Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Decision:

Cllr Alan Macrae was elected as Chairman of the Corsham Area Board for the ensuing year.

To elect a Vice Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Decision:

Cllr Sheila Parker was elected as Vice Chairman of the Corsham Area Board for the ensuing year.

To welcome everyone to the Area Board.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to Colerne Village Hall and introduced the members and officers present.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Dave Martin and Ruth Hopkinson (Corsham Town Council)

Pauline Lyons and Alan Clench (Box Parish Council)

Mike Franklyn (Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service)

To approve and sign as a true record the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 20 March 2014.

Decision:

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2014 were approved as a correct record with the following amendments to the attendance details:

Alan Clench attended on behalf of Box Parish Council and not Colerne Parish Council

T. Houl should read Tom Hall (Colerne Parish Council)

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

There were no declarations of interest received.

To receive the following chairman’s announcements:

a)    Recycling success

b)    Community Health Trainers

The Chairman drew attention to the announcements as provided within the agenda pack which included:

a)            Mini Recycling Sites

The announcement included details of the closure of all mini recycling sites across the county.  However, following the publication of the agenda a further announcement was made to reflect that 13 mini recycling sites would now remain in place with skips for the recycling of glass, cans and paper, as outlined below: 

·         Bradford on Avon – Sainsburys

·         Calne – Pippin Car Park

·         Chippenham – Sainsburys

·         Chippenham – Morrisons

·         Corsham – Car Park

·         Devizes – Morrisons

·         Malmesbury – Station Yard Car Park

·         Melksham – Sainsburys

·         Warminster – Morrisons

·         Royal Wootton Bassett – Borough fields

·         Salisbury – Waitrose

·         Tidworth – Station Car Park

·         Tisbury – Car Park

b)            Community Health Trainers

Details of the Community Health Trainer programme were provided.  The programme started in Wiltshire in 2009 with services being delivered at HMP Erlestoke and extended to support army families in the Tidworth area, Wiltshire Probationary Trust and Wiltshire addiction support project.

The service supported adults wishing to have a healthier lifestyle but unlikely to make and maintain the required changes themselves without support. The Trainers worked in each of the community areas and the programme aimed to help people have healthy, active and high quality lives by taking responsibility for their own physical and mental wellbeing.

Further details would be attached to the minutes.

To receive any updates from the following partners:

(a)   Wiltshire Police

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

(c)  NHS Wiltshire

(d)  Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

(e)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

(f)   Chamber of Commerce

(g)  Shadow Community Operations Board

(h)  Schools

a)            Wiltshire Police

The Chairman draw attention to the update provided within the agenda pack and welcomed Inspector Dave Hobman to the meeting as the new Sector Inspector for Corsham, Calne and Chippenham.

Inspector Hobman confirmed that crime prevention remained a priority and he wanted to ensure a visible team presence in the community.  There also continued to be an emphasis on a good quality of service.

b)           Fire and Rescue Service

Graham Weller was in attendance on behalf of Mike Franklyn and gave a verbal update from the Chief Fire Officer on the upcoming consultation relating to the proposed amalgamation of Wiltshire and Dorset Fire and Rescue Service.

The Briefing included that Wiltshire and Swindon Fire and Rescue Service faced a shortfall of between £3.1m and £3.9m from a £25m budget which would need to be addressed by 2017/18.

The priority of the Rescue Service was to protect frontline services and a business case was currently being developed with Dorset to consider combining the services as a potential cost saving measure.  No decisions would be made until September 2014 once any business case had been considered.

Staff, the public and other key stakeholders were currently being consulted with awareness of the consultation exercise made available via leaflet, questionnaires in libraries and on-line.  Details had also been sent to key groups, including town and parish councils.

The draft business case would be made available online for consultation between 16 June and 24 August and hard copies could also be provided on request. 

Graham Weller was not aware of a completed business case at the time of the presentation but understood the Service was keen to ensure area boards were alerted of the exercise and given the opportunity to receive a full presentation from the Chief Fire Officer should they so desire.

c)            NHS Wiltshire

No update was provided.

d)           Town and Parish Councils

Box Parish Council had held its annual meeting where the Chairman and Vice Chairman had been re-elected. The update included that there had been a recent review of the councils affairs and that war commemoration plans were proceeding well.  All were encouraged to visit the Parish Council website for further details.

Reference was made to the consultation with parishes on proposed boundary changes and the Parish Council would welcome a future meeting of the Board being held in the parish.

Corsham Town Council confirmed that Ruth Hopkinson had been elected as Chairman at their recent annual meeting with Peter Pearson elected as Vice Chairman.  Further news included that the High Street had hit the press recently with filming of Poldark taking place within the High Street. 

Other events of note included Corsham Food Festival on 21 June,  Walking Festival on 28 June and armed forces event on 5 July.

Colerne Parish Council confirmed that the Chairman and Vice Chairman had been re-elected to stand for 2014/15.  Further news included highlighting the armed forces day due to take place on 28 June and the £65k refurbishment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To appoint representatives to local outside bodies and to working groups of the area board.

The area board considered appointments to outside bodies and working groups.

Decision

(1)          To agree the following appointments to outside bodies:

Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN) – Cllr Sheila Parker

Corsham Pound Arts Centre – Cllr Philip Whalley

Corsham Youth Issues Group – Cllrs Philip Whalley and Sheila Parker

(2)          To agree to reconstitute the following working groups:

(a)  Community Area Transport Group (CATG) – To comprise of:

Corsham Area Board Councillors (Cllr Alan Macrae, Cllr Sheila Parker, Cllr Dick Tonge and Cllr Philip Whalley)

Representatives from Corsham Town Council

Representatives from Box Parish Council

Representative from Colerne Parish Council

Representative from Lacock Parish Council

Representatives from CCAN

(b)  Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB) – To comprise of:

Area Board Member Rep (Cllr Alan Macrae)

Local Town and Parish Council Rep (Allan Bosley)

User and Community Group Rep (Steve Hammond)

User and Community Group Rep (Patrick Kelly)

User and Community Group Rep (Anna Mackie)

User and Community Group Rep (Sally Fletcher)

Wider Community Rep (Christine Reid)

Education and Young People Rep (Marcus Chapman)

(3)          To note the terms of reference for the Working Groups as set out in Appendix C of the report.

To explain how Local Action Groups with Leader funding can help projects in the Corsham community area and to seek views on priorities for expenditure.

Tim Coomer was welcomed to the meeting to give a presentation on LEADER funding and how it could benefit the local area.

LEADER funding was a European fund supported by DEFRA nationally.  The next cycle of funding was expected to be available from 2015 and would be a portion of a larger pot of CAP funding from Europe to support rural communities.

The 2007-2013 programme consisted of 3 Local Action Groups (LAGs) covering most of the Wiltshire community area.  These were Plain Action, North Wessex Downs and Sowing Seeds. 

Achievements of the LAGs under the previous programme included that Sowing Seeds had committed funding to 35 projects with a total investment of £2m.  North Wessex Downs had committed funding to 65 projects and Plain Action to 49 projects, with a total investment of £3.083m and £3.11m respectively.

Negotiations were at an early stage with DEFRA and the EU but there was an expectation that future funding would be similar to the previous programme.

The overarching priorities coming from Europe and UK Government were:

• Support for micro and small enterprises farm diversification
• Support for increasing farm productivity
• Support for rural tourism
• Support for increasing forestry productivity
• Provision of rural services
• Support for cultural heritage activity

The presentation to the Board was part of the consultation process to understand what the priorities were for the UK.  A final application was to be submitted to DEFRA on 5 September with clarification on available funding hoped for in December.  It was expected that the next programme would take effect from January 2015 with the following 5 Groups:

·         Cotswolds

·         Plain Action

·         North Wessex Downs

·         New Forest

·         Heart of Wessex

Themes currently identified included:

·         Military

·         Climate Change / Environment

·         Economy

Any questions in relation to the consultation and future available funding could be directed to:

Alan Truscott

Tel: 01380 732814

atruscott@communityfirst.org.uk

Following questions received, clarification was provided that eligibility for funding would not be available for town projects.

Examples of previous projects funded by Plain Action were provided.  This included funding towards the installation of toilet facilities to funding towards café developments.

The Chairman thanked Tim Coomer for the presentation and encouraged all to visit the website of Plain Action for further details.

To welcome and introduce the new Community Engagement Officer, Penny Bell, who will explain her role in relation to the new campus.

Laurie Bell, Associate Director Communications and Communities, was welcomed to the meeting to provide some context on the appointment of the Community Engagement Officer (CEO) role for the Corsham community area which had been in place now for approximately 3 weeks.

The CEO role had been developed following the recent review of area boards to build on existing community working and in response to the new campus programme to develop the services offered to the local community.

The tremendous work undertaken by the Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB) in developing the campus was recognised and the CEO would continue to build on the positive work undertaken.  This would include working with the community to increase awareness of the campus and what it had to offer and how communities could be involved to support some of the activity.

The CEO role would be the ‘go to’ person within the community not only to build on community working but to help make things happen. 

There were 3 elements to the campuses each lead by different key officers:

·         Build Programme (all things related to the build) - Lead officer: Lucy Murray Brown

·         Fixtures and fittings (all things related to who and what will be in the building) – Lead officer: Julie Anderson-Hill

·         Engagement (ensuring a vibrant hub for communities) – Lead officer: Penny Bell

The CEO, as the main ‘go to’ person for the community area, would communicate the purpose of the Campus as a facility for all and develop a programme of events reflecting the needs and wants of the community itself. 

The new Community Engagement Officer (CEO) for the Corsham community, Penny Bell, was welcomed to the floor and gave a presentation on the activity already undertaken since her appointment.  Penny confirmed that the aspiration was for the campus to be a thriving hub for the local community.  A comprehensive marketing and communications strategy was therefore in place, which included regular blogs to help keep the community in touch with the campus’ development.

Penny was also working to develop a scope highlighting what opportunities were available for vounteering.  This included producing an all round work package for student volunteers as Penny as part of her scoping exercise had noted that many students within the community currently volunteered outside of it.

Details of what could be expected when the Campus was completed was also highlighted.  This included a library, registrar service, day services for adults with learning disabilities, police contact, special space for young people, climbing wall  and care room.  There would also be a public café, 4 good sized community rooms upstairs and 3 smaller rooms downstairs. An all weather pitch was already in operation and a play area was also being developed.

Previous users of the community centre had expressed enthusiasm in accessing the facilities on offer within the campus.  There had also been much interest from other potential users wishing to use the facilities.

The type of activities that could be sourced from the Springfield Community Campus was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To present the local Highways maintenance schemes in the Corsham Community area for 2014/15, agree the final list for implementation and the procedure for any future alterations.

The Chairman presented details of the proposed local highways maintenance schemes highlighted for 2014/15 and list of identified sites within the Corsham community area proposed for remedial works over the next 6 years.  Parish Councils were currently being consulted on this wider list to help identify an order of priority in the future.

The Board members were asked to approve the list of scheduled works for 2014/15 (as highlighted on page 39 of the report) and to note that works scheduled for 2015/16 would be presented to the Board for consideration at a later date once available.

Decision:

The Board approved the priorities list of proposed schemes for 2014/15 and noted that a further list for 2015/16 would be presented for approval in due course.

To consider the following member initiatives:

a)    Mobile CCTV units.

b)    Ground conditions in the play area near Katherine Park

The Board were asked to consider two member initiatives as follows:

a)            Mobile CCTV unit

Cllr Philip Whalley presented the initiative for the CCTV unit, highlighting that community safety had been identified in the JSA as a priority.  The unit would be used to detect and deter anti social behaviour and would provide a visible presence at major events within the police sector of Chippenham, Corsham and Calne.

Decision:

The Corsham Area Board awarded £5,000 towards the purchase of a CCTV mobile unit and requested that an update should be provided on its use under the standing Partner Update item.

b)           Ground conditions in the play area near Katherine Park

Cllr Alan Macrae presented the initiative which was to help the local residents association purchase grass matting for the feature mound of the play area which had deteriorated.

Following questions received it was noted that S106 money had been used for the equipment of a smaller ‘under 5s’ play park in Katherine Park which was expected to be opened at the end of July.

Decision:

The Corsham Area Board granted £2,500 plus VAT to help the local residents association purchase grass matting in the play area near Katherine Park.

The Wiltshire Councillors will consider the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

·         Colerne Community Marquee – requesting £2,500 towards the purchase of a marquee and associated lighting equipment.

·         Royal British Legion – requesting £3,090 towards the restoration of the war memorial

·         Corsham Hockey Club – requesting £810 to purchase new equipment.

The following Community Area Grants were considered with the decisions recorded accordingly below.

Decision:

Friends of Colerne School were awarded £2,500 towards the purchase of a marquee and associated lighting equipment, conditional upon the balance of funding being in place.

Decision:

Royal British Legion were awarded £3,090 towards the restoration of a war memorial, conditional upon the balance of funding being in place.

Decision:

Corsham Hockey Club were awarded £810 towards the purchase of new equipment.

To receive a roundup of the community area grants awarded in the past year.

The Community Area Manager, Dave Roberts, provided a brief update on area board grants awarded in 2013/14.  This included that 28 projects had been awarded a total of £53,915 which had levered in an additional £217,670 into the local economy.

John Johnson was also present from ‘Foodbank’ which had been started 3 years ago and had received funding from the area board.  Thanks were given to the Board for its contribution, noting that in the last year there had been a 115% increase in demand with over 210 families and individuals assisted over the period.

To receive an explanation of how to raise a community issue and a roundup of the issues raised this year and their outcomes.

The Community Area Manager, Dave Roberts, demonstrated how members of the public could report an issue in the local community area.  A link was available from the area boards webpage to the reporting system and the demonstration highlighted that issues could be tracked by using the ‘track an issue’ option on the website.  An automated response would be issued to the reporter once an issue was closed.

Clarification was provided that 44 issues had been reported in the Corsham area of which only 3 were non-highways related.  8 issues remained open with all others now closed.

24 July 2014

The next meeting of the Corsham Area Board would take place on 24 July 2014 and would be the first of many to be held in the new Springfield Community Campus.