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Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Shambles, Devizes, SN10 1DP

Contact: Tara Shannon  Democratic Services Officer

Items
Note No. Item

6.30pm

48.

Election of Chair for the meeting

Following the annual Council meeting in May the Board need to elect a new Chair. As some of the members of the Board will be absent, it has been agreed that the Board can elect a Chair for this meeting only and then at the September meeting will elect a Chair for the rest of 2019/2020.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Richard Gamble, seconded by Cllr Peter Evans, moved that Cllr Philip Whitehead be elected as Chairman for the meeting.

 

There being no other nominations, it was:

 

Resolved:

 

To elect Cllr Philip Whitehead as the Chairman for the meeting.

 

Cllr Whitehead then took the Chair.

 

49.

Election of a Vice Chair for the meeting

Following the annual Council meeting in May the Board need to elect a new Vice Chair. As some of the members of the Board will be absent, it has been agreed that the Board can elect a Vice Chair for this meeting only and then at the September meeting will elect a Vice Chair for the rest of 2019/2020.

 

Minutes:

As the Board would be electing a Chair and Vice-Chair for the rest 2019/2020 at the next area board meeting in September and the temporary Chair for the meeting had been elected, the board did not elect a Vice-Chair for the meeting.

 

6.35pm

50.

Welcome

To welcome those present to the meeting.

Minutes:

The Chairman, Cllr Philip Whitehead, welcomed everyone present to the meeting.

 

 

51.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from:

 

·         Cllr Simon Jacobs

·         Cllr Laura Mayes

·         Acting Inspector Peter Foster, Wiltshire Police

·         Phil Bevans, Headteacher, Devizes School

·         Sarah Lowkis, Headteacher, Lavington School

·         Cllr Anna Cuthbert

 

 

 

52.

Minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2019.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Resolved:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2019 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, with one amendment to minute number 41, the CATG update, correcting the spelling of Cane Hill.

 

53.

Declarations of Interest

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

 

Minutes:

Cllr Philip Whitehead, declared an interest in agenda item 18, the Urchfont Cricket Club grant application, as he was a member of the club. Cllr Whitehead stated that he would not take part in the debate or vote on the item.

 

6.40pm

54.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman:

 

·         Highways Improvements and Traffic Survey Requests

Wiltshire Council is changing the way highway improvements and traffic surveys are requested by members of the public and through Town and Parish Councils. The current process requires updating to improve the customer experience and to reduce the steps involved. The proposed new system will foster a closer working relationship with town and parish councils, whilst providing a better and more informed experience for members of the public. See agenda report for details.

 

·         Winter Weather Provisions

Wiltshire Council will once again be running the Parish Emergency Assistance Scheme (PEAS) which gives local Town and Parish Councils the opportunity to get hold of vital kit which can be used during adverse weather events. The application form is now available from weather.team@wiltshire.gov.uk. We kindly ask that any requests for equipment are made by the end of August 2019.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman made the following announcements:

 

·         Highways Improvements and Traffic Survey Requests

Wiltshire Council was changing the way highway improvements and traffic surveys are requested by members of the public and through Town and Parish Councils. The current process required updating to improve the customer experience and to reduce the steps involved. The proposed new system will foster a closer working relationship with town and parish councils, whilst providing a better and more informed experience for members of the public. The Chairman directed people  to the agenda report for more details.

 

·         Winter Weather Provisions

Wiltshire Council would once again be running the Parish Emergency Assistance Scheme (PEAS) which would give Town and Parish Councils the opportunity to get hold of vital kit which could be used during adverse weather events. The application form was now available from weather.team@wiltshire.gov.uk. Requests for equipment should be made by the end of August 2019.

6.45pm

55.

Partner Updates

To receive updates from the following partners:

 

a.    Wiltshire Police

b.    Fire and Rescue Service

c.    Health Services

d.    Schools updates

e.    Town and Parish Councils

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Written updates were available in the agenda pack and supplements from Wiltshire Police, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service, Healthwatch Wiltshire and the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

 

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

 

·         Wiltshire Police

PC Emily Grigor, had attended on behalf of PC Beth Butwell and  acting Inspector Pete Foster. The PC referred the meeting to the written update in agenda supplement 1 and offered to take any questions.

Cllr Richard Gamble complimented the police on their new style of report.

Cllr Sue Evans reported that residents who live near Station Road car park were very concerned about noise and anti-social behaviour taking place there in the evenings. Emily advised that she  would report it to the local team and advised residents to report issues like this to the police.

Cllr Sue Evans also asked about the recent fire that had taken place in  Waiblingen Way. Emily stated that the suspect has been arrested and had been released under investigation.

 

·         Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Station Manager Phil Peaple introduced himself to the meeting as he had recently taken over from the former Station Manager Andy Green. He stated that there was some useful generic information for the time of year in the agenda report, for example on safe barbeques and heath fires. The statistics for Devizes had been looking good, however, there had been a spate of incidents in the last week, with several fires at Waiblingen Way, in which no one had been hurt. There was also a residential fire where a lady had been overcome by smoke. The Devizes Fire Crews responded quickly and were able to rescue and resuscitate the lady. It was thought that the residential fire had been caused by an unextinguished cigarette. If anyone had any concerns regarding fire risks they could contact the fire service for a safe and well visit, information could be found on the DWFRS website. 

 

·         Schools Update

The head teachers of both Devizes School and Lavington School had sent their apologies. Cllr Richard Gamble stated that a pupil from Lavington had recently swum the channel for charity, which was a wonderful achievement, it was a shame the meeting could not hear more about it. It was hoped we may get an update at the next meeting.

The Chairman announced that Dauntsey School would also be attending the area board meeting in September to do a presentation.

 

·         Town and Parish Councils

There were no updates other than the update from Devizes Town Council on the Market Place.

 

7.00pm

56.

Appointments to Outside Bodies and Working Groups

To note that the Area Board representatives of Outside Bodies and Memberships of Working Groups as detailed in the attached reports will stay the same until new representatives for the rest of 2019/2020 are appointed at the September Area Board.

 

To note that the Chairman to the Health and Wellbeing Group (currently Cliff Evans) will stay the same until the September Area Board when a representative for the rest of 2019/2020 will be appointed.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The board noted that the Area Board representatives of Outside Bodies and Memberships of Working Groups as detailed in the agenda reports would stay the same until new representatives for the rest of 2019/2020 were appointed at the September Area Board.

 

The board also noted that the Chairman to the Health and Wellbeing Group (Cliff Evans) would stay the same until the September Area Board when a representative for the rest of 2019/2020 would be appointed.

 

7.05pm

57.

Highways Update

To receive an update from Bill Parks and Adrian Hampton on Highways in the Devizes Area.

 

Minutes:

Bill Parks and Adrian Hampton, the Service Heads for Local Highways, Streetscene, Parking Services and Winter/Weather & Emergencies gave a presentation to the meeting at the invitation of the Chairman.

 

In order to know where to undertake maintenance all Wiltshire roads were surveyed using high speed monitors attached to land rovers. Surveys on A and B roads were undertaken every year with lesser roads being surveyed every 4 years. From these surveys the roads were rated red, amber or green depending on their condition. For the Devizes area 35.3% of the road network was indicated as red or amber, meaning that these roads would need maintenance now or in the near future.

 

An additional £8 million had been provided to the Highways Service, which would be used to support towns and villages across the county to deliver considerable improvements. £7.3 million of this was provided by the Department for Transport and the remainder was from increased Council revenue funds.

 

This meant that circa £17million would now be spent on capital highway schemes. Including £500k on local highways (after contract increases and other financial challenges).

 

There was a 12-month programme to deliver improvements to local highway maintenance including repair of potholes, improved white lining, weed removal, kerb and pavement improvements, ditching, verges and improved road signage.

 

Details were given of proposed schemes for 2019/2020.

 

Funding on all types of operations was to increase, with nearly £20 million to be spent on big resurfacing schemes. Pothole repair funding was being increased by £500,000 from £0 and Pothole patching was increasing by £400,000. Further details could be found at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highways-asset-management.

 

Wiltshire Council had again increased spending on Highway and Streetscene activities in 2019/20. They were reliant on Central Government funding. Approximately £700K was going to be cut from budget. However Wiltshire Council had replaced that funding and given extra meaning that Wiltshire Council was contributing around £1.4 million. This was good news for Streetscene.

 

Sparkle gangs and Sparkle Days had been introduced, as part of the Clean Up Wiltshire initiative and involved extra cleaning in an area. Towns would receive 4 Sparkle Days every quarter, where a special team – the Sparkle Gang, would come to undertake activities such as; road and path sweeping; sign washing; tidying shrubs and weed spraying. The next days in Devizes would be July 29, 30, 31, and Aug 1.

 

The meeting was advised to contact the Town Council, who were working in partnership with Streetscene colleagues, if they would like to request an area to be cleaned.

 

There had also been a major clean-up of town centres following a nearly £90,000 award from the government High Streets Community Clean-Up Fund. The funding, was used to purchase equipment for community groups with supporting services such as waste collection.

 

The funding gave local authorities an opportunity to do more, encourage communities to take greater pride in their local area and support campaigns such as the Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean campaign and the National High  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

7.20pm

58.

Update from Devizes Town Council on The Market Place and the Shambles

To receive an update from Simon Fisher, Clerk Devizes Town Council on the Devizes Asset Transfer, The Market Place and the Shambles.

 

Minutes:

Simon Fisher, Clerk, Devizes Town Council gave an update to the meeting on the Devizes Market Place under the Partner Updates agenda item.

 

A second consultation on the plans for Devizes Market Place had just started. A video and further details were available on the Devizes Town Council website at: https://www.devizes-tc.gov.uk/marketplace/185-market-place-plans. People could vote on their preferred option on the website and the meeting was encouraged to take part.

 

The car parking charges in the Market Place would be implemented on 1 August 2019.

  

7.30pm

59.

Open Floor

Residents are invited to ask questions of their local councillors.

Minutes:

There were several questions from the audience regarding the parking charges in the Market Place.

 

Cllr Whitehead explained that parking charges in the Market Place came in on 1 October 2017. However, these were then suspended. Now that the Market Place had been handed over to Devizes Town Council the charges would be implemented on 1 August 2019. Parking in the Market Place would be cashless, so people would need to use their mobile phone to pay for parking. There were cash car parks close by, so people could choose whether they wanted to go to a cashless car park or a cash car park. Cashless car parks would save Wiltshire Council money, as collecting cash from car parks costs the Council approximately £500,000 a year.

 

In response to a question asking how cashless car parks were monitored, it was explained that they were monitored in much the same way as cash car parks. When paying at a cashless car park the user enters their registration number. Car parking wardens have access to this live data, so they can see if a person has paid for their parking.

 

The Devizes Town Mayor, Cllr Judy Rose, expressed concerns regarding cashless payments in the Market Place. These included that there people who may not have a mobile phone, or may not be confident technologically, who would be unable to use the system, amounting to discrimination. This might also result in a reduction in visitor numbers and people using the car park.    

 

Cllr Whitehead responded that in order to give an option to pay by cash, then cash car parks would be maintained close by. There was a balance to be stuck between giving people the option to pay by cash and the savings that could be gained by implementing some cashless car parks.

 

 

7.40pm

60.

Community Area Transport Group (CATG)

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

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Philip Whitehead referred the meeting to the CATG minutes published with the agenda and invited questions.

 

Cllr Richard Gamble queried the date of the next CATG meeting – 5 November 2019, as this seemed a very long time between meetings. Cllr Whitehead confirmed that although the date was correct, they were trying to reduce the number of meetings. Cllr Whitehead would monitor the situation.

 

7.45pm

61.

Air Quality

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

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Peter Evans referred the meeting to the Air Quality and Transport Strategy Minutes in the agenda.

 

Air quality had improved in the Shane’s Castle area, however air quality at Brewery Corner and New Park Street remained ‘red’, which was of concern to the group. Monitoring would continue.

 

Unfortunately there had been no progress with the request to the Police Headquarters on Windsor Drive to plant trees in and around their land.

 

In response to a question from the audience regarding which streets and lanes in Devizes have the worst air quality, it was stated that only the roads through the town centre were monitored. Of these there were concerns regarding Bath Road and Roses Corner.

 

7.50pm

62.

Local Youth Network

To receive any update from the Local Youth Network.

 

To note the following application for youth grant funding which has already been awarded under delegated powers:

 

·         St James Church Devizes, £800.00, towards their Going Up - Growing Up - Making the transition project.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Andrew Jack, Community Engagement Manager gave a brief update. The Local Youth Network had not met in a while, however he had met with representatives of youth groups to try to get the LYN up and running again. Their remit would be to assess grants, to map and gap youth services in the Devizes Area and to link groups up. They would also look at ways to engage with youths that may be more effective than attending monthly meetings. Further updates would be provided at future meetings.

 

Resolved:

 

The Board noted the application for youth grant funding which had already been awarded under delegated powers from:

 

·         St James Church Devizes, £800.00, towards their Going Up - Growing Up - Making the transition project.

REASON: The grant was awarded under delegated powers due to the time constraints of the project.

 

7.55pm

63.

Health and Wellbeing Group

To receive an update on the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group and consider any applications for Health and Wellbeing funding.

 

Update to include details of the Devizes Health and Wellbeing day.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Cliff Evans, Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Group gave an update to the meeting. The second Devizes Health and Wellbeing day had been held on Saturday 15 June 2019 and had been a success. 59 organisations/providers attended the day and good feedback had been received. Unfortunately it had rained on the day, so footfall from the general public was lower than hoped. The group were considering the possibility of adding a crowd puller, such as some live music, for the next Health and Wellbeing day.

 

The Devizes Silver Screen Club was back, with various dates lined up at St James Church. Entry would be free, although donations were welcome. The next date was 4 August when Groundhog Day would be shown. After that on 22 September, Four Weddings and a Funeral would be showing. The meeting was encouraged to attend.

 

The Chairman thanked Cliff and the Health and Wellbeing Group for all their hard work.

 

8.05pm

64.

Community Engagement Manager Update

To receive any updates from Andrew Jack, Community Engagement Manager.

 

To include an update on National armed Forces Day.

 

 

Minutes:

The Community Engagement manager, Andrew Jack introduced himself and gave his contact details to the meeting: Tel 01225 713109, Mob 07769 917270 and email: andrew.jack@wiltshire.gov.uk.

 

An update was given on National Armed Forces Day (NAFD) which had been held in Salisbury recently and been a really successful event. At the peak on Saturday around 27,000 people were in attendance. The event had been a boost for Salisbury and had been good for links between military and civilian communities.

 

Devizes Royal British Legion also updated the meeting on their experience of  NAFD. The RBL had visited all war memorials between Devizes and Salisbury on their way to the event. A small act of remembrance was performed at each war memorial. Pictures were also taken to send to the imperial war museum. Although slightly later arriving at NAFD than expected, they had a wonderful day and enjoyed a cream tea from SAAFA.

 

Andrew Jack and Cllr Simon Jacobs were working together to create a Devizes Careers Fair to be aimed at pupils approaching school leaving age, or who had just left school. It was felt this was good time to capture the young people’s imagination and to inspire them. Hopefully it might mean that they stayed in Devizes to live and work. Another aim was to put local employers in touch with a local workforce who were on the verge of a career. Anyone interested should contact Andrew Jack.

 

A summer reading challenge was taking place between 13 July and 7 September, aimed at 4 – 11 year olds. Children were challenged to read six library books over the summer and receive prizes along the way. This was linked to ‘Healthy Me Astronaut Training Programme’. Andrew Jack could provide further details.

 

Devizes Library were starting a weekly walking group on 18 July, with the aim of getting active and making new friends. These would be dementia friendly walks. People were encouraged to take part or to volunteer to help the group.

 

It was often hard to measure the effectiveness of community projects and therefore a new scheme was to take place to measure the social value in projects by using a cash value to represent how someone’s wellbeing has increased through being part of a community project.

 

The scheme aims to capture elements such as volunteering, exercise, gaining employment or training, physical & mental health, feelings about the local environment and managing debt. It would be starting soon and looking for new projects funded by AB to analyse.

 

A question was received from a trustee of the Open Doors charity who had been working with a Wiltshire Council Community Outreach Worker, Sarah Johnson, who had provided really valuable support to the group.  Clarification was sought on whether she would be continuing to support the group. Andrew  Jack was unsure whether her role had change so would find out who it was best for the group to contact regarding this.

 

 

 

 

 

8.15pm

65.

Area Board Funding

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

 

·         Avon Road Community group, Devizes, £640.00, towards new picnic tables for the recreation ground.

·         Urchfont Village Cricket Club, £5,000.00 towards new cricket nets for the club.

·         South Western Ambulance Charity, £1,600.42, towards a lifting chair for Devizes Community First Responder group.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Representatives of the Avon Road Community Group and Urchfont Cricket Club spoke in support of their applications.

 

The Board considered the applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme as detailed in the agenda. It was;

 

Resolved:

 

·         To grant Avon Road Community group, Devizes, £640.00, towards new picnic tables for the recreation ground.

 

·         To grant Urchfont Village Cricket Club, £2,000 of the £5,000 requested, towards new cricket nets for the club.

REASON: The Board wanted to be careful with funds to ensure they could support a wide range of projects over the year.

 

·         To defer the South Western Ambulance Charity application to the next Area Board meeting.

REASON: There was no representative present to explain the project and answer questions.

 

 

66.

Urgent items

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

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

8.30pm

67.

Close

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on 9 September 2019, 6.30pm at the Devizes Hub and Library.

 

Minutes:

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on 9 September 2019, 6.30pm at the Devizes Hub and Library.