Agenda and minutes

Chairman’s Announcements:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Warminster Area Board.

The Wiltshire Intelligence Network had been developed in response to the ever growing demand for local information needed to develop local strategies, funding applications or to assist local decision making.

The network consists of a number of key organisations in Wiltshire who are involved in the collection and analysis of local data.

The aim was to improve access to information in Wiltshire by providing a 'one-stop shop' for key local data and reports, presented in a consistent format and easy to understand and use.

The site contains information covering a wide variety of topics arranged into 12 topic themes.

The site content will continue to grow and be updated. The research team is keen to know what information people want to find on the website and would welcome feedback.

Wiltshire Highways Service has 20 stewards, who each look after the general function and appearance of the roads, footways and furniture in their individual areas. Towns and villages are visited on a monthly basis.

The scheme was introduced in the autumn of 2006 and has proved extremely popular with many Parish and Town Councils.

The programme of visits by the Parish Steward and a short film about the work they do can be found on the Wiltshire Council website.

Immobilise, the UK national property register, were running a scheme to help protect mobile phones and other property. People could find out how to register their property by visiting the immobilise website www.immobilise.com

Wiltshire Council was looking to expand its partnership working with the city, town and parish councils should problems be caused by adverse winter conditions and was encouraging local councils to record their interest in helping to provide services during adverse weather conditions.

This could involve being a local agent for storing salt, refilling salt bins, or mechanical salting of footpaths and roads.

Local councils were asked to register their interest via their Community Area Manager before 30 November 2010.

Warminster area already had a Community Area Transport Group. The group met on 20 October.  The group had been involved with the prioritisation of grit bins for the Warminster area and would continue to meet as and when required.

Overall some 600 people responded to the recent consultation regarding the car parking strategy making over 5,000 comments.

Only six responses had been received from local residents and no localised comments had been received.

A summary of the countywide responses and the next steps were circulated with the agenda pack.

The next census in England and Wales would take place on 27 March 2011.

The census was very important for Wiltshire and its communities as the data collected would be used to identify relevant and required local facilities and services. Central funding allocations for Wiltshire would also be influenced by the census data.

Recruitment was now underway for Census Collectors and there were also still some opportunities to apply for Census Coordinator and Special Enumerator roles in selected locations. If anyone wished to find out more then information was available on the website www.censusjobs.co.uk

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Keith Humphries and Sam Shore from Warminster CAYPIG.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 2 September 2010.

Decision

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

Councillor Pip Ridout declared a prejudicial interest in the grant request from the Warminster Environmental Pride Team as she was a member of this group.  Councillor Ridout left the meeting when this item was considered and did not vote.

Councillor Pip Ridout declared a prejudicial interest in the community asset transfer item as she was a member of the committee for Warminster Community Radio.  Councillor Ridout left the meeting when this item was considered and did not speak or vote.

Councillor Fleur de Rhe Philippe declared a prejudicial interest in the grant request from the Warminster Development Trust as she was a director of the Trust.  Councillor de Rhe Philippe left the meeting when this item was considered and did not speak or vote.

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

The Area Board received a report from the Community Area Manager.  In total 53 issues had been submitted on line, 12 of these were in progress with the others having been closed.

The following issues were discussed:

Dog Fouling and Litter

A group had been set up to consider ways to deal with dog fouling and litter within the town.  The group had discussed providing a toolkit to spray dog faeces pink to highlight the problem and to encourage people to clear up after their dogs.

The next meeting of the group would be held on 16 November at 6.30pm at Dewey House.

Warminster Voices

This project had been working well and a number of recordings had been made to enable those people who would not normally attend area board meetings to put forward their views.  The Community Area Manager would bring a report on this matter to the next meeting.

Decision

To allocate an additional £250 to enable Warminster Community Radio (WCR) to develop the project.

Reason

To enable WCR to provide an extra 10 hours support to the project as the current time allocation was insufficient.

Wiltshire Voices

Wiltshire Council and its partners were committed to finding ways of reaching out to people who do not attend their meetings.  By undertaking 18 projects across the whole of Wiltshire during the next 18-20 months they aim to engage with people from a wide range of backgrounds from boaters and economic migrants to MoD dependents and teenage parents.

Decision

To confirm that Warminster Area Board will focus on the issues affecting young and vulnerable parents as part of the Wiltshire Voices project.

To receive any updates from partners.

The Stroke Association

Representatives from the Stroke Association were in attendance at the meeting to promote their work.  The representatives explained how carers and relatives were affected by a member of the family suffering a stroke.  The association provided support, after-care and advice.

Wiltshire Police

Burglaries were down by 46% in the last year.  The police were encouraging neighbourhood watch groups to be set up as this was an excellent way to work with the community to prevent crime.

There had been a number of shed and outbuilding break-ins in the area recently.  The public were urged to report any suspicious vehicles in the area so that the police can build up a picture of activity.

It was hoped that the fear of crime would start to decrease because in reality Wiltshire was a very safe county and often the fear of crime was disproportionate to the reality.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Mike Franklin reported that fires in the area were currently at an all time low.  The main causes of fires had been accidental with only one started deliberately.  It was important for people to ensure that their chimneys were swept at this time of year.

NHS Wiltshire

The area board received an update report from NHS Wiltshire.

CAYPIG

Councillor Pip Ridout reported that ideas were currently being discussed regarding the skate park and events in the park next year.

The area board received a presentation from Tony Barron, Chair of NHS Wiltshire which covered the following issues:

• Direct health service provision would be transferred to new providers by 31 March 2011.
• Public health responsibilities would be transferred to the national public health service by 1 April 2011.
• Strategic co-ordination would be transferred to local authorities through the Health and Wellbeing Boards by 1 April 2012.
• Commissioning for primary care and maternity services would be transferred to the NHS Commissioning board from 1 April 2012.
• Commissioning for general hospital and specialist mental health services would be transferred to GP Consortia from 1 April 2013.
• The White Paper still leaves a great deal to be clarified.
• Consultation for many aspects of the proposed changes closed at the beginning of October.
• Further consultation was currently being carried out.
• Parliamentary approval is needed for all but the first change in December.
• PCTs and partners are encouraged to prepare for the changes by adopting shadowing arrangements by April 2011.

The following issues were then discussed:

• The local hospital in Warminster would be managed by Swindon Hospital from April.
• There would be no additional money provided for these changes.
• These would be the greatest changes to the NHS since 1947.
• There was no direction from the centre as it would be up to the local area to decide how it wished to manage its service.
• Preventative care would be transferred to Wiltshire Council.
• There would be a GP consortium who would advise GPs.

A number of questions and comments were then raised as follows:

• Shadowing arrangements would be expensive.
• People in Warminster wanted a local hospital.
• GPs did not necessarily want to take on all the extra services.
• More clinicians were required rather than managers and administrators.
• With a reorganisation taking place it would be very difficult to provide the required efficiency savings.
• In 2013 how different would the NHS look?  It was hoped that it would be much the same but with more local prioritisation and with more services provided in people’s homes.
• With the funding reductions there must be some areas taking cuts, how will this decision be made?  Work on this was currently underway and officers were looking at certain procedures and practices to see if they can be done more effectively. (e.g. the length of time people need to spend in hospital).
• Any savings made will be kept within the health service and would not need to go back to central government funds.
• If people wished to make comments on the proposals then they should do this via the NHS website or sending them to Jo Howes, Head of Community Engagement.
• People could also talk to local GPs or lobby their MP.

The area board considered a report by the Community Area Manager regarding the prioritisation of new grit bins following requests from town and parish councils.

In response to a question regarding the replacement of a grit bin in Upton Scudamore, officers agreed to look into this request.

It was noted that each community area had been allocated 10% more grit bins, which meant that the Warminster area would receive 10 new bins.

Decision

That the 10 new grit bins be allocated as follows:

Bishopstrow – 1 bin – top of Church Lane off Bishopstrow Road

Chapmanslade – 1 bin – location to be agreed with the Parish Council

Codford – 2 bins – New Road and High Street

Horningsham – 1 bin – location to be agreed with the Parish Council

Kingston Deverill – 1 bin – On The Street Road in Monkton Deverill

Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield – 1 bin – location to be agreed with the Parish Council

Stockton – 1 bin – In village adjacent to the village notice board

Warminster – 2 bins – Cobbett Place and The Heathlands

The area board considered a report by the Community Area Manager, following a meeting of the Community Area Transport Group, which asked members to consider and prioritise requests for highways schemes in the Warminster Community Area.

The following issues were discussed:

• There were still some concerns regarding traffic problems in the High Street, Warminster.
• There was some concern regarding the safety of the Imber Road pedestrian crossing and it was felt that a pelican crossing was required.
• In response to a question regarding the planned new crossing at the Chapmanslade School it was confirmed that work was progressing and that this linked in with the school travel plan.

Decision

It was agreed that:

(1)               The area board prioritises local highways projects in line with the Community Area Transport Group findings as set out in the report.

(2)               The area board instructs the highways department to investigate the feasibility of these projects, in priority order, within the available budget.

(3)               The safety concerns regarding the Imber Road crossing be referred to the Community Area Transport Group for further consideration.

Report to follow.

The area board considered a report by the Community Area Manager regarding an application for the transfer of the piece of derelict land adjacent to the Assembly Rooms, Warminster to Warminster Community Radio (WCR) in accordance with Wiltshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Policy.

The following issues were discussed:

• It was noted that the area contained a number of mature trees which were subject to a tree preservation order.    This meant that currently the land was only suitable for amenity purposes.
• Concern was expressed that the area board did not have sufficient information to make a decision on the asset transfer.  No history of the land was given in the report and it was not clear why the council had originally retained the land.  For this reason it was difficult to ascertain whether the land was surplus to requirements or whether it was still of some value.
• There was also concern about the late availability of the report and it was felt that Warminster Town Council’s views should be formally sought before proceeding with a transfer.
• There was still some uncertainty about the future of the Assembly Rooms and for this reason some of those present felt that a decision should not be made until further consultation could take place.
• There were no details regarding the cost of maintaining this land for amenity purposes.
• If the land was deemed to be public open space then there was a statutory duty to publish notices and consult on any sale.  It was felt by some that the land must have some value.

Decision

(1)               That a decision on the transfer of this land be deferred to enable further public and statutory consultations to take place as necessary.  The views of Warminster Town Council should also be sought.

(2)               Once responses to the consultations have been received a further report be brought to the Area Board for consideration.

The area board considered a report by the Community Area Manager regarding a proposal from Codford Parish Council under the part night lighting scheme.

It was noted that the proposal was for lights to be switched off between midnight and 5.30am.  This would affect 40 lighting columns at £50 each giving a total cost of £2,000 for this scheme.

Decision

(1)               That the area board supports the submission from Codford Parish Council.

(2)               That the street lighting team be asked to initiate work on the scheme.

To consider any applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme:

The area board considered four applications seeking 2010/11 Community Area Grant funding.

Warminster Development Trust

Decision

To award £1,500 to the Warminster Development Trust towards a study into the feasibility of alterations to the Development Trust Office.

Reason

The application demonstrates a link to the community plan and meets locally agreed priorities.

Warminster Health and Social Care Group

Councillor de Rhe Philippe expressed some concern that the group had made no attempt to obtain other sources of funding.

Decision

To award £510 to the Warminster Health and Social Care Group to provide facilitated weaning sessions.

Reason

The application demonstrates a link to the community plan to reduce health inequalities, coach young people in skills, develop preventative healthcare and engage people.

Warminster Environmental Pride Team

Some concern was expressed that the group had made no attempt to obtain other sources of funding.  There was also some information missing from the application form which required a detailed breakdown of the expenditure to be provided.

The Chairman then moved the following motion:

To award £510 to the Warminster Environment Pride Team to provide information and equipment to local volunteers.

The motion was not seconded so could not be put to the vote.

Councillor Newbury then moved the following motion:

To defer this application to enable further information to be provided.

The motion was not seconded so could not be put to the vote.

The area board was therefore unable to make a decision on the grant application.

Warminster Blueznzuz

Decision

To award £175 to Warminster Blueznzuz to provide transport for young people to a Christmas party.

Reason for decision

The project demonstrates a link to the community plan, is already supported by Wiltshire Police and will enable the police to take a much larger group than they would otherwise be able to do.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will be held on Thursday 13 January 2011, 7.00 pm at Chapmanslade Village Hall

Electronic voting handsets were used to evaluate the meeting.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will be held on Thursday 13 January 2011 at 7pm at Chapmanslade Village Hall.