Agenda and minutes

To welcome those present to the meeting.

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

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence had been received from the following:

• Cllr Nick Fogg MBE

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 29 January 2019.

Resolved:

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2019 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

To receive the following announcements through the Chairman (written briefing notes are available in the full agenda pack, or online):

·       Children’s Centre Consultation

Consultation on new proposals to build on successful community model for children’s centre services. The consultation is available at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council-democracyconsultations and will run from 23 January until 20 March 2019 with a report due to go to cabinet later this spring.

·       Electoral Review

The draft recommendations of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England are now available to be viewed online via their website and a consultation has been launched to receive comments. The consultation is open until 15 April 2019 and is the final opportunity for parties to comment.

·       Update on responsibility for Road Safety Education

Further to questions that arose at the last Area Board on who was responsible for Road Safety Education the board can report that the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service are the lead on Road Safety Education.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

Children’s Centre Consultation

There had been a consultation on new proposals to build on the successful community model for children’s centre services. The consultation ended on 20 March 2019 with a report due to go to cabinet later this spring.

Electoral Review

The draft recommendations of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England were now available to be viewed online at http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/southwest/wiltshire/wiltshire-unitary-authority-ua and a consultation had been launched to receive comments. The consultation would be open until 15 April 2019 and was the final opportunity for parties to comment.

Update on responsibility for Road Safety Education

Further to questions that arose at the last Area Board on who was responsible for Road Safety Education the board could report that the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service were the lead on Road Safety Education.

Special Schools Consultation

Cllr Jane Davies advised that the consultation on special schools provision was ongoing and would be extended. The meeting was encouraged to take part and give their views.

To note the attached Partner updates and receive any further information partners wish to share:

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

·         MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)

·         Transition Marlborough

·         Town / Parish Councils

·         Neighbourhood Plan

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

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

·         Wiltshire Police

Acting Inspector Pete Foster gave an update to the meeting. It was stated that the Deputy PCC spoke at the last meeting regarding precept increases. As a result of the increase Marlborough would be getting a new police constable. A new PCSO would also be starting the week after the area board. The increased staffing was welcomed. The PC would be completely dedicated to Marlborough and would be focusing on solving long term problems.

A ram-raid had taken place at Screwfix, the suspect was chased to Swindon where he ran out of petrol and was arrested. The suspect was remanded in custody and was awaiting trial.

Plain clothes police had stopped a male from London from coming into Marlborough with class A drugs, the suspect was arrested.

Marlborough Police Station would close, the  new site was likely to be Corner House in George Lane Car Park. This would not affect the service provided. Decisions about the police estate were made by the OPCC.

In response to a question from the Chair regarding the timeline for the move it was stated that the move was slightly delayed as they were waiting for sign off from the solicitors. All being well the move was scheduled to take place in July.

In response to members of the audience who had contacted the police regarding setting up Community Speedwatches, but had not received a response, the Inspector stated that he would chase this up for them.

·         Transition Marlborough

Milly Carmichael of Transition Marlborough gave an update to the meeting. Wiltshire Council was now one of 48 councils to have declared a climate emergency. Plans were being made to reduce emissions and Milly was attending a conference to gather ideas and help to move plans forward. There were very promising discussions underway for Swindon to also become a transition town. Further details could be found in the agenda pack.

·         Town and Parish Councils

Froxfield Parish Council announced that they had been awarded a grant of £5,500 to upgrade Pocket Park. Pocket Park was a 1.1 acre water meadow site to the south of the A4 which had bene given to Froxfield Parish Council and was a nature and wildlife area. Lack of maintenance had led to the area being overtaken by nettles. The parish council had sought help from ARK who had put together a design, design statement and helped with planning permission. The design included a dipping pond, boardwalk and new hedging and would vastly improve the area. The Devizes Community Payback Scheme had come on 5 consecutive Saturdays to help strim and clear the site. The upgrades required a lot of funding and ARK had paid for everything so far. The Ministry of Housing provides grants to Wiltshire Council that can be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To receive a presentation from Diane Ware, Principal Technical Officer, Highways on forthcoming Highways Schemes.

To consider the report on Highways Schemes for the forthcoming year.

Diane Ware, Principal Technical Officer, Highways gave a presentation on the proposed Highways Schemes for 2019/2020.

The officer introduced herself and stated that she was involved in planning all major highways schemes. She was often out and about visiting areas and people so if you had a highways issue please feel free to contact her. Her contact details were:

Diane Ware, Principal Technical Officer, Highways

Telephone 01225 – 713298

Mobile – 07423 549984

Email: diane.ware@wiltshire.gov.uk

Wiltshire’s roads were in not too bad a condition in comparison to other places. Previously, when working out the 5 year plan and how much money to allocate each area they used the amount of road network in each area to calculate the budget. However, it had now been decided to allocate spend by need, so areas with the worst roads would get more money.

Approximately a third of Marlborough’s roads were rated red and amber. However they did not yet have full network coverage on the state of the roads, with some roads still to be assessed. There were 2 specialist land rovers driving the network with lasers and cameras to assess the state of the roads. They could also use the help of the public. If aware of potholes or an urgent issue that needed fixing then please report it on the My Wiltshire website or App, for other issues, contact Diane herself or report to CATG.

Diane spoke briefly about the budget for the next five years and the plans for Marlborough, the details of which could be found in the agenda pack. The lists of planned works could change depending on survey results and what was reported to them. The officer also stated that even though CATG meetings were not to consider substantive schemes she would be happy to attend some CATG meetings to discuss the area’s needs.

Wiltshire Council had a million pounds available for footways. The meeting was encouraged to let Martin Cook know about any footpath issues and about any reactive patching that was required.

There was separate money available for lining works, again let Martin Cook know of requirements. Wiltshire Council was also upgrading street lighting to LED lighting which in the long run would save money and give less light pollution.

In response to questions from the audience the officer stated that works carried out by contractors were checked after 12 months and 24 months. However if the work was found to be faulty or sub-standard then the contractor would be liable.

Yellow lines were checked and renewed. Parking enforcement officers reported flaws in yellow lines and people could also report them on the My Wiltshire App.

The Chairman stated that white lines were an issue for a lot of parishes, lists had been reported to Wiltshire Council, however as the contractors were from out of the county it took a long time to get them in to do the work. He asked if there were there any plans to bring white lining in house. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

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

In Cllr Fogg’s absence Cllr Stewart Dobson updated the meeting on the CATG. Cllr Dobson ran through the minutes of the CATG meeting which took place on 14 March 2019, which could be found in the agenda pack.

Cllr Dobson also stated that setting up a Community Safety Partnership had been discussed. Parishes who had attended the CATG were going to consult with their members as to whether the Community Safety Partnership should focus on crime or road safety.

It was;

Resolved

To note the CATG minutes of the meeting on 14 March 2019.

To receive any update on the Local Youth Network.

To consider the following applications for youth grant funding:

·       1st Ramsbury Scouts, £3,850.00 towards activites, courses and camps;

·       Marlborough RFC, Junior Section, £4,136.00, towards new floodlighting for evening training;

·       Marlborough Tennis, £3,515.00, to create increased capacity for young people’s tennis.

The applications for youth grant funding were introduced. The LYN had recommended all grant applications for approval.

Representatives of the 1st Ramsbury Scouts and Marlborough Tennis spoke in support of their applications.

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

Resolved:

·         To grant 1st Ramsbury Scouts, £3,500.00, towards activities, courses and camps, rather than the £3,815 applied for.

REASON: As it was the end of the financial year, funds were limited, so unfortunately the full amount could not be awarded. However, the board stated that it was a fantastic project and it was hoped that the £3,500.00 would help.

·         To grant Marlborough Tennis, £3,200.00, to create increased capacity for young people’s tennis, rather than the £3,515.00 applied for.

REASON: As it was the end of the financial year, funds were limited, so unfortunately the full amount could not be awarded. However, the board thought it was a very worthwhile project and it was hoped that the £3,200.00 would help.

It was determined that the application from Marlborough RFC would be considered under community area grants, where funding comes from the capital budget.

To receive any updates from the HWBG.

Jill Turner, Chair of the Marlborough Health and Wellbeing Group gave an update.

The HWBG had met on a couple of occasions, with the last meeting being on 4 March 2019. The notes from that meeting could be seen in the agenda pack.

The group had 3 main priorities;  to appoint an older persons champion; to set up a web based information platform; and to run a health and wellbeing fair, similar to the one that had been held in Devizes last year, to enable providers to network and provide information to the community. The group would report back as they take these initiatives forward.

To receive any updates from the Community Engagement Manager (CEM).

The Community Engagement Manager, Alexa Davies, gave an update to the meeting.

A quick reminder was given regarding National armed Forces day which was coming up on 28-30 June 2019. The event would be free to attend and would involve three days of celebrations:

·         Friday - Armed Forces family event

·         Saturday - Community day with parade and air show

·         Sunday - Veterans and young people’s day, to include a human poppy world record attempt.

A photography project was underway, with people and community groups being encouraged to take photos of whet the armed forces meant to them. Photos would be combined into a collage that would be at the event. The meeting was encouraged to have their photo taken at the end of the meeting with the NAFD flag.

Cllr Stewart Dobson spoke, stating that at a previous Area Board meeting funding for a coach to the NAFD on the Sunday had been agreed. As the head of the local Royal British Legion, Cllr Dobson wanted as many veterans as possible to be able to attend. The coach would be leaving Marlborough at 9.30am and leaving Salisbury at around 6pm to return to Marlborough. The coach would be free for veterans and their partners, who would be given priority. If anyone was interested in obtaining places on the coach they should contact Cllr Dobson or the CEM.

The CEM also told the meeting about the Great British Spring Clean which was taking place between 22 March and 23 April 2019. There would be quite a few litter picks taking place around Marlborough and the meeting was encouraged to take part.

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

·       Fyefield & West Overton Parish Council, £3,065.00, for 4 new defibrillators.

·       Councillor-led initiative, Cllr Nick Fogg MBE, £ Any remaining funding from 2018/2019, to support the New Road Day Centre and Marlborough and Jubilee Centre, to continue providing services to vulnerable people.

The Chairman introduced the Community Area Grant applications as detailed in the agenda.

Representatives of Fyefield & West Overton Parish Council and Marlborough RFC (whose application for youth grant funding was instead being considered under capital grant funding), spoke in support of their applications.

The Board considered the application for community area grant funding and it was;

Resolved:

·         To grant Fyefield & West Overton Parish Council, £3,065.00, for 4 new defibrillators.

·         To grant Marlborough RFC, Junior Section, £2,000.00, towards new floodlighting for evening training. (Rather than the £4,136.00 requested).

REASON: As it was the end of the financial year, funding was limited. The Board wished to spread the funding left over several worthy causes. Marlborough RFC were encouraged to apply for funding again in the new financial year.

·         To grant the Cllr Led Initiative by Cllr Nick Fogg, MBE, any remaining funding, to help support the New Road Day Centre and the Jubilee Centre. Remaining funds were calculated as £5,635.55, so each centre would receive £2,817.77.

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

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board will be held on Tuesday 14 May 2019, 7.00pm at Marlborough Town Hall.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board would be on Tuesday 14 May 2019, 7.00pm, Assembly Room, Marlborough Town Hall, 5 High St, Marlborough SN8 1AA.