Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Chairman for the ensuing year.

Decision:

Cllr Linda Packard was appointed Chairman of the Chippenham Area Board for the ensuing year.

To elect a Vice Chairman for the ensuing year.

Decision:

Cllr Desna Allen was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Chippenham Area Board for the ensuing year.

The Chairman, Councillor Linda Packard, welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the order of proceedings for the meeting which would commence with the presentation of the Voluntary Awards.

The Chairman and Vice Chairman to present the Chippenham Area Board Community Awards.

The Vice Chairman, Cllr Desna Allen, introduced the nominations for each of the 3 categories before the Chairman announced the winners and presented the awards as follows:

Team award

Shortlisted teams/groups:

·         Dauntsey Vale Link Scheme

·         DEVELOP Volunteers

·         Riverbank Volunteers

Highly commended awards were presented to:

Riverbank Volunteers

DEVELOP Volunteers

Winner:          Dauntsey Vale

Individual Awards

Nominations were:

·         Alan Brinkworth

·         Andy Short

·         Janet Smith

Winners:      Alan Brinkworth, Andy Short and Janet Smith

Youth Award

Winner:         Tom North

The Chairman congratulated all the volunteers for their work on behalf of the Board and announced a 5 minute refreshment break before moving on to the next item.

Round table discussions will take place to help identify priorities for the rural communities within the Chippenham community area.

The Chairman confirmed that the session would take the form of round table discussions with each table given 10 minutes to identify what they considered to be the top 3 priorities for rural communities.

The following feedback on priorities was received:

·         Planning (i.e. help on Neighbourhood Planning)

·         Resilience Planning (i.e. for flooding)

·         Strategic Planning (i.e. a say on what future developments should include)

·         Highway Maintenance (i.e. road management, signage)

·         Rural Transport (i.e. better cycling routes)

·         Broadband (better coverage)

·         Crime policing

·         Youth provision (i.e. jobs, entertainment, training)

·         Volunteering in the community

·         Improved communications between Wiltshire Council and Parish/Town Councils

In response to some of the priorities raised the following information was made available.

The Operational Flood Working Group for the North should be contacted for any flood related concerns.  The Group could also provide guidance on flooding grants for those understood to have been affected by flooding.

Contact details were:

Renate Malton

E-mail renate.malton@wiltshire.gov.uk

Tel: 01225 712514

Wiltshire Council had invested significantly into Broadband across the county and was working with BT to provide super-fast broadband to a minimum of 91% of Wiltshire by 2017.

Wiltshire Council had contacted town and parish councils to seek clarification on the type of Planning training required.  All were encouraged to respond as soon as possible and to consider whether the resulting training could be provided to more than one parish at a time.

The recent youth activity review had now been considered by Wiltshire Council’s Executive and funding would be made available to each area board who would be able to fund activity to meet the needs of the younger people within the community. 

A regular newsletter was sent to Parish Councils from Wiltshire Council to communicate key messages and the Community Area Network, maintained by the Community Area Manager, was also an invaluable site for key information relevant to the community area.

All those in attendance were thanked for their contributions which would now be reviewed by the Chairman and Community Area Manager.  Anyone wishing to take forward any of the priorities detailed were encouraged to discuss with the Community Area Manager and Chairman accordingly.

The Chairman announced a short recess before proceeding to the next item of business.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Cllr Peter Hutton

Stephanie Davies (Chippenham Partnership of Schools)

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2014.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2014 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To include:

a)    Garden Waste Collection

b)    Mini Recycling Sites

c)    CIL

d)    Bell Ringing

The following announcements, as detailed within the agenda, were provided:

·         Garden Waste Collection – The Council would be undertaking a consultation on kerbside garden waste collection which would run from 1 July to 1 September 2014.

Details of the consultation was available on the Council’s Consultation webpage which could be found at:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/consultations.htm

·         Mini Recycling Sites – Following an initial announcement on the closure of mini recycling sites around the County due to the success of kerbside collection, the Council having listen to comments received, would now keep open 13 key sites.  These were detailed on page 19 of the agenda but included sites at both Sainsburys and Morrisons supermarkets in Chippenham.

·         Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – Wiltshire Council submitted its draft Charging Schedule for examination on 23 June.  A Statement of Modification (which sets out proposed changes to the Schedule) had been published for a 4 week consultation period at the same time.  Further details were provided in the announcement, including how to respond to the Modification.

·         Further details on the Bell Ringing announcement as provided on page 25 of the agenda would be provided at the end of Item 11 whilst the arrival of some of the bell ringers was awaited.

To note the written updates provided and answer any questions arising from the floor:

a)     Town and Town Councils

b)     Wiltshire Police

c)     Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

d)     Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

e)     Chippenham and Villages Area Partnership (ChAP)

f)     Chippenham Vision

g)     Chippenham Campus Development Team

h)     Youth Issues update

 i)     Chippenham Partnership of Schools

 j)     Other Community Groups

Updates from partners were received as follows:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

The written report from Wiltshire Police was noted. Sergeant Phil Connor had nothing to add to the report but did confirm that the  team were looking to improve consultation with parish councils.  Reporting was taking place on a quarterly basis but parish councils were also welcome to contact the team at Monkton Park with any issues.

Details of the Neighbourhood Policing team were:

http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/index.php/policing-in-your-area/county/2791?npt=EP

    ii.        Parish and Town Councils

The following written reports were noted.

·         Christian Malford Parish Council

·         Grittleton Parish Council

·         Kington Langley Parish Council

·         Seagry Parish Council

·         Sutton Benger Parish Council

No further updates were provided.  However, some Parish Councils in attendance highlighted that many issues raised were duplicated from other parishes and requested that future agendas could perhaps include specific items on these subjects.

The Chairman reminded Parishes that they were welcome to attend agenda setting (ABC) meetings and could contact either the Community Area Manager or the Chairman to request attendance or indeed to request specific consideration of items if unable to attend.

Ensuing discussion included the benefits of some meetings taking place in a rural setting within the parishes themselves and how parishes had the opportunity to network at the meetings and work together on key issues.  Parish representatives were also reminded that they could also raise issues of concern with their local Wiltshire Councillor.

The Chairman acknowledged the comments received and confirmed that the Board would welcome suggestions for future items which would be considered at the agenda setting meeting accordingly.

   iii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Due to ongoing technical difficulties there was no update provided for the agenda, however Kit Watson was in attendance to answer any operational questions arising. 

Mike Franklyn was given the opportunity to read out an announcement from the Chief Fire Officer as follows.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue were undertaking a public consultation on closer working arrangements with Dorset Fire and Rescue Service.  An annual budget shortfall of between £3.1m to £3.9m was expected and required resolution by 2017/18.  To protect frontline services an options appraisal was undertaken and a business case to combine authorities was being developed.

No decisions had or would be made until October when the business case would be made by the fire authorities of Wiltshire and Swindon.  Stakeholders would be consulted as part of the process which would include providing leaflet information and questionnaires in public buildings (such as libraries), details available on line, information sent to key partners, including parish and town councils and forums held.  The draft business case would be supported by other documents all of which would be made available on fire authority website and upon request.  The consultation itself would run from 21 July to 20 October.

Although unable to answer any questions about the consultation, Mike Franklyn confirmed that he was able to take questions back to the Chief Fire Officer should there be any.  No questions arose.

   iv.        Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

The written report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To receive updates on the following priority areas, as follows:

a)    Crime & Community Safety (Cllr Desna Allen)

b)    Child Poverty (Cllr Chris Caswill)

c)    Outdoor Spaces (Cllr Linda Packard)

Updates were received as follows:

      i.        Crime and Community Safety

Councillor Desna Allen reported that work continued on the Purple Flag status for Chippenham.  A second meeting would be held at 6:30pm on 15 July at Monkton Park offices to discuss the community resilience plan.

The ‘Safe Places’ project was now developing within the town with thanks given to the police for their cooperation as well as members of the BIG project and the Town Council all of whom were supporting the project.

‘Safe Places’ was a project that allowed vulnerable individuals a safe place to seek assistance.  Those taking part displayed a logo in the window identifying themselves as a safe place following training.

Cllr Bill Douglas was given the opportunity to provide an update on road safety as a member of the Wiltshire Council Task Group on Policy for Safety in the Villages.

This included the ‘No Need to Speed Project’ which had received funding from the area board.  The project was taking longer than initially expected.  However two winning poster designs from schoolchildren had been agreed which would be displayed up around Pewsham.  These would then be withdrawn for a short period before an official launch took place.

    ii.        Child Poverty

Cllr Chris Caswill reported that group meetings had taken place to discuss child poverty which had included representatives from housing associations, churches, schools, Citizens Advise Bureau (CAB), children’s centre and parents.  A document setting out the purpose of a future Forum was now being prepared and it was hoped that further details would be announced at the next meeting.

Reference was made to the draft Wiltshire Child Poverty Strategy consultation which ended on 4 July.  Further details could be found on the Wiltshire Pathways Website. 

   iii.        Outdoor Spaces

Cllr Linda Packard reported that an initial meeting had taken place.  Kevin Oliver, Environmental Authorising Officer, was happy to provide guidance to those organising events using outdoor spaces belonging to Wiltshire Council.  Further updates would be provided at future meetings.

Bell Ringing Chairman’s Announcement

Cllr Nick Watts introduced the Chairman’s announcement on bell ringing, noting that two bell ringers were now present.  All those interested in becoming bell ringers were encouraged to speak to Cllr Nick Watts who was keen to encourage participation.

Contact details:

Cllr Nick Watts

e-mail nick.watts@wiltshire.gov.uk

Tel: 01249 654600

To appoint representatives to the outside bodies and working groups of the Chippenham Area Board.

The Board was asked to appoint representatives to Outside Bodies and to reconstitute and appoint to Working Groups for the year 2014/15 as outlined in the report presented.  Full details of the membership of each working group could be found attached to the minutes as an appendix.

Decision:

To make the following Area Board appointments:

Outside Bodies

·         Chippenham Community Area Partnership – Cllr Mark Packard

·         Chippenham Youth Advisory Group – Cllr Peter Hutton and Cllr Bill Douglas

·         Kingsley Road Community Hall Association – Cllr Nina Phillips

·         Lyneham Steering Group – Cllr Mark Packard

·         Chippenham Vision – Cllr Nick Watts

·         Cherish Chippenham – Cllr Nina Phillips

·         The Nature of It - Cllr Howard Greenman

Working Groups

·         Community Area Transport Group (CATG) - Cllr Howard Greenman, Cllr Nina Phillips, Cllr Linda Packard and Cllr Bill Douglas

·         Campus Development Team – Cllr Mark Packard.  Cllr Howard Greenman to deputise when required.

·         Chippenham Community Safety Group - Cllr Peter Hutton and Cllr Desna Allen

·         Older Peoples Development Working Group - Cllr Chris Caswill and Cllr Nina Phillips

Alan Truscott, Plain Action Programme Manager, will provide details on plans to bid for Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding and how local projects and rural businesses may be eligible.

Alan Truscott, Plain Action Programme Manager, was welcomed to the meeting and gave a presentation on LEADER funding which included the following information.

LEADER had plans to bid for Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding and was consulting with local communities to make them aware of what local projects and rural businesses might be eligible for the funding once available.

The previous funding round had ended in 2013 and LEADER were now in a transition period before commencement of the next round began in January 2015.

Plain Action consisted of a panel of Board members made up of local businessmen.  Although the previous funding round allowed the Board an element of flexibility over the criteria it was expected that the next funding criteria would be more rigid.

Wiltshire was previously split into 3 Local Action Groups (LAG), namely:

Plain Action

North Wessex Downs

Sowing Seeds

From 2015 there would be 5 LAGs with Plain Action covering the Chippenham rural community area, these would be:

Plain Action

Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

Heart of Wessex

North Wessex Downs

New Forest

The above Groups would now cover the majority of Wiltshire and a map showing the expected boundaries of each was shown.

Guideline indicated that 70% of funding should be prioritised on creating jobs with the remaining 30% on increasing economic activity in rural areas.

Plain Action were currently looking at specific themes:

Military

Economy

Climate change/environment

Business and employment

Communities

Low carbon

LEADER were now in the final stage of consultation and would need to submit their bid for funding by 5 September.  It was expected that a decision on funding would be known in November.  Indicative targets suggested an available funding of between £1.3m to £1.4m in the Plain Action area with a total of approx £6m to 7m available within the Wiltshire area.

A meeting with  DEFRA representatives was understood to be taking place the following week to discuss the boundaries although LAGs could work together on projects and a pilot of this approach was understood to be taking place.

The criteria would not include long term apprenticeships but it was reported that European funding would also be allocated to the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP who would take the lead on training.  LAGs could make recommendations to the LEP where a rural need was identified.

Alan Truscott was thanked for the presentation and the Board looked forward to receiving details of the final decision on funding and criteria in due course.

The Board will be asked to consider the following applications:

a)     Chippenham Community Arts Festival Committee – £915  towards the Arts Festival;

b)     Seagry Spitfire Project – £2,500 towards erecting a stone memorial and plaque;

c)     ChAP Funding - £6,750

d)     Expenditure for Chippenham Area Board Community Awards (Trophies and cheques for winners) - £360

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme 2014/15:

       i.        Chippenham Community Arts Festival Committee

The sum of £915 was requested towards the festival.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £915 to Chippenham Community Arts Festival Committee.

      ii.        Seagry Spitfire Project

The sum of £2,500 was requested towards erecting a stone memorial and plaque.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,500 to Seagry Spitfire Project.

    iii.        Chippenham Area Partnership (ChAP) funding

The sum of £6,750 was requested to allow ChAP to deliver specified projects in 2014/15.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £6,750 to ChAP.

    iv.        Approved inter-meeting spending via delegated decision

The sum of £360 towards cheques and trophies for the Chippenham Area Board Community Award winners.

Decision

The Area Board noted the inter-meeting spend of £360 towards cheques and trophies for the Chippenham Area Board Community Award winners.

Specific note was made to the increased match funding limit of £1,000 within the criteria for 2014/15 of which the Board were supportive.  The Board also expressed the need for town and parishes to meet the fund matching criteria accordingly.

The next agenda planning meeting will take place on Wednesday 6 August at 10:30am at Monkton Park Offices, Chippenham. Any parish or town council representative interested in attending should contact the Community Area Manager or the Chairman.

The next meeting of the Chippenham Area Board will take place on Monday 8 September 2014.

Attendees were reminded of the Wiltshire World War 1 commemoration event taking place on 31 July at Tidworth Military cemetery.  The event would start at 9:30am and was open to all.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and requested all to take part in a brief electronic evaluation of the meeting before closing.

The next meeting of the Chippenham Area Board would take place on 8 September 2014 with the next agenda planning meeting being held at 10:30am on Wednesday 6 August at Monkton Park Offices, Chippenham. Any parish or town council representative interested in attending or wishing for a specific item to appear on the agenda were encouraged to contact the Community Area Manager or the Chairman.