Agenda and minutes

·                2011 census

·                Wiltshire Intelligence Network

·                Mobile phone security

·                Adverse Winter Weather

·                Public Protection

The Chairman welcomed everyone to Shaw School.

The Chairman then introduced the Wiltshire councillors who made up the area board and Cllr Toby Sturgis (Cabinet member for waste, property and environment), who was attending the meeting to introduce his portfolio and take any questions.

Chairman’s Announcements

i. Help tomorrow take shape – the 2011 Census

The census has collected information about the population every ten years since 1801 (except in 1941).  The next census in England and Wales is on 27^th March 2011.

For more information please see: http://2011.census.gov.uk/

ii. Wiltshire Intelligence Network

A new website has been created to provide access to a wide variety of information and research for Wiltshire. The new site,

www.intelligencenetwork.org.uk, is available to all and aims to support planners and policy makers, community leaders and politicians, voluntary groups and the general public in using accurate data to make informed decisions. A broad range of information is available, organised into the following topic themes:

iii. Mobile Phone Safety

Immobilise, the UK national property register, are running a scheme to help protect your mobile phone and other property in the future. Please visit their website, www.immobilise.com, to register your mobile phone for free.

This will help Wiltshire Police to recover your property and to catch the thief. If you would like a poster to display or further information about this scheme, please see the Immobilise website.  

iiv. Adverse Winter Weather – Call for Partnership Working

Wiltshire Council is looking to expand its partnership working with the city, town and parish councils should problems be caused by adverse winter conditions.

This partnership working will help us jointly to provide a better and more extensive coverage at a time when resources will be fully stretched.

v. Public Protection Enforcement Policy

The Public Protection Service is reviewing its enforcement policy, and is seeking views from interested stakeholders. 

The policy deals with the entire range of legislation administered by the Public Protection Service covering all environmental health and trading standards powers, as well as any relevant community safety and emergency planning laws.

The draft enforcement policy is on the council's website.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/publicprotection/publicprotectionenforcementpolicy.htm

Apologies were received from Jo Howes (NHS Wiltshire).

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

Agenda Item No.8bv – Lowbourne Neighbourhood Centre

Cllr Steve Petty – Personal interest, has worked with the Berryfields Youth Group who may be donating redundant IT equipment to the Lowbourne Neighbourhood Centre would not vote on this application.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2010.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting on 13 October 2010 were approved and signed as a correct record.

Charles Boyle (Atworth Parish Council) requested that it be noted re item 69 – Community Area Transport Group, proposals put forward for areas for improvements, bullet point five – Pelican crossing at Middle Lane Atworth should be deleted.

To receive updates from any of the following partners (report in pack where appropriate)

a. CAYPIG (Young People’s Issue Group)

b. MCAP (Melksham Community Area Partnership)

c. Wiltshire Police – Inspector David Cullop

d. NHS Wiltshire

e. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

f.  Melksham Town Council

g. Parish Council Nominated Representatives

a.      CAYPIG (Young People’s Issues Group)

Sarah Howes advised that:

·        The CAYPIG had raised £240 for Children in Need.

·        A Parkour session had been held on the 20 November, the event had been a great success with future session planned.

·        The first Club Boom event is planned for 13 December, and is open to all Melksham young people.

·        The next CAYPIG meeting would be held on Wednesday 8 December where transport issues were planned to be discussed.

b. MCAP, (Melksham Community Area Partnership)

          Chris Holden, (MCAP Chairman) advised that:

·        Community Safety Group – Thanks to the community area grant Melksham were now able to join the Touch2id scheme.

·        Waterways Group – The first Consultation exercise is planned for the Melksham link of the Wilts & Berks canal proposals, a questionnaire would be circulated during December, with the next group meeting planned for the 7 December.

·        The Old Peoples Forum - Would be holding its next meeting during January 2011, date to be advised.

·        Power Initiative Group – Looking at community run energy production.

·        That a CCTV consultant would be looking at the Melksham CCTV system on 2 December to advise on upgrading of the system.

c. Wiltshire Police

          The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

           Points made by Inspector David Cullop included:

·        A representative of the Wiltshire Police Authority would be attending the February 2011 area board meeting to give a presentation on changes to police policy following the central government spending review.

·        The area board my find it useful to talk with Giles Sergeant (Managing Director of Touch2id) to get further information on The Touch2id scheme.

d. NHS Wiltshire

          The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

e. Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

          The written update distributed with the agenda was noted.

f. Melksham Town Council

         Cllr Sarah Cardy advised that:

·        The Town Council were pleased with the High Street repaving that had been carried out.

·        Regular showings of movies to be screened at the Assembly Hall, January screenings would include Harry Potter.

·        The Town Council were keen to play their part in the upcoming Melksham campus consultations.

·        Concerns over short term coach parking now that the lorry park had been closed, this problem looked likely to be compounded when Wiltshire Council staff start working from the old George Ward school site and use shuttle coaches into the town centre.

        The Chairman advised that this issue would be looked into once issue sheets had been submitted.

·        Queensway/Sandridge – Crossing person had now been lost, as this was a busy road the Town Council would like the crossing person post reinstated.

         The Chairman advised that this issue is be looked into.

g. Parish Council Nominated Representatives

Melksham Without

·        Work was ongoing with the Berryfield allotments.

·        Community Flood Planning – more information required as to what parishes should be putting in their parish plans.

The Chairman advised that information was available to help parishes complete their flood plans and that the area board had been requesting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

1. Presentation from Dr James Heffer.

2. Conigre Mead Nature Reserve.

3. Any other urgent questions of public concern.

a. New NHS Medical Practice in Melksham – Dr James Heffer

Dr James Heffer advised the area board of a new NHS medical practice that was scheduled to open for the residents of Melksham.

Points made by Dr Heffer included:

• The new practice was the result of the St Damian’s medical practice and the merging three of Bradford on Avon medical practices.

• The need to find a new site for the St Damian’s practice, it was proposed that the new practice would be situated on the west side of the river Avon and would house an on-site chemist.

• The St Damian’s site lease was up in a matter of months and that finding a new site for the practice was a priority, it was hoped that agreement could be reached with NHS Wiltshire for the St Damian’s practice to remain on the Melksham hospital site until the new practice was operational.

• The new practice made good sense with the current national situation of funding within the NHS and an ageing UK population.

• The practice would have an NHS spend of £10 million and a drug spend of £2 million.

• The practice would endeavour to keep its patients informed as to developments of the new practice by surgery news letters.

The Chairman thanked Dr Heffer for his update.

b. Conigre Mead Nature Reserve

Ian Cardy gave a brief presentation requesting area board support for a proposed lottery bid on behalf of the Conigre Mead Nature Reserve.

Points made by Ian Cardy included:

• The reserve is owned by the Wiltshire Wild Life Trust and managed by volunteers.

• The site is looking rather run down, with work needed on pathways and fences etc.

Decision

• That the Melksham Area Board supports the Conigre Mead Nature Reserve lottery bid.

c. Any other urgent questions of public concern

A member of the public tried to raise the subject of the Melksham Oak school curriculum, the Chairman ruled him out of order on the grounds that this was not an urgent item.

a. Update on the Future of Council Services in Melksham - Mark Stone, (Transformation Programme Director, Wiltshire Council) and Lucy Murray-Brown,

            (Leisure Partnerships Manager, Wiltshire Council).

Campus

·        Wiltshire Council campus consultation.

·        Receipt of the library petition.

      Leisure

·        Updates on any Campus/Christie Miller Sports Centre developments since the last meeting.

b. New approach to Face to Face Customer Access - Wayne Smith, (Customer Services Operations Manager, Wiltshire Council) will

    give a presentation on proposals for new ways of working.

a. Update on the Future of Council Services in Melksham

Leisure - updates on any Campus/Christie Miller Sports Centre developments since the last meeting - Lucy Murray-Brown (Leisure Partnerships Manager, Wiltshire Council).

Points made by Lucy Murray-Brown included:

• Wiltshire Council Cabinet would look at the consultation conclusions at its meeting on the 13 December 2010 and then make a decision.

• The consultation had shown that the majority of local people wanted a single campus with good access and free parking.

Questions raised from the floor:

• Would a full breakdown of the consultation results be made available?

     Yes, after the Cabinet meeting the results and raw data would be  made available.

• There seems to be consultation after consultation, when will there be a final outcome?

     The leisure review would be concluded on the13 December, the campus in the new year, this item will be discussed at a couple of “campus” themed area board meetings, the area board will then make its recommendations that will be feedback to the Wiltshire Council Cabinet.

• With all services moving onto the campus you will kill the centre of Melksham.

     Central government were very keen that local government authorities start co-locating their services, this would perhaps be something that would be looked at as part of the discussions when the full plans were available in February 2011.

Cllr Roy While then spoke on behalf of the Christie Miller indoor bowlers who wished to keep an indoor bowling facility in Melksham and proposed that:

Decision

• The Melksham Area Board requests that the Officer team (Wiltshire Council) act on the concerns of the Bowls Club and consider how indoor bowls can be included in the campus proposals currently being drawn up for consideration by the Cabinet and future Board meetings. Indoor bowls would make a significant contribution to the success of the campus.

Wiltshire Council campus consultation.

It was then proposed by the Chairman that:

Decision

• Melksham Area Board, whilst recognising that decisions have not yet been made for the format of a future Melksham Campus, welcomes the prospect of that Campus for Wiltshire Council services to the Melksham Community Area.   As the only elected body representing the whole of the Melksham Community Area, the Area Board resolves to make itself and its meetings available as the formal consultation body on Campus development matters between Wiltshire Council and the Melksham Community Area.

Points raised from the floor included:

• Community Area Partnership input would be vital in this process.

The Area Board would liaise with the Community Area Partnership to sort out a robust consultation process.

• The Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council would want to be involved in any discussions on the campus project.

           Mark Stone, (Transformation Programme Director, Wiltshire Council)  advised that all parties were welcome to consult with Wiltshire Council, but that any reports would reflect that the area board was Wiltshire Council’s formal consultative body.

Receipt of the Library Petition

A petition with around two thousand signatures which requested that Melksham Library  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

a. Melksham 0 -19 Resilience Project presentation - Richard Parker, (Bath Spa University).

b. The Wiltshire Councillors will consider five applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2010/11, as follows:

i.                    Keevil Parish Council request £330 towards repairs to the village playing field fencing. 

ii.                  Seend Parochial Church Council request £1556 towards a new printer for the Spotlight community magazine.

iii.                Bath Spa University request £5000 towards the Melksham Resilience project. 

iv.                 Atworth Youth Club request £930 towards a Duke of Edinburgh’s award training and activities. 

v.                   Lowbourne Neighbourhood Centre request £959 towards IT equipment. 

c. Area Board Project – Cllr Jon Hubbard, £913 requested for street-based youth work.

d. Performance Reward Grant Scheme – update, Shaw basketball courts, awarded £6550.

a. Melksham 0 -19 Resilience Project

Power point presentation – Richard Parker & Dr Janet Rose (Bath Spa University).

The Melksham 0-19 Resilience Project was a collaborative venture between schools, Bath Spa University and a number of other services working with young people in the Melksham area. It had two main aims – to test out the potential of emotion coaching techniques to improve behaviour, outcomes and family relationships in an area of significant deprivation, and to examine the feasibility and impact of adopting a common approach to such techniques across all services,  on individuals, families, multi agency working and community well being.

The Chairman thanked Richard Parker & Dr Janet Rose for their presentation.

b. Community Area Grant Scheme

The Wiltshire Councillors considered five applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2010/11, as follows:

i. Keevil Parish Council awarded £330 towards repairs to the village playing field fencing.

Reason

The above application met the Community Area Grant criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan.

Note: Cllr Eaton now in the chair

ii. Seend Parochial Church Council requested £1556 towards a new printer for the Spotlight community magazine – This application was deferred in order for the area board to work with Seend Parochial Church Council to investigate whether the requested £1556 is viable.

Note: Cllr Seed now back in the chair

iii. Bath Spa University awarded £5000 towards the Melksham Resilience project.

Reason

The above application met the Community Area Grant criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrates a link to the Community Plan. It addresses directly Priority 3 - Young People, in particular young people themselves recognising and dealing with anti social behaviour issues

iv. Atworth Youth Club awarded £930 towards a Duke of Edinburgh’s award training and activities.

Reason

The above application met the Community Area Grant criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrates a link to a link to the Community Plan in terms of providing additional structured positive activities for young people and to achieve greater benefits and provide a greater variety of activities and sessions from existing youth facilities.

v. Lowbourne Neighbourhood Centre awarded £959 towards IT equipment subject to the offer of redundant IT equipment being bought second hand from the Berryfield Youth Group.

Reason

The above application met the Community Area Grant criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrates a link to a link to the Community Plan in terms of access to broadband. Internet access for all in compliance with the Wiltshire Community Plan 2011-2026. 

Note: Cllr Steve Petty did not vote on this application

c. Area Board Project - Proposed by Cllr Jon Hubbard

Wiltshire Development Service for Young People awarded £913 to provide a street based youth work presence in King George V Playing Fields on Friday evenings for 6 months to divert young people from anti social behaviour.

Note: Cllr Steve Petty abstained from the vote on this application

d. Performance Reward Grant Scheme Update

Shaw basketball courts, awarded £6550.

Semington Football Club, representatives would be coming to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

Cllr Toby Sturgis, (Cabinet Member for waste, property and environment) to introduce his portfolio and take any questions.

Cllr Toby Sturgis, (Wiltshire Council cabinet member for Waste, Property and

Environment) gave the meeting an update of current developments within his

portfolio.

Questions raised from the floor included:

• How long will Wiltshire Council be using the George Ward site for?

     Staff should be based there from January 2011 for around two years.

• How are Wiltshire Council doing with “waste to energy”?

     Currently processing around 50,000 tons.

• Waste collection harmonisation – will it happen?

     Yes, possibly June 2011, but may be later.

• Blue Pool site – what is happening?

Blue Pool site is owned by Cooper Avon Tyres, detailed work with the  land owners needed to be carried out before its future could be mapped out.

• Doorstep collections of cardboard and plastics – when is this likely to happen?

Timescale dependant on finding a site to separate cardboard and plastics.

• Can Wiltshire Council recover methane fro land fill sites?

     Yes, currently capturing methane at our Compton Bassett site but not        economical from some of the older landfill sites.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Sturgis for his informative update.

Wednesday 2February 2011 – Melksham Oak school.

Tuesday 29March 2011 – Melksham Assembly Hall.

Wednesday 2 February 2011 – Melksham Oak school.

Tuesday 29 March 2011 – Melksham Assembly Hall.

The Chairman thanked all partners, parishes and officers for attending the meeting.