Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the municipal year 2012/13.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the municipal year 2012/13.

The minutes of the meeting on 27 March 2012 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman thanked everyone who had contributed to the Area Board’s tent at the recent Jubilee Celebration Event in Salisbury.  The tent had showcased various attractions, organisations and products from the Marlborough Community Area, and had been visited in person by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Chairman also sought the views of the meeting as regards starting meetings at 6.30pm instead of 7.00pm.  A show of hands was a called and it was noted that 7.00pm was the preferred start time, by a narrow margin.

The Chairman referred to the following information items which were set out in the agenda:

a.            11-19 Commissioning Strategy Update (Youth Advisory Groups, Volunteers and Income Generation)

b.            Help to Live at Home Scheme: Update

c.            Rural Facilities Survey

d.            Pathways Improvements Grants Scheme

e.            Informal Adult Education

f.             Closure of A4 Beckhampton to West Overton – This road closure was for resurfacing and would result in a long detour.

The Chairman also noted the tabled information item on the New Standards Framework.  This set out details of a consultation with Parish Councils; due to the statutory deadlines, the consultation was only open until 15 June 2012.

1. Wiltshire Police

Inspector Ron Peach referred to the written update which had been tabled.

2. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

Mike Franklin referred to the written statistical report at pages 25-26 of the agenda.  It was noted that the figures were generally good, although there had been a low take-up of fire safety checks; work was on-going with Wiltshire Council to set up a referrals system from the Help to Live at Home service.

As a result of the Community Planning event held on 27 March, the Fire Services was working with the police on an anti-drink-drive event.  In addition the “Safe Drive – Stay Alive” events would also continue, with every secondary school invited to take part.

Mike also referred to the report at page 23 which set out information on the Fire Service’s on-going consultation on proposed changes to the service.  These changes sought to improve efficiency and save £1.8 million from the budget, without closing any stations or reducing number of firefighters.

More information on the consultation was available on the Fire Service’s website and on the tables.  This had been publicised through the press and via partner organisations.

3. NHS Wiltshire

Noted the written report at page 27 of the agenda

4. Parish Forum

It was noted that the Parish Forum had provided a written Annual Report which would be included in the minutes. (See appendix A)

It was noted that apologies had been received from Councillor de Rhé-Philipe, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Strategic Planning.  A written briefing note with some statistical information on the economics of the Marlborough Area is attached as Appendix B.

At the Chairman’s invitation, Sarah Simmonds, Avebury World Heritage Site Officer, gave a presentation on the development of a Management Plan for the World Heritage Site.

A management plan was required to provide overall vision and framework for management, to clarify long-term objectives, unlock funding, and set out the opportunities for partnership working, amongst other things.  The key challenge in developing a management plan was balancing the preservation of the historic environment, the quality of the visitor experience and the quality of life of the local community. 

The current plan had been produced in 2005, and so there was a need for revision and updating to take note of revised objectives, changes in management context, proposed developments at Stonehenge, and new evidence and research.

The review of the management plan was currently in its early stages, and would be subject to formal consultation in 2013 before being submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and UNESCO.  In the meantime, the community could get involved via exhibitions which were planned for Marlborough and Avebury – information on these would be available in due course through local media.

The Chairman thanked Sarah for the presentation.

The Chairman invited Dr Sam Page to present the report by Transition Marlborough, entitled “The Need for Joined-up Public Transport in favour of Marlborough’s Commuters”, copies of which had been tabled.

Dr Page referred to the difficulty in commuting by public transport to London or Bristol, due to the lack of integration between buses and train times, and the lack of buses early and late enough to allow travellers to catch the “commuter” trains.  It was noted that there were no buses between Marlborough and the alternative rail option of Pewsey. 

In addition, journey times to main commuter destinations such as Swindon, Reading and Bristol compared unfavourably with a direct car journey times.

The report also noted the condition of bus stops in Marlborough, many without seating, shelter or lighting.  Reference was made to the live information signs at some bus stops in Swindon.

It was considered that these issues encouraged or even required commuters to use private vehicles when commuting from Marlborough.  The report further concluded that this contributed to the “top heavy” demographic of the town, with 20-39 year olds restricted  by a lack of job opportunities in the area and lack of integrated transport links to nearby employment centres.  There were obvious implications of this on community well-being and individual families.

The report concluded by recommending a more integrated approach between buses and commuter train times and a better bus service to Swindon.

Councillor Richard Gamble, Portfolio Holder for Public Transport, responded to the report, thanking Dr Page and commenting that the objectives of Transition Marlborough and Wiltshire Council were in line.

Councillor Gamble noted that there was a bus from Marlborough which linked to the 0734 Paddington train from Hungerford, although it was also noted that there was no similar service linking with the evening trains.

The services to Swindon and Pewsey were run commercially by the operators without subsidy, which meant the Council had little or no direct influence.  The Chiseldon route to Swindon, although longer, was selected by the operator as it was believed that this was the preferred commercial option to open the route to residents of the villages along the route.  This was a common dilemma of whether to provide a faster service between towns, or to serve more isolated villages and open the service up to more potential users.

In terms of bus stops, there had been local opposition to providing sheltered bus stops in the high street due to the visual impact, and it was not possible to put up live information signs without a sheltered stop.

Councillor Gamble commented that he hoped to improve and develop public transport by facilitating close liaison between users and providers, in the manner that Community Rail Partnerships had improved the appearance of stations, and had led to better information, marketing and a spectacular increase in the number of users.  As such it was hoped that a Community Bus Partnership could be set up to develop similar improvements.

To receive a presentation on proposed changes to the Marlborough – Bedwyn – Hungerford bus service.

Councillor Richard Gamble explained that the Council was reviewing its subsidised bus services, starting with those with the highest subsidies per passenger per journey.  The 20 and 22 services fell within this review, having a passenger journey subsidy of £4, exceeding the maximum of £3.50 as set out in the Council’s strategy.

The 20 and 22 services had several purposes, serving the needs of children going to St Johns School, villagers travelling to Marlborough and Hungerford, commuters accessing the trains at Great Bedwyn and Hungerford, and providing a link for college students and commuters travelling to Swindon.

The initial proposal was to reduce the £190,000 subsidy to £110,000 by reducing the service from two vehicles to a single vehicle.  It was also noted that it was expensive to extend the service outside of the hours of 7am and 6pm.  However, the consultation sought to find out the views of current and potential users of the service, to identify any particular needs or hardship which might be caused by the reduction in service.

Other options could include working with other operators or introducing a community run service focussing on the rail link with Great Bedwyn.  This could be supported through the Accelerate initiative run by Community First and funding by the government.

In response to questions it was noted that all buses coming into Marlborough  from Great Bedwyn would continue to stop at Savernake Hospital on request.  However, crossing the traffic to divert into the hospital from the other direction was a significant delay and was rarely used by passengers.

The consultation would remain open until 30 June

Martin Cook of Marlborough Area Development Trust (MADT) gave a presentation on the final draft of the Community Plan (copies of which had been tabled and published online), noting that all issues raised at the recent Community Planning event on 27 March had been included in the document.  Martin referred to the context of the Localism Act 2011, and commented that the plan sought to provide a local agenda and to highlight solutions to a number of  issues.

In response to a question regarding the Avebury World Heritage Site, Martin commented that he would by happy to refer to the World Heritage Site Management Plan in an addendum or amendment to the final draft.

James Cawley (Service Director for Strategy and Commissioning and Service Director for the Marlborough Area Board) noted that his remit included Housing, and commented that he would be bringing a presentation to a future Area Board meeting in terms of identifying local housing need. James offered to work with MADT to look at the housing issues in the plan.

Decision

The Marlborough Area Board approved the final draft Marlborough Community Area Plan, subject to the addition of reference to the World Heritage Site Management Plan.

To consider the recommendations of the Community Area Transport Group (CATG).

Andrew Jack, Marlborough Community Area Manager, referred to the written update report from the Community Area Transport Group, as set out at pages 43-44 of the agenda.

At the meeting on 6 September 2011, the Area Board agreed to focus on three development areas (Reducing length of agenda, reducing paperwork, and increasing number of local items).  The attached report shows progress on these issues over the subsequent 3 meetings.

Andrew Jack referred to the report as set out in the agenda at pages 45-52.

The report set out the progress made against a number of improvement areas, as identified by the Area Board at its meeting in September 2011.  This was generally positive, particularly in relation to increasing the number of local items.  Positive feedback had also been received from the Parish Forum – this is set out at Appendix C to these minutes.

The report set out proposals to develop a protocol for presenters at Area Board meetings, to develop meetings which are used less to simply communicate information to attendees but to meaningfully consult with them. The Area Board agreed to the recommendation.

The Chairman invited comments and questions and the following points were made:

·         The low turnout at Area Board meetings was raised as a concern. Some other Area Boards had higher turnouts, and it was suggested that agenda and minutes from those boards could be made available for comparison.

·         It was considered important to make the agenda locally relevant.

·         It was suggested that Parish representatives could help encourage others to attend, provided there were interesting and local items on the agenda.

·         Concern was also raised that the Area Board appeared to have little influence in terms of making things happen.  It also seemed that people’s views were not listened to.

During discussion, reference was made to the earlier item on bus services, and it was suggested that the Area Board facilitate the setting up of a Bus Passenger Liaison Group.  Anyone wishing to get involved was encouraged to give their name to Andrew Jack.

The Area Board is asked to note the attached list of grants awarded during 2011/12, and that the Board’s £60,000 of funding helped support nearly £190,000 worth of projects.

The Chairman referred to the list of grants awarded during 2011/12, noting that the Area Board’s funding of £60,000 had helped support nearly £190,000 worth of projects.

It was hoped that more feedback could be sought from grant recipients.  Andrew Jack commented that providing feedback was currently one of the conditions of all Community Area Grants.  In addition, the recent Marlborough Sk8 ‘n; Scoot event, had seen Wiltshire Council and the Area Board listed amongst the co-funders on the publicity material.

The Area Board considered 3 applications for Community Area Grant funding.  The Community Area Manager introduced each application, following which a representative of the applicant was given an opportunity to give a brief overview of their project to the Area Board.

Decision

Aldbourne Cricket Club was awarded £932.20 towards the erection of cricket nets at Palmer’s Field.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2012/13 and would support this community sports facility.

Decision

The Social Centre, Avebury, was awarded £1,950 towards the installation of specialised stage lighting.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2012/13 and would support the development of this community facility.

Decision

Ramsbury Cricket Club was awarded £1,000 towards funding new sight screens for the pitch

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2012/13 and would support this community sports facility.

ACTION: Andrew Jack

To consider an application from the Parish Forum to fund the second tranche of Village Traffic Plans as part of the Forum’s Traffic Initiative.

James Keith, Chairman of the Marlborough Area Parish Forum, introduced the item, reporting that the project sought to resolve the conflict between traffic and pedestrians in the villages, with particular regard to addressing speeding traffic.  A traffic consultant had been engaged and support had also been received from Wiltshire Council highways officers.  17 of the 22 villages were now involved and were actively developing traffic plans specific to the needs and characteristics of the location.  It was hoped that these plans would identify low-cost solutions which could be implemented in the short term, and help Wiltshire Council to prioritise larger projects in the medium to long term.

This funding was for the second tranche of working groups, and full details were set out at pages 81-82 of the agenda.

Decision

The Marlborough Area Board agreed to allocate £8,300 towards the second tranche of stage 2 of the Parish Forum’s “Reclaiming Villages from Traffic” project.

Reason – To further support this initiative to seek local, innovative and low-cost solutions to traffic problems in the rural villages in the community area.

ACTION: Andrew Jack

To note the attached forward plan.

The Chairman will put a question to the floor regarding future meetings of the Area Board starting at 6.30pm.

The next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board will be held on Tuesday 17 July, 7.00pm at Broad Hinton Village Hall, Yew Tree Lane, Broad Hinton SN4 9RH.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and drew attention to the Forward Plan at page 83 of the agenda, commenting that suggestions for items at future meetings were welcomed.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board would be on Tuesday 17 July, 7pm at Broad Hinton Village Hall, Yew Tree Lane, Broad Hinton SN4 9RH.