Agenda item

The Chairman informed all present of the following:

• Bradford Road Re-surfacing: Wiltshire Council had completed the work following the damages caused by the bad weather;

• Road markings: Station Road / Pound Pill area and Leafy Lane:
  • Delays, due to the unsettled weather, for road markings in Station Road and the Pound Pill area;
  • Plans for road markings at Leafy Lane in the late spring / early summer, which it was hoped would deter drivers from straying into the middle of the carriageway;

• Consultation on Waste Sites: In the summer the Area Board would consider a consultation on a plan for civic waste sites over the next 15/20 years. The consultation would start following and subject to the approval of the draft strategy by Wiltshire Council Cabinet in July. Two possible sites would be located within Corsham Area Board (land near Hatham Quarry and Leafield Industrial Estate) and the Chairman invited everyone to take part in the consultation. All documents would be available on the Wiltshire Council’s website. The outcome of the consultation would be reported at a future Area Board meeting;

• Local Development Framework (LDF) consultation: due to the volume of information provided at the workshops on the LDF consultation there were delays in publishing the outcomes. The Chairman informed all present that the outcomes of the LDF consultation would be brought to the next meeting of the Area Board;

• Provision of Out of Hours Medical / Dental Services: As of 1 April 2010 Wiltshire Medical Services would provide a single service across the county. The Chairman referred all present to the NHS leaflet which contained all the details of the new service, the main information being:
  • For urgent primary care advice and treatment patients would ring their normal GP surgery telephone number and would be redirected to the out of hours service;
  • Patients could also choose to ring the out of hours service directly on 0300 111 5717;
  • For urgent dental advice and treatment patients would be able to telephone the out of hours service. At weekends urgent dental clinics would be held in Chippenham, Salisbury, Swindon and Westbury;
  • Further information was available on the NHS Wiltshire website http://www.wiltshirepct.nhs.uk/Newsroom/PressReleases/20100315_changes_to_out_of_hours_service.pdf  and the person to contact was Sharon Charity, Communications Manager, 01380 733930, Sharon.charity@wiltshire.nhs.uk.

• Gypsy and Traveller Consultation: Wiltshire Council was preparing a plan that would identify land for gypsy and traveller sites and would include a policy for assessing the suitability of other sites Wiltshire Council is asked to consider through the planning application process. The Chairman invited everyone to take part in the consultation starting on Tuesday 6^th April until 5 pm on Friday 4^th June 2010. Details of the consultation and how to take part would be available on the Wiltshire Council’s website.    http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/planninganddevelopment/planningpolicy/localdevelopmentframework/gypsyandtravellersdpd.htm

• The Review of Special Educational Needs Provision: The Chairman invited Councillor Alan MacRae, portfolio holder for Schools, to provide some details. Councillor MacRae pointed out that the review was considering special school provision; specialist provision that is part of mainstream primary and secondary schools and SEN support services for schools. He also reminded all present that there were opportunities to meet with officers to discuss the proposals:
  • Devizes School, Devizes Monday 29 March 7 pm
  • Sheldon School, Chippenham Wednesday 21 April 7 pm
  • Kingdown School, Warminster Thursday 22 April 7 pm
  • Salisbury City Hall, Salisbury Tuesday 4 May 7 pm
  • St John’s Parish Church Centre, Trowbridge, Friday 7 May 10 am

Details of these meetings could be obtained from Julia Densham on 01249 706 610 or julia.densham@wiltshire.gov.uk.

Any questions about the proposals or the consultation process could be sent, in the first instance, to Tracy Gates, SEN Project Officer, on 01225 756 170 or tracy.gates@wiltshire.gov.uk

• Highways and Transport: The Chairman was pleased to report that the Government had awarded local authorities a further £100m to contribute towards repairing the damages following the extreme winter weather. Wiltshire Council had been awarded £1.46m and was considering how and where the money would be spent. The Chairman explained that two reports were being prepared:
  • To consider major projects for major resurfacing, this report would be circulated to all Wiltshire Councillors and all Town and Parish councils;
  • To consider major work projects from a safety and prevention point of view.

Area Boards would be informed of the decision on the allocation of the funds when possible.

• Residents petition against the proposal to remove the mini roundabout at the exit from Academy Drive Corsham 18/03/2010

The Chairman accepted a petition from local residents against the proposal to remove the mini roundabout at the exit from Academy Drive, Corsham.

He then invited Councillor Alan MacRae as the Unitary Member for Corsham Pickwick to speak.

Councillor MacRae offered reassurance that safety was the highest priority and he hoped that the residents would feel confident that the issue was being carefully considered and the right decision would be taken.