In 2013, Wiltshire built on the legacy of the 2012 Olympics with a range of community activities and new initiatives. As we enter 2014, it is time to look forward to see how the Area Boards can build upon the good work delivered so far to create a lasting legacy for Wiltshire. Cllr Jane Scott OBE, Leader of Wiltshire Council will outline some of the new opportunities available to the Area Board in 2014.
Minutes:
Peter Tyas, Team Leader Arts & Archives Wiltshire Council, was welcomed to the meeting to give a presentation on the legacy for Wiltshire following the 2012 Olympics.
Following this success a Legacy Board had been established with three key objectives; to grow the economy, to keep Wiltshire healthy and to build on stronger communities.
Local Economy
Since 2012 there had been a number of strands of activity to encourage a stronger local economy including EXPOs, Wealth of Wiltshire Fayres, business breakfasts, Big Business events and sponsorship of the Salisbury Christmas market, which had proved a huge success.
In 2014 the authority would build on these events to promote what local businesses bring to the County as well as supporting businesses to sell locally with future Wealth of Wiltshire Fayres.
A further Big Business Event would be held in Salisbury in April and a large EXPO event in Chippenham was due to take place in June. A link to the website with further details can be found is provided below.
http://wiltshirebusiness-expo.co.uk/
Healthy Wiltshire
Since 2012 the authority had build on the desire for Wiltshire residents to get active. This included organised health fairs and checks across Wiltshire and support for the ‘schools games’ project (Chippenham).
In order to build on the successes of 2012 and 2013 health fairs would continue to take place which it was hoped would continue to empower the public to take charge of their health and lifestyle choices.
Communities were being encouraged to make a pledge that would make a difference in their community. This was being officially launched on 2 April but communities were being asked to think of ideas at this stage. An example included that arising from the Royal Wootton Basset and Cricklade Area Board for the community area to become dementia friendly.
In May 2014 a major national cycling event would be taking place within the county. In addition to the professional race (100 mile road race) event several fun cycling events would be taking place of which all were encouraged to participate. Further details would be available on the Council’s website in due course.
Stronger Communities
It was recognised that in 2012 the combination of the Jubilee celebrations and that of the Olympics had played a significant part in bringing communities closer together resulting in stronger, healthier and more resilient communities.
Each community within Wiltshire was asked to consider what they felt appropriate to commemorate the centenary of WW1, recognising the links that the county of Wiltshire had with the forces.
A countywide centenary event, in conjunction with the military forces, was planned for 30 July. Ideas were currently being developed and further details would be announced in due course.
To establish what events were taking place all were encouraged to visit the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre website:
http://heritageinwiltshire.wordpress.com/
The website provided information, news and opportunities about heritage activity within Wiltshire.
Other activities
The Council continued to help support local Olympians and Paralympians. Business Dinners had been arranged to encourage local businesses to also contribute towards funding local athletes. The authority was aiming to, as a minimum, double the budget for athletes in 2012.
The Chairman thanked Peter Tyas for his time and the interesting presentation given and encouraged all attendees to consider what ‘Big Pledge’ they could make to benefit the community.