Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Lucy Murray-Brown, Campus and Operational Delivery Programme, on proposals for a Community Campus in Chippenham Community Area, as detailed in the attached Cabinet paper dated 15 February 2011.

The Area Board will be asked to consider and approve proposals for the campus delivery and associated Terms of Reference, and will invite expressions of interest from those wishing to sit on the Shadow Community Operations Board.

Lucy Murray-Brown of Wiltshire Council’s Transformation Programme gave a presentation on proposals to develop a Community Campus in Chippenham Community Area; a Community Campus being a building, or buildings, in a community area that would provide the services the local community needed in an accessible location.

Local community involvement was critical to the success of the Campus project, and the aim was to reduce the long term financial, environmental and operational pressures on operating aging, low quality buildings.

Community Campus’s had potential to co-locate with partner and voluntary organisations, and core criteria to all campus buildings included a shared reception, community space, accessible IT provision, personal care facilities and catering facilities.

The indicative sequence of events for the development of a Chippenham Community Campus was as follows:

•         Initial Area Board meeting – July 2011

•         Audit and research work – summer/autumn 2011

•         Community consultation phase one – autumn 2011

•         Community consultation phase two – spring 2012

•         Area Board consideration – summer 2012

•         Council formal consideration – autumn 2012

•         Detailed design, planning – autumn/winter 2012/2013

•         Construction – spring 2013

•         Community Campus in place spring 2014

In developing the Community Campus’s, Wiltshire Council was testing the principles of community led management of local services.

It was proposed that a Shadow Community Operations Board would be set up in order to, subject to the agreement of the Area Board, take on a key role in coordinating and leading the project.

Following the presentation a number of comments and queries arose, as follows:

·         Chippenham Community Area was one of the largest community areas in the county with a large town council and a large rural population. It was therefore important that the Shadow Community Operations Board contained provision for one town council representative and one parish council representative.

·         The Chippenham Vision Master-planning process should complement the work of the Shadow Community Operations Board and duplication of work should be avoided.

·         Although the Shadow Community Operations Board would contain non-elected members, the Area Board remained the democratically accountable body, with the Shadow Community Operations Board providing recommendations where appropriate.

·         The closing date for expressions of interest needed to be extended until at least the end of July to allow time for various groups to be fully briefed on the proposals.

·         Following this evening’s meeting, a dedicated page on the Wiltshire Council website would be set-up with information on the proposals for a Chippenham Community Campus.

·         It was imperative to get the right publicity out in the public domain. It was suggested that the Wiltshire Council van could be placed on the High Street in Chippenham to engage with the general public.

·         Meetings of the Shadow Community Operations Board would not be open to the public, but notes of the meeting would be made publicly available on the Wiltshire Council website and in Area Board agenda papers.

Decision

The Area Board agreed:

1.    To approve the proposals for the campus delivery.

2.    To approve the draft Terms of reference for the Shadow Community Operations Board, subject to provision being made for representation from both Chippenham Town Council and a parish council.

3.    To establish a Chippenham Shadow Community Operations Board and invite expressions of interest for members.

4.    To nominate Councillor Mark Packard as the Area Board’s representative on the Shadow Community Operations Board, and Councillor Howard Greenman as the deputy.

The Area Board welcomed expressions of interest from people wishing to sit on the Shadow Community Operations Board. The deadline for submissions was Friday 29 July 2011, and forms were available from:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityandliving/communitycampuses/chippenhamcommunitycampus.htm

After the closing date, the Area Board would consider the nominations received and determine the membership for the Shadow Community Operations Board. Details of the membership would be decided by the Area Board at the next meeting.