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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Devizes Hub and Library, Sheep Street, Devizes

Contact: Tara Shannon  Democratic Services Officer

Items
Note No. Item

6.30pm

1.

Welcome

To welcome those present to the meeting.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting and advised that the meeting was being recorded by Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA). At the Chairman’s introduction the councillors present introduced themselves.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from:

 

·       Cllr Laura Mayes

·       Georgina Keily-Theobald, Headteacher, Downland School

 

3.

Minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2019.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the last meeting were presented for consideration and it was;

 

Resolved:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2019 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

4.

Declarations of Interest

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

 

Minutes:

Cllr Richard Gamble declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 15, the HWBG grant application from the Wiltshire Museum, he declared he would consider the application with an open mind and would still vote on the item.

 

Cllr Richard Gamble also declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 17, the grant application from Devizes Assize Court Trust. He declared he would consider the application with an open mind and would still vote on the item.

 

Cllr Peter Evans declared an interest in agenda item 15, the HWBG grant application from the Wiltshire Museum. Cllr Peter Evans stated that he would not take part in the debate or vote on the item.

 

Cllr Peter Evans and Cllr Sue Evans declared an interest in agenda item 17, the grant application from Devizes Town Council as they are both members of Devizes Town Council. They stated that they would not take part in the debate or vote on the item.

 

6.35pm

5.

Grant Feedback - SW Ambulance Charity

To receive a demonstration from the Devizes Community First Responder group of the lifting chair which the Devizes Area Board helped to fund.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman explained that this item would be postponed until a future area board meeting, as the lifting chair, although orderd, had not yet arrived.

 

6.45pm

6.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman:

 

·       Wiltshire Family and Community Learning

Wiltshire Family and Community Learning includes a range of community-based and outreach learning opportunities. Courses are funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Learners must be 19+, have been resident in UK/EU for three or more years, have less than five GCSEs grades A-C and/or be a service family and/or in receipt of benefits.

Call on 01225 770478 to find out more about the service. Or email: familyandcommunitylearning@wiltshire.gov.uk.

 

·       Flood Resilience in Your Local Area

Communities may be interested in holding a workshop to enable any towns and parishes within your area the opportunity to sit down and work through drafting up a flood plan for their community along with a colleague from the Environment Agency.

Communities can find out if they are at risk of flooding here: https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk.

For more information please contact Renate Malton, Flood Resilience Officer on renate.malton@wiltshire.gov.uk.

 

·       CATG and Air Quality & Transport Strategy

There are no updates from CATG and the Air Quality and Transport Strategy group as there has not been a meeting since the last Area Board.

 

·       Wiltshire Council – Focus on the Future

Wiltshire Council are holding a series of Focus on the Future meetings, where local residents can join the council’s senior leaders to discuss the services that the council provides and its plans for future years. The Devizes event will take place on Thursday 16 January 2020, 5.30pm at the Devizes Hub and Library. All are welcome to attend.

 

·       Devizes Eisteddfod

Devizes Eisteddfod is a five-day competitive festival of music, drama, speech, dance, writing, art and photography for people of all ages, who may enter individually or through a school or group. In November a number of very successful events were held around Devizes, with over 1000 children taking part.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman made the following announcements:

 

·       Wiltshire Family and Community Learning

Wiltshire Family and Community Learning included a range of community-based and outreach learning opportunities. Courses were funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Learners must be 19+, have been resident in UK/EU for three or more years, have less than five GCSEs grades A-C and/or be a service family and/or in receipt of benefits.

Call on 01225 770478 to find out more about the service. Or email: familyandcommunitylearning@wiltshire.gov.uk.

 

·       Flood Resilience in Your Local Area

Communities might be interested in holding a workshop to enable any towns and parishes within the area the opportunity to sit down and work through drafting up a flood plan for their community along with a colleague from the Environment Agency.

Communities could find out if they were at risk of flooding here: https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk.

For more information please contact Renate Malton, Flood Resilience Officer on renate.malton@wiltshire.gov.uk.

 

·       CATG and Air Quality & Transport Strategy

There were no updates from CATG and the Air Quality and Transport Strategy group as there had not been any meetings since the last Area Board.

A member of the audience commented that the Air Quality and Transport Strategy (AQTS) group, which was set up in 2012, had not made much progress, particularly on public transport. They requested much more commitment on this and wanted the group and Wiltshire Council to focus their minds due to the climate emergency. The comment received a round of applause from the audience. 

Another member of the audience commented that they were pleased with the extension of the tow path. However, it ended at Windsor Drive, so did not really go anywhere and was therefore pointless. It was suggested that the towpath should be extended under the bridge and then on into the local estate.

Cllr Richard Gamble, as Chairman of CATG and AQTS, thanked the audience members for their thoughts and stated that he wholeheartedly agreed. Cllr Gamble also mentioned the Devizes Parkway Station project, a long-term project to bring back a railway station to Devizes, which was being worked on and would progress public transport.

An audience member stated that this was good, however decisions made around public transport needed to be evidence based. Investing in buses may be more useful as some studies showed that for every 1 train user there were 7 bus users.

 

·       Wiltshire Council – Focus on the Future

Wiltshire Council were holding a series of Focus on the Future meetings, where local residents could join the council’s senior leaders to discuss the services that the council provides and its plans for future years. The Devizes event was to take place on Thursday 16 January 2020, 5.30pm at the Devizes Hub and Library. All were welcome to attend.

 

·       Devizes Eisteddfod

Cllr Richard Gamble made this announcement as the Chairman was also Chairman of Devizes Eisteddfod. This was an annual five-day competitive festival of music, drama, speech, dance, writing, art and photography for people of all ages, who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

6.50pm

7.

Partner Updates

To receive updates from the following partners:

 

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC)

·         Fire and Rescue Service

·         Schools updates

·         Town and Parish Councils

·         Health Services

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

·       Wiltshire Police

Chris Martin the Inspector for Devizes was in attendance, he explained that he was now back at work after being absent for a while.

Inspector Martin directed the meeting to the report in the agenda and highlighted the following points.

With regards to the severe fire in Waiblingen Way, 1 man had been arrested, enquiries were ongoing with over 20 police staff working on the investigation.

There had been a robbery at a local petrol station before Christmas for which two suspects had been arrested and were on bail. It was hoped that the Crown Prosecution Service would charge the suspects.

Operation Spruce was conducted over the holiday period to target crimes that traditionally increase over the festive period, for example, shoplifting. The operation included increased retail patrols and road side stop checks. There were 11 arrests for drink and drug driving offences.

There was also a rave recently on Salisbury Plain, 2 vehicles were seized and there were some arrests for drug offences.

In response to questions it was stated that although the Inspector did not have figures to hand it seemed like drink and drug driving offences were increasing. This may partly be due to the availability of technology where the police could use wipes to test people at the roadside for certain drugs. It was stated that an advertising campaign regarding drug driving and police use of drug wipes would be good, however this was something that would have to be implemented at a national level.

 

·       Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

A video was shown to the meeting regarding the OPCC precept consultation. The increase for a band D property would be £1 a month, taking the annual cost to £218 per year for an average property. There was a you tube video you could watch here: https://youtu.be/SnokAmvcZo8 and people could comment on the proposals here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8NQQJFW. The deadline to comment was midday on 31 January 2020.

 

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service

At the beginning of the meeting the Chairman announced that at the request of the DWFRS this item was to be moved to the very start of the agenda to enable the officers to attend a briefing on the recent terrible fire in Waiblingen Way.

The Chairman requested that a short silence be observed in memory of Ulla Derrick who sadly died in the fire on Waiblingen Way.

Station Manager Phil Peaple give an update to the meeting. He explained that a late report would be published online after the meeting: https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=163&MId=12403&Ver=4.

The service had attended 5 false alarms, 8 fires and 4 Road Traffic Collisions. The fire service were called to the severe fire at Waiblingen Way just after 1.00am on the 17December 2019. There was a great response from Devizes fire station, with both appliances up and out in 10 minutes, which for an on-call fire station was very good. The layout of the flats was quite strange and the crews found it hard  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

7.15pm

8.

CCG - Update on Devizes Health Centre

To receive an update from Dr Richard Sandford-Hill of the CCG on the Devizes Health Centre.

Minutes:

The meeting received an update from Dr Richard Sandford-Hill of the CCG on the Devizes Health Centre.

 

Dr Sandford-Hill reminded the meeting that it was the time of year that flu was prevalent and stated that there had been an increase in the numbers of people contracting the virus and an increase in hospital admissions as a result. He recommended that people get vaccinated against the flu. 

 

Regarding the integrated care centre, the outline business case had been approved and would now need to be assessed by procurement. This process would take approximately 12 weeks. The CCG had agreed to continue funding development of the full business case, which would take another 9 months to a year. So, although progress was being made it was slow.

 

In response to questions it was stated that work would probably start in the first or second quarter of 2021.

 

There was a shortage of GP’s in the Devizes area, this was also reflected nationally. With the population living longer and many people living with complex health issues this was a problem as demand was going up. Two of the Devizes practices had been advertising for Doctors for over a year. One way to combat the issues was to employ more non-doctors, for example to have a Primary Care Network that utilised nurse practitioners, paramedics, pharmacists and physiotherapists. Devizes had one of the most developed Primary Care Networks in Wiltshire, but more Doctors were needed.

 

It was explained that the old hospital would not be shut until the new building was up and running, there were still people working there. Friends of Devizes Hospital addressed the meeting and explained that they had money to spend but were not sure what to do with it due to the current situation. Dr Sandford-Hill stated that it may be worth holding fire until new building is built. If anything was bought for the old hospital it may be worth making sure that it would it be transferred over to the new building.

 

A representative of Sustainable Devizes queried the poor nature of bus services to Marshall Road, the site of the new care centre, and asked if this would be addressed.  Cllr Whitehead stated that all bus routes and timings to the new care centre would be looked at.

 

A question was received regarding flu jabs being ineffective, people being admitted to hospital as they were not given antibiotics and whether there was a policy to be careful when issuing antibiotics. Dr Sandford-Hill explained that the flu was a virus and does not respond to antibiotics. If complications arose involving secondary infection, then at that stage antibiotics might be given. He could not comment on the particular case mentioned as he had not seen the patient, but if there was no evidence of a secondary infection then antibiotics would not usually be issued for the flu as they had no effect and Doctors were trying to prevent antibiotic resistance.

     

A member of the audience asked whether there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

7.25pm

9.

Waste Collection Changes

To receive a presentation from Patrick Russell and Deborah Courtney, Waste Services, Wiltshire Council, on upcoming changes to the way waste and recycling is collected in Wiltshire, including collection day changes.

Minutes:

Tracy Carter, Interim Waste Management and Carbon reduction Lead Officer, Wiltshire Council, gave a presentation on upcoming changes to the way waste and recycling was collected in Wiltshire.

 

Wiltshire Council was changing the way they collected waste, moving to co-mingled collection for recycling, this system had been proven to be successful in many areas of the country. Collections would still be fortnightly, although as a consequence of the changes, some collection days would change. Residents would be notified by post several weeks in advance of any changes to collection days. Once residents had received this letter they would also be able to view changes online and print a calendar if they wished.

 

Under the new system, glass and textiles would still go in the black box. Anything else recyclable could go in the blue lidded bin. Examples of items that could go in the blue lidded bin were plastic bottles, pots, tubs, trays, cardboard boxes, food and drink cartons, paper, food and drink cans, aerosols and foil.

 

It was requested that people wash and squash items if possible. Washing the items helped to maintain the quality of the materials and squashing them simply meant you could fit more in the bin.

 

The black box would still be used for glass. The reason glass would still be kept separate was that the re-processors liked to have it separate to prevent glass shards getting into other recycling. The collection vehicles had a separate pod for glass. Textiles could also be put in the black box however these must be bagged up and the bag tied. Unfortunately, duvet’s and sleeping bags could not be recycled.

 

The Council did not make a profit from recycling, however money raised from recycling helped to offset the cost of collecting waste.

 

Hopefully the proposed changes would make it easier for residents to recycle and should therefore increase recycling rates. The changes would also mean that one type of vehicle could collect all types of waste and recycling. This meant that Wiltshire Council could get rid of about 38 vehicles from the road, which in itself would help to reduce carbon emissions and costs. The changes meant that collection times may also change. It was requested that residents put their bins out by 7.00am on the day of collection. 

 

A new materials recovery facility was being built in Calne, which would sort the mixed recycling.

 

Residents could sign up for email alerts from the waste service at   http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling-collection-changes in order to be kept up to date with developments.  You could also register to get a larger bin or an extra bin at this address.

 

If parishes and community groups required advice or help regarding spreading the news about the changes they were welcome to email: wasteandrecycling@wiltshire.gov.uk.

Details were given regarding the End Destination Charter, which was a voluntary scheme developed by the Resource Association to promote openness and transparency over end destinations of waste. Wiltshire Council had signed up to this scheme and published annual reports on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

7.40pm

10.

Warm & Safe Wiltshire

A presentation to provide advice and information on energy usage and smart meters.

 

Minutes:

Mike Joyce, Energy Advisor at the Centre for Sustainable Energy gave a presentation to the meeting.

 

It was explained that there was an increasingly documented link between health and housing. Living in cold/damp homes had significant physical and mental health implications. This resulted in increased GP visits, unplanned hospital admissions and excess winter deaths.

 

Fuel poverty, when a household spent more than 10% of their income on bills was a problem. If anyone knew someone living in fuel poverty, they could refer them to Safe and Well Wiltshire. Things to look out for included; the home feeling cold or draughty; smells of damp and/or signs of mould/condensation; no sign of any heating or the only heating being an open fire, portable electric radiators or bottled gas; curtains being closed during the day to keep the heat in or signs that the householder only lived in (and heated) one room. The number of households living in fuel poverty in Wiltshire was 9% in 2018, which equated to around 18,426.

 

The energy efficiency of homes was looked at.  Houses were awarded  Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and these could be found at http://epcregister.com/. An example is shown below:

 

https://www.onthemarket.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EPC-Charts-Header-Image.jpg

 

An average house was band D and would spend approximately £1,150 per year on fuel. An average band A property would spend approximately £530 and an average band G property would spend £2,200. The energy efficiency of the home could have a large economic impact as well as an environmental impact. 91% of properties in the South West were classed as band D or below. There was a need to get the housing stock up to standard.

 

Sustainability was defined as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. There were huge challenges to face in the housing sector regarding sustainability.

 

Smart Metres were free to install, the in-home display showed how much energy the household was using and allowed residents to identify opportunities to save energy and modify behaviour to use less fuel. Smart meters would submit meter readings to your supplier automatically, so residents no longer needed to read the meter. Bills would be accurate with no more estimates. Pre-payment metres could be topped up online or by text when you have a smart metre. The use of Smart meters would facilitate the accurate prediction of national energy demand, this would lead to increased energy efficiency, less infrastructure and environmental benefits.

 

There were myths surrounding Smart metres such as:

 

·       You could not switch supplier. However, 2nd generation meters allowed uninterrupted switching between suppliers.

·       Smart meters could spy on you. However, Smart meters could not spy, they could only measure energy use and share the readings with your supplier.

·       Renters could not get a smart meter. However, if you pay the bills and the meter belongs to your supplier, then you have the right to request a smart meter. 

·       Smart meters are dangerous. The government watchdog on public health says that smart  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

7.55pm

11.

The Climate Emergency and Wiltshire Council

To receive a presentation on the Climate Emergency and Wiltshire Council.

 

Minutes:

In February 2019 Wiltshire Council passed a motion declaring the Climate Emergency, for details see http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/green-economy-climate-emergency. The council resolved to seek to make the county of Wiltshire (excluding Swindon) carbon neutral by 2030 and to establish our carbon baseline and renewables baseline. The Cabinet went further and had committed to making Wiltshire Council Carbon Neutral by 2030. When it came to Wiltshire as a county, there were lots of things outside of Wiltshire Council’s control. It was therefore easier to make Wiltshire Council Carbon Neutral as we had control of it.

 

To help achieve this the council would update the local plan to include the carbon neutral plan, and green policies for any new builds. Consultations would begin on the local plan in 2020. The transport plan would also be updated; public transport, walking and cycling needed to be promoted. Moving forward all Wiltshire Council plans would need to be developed to include policies on reducing carbon.

 

In order to able to address the problems and reduce carbon emissions the council needed to establish carbon baselines. Baseline emissions referred to the production of carbon that had occurred in the past and which were being produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. The baseline measurement would be determined over a set period, typically one year. This historical measurement would act as a benchmark to evaluate the success of subsequent efforts to reduce emissions. Without the knowledge of baseline emissions, it would be impossible to reliably judge the success of any remediation efforts. To do this Wiltshire Council were talking to local universities; the Anthesis Group (SCATTER); Swindon and Wiltshire Local Economic Partnership; the Local Government Association; and other local authorities to see what they do. SCATTER was a city-based system that did not work so well for rural areas, so talks were in progress to see if a rural version could be developed.

 

It was estimated that each Wiltshire Council resident was responsible for approximately 7 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

 

Wiltshire Council had established a Global Warming and Climate Emergency task group, chaired by Cllr Graham Wright, to consider renewable energy generation, energy use and efficiency; planning; transport and air quality; waste; land use; business and industry; the carbon baseline and renewable energy baseline. The aim of the task group was to develop an effective strategy which would then be approved by council. The council wanted to get things right, so it was worth investigating all the options.

 

The council aimed to adapt housing stock and council buildings to make them more energy efficient. This included introducing solar arrays over park and ride sites and solar panels on council housing stock. All street lights would be changed to LED’s which were far more efficient and decreased light pollution. These were better for the environment and would save the council around £200,000 a year. The council wanted all new housing stock to be green and were in talks with passive house builders. Changes to waste  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

8.10pm

12.

The Climate Emergency

To hear from local environmental groups on the climate emergency and actions that they are taking.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman announced that due to time constraints this item would unfortunately need to be cut from the agenda. The Chairman apologised to people who had come to the meeting especially for this item. It was decided to move this item to the next area board meeting where the majority of time would be allocated to topic.

 

8.25pm

13.

Open Floor

Residents are invited to ask questions of their local councillors.

Minutes:

There were no questions from the floor.

 

8.30pm

14.

Local Youth Network

To receive an update from the Local Youth Network and consider the following applications for youth grant funding:

 

·       Wiltshire YFC, £2,500.00 towards their Summer Devizes 2020 Pop Up Youth Café.

·       Wiltshire YFC, £2,700.00 towards a Potterne Youth Club Worker for 2020.

·       Bromham Youth Club, £4848.00 towards running costs for 2020/2021.

·       Devizes Lions Club, £1,000.00 towards the Lions Sports Coaching Weekend 2020.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Representatives of the organisations applying for grants spoke in support of their applications.

 

The applications for youth grant funding were considered and it was;

 

Resolved:

 

·       To grant Wiltshire YFC, £2,500.00 towards their Summer Devizes 2020 Pop Up Youth Café.

·       To grant Wiltshire YFC, £2,700.00 towards a Potterne Youth Club Worker for 2020.

·       To grant Bromham Youth Club, £4848.00 towards running costs for 2020/2021.

·       To grant Devizes Lions Club, £1,000.00 towards the Lions Sports Coaching Weekend 2020.

 

The Chairman thanked Steve at YFC, their other youth workers and  Darren Barber of Bromham Youth Club for their hard work.

 

 

8.40pm

15.

Health and Wellbeing Group

To receive an update on the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group and consider the following application for Health and Wellbeing funding.

 

·       Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, £900.00 towards their Common Ground - Reminiscence Volunteers for the Community project.

 

To note the following application for Health and Wellbeing funding which has already been awarded under the delegated authority of the Community Engagement Manager.

 

·       Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living, £250.00 towards their Community Christmas Shindig 2019.

 

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Cliff Evans, Chairman of the Devizes Health and Wellbeing Group gave an update to the meeting.

 

It was stated that there were going to be two health and wellbeing days held in the Market Place and the Shambles in 2020. The ‘Be Social’ health and wellbeing day would be in May and the ‘Be active’ health and wellbeing day would be held in October. At these events exhibitors would showcase what’s available.

 

The Devizes Silver Screen Club would be running again in 2020, with a new programme of films to watch at St James’s.

 

The Chairman thanked Cliff for the update.

 

A representative of Wiltshire Museum spoke in support of their HWB grant application.

 

The application was considered and it was;

 

Resolved:

 

·       To grant Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, £900.00 towards their Common Ground - Reminiscence Volunteers for the Community project.

 

The board was asked to note the following application for Health and Wellbeing funding which had already been awarded under the delegated authority of the Community Engagement Manager and it was;

 

Resolved:

 

·       To note the Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living, £250.00 towards their Community Christmas Shindig 2019, which had already been awarded under the delegated authority of the Community Engagement Manager.

 

 

 

8.45pm

16.

Community Engagement Manager Update

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

 

Minutes:

Andrew Jack, Community Engagement Manager for Devizes, stated that he was preparing for the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment event, which would take place in March.

 

8.50pm

17.

Area Board Funding

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

 

·       Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA), £4,192.00, towards replacement equipment.

·       Devizes Town Council, £4,110.00, towards fencing for the Archery Ranges at Green Lane Playing Field.

·       Devizes Assize Court Trust, £5,000.00 towards Devizes Assize Court - starting the journey.

·       Youth Adventure Trust, £1986.82, towards their Vulnerable Young People from Devizes Fulfilling their Potential project.

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Representatives of the organisations applying for Community Area Grants spoke in support of their applications.

 

The board considered the applications and it was;

 

Resolved:

 

·       To grant Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA), £4,192.00, towards replacement equipment.

·       To grant Devizes Town Council, £4,110.00, towards fencing for the Archery Ranges at Green Lane Playing Field.

·       To grant Devizes Assize Court Trust, £5,000.00 towards Devizes Assize Court - starting the journey.

·       To grant Youth Adventure Trust, £1986.82, towards their Vulnerable Young People from Devizes Fulfilling their Potential project.

 

 

18.

Urgent items

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

Minutes:

A member of the audience stated that they were worried about a person they knew who required an occupational therapy assessment but had been waiting for 6 months. Cllr Whitehead asked them to email him directly with details and he would investigate the matter.

 

The Chairman acknowledged and thanked Elizabeth Denbury who had started a Go Fund Me page to support the victims of the fire in Waiblingen Way.

 

9.00pm

19.

Close

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board will be held on Monday 16 March 2020 at the Devizes Hub and Library.

 

Minutes:

The next ordinary meeting of the Area Board would be held on Monday 16 March 2020 at the Devizes Hub and Library. The major item on the agenda would be the climate emergency.