Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman for 2016/17.  

Nominations were sought for the position of Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Resolved:

To elect Cllr Simon Jacobs as Chairman for the 2016/17 year.

To appoint a Vice-Chairman for 2016/17.

Nominations were sought for the appointment of Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Resolved:

To elect Cllr Philip Whitehead as Vice-Chairman for the 2016-17 year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Chris Callow (Roundway Parish Council), Jack Nicholson (Fire and Rescue), Wendy Tozer (Community Youth Officer), Cllr Tony Molland (Potterne Parish Council), Cllr Steve Mundy and Rebekah Jeffries (Rowde Parish Council).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2016.  

Resolved:

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2016.

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

Councillors Peter and Sue Evans declared an interest in the funding application for Caenhill Countryside Centre and would not vote on this item.

·        Dementia Awareness Week- 15th-21st May

·        Relaunch of Your Care Your Support website

·        Adult Care Charging Policy consultation

·        Wiltshire Carer’s Strategy consultation

The Chairman drew attention to announcements available in the agenda pack in reference to Wiltshire Council’s current consultations on it’s charging policy for adult care services and  Carers’ Strategy. The Chairman promoted the use of www.yourcareyoursupportwiltshire.org.uk for information about health care and care providers and reminded the meeting of events planned for Devizes for Dementia Awareness Week. Thanks were given to Devizes Cinema which had screened the film ‘Still Alice’ in aid of Alzeimer’s Support. Devizes CURDS (Clean up Roundway and Devizes Squad) were thanked for their hard work litter picking on a regular basis and St Margarets School in Calne was congratulated for winning Wiltshire Choir of the Year. It was noted that the Area Board’s grants scheme was now open for applications for the 2016-17 financial year.

To receive updates from the following partners:

a.    Wiltshire Police

b.    Fire and Rescue Service

c.    Health Services

d.    Devizes Community Area Partnership

e.    Schools updates

f.     Town and Parish Councils

Written updates from Wiltshire Police and HealthWatch Wiltshire were available in the agenda pack.

Inspector Nick Mawson, Wiltshire Police, introduced the new control strategy for the service, which continued to target Child Sexual Exploitation as a priority. The Inspector also reminded residents to be aware of crimes, such as theft, which were higher in the summer, and the need to keep windows and doors locked for both vehicles and homes.

The Chairman updated, on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Service, on recent notable incidents in the community.

A representative from Erlestoke Parish Council advised that the council was supporting the pub in the village to prevent it from closing and was also looking for financial support from other bodies. The Chairman recorded his thanks to the community for their efforts.

To receive an update from Devizes School and welcome Philip Bevan as the newly appointed Headteacher.

The Area Board welcomed Philip Bevan as the new Headteacher at Devizes School. Mr Bevan explained that he lived within the county and had previously worked at the Cabot Academy in east Bristol. The Headteacher was currently meeting with local primary schools and was keen to work closely with them and with the wider community. Other priorities for the school were also to work more closely with the military, develop links internationally and develop the sports academy.

The meeting encouraged the school to participate in the Devizes-Westminster canoe race and update its magazine to promote the excellent work and events that were going on at the school.

To consider appointments to local outside bodies and constitution of working groups of the Area Board as detailed in the attached report.

The Area Board is requested to:

·       Appoint Councillor representatives to Outside Bodies as set out at Appendix A;

·       Agree to reconstitute and appoint to the Working Group(s) as set out in Appendix B; and

·       Note the Terms of Reference for the Working Group(s), as set out in Appendix C.

It was explained that at the annual meeting of the Board, it was necessary to appoint Area Board representatives to outside bodies and also to reconstitute working groups of the Board, as detailed in the agenda pack.

The Chairman invited Mervyn Wood to attend meetings of the Community Area Transport Group where he could bring local knowledge.

Resolved:

To appoint Councillor representatives to Outside Bodies as set out at Appendix A;

To reconstitute and appoint to the Working Groups as set out in Appendix B, with the addition ofMeryvn Woods (Etchilhampton Parish Council) to the CATG.

To note the Terms of Reference for the Working Groups, as set out in Appendix C.

To consider appointing a ‘Champion’ for Older People in the Devizes community to take forward local priorities.

Following discussions at previous Area Boards about local priorities for older people, the Board had asked for a volunteer to become a ‘Champion’ for Older People in the community. The Champion would be part of a wider Health and Wellbeing Group, a local forum to co-ordinate joined-up services for older people living in Devizes, and would work with the Area Board, the Community Engagement Manager, the CCG, Healthwatch and other stakeholders.

The Chairman explained that Michael Challinor had volunteered for the role of ‘Champion’ and planned to host the first meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Group on 5 July 2016.

Resolved:

To form a Health and Wellbeing Group for Devizes and appoint Michael Challinor as the ‘Champion’ for older people.

To hear from Wendy Tozer on the youth projects undertaken in Devizes over the last 12 months.

To consider an application for youth grant funding of £4,225 for Caenhill Countryside Centre to provide resources and accreditation for informal learning.

A representative from Caenhill Countryside centre introduced their application for youth grant funding which would provide resources to the rural learning centre and allow training to be accredited.

Devizes School commented that the centre had been transformational for students that had attended, members expressed their support for the project and encouraged the centre to work with Braeside centre.

Questions were raised over how the Local Youth Network would be supported in respect of a restructure of staffing; it was explained that in the new model there would be two Locality Youth Facilitators for the central area of the county which included Devizes.

Resolved:

To grant £4,225 to Caenhill Countryside Centre to provide resources and accreditation for informal learning.

Heidi Yorke, Programme Director at Wiltshire Community Foundation, will introduce the funding it offers to community projects and  explain the application process.

The Chairman will provide details of other types of funding available for projects in the area. 

Heidi Yorke, Wiltshire Community Foundation, introduced the type of funding the organisation could provide to local good causes. The Community Foundation could only support grants for disadvantaged groups within Wiltshire and Swindon. Grants could be given to support revenue costs and also to support individuals, for example supporting young people with scholarships. Ms Yorke explained that the Foundation could also provide non-financial support for organisation, such as assisting with governance issues. The Chairman encouraged interested groups to contact the Foundation with funding applications especially since it had a large directory of other contacts who may be able to provide funding for causes that didn’t meet the grant criteria.

The meeting was advised that Wiltshire Community Foundation was also working with the Big Lottery Fund, Community First and other funding providers, to run an event on 22 June for voluntary and community groups. The event was to be Devizes at the Corn Exchange and would involve workshops in the morning and afternoon on types of funding available and how to apply.

The Board thanked Heidi for her informative presentation.

Graeme Morrison, Community Engagement Manager, will provide an overview of the community projects supported by the Area Board team over the last 12 months and introduce our campaigns for 2016-17.

The meeting is invited to raise their priorities for the forthcoming year with their local councillors.

Graeme Morrison, Community Engagement Manager, provided an overview of projects supported by the Area Board over the last 12 months, which totalled 26 community projects, plus additional youth and highways improvement schemes. The meeting was reminded that in September it had voted for it’s priorities, identifying Health and Wellbeing and Children and Young People as the top two. In response to this vote the Board had established a Health and Wellbeing Groups, was promoting getting active through the ‘Big Pledge- Road to Rio’ and had supported a number of other projects. 22 youth projects had also been supported, allowing the establishment of many positive activities for young people including the ‘St Arbucks’ youth cafe.

The meeting was invited to vote on priorities for 2016-17 and once again prioritised Health and Wellbeing and Children and Young People. In response to this the Board would work on make Devizes part of a ‘Dementia Action Alliance’ and establish a ‘Men’s Shed’ project. Over the summer of 2016 a pop-up youth cafe would be open to young people, the Area Board was also working alongside an organisation ‘Podium.me’ which created a platform for young people to share journalistic writing. The Area Board would also encourage the Local Youth Network to vote on their priorities for the forthcoming year.

The Chairman encouraged individuals and groups to sign up to the ‘Road to Rio’ challenge to get active.

To consider applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

·         Councillor initiative from Cllr Laura Mayes- £1,232 for a project to tackle Devizes’ gull problem;

·         Devizes Sports Club- £5,000

·         Devizes Leg Club- £3,250

·         The Parents and Friends of Holy Trinity School- £2,500

·         Rowdeford Charitable Trust- £5,000

To note £560 granted between meetings of the Area Board to Friends of the Garden for display units.

The Board considered applications to the Community Area Grants scheme.

Cllr Laura Mayes introduced an application for £1,232 for a project to tackle Devizes’ gull problem; a matter of great concern to local residents. The funding would pay for hawk flying to deter gulls and an egg replacement scheme to prevent new chicks from hatching.

A representative from Devizes Sports Club spoke in support of their application for funding to buy new tables and chairs to support the venue becoming more attractive for wedding receptions and other events. Councillors were supportive of the club however felt this was a large sum of money at the start of the new financial year and agreed to allocate half of the amount applied for.

A representative from Devizes Leg Club spoke in support of it’s application for funding to assist with the treatments of leg ulcers, the club would also provide a social element to recovery, preventing older people from becoming isolated.

A representative from the Parents and Friends of Holy Trinity School spoke in support of the application for funding to equip an outdoor classroom. It was confirmed that the school had not contributed to the project financially.

A representative from Rowdeford Charitable Trust spoke in support of their application which would contribute towards a project for an outdoor classroom. Councillors commented that the total project cost was high and proposed that the application be deferred to allow for further details on where funding would be spent.

Attention was drawn to a decision granted between meetings of the Area Board to grant £560 to Friends of the Garden for display units, this decision was taken as an urgent decision to allow the units to be in place by 26 May.

Resolved:

·       To grant £1,232 for the councillor-led initiative to tackle Devizes’ gull problem.

·       To grant Devizes Sports Club £2,500 for the purchase of tables and chairs.

·       To grant Devizes Leg Club £3,250 for equipment for the club.

·       To grant the Parents and Friends of Holy Trinity School £2,500 to equip an outdoor classroom.

·       To defer consideration of the application from Rowdeford Charitable Trust.

·       To note £560 granted between meetings of the Area Board to Friends of the Garden.

Local Highways Investment Fund

To note the work completed so far in connection with the ‘Local highways Investment Fund 2014 – 2020’, and consider the list of proposals for highway maintenance in the Devizes areas for 2016/17.

To note the proposed ‘Wiltshire Resilient Road Network’, and comment on the proposed network and any sections of the route of particular concern to the area.

CATG

To note the progress of issues and consider the recommendations arising from the CATG meeting on 30 March.

Verbal update from the Air Quality and Transport Strategy Working Group.

Cllr Anna Cuthbert updated on behalf of the Air Quality and Transport Strategy Group. The councillor advised that are quality had been improving in the town over the last 5 years thanks to the efforts of the group, however there were still areas where air quality was below target levels. Projects to reduce the use of vehicles, such as improvements to the canal towpath and a family cycle event, were supported by the group. Kate Freeman was active in promoting a Devizes- Pewsey bus route and a consultation was currently being undertaken on other bus services in the county, so far totalling over 11,000 responses.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, introduced a report on highways maintenance schemes in the Devizes Area. Attention was drawn to the list of proposed highways works for 2016-17 and schemes that had been completed over 2015-16, the Cabinet member considered that the road quality was improving but there was a need to create a more resilient road network to prevent a knock-on effect of road closures.

Cllr Mayes thanked Cllr Whitehead and the Highways team for their hard work and commented it was very useful to have access to the details of works to be undertaken over the next year.

Resolved:

·       To note the work completed so far in connection with the Local Highways Investment Fund 2014-2020 and to agree the list of proposed schemes for highway maintenance for 2016/17.

·       To note the proposed ‘Wiltshire Resilient Road Network’.

Cllr Whitehead introduced recommendations arising from the meeting of the the Community Area Transport Group on 30 March. The meeting was invited to comment on current highways issues and it was noted that the white lines near B&Q needed to be repainted and that a mini roundabout in the town was difficult to see in heavy rain or snow.

Resolved:

·       To note the progress of actions on the note tracker

·       To approve £7,500 from the CATG funds for Market Lavington 20mph speed limit assessment and road marking subject to a £2,500 contribution from Market Lavington Parish Council.

·       To approve £3,000 from the CATG funds for Devizes Avon Terrace/Rotherstone 20mph scheme subject to a £1,000 contribution from the Town Council

·       To approve £500 for new signage at Market Lavington Spin Hill/Ledge Hill.

·       To approve £750 for new signage at Little Cheverell Low Road.

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

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting was to be held on 11 July at West Lavington Village Hall.