Agenda and minutes

Councillor de Rhe-Philipe, Vice-Chairman explained that she would be chairing the meeting as Councillor Davis, Chairman was unwell although he was in attendance at the meeting.

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Christopher Newbury.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2012 (copy attached).

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2012 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The following declarations were made at the meeting:

1.    Councillors Keith Humphries and Pip Ridout declared a general interest in relation to agenda item 5 – Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner as they were both members of the Police and Crime Panel

2.    Councillor Pip Ridout declared an interest in relation to agenda item 13 – Area Board Funding – Community Area Grants as she made the request for Job Club funding.  Councillor Ridout remained in the meeting, spoke on the funding request but did not vote.

The Area Board will receive a presentation by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), or his representative, for Wiltshire and Swindon about the Police and Crime Plan. 

The Plan will set out the PCC’s strategic policing and crime priorities for the next five years. This includes working with partners, including local authorities.  The Plan has to be published by the end of March 2013 and there will be an opportunity to ask questions and make comments.

The Area Board heard from Mike Prince, Treasurer to the Police and Crime Commissioner, about the Police and Crime Plan.

He explained that the Plan would set out the strategic direction of policing in Wiltshire and Swindon and that there would be a public consultation on the draft plan between mid February and mid March 2013 with the final Plan being published at the end of March 2013.  Partners, public and Parish and Town Council’s were encouraged to become involved in the consultation on the Plan.

Questions and points raised from the floor included:

·         The major objectives of the Plan

·         Mike Lewis, representing Chitterne Parish Council, explained that Chitterne was a small rural community that suffered from speeding traffic and questioned whether speeding was considered as anti-social behaviour. 

The Vice-Chairman thanked Mr Prince for his presentation and encouraged the Town/Parish Councils and public to become involved in the consultation exercise.

Decision:

That the presentation be noted.

The Vice-Chairman made the following announcements:

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 was approved on 8 March 2012.  The change to welfare is designed to simplify the benefit system and encourage people to work. If you are in receipt of benefit or an employer, then it will affect you.

A 4 minute film will be shown highlighting the changes.

Further information can be found in the attached announcement.

The Area Board watched a short film about the changes to the welfare system following the approval of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 in March 2012.  The film highlighted the main changes which included:

·         Benefit cap

·         Under-occupation rules (housing benefit)

·         Universal credit

·         Disability Living Allowance

·         New Council Tax scheme

·         New Social Fund

Further information was available from

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/counciltaxhousingandbenefits/welfare2012reform.htm

2012 has been an overwhelming success for Wiltshire with communities coming together and celebrate. The community spirit and sense of pride that was apparent across the county was unique, and to see more than half our population attend this year’s events just shows what we can achieved when we work together.

The attached document details the success of events in 2012 and looks at the challenge to keep the spirit and sense of achievement and pride alive into 2013. 

The Vice-Chairman drew the Boards attention to the update which gave information about the success of community events during 2012 and detailed the challenge to keep the spirit and sense of achievement and pride alive into 2013. 

The Community Area Manager explained that there were a number of community evening events which would focus on what could be done in 2013 to keep the momentum from 2012 going.  The events were being held at the following venues:

·         Wednesday 16 January, at the Corn Exchange, Devizes

·         Wednesday 23 January, at the Guild Hall, Salisbury

·         Thursday 31 January, at County Hall, Trowbridge

·         Thursday 7 February at the Town Hall, Chippenham

All the evenings would start with tea and cakes at 6pm, with the meeting starting at 6.30pm and finishing by 8pm.

The Vice-Chairman encouraged those present to become involved with the on-going consultations which could be accessed on the Wiltshire Council website.

The Board will hear from Matthew Woolford, Communications Team, Wiltshire Council about the launch of the Warminster Area community website.

This item was deferred to a future meeting as Matthew Woolford, Communications team was unwell and unable to attend the meeting to make the presentation.

To receive an update from Council Officers about how they have prepared for the onset of winter and how they are responding to changing weather patterns.

The Area Board received a presentation from Bill Parks – Head of Service, Highways and Streetscene and Simon Rowe – Weather and Emergency Services Officer (Operations) and Lead Duty Engineer about how Wiltshire Council responds to changing winter weather patterns.

The following issues were raised during the presentation:

·         The duty placed on the Council by legislation to treat the highway

·         How the Council plans with detailed weather forecasts

·         The data received by the Met Office and how it is interpreted

·         Information received from weather stations located around the County

·         The staff that run the service and the routes where operations are undertaken

·         Details about operating centres and the fleet of vehicles ready to respond

·         The amount of salt used over the last few years and how the data can be interpreted so as to make predictions about how much salt could be needed in any one year

·         How the Council respond to snow situations and the areas most affected by snow falls

·         The resources available to treat roads and how the Council calls on famers to help keep rural roads clear

·         How salt bins are used and how residents and the Council work together

The Vice-Chairman thanked the officers for their presentation and the Parish Council expressed their thanks for the way in which the Council service maintains the highways during changing weather conditions.

Decision:

That the presentation be noted     

The Community Area Manager introduced her report including new issues since the last meeting, on-going issues and those issues since resolved. She invited people to contact her should they have any issues to raise.

Isabel Buckingham, Warminster Supporters Group, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust spoke about the consultation on street lighting and explained that the Trust supported the proposal to operate a number of street lights in the County for only part of the night and that these lights would be turned off between midnight and 5:30am.  However, Ms Buckingham asked if consideration could be given to street lights remaining on in areas where there are sheltered housing properties and during the week between Christmas and the New year.

Decison:

That the report be noted and comments on Street Lighting being passed to the Council’s Consultation Team.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

Ø  Wiltshire Police

Ø  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Ø  NHS Wiltshire

Ø  Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Ø  Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Ø  Warminster Community Area Young People’s Issues Group

Ø  The Warminster and District Chamber of Commerce

Some written updates have been received and are included in this agenda.

Written updates had been received from the following partners before the meeting and were included in the agenda:

·         Wiltshire Police Authority

·         Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·         NHS Wiltshire

·         Warminster Town Council

·         Horningsham Parish Council

·         Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield Parish Council

·         Upper Deverills Parish Council

·         Longbridge Deverill and Crockerton Parish Council

Further comments were made by:

·         Warminster and Villages Community Partnership – Michael Mounde reported that the Partnership was holding a consultation event on 26 January 2013 at the Warminster Civic Centre about the WVCP Community plan.  He encouraged everyone to come along to the event to air their views and make comments on the Plan.

·         Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service – Mike Franklin reported on the following additional issues:

o   That he had written to all the Parish Councils in the Warminster area offering the Fire and Rescue Services help with the preparation of Emergency Plans

o   That the Fire and Rescue Service had purchased 30,000 reflective arm bands.  20,000 were available for school children to wear during the dark evenings and 10,000 were available for the general public to pick up free of charge from local fire stations

o   The Fire and Rescue Service were developing their 2013-16 Safety (Business) Plan and welcomed any organisation, Parish Council or individual to register as a stakeholder in order that the Service could engage with them during the plan building and formal consultation phases.

Interested parties could register at:

http://www.wiltsfire.gov.uk/departments/corporate_planning/stakeholder/form.php

The Area Board will receive an update from the Warminster Villages Community Partnership and Youth Development Centre about transport funding that was awarded in November 2011.

The Area Board received an update report from Sandra Samuels, Youth Development Officer, on behalf of the Warminster and Villages Community Partnership and the Youth Development Centre in relation to transport funding awarded by the Board in November 2011 of £4045.

Sandra explained that £2,000 was transferred to the Warminster Youth account in June 2012 and reported on the activities undertaken between June and December 2012 and how the funding was spent during this time.  It was noted that the original proposal of collecting young people from the villages and driving them to Warminster was proving very difficult to implement as the picking up was very time consuming and therefore a revised proposal was worked up by Sandra Samuels, Sarah Jefferies (parish Clerk for a number of Parish Councils in the Warminster Area) and Councillor Pip Ridout.  The new proposal was to open a satellite youth centre in Horningsham, picking up from surrounding villages.  However setting up the youth provision in Horningsham was proving to be a challenging process.

Various outreaches were undertaken during the summer time and resulted in over 50 young people in the Warminster area accessing activities during that time. It was noted that a youth centre provision would be started in Horningsham during the February half term school holidays.

Sandra Samuels suggested that the remaining balance of funding of £1753.74 could be used for the following projects:

·         Horningsham satellite provision, transporting young people from surrounding villages to access the youth provision

·         Job Club transport for young people living in the villages

·         Summer activities

Members expressed concern that the funding was not used for its original purpose, however, they appreciated the reasons why the funding was spent in the way it was.  It was suggested that in future, funding used for trips should target a different group of young people for each trip.

Decision:

1.    That the update be noted

2.    That the request to use the remaining balance of the Transportation Project fund of £1753.74 for the following projects be agreed:

·         Horningsham satellite provision, transporting young people from surrounding villages to access the youth provision

·         Job Club transport for young people living in the villages

·         Summer activities

The Area Board will be asked to consider and agree the budget allocation proposals from the Community Area Transport Group.

Copy of report attached.

The Area Board received the following two budget allocation proposals from the Community Area Transport Group for the Warminster Community Area:

1.    Bishopstrow – bollards for pavement. Funding request for £600 from the CATG fund with a further £500 to be funded by the Bishopstrow Parish Council

2.    Longbridge Deverill – Removal of a ‘no vehicles’ Traffic Regulation Order and replace it with a ‘No Entry’ order on Marsh Farm Lane. Funding request of £850 from the CATG fund with a further £850 to be funded by the Longbridge Deverill Parish Council

Decision:

That the requests for CATG expenditure detailed above be approved.

The Community Area Manager explained that the proposal was for an amateur dramatic production of Entertaining Angels which was open to everyone in the Deverill Valley and Crockerton and surrounding villages.

Decision:

To award the Deverill Players £581 towards the production of Entertaining Angels.

Reason:

The application met the 2012/13 grants criteria, would benefit many people in the area and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

The Community Area Manager explained that the proposal was for a Councillor led project for a job club in Warminster for the those living in Warminster and the surrounding villages.

Decision:

To award the Warminster Job Club £2500 towards the Job Club.

Reason:

The application had been verified against the ‘Area Board led project triage checklist’, would benefit many people in the area and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

The Community Area Manager explained that the proposal was for a foody fundraiser for the purchase of security lighting and tables as part of the Maiden Bradley Village Hall refurbishment.

Decision:

To award Maiden Bradley Village hall £984 toward the foody fundraiser.

Reason:

The application met the 2012/13 grants criteria and would enable the Village Hall to increase its fundraising for the Halls refurbishment project.

The Community Area Manager explained that the proposal was for replacement of grass cutting equipment.

Decision:

To award the Deverills Cricket Club £4000 towards the purchase of replacement grass cutting equipment subject to a further £2000 of match funding being identified by the Club.

Reason:

The application met the 2012/13 grants criteria, would benefit many people in the area and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

There were no comments from those present.

The next meetings of the Warminster Area Board will be on:

·         7 March 2013 – Warminster Civic Centre

·         4 July 2013 – Venue to be agreed

·         5 September 2013 – Venue to be agreed

·         7 March 2013 – Warminster Civic Centre

·         4 July 2013 – Venue to be agreed

·         5 September 2013 – Venue to be agreed