Agenda and minutes

To welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited the Councillors and Officers present introduce themselves.

To receive any apologies for absence. 

Apologies for absence were received from:

·         Cllr Stewart Dobson

·         Alexa Davies, Community Engagement Manager

·         Jill Turner, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Group

·         Station Manager Dave Adamson of the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 26 March 2019.

Resolved:

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2019.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman (written briefing notes are available in the full agenda pack, or online):

·         Community Led Housing Project

Community led housing is about local people playing a leading and lasting role in solving local housing problems, creating genuinely affordable homes and strong communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing.

Wiltshire Council, in partnership with Community First and Wiltshire Community Land Trust, has set up a partnership project to advise and support communities to address their housing needs.

·         Homelessness Strategy Consultation

A consultation has been launched on how we can prevent homelessness and help those who are homeless to find a home.

Wiltshire Council is asking for views on its new strategy which sets out priorities and actions to work with those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, to help them secure and keep a good home. The consultation can be accessed at:

https://surveys.wiltshire.gov.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=155240979642   

·         Extended Consultation on Vision for Special School Provision

The Consultation on Special School Provision has been extended .

The Council has withdrawn the statutory proposal to close Larkrise, St Nicholas and Rowdeford schools and create one new, larger school in Rowde by 2023 to enable further wider views and thoughts to be put forward. 

In the summer, the council will provide revised statutory proposals (that is, firm proposals on how we plan to produce the additional places) which will go out for further consultation for another four weeks.

You can find the new consultation (alongside a briefing paper) here: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal/education/special_schools_consultation_extension  

·         The Big Pledge 2019

To promote the challenge that will run 3 June- 14 July.

·         The Maltings and Central Car Park Masterplan Consultation

Wiltshire Council is consulting on a draft masterplan for the redevelopment of The Maltings and Central Car Park, Salisbury. Once the masterplan has been endorsed by Wiltshire Council it will provide a clear approach for how the site is to be redeveloped over the coming years. The documents are available on the Wiltshire Council website at: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-policy.  Comments are invited on the draft masterplan until 5:00pm Friday 24th May 2019. Comments can be made: Online via the council’s consultation portal: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal or by email to majorprojects@wiltshire.gov.uk.

·         National Armed Forces Day

On Sunday 30 June there will be a coach for veterans providing transport to NAFD in Salisbury, which has been paid for by the Area Board.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

·         Community Led Housing Project

Wiltshire Council, in partnership with Community First and Wiltshire Community Land Trust, had set up a partnership project to advise and support communities to address their housing needs.

It was stated that community led housing was about local people playing a leading and lasting role in solving local housing problems, creating genuinely affordable homes and strong communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing.

·         Homeless Strategy Consultation

The Chair announced that a consultation had been launched on how we can prevent homelessness and help those who are homeless to find a home.

Wiltshire Council was asking for views on its new strategy which set out priorities and actions to work with those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, to help them secure and keep a good home. The consultation could be accessed at: https://surveys.wiltshire.gov.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=155240979642. The meeting was encouraged to take part.

·         The Extended Consultation on Vision for Special School Provision

The Chair announced that this consultation had now finished. However, details of this (alongside a briefing paper) could still be accessed online at: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal/education/special_schools_consultation_extension.

The results of the consultation would be going to Cabinet on 22 May 2019.

·         The Big Pledge 2019

The Chair announced that the Big Pledge challenge would be running again this year from 3 June - 14 July.

The meeting was encouraged to sign up at:

https://services.wiltshire.gov.uk/WiltshireChallengev2/WiltshireChallenge/Register

·         The Maltings and Central Car Park Masterplan Consultation

The Chair stated that Wiltshire Council was consulting on a draft masterplan for the redevelopment of The Maltings and Central Car Park, Salisbury. Once the masterplan had been endorsed by Wiltshire Council it would provide a clear approach for how the site is to be redeveloped over the coming years.

The documents were available on the Wiltshire Council website at: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-policy.  Comments were invited on the draft masterplan until 5:00pm on Friday 24th May 2019. Comments could be made online via the council’s consultation portal: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal or by email to majorprojects@wiltshire.gov.uk.

·         National Armed Forces Day

On Sunday 30 June there would be a coach for veterans providing transport to NAFD in Salisbury, which had been paid for by the Area Board.

·         North Wessex Downs Walking Festival

The Chair announced the first North Wessex Downs Walking Festival. Which would run from 8th to 23rd June, many of the walks would be free of charge and ranged from a pushchair-friendly stroll to a navigation skills workshop.

·         New Road Day Centre Thank You Letter

A lovely letter had been received from the New Road Day Centre thanking the board for funding. This was read to the meeting and the Chair stated that it had been a great pleasure to help.

To note the attached Partner updates and receive any further information partners wish to share:

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

·         MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust

·         Transition Marlborough

·         Town / Parish Councils

·         Community Safety Partnership

Written updates were available in the agenda pack and supplements from the Police, the Fire Service, Healthwatch Wiltshire, the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Transition Marlborough.

In addition to the written updates, the following verbal updates were given by partners present:

·         Wiltshire Police

Acting Inspector Pete Foster summarised the written report. There were no questions from the audience.

·         Marlborough Town Council

The Chairman congratulated Mervyn Hall on becoming the new Mayor of Marlborough and thanked Lisa Farrell, the outgoing Mayor, for all her hard work during the previous year.

Cllr Hall updated the meeting, stating that Marlborough Town Council’s Annual Report had been published and was available online. Two new projects were planned for the Town Hall basement; new storage facilities for the new town museum and a new public toilet with disabled and baby changing facilities.

A new plaque for Eglantyne Jebb, who set up Save the Children a hundred years ago was to be unveiled on 7 June at 4pm outside the library. The old plaque had been incorrect so was being replaced.

The Civil War re-enactment would be taking place on 27/28 July 2019. There would also be living history enactments in Priory Gardens.

A part time tourist officer was to be employed for Marlborough, to promote the town and to get the town involved with the Great West Way project.

It was with great sadness that the passing of Alfie Johnson was announced. He had been Marlborough Town Crier for many years and was a very popular community figure. His funeral was to be held on 21 May. MTC passed on their condolences to Alfie’s friends and family.

The Chairman added the board’s condolences to those of MTC.

·         Neighbourhood Plan

MTC gave a brief update stating that the call for sites had received a good response, these sites were  now being narrowed down meet community needs such as affordable housing, car parking, Dr’s surgeries, playing fields and a cemetery. There were also designating green spaces as this would give the land the same planning protection as a green belt. They would be meeting consultants and Wiltshire Council the following week to take this all forward.

·         Community Safety Partnership

A new pre-area board networking/Community Safety Partnership was being set up to report back issues to police, (not just traffic issues).

To receive an update from the Jubilee Day Centre following the award of Area Board funding at the March Area Board meeting.

The board received an update from a representative of the Jubliee Day Centre following the award of Area Board funding at the March Area Board meeting. The Board were thanked for the funding.

The Jubliee day Centre was a drop in centre for the elderly on Marlborough High Street and was staffed by volunteers. They run meals on wheels, exercise classes and activities. The aim was to stop people being isolated, help them make friends and to keep people mentally and physically active. They collect food on a daily basis from Tesco, which otherwise would be discarded and use this to create fresh, healthy meals for people attending the centre. They celebrate Christmas with people, with Father Christmas putting in an appearance! School children attend the centre to visit with the elderly and unemployed people also help out there. The attendees love entertainment such as Bingo and singing. The music is chosen with care to help people with Dementia. They would also go on day trips.  A lovely poem written by one of the centre attendees was read to the meeting.

The Chairman thanked the centre for the presentation and for all their good work.

To receive any update on the Local Youth Network.

To consider the following applications for youth grant funding:

·         Thriving Through Venture, £2,500.00, towards their community based projects with skills training for secondary school students.

The application for youth grant funding was introduced. The LYN had recommended all grant applications for approval.

Nick Morris, representing Thriving Through Venture, spoke in support of their application.

The application for youth grant funding was considered by the board and it was;

Resolved:

To grant, Thriving Through Venture, £2,500.00, towards their community based projects with skills training for secondary school students.

To receive any updates from the HWBG.

Cllr Jane Davies updated the meeting on the Health and Wellbeing group. There had been no meeting since the last area board but the group were looking for an older person/carers champion. A job description for the role would be available soon. The group wanted to replicate the Devizes Health and Wellbeing day, which was a day for all community groups to get together and show the community and each other what was available. Another aim was to develop a knowledge bank so people knew what was available.

To receive any updates from the Community Engagement Manager (CEM).

Andrew Jack, Communinty Engagement Manager updated the meeting. Mr Jack gave Alexa Davies details to the meeting so that people could contact her if they wished.

Mr Jack also gave details regarding National Armed Forces Day, detailing what would activities and entertainment there would be on the different days. Tickets would be available online from 15 May 2019. They would be free, but you would need a ticket to attend.

The different types of grants people could apply for were explained. Community Area Grants were for capital projects, which involved buying things such as assets for a group to keep and to use. There was £33,515 in the budget, the maximum grant that could be applied for was £5000.

Youth grants were for revenue items such as events and activities, days out, courses, and hiring things. Youth grants were for people aged 13-19 or up to 25 for SEND. There was £14,842 in the budget for youth grants.

Health and Wellbeing grants were for supporting older and vulnerable people and were also for revenue items like youth grants. There was £6,700 in the budget.

The meeting was advised to contact Alexa Davies, CEM, if they wanted to apply for a grant.

Mr Jack stated that the Our Community Matters website had been revamped making it much more user friendly. The site could be accessed at: http://ourcommunitymatters.org.uk/. It was now easier to register and once registered people could add their own news, events and articles. It was also a good place to advertise for volunteers. A newsletter went out every week with news from the site. This reached around 600 people. A project bank was being developed on the site containing articles on how to set up events and projects.

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

·         Marlborough History Society, £5000.00, towards their English Civil War Re-enactment Weekend in Marlborough 2019.

·         Marlborough St Marys CE Primary School, £5000.00, towards their Playground for Marlborough St Marys CEVC Primary School project.

The Chairman introduced the Community Area Grant applications as detailed in the agenda and agenda supplements.

Representatives of the Marlborough History Society, Marlborough St Marys CE Primary School and Manton Reading Rooms/Manton Village Hall spoke in support of their applications.

The Board considered the applications for community area grant funding and it was;

Resolved:

·         To grant the Marlborough History Society, £2,500.00, rather than the £5,000.00 applied for towards their English Civil War Re-enactment Weekend in Marlborough 2019.

REASON: The group had received funding before and should aim to be self-sustaining.

·         To grant Marlborough St Marys CE Primary School, £2,500.00, rather than the £5,000.00 applied for, towards their Playground for Marlborough St Marys CEVC Primary School project.

REASON: The Board wanted to be careful with funds to ensure they could support a wide range of projects over the year.

·         To defer the application from Manton Reading Rooms/Manton Village Hall, for £5,000.00 towards the Manton Hall Refurbishment Project.

REASON: The application had been received late by the Board due to technical issues and therefore the board had not had a chance to look at the detail of the application.

Peter Morgan of the Manton Residents Association & representing Preshute PC spoke. Resurfacing work on Bath Road had started early with only 7 days’ notice. This undermined significant community research into road safety issues on that road. Diane Ware, Highways, had said that it should happen in 2019/2020. They had a meeting scheduled with with Diane in July to discuss their findings. Integrating their findings into the schedule would have been a good way to save money. They had since been told they may have to now go through, Marlborough Town Council and CATG again for the same issue – they were concerned that the parish would have to pay for a highways department miscommunication. They wanted to get agreement for an urgent meeting with highways to get the issues resolved.

Andrew Jack, CEM, stated that there were 2 issues on the CATG log regarding Bath Road, one regarding the width of footway, and a request for a cycle lane. At that time Martin Cook, Highways had commented that if the road was resurfaced it might be possible to look at the road marking and make space for a cycle lane. This had not come up again at CATG and neither had news of the resurfacing.

The Chairman asked Marlborough Town Council to speak as the road fell in their area. MTC stated that they supported the safety changes that came up at CATG, however CATG could be very slow, with issues taking up to 5 years to be resolved. Here they were talking about something that has been brought forward, which was felt to be a good thing.

Cllr Jane Davies spoke stating that she was delighted to meet a representative of Preshute Parish Council and requested to be asked to their meetings. Cllr Davies suggested that MTC, Preshute Parish Council an herelf could all work together to try to resolve the issue.

Cllr Nick Fogg stated that CATG was a useful body, but one of limited effect. The communication of the works being brought forward was slightly lacking but he felt that it was good news. CATG had very limited funding, 5 projects were  prioritised, a contribution of 25% was required from town or parish council, for issues raised through local town/parish. He advised Peter to put in application to MTC so that they could bring it to CATG if required.

Andrew Jack detailed how the process for raising issues to CATG was being streamlined.

The Chairman advised that the best solution was probably to contact Diane Ware and Martin Cook in highways to discuss the issue.

There were no other questions.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board will be held on Tuesday 23 July 2019, 7.00pm at Marlborough Town Hall.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board would be on Tuesday 23 July 2019, 7.00pm, in the Assembly Room, Marlborough Town Hall.