town Council and the Corsham Community Area Network

·        One of the bi-annual forum to be set up at the end of June to consider the Community Plan and update it if required.

·        To consider setting up a Health Action Group to look at issues such as falls. Volunteers would be sought.

Dave Roberts, Community Area Manager, will update the meeting on the community issues process and progress made. Online updates are available from the Wiltshire Council website at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/areaboardsissuestracking.htm.

A summary is attached detailing the Community Area Grants awarded to local organisations during 2009-2010.

The Community Area Manager asked everyone who knew of any groups in need of grants to contact him on 01249 706448 / 07979318504 or email dave.roberts@wiltshire.gov.uk.

A total of 37 issues had been reported through the issues process since it was launched. Of these 21 had already been resolved, 1 was expected to be resolved in the near future and a further 4 to 5 were expected to be resolved over the coming months.

Funding had been made available for youth transport which the CAYPIGS would be involved with.

5k was also being made available for schemes to save money on street lighting by switching off or dimming street lights in certain areas.  A presentation would be brought to the next meeting of the Area Board. Volunteers would be sought to lead on the consultation.

New rules would apply to Area Grants for 2010-11, one of the main changes being that the Grants would be available for projects rather than purely community grants.

Councillor Peter Davis will provide an update on the current situation regarding Corsham Railway Station.

Councillor Peter Davis updated the board on developments regarding the Corsham Railway station.

He explained that Councillors Dick Tonge, as cabinet member for Highways and Transport, and Richard Gamble, as portfolio holder for Public Transport, had been working on developing a dialogue for the expansion of rail services, and it was hoped this could include the re-opening of the Corsham Railway station.

Positive comments had been received and the encouraging news that M.O.D personnel were likely to be decanted from the London area to Abbeywood Bristol over the next few years, which could increase potential demands for public transport including railway.

There was felt to be a growing enthusiasm to develop the railway network in the South West and an increase in population of around 20,000 would add weight to the proposal.

The Chairman will invite any remaining questions from the floor.  Arrangements for future meetings are set out in the attached Forward Work Plan.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.