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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Devizes Community Hub and Library, 25 Sheep Street, Devizes, SN10 1DJ

Contact: Tara Shannon  Democratic Services Officer

Items
Note No. Item

6.30pm

20.

Welcome

To welcome those present to the meeting.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited the Councillors present to introduce themselves.

 

21.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from:

 

·         Cllr Anna Cuthbert – Wiltshire Council

·         Cllr Judy Rose – Devizes Town Council

·         Cllr Nigel Carter – Devizes Town Council

·         Station Commander Andy Green of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·         Sarah Lowkis, Head teacher, Lavington School

·         Phil Bevan, Head teacher, Devizes School

 

22.

Minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2018.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Resolved:

 

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2018 with the correction below:

 

Minute Number 14: Open Floor

Cllr Albert Wooldridge, Devizes Town Council, advised the meeting that Wiltshire Council had voted at a recent meeting to ban Chinese lanterns on their land.

 

23.

Declarations of Interest

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

 

Minutes:

Cllr Simon Jacobs, Cllr Peter Evans and Cllr Richard Gamble declared a pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 15, Community Grant Applications, due to connections with the Devizes Development Partnership who were applying for a grant. Therefore they declared that they would not vote on this grant item.

 

 

6.35pm

24.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman:

 

·         Local Government Boundary Commission for England – Consultation

·         Annual Electoral Canvass

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman asked Cllr Philip Whitehead to give an update on the road works in London Road.

 

It was stated that the planned works had overrun due to an unmarked gas main being found, which had to be relocated. It had also transpired that the ground in the location was very soft and therefore digging work undertaken had to go much deeper than anticipated. These issues would lead to an overrun of approximately four weeks, meaning the works should end the last week of September. In the first week of October the road would then be resurfaced. In order to complete this there would be some overnight road closures. Once complete the increased congestion should decrease and the completed work  would help alleviate congestion leaving Devizes in the morning which in turn would help to decrease air pollution. Cllr Whitehead stated he appreciated that the situation was horrendous and was causing disruption, for which he apologised.

 

Questions and comments were received from the audience, these included; extreme discontent at the disruption and delays caused; queries as to why the soft ground was not discovered previously and whether the correct surveys had been undertaken; asking whether the gas board could be sued for having a gas main that was not marked on any map; questioning who was responsible and whether someone from the Council would step up to take responsibility; queries as to the timings of the lights once installed and whether this would increase air pollution in Windsor Drive; asking who was picking up the bill for the delays; queries as to why the temporary traffic lights were not being managed better, for example not being used during rush hour; and questions as to whether there would be a detrimental effect to the businesses on the industrial estate once the new traffic lights were in use.

 

In response Cllr Whitehead stated the following; all the usual surveys had been undertaken, however until you started digging you could not be sure what the ground would be like; he would investigate whether the gas board could be sued regarding the unmarked gas main; the timing of the new traffic lights would give priority to London Road, however traffic should still leave Windsor Drive more quickly, so air pollution would be reduced. Wiltshire Council would have to pay for the costs incurred by the overrun; the contractors were doing everything they could to finish the work as quickly as possible and to minimise disruption.

 

The Chairman took a question from the floor regarding whether Cllr Anna Cuthbert, the member for Bromham, Rowde and Potterne, had moved away, and therefore was she still able to help her constituents? Cllr Laura Mayes stated the Cllr Cuthbert had not moved away but was currently on sick leave. Interim arrangements had been put in place, so Cllr Laura Mayes would cover Rowde, Cllr Richard Gamble would cover Potterne and Cllr Jonathon Seed would cover Bromham.

 

The Chairman then made the following announcements:

 

·         Local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

6.40pm

25.

Partner Updates

To receive updates from the following partners:

 

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Police and Crime Commissioner

·         Fire and Rescue Service

·         Health Services

·         Devizes Community Area Partnership

·         Schools updates

·         Town and Parish Councils

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Written updates were available in the agenda pack from Wiltshire Police, Fire and Rescue Services, Healthwatch Wiltshire and the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

 

In addition to the written updates, the following verbal updates were given by partners present.

 

·         Wiltshire Police

Inspector Chris Martin gave a brief update. He covers the Devizes, Marlborough, and Pewsey areas. His new deputy Peter Foster had started and may attend future Area Board meetings in his stead. Beauty spot thefts had decreased, however burglaries were on the increase and therefore were being prioritised. There was crime prevention advice in the written update.

·         Police and Crime Commissioner

PCC Angus Macpherson introduced himself to the meeting and gave a brief update. There had been a vast number of officers in the South of the county recently due to the Salisbury major incident. All forces in England and Wales had helped to support Wiltshire police. The six months since the first incident had been a financially difficult time and the meeting was encouraged to visit Salisbury to help support the recovery. The incidents had cost Wiltshire about £10 million, to date we had received approximately £7 million from central government towards these costs. He was in contact with the home office to try to ensure that the incident does not cost Wiltshire anything and to secure further funds.

·         Devizes Town Council

Simon Fisher clerk of Devizes Town Council stated that Devizes had joined the Great West Way partnership. A new touring route was being created – approximately 125 miles in length. This would join up many of England’s iconic destinations and attractions along a corridor west of London through to Bristol. The project focuses on creating a world class tourism experience, winning new business and market share and growing the visitor economy. Cllr Richard Gamble voiced his support for this project which is being managed by Visit Wiltshire.

 

6.50pm

26.

Community Area Transport Group (CATG)

To consider any updates and recommendations arising from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG).

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Whitehead directed the meeting to the minutes of the last CATG meeting, held on 19 July 2018, which were published in the agenda pack. There were no questions from the floor.

 

 

7.00pm

27.

Air Quality

To receive any updates from the Devizes Air Quality and Transport Strategy Group.

Minutes:

Cllr Peter Evans gave an update on Air Quality. There was a meeting of the Devizes Air Quality and Transport Strategy Group on 30th August 2018. The next phase of the Devizes towpath refurbishment between London Road and Coate was underway. The latest air quality reading from Shanes Castle was 39, this was an improvement and the first time it had been under 40 for some time. The air quality at Shanes Castle would be monitored. If the reading stayed under 40 it may mean that no works would need to be undertaken there.

 

In response to questions Cllr Evans stated that the results of the London Road roadworks air pollution report should go to the next air quality meeting in November. Results of reports could be seen online at www.wiltshireairquality.org.uk.

 

7.05pm

28.

Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group

To receive an update from the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced Mr Cliff Evans, the new Chair of the Devizes Health and Wellbeing group. Mr Evans gave an update on the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group. It had been decided to expand the remit of the Health and Wellbeing Group to include everyone rather than just the over 55’s. The name of the group had recently been changed from the Devizes Community Area Wellbeing Group to the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group, as it was felt that you cannot really separate health from wellbeing. The Wellbeing Day held on 23 June 2018 highlighted that there are a large number of groups in the Devizes area offering health and wellbeing services. However communication between these providers was an issue. Therefore a meeting between providers and interested parties was being arranged, called “The Big Conversation”. Everyone was welcome to attend this meeting where it was hoped to identify what services are available, where they are and what Devizes requires. Networking and discussion between the groups was a further aim of the meeting. The meeting had provisionally been arranged for 5 November, 10.00am – 12.30pm at the Town Hall. However this was subject to change and the meeting was advised to check the Devizes Community Matters website at https://ocm.wiltshire.gov.uk/devizes/ for updates.

 

 

 

7.15pm

29.

Local Youth Network

To receive any updates from the Local Youth Network:

 

·         Wiltshire Wildlife Trust update

 

Minutes:

The meeting received an update from Damien Haasjes, Head of Business Development and Community Engagement of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

 

The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust had received a Youth Grant from the Area Board to fund a ‘Wild Week’ Summer Holiday Forest School Club. The five day Forest School was targeted at secondary school age young people with a range of special needs such as autism, ADHD and low self-confidence. The activities took place at Roundway Orchard and Drews Pond Wood and included; ‘Wild Art’ identifying wildlife, bush craft and survival skills, conservation work, team building and social skills. Five young people got involved with the project, so attendance was lower than hoped, however those five young people all responded very positively to the project.

 

The Chairman thanked Damien for his work and presentation.

 

The Chairman also mentioned National Citizen Service. A four week scheme during the summer holidays where young people (aged 15-17) could volunteer and experience challenges, building useful skills for work and life. The scheme cost £50 to take part and offered a lot of opportunities so was good value for money. Devizes schools were well represented on this scheme and good feedback was received from participants.

 

7.25pm

30.

Barnardo's LGBTQ Report

To  receive a presentation from Barnardo’s on the LGBTQ report commissioned by the Local Youth Facilitator.

 

To consider the Local Youth Network request that the recommendations in the report are ratified by the Board.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Board received a presentation from Liz James, Barnado’s Children’s Services Manager for Wiltshire and consultant Christine Tanner on a report commissioned by the Local Youth Facilitator on support for LGBTQ young people living in the Devizes Area. The report had been published and was available in the agenda pack.

 

The core information contained within the report was regarding the consultation that was undertaken and the recommendations based on this consultation. Unfortunately responses to the initial consultation, which involved setting up a group for LGBTQ young people where they could attend consultation events, was very poor. The target group were in a difficult position, unsure who to talk to and who to trust and therefore were quite elusive. Therefore the Survey Monkey website was used to distribute a survey. Whilst the response to this was better, the number of responses received was still low. The consultant attended a young person’s LGBTQ group in Bath who were very vocal about their experiences. Devizes School had already launched a group for young people, which was supported by a member of staff who was part of the community. This group was supported at senior management level and the school had adopted a ‘whole school’ approach, with a proactive attitude to raising awareness and tackling bullying, which was to be applauded. Feedback from the young people stated that they felt empowered by these groups. Due to social stigma they felt the need to meet to meet with similar people where they could connect and be accepted.

 

Sadly it was found that teachers sometimes struggled with this issue, and were following old guidance which made it unclear what they could actually discuss. A government green paper was to be published soon with much better advice.

 

Some of the youth provision was no longer available and it was a big challenge to reach this group at a critical stage in their development. Once again the Devizes School was praised on the model they were running.   

 

The report recommended that all schools should have a single point of contact for a group, who would be a source of support in schools. It also recommended that the whole school approach should be adopted. This may require support and training for teachers.

 

The Chairman thanked Christine and Liz for the presentation.

 

 

7.35pm

31.

Wiltshire Council Shared Lives Service

A presentation from Ronni Lever on the Wiltshire Council Shared Lives Service.

 

Minutes:

The Board received a presentation from Ronni Lever, Shared Lives Team Manager, on the Wiltshire Council Shared Lives Service.

 

The Wiltshire Council Shared Lives Service had been running for 45 years and recruits carers to care for people who fall under the adult care umbrella, for example people with learning disabilities, health problems, head injuries and autism. The carer would provide care and lodgings within their own home. A key part of this was provide companionship, connectedness and inclusivity.

 

A major aim of the service was to increase people’s awareness of the scheme and to recruit new carers. There was a thorough recruitment process involved in recruiting new carers, as this was not just a lodging scheme, the carer must have the appropriate skills and knowledge in order to provide care for the service user. There was a foundation training programme and the whole recruitment process could take several months. Once recruited the carer was matched carefully with a prospective client. The needs of clients can vary greatly and the length of stay could be short term or long term.

 

The Shared Lives scheme offers an alternative to the usual models of adult care provision, such as group homes. The service is regulated by the CQC who have stated that nationally the shared lives services consistently outperform all other types of care.

 

In response to questions from the Chair it was stated that the fee the carer receives varies depending on the needs of the person being looked after. More placements under the scheme could make the Council great savings as the cost of the shared lives scheme could be hundreds of pounds per week cheaper than residential care. It was also more beneficial to the client.

 

Ms Lever invited anyone interested in becoming a carer to contact her on sharedlives@wiltshire.gov.uk. More details could be found on the Shared Lives Wiltshire Facebook page.

 

7.45pm

32.

Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group

To receive a presentation from the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

 

Minutes:

The Board received an update on the Devizes Health Centre from the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, from Dr Richard Sandford-Hill, Chair; and Sarah MacLennan, Associate Director, Communications and Engagement.

 

It was stated that the last time the CCG updated the Board they were bidding for money through NHS allocation. They were delighted to report that the bid had been successful and that the Devizes Health Centre would be built. The CCG was currently involved with bureaucratic processes that were taking a long time. In the hope of speeding up the process they went to their MP and the Chief Executive of the CCG met with the Health Minister. The Health Minister lent his support to the project and was keen for them to become an exemplar and set standards for other health centre projects. The CCG were now progressing to the financial case and design brief for the project.

 

The CCG apologised for the delays, noting that it had taken 4-5 years to get to this point. Unfortunately there were processes that had to be followed. However they wished to reassure the meeting that the centre would be built, particularly now that the Health Minister had lent his support to the project. The estimated completion date would be late 2020 to mid-2021.

 

The Chairman thanked the CCG for their presentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.55pm

33.

Open Floor

Residents are invited to ask questions of their local councillors.

Minutes:

In response to a question from the floor from one of her constituents regarding the London Road roadworks, Cllr Laura Mayes stated that she had regularly been to the site and had the foreman’s mobile phone number. It was appreciated that the roadworks were causing chaos and Cllr Mayes had been working with the Highways team behind the scenes to try to minimise this. They were unable to only undertake the works overnight due to the costs that this would incur. Likewise, peak times could not be avoided as this would mean the project would take much longer to complete and would also increase costs. However, the foreman had agreed to be more flexible and would try to alleviate some of the problems by only using the temporary lights when necessary. Unfortunately there were limits to what could be done, for which Cllr Mayes apologised.

 

The Federation of Small Businesses fed back to the meeting that a survey of all 150 of their members in Devizes showed that around 50% had felt an impact due to the roadworks.

 

Further responses from the floor stated that they felt Wiltshire Councils communication on the matter had been lacking and that people needed more information. Cllr Mayes agreed with this sentiment and stated that originally updates had been posted on Facebook, but due to abuse received in relation to these posts, people were now being advised to go to the Council website for updates.

 

A question from the audience was received that related to the pavements in Escourt Street, which were reported to be filthy, greasy and littered. The Devizes Town Council clerk stated that they were aware of the situation and were trying to deal with it.

 

Another audience member raised the point that school children were littering on the green, however there was no bin in the locality. It was suggested that they speak to Devizes Town Council to see if one of the bins could be moved. Devizes Town Council stated that the bins had been located where they were due to the location of takeaways, however they would be interested to learn where people thought bins would be better located.

 

 

8.05pm

34.

Area Board Funding

To consider the following application to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

 

·         Devizes Development Partnership, £5,000 towards their Enhancement of Devizes CCTV project.

 

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered the following application to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

 

·         Devizes Development Partnership, £5,000 towards their Enhancement of Devizes CCTV project.

 

A representative of the DDP spoke in support of the application noting that some of their equipment needed updating as the picture quality was not very good. There were areas where better coverage was required and they would be installing a 360 degree panoramic camera in one location.

 

It was;

 

Resolved:

 

To grant the Devizes Development Partnership, £5,000 towards their Enhancement of Devizes CCTV project.

 

Graeme Morrison, Community engagement Manager advised the Board that there may be several late applications for grants. Due to the timescales involved he could use delegated powers to approve the grants and the Board could ratify them at the next Area Board meeting.

 

8.15pm

35.

Urgent items

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

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

8.15pm

36.

Close

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on Monday 19 November 2018 at Devizes School, The Green, Devizes, SN10 3AG.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.

 

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on Monday 19 November 2018 at Devizes School, The Green, Devizes, SN10 3AG.