Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited the members of the Board to introduce themselves.  A special welcome was extended to Councillor John Thomson, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Representative for Communities, Adult Social Care, and Libraries, and to Andrew Kerr, Wiltshire Council’s new Chief Executive.  The Chairman also introduced Steve Milton, Head of Community Governance, who was attending in place of Marianna Dodd, the Salisbury Community Area Manager, who was currently unwell.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

• Gypsy and Traveller Consultation – Wiltshire Council was in the early stages of finding land for gypsy and traveller sites.  Information would be available from the end of March on the Council’s website (www.wiltshire.gov.uk) and in libraries and Council offices.  A drop-in event was also planned for Thursday 13 May 2010 from 4-8pm in City Hall.
• Consultation on Services to Children with Special Educational Needs – The Council was in the process of consulting on the provision of services to Children with Special Educational Needs.  An drop-in event would be held on Tuesday 4 May 2010 in City Hall, with a session for school staff and governors at 5pm and another for parents at 7pm.
• Health Fair – On Monday 10 May 2010 at Salisbury Library, the Area Board and the NHS would be jointly hosting a Health Fair to offer free information and advice to local people.

Apologies for absence had been received from Cheryl Hill (Salisbury City Council) and from Mike Franklin (Wiltshire Fire and Rescue).  Councillor Brian Dalton also offered apologies as he would have to leave at 8pm for another meeting.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2010.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting of the Salisbury Area Board held on 21 January 2010 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive feedback on proposed actions arising from the discussion on older people held at the meeting of the Salisbury Area Board on 21 January.

At the previous meeting of the Board, there had been a presentation from Nick Beard of Age Concern Salisbury and a roundtable discussion on how services to older people could be developed.  The feedback from the discussion had been shared with Salisbury City Council and with the Salisbury City Community Area Partnership (SCCAP). 

The Chairman offered the following responses to the issues raised:

• Transport
  • Using bus passes on taxis - There had been a suggestion that older people should be able to use their bus passes towards taxi journeys.  This was already possible under a scheme called Connect2, a bookable bus replacement service, where bus passes could be used to obtain a free ride.  Further information was available via leaflets circulated at the meeting or on www.bookaride.net
  • Link schemes – Volunteers were needed for the Link scheme which sought to provide transport and practical help to older people, particularly those in isolated rural areas.  Anyone wishing to volunteer for this scheme would need to complete a CRB check, and further information was available via leaflets circulated at the meeting or on www.wiltslink.org.uk

• Information – At the previous meeting, it had been identified that there were many leaflets and sources of information available, but that these could be made more accessible.  Heather Ludlow, District Director for Adult Care had advised that the following plans were in progress:
  • An Information and Advice Strategy was being developed, along with an Action Plan to support people with personal budgets and those who fund themselves.
  • A “Virtual” One-Stop Shop was being developed and would be available online from the Autumn.
  • Similarly, a “Physical” One-Stop Shop would be available at the newly refurbished Council Offices in Bourne Hill later in the year.
  • Plans were also being developed to make leaflets available from other public locations such as supermarkets etc.

• Schools – It had been suggested that older people could be invited into schools to share their experiences with the younger generation, as part of history lessons or to help with reading.  Similar schemes were already in place at some schools and this was to be encouraged.  The Chairman also referred to “Age No Barriers” week which would take place in the week commencing 10 July 2010.

Su Thorpe, Leader of Salisbury City Council, commented that the City Council was working with Wiltshire Council on projects for older people.  For example, Salisbury High School was taking students into residential homes with Wii interactive computer games, which had proved very successful.

Responding to a question regarding media reports of bus passes being withdrawn and replaced by Identity Cards, Councillor John Thomson advised that he was not aware of any such proposals.

The Chairman commented that the Area Board hoped to revisit the topic of older people at a future meeting, as one of the key themes of the Area Board’s work.

To receive updates from the Salisbury City Council representative and the Laverstock and Ford Parish Council representative.

Su Thorpe, Leader of Salisbury City Council (SCC), gave an update on behalf of SCC:

• The City Council’s first newsletter was due out soon.  This first edition would introduce the city councillors and explain the powers and duties of the new City Council.
• The Guildhall would be closing in April for the planned building works.  These would commence in July after various building surveys.  In the meantime, City Council meetings would be held in various other locations around the City, and Committee meetings would be held in Bemerton Health Neighbourhood Centre.
• The City Council would be celebrating its first birthday on 1 April 2010.  To celebrate, there would be a tree planting in Victoria Park at 10.00am.
• The Hudson Field project would hopefully be underway soon; tenders were due in on 19 March.

Liz Doré of Laverstock and Ford Parish Council advised that she had nothing on which to update the meeting at this time.

Alun Williams from Visit Wiltshire will give a presentation on what the organisation does to develop tourism in Salisbury.  Councillor Richard Beattie, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism will also be in attendance.

To be followed by a round table discussion on other ideas to promote Salisbury as a tourist destination, and how to maximise the benefits of tourism.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Councillor Richard Beattie, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism and Alun Williams, Head of the VisitWiltshire partnership.

Councillor Beattie explained that the VisitWiltshire partnership was core funded by Wiltshire Council and sought to promote and develop tourism within the county.  The partnership was currently finalising the first draft of its business plan, which would be ready by the end of April.  Once this had been approved by the VisitWiltshire Board, and by Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet, it would be used to develop a Service Level Agreement. 

Alun Williams reported that the partnership was one of nine destination management partnerships in the South West of England and that it covered the whole geographic county, including Swindon.  The aim of the organisation was to “grow the value of the visitor economy in Wiltshire through raising the profile, sustainability, quality and profitability of the sector”. 

The promotion of Salisbury was a key element to VisitWiltshire’s marketing activity.  For example, the partnership’s website (www.visitwiltshire.co.uk) contained a dedicated Salisbury area, and attractions in the area (Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and Wilton House) featured heavily in the marketing literature.  In relation to the images used on the front pages of the “What to do” and “Where to stay” leaflets, the tourist destinations featured were rotated, to ensure a fair profile was given to attractions across the county.

As domestic tourism destinations constantly had to compete with overseas tour operators for business, media coverage was a useful source of additional marketing.  Since September 2008, media coverage worth an estimated value of £570,000 had been generated by VisitWiltshire and 46% of press cuttings directly mentioned Salisbury and/or Stonehenge.  Other marketing work included trade fairs and sponsoring the tourism section of the Small Business of the Year Awards for South Wiltshire 2010.

It was noted that 65% of Wiltshire’s tourism spending came from day visitors and some leaflets were designed specifically for these visitors.  The business plan aimed to maintain the level of day visitors but also to increase the duration of people’s visits.  It was estimated that a day visitor would spend £23 per day, while someone staying for longer would spend £53 per day.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Beattie and Alun for their presentation and invited those present to discuss how Salisbury could be further promoted as a tourist destination, and how the benefits of tourism could be maximised.  Each table fed back ideas and suggestions as follows:

1.            How can Salisbury be promoted as a tourist destination?

·         Introduce themed tours incorporating attractions across the county

·         Make well-known events more local, for example the Salisbury International Arts Festival

·         Develop package deals aimed at visitors from London, with travel, restaurant, overnight accommodation and options to include trips to attractions such as Stonehenge

·         Target the family market during the peak-season and the retired market out-of-season to ensure year round tourism

·         Develop a guide specifically for the Salisbury area

·         Focus on the modern history of the area, i.e. the early years of aviation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive an update from Tony Barron, Chairman of NHS Wiltshire, on the plans for the future use of this site, followed by an opportunity for questions.

The Chairman welcomed Tony Barron, Chairman of NHS Wiltshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), and invited him to give an update on the proposals for the Old Manor Site on Wilton Road.

Mr Barron reported that three years ago, the PCT had undertaken to develop five major sites across the county.  The Wilton Road site had been scheduled as the last of these, and work was now starting on developing a proposal for a Primary Care Centre (PCC), incorporating GP surgeries, dental surgeries, an on-site pharmacy, and a range of outpatient services.

The PCT’s role in this process would be one of landowner and third party “facilitator”.  At this stage, the GPs were still finalising the financial agreement, and a developer had yet to be selected.  Mr Barron offered to keep the Area Board updated on progress in this area, although he emphasised that some information would be subject to commercial confidentiality.  It was hoped that the project would be at the design stage by the end of the year.

Following the presentation the Chairman thanked Mr Barron for his update and invited questions and comments:

• The view was expressed that the current state of the Old Manor site was unattractive given that Wilton Road was one of the main entrance routes into town.
• The level of capital investment in the city was welcomed, although it was noted that the development would be challenging in view of the number of users involved and the elements of the existing buildings which were subject to a listed building order.
• Responding to a question, Mr Barron confirmed that staff were highly involved with the planning and management of the project.
• Councillor John Thomson commented on the success of a similar project in Malmesbury, where a multi-service site had been developed for GP and dental services, and a 90-bed residential care home.
• Responding to a question, Mr Barron commented that the original plan had been to only develop part of the site.  However, following feedback from local residents and other stakeholders, it had been decided to redevelop the whole site.

To receive a presentation from Kevin Sweeney / David Whewell regarding the new formula for allocating Youth Worker staffing resources around Wiltshire, with specific reference to how this will affect Salisbury, followed by an opportunity for questions.

Kevin Sweeney, Operations Manager for Youth Development Services, Wiltshire Council, gave a presentation on the new formula for allocating Youth Worker Staffing resources across Wiltshire. 

Historically, the provision of funding for youth services across Wiltshire was relatively inconsistent, with some areas having secured extra funding and others having little in comparison.  To address this, officers had developed a formula for allocating staff resources between Wiltshire’s 20 Community Areas, as follows:

• Entitlement – accounting for 25% of the funding
• Population – accounting for 50% of the funding
• Deprivation – accounting for 10% of the funding
• Rural isolation – accounting for 10% of the funding
• Central reserves – 5% held as a contingency

As there was no overall change to the level of resources available, some areas would see their share drop and others would receive greater levels of resources.  Salisbury’s share would drop by 40 hours per week (leaving a total of 76 hours), however the Salisbury community area remained in third place overall in terms of how many hours it received compared to other areas.

In order to mitigate the impact of this reduction, officers had developed a series of proposals to try to maintain the existing level of service provision.  For example, some activities would be funded from different budgets for the 2010/11 year, and some hours had been transferred from the Salisbury Youth Development Centre (YDC) to Grosvenor House.  In addition, any “slack” that was present in the staffing system to allow for sickness absence etc, had been taken away.  As such, there was a risk that some activities would be affected by unplanned staff absences.

Kevin emphasised that the proposals were based on fairness in terms of allocating central resources, and that the new formula had been developed by choice.  Any additional resources from Town/Parish Councils, Area Boards, or partner organisations would not be affected by the formula.

The Chairman invited questions and comments as follows:

• In general, the new formula was welcomed, although it was hoped that the level of funding to this important service could be increased in future years.  Councillor John Thomson commented that £100K had been allocated to the Area Boards to spend on Youth Services during 2010/11.  This would be in addition to the Boards’ Community Area Grant budgets.
• It was noted that diversionary activities for young people were effective in reducing anti-social behaviour.  In addition, young people could learn useful skills such as motorcycle maintenance, photography and sports.
• In relation to a suggestion that clubs and activities for young people could be showcased at a single event, reference was made to the “It’s on in the Field” event as supported by the Board at its previous meeting.

Councillor Richard Clewer, speaking in his role as Portfolio Holder for Youth and Skills, thanked Kevin for the presentation and noted that, while Salisbury was losing out slightly, other areas such as Wilton and Downton would be receiving funding where previously there had been none.  As such, overall funding for youth services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Community Area Manager for Salisbury will report on the progress of the issues recently raised by local people.

Steve Milton, Head of Community Governance, gave an update on work undertaken in relation to issues which had been submitted to the Area Board.

Steve thanked those who had taken part in the recent review of Area Boards, and commented that this would feed into the issues process.  Over 100 issues per months were currently being received by the Community Governance team.

Steve gave an update on issues relating to Salisbury:

• The presentation and subsequent discussion on pavements at the previous meeting of the Board had been in response to the number of issues received on that subject.  This had been well received and a number of issues had been closed as a consequence.
• A number of issues relating to speeding traffic had been received and referred to the Camera Safety Partnership Unit for the survey stage of the Community Speech Watch scheme.
• In relation to a number of issues on cycling in the city, work was underway on the development of a cycle network for Salisbury.
• In response to several issues relating to climate change and the environment, this would be considered at the July meeting of the Area Board.
• An issue had been received regarding missing name plates on some of Salisbury’s streets, and members of the public were encouraged to report any missing signs.

The Chairman emphasised that residents should approach their local Councillor in the first instance.  Issues which extended beyond an electoral division would then be logged in the issues system.

To receive an update from the Community Area Partnership, and to consider a request for the release of further funding.

The Chairman expressed her appreciation for the work of Salisbury City Community Area Partnership (SCCAP) and indicated that SCCAP was working closely with the Area Board to address some major issues in the city.  She then invited Debrah Biggs, Chairman of SCCAP, to give an update on the work of the partnership.

Debrah reported that both the SCCAP steering group and the community plan steering group were meeting on a monthly basis, with key members communicating daily.

The consultation stage on the community plan project was now nearly complete.  The next step was to create and produce a questionnaire for Salisbury residents.

SCCAP was working closely with partners and was benefitting from the professional experience of its members.  In addition, an admin support worker had been recruited, to support the development of the organisation.

A meeting had been held in January to discuss issues and services for Young People.  This had included a presentation on current services such as The Unit, a project run by young people for young people.  This facility, based in an empty shop on the corner of Endless Street and Chipper Lane was open from 3.30 – 5.30 Monday to Friday and 11-3 on Saturday as an information point to promote services and activities for young people in the city.

Referring to the letter from SCCAP requesting the release of the remaining £1,919 of funding, (set out at page 19 of the agenda), the Chairman clarified that for 2009/10 the process for Area Boards funding the Community Area Partnerships had been “light touch” and that SCCAP had met the requirements in terms of information on how the funding would be used.  In future years, however, the Board was likely to require a more detailed breakdown of spending.

Decision

A further £1,919 of funding to Salisbury City Community Area Partnership was released.

To determine any applications for community grants with the opportunity for questions from the public.

To determine the use of any leftover unallocated funding from the 2009/10 budget.

Following the award of funds to SCCAP under item 11 above, it was noted that the Board had no money left in the budget for 2009/10.  No applications for Community Area Grants had been received, and next year’s budget would be available for applications at the next meeting on 20 May 2010.

Councillor Paul Sample declared an interest in the following item as a Justice of the Peace (JP), and left the room during consideration of the item.

To consider whether the Area Board wishes to support any expressions of interest received in relation to this scheme.

To include a short presentation from Cheryle Davies on the Community Payback scheme.

The Chairman invited Tracy Geiran to give a presentation on the Community Payback scheme.

Tracy explained that the scheme related to the Unpaid Work Requirement which was available to Courts as a sentence or part of a sentence.  This was promoted by the National Probation Service (NPS) as community payback to emphasise the fact that offenders were making amends to the community for their crimes.  Offenders subject to the scheme were required to work between 6 and 18 hours a week, and were allocated to a project depending on suitability, risk, availability and diversity issues. 

Experienced supervisors closely monitored the work of the offenders, who would wear orange high-visibility vests for health and safety reasons and to raise public awareness of the scheme.

In addition to the obvious community benefits of projects such as graffiti/litter removal, and footpath clearance, other positive outcomes included offenders learning new skills and potentially gaining qualifications as a result of their work under the scheme.  This could increase the employability of the offenders and reduce the risk of reoffending.

Examples of projects undertaken as part of the scheme included:

·         Installation of a pond and vegetable patch at Nythe School;

·         Improvements to footpaths in conjunction with the Wiltshire Council Rights of Way team; and

·         Rebuilding a dry-stone wall.

Obstacles for the scheme included the inaccessibility of rural locations for projects with lack of basic facilities and tools.  As such the project had submitted a bid to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme for £73,000 towards three utilities trailers which would provide the teams with mobile access to hot water, toilets and refreshments during the day, enabling teams to be more self-sufficient and able to undertake work in more isolated rural areas.  The investment would also be used to purchase high pressure cleaners for the removal of graffiti and chewing gum.

The Chairman thanked Tracy for the presentation and commented that further information, including details of how to suggest a project, was available in leaflets on the tables.

General support was expressed for the project, which was considered to be a innovative measure towards breaking the cycle of offending, in addition to the obvious community benefits.  It was noted that the scheme was county-wide, and as such the support for all 18 Area Boards was being sought for the bid.

Decision

The bid from Community Payback was supported for submission to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme Panel.

To note the Board’s provisional Forward Plan, including details of future agenda items.

The date of the next meeting is Thursday 20 May 2010, 7pm at St Francis Church Hall, Beatrice Road, Salisbury, SP1 3PN.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and encouraged people to complete the evaluation forms.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Salisbury Area Board would be on Thursday 20 May 2010, 7pm at St Francis Church Hall, Beatrice Road, Salisbury.