Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Melksham Methodist Church for a special older peoples’ themed Area Board meeting and then introduced the Wiltshire councillors who made up the area board including Cllr John Brady, (cabinet member for Finance, Performance and Risk), who was attending the meeting.

The Chairman thanked the various stake holders and parish representatives in attendance as well as Communities & VCS Support, Age UK Wiltshire and the Volunteer Centre Wiltshire representatives for their respective displays which were viewed before the meeting.

There were none.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

a.Melksham CAYPIG – not in attendance.

b.Community Area Partnership Representative.

Phil McMullen thanked the Area Board for the Community Area Grants that were awarded to MCAP at the Area Board meeting on the 26 March 2012, the grants were awarded for a project called Melksham Offers which would promote shopping in the town centre and the purchase of a Volunteer Opportunities Board which would be situated in the Melksham library.

c.Wiltshire Police

PC Barry Dalton gave the Police update, points made included:

Current priorities

·         Cycling on town centre pavements.

·         Speeding and weight checks in the Queensway area.

·         Speeding checks in the Halifax Road, Bowerhill area.

·         Anti-social behaviour on the Bowerhill estate.

Wiltshire Police Authority

 Angus MacPherson advised that:

·         The new Policing plan had just been written.

·         The Police budget had been reduced by three million pounds.

·         Reminder to use the 101 number except in emergencies.

d.Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

e.NHS Wiltshire

The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

f.Melksham Town Council

Cllr Chris Petty advised that he had nothing to report.

g.Parish Council Nominated Representatives – nothing to report.

h.Melksham Chamber of Commerce

Graham Ellis advised that:

·       That new business start up advice was available for anybody considering starting up a business.

·       The Melksham Chamber of Commerce AGM would be held on Tuesday 24 April 2012.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their updates.

Karen Scott - Community and Voluntary Sector Support, Wiltshire

Council, Vanessa Wells – Volunteer Centre Wiltshire and Brian Deeley – Age UK Wiltshire gave a joint presentation on volunteering option in Wiltshire.

Points made included:

·         Local people helping their local communities by volunteering.

·         Call-IT, 0845 5216224, the new telephone number for people interested in getting involved with volunteering.

What are we doing?

·         Working together.

·         Making volunteering available to all.

·         Ensuring volunteering is well managed, supported and recognised.

·         Trying out new approaches to volunteering, such as “time credits”

How are we doing?

·         1500 volunteering opportunities promoted through Volunteer Centre.

·         The number of volunteers had doubled in the last year to 2265.

·         The number of unemployed volunteers had increased by 36%.

The Chairman thanked Karen Scott, Vanessa Wells and Brian Deeley for their presentation.

Ken Griffin, Community Safety Techincian, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Ken Griffin – Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service gave a presentation that highlighted fire safety in the home.

Points made include:

·         You’re twice as likely to die in a fire if you don’t have a smoke alarm that works.

·         Over half of home fires are caused by cooking accidents.

·         More than five fires a day are started by candles.

·         Check toasters are clean and placed away from curtains and kitchen rolls.

·         Electrics – look for signs of loose wiring such as scorch marks, hot plugs and sockets and fuses that blow.

·         Put candles out when you leave a room.

·         Fit smoke alarms on every level of your home.

·         Plan an escape route and make sure everyone knows how to escape.

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service offers home visits to make you aware of potential fire risks within the home, the service is free if you are:

·         Aged 65 or over.

·         Live alone.

·         Have a limiting condition.

·         Have children 5 or under.

·         Live in a thatched, mobile home or house boat.

Questions raised from the floor included:

·         How do you check a smoke alarm?

a.Press the small round button on the centre of the smoke alarm, you should get a test squawk from the unit.

·         How often should you check a smoke alarm?

a.A weekly check is advisable.

·         How can disabled people test their smoke alarms?

a.Use a garden cane or a broom handle to reach the test button, if in doubt call the Fire & Rescue Service.

The Chairman thanked Ken Griffin for his presentation.

Brian Warwick - Melksham 55+ Seniors Forum gave a short presentation on a Discounted Meals Project in the Melksham community area.

Points made included:

·         That the Seniors and MCAP were looking  to act as a catalyst to persuade the likes of the Parish Councils, Churches, and community groups in the Melksham Community area to work together to ensure that older people, particularly the vulnerable and those on low income had access to warm nutritious food on a regular basis.

·         The group had already persuaded some the sheltered housing tenants to get together and had food brought in from a take away. We also encouraged them to have regular meals out in local pubs etc and share taxis for that purpose. They had been very successful to date and many now had regular evening meals together improving their social life and get the right nutritious food at a reasonable cost, (normally around the £4.50/£5 Figure).

·         The group had also deliberately targeted older males living on their own to also join the groups, and now wish to identify ways of doing it the villages around Melksham and also seek other ways of ensuring older people get regular hot and nutritious food. 

·         We shall also encourage home cooking and bring along a meal at lunchtime or early evening meals and had organised a kind of safari event all sharing.  There was tremendous scope to work with local pubs and other outlets.

·         One idea the group was pursuing is the idea of trailing such a project in two of our community villages by hiring the local community transport to pick up few seniors by prior arrangements and take them to an appropriate venue where they will be welcomed and provided with a good two course meal at a reasonable price.

·         We also intend to hold a luncheon or evening meals in a local sheltered housing complex or village hall and have the food delivered.

·         For more information or to help with this project please contact Brian Warwick on brian.warwick@me.com or 01380 871800.

The Chairman thanked Brian Warwick for his presentation.

The Area Board will receive issues raised by the Melksham 55+ Group.

The Chairman and Brian Warwick – Melksham 55+ Group updated various issues raised by the Melksham 55+ Group.

1.Bus timetabling – some progress on this issue, very much an historical one, Portfolio holder, Richard Gamble now looking into it.

2.Steeple Ashton/ Great Hinton residents, no direct bus link to Melksham – JS felt that he hadn’t pick up anything about this issue at parish meetings and felt the two villages probably aligned themselves more with Trowbridge than Melksham in terms of transport links.

3.Traffic Lights in the town centre -  Mark Stansby, W/C Highways Dept now looking to find a solution to this issue.

4.Poor visibility due to Church Street parking bays – it was felt that perhaps high sided vehicles should be prohibited from using these parking bays.

5.Drivers failing to stop at the King’s Street pedestrian crossing – Agreed with Highways Dept that slow markings and crossing stripes would be re-painted to increase visibility.

6.Re-locating of the Church Lane pedestrian Crossing – Not possible to move this crossing, resurfacing of the road approaching the crossing would at least make it easier for drivers to stop at the crossing.

7.Parking on the pavements in the Market Place – agreed with Highways Dept that dropped kerbs would be repainted.

8.Bus Shelter entrances situated in the wrong ends of shelters in the Market Place – not able to do anything about this issue until the Market Place is redeveloped as part of the Melksham Campus scheme.

9.Steet seating and landscaping in the Market Place – a previous plan put forward by the Melksham Civic Society could be revisited when the Market Place is redeveloped.

10.Cyclists using Snowberry Lane – School children using this soon to be very busy link road, Melksham Oak School needed to be advised of this. Cllr Hubbard advised that work was being carried out on this issue with Melksham Oak School.

11.Cyclist riding through red lights – advised that the local Neighbourhood Policing teams were looking at this issue as well as scooter users and cyclists riding on pavements. The point was made that they rode on pavements to avoid being squeezed by motorists when using the road.

12. Resurfacing of the Market Place – Highways Dept officers had looked at the condition of the road surface, some pot holes had been filled, some unacceptable pot holes that remained would be filled as soon as possible, with the road surface being resurfaced when the market Pace was redeveloped.

13.Footway from Berryfields to Town Centre resurfacing – agreed that some small areas to be dealt with and undergrowth cut back where required.

Brian Warwick also expressed his concerns with delays with  local hospitals feeding back to GP’s. The issue was being looked into by the NHS Trust, with an update expected during the summer.

The Chairman thanked Brian Warwick and the 55+ Group for raising the issues, a number of which had now been resolved.

Brian Warwick thanked the Wiltshire Highways Officers for their work in addressing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Cllr Roy While will give an update and answer any questions.

Cllr Roy While gave the SCOB update, points made included:

·         The SCOB continues to gather information, and is now talking in detail to user groups.

·         Advertisements had been placed in the Melksham News and Wiltshire Times to highlight how people can have their say and feed into the SCOB. Leaflets had also been distributed to highlight this.

·         The Web site was now up and running and growing in size.

·         Volunteers would have a role to play in the new campus.

·         The campus wasn’t just about sport, but about community involvement.

·         A dedicated meeting would be set up with the parishes to discuss the campus.

Questions raised from the floor:

·         There appears to be little public information coming back about the future of the Melksham Bowls Club and where it fits in to the campus.

a.Bowls would be included in the campus, any information on this would be uploaded on to the SCOB website.

The Chairman thanked Cllr While for his update.

To receive a petition from members of the Melksham House skittles section who are concerned that skittles facilities would be lost from Melksham House when the campus plans are finalised.

The Chairman advised that a petition had been handed to the Area Board from members of the Melksham house skittles section who were concerned that skittles facilities would be lost from Melksham house when the campus plans were finalised.

Decision

·         It was agreed that the petition was to be handed over to the Shadow Campus Operations Board who would deal with it and report back in due course to the Melksham Area Board.

A concern was raised as to the new Wiltshire Council car parking ticket payment machines not being disability friendly.

It was agreed that the Cllr John Brady, (Cabinet Portfolio Holder) would take this issue back to the Wiltshire Council Cabinet.

Cllr John Brady, Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Risk gave a brief overview of his portfolio.

Points made included:

·         The current financial climate had made Wiltshire Council take challenging and some times un-popular decisions.

·         First line services had not been affected in any cuts that had been made.

·         Wiltshire Council expected to come in with a slight under-spend for this financial year.

·         The Council had delivered a balanced budget with some thirty two million pounds of savings.

·         There would be new challenges ahead with each new financial year.

Brian Warwick – Melksham 55+ Group thanked Wiltshire Council for ring fencing services that affected older people.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Brady for his presentation.

The Wiltshire Councillors considered five applications seeking 2011/2012

Community Area Grant Funding.

Decision

Sukosta Theatre Company were awarded £2000 towards running theatre workshops for older people.

Reason

This application demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan – ‘improve elderly health’.

Decision

Great Hinton Memorial Hall were awarded £910 towards the purchase of a defibrillator for the village.

Reason

This application demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan – high levels of stroke and cardiac arrhythmia.

Decision

Melksham Party in the Park were awarded £1477 to underwrite the purchase of electrical cabling with the following condition:

That if the event either makes a profit or makes grants to other organisations then that amount of funding awarded up to the level of profit or grants and with a ceiling of £1477 should be returned to the area board

Reason

Application meets grant criteria 2011/12.

Decision

SPLASH were awarded £4620 towards the running of an intergenerational project in Melksham working with vulnerable young people.

Reason

This application demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan – getting young and older people to work together, remove barriers to participation in local sports or community activity for people on low incomes, and improve access to art.

Decision

Bowerhill Village Hall were awarded £400 towards the purchase of a new boiler.

Reason

Application meets grant criteria 2011/12.

Other funding requests

Decision

Melksham Community Area Partnership, work plans and budget, awarded £9999 for core funding 2012/13. 50% of which would be paid immediately and 50% of which would be released in six months time.

Weds 6 June 2012 – Steeple Ashton Village Hall.

Weds 8 August 2012 – Bowerhill Village Hall.

Weds 6 June 2012 – Steeple Ashton Village Hall.

Weds 8 August 2012 – Bowerhill Village Hall.

Area Board Issues Process:

Please see our online issues tracker for progress on all issues submitted to the Melksham area board to date.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityandliving/areaboards/areabo

ardsissuestracking.htm .

You can also submit issues online for the area board to consider, or fill in an issues sheet by hand.

https://forms.wiltshire.gov.uk/area_board/areaboards.php

The Chairman thanked everybody for attending the meeting.