To receive a presentation on the endorsement and promotion of planning for a local emergency.
Officer: Nicholas Bate, Emergency Planning Officer
Minutes:
Nicholas Bate, Emergency Planning Officer gave a presentation on Community Resilience, with regard to planning for emergency situations in villages, which is a government initiative directed at Town and Parish Councils.
The intention was for all parishes to have an up-to-date Community Resilience Plan to replace where necessary the Initial Response Plan that some parishes had written some years ago. These plans once written would be kept up to date by a person nominated by the Town/Parish Council.
Bradford on Avon Community Area Board who were part of a pilot scheme had fully endorsed the initiative. Subsequently the Emergency Planning Team will be communicating with all Parish Councils to offer them the Government template and guidance notes to assist them.
In order to ensure that Wiltshire’s communities are resilient it is vital that they were aware of the risks which affect them and the assets which they have within their communities, such as doctors or other people with some medical training, 4x4 vehicles etc. This would help the Town and Parish Councils to decide which threats they were comfortable with, without having to take any preventative action and those where a more proactive approach may be required.
This information would also be made available to each member of the community to ensure that they were able to take necessary measures such as preparing an ‘Emergency Box’, purchasing sandbags to protect their property or carrying out a business impact analysis for a Business Continuity Plan for example.
Community Resilience was not just about the Community Safety agenda, it was much wider than that. It was about how the community, the individual within that community and businesses could best prepare to meet the challenges they may face if confronted with a major incident. It was also about how the community could continue to operate for as long as possible and how it could adapt to its new circumstances once the incident had passed.
Questions and comments were then received from the floor:
· A recent incident in Firsdown where a bus turned over and burst into flames is an example of an emergency, but as the incident happened so quickly community intervention was not necessarily an option. The emergency services arrived on scene within 15 minutes. Answer: In some instances the only option is to call for emergency services, however in many other situations it is of benefit to have an emergency plan to turn to in conjunction with the emergency services, to enable your community to achieve the best possible result.
· How frequently should we create dummy runs to ensure the plan works. Answer: In the publication which is produced and circulated to Parishes, you can find details of Parish exercises which are arranged throughout the year.
Councillor John Thomson informed the Board that in his local area of Sherston the Parish had created a plan, as there were several high stone walls in the area which from time to time would collapse, with the creation of the plan they now had a list of farmers who would attend the site in tractors to clear fallen stone and rubble from roads. They also had a list of local people who were able to store salt for use within the community.
Councillor Thomson added that Parishes should consider the types of risks they could be exposed to and to plan for them.
Decision:
The Southern Wiltshire Area Board endorsed the need for parishes to consider the most significant risks their village was subject to and for them to plan for a local emergency.
If anyone wishes to discuss this matter further they should contact Nicholas Bate, Emergency Planning Officer on 07747 804604 or email Nicholas.bate@wiltshire.gov.uk