Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Richard Britton welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Southern Wiltshire Area Board, Board Members then introduced themselves.

Cabinet Representative, Councillor Dick Tonge was welcomed to the meeting.

There were none.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 27 September 2012.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 27 September 2012, were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor Leo Randall declared a non-pecuniary interest relating to the Community Area Grant application submitted by Whiteparish Memorial Hall Trust under item 16, as he was one of the Trustees.

To note the attached information on the following current consultations:

The Board noted the current consultations listed in the agenda pack. Further information on Wiltshire Council consultations can be found on the consultation portal at: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal

To note the attached items for Information.

The Board noted the information items attached to the agenda.

The deadline for the consultation on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) had been moved back to 5 December 2012 to allow additional time for parish councils to feed their comments back.

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, will provide an insight into his area of responsibility, followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

o   Performance and strategy for transport including the Local Transport Plan and related strategies and policies

o   Highways maintenance and improvements

o   Traffic management including car parking, road safety and passenger transport

o   Litter and cleansing activities and environmental enforcement including abandoned vehicles, fly tipping etc

o   Rights of way

o   Public conveniences

o   Grounds and open space management including allotments

o   Cemeteries and markets

Councillor Dick Tonge highlighted some of the areas of work which were included in his portfolio as Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.

·         Wiltshire Council had secured a budget to make improvements to train services for the area.

·         Following the recent floods across the county, teams had been working hard to limit disruption and to ensure that people remained safe on the roads as this was always the overriding consideration for Highways.

·         Various training initiatives were taking place, including the ‘Bike Ability’ courses which were run through schools. The aim is to teach children how to use their bikes safely on the roads.

·         ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ was an initiative targeted at 16 – 19 year olds to use a dramatic training programme to shock them into driving safely.

·         Roads are monitored for their skid resistance as this is a major consideration for resurfacing roads.

·         Each year, every Board was allocated CATG funding for small highways projects, there was also a central fund for larger projects, which could be bid for by the Board. Projects considered for this funding would need to meet criteria.

·         The Council had put the Highways contract out to tender as a package which would see the contractor providing other duties such as grass cutting. The aim of this was to see a 10% reduction in cost.

Questions and comments were then take, these included:

·         Would a CATG budget be allocated to all Boards for 2013/14? Answer: Yes, the arrangements were expected to remain the same for 2013/14.

·         Parish Councils had recently been sent a link to the proposed new HGV satellite navigation (satnav) system which would be used by all HGV’s across the country.  They were asked to look at the routes which passed through their areas and to feedback any comments to the programme. Some parishes had found route errors which in their opinion would direct the HGV’s through inappropriate roads. Answer: Parishes were urged to look at the system to make sure the route was correct for their parishes and report any possible improvements.

·         There was a report of a set of traffic lights in Firsdown which were sited partly on MOD land and partly on Highways land. When a problem arose with these traffic lights, the parish did not know who to approach due to the unusual situation of joint ownership. Answer: This type of situation should be directed to Graeme Hay, Head of Service, Traffic & Network.

·         There had been a recent letter published in the Salisbury Journal, which referred to the sale of Salisbury Bus Station, and included a suggestion for incorporating the use of the Park and Ride sites. Had the Council responded to the letter? Answer: The Council had sent a reply in response to the letter. It was a good idea but in reality not practical, as people would not use the Park & Ride to travel across the city, in order to catch connecting buses.

·         The school road in Nomansland was in need of resurfacing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Reports and updates of interest across the Area; statements and questions on any topic relevant to the area as a whole.

Written Updates attached are:

•      Fire & Rescue Service

•      Police

•      NHS

•      Southern Wiltshire Issues System

•      Youth Service update to be tabled at the meeting

Any other verbal updates or comments.

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda. In addition the following verbal updates were received:

Fire & Rescue – Mike Franklin

There had been a reduction in the number of reported fires for the area compared to the figures for the same period the previous year. Updates for October and November are attached to the end of these minutes.

There had been a recent incident in the Salisbury Plain area where a family of 5 had been admitted to hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning, Mike advised anyone without a carbon monoxide detector in their home to get one fitted.

Question:

·         Mike was asked if there had been an increase in call outs over the bonfire period? Answer: Mike agreed to find out the level of calls attended over that period and to report back to the Board.

Action: Mike Franklin, WF&RS

Police – Inspector Andy Noble 

Dean Garvin’s acting Sergeant rank had now been made substantive and he would soon be leaving the community area to start in his new role within the Salisbury Custody team. Dean would be replaced by Sergeant David Lennane who would start in the new year.

The Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPT) were specifically working on targeting illegal moneylenders at Old Sarum, as well as Bemerton Heath and the Friary in Salisbury.

Comments received:

·         Cllr McLennan praised the response of all involved with improving the heavy traffic flow situation in Ford following the closure of Broken Cross Bridge. A meeting had been held between the parish council, residents, highways and the NPT to address concerns. As a result the police presence in Ford had been increased and two road buildouts had been introduced. introduced which had had a positive impact on the situation.

·         As a representative of WIN who had raised concerns over the new skate park in Downton, Phil Matthews noted that the Downton Skate park had now opened and was in use. There had been no reported incidents.

·         Cllr Devine reported a situation where villagers felt it was unsafe to walk along the road due to speeding traffic. Answer: The way to raise issues of this nature would be to log the matter on the online Issues System.

Southern Wiltshire Issue System

The Chairman drew Cllr Tonge’s attention to the long list of Highways related issues attached to the agenda on pages 29 – 30.

Tom Bray, Community Area Manager explained that he had been working with those who had logged the issues on the system to move them forward.

The Customer Lighting And Roads Enquiry Centre (CLARENCE) is a service centre set up to allow you to quickly and easily report road and lighting defects and hazards.

If you have spotted a defect or fault on a Wiltshire road or right of way or cycle lane, such as a pothole, a broken street light or a blocked route then you can report this directly through CLARENCE.

To report a defect you can either:

Report a highway problem online  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

1.    CATG schemes 2012/13 update

2.    A call for new CATG schemes for 2013/14.

3.    Update on bus shelters.

4.    Speed Indicator Device deployment review update.

Tom Bray, Community Area Manager explained that the CATG was currently updating on all schemes for the year.

After hearing from Councillor Tonge that CATG funds would be available for 2013/14, Tom invited submissions of new schemes for the area which could be considered for the list of schemes for 2013/14.

Bus Shelter Ownership Scheme

Wiltshire’s Highways Department currently do not have a budget to provide maintenance for bus shelters and are suggesting that Parish Council’s should consider taking ownership of these facilities. A report attached to the agenda gave further details about the initiative.

Speed Indicator Device (SID)

Following concerns raised by Area Boards regarding the reliability of the SID devices and their presence at agreed sites, a review of the deployment process had been undertaken which highlighted areas for improvement. The issues raised during the review are listed in the report attached to the agenda on pages 35 – 36.

Questions and comments:

• Firsdown Parish Councillor, Brian Edgeley asked if the SID would be returning to Firsdown and if so would it be effective? Answer: Tom explained that the recent review which had been carried out had specifically addressed these issues; the new scheme begins in January 2013.
• Would the SID be deployed to the site surveyed on A354? Answer: Tom agreed to look at the progress of that site and to feedback the outcome.

Action: Tom Bray, Community Area Manager

To receive a presentation about Neighbourhood Planning from Sarah Hughes, Senior Planning Officer.

The Board received a presentation from Sarah Hughes, Senior Planning Officer, on Neighbourhood Planning.

The Localism Act, was centred around the ‘bottom up’ approach, meaning that people in communities should be empowered to make decisions on issues which affect them.

Decisions on where new developments will take place could be devolved to local communities who had produced a Neighbourhood Plan. In the Wiltshire Core Strategy these documents would carry weight in the consideration of planning applications.

Neighbourhood planning can:

·         Identify specific sites as being preferred for development by the local community

·         Encourage development

·         Include policies - design standards, renewable energy

Neighbourhood planning cannot:

·         Conflict with council’s development plan

·         Be used to prevent development

·         Be prepared by a body other than a ‘qualifying body’

Producing a Neighbourhood Plan

Stage 1

1.    Form a Steering Group & be assigned a Link Officer

2.    Develop Objectives and Vision through Community Engagement

3.    Select the most appropriate approach for you

4.    Designate a Neighbourhood Area

Stage 2

5.    Develop a Draft Plan and engage with the community

6.    Submit the plan for examination

7.    Referendum

To view a copy of the Neighbourhood Planning Guide, click on the link:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planninganddevelopment/planningpolicy/neighbourhoodplanning/nppusefulexternalwebsitesandpublications.htm

Questions and Comments received included:

·         Several of the Parishes within the community area had already produced and submitted a Village Design Statement (VDS), however there was no current policy for adopting the VDS’s, how would they feed in to the scheme? Answer: There was currently an Officer who was working on the VDS’s to ensure that they would be put to a committee for endorsement. The VDS is a material consideration which has been produced by local communities, the profile of these documents would be raised. VDSs would no longer have the weight of Supplementary Planning Documents.

·         How much does it cost the community to produce a Neighbourhood Plan (NP)? Answer: The cost varies depending on certain factors, such as the size of the neighbourhood area and the issues that they face. The cost was more likely to be thousands rather than hundreds of pounds.

·         How many NHP’s had been produced so far? Answer: There had been 5 – 6 expressions of interest at present.

·         If Laverstock & Ford produced a NP and asked for certain sites to be protected from future development, what treatment would the NHP be given once the Core Strategy came into force? Answer: The neighbourhood plan could not conflict with the Core Strategy, but if local communities have the evidence to support the protection  of certain sites, then as the NP has the same weight as the Core Strategy, the sites will be protected.  It is unclear yet as to what the mechanisms will be for reviewing NP when Core Strategies are reviewed

·         If we have a ‘bottom up’ strategy, why doesn’t the Core Strategy leave it to Parishes to decide on where planning occurs. Answer: When the Core Strategy was originally envisaged, we were working to a ‘top down’ strategy, and now we are working the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

·         Feedback from Downton’s Community Safety event held on 17 November 2012.

·         To agree the guidance note for Lead Councillors for Community Safety.

Feedback from Downton’s Community Safety event

The Board heard from Chris Hall, Chairman of Downton Parish Council, who gave feedback following the Community Safety event held on 17 November 2012.

Many agencies and services came together at the event to promote partnership working, some of these included:

·         Trading Standards

·         Wiltshire Fire & Rescue

·         Police

·         Speedwatch & Lorry Watch

·         First Responders

·         Environment Agency – Flood alleviation scheme

The event had been well attended by members of the community, and had served several useful purposes. People had been able to see the many different ways in which they could be involved in a community safety scheme to make the village safer.

Chris gave thanks to Bev Cornish for her assistance in organising the event adding that it had been a great success.

The chairman added his thanks and congratulations on a successful event.

Guidance Note for Lead Councillors for Community Safety

A copy of the Guidance note was attached at page 41 of the agenda and will be circulated to all Parish Councils in due course.

·         Report on progress of Kissing Gates Project.

·         To agree funding for Southern Wiltshire Walks Guide.

Find out more about this project: www.southernwiltshirewalks.weebly.com

Report on Progress of Kissing Gate project

Councillor Leo Randall explained that the project was going well, several gates had now been installed with some parishes now installing their own gates.

Tom Bray, Community Area Manager was working on formalising a cross-parish approach and the formation of a Footpath Group, who would be able to bid for future funds to keep the good work going into the following year.

A meeting would be set up for January 2013, to establish interested people to form a group. Further information will be circulated in due course to parish councils and to people registered on Tom’s Community Area Network contacts list. However if you are interested then you can contact Tom tom.bray@wiltshire.gov.uk or 01722 434252.

Funding for Southern Wiltshire Walks Guide

Susan Barnhurst Davis had been working to establish a list of sponsors for the first publication of the guide. Local businesses had been approached and offered advertising space in the guide in return for sponsorship funding. The guide could also be a great way for local tradesmen to promote their services. The aim was for the guide to be self funding in the future.

The Chairman thanked all who had been involved with this very worthwhile and highly successful project.

The Board considered the request to release £1,700 of funding to support the walks publication as detailed in the report attached to page 43 of the agenda.

Decision

The Southern Wiltshire Area Board agreed an award of £1,700 to support the printing costs of the Southern Wiltshire Walks Guide.

Find out more about this project: www.southernwiltshirewalks.weebly.com

·         Update on volunteering opportunities in the community area.

·         To launch our local volunteering awards for the following categories:

-       Working together with young people in our community

-       Working to support older people in our community

-       Working to help keep our community safe

-       Working to improve our footpaths

To consider the transfer of Wiltshire Council owned land at The Close, Morgan’s Vale to be transferred to Redlynch Parish Council in accordance with Wiltshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Policy.

The Board will consider applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme.

·         Whiteparish Memorial Hall Trust - £5,000 towards the installation of a new kitchen at the memorial centre.

·         West Dean Playground Committee - £5,000 towards playground equipment.

·         Downton Tennis Club - £5,000 towards installation of flood lighting.

·         Pitton Village Hall Committee - £921 towards purchasing a marquee for the village hall.

The Board considered four applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme for 2012/13. The Chairman invited applicants present to speak in support of their applications, following discussion the Board members voted on each application in turn.

Decision

Whiteparish Memorial Hall Trust was awarded £5,000 towards the installation of a new kitchen at the memorial centre.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2012/13 and demonstrates a direct link to the Community Plan for 2010 - 15 as detailed in the Officer’s report.

As Councillor Randall had declared a non-pecuniary interest in the above application, as he was a Trustee of the Trust. He was entitled to take part in discussion and vote.

Decision

West Dean Playground Committee was awarded £5,000 towards playground equipment.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2012/13 and demonstrates a direct link to the Community Plan for 2010 - 15 as detailed in the Officer’s report.

Decision

Downton Tennis Club was awarded £5,000 towards the installation of flood lighting.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2012/13 and demonstrates a direct link to the Community Plan for 2010 - 15 as detailed in the Officer’s report.

Decision

The application from Pitton Village Hall Committee for £921 towards purchasing a marquee for the village hall was deferred pending a request for Pitton & Farley Parish Council to reconsider its previous decision not to provide any financial backing towards the project. The applicant was invited to come back for funding once they had met with the Parish Council.

Reason

The Board was minded to support the application but felt that the Parish Council should also make some contribution to the project costs as this project could benefit both their villages.