Agenda item

A chance to update the Board on your initiatives or issues in the area. Written Partner Updates are also attached.

The Board noted the Partner updates attached to the agenda. In addition the following updates were received:

The Chairman noted that on page 67 of the agenda, the police update listed Mr Angus Macpherson as the Police Authority representative for Southern Wiltshire, when it was actually Councillor Richard Britton.

Police

The new Police Inspector Andy Noble introduced himself to the Board.  Andy had asked for a slot at the next Area Board meeting in December when he would outline some of the structural changes recently implemented by the police and what those changes mean for us locally.

The Police were asked why the statistics showed there had been an increase in dwelling burglaries.

Sergeant Dean Garvin explained that dwelling burglaries included sheds and garages attached to properties and that most listed were actually these types of burglaries of tools. Actual dwelling burglaries to houses were still really low.

Forthcoming work would concentrate on targeting scrap dealers, as the people who carry out non dwelling burglaries to steal scrap metals use scrap dealers when disposing of the stolen metals and goods. 

The Chairman added that the Police are increasingly targeting their efforts where the statistics show a rise in criminal activity therefore it is very important that every incident is reported.

Questions and comments:

• The traffic lights on the A338 in Downton were out of action over the weekend, by Monday morning the children were having trouble crossing the road. A resident had called the police to ask if an officer could attend to assist with controlling the traffic to allow the children to cross safely. The operator explained that this was not something the police could assist with, so who should be contacted in an instance like this? Answer: It is correct that this type of incident is not a Police role, however the operator should have contacted the Wiltshire Council Highways Department which could deal with it.

• Some HGVs speed on single track lanes, can the police do more to tackle this issue? Answer: One of the targets this quarter was to tackle speeding. Officers are out an about and will continue to tackle speeding of any vehicle, not just HGVs.

• One person had tried to call the new 101 number on five occasions, and felt that on two of those occasions the assistance could not have been better, however on the other three times, it could not have been worse, as the operator did not know where Salisbury was. Answer: If this happens keep the details of the time and date of these incidents and report them to the Neighbourhood Police Team (NPT) or to Inspector Noble and the matter will be dealt with.

The Chairman added that statistics showed that the call centre was handling 95% or more of the calls within the 30 seconds set. He urged people to report any issues relating to the new 101 phone number to the police.

Young People’s Update

Tony Nye; Youth Coordinator informed the board that Cabinet had approved the 11 to 19 Commissioning Strategy which had been presented to them. The Strategy would ensure the best use of overall resources available to support young people within Wiltshire, ensuring there were no gaps or overlaps in provision.

The Strategy and the report presented outlined the strategic direction for reshaping youth services in Wiltshire and for making savings (£450k in 2012/13) from current expenditure on youth work provided by the Council’s Youth Development service.

The Area Board will be updated on developments in this area.

Laverstock and Ford Parish Council – Riverbourne Community Farm

Virginia McLennan outlined the success and achievement of the Riverbourne Community Farm and thanked those who had been involved with the project for their support and funding.  A copy of the statement is attached to the minutes.

Councillor Devine congratulated West Dean on winning the Best Kept Village award.