Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from:

Cllr Stuart Wheeler

Cllr Ian Thorn

The Committee noted that Councillor Ian McLennan was in attendance virtually (non-voting).

Cllr Jacqui Lay was held up in traffic and joined the meeting at the start of Item 6.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 9 January 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 January 2024 were presented for consideration, it was;

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

There were no announcements.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this

agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item.

Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further

clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such

questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Monday 25 March 2024 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Wednesday 27 March 2024. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

No statements or questions were submitted.

To consider responses to the consultation on the Draft Recommendations for the Community Governance Review 2023/24.

Public Participation

There were no registered speakers.

The Chairman provided details of the background of the ongoing Community Governance Review and presented a report on the consultation on the Draft Recommendations which took place from 12 February to 18 March 2024, and was then extended until 28 March 2024, which included a public meeting for the Mere and Zeals area.

For each recommendation the Chairman along with officers presented summaries of the responses to the consultation and issues that had been raised, before the Committee discussed the available options and determined what action to take.

Recommendation 1 – Mere/Zeals

Recommendation 1 had proposed changes to the boundary of Zeals Parish Council and Mere Town Council, to transfer a triangular field area which currently sat within Zeals, between the B3092 & A303 slip road, to Mere.

The site contained an area of land which had planning permission for business use, the Hill Brush Factory and Visit Hillbrush visit centre and one dwelling. There was also planning permission for a 70-bed care home on the site.

The Committee discussed their draft recommendation in the context of the representations which had been received.

It was noted that no response had been received from the resident of the single dwelling within the area of land it was proposed be transferred.

In discussion the Committee considered that it continued to believe that, on balance, the electors within triangular area which included a dwelling and permission for a 70-bed care home would most likely identify with the community of Mere than to Zeals, given its proximity and position on the in-road to Mere and access to the services and facilities there.

The Committee noted that people living in the areas under review tend to consider where they live based on features on the ground, such as street lighting. The site in question was a good example of this as heading out of Mere towards Zeals, street lighting stop after the site, which supported by representations, gave the impression that the site was already a part of Mere.

Considering all of the responses, and noting the vibrant public interaction received from Zeals and Mere residents and the parish and town councils during the review, the character of the area, lying between two main roads and on the historic approach into the town, whose built up area was adjoining the site, the Committee agreed that the draft recommendation met the statutory criteria and therefore upheld its recommendation.

Recommendation 2 – North Bradley

Recommendation 2 had proposed a change to the boundary of North Bradley Parish Council and Trowbridge Town Council, to transfer an area south of the A363, where existing properties accessed from Woodmarsh/Westbury Road were transferred to North Bradley, leaving the incoming expansion of housing and the open space which formed part of the development, with the town.

The Committee considered the consultation responses, which were all in agreement.

There had been no direct response from the Parish or Town Council during the consultation, however the Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

To consider a request from Clyffe Pypard Parish Council.

ClyffePypard Parish Council submitted a request to change the name of their parish to Clyffe Pypard and Bushton, to reflect the communities which make up their parish.

A public survey was held to gather responses, of which 44 were received. 36 of the responses were in support of the requested name change and 8 were against.

The request was considered to be reasonable and appropriate, and the Committee agreed to recommend the change to Full Council for approval request at its next meeting.

It was then,

Resolved:

To recommend to Council that Clyffe Pypard Parish Council change its name to Clyffe Pypard and Bushton Parish Council.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as 16 May 2024.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 8 May 2024.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.