Agenda and minutes

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

At the Chairman’s invitation, the Councillors introduced themselves.

Apologies for absence had been received from:

·         Cllr Darren Henry

·         Jason Moncreiff, Amesbury Station manager, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2018.

Resolved

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

In the interests of transparency Cllr Fred Westmoreland declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 12, Community Area Grants.

One of the grant applications was from Bulford Parish Council and Cllr Westmoreland lives in Bulford. Another application was from Amesbury Rugby Club as he was the Vice-Chairman.

He declared he would consider these applications on  their merits with an open mind as he debated and voted on the items.

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman:

·         Local Government Boundary Commission for England - Consultation.

·         Annual Electoral Canvass.

·         Parish Involvement – the Chair would like to invite Amesbury Area Parishes to contact us with anything they would like to see on future Amesbury Area Board Agendas.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

·         Local Government Boundary Commission for England – Consultation.

The Chairman advised the meeting that there was a written update in the agenda pack with full details of the LGBCE Consultation and then summarised the main points. The LGBCE for England had decided on a future council size for Wiltshire Council of 98 with an average elector to councillor ratio of 4291 per councillor. A consultation on the pattern of electoral divisions would run from 28 August 2018 to 5 November 2018. The meetings was encouraged to respond online to the consultation and email submissions to Wiltshire Council.

·         Annual Electoral Canvass

The Chairman encouraged the audience to respond to the Household Enquiry Forms, preferably online.

·         The Chairman encouraged Parish Councils to contact us with any items they would like to see on the agenda for future Amesbury Area Board meetings.

To receive an update from Alastair Cunningham, Corporate Director and Cllr Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Salisbury Recovery, on the Amesbury and Salisbury Recovery, following the recent major incident.

The Board received an update from Alastair Cunningham, Chair of the South Wiltshire recovery Group and Cllr Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and South Wiltshire Recovery, on the Amesbury and Salisbury Recovery, following the recent major incident.

Alastair Cunningham gave a brief update on the investigation,  two suspects had been identified by Counter Terrorism Police and charged for the attack on Sergi and Yulia Skripal. The suspects had been named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. European and Domestic arrest warrants had been issued and there was extensive media coverage and interest in the situation. 

Major incidents were covered in the local resilience forum and the first phase was response, which was usually covered by the police. Then the response moved into the recovery phase which was usually covered by the Council.

The week prior the response phase had ended in the Amesbury area and the police had handed back all sites to the Council for the recovery phase and clean up. At Boots the chemist clean-up was underway. Clean-up at the Baptist Church and Muggleton Road was to commence soon.

In Salisbury:

·         Clean-up was complete at The Mill pub, it was currently being refurbished and was due to open by Christmas 2018

·         The Town Path had re-opened 31 July

·         Queen Elizabeth Gardens reopened 24 August

·         Clean-up at the Skripal home in Christie Miller Road was underway

·         Clean-up almost complete at Zizzi restaurant – hand back imminent

·         The Air Ambulance Station at Semington was declared safe following precautionary testing

·         Clean-up almost complete at Tudor Close (former home of DS Bailey)                                     

All sites were in the recovery phase and were getting back to normal. Far more had been learnt about the substance used and what had been learnt proved that the due diligence and rigorous processes involved in cleaning up a site was correct. Public confidence was good with people making use of sites immediately after handback and re-opening.

Cllr Church stated that footfall in Salisbury was recovering. Prior to the second major incident footfall had recovered to 4.2% below the 2017 average. However the second major incident had a bigger impact. In early August 2018 footfall was 16% down compared with the 2017 figure. There was a national issue with footfall decreasing in town centres however these figures showed quite significant falls. The latest update had footfall down by around 12.5% on the 2017 figures. Unfortunately there were not accurate footfall figures for Amesbury.

The long term recovery plan involved supporting businesses, economic regeneration and boosting tourism and visitors to Salisbury and Amesbury. Free parking had been provided in Council run car parks in Salisbury and Amesbury, however this was now under review. More than £6 million had been provided in financial support from central government. £327,000 of government and council funding had been provided to 60 businesses. The Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership had provided £92,000 of grants to support 29 businesses. £208,000 had been provided in business rate relief to 50 businesses.

Wiltshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To receive an update from Adrian Hampton, Head of Highways including, grass cutting, verges, pot holes, winter readiness update, the Bulford to Amesbury cycleway, stewards, roadworks update and a general question and answer session.

Adrian Hampton, Head of Local Highways, Streetscene and Parking Services introduced himself to the meeting and gave an update. His role involved the reactive services rather than long term strategic work and his presentation would cover grass cutting, verges, pot holes, a winter readiness update, the Bulford to Amesbury cycleway, stewards and update on roadworks and a questions and answer session.

Grass cutting and verge maintenance was scheduled to take place as follows:

·         Urban Land

o   Amenity, 7 – 9 cuts a year

o   Rough/flail/conservation/wildflower, 1 – 3 cuts a year

·         Rural Verges

o   Identified single carriageway – 1 cut a year

o   Dual carriageways – 2 cuts a year

·         Parish Stewards

o   As directed by local Council

·         Safety

o   As required

Mr Hampton explained that Wiltshire Council was responsible for massive amounts of amenity land, the grass in these areas had been scheduled to be cut 9 times a year, but due to the long, hot summer it only needed to be cut 7 times, therefore hedges were cut back instead. Highways staff undertook visual safety inspections of highways to identify any safety issues and cut grass/hedges as required.

Wiltshire Council has a definition of what constitutes a pothole, which is available on the website, therefore it cannot respond if the defect does not fit the description. The council is employing new and innovative ways to deal with pot holes and had won awards for this. For example a velocity sprayer was used in rural areas to fill pot holes. Another innovation was the asphalt recycler that allowed crews to cut a patch of tarmac, reheat it and reuse it to fill pot holes. Some of their vehicles have had HD cameras fitted, the footage from which is analysed by artificial intelligence so that defects in the highway can be detected.

There were a number of major maintenance schemes scheduled for 2018/2019 which included surface treatments, resurfacing, carriageway repairs and retexturing of roads in the Amesbury area. Roads were tested for skid resistance, which is why crews could sometimes be seen fixing very smooth roads. Their aim was to make roads safer and to extend the life of the network.

Reactive patching was also undertaken, these were usually small scale works that once again make roads safer and extend the life of the network. The  council budget for reactive spending was £3.5 million. However this year a minimum of £16 million would be spent to keep the network going. The shortfall was currently made up by central government grants et cetera.

Winter preparations were well underway; grit and salt piles were being restocked; salt bins were being remapped and restocked; processes were being reviewed; salting routes were being updated; work was taking place with other councils on cross border routes and contractor plans being developed.

It was stated that Wiltshire Council would be running the Parish Emergency Assistance Scheme (PEAS) again this year. The scheme allows parish councils to pick up materials that will assist during a weather emergency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Please note - this item has now been moved to the next Area Board meeting on 22 November 2018.

To receive an update from Tim Martienssen, Director Economic Development and Planning, on Boscombe Down and its effects on the Amesbury Area.

The update from Tim Martienssen, Director Economic Development and Planning, on Boscombe Down and its effects on the Amesbury Area, was moved to the next Area Board meeting on 22 November 2018.

To receive updates from the Town and Parish Council Representatives, and from other partner organisations.

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Police and Crime Commissioner

·         Fire and Rescue Service

·         Town and Parish Councils

·         Lovells – SFA and Army Rebasing

·         MOD

·         NHS Wiltshire CCG

·         HealthWatch Wiltshire

The Chairman referred to the updates set out in the agenda and invited further updates from Town/Parish Councils and other Partners.

·         Wiltshire Police

An update from Deputy Inspector Sergeant John Hutchings was received. This was moved up the agenda to after the Amesbury and Salisbury Recovery Update as Sergeant Hutchings had to leave the meeting early to attend another appointment. Sergeant Hutchings stated that there were 40 dedicated Special Constabulary in the South Wiltshire area. Their voluntary service had saved the police and therefore tax payers around £22,000. The visibility of the police and engagement of communities had been identified as an issue and they were therefore working to improve this. They would be attending area Boards and Parish meetings et cetera to speak to the community and see what issues were important to people. There had been reports of trouble at night in Amesbury town centre including anti-social behaviour and noise pollution, however, the number of complaints actually received were relatively low. These complaints had been taken on board and the police were working in partnership with the Council, environmental services and the Royal Military Police in order to try to resolve the anti-social behaviour. The decibel level of sound had been measured at the new nightclub and they had spoken to the licensee who had been very cooperative. Taxis were being moved closer to the venue and lollipops given to patrons on exiting the club. The weather also had an effect and it was thought that problems would decrease with the onset of Winter. One had to be realistic, however the police would try their best. There were no questions from the audience although thanks were received from the Mayor of Amesbury Town Council in particular for the coordinated working approach and from Shrewton Parish Council who were very appreciative of efforts to focus on rural crime.

·         Police and Crime Commissioner

Deputy PCC Jerry Herbert gave an update to the meeting. Mr Herbert had been appointed as deputy PCC on 1 August and was working two days a week in that role. Since the establishment of the PCC role the workload had expanded considerably and therefore was too much for one person to undertake, which was why he had been appointed. One of his objectives was to listen to communities and set appropriate priorities.

Funding was an issue. The National level of funding was flat, 60% of their  resources came from central government and 40% from local government. Unfortunately Wiltshire was one of the least well-funded forces from general taxation. Budgets were likely to be cut further and therefore they must use the money they do have in the most efficient manner. Another of his objectives in his role was to develop policy and resources.

In response to questions from Amesbury Town Council it was stated that   Amesbury Police Station may be sold. Many of the police estates were traditional police buildings that were no longer fit for purpose and cost a lot to run and maintain. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To receive any updates from the Local Youth Network.

To consider/note the following application for youth grant funding:

·         Wessex Community Action, £5,000 for the Elements Café project.

Cllr Fred Westmoreland gave a brief update regarding the Local Youth Network. The last meeting had been held on 4 July 2018 at Durrington School. It was hoped that the next meeting would focus on volunteering. 

The Board were asked to consider the LYN recommendation for the following application for youth grant funding:

•           Wessex Community Action, £5,000 for the Elements Café project.

Cllr Westmoreland spoke in support of the application and detailed the LYN recommendation. The Elements Café was a special café for more vulnerable young people that ran on Wednesdays. WCA were requesting £5,000 for a £5,000 project. This was unusual as grant applications were not usually for the full cost of a project. After discussion the LYN recommended that half the amount (£2,500) should be awarded to carry the cafe until the end of the financial year, at which time the WCA would be encouraged to submit a grant application for all their projects.

It was:

Resolved

To award Wessex Community Action, £2,500.00 of the £5,000 requested to support their Elements Café, as per the LYN recommendation.

To consider any update and recommendations from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) in relation to the funding available towards Local Transport Projects.

The Minutes of the latest CATG meeting are attached for information

The Chair briefly updated the Board on the latest CATG meeting, the minutes of which were included in the agenda pack.

Dave Roberts, Amesbury Community Engagement Manager stated that the hope was the CATG process would be streamlined, with further powers being delegated to the CATG, so that CATG could make decisions without recommendations having to be referred up to the Area Board.

The Chairman encouraged the meeting to attend the CATG and the Health and Wellbeing group. The next meeting of the CATG would be held on 12 November 2018, 10.00am at the Redworth Centre, Amesbury Leisure Centre, Antrobus Road, Amesbury SP4 7ND.

To determine the applications for Community Area Grant funding:

·         Bulford Parish Council, £1,200 towards their defibrillator project

·         Amesbury Rugby Club, £4,750 towards mobile training lights

·         Berwick St James Reading Room, £4,500 towards moving their front door

Applications to the Community Area Grants scheme as detailed in the agenda pack were considered.

A representative from Bulford Parish Council spoke in support of their application.

A representative of the Berwick St James Reading Room spoke in support of their application.

It was;

Resolved:

·         To award Bulford Parish Council, £1,200 towards their defibrillator project.

·         To award Amesbury Rugby Club, £4,750 towards mobile training lights.

·         To award Berwick St. James Reading Room, £4,500 towards moving their front door.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Amesbury Area Board will be held on 22 November 2018 at Amesbury Library, Smithfield Street, Amesbury, SP4 7AL.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Amesbury Area Board would be held on 22 November 2018 at Amesbury Library, Smithfield Street, Amesbury, SP4 7AL.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.