Agenda and minutes

 To welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Jack Nicholson (Fire and Rescue) and Helen Bradley (Locality Youth Facilitator).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2016.  

It was noted that Jeanette Von Berg and Duncan Poole were not marked on the previous minutes as being present.

Resolved:

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2016 subject to amendments to reflect the attendance of Duncan Poole and Jeanette Von Berg.

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

Cllr Sue Evans declared an interest in the funding application from Devizes and Roundway in Bloom which was to be considered under item 10 of the agenda. Cllr Evans would not participate in the debate nor vote on this item.

To receive the following Chairman’s Announcements:

·       Wiltshire Online Programme

·       Mental Health awareness

·       Wiltshire Council challenges ahead public meetings

·       Passing of former Mayor Pete Smith

The Chairman drew attention to the written announcements available in the agenda pack. One announcement detailed a subsidy to support premises without access to broadband speeds of more than 2Mbps, a second announcement offered Area Boards a workshop on mental health. Public meetings to discuss the challenges faced by Wiltshire Council were advertised, alongside events organised by the Council to provide guidance to businesses on licensing matters.

The Chairman highlighted that work funded by the Area Board to clear up Pine Walk was now underway.

Cllr Richard Gamble spoke of the recent loss of Roger Frost, curator of Market Lavington Museum. Cllr Peter Evans also spoke of the sad passing of former Mayor, Pete Smith. The meeting observed a minute’s silence in honour of these two local figures. 

To receive updates from the following partners:

a.     Wiltshire Police

b.     Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.     Health Services

d.     Devizes Community Area Partnership

e.     Schools updates

f.      Town and Parish Councils

g.     Devizes Community Area Wellbeing Group

h.     Community Engagement Manager

Written updates from Wiltshire Police, the Clinical Commissioning Group and Healthwatch Wiltshire were available in the agenda pack. An update from the Fire and Rescue Service was available on tables.

Inspector Nick Mawson advised that a new Community Policing model would be implemented from 17 October, it was designed to make the service run more efficiently, providing victims of crime with one point of contact within the Police. The Inspector encouraged feedback on the model and invited questions from the floor. A question was raised as to what could be done to penalise freight lorries improperly using narrow roads. The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr Philip Whitehead, advised that occasionally lorries would get lost and use unsuitable routes, however there were warning signs on the roads and if this was regular occurrence by the same company this should be reported to the Police. Inspector Mawson suggested the Police could support the community to monitor the road, alternatively if the problem was common at certain times of day the Police could station themselves to be present in the locality at these times and record offending drivers.

Philip Bevan, Headteacher at Devizes School, welcomed the Area Board to the school and updated on recent student activities, including a trip to Tanzania.The Headteacher was also pleased to announce that the A-Level pass rates at the school for the year had been a record 100%.

Mike Challinor, Devizes Community Area Wellbeing Group, updated that the group had held its first meeting and started an action plan of local priorities. Thanks were offered to Graeme Morrison for his support in starting up the group, and the chairman encouraged older people to input into the group.

Graeme Morrison, Community Engagement Manager, was invited to talk about Devizes’ performance in the ‘Road to Rio’ event. The initiative had been a great success, with more than 1,200 residents from the area involved. The intention for next year was to increase participation amongst the schools and also in harder-to-reach communities. 

Residents are invited to pose questions to their local councillors.

The Board invited questions from the floor.

Easterton Parish Council raised the issue of private properties being brought in the village and used to provide residential care for looked after children, there was concern that these children were not known to Wiltshire Council and the community had not been consulted. It was understood that a similar instance had appeared in Urchfont. Cllr Mayes, Cabinet Member for Childrens Services, advised that other local authorities were paying to house children privately in Wiltshire, where housing stock was comparatively cheaper. Cllr Philip Whitehead advised that Wiltshire Council would not necessarily be aware of the residential homes since they did not require planning permission.

The local member stated he had organised for an officer from Wiltshire Council to meet with the company purchasing the propoerties in order to improve communication and explain the need to engage with local residents.

A further question was received on Quakers Walk, Cllr Laura Mayes offered to put together a group to address the overgrown walkway.

The public are invited to hear about and offer their views on the Council’s intention to further the work undertaken in 2011 around Devizes Wharf, which set out the type of development the town would like to see in this location.

There will be time allocated for questions and feedback.

Tim Martienssen (Head of Economic Regeneration) introduced the Council’s intention to further the work undertaken in 2011 around Devizes Wharf, which set out the type of development the town would like to see in the location. The location in question was the stretch of land from the hospital site to the Assize Court and the intention was to develop a plan to try and attract appropriate investment in years to come. Local landowners had already been consulted with and the general public were now encouraged to feedback. It was proposed that the area would build on the tourist attraction of the Wadworth Brewery tour and nearby water frontage to develop a tourist hub, with a towpath on both sides of the canal.

Residents from Anstie Court on Wharf Street expressed concern that an additional towpath, running past their properties, would affect their privacy. The Chairman advised that plans were not yet set for the design brief however there was already planning permission for a path by Anstie Court. Kennet and Avon Canal Trust spoke in support of the towpath. Other comments included that it would be beneficial to improve pedestrian access to St Mary’s Church and the town centre.

It was acknowledged that a key element of managing development would be in the ownership of the land and buildings. David Dawson, Wiltshire Museum, spoke of the Museum’s aspiration to move into Assize Court. The officer emphasised that it was necessary to demonstrate a design brief for the area as this would support funding bids need to support the regeneration of the area.

The Chairman thanked the officer for his presentation and Board members expressed support for a design brief for the site.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust will be in attendance to demonstrate how to use a community defibrillator and to present on the location of defibrillators and community responders in our community.

Julia Doel and David Wilmot from the South Western Ambulance Service presented on community defibrillators and first responders. The officers highlighted that community defibrillators could save a life in the event of a cardiac arrest and advised that SWAS could help community groups to set up defibrillator schemes. Groups and business which already had a defibrillator were encouraged to register this with SWAS so that the ambulance service could advise 999 callers of their location.

A demonstration of a defibrillator was given and it was highlighted how easy they were to use, with no prior training required. A video on first responders was shown and officers encouraged people interested in volunteering to get in touch.

The Chairman thanked the ambulance service for the session which had been received with great interest.

To consider the following applications for community area grant funding:

·       Devizes and Roundway in Bloom (CURDS) - £1,000

·       Alzheimer’s Support - £719

·       Worton and Marston Village Hall - £5,000

·       Devizes Cricket Club- £3,297

To consider an updated delegation to the Community Engagement Manager to determine funding applications between meetings (wording attached).

To hear an update from the Locality Youth Facilitator, Helen Bradley.

Members considered applications for community area grant funding as detailed below:

Cllr Mayes spoke in support of the application from Devizes and Roundway in Bloom to purchase litter picking equipment. Board members thanked the group for their contribution to the area.  On consideration of this application Cllr Sue Evans left the meeting in her capacity as a councillor.

Cllr Sue Evans spoke in support of the application from Alzheimer’s Support to improve the equipment in their office in Devizes. Cllr Richard Gamble introduced the request from Worton and Marston Village Hall to support refurbishments to the toilets at the hall, which was the last element of refurbishment outstanding.

There were no representatives present from the Devizes Cricket Club to speak to their application; as such the Board agreed it be deferred to the next meeting.

The Chairman drew attention to a report in the agenda pack which proposed that authority be delegated to the Community Engagement Manager to determine funding requests in matters of urgency.

Resolved:

To grant Devizes and Roundway in Bloom £1,000 to purchase litter picking equipment.

To grant Alzheimer’s Support £719 for training room equipment.

To grant Worton and Marston Village Hall £5,000 towards toilet refurbishments.

To defer consideration of the application from Devizes Cricket Club to the next meeting.

Delegation to Community Engagement Manager:

i)                In order to expedite the work of the Area Board and to deal with urgent matters that may arise between meetings, the Community Engagement Manager, in consultation with the Chairman (or in their absence, the Vice-Chairman) of the Area Board, may authorise expenditure to support community projects from the delegated community grants budget of up to £5,000 in total, youth projects of up to £5,000 in total, and health and wellbeing projects of up to £1,000 in total, between meetings of the Area Board.

ii)               Decisions taken between meetings will be reported to the next meeting of the Area Board explaining why the matter was considered urgent or necessary to expedite the work of the Board and the Cabinet Member for Communities, Campuses, Area Boards and Broadband will also be kept informed of any such decisions.

To consider the update arising from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) meeting held on 28 July 2016.

The latest report from the Community Area Transport Group was included in the agenda and Cllr Whitehead explained that the group was currently working at maximum capacity and needed to address priorities before moving on to other requests. In response to questions, it was confirmed that the planters for the footway in Rotherstone were planned to be installed in November 2016.

Resolved:

To note the update and actions arising from the CATG.

To receive a verbal update from the Air Quality and Transport Strategy Working Group.

Cllr Anna Cuthbert updated that air quality had recently improved in the town and advised she could circulate the statistics upon request. The meeting also heard that funding was available to look at improvements to junctions/crossings which could impact upon traffic and pedestrian use. The councillor expressed concern that Government ministers had not acknowledged an air quality/ transport problem in Devizes.

Resolved:

To note the update from the Air Quality and Transport Strategy Working Group.

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

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting will be held on 21 November 2016 at Potterne Scout Hut.

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board was to be held on 21 November 2016.