Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will introduce the representatives attending the meeting, and explain how the meeting will work. Plans of the Market place are attached for ease of reference.

The Chairman explained that the situation had changed since the agenda had been published, and that the Salisbury Vision Board had published a statement indicating that it had transferred responsibility for the Marketplace refurbishment project to the Area Board.  Councillor Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council, had also given assurance that resources and funding would be made available to the Area Board to take the project forward.

In view of the Area Board’s new role in the process, the Chairman moved that the existing planning applications be withdrawn, to allow for further consultation with the Community and for a revised plan to be put forward.

Decision

The Salisbury Area Board agreed to withdraw the planning applications in relation to the proposals for the Marketplace (ref S/2011/1320, S/2011/1321 and S/2011/1322).

The Chairman also referred to the public survey which the Area Board had published to find out about the views of Salisbury residents in relation to the various elements of the proposals for the Marketplace.  Nearly 1200 responses had been received so far, and the survey would remain open for a further 3 weeks.  Paper copies of the survey were available at the meeting, along with freepost envelopes.  Alternatively, the survey could be completed online at www.goo.gl/AeLEz.  The Chairman encouraged everyone to circulate the survey to all friends and family; it was important to get a high response rate in order to ensure a cross section of the community, and an accurate reflection of the views of those who live, work, or shop in the city.

At the Chairman’s invitation, City Cllr Su Thorpe (Leader of Salisbury City Council) made a statement on behalf of Salisbury City Council (SCC), including the following points:

·         SCC had not formally debated the issues relating to the Salisbury Vision, although it supported the Vision’s mission statement of making Salisbury “a clean, green, safe and friendly city…consistently acknowledged as being one of England’s best places to live.”

·         SCC had inherited the decision of the former Salisbury District Council (SDC) in terms of the selection of the architect and the proposal which included the removal of the trees and moving the war memorial.  This decision had only been made four months prior to Councillors assuming office in SCC and no Councillors, including four of the SDC cabinet members who had made the decision, considered that the decision should be reviewed.  Once the planning application had been submitted, the standard planning consultation process had begun.  As part of this process, the SCC planning committee had considered and supported the proposal, on the proviso that the replacement of trees, the changes to disabled parking, and the moving of the war memorial were all done sensitively.

·         SCC was aware of significant public concern over the adequate provision of disabled parking.  It was noted that New Canal Street could accommodate more disabled parking spaces.

·         SCC considered that it was extremely important to get the Vision projects right (including the Marketplace refurbishment), to create a sustainable future for Salisbury, keeping young  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

The Chairman will feedback the results of a survey undertaken by the Area Board (questions set out in the attached) – the survey may be completed online atwww.goo.gl/AeLEz.

The survey had asked respondents to indicate how strongly (or not) they agreed with a number of statements.  The Chairman explained that he would give the results for each section of the survey in turn.  For ease of reference, the results for “strongly agree” and “agree” had been combined, as had those for “strongly disagree” and “disagree”.  A full breakdown of the results was available, and would be published in due course, once the survey had closed.

Opportunity for questions and comments relating to the trees in the Market Place.

The issue of the trees had generated the most public interest in the scheme, with a petition in support of retaining the existing trees receiving over 11,000 signatures to date.

The results of the survey (so far) relating to the trees were as follows:

The Chairman invited questions and comments, noting that Shane Verrion, the Council’s tree officer was present to answer any technical questions in relation to the trees:

·         In response to a question it was noted that the replacement of the trees as part of the Vision’s withdrawn plans had accounted for a relatively small proportion of the overall cost of the scheme.  An exact answer could not be given as the work on the detailed breakdown of costs would have been undertaken after the planning permission stage.

·         Shane Verrion, Wiltshire Council’s Tree Officer, confirmed that his personal opinion was in favour of the retention of the 30 healthy trees which were graded B (worthy of retention).  Of the remaining four trees, number 480 (as shown on the plan at page 1 of the agenda) was graded R (needs replacement), and numbers 482, 464, and 486 were graded C (of no great value).

·         Responding to a question, Shane estimated that the trees had not been maintained for over five years, although it was noted that this was the responsibility of another part of the Council.

·         Shane considered that the four large trees along the western boundary of the Marketplace could be brought back into condition with regular pollarding on a 3-7 year cycle.

·         It was noted that Letts Wheeler, the architects who had designed the Vision’s proposal, had been selected partly as their proposal originally proposed to retain the trees.  This had changed once the architects became aware of the root damage to the tarmac and drains, and was to protect the proposed high quality surfacing.

·         In response to a question, Shane noted that it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5c

Opportunity for questions and comments relating to the provision of disabled car parking in the Market Place.

The results of the survey (so far) in relation to car parking and disabled car parking were as follows:

At the Chairman’s invitation, Helen Farmer spoke on behalf of Salisbury Wheelchair users group, in relation to the provision of disabled car parking in the Marketplace, making the following points:

·         Roadside spaces were more dangerous for disabled users to park in, due to access issues when getting in and out of wheelchairs.

·         Around 50-75% of cars in the Marketplace were blue badge holders, but it was also important to remember drivers with disability or mobility issues who did not qualify for a blue badge.

·         The idea of using New Canal Street for additional disabled parking was supported.

·         The Wiltshire Council parking strategy set out a commitment to meeting national minimum standards, of providing disabled parking within 50m of essential services.  The Marketplace currently met this requirement, with the library, banks, Post Office and a pharmacy all within a short distance.

·         Consideration needed to be given to accessibility when choosing surfacing.  For example, cobble stones or similar surfacing could be uncomfortable or even painful for wheelchair users.  Paving stones would be more suitable, although they had to be maintained to prevent cracks and wobbles.

The Chairman thanked Helen for the presentation and invited questions and comments from the floor. The following points were raised:

·         The view was expressed that the pavements in Salisbury were inadequately maintained.  It was also stated that improving the surfacing in the Marketplace was only worthwhile if contractors and utilities companies were required to reinstate the original condition after digging.  Sustainable revenue funding would also need to be identified to maintain the quality of the surfacing.

·         Several comments were made in relation to the need to maintain the distinction of the historic right of way from the north-east corner to the south-west corner of the square.  This was supported by a show of hands from those present.

·         Responding to a question regarding how many disabled parking spaces were required in Salisbury, Helen was unable to give a number.  However, she noted that Salisbury had around half the recommended number of spaces as a percentage of total car parking spaces.  In addition, some car parks did not have level access, and wheelchair users had to travel on the road to get onto the pavement, creating a danger for them and passing vehicles.  Helen considered that a review of off-street disabled parking in Salisbury was required, to ascertain the number of spaces needed and where these could be provided.

·          Adequate cycle parking was raised as an important requirement for the refurbished Marketplace, as it was cheap to provide, took  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5d

Opportunity for questions and comments relating to the War Memorial.

The results of the survey (so far) in relation to the War Memorial were as follows:

The Chairman invited questions and comments:

·         The view was expressed that the War Memorial was not ideally situated in its current orientation, in terms of the Remembrance Day parade.  The Vision’s proposal had suggested that the Memorial be moved to the western boundary of the Marketplace, facing east.

·         However, views were also expressed that the location of the War Memorial was not a problem for the parade. It was also considered that it would be insensitive to move the War Memorial, whilst British Forces were actively deployed in Afghanistan.

·         It was noted that the Royal British Legion did not support the relocation of the War Memorial.

At the Chairman’s request for a show of hands, the meeting was strongly in favour of leaving the War Memorial in its current location.

Opportunity for questions and comments relating to the provision of public toilets in the Market Place.

The results of the survey (so far) in relation to the provision of public toilets were as follows:

At the Chairman’s request for a show of hands, the meeting was in favour of providing public toilets.  It was noted that this should include disabled toilets.

The Area Board will consider whether it wishes to make any recommendation to the Vision, via Wiltshire Council’s cabinet, on the proposals for the Market Place.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their contributions to the discussion and proposed that a Community Working Group be established to consider and propose a design brief for the refurbishment of Salisbury Marketplace.

During discussion a number of final points were raised, including the following:

·         The Market traders should be consulted on any proposal which would impact on the layout of the marketplace.

·         Despite the high level of response to the petition and the survey, this still only represented a relatively small percentage of the population of Salisbury.  Everyone was asked to encourage friends and family to give their views.

·         The business community wanted the refurbishment work to go ahead as soon as practicable.

·         The Community Working Group was asked to consider new ideas for the Marketplace, such as the provision of Wifi, and charging points for electric cars.

·         It was noted that residents of the surrounding rural areas should also be involved in contributing to the survey and any future proposals.

·         In response to a question regarding how the survey was being made available, the Chairman reported that, in addition to the online survey, paper copies were available at the library, and at the Council’s offices in Milford Street.  Copies of the survey and pre-paid return envelopes were also available at the back of the meeting.  It was noted that the copies at the library did not have a return address listed.  This would be corrected, although copies could be returned to library staff or to any of the Council’s offices.

ACTION: Marianna Dodd

·         Anyone wishing to be involved in the proposed Community Working group was encouraged to contact Marianna Dodd, on 01722 434696 or email Marianna.dodd@wiltshire.gov.uk.

Decision

The Salisbury Area Board agreed to establish a Community Working Group to discuss and propose a design brief for the refurbishment of Salisbury Marketplace, based on the outcome of the on-going survey, the 11,000+ signatures on the “Save Our Salisbury Trees” petition, and the views expressed by the residents of Salisbury.

The Chairman invited those present to give an evaluation of the meeting, by way of a show of hands.  In general, those present considered that the meeting had been good.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and noted that the next meeting of the Salisbury Area Board would be held on 17 November 2011, 7pm at Salisbury Guildhall, The Market Place, Salisbury, SP1 1JH.