Issue - meetings

   Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste, Street Scene and Flooding presented a report which requested an increase in the budget for the Parish Steward Scheme to increase the capacity and capability of the service.

Cllr Dr McClelland explained that the Council has been operating the Parish Steward Scheme successfully for many years and is a service that is greatly appreciated by the local communities.

The Leader referred to a statement from Rushall Parish Council in support of the proposals. The Statement was published in Supplement 1 on the Council’s website at this link.

The Cabinet noted that in order to increase the capability of the Parish Stewards it is proposed to add a two-person support team with additional equipment. Cllr Dr McClelland confirmed that the Parish Steward Support Team would be shared between the stewards and deployed as required, with care taken to ensure that they are programmed to be fully utilised.

Cllr Ian Thorn welcomed the report and asked that Town and Parish Council are made aware of the additional capacity of the Teams and the scope of work that can be undertaken.

Cllr Jerry Kunkler, Chair of the Environment Select Committee confirmed that he and Cllr Bob Jones, Vice Chairman of the Environment Select Committee, received a briefing on the report on 7 October 2022. He noted that Parish Stewards are valued by both councillors and parishes alike, and the report was welcomed and supported. They were reassured that any work will be appropriately prioritised and that the scope of the Stewards scheme will be reiterated to parishes and councillors to manage expectations.

Resolved:

(i)             That a budget of £233,000 is included for each of the years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/5 to provide a Parish Steward Support Service. This one-off funding, totalling £699,000 will be provided from the Business Plan Priority reserve.

(ii)           Arrangements are made with the highways term maintenance contractor for the supply of a suitable two-person team and associated equipment to support the Parish Steward scheme.

Reason for Decision:

The Parish Steward scheme is important to the town and parish councils and the local communities, and their work contributes to improving the safety and appearance of Wiltshire’s highway network. The increased budget will enable the Parish Stewards to undertake additional work on the network.