Agenda and minutes

To welcome attendees to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed attendees to the meeting and invited the councillors and officers present introduce themselves. Amongst those to introduce themselves was Cameron Osborn, Apprentice Democratic Services Officer, who stated that he looked forward to working with the Area Board.

The Chairman was also very pleased to introduce Kevin Robinson, who would be working as a youth worker in the town and surrounding villages.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from the following:

·       Cllr James Sheppard (Substituted by Cllr Jerry Kunkler)

·       Kate Dale - Wiltshire Council’s Shared Lives Team

·       Simon Todd - Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

·       Inspector Ben Huggins – Wiltshire Police

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 10 January 2023.

On the proposal of Cllr Kunkler, seconded by the Vice-Chairman, it was resolved to take the:

Decision

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2023 as a true and correct record.

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

The Vice-Chairman declared that she was Chair of Trustees of Marlborough Area Youth Forum and Treasurer of Marlborough Area Action Poverty Group (categorised as an other interest under Wiltshire Council’s Code of Conduct). She would therefore not play a part in deciding the grant application, listed on Item 12 on the agenda front sheet, to be considered via the delegated authority of the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager.

To receive announcements through the Chairman, including:

·       Cost of Living

·       Help for Rough Sleepers

·       Post-16 Skills

·       Family Help

·       Independent Visitor Scheme

The Chairman made the following announcements:

a.             Referendums on the Aldbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan and the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan would be held on 23 March.

b.             Information about the support on offer to help with cost of living (pg.13-18) and for rough sleepers (pg.19-27) was available in the agenda pack.

c.              Wiltshire Council had been promoting opportunities to support adult learning. Apprenticeships in a range of practical courses were available at https://workwiltshire.co.uk/home/apprenticeships/.

d.             A consultation was underway about the development of Wiltshire Council’s Family Help service. Details of how to participate in a survey about the services were included on pages 31-33 of the agenda pack.

e.             Wiltshire’s Independent Visitor Scheme matched volunteers with young people in care, with visits taking place every few weeks. The Chairman praised the scheme as brilliant and encouraged volunteers to come forward. Further information was on page 35 of the agenda pack. 

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

1. Marlborough Town Council - Pre-Coronation Litter Pick
2. Wiltshire Police
3. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
4. Kennet and Avon Medical Partnership
5. BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Together (Integrated Care System)
6. Healthwatch Wiltshire
7. Community First
8. Jubilee Centre
9. Town / Parish Councils

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3-minute slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager

Written updates were available from the following partners:

• Wiltshire Police (pg.39–46)

• Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue (pg.47-50)

• Kennet and Avon Medical Partnership (pg.51-55)

• BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Together - Integrated Care Board (pg.57 -58)

• Healthwatch Wiltshire (pg.59)

• Community First (pg.61-63)

• Marlborough Town Council (pg.65)

The following partners also gave verbal updates:

Marlborough Town Council

Andrea Millar from Marlborough Town Council gave an update about the measures that the town council was taking to assist with the cost-of-living crisis. She explained that they launched a working group in September 2022, alongside partners such as Kennet and Avon Medical Partnership and local churches. As well as providing handy information leaflets for residents they had held a successful Warm and Well event on 25 January.

She also highlighted that the town council planned to hold a community litter pick between 28 March and 6 April, in honour of King Charles III’s coronation. The first session would run between 10am-12pm in the Parade.

Marlborough Area Youth Worker

Kevin Robinson introduced himself as the new Marlborough Area Youth Worker, a role funded indirectly through the Area Board. He explained that he was passionate about youth and enterprise, as his other job was a business teacher. He spoke about the importance of understanding the needs of young people. He then noted that he had carried out youth work in Swindon and looked forward to finding out about the about the challenges and dynamics of the Marlborough area.

The Area Board said it was great to hear from him and look forward to future updates about the work he was carrying out in the Area Board’s area.

Wiltshire Police

PC Nikki Crabbe gave a presentation about Wiltshire Police’s priorities in the local area. Nikki explained that she normally worked in the Devizes area but was attending as Inspector Huggins had had to send his apologies for the meeting. During the update key points included:

·       A new command structure had been put in place so that Inspector Huggins had responsibility for both the Community Police Team and Response Team.

·       Acting Inspector Luke Atkinson had now been promoted, so would be leaving the team.

·       There had been 124 reported crimes in the Marlborough area over January and February, including 48 violent crimes. The majority of the violent crimes had been domestic incidents.

·       There had been 28 theft offences including shoplifting in Waitrose and Boots on Marlborough High Street. Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) were now conducting high visibility patrols as a deterrent in the area.

·       Wiltshire Police were working alongside Thames Valley Police on Operation Scrambling, with the aim of targeting organised crimes including those targeting livestock and agricultural equipment.

During the discussion points included:

·       The Area Board thanked the constable for the update.

·       Marlborough’s Mayor, Lisa Farrell, asked about county lines drug dealing. In response, the constable explained that they had a specialist police team targeting the issue and it was also being looked at as part of Operation Scrambling.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

To find out further information from Wiltshire Council’s Community Resilience Team about proposals for Emergency Contact Hubs.

The Area Board will also hear from Scottish and Southern Electricity and will receive further updates about cost of living related issues.

Emergency Contact Hubs

Camella Town and Chris Manuel from Wiltshire Council’s Community Resilience Team outlined proposals for the creation of Emergency Contact Hubs, based on a model operated in New Zealand. The aim of the hubs was to draw upon community knowledge to help coordinate support in emergency situations. The hubs would build upon the lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic and be supported by Police Community Support Officers.   Information could be passed to and from the community from the blue light services, as well as key utility providers such as SSE. The aim was to create centres across Swindon and Wiltshire to improve community resilience. The officers were keen to stress that the centres would be community led and would not involve additional bureaucracy. Support would be in place from Wiltshire Council to set up the hubs and muster provisions could be provided. They encouraged interested parties to come forward and contact camella.town@wiltshire.gov.uk  for further information.

During the discussion points included:

·       Jill Turner from Kennet Valley Parish Council reported that they had revised their emergency plans after the pandemic and had a designated building.

·       Sheila Glass, Chair of Ramsbury Parish Council, explained that they had a system in place with local wardens and had an emergency generator at their village hall.

·       It was noted that implementing the scheme in towns might be more challenging than villages as generally fewer people knew each other and there would be a requirement for multiple hubs.

·       The mayor of Marlborough explained that they had divided the town into 12 different zones during Covid but had stopped implementing this once the peak of the pandemic had passed. She described the hubs as a brilliant idea and something that the town council could look at.

Resilient Communities Fund and Priority Service Register

Helen Robertson and Melanie Grace from Scottish and Southern Electricity gave a presentation about the Resilient Communities Fund and Priority Service Register. They noted that the Resilient Communities Fund would be launched from April/May 2023. Money would be available for non-profit making organisations and could be used to purchase equipment for Emergency Contact Hubs. Further information was available on their website.

They explained that the Priority Service Register was used to support vulnerable customers during incidents such a power cut. People were ranked into different categories depending on need, including people with severe illness, people over 65 and children under the age of five, to ensure that the most vulnerable were protected. Support could include everything from providing an emergency power generator to hot meals. In an emergency people could ring 105 to get through to support. There was also a useful app providing helpful information such as where electric vehicles could be charged nearby.

To receive an update about the Shared Lives Programme, helping vulnerable adults to receive care within a family setting.

Please also find attached a video of their work:

https://youtu.be/fdxkL3TNuM4

The Chairman explained that the Shared Lives Programme helps vulnerable adults to receive care within a family setting. The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager (SEPM) highlighted that up to three people could be supported in the home of a Shared Lives carer and that placements could range from short term respite care to long-term support. Weekly financial support was available to help carers. The SEPM encouraged those interested in further information to contact sharedlives@wiltshire.gov.uk, ring 01380 826451, visit wiltshire.gov.uk/shared-Lives-and-Shared-Days or watch this video. Presentation slides are also attached to these minutes.

To find out more about how to become a foster parent.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager explained that there were 468 Children Looked After in Wiltshire, 264 of which were living with foster carers. He noted that there was a shortage of foster carers in Wiltshire, so many children were having to be placed with independent fostering agencies. He reported that there were nine children in care in the Area Board’s area and that they were still short of nine fostering families. He then outlined the characteristics required to become a foster parent and encouraged people who were interested, or knew of a person who might be, to contact fostering@wiltshire.gov.uk or look at their website www.fosteringwiltshire.uk. He also noted that Wiltshire Council’s recruitment team would be happy to attend engagement events and played a video from a former foster child speaking about her experiences.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager (Andrew Jack) and Lead Councillors will provide a brief update about the progress made towards the Area Board’s priorities. Areas of focus for Lead Councillors are:

·       Climate Change and the Environment

·       Children and Young People

·       Older or Vulnerable People

·       Local Economy

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager provided a brief update about the progress made towards the Area Board’s priorities, praising the employment of a youth worker for the area as a great step forward. He explained an extensive review would be undertaken before the Area Board’s next meeting, when it would set its priorities for the forthcoming year. He anticipated that there would be a more streamlined plan to align goals with the available resources and focus on areas where the greatest impact could be made.

To discuss the possibility of amending the amount that can be requested per grant in order to allow a greater number of applications to be supported.

The Chairman explained that the Area Board currently supported grant applications up to £5,000. She noted that, whilst that did allow them to support some terrific projects, as Marlborough was a relatively small Area Board, funding grants up to that amount did limit the number of projects that they were able to support. As they received applications from lots of valuable local projects, she invited the Area Board to consider whether it would be appropriate to reduce the maximum amount that could be applied for to enable them to support a wider range of grant applications.

During the discussion, Cllr Kunkler, a member of Pewsey Area Board, reported that they had introduced a maximum guideline of £2,500 per application, which had allowed them to support more projects and sustain the budget over the financial year. He noted that Pewsey had a slightly smaller budget than Marlborough, so suggested that a marginally higher guideline might be appropriate.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager confirmed that three of the seven Community Area Grant projects supported by the Area Board in financial year 2022/23 exceeded £2,500 and listed the Area Board’s grant budgets for the forthcoming financial year. He also noted that they could set a guideline, rather than a fixed rule, so that they were able to award higher amounts in exceptional circumstances. On the proposal of the Vice-Chairman, seconded by Cllr Kunkler, it was resolved to take the:

Decision

To set a guideline limiting the amount that could be applied for to £3,000 per grant application.

Reason - To give the Area Board flexibility to support a greater number of projects.

To receive an update about youth provision in the area including the employment of a local youth worker. 

To receive an update about the below Area Board initiative to be considered via delegated authority:

Marlborough Area Youth Forum requesting £1,140 towards a local youth organised summer event.

Note: Please see the attachment to Item 13 for further information on the grant application.

The Chairman highlighted that an Area Board initiative to grant £1,140 to Marlborough Area Youth Forum listed on the agenda front sheet. She noted that it would be possible for up to £1,000 to be awarded, outside of the formal meeting, through the delegated authority of the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager, as it has been deemed an urgent application.

The Vice-Chairman noted that she had declared an interest that she was the Chair of Trustees of Marlborough Area Youth Forum, so would not be involved in taking the decision. As a member of the public, Mrs Caroline Thomas, then spoke in favour of the application explaining that it would support a summer event organised for 13–17-year-olds. The event would be run by sixth formers at St John’s School and may include an outdoor cinema and dance event.

After speaking as a member of the public, the Vice-Chairman left the room.

The Chairman formally adjourned the meeting as it was now inquorate, with only two unitary Wiltshire councillors remaining in the room. The Chairman and Cllr Kunkler then both confirmed that they would be in favour of awarding £1,000 to Marlborough Area Youth Forum towards their summer event for 13–17-year-olds. As a majority of the Area Board had expressed support for the application outside of the formal meeting, they delegated authority to the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager to award £1,000 to Marlborough Area Youth Forum.

Once the application had been approved, the Vice-Chairman re-entered the room, which enabled the meeting to restart as it was quorate.

To receive an update from the latest meeting of the Marlborough Health and Wellbeing Group. To consider the following applications for Older and Vulnerable People’s funding:

Alzheimer’s Support requesting £590 towards the Marlborough Dementia Project.

Arts Together requesting £2,500 towards projects for isolated and vulnerable older people.

Jill Turner, the Chair of Marlborough Health and Wellbeing Group referred the Area Board to the details of their last meeting on pages 77 to 79 of the agenda pack and noted that the group supported the two applications for Older and Vulnerable People’s funding.

The Area Board then considered the following applications for Older and Vulnerable People’s Funding:

Alzheimer’s Support requesting £590 towards the Marlborough Dementia Project

Sarah Marriott, CEO of Alzheimer’s Support, spoke in favour of their application. She confirmed that outdoor planters would be made by their Memory Shed group in Corsham. However, the planters would be located in Lockeridge, part of the Area Board’s area, for use by the Muddy Boots group. On the proposal of the Vice-Chairman, seconded by Cllr Kunkler, it was resolved to take the:

Decision

To award Alzheimer’s Support £590 towards the Marlborough Dementia Project.

Reason – The application met Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant Criteria for 2022/23.

Arts Together requesting £2,500 towards projects for Isolated and Vulnerable Older People

Julieann Worrall Hood, Manager of Arts Together, spoke in favour of their application. She noted that in 2023 they would run a total of six five-week long projects in the Area Board’s area, as well as providing year-round support. The sessions would allow users to interact with professional artists. Free transport and refreshments would also be provided. In response to a query about how they promoted their work, she explained that they often received referrals from community hairdressers and other non-health professionals. They had also received at least three referrals from KAMP since September 2022. On the proposal of Cllr Kunkler, seconded by the Vice-Chairman, it was resolved to take the:

Decision

To award Arts Together £2,500 towards projects for Isolated and Vulnerable Older People.

Reason – The application met Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant Criteria for 2022/23.

The Area Board will be asked to ratify the funding recommendations from the Marlborough Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG) meeting of the 2 March 2023.

The Vice-Chairman provided an update about the latest meeting of the Marlborough Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG) meeting of the of the 2 March 2023, outlining the progress that they had made to date as well as their planned projects for the next financial year.

It was confirmed that LHFIG funding that had not been spent in the current financial year could be rolled over to next year. Cllr Kunkler noted that he was the Chairman of Wiltshire Council’s Environment Select Committee and would welcome it if funding could also be rolled over in future years.

On the proposal of Cllr Kunkler, seconded by the Vice-Chairman, it was resolved to take the:

Decision

1.      To note the discussion from the LHFIG meeting of 2 March 2023

2.    To note the ongoing issues for 2022/23

·       Issue 7027 – B4003 Layby, Avebury – urgent maintenance

·       Issue 8-20-4 – A4 Manton traffic calming – stage 1 - low cost signing and road marking

·       Issue 8-22-9 – Cardigan Rd, Marlborough – no waiting order, preceded by road edge maintenance

3.    To note the completion of the following 2022/23 priority schemes

·       Issue 8-19-2 – Downs Lane/A4 junction, no through road sign

·       Issue 8-20-6 - Ogbourne Maizey, 20mph speed limit

·       Issue 8-21-6 - East of Mildenhall, traffic calming signage

·       Issue 8-21-11 – Clench Common white gates

·       Issue 8-22-12 - Crooked Soley, footpath signpost replacements

·       Issue 8-22-7 – Woodlands Road, Mildenhall, unsuitable for HGV sign

4.    To note the following priority actions for 2023/24

In progress

·       Issue 7027 – B4003 Layby, Avebury - improvement works for highway surface and verges

·       Issue 8-20-4 – A4 Manton traffic calming stage 2 - Topo survey and work on substantive bid

·       Issue 8-21-8 – Farm Lane, Aldbourne - virtual paths

·       Issue 5109 / Issue 8-21-7 – A4 Forest Hill - speed limit /safety signage/white lining

·       Issue 8-19-10 - Frees Avenue, Marlborough speed limit assessment

·       Issue 8-22-2 – Frees Avenue, Marlborough - pedestrian and children safety measures linked to rugby club activity

Under Consideration

·       Issue 8-21-12 – Back Lane, Ramsbury - traffic calming

·       Issue 8-22-8 – B4192/Crowood Lane, Ramsbury – unsuitable for HGV signs

·       Issue 8-22-16 – Froxfield Road, Ramsbury - unsuitable for HGV signs

·       Issue 8-22-5 – Cheery Orchard, Marlborough handrails –

There were no further questions.

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 13 June 2023, 7.00pm at Marlborough Town Hall.

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Marlborough Area Board would be on Tuesday 13 June 2023, at 7pm.