Agenda and minutes

Chairman’s announcements:

1.    Local Transport Plan Scheme – Funding Allocation

The Chairman, Councillor Andrew Davis, welcomed everyone to the meeting and announced that every effort would be made to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to speak. The Chairman invited the Area Board councillors and officers present to introduce themselves, and then welcomed to the meeting Councillor Linda Conley, who was the Portfolio Holder for Waste.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

Local Transport Plan Scheme Funding Allocation

A briefing paper was available in the agenda at Page 3 which included details of the above Scheme. The Area Board was asked to establish a Community Area Transport Group (CATG), which would meet to consider potential small-scale transport improvement schemes to go forward. The CATG would then report back to the Area Board for final decisions to be made. The CATG needed a maximum of ten members, which would include representatives of parish and town councils. The Chairman advised anybody interested in joining the CATG to see Katharine Dew, Community Area Manager, at the end of the meeting.

Car Parking Strategy Consultation

A late briefing paper regarding the proposed Car Parking Strategy was circulated to those present. The consultation on this Strategy would be taking place from 12 July to 3 September 2010, and people were encouraged to submit their views.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Jane Scott, Leader of the Council, and Jo Howes, Head of Community Engagement at Wiltshire NHS.

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

Councillors Andrew Davis, Pip Ridout and Keith Humphries all declared prejudicial interests in the grant application from Warminster Town Council at Item 14, as they were all members of Warminster Town Council. However, dispensations had now been granted by the Standards Committee, which would permit the members to speak and vote on this matter.

Councillor Andrew Davis declared a prejudicial interest in the grant application from the Chapel of St Lawrence at Item 14 (being a Feoffee of the Chapel), and would leave the room during the discussion and decision of this application.

Councillor Ridout declared a prejudicial interest in the grant application from the Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group at Item 14 (being the Area Board’s representative on this group), and would leave the room during the discussion and decision of this application.

Councillor Humphries declared that, with regards to Item 6, it was his responsibility as Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing to present the proposal for a Designated Public Place Order to Wiltshire Council.

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe announced that she was a representative on the Warminster and Villages Community Area Partnership.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on Tuesday 18 May 2010 and Thursday 20 May 2010.

The minutes of the meetings held on Tuesday 18 May 2010 and Thursday 20 May 2010 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman announced with regret that the plans for the Warminster Community Radio media centre had been put on hold as the land was no longer available for use. Alternative options were currently being considered.

To receive any updates from partners.

Partner updates from NHS Wiltshire, Warminster Town Council and the Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG) had been received and were included in the agenda at pages 21 to 27.

Sam Shore, Youth Development Coordinator, announced that the CAYPIG was keen to submit an application for funding from the Area Board’s allocated youth budget, however the deadline for this meeting had unfortunately been missed. In consideration of the fact that the next meeting was not until September, the Area Board agreed to hold an extraordinary meeting in July to consider requests for youth funding from local groups.

Decision

To hold an extraordinary meeting of Warminster Area Board, at a date to be confirmed in July, in order to consider requests from local youth groups for funding from the Area Board’s allocated youth budget.

To receive an update on progress with the Designated Public Place Order for Warminster.

Pippa McVeigh, Head of Crime Reduction, provided an overview of the proposed Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) for Warminster town, including some feedback from the recent public consultation.

A DPPO would provide the police with the power to ask persons who were behaving or likely to behave in an alcohol induced anti-social manner within a defined area, to stop drinking and hand over any alcohol in their possession.  Refusal would be an offence, which may result in arrest and a fine.

Following a perceived rise of alcohol fuelled Anti Social Behaviour in Warminster a working group was convened by the Community Safety Team involving a range of partners to investigate the concerns. Warminster Area Board, at its meeting on 4 March 2010, supported the initiative and subsequently a public consultation was also carried out, to which 13 positive responses were received.

The financial implications of the DPPO mainly included officer time spent on the project, and this had already be borne by Wiltshire Council. There would, however, be costs of approximately £1,500 for the signs and fixings. Warminster Town Council had pledged to contribute £500 towards these costs.

Pippa and Tom Ward, Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction Officer, made the following comments in response to questions and concerns that were raised:

·         Although there was no specific requirement to review the effectiveness of a DPPO, recommendations were being made to monitor statistics using police and CCTV logs. A more formal evaluation would be recommended after one year of the DPPO being in place.

·         The police are extremely well trained and very knowledgeable as to when to use their powers under the DPPO. It was certainly not planned to penalise the wider public.

·         The public had been given the opportunity to comment on the proposals and no negative comments were received. The number of responses, being 13, seemed low but was actually considered a positive level of response in comparison to similar exercises elsewhere in the county.

·         The proposed boundary had been based on an exercise where local alcohol related incidents were plotted onto a map. Displacement is then considered too, which is why the boundary extends beyond the original plotted incidents.

·         Legislative guidance states that landmarks and roads should be used to define boundaries as they make the boundaries clearer to interpret.

·         Although the proposed boundary could be amended, legislation states that the public consultation would need to be carried out again.

Decision

The Area Board councillors:

1.    Noted the findings of the DPPO consultation and the implications of granting the Order.

2.    Supported the pursuit of the full DPPO by Wiltshire Council.

3.      Delegated responsibility to the Community Area Manager in consultation with the Chairman to award up to the sum of £1,000 towards the cost of implementation.

To receive information on the Salisbury Plain Sustainable Communities Study from Richard Brown/Hannah Atwood of ‘Drivers Jonas Deloitte’.

Hannah Atwood of Drivers Jonas Deloitte gave a presentation on the Salisbury Plain Sustainable Communities Study. Drivers Jonas Deloitte was the consultant that had been appointed by Wiltshire Council to carry out the study as part of its Military Civilian Integration Programme.

The studies main objectives were as follows:

·         To provide a thorough understanding of the dynamics of the settlements including through consultation with the community – key focus on Tidworth / Ludgershall and Bulford / Larkhill also having regard to other settlements including Warminster.

·         To investigate how planned investment in the area could be used to improve the integration (sustainability) of these communities (including that arising from the Salisbury Plain Super Garrison).

·         To identify actions to enhance the integration (sustainability) of these communities including potential funding sources.

·         To inform the development of policies within the Plans and Strategies being prepared by the Council and others.

As part of the study process, engagement was taking place with the Area Boards of the affected areas, the Military, the Army Welfare Service, Wiltshire Council frontline services as well as local communities and the wider public. A questionnaire was available which people were encouraged to complete and return.

Councillor de Rhé-Philipe announced that she sat on the Military Civilian Integration group and she stressed how important the study was in terms of effectively planning for the future. She encouraged people to respond to the questionnaire.

A suggestion was made that the questionnaire could be publicised using the libraries’ internet services. Hannah took note of this suggestion and undertook to investigate further.

To receive information on the results of the LDF consultation from Carolyn Gibson, Principal Planner.

Carolyn Gibson, Principal Planning Officer (Spatial Planning), provided feedback on the Wiltshire Local Development Framework (LDF) consultation that took place during October-December 2009.

The consultation formed an important step towards the development of the Wiltshire Core Strategy and would eventually replace elements of the existing local plans which planning decisions were currently set against.

Issues raised in the Warminster Community Area during the consultation included:

·         Clear consensus that increased employment provision in the town was needed.

·         Any future development should be balanced and highly sustainable.

·         There was a good level of support for the principle of town centre regeneration and the work underway to prepare a Town Plan.

·         Views on the proposed Strategic Development Site were mixed.

·         Any development should include appropriate infrastructure, suitable solutions to existing highways issues and should not contribute to increased flooding in the town. 

·         The need for improved cycle and pedestrian linkages, both with the town centre, and neighbouring towns.  

In response to questions and concerns raised, Carolyn made the following comments:

·         There was further work to be done to inform the proposed strategic development sites. Work was also being done to improve alignment with the Warminster Town Plan, which was currently under preparation.

·         It was planned that a draft Core Strategy would be available towards the end of the year with a version ready for submission to the Secretary of State by the Spring 2011. More consultation was likely to take place during October/November 2010, as policies began to emerge.  (This timetable may be subject to change depending on emerging advice from the coalition Government on the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategy).

·         All parish and town councils had been sent a copy of the draft LDF and had been invited to the consultation events.

·         A team was being put together to  develop the rural policy for the villages as it was acknowledged that there was some concern around this.

·         The Core Strategy would not replace all the policies in the existing Local Plan; only ’strategic’ policies e.g. settlement strategy, affordable housing, other more detailed policies would remain. An example of a detailed policy was village boundaries. Both documents would work alongside one another.

·         The consultation had been carried out using figures in the draft Regional Spatial Strategy.  The Council was under increasing pressure from developers to release land with no up-to-date plan to know how to respond to those pressures. It was acknowledged that figures may be amended as a result of the coalition Governments decision to abolish the RSS but it was still important to have a document in place to reduce any risk of inappropriate development and to make sure appropriate community benefit could be planned into the process.

Further information, including details of future consultation events, could be found at http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk

To receive information on the Waste Consultation.

Andy Conn, Waste Services Manager, provided an overview of the new proposals for waste and recycling collection. At present, there were different services across different parts of the county, which all needed to be brought in line.

The new proposal was that there would be a fortnightly collection of household rubbish and a fortnightly collection of black recycling boxes. This would be complemented by a non-chargeable fortnightly kerbside collection of plastic bottles and cardboard, and a non-chargeable fortnightly kerbside collection of garden waste.

The public consultation was now open and would run until Friday 20 August 2010. Views and comments could be submitted online or in writing using the consultation leaflet. There would also be a series of road shows taking place; including one in Salisbury Market Place on Tuesday 29 June 2010 and one in Trowbridge Town Centre on Wednesday 30 June 2010 (both would run from 10.00 am until 2.00 pm).

Councillor Linda Conley, Portfolio Holder for Waste, commented that Wiltshire Council, as a unitary authority, was able to benefit from the efficiencies of being responsible for both waste collection and disposal. It was felt that the final proposal being consulted on provided the most cost effective service for all.

Following the presentation, comments were made as follows:

·         Those areas with a lower frequency of household waste collection tended to have a higher rate of recycling than those areas that had a higher frequency of household waste collection.

·         The household waste collection vehicle would also be the vehicle to collect plastic bottles, cardboard and garden waste. The black recycling boxes were collected by a different vehicle, and so it was envisaged that the two vehicles would operate on alternate weeks.

·         Approximately 98% of recycling was recycled. The remaining 2% went into landfill due to contamination and this was one of the lowest percentages in the country which was likely to be because residents were asked to separate their different types of recycling materials.

·         The proposal was for plastic bottles only because plastic bottles were almost always made from plastic types 1, 2 or 3. These were the only types of plastic that were valuable enough to make it feasible to collect them.

·         Some work was being done to prevent excessive use of packaging in shops, however the Council had no power to control this and only a change in legislation would change this behaviour.

·         The proposal being consulted on would cost the equivalent of £141 per household. Approximately £8 of this was the cost of offering the optional garden waste collection.

To receive information on the Plain Action and Sowing Seeds Projects.

Len Turner gave a presentation regarding Sowing Seeds, a project in which a total of £2,850,000 in grant funding was available to applicants within the defined area (south of the A36).

Further information on this project was available at www.sowing-seeds.org

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe gave a presentation on the Plain Action project, which had a budget of £2,500,000 to 2013 to allocate to projects within the defined Salisbury Plain area.

Further information on this project was available at www.plainaction.org.uk

An update from the Community Area Manager and leaders of the groups working on existing issues.

Katharine Dew was asked to provide a written update to be circulated with the minutes.

Phil Jefferson of Chapmanslade Parish Council gave a presentation regarding litter reduction initiatives in Chapmanslade; a village where litter was not tolerated.

A group of about nine volunteers in the village had been carrying out litter-picks on Saturday mornings for approximately six years. The group had received a lot of support from both the former West Wiltshire District Council and now Wiltshire Council to carry out its activities, by supplying equipment and tools and officer support.

This initiative had proved very successful in Chapmanslade and Phil encouraged other town and parish councils to consider doing the same in their towns and villages. Some photos of the group in Chapmanslade would be available with the minutes.

To receive a presentation on the review of the library service from Niki Lewis, Service Director for Communities, Libraries, Heritage and Arts.

Geoff Langridge, Library Services Manager, gave a presentation regarding the review of library services that was taking place across the county.

There were currently 31 libraries across Wiltshire, plus five mobile libraries. The aim of the review was to achieve savings across the library service whilst retaining the same high levels of service that the libraries currently offered. It was envisaged that most of the savings would come from ‘backroom savings’ and it was not planned to cut or reduce any frontline services.

Geoff outlined the services that were on offer at present, and also outlined some suggested future services including longer at later opening hours, refreshment facilities, e-books, Wi-Fi access and meeting rooms.

Consultation feedback cards were distributed and Geoff encouraged people to complete and return them; the feedback received was very important to the review.

To consider a request from Warminster and Villages Community Partnership to receive its first tranche of funding.

A formal request had been received from the Warminster and Villages Community Area Partnership to receive its first tranche of funding of £4,718.

Decision

The Area Board decided to award the sum of £4,718 to the Warminster and Villages Community Area Partnership on condition that:

1.    The Work Plan be submitted to the Community Area Manager and agreed with the Chairman.

2.    An update of progress be made to every meeting of the Warminster Area Board.

Decision

The Area Board decided that the second tranche of funding should only be considered following progress against the terms set out in the Community Area Partnership Agreement.

To determine five applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme as follows:

·         Chapel of St Lawrence

·         Warminster Town Council

·         Warminster Walkers

·         Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

·         Warminster Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group

Consideration was given to five applications for community grants, as follows:

Chapel of St. Lawrence

Councillor Davis left the room for discussion and consideration of this item.

Councillor Ridout in the Chair.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £4,900 to the Chapel of St. Lawrence towards restoration of the Chapel’s tower on the basis that the building was a community resource and was used for purposes other than religious activities.

Reason: The application met the Community Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and would improve the local area through intergenerational activities.

Warminster Town Council

Councillor Davis back in the Chair.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £5,000 to Warminster Town Council to revitalise the War Memorial.

Reason: The application met the Community Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

Warminster Walkers

Decision

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £400 to Warminster Walkers to develop a website.

Reason: The application met the Community Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and would promote walking as a healthy lifestyle choice.

Economy and Tourism Group

Councillor Ridout left the room for discussion and consideration of this item.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £400 to the Economy and Tourism Group for an enhanced Christmas leaflet.

Reason: The application met the Community Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and would support the Community Plan’s vision to achieve increased visitor spending on local goods and services.

Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group

Decision

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £1,000 to the Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group for a Summer Arts Project.

Reason: The application met the Community Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and would improve young people’s participation in positive activities.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will be held on Thursday 2 September 2010, 7.00 pm at Kingdown Community School, Warminster.

The Forward Plan of future agenda items is attached for information.

The Chairman thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and encouraged people to complete and return the feedback forms.

The Forward Plan of upcoming agenda items was available at page 59 of the agenda.

The next meeting would be held on Thursday 2 September 2010, 7.00 pm at Kingdown Community School in Warminster.