Agenda and minutes

Melksham Area Board - Monday 6 January 2020 7.00 pm

Venue: Melksham Rugby Club, Oakfields, Eastern Way, Melksham SN12 7GU

Contact: Kevin Fielding  (Democratic Services Officer)

Items
No. Item

89.

Chairman's Welcome, Introduction and Announcements

Announcements:

 

·         Melksham Community Campus – update

·         We’re targetting Fly-tippers

·         Wiltshire Family and Community Learning

·         Flood Resilience in Your Local Area

·         Wiltshire Green Pledge

·         British Telecom Proposed Payphones Removal Consultation

·         MOTIV 8 Children and Young People Service

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everybody to Melksham Rugby Club for the first meeting of the year for the Melksham Area Board.

 

The Chairman was heartened by such a good attendance on a January evening.

 

The Chairman thanked Melksham Rugby Club for hosting the meeting.

 

The following Chairman’s Announcements contained in the agenda pack were noted:

 

·       Melksham Community Campus update

·       We’re targetting Fly-tippers

·       Wiltshire Family and Community Learning

·       Flood Resilience in Your Local Area

·       Wiltshire Green Pledge

·       British Telecom Proposed Payphones Removal Consultation

·       MOTIV 8 Children and Young People Service

90.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were none.

 

91.

Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 22 October 2019 and Wednesday 13 November 2019

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Decision

 

·       The minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 22 October 2019 and Wednesday 13 November 2019 were confirmed as the correct records.

 

92.

Declarations of Interest

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

 

Minutes:

Youth grant funding application for Youth Intervention Project – Cllr Nick Holder – Governor at Melksham Oak School  - would not vote on the application.

93.

Police Update

Minutes:

Inspector Andy Fee introduced the written report which was noted.

94.

Melksham Neighbourhood Plans

Teresa Strange/Steering Group

 

Minutes:

Seend Parish Council

 

·       That Seend Parish Council is launching its Parish Neighbourhood Plan Draft NDP on Saturday 15th February for its Regulation 14 Consultation.

 

Melksham Without Parish Council

 

·       New consultants appointed in 2019.

 

·       Formal examination and referendum expected 2020.

 

·       Plan period to 2026, but review in line with Local Plan Review.

 

·       That the Vision of the Neighbourhood Plan was to make the Town of Melksham and the Parish of Melksham Without great places to live, to work, to play and to visit: attractive, healthy, convenient and environmentally sustainable, with access to employment, education, shops and services via walking, cycling and public transport.

The Plan hopes to reach its formal examination and referendum in 2020 and covers issues such as:

·       Melksham By-pass

  • The Melksham Canal Link
  • Town Centre Regeneration/Masterplan
  • Better insulation standards for new housing
  • Management of the Heritage of the Conservation Area
  • Sustainable Travel Planning e.g. sustainable travel to school
  • Increasing capacity at local schools, apprenticeships and training
  • Meeting Local Health Needs
  • Safety on Rural Roads
  • Creation of locally distinctive ‘gateways’ into Melksham
  • A project to create, preserve and maintain local woodland, trees and hedgerows (and their habitats for insects, birds etc.)

The Chairman thanked Seend and Melksham Without Parishes for their updates.

 

95.

Changes to Kerbside Collections

Tracy Carter - Interim Head of Waste Management and Carbon Reduction, Wiltshire Council

 

Minutes:

Tracy Carter - Interim Head of Waste Management and Carbon Reduction, Wiltshire Council gave a short presentation that outlined Wiltshire Council’s proposed changes to waste collection.

 

Points made included:

 

·       That Wiltshire Council would be changing the way it collected materials for recycling in 2020.

 

·       As part of these changes some recycling collection days would change.

 

·       Residents would receive further information through the post, including details of new collection days, in advance of changes being made.

 

·       Residents would be able to view their new collection days and print a collection calendar from the council’s website once these days had been confirmed.

 

·       The changes would make it even easier for residents to use the kerbside recycling collection service and would reduce the number of vehicles the council used.

 

·       Fewer vehicles would mean a reduction in Wiltshire Council’s impact on the environment.

 

·       A new materials recovery facility was being built which will sort the recycling, reducing the requirement for residents to separate their recyclable materials at home.

 

·       Starting shortly, paper, food and drink cans, aerosols and foil will also be collected in the blue lidded bin which currently takes plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, cardboard boxes and food and drink cartons. A new fleet of vehicles will be used to empty the blue lidded bin and the black box together, which means fewer vehicles and so a reduction in the impact on the environment. All collections will remain fortnightly.

 

Further information can be found at:

 wiltshire.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling-collection-changes

 

Or email:

 wasteandrecycling@wiltshire.gov.uk

 

The Chairman thanked Tracy Carter for her presentation.

96.

Climate Change: Your local Priorities

Cllr Ashley O’Neill - Portfolio Holder for Climate Change

 

Minutes:

Tracy Carter - Interim Head of Waste Management and Carbon Reduction, Wiltshire Council gave a short presentation that outlined Wiltshire Council’s climate emergency response.

 

Points made included:

 

Climate Emergency

 

That in February 2019 Wiltshire Council resolved to:

 

·       Acknowledge that there is a climate emergency

 

·       Seek to make the county of Wiltshire carbon neutral by 2030

 

·       Establish carbon baseline and renewables baseline

 

·       That Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet was committed to make Wiltshire Council carbon neutral by 2030

 

That Wiltshire Council had:

 

·       Invested in energy efficiency and energy generation on the council’s estate of £5.2m

 

·       Investment of £3.5m for canopy based solar panels

 

·       Investment of £12m to convert street lights to LED lighting

 

·       Reduction in waste to landfill from 56% in 2008-09 to 16% in 2018-19

 

·       Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from council’s estate and operations from 26k tCO2e in 2014-15 to 16k tCO2e in 2018-19

 

Carbon neutrality is now the goal within a suite of related strategy documents -the Carbon Reduction Strategy; Local Plan Review; Local Transport Plan Review; Air Quality Strategy; and the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Industrial Strategy and Local Energy Strategy.

 

Friends of the Earth found Wiltshire Council to be the best performing local authority in England and Wales.

 

The Council is encouraging residents to make a “Green Pledge” by way of a simple everyday actions, sign up here http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/green-economy-climate-emergency

 

·       Leave the car at home and walk more

 

·       Take shorter showers and turn off taps when brushing teeth

 

·       Try and use as little single-use plastic as possible

 

·       Use a reusable cup

 

·       Use bags for life

 

·       Recycle as much as you can

 

·       Turn off lights when not using them

 

·      Install a smart meter to help you manage energy use

 

For more information visit:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/green-economy-climate-emergency

 

The Chairman thanked Tracy Carter for her presentation.

 

Wiltshire LED Street Lighting Project 22.10.19

Supporting documents:

97.

A Public Open Spaces Network

Cllr Phil Alford

 

Cllr Initiative Funding Application

 

·         Cllr Alford requesting £10,000 towards maintenance of a network of public open spaces

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Phil Alford presented a proposal to establish a capital fund to promote the maintenance of a network of public open spaces. Community groups can bid for money to pay for plants and equipment and use it to enhance their community public open space.

 

There are already numerous groups about doing this sort of recreational work, so this project will aim to connect groups, to boost membership, to share skills, experience and materials. For instance it might be cheaper to hire a chipper to grind up logs, tree trunks, discarded Christmas trees etc. and to share the machine with other groups or parish councils.

 

Cllr Initiative Funding Application

 

Decision

Cllr Alford awarded £10,000 towards maintenance of a network of public open spaces

 

The Chairman thanked Cllr Alford for his presentation.

 

98.

Area Board sub groups

i) Melksham Health and Wellbeing Group, 3 December– Cllr Pat Aves

 

Health & Wellbeing Funding

 

·         Independent Living Centre requesting £1,000 towards providing a benefits advice service for older and disabled people

 

·         Melksham Community Meals requesting £1,000 held as second-part-payment towards set-up costs

 

·         Melksham Mens Shed requesting £300 for health and safety training for 5 of its members

 

 

ii) Melksham Community Area Transport Group, 16 December – Cllr Jon Hubbard

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Melksham Health and Wellbeing Group, 3 December Cllr Pat Aves

 

Health & Wellbeing Funding

 

Decision

Independent Living Centre requesting £1,000 towards providing a benefits advice service for older and disabled people – deferred until the next meeting for further information.

 

Decision

Melksham Community Meals awarded £1,000 held as second-part-payment towards set-up costs

 

Decision

Melksham Mens Shed awarded £300 for health and safety training for 5 of its members

 

Melksham Community Area Transport Group, 16 December

Cllr Jon Hubbard

 

The following CATG actions and funding was noted by the Area Board members:

 

To agree a policy for funding contributions towards minor works

 

Melksham CATG Policy for funding minor works.

 

That there was an administration cost to Wiltshire Council of around £50 per each invoice generated (inclusive of officer time).  For minor works (mostly signing / road marking jobs) the cost of collecting small Parish contributions was difficult to justify.  The CATG therefore proposed that work to the value of £500 be funded entirely by the CATG.    

 

To close issues 4960, 6988, 7049, 9-19-4, 9-19-15

 

To add the following issues to the priority schemes list:

 

·       Melksham, Snarlton Lane - request for safety features at crossing point and a £200 budget

 

·       Beanacre, Westlands Lane rail bridge – warning signs of road narrowing for westbound vehicles and a £500 budget

 

·       Melksham Old Broughton Road – dropped kerbs at junction with The City and a £1,000 budget

 

The Chairman Thanked Cllr Aves and Cllr Hubbard for their updates.

 

99.

Written Partner Updates

To receive any written updates from the following partners:

 

·         Community Area Partnership

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Office of the Wiltshire Police and Crime commissioner

·         Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·         NHS Wiltshire/Clinical Commissioning Group

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Melksham Town Council

·         Parish Council Nominated Representatives

·         Melksham Chambers of Commerce

·         Melksham Senior People’s Forum

·         Older Persons Champion

·         Young Melksham

·         Trans Wilts CiC

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Written updates contained in the agenda pack were received from the following partners:

 

·       NHS Wiltshire/Clinical Commissioning Group

 

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

 

The Chairman thanked all partners for their updates.

 

100.

Grant Funding

The Area Board members are asked to consider applications to the Community Area Grants scheme. Full details of all grant applications are contained in the agenda pack.

 

 

·         St Mary’s Church Broughton Gifford requesting £5,000 towards installation of a disabled accessible toilet

 

·         Great Hinton Memorial Hall requesting £650 towards replacement LED lighting

 

  • Conigre Mead Nature Reserve volunteers requesting £810 to fund 2 new benches

 

  • West Wiltshire Multi-Faith Forum requesting £996 towards empowering women through education and community engagement 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Area Board members were asked to consider three applications to the Community Area Grants scheme.

 

Decision

St Mary’s Church Broughton Gifford awarded £5,000 towards installation of a disabled accessible toilet

 

Decision

Great Hinton Memorial Hall awarded £650 towards replacement LED lighting

 

Decision

Conigre Mead Nature Reserve volunteers awarded £810 to fund two new benches

 

 

The Area Board members were asked to consider one application to the Health & Wellbeing Grants scheme.

 

West Wiltshire Multi-Faith Forum awarded £996 towards empowering women through education and community engagement

101.

Youth Grant Funding

The Area Board members are asked to consider applications to the Youth Grants scheme. Full details of all grant applications are contained in the agenda pack.

 

·         Youth Intervention Project – progress report and proposal for Yr 2 funding

 

Dan Whitson-Jones, Community Family Care

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Dan Whitson-Jones and Sasha Hart of Community Family Care presented a progress report on the Youth Intervention Project which is being delivered at Melksham Oak School. 15 young people are receiving support for behavioural issues including: anger management and support to manage emotions; anxiety; refusal to attend school; parental separation; and risky behaviour in the community. Through counselling, all young people have reported improved emotional wellbeing, improved behaviour at home and within the community and a reduction in risky behaviour in the community.

The school have reported very positively on the outcomes: “He has showed significant improvements in many aspects of school life. I believe that the work that you have been doing with J has had some significant impact. I know we can never state we make ‘direct’ improvements with the young people but I do believe that your work has been a very positive element with him.” “Sometimes we struggle to get students to engage with support. Often the support that we offer in school has a slight stigma attached to it, and our students don’t want to engage. They need something that is slightly “removed” from school. They need to feel confident in knowing that who they are talking to is not a member of staff at this school, and so not feel judged by their past behaviour/difficulties. I think this service perfectly provides that opportunity for some of our students. So far, the students that I have referred to both Cally and Alan have always been averse to any support offered by the school, but have engaged well with this service and we have seen some great progress.”

Funding for the youth intervention service is due to come to an end at the end of February 2020 and £9,594 was requested from the local youth budget to continue the service for a second year. Members were supportive of the intervention project and felt that strong outcomes and value for money had been achieved to date. However they felt that, as Melksham Oak was the focus and main beneficiary of the project, then the school should be asked to contribute towards costs. It was agreed to grant up to £ 5,000 from the Area Board towards Year 2 which would guarantee continuation of the service to July 2020 as a minimum, but to seek match funding from the school or from other sources to continue the service for up to another 2 years thereafter. A meeting with the school to discuss this opportunity will be arranged, possibly though the auspices of Councillor Nick Holder who is a school governor there.

 

 

Decision

 

That the Melksham Area Board agreed to award £5,000 to the Youth Intervention Project in order for the project to continue running until the end of the school year.

 

It was agreed that should the Melksham Oak School agree to match fund the project then the Melksham Area Board would match fund the project for a further 2 years.

102.

Public questions

Members of the public are invited to ask questions relating to Area Board business.

 

Minutes:

A question was raised re the threatened closure of the St Damian’s GP Surgery.

 

It was agreed that the Melksham Area Board would lobby the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group that it had concerns on the potential closure of another GP surgery with so many new housing developments being built in Melksham.

Letter to CCG re St Damians

Supporting documents:

103.

Close