Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from:

• Councillor Caroline Corbin

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 28 September 2023.

The minutes of the last meeting were presented.

It was;

Resolved:

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 28 September 2023 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.

In relation to Item 6 – Funding Application - Bemerton Residents Association, Santas Grotto Project – Cllr Ricky Rogers noted for openness that he assisted the project as a volunteer. As this did not constitute a disclosable interest he remained in the room but chose not to take part in the discussion or the vote on the item.

The Chairman will give any updates, including:

·       Highways Matters Event – 25 January 2024

·       Maltings Recap

·       Salisbury Traffic Management

Chairman’s Updates

Highways Matters Event

The Area Board would host a Highways themed event on 25 January 2024. Any questions for the Highways team should be submitted prior to the event.

Salisbury Maltings Regeneration Project

The regeneration of the Central Car Park and Maltings had been a long-standing aspiration of Wiltshire Council and its predecessor authorities.

The area comprises the Central Car Park and the Maltings shopping centre.  The freehold of both were held by Wiltshire Council, and the shopping centre was held on a long lease by a private company.

Masterplans had been adopted for both the Maltings and the wider River Park which set out aspirations for regeneration that aligned with planning policy for the area and the Salisbury Central Area Framework.

The council had sought to work with the successive owners of the shopping centre to achieve its comprehensive regeneration goals and had also attempted on two occasions to purchase the shopping centre when it had come on the market. The council’s offers were informed by independent commercial advice but on each occasion the council was outbid.

The central car park itself was constructed on land that had been raised historically with material that contains significant pockets of contamination.  Discussions with one developer partner confirmed the abnormal costs to deal with this ran to an estimated £10m at that time – of which the Council was able to secure £6m of grant funding towards the cost from the government via the Local Enterprise Partnership.   Despite this and owing to other factors including market headwinds and the nerve agent incident of 2018 difficulties had persisted in bringing forward a workable regeneration scheme.  

The £6m grant funding secured via the LEP was time limited but the council was able to divert this funding into the Maltings element of the River Park scheme that was currently in delivery with the Environment Agency (EA).  This match funding supported the EA in delivering a scheme that would secure significant regeneration benefits alongside the flood alleviation aspects that were the focus of the EA in line with its statutory obligations.  The current scheme had unlocked a total of £38m of investment into Salisbury.

The Council remained in dialogue with the current owners of the shopping centre on its plans for the site.  The aspirations for a comprehensive scheme remained, but site constraints continued to be a factor.   

Central Car Park

Thanks to public who had made contact with local members on the situation around central car park and the Maltings. It was recognised that some improvements could be made to the traffic flow, and suggestions had been fed into the relevant Officers. Congestion was not aided however by some drivers who were driving inconsiderately. We are trying to work with Highways to make things flow as best they can.

City Hall

Anne Trevett was part of a group of local people who had come together to work towards finding a solution to the future used of City Hall as an entertainment facility.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 166.

The Board is asked to note the following Information items:

·       Community First

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       Update from BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal

·       Wiltshire Council Information Items:

o   Cost of living Update (Sep)

o   IV Scheme

o   Archaeology Service Newsletter

The Board noted the Information Items as set out in the agenda pack, these were:

·       Community First

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       Update from BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal

·       Wiltshire Council Information Items:

o   Cost of living Update (Sep)

o   IV Scheme

o   Archaeology Service Newsletter

The Board noted the budgets remaining for allocation at the meeting and heard from representatives in attendance who gave a brief overview of their project followed by any questions by the Board.

Community Area Grants:

Bemerton Community Limited, St John’s Place blackout blinds and dishwasher project, requested £2059.97

The Applicant John MacKay spoke in support of the project.

Cllr Rogers moved the motion to award in full. This was seconded by Cllr Dalton.

Resolved

Bemerton Community Limited, was awarded £2059.97 towards St John’s Place blackout blinds and dishwasher project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

As Cllr Rogers had declared an interest at the start of the meeting in relation to the next application, he handed over to Cllr Sam Charleston, Vice-Chairman and did not take part in the discussion or the vote for this application only.

Bemerton Residents Association (BHRA), Santas Grotto Project, requested £3000

The Applicant Jenny Bolwell spoke in support of the project.

Cllr Charleston moved the motion to award in full. This was seconded by Cllr Hocking.

Resolved

Bemerton Residents Association was awarded £3000 towards, Santas Grotto Project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

Older & Vulnerable Adults Grants:

Wessex Archaeology Ltd, Well City Salisbury Project requested £500

The Applicant Leigh Chalmers spoke in support of the project.

Cllr Dalton moved the motion to award in full. This was seconded by Cllr Rogers.

Resolved

Wessex Archaeology Ltd was awarded £500 towards the Well City Salisbury Project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

Area Board Initiatives:

Cost of Living leaflet, requested £500

Cllr Rogers presented the Area Board Initiative for the printing of 14,000 copies of an updated leaflet. 

Cllr Hocking moved the motion to award in full. This was seconded by Cllr Charleston.

Resolved

The Are Board Initiative – Cost of Living flyer printing  was awarded £500. 

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

Young People Grants:

Salisbury City Council, Friary Hangout, casual staffing and youth development activity project, requested £1770

The Applicant Sarah Gregson spoke in support of the project which would run on Tuesdays.

Cllr Rogers moved the motion to award in full. This was seconded by Cllr Hocking.

Resolved

Salisbury City Council was awarded £1770 towards Friary Hangout, casual staffing and youth development activity project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

Wiltshire Creative, SK Shlomo Breath event and academy project, requested £5000

The Applicant Louise Dancy spoke in support of the project.

Cllr Hocking moved the motion to award in full. This was seconded by Cllr Rogers.

Resolved

Wiltshire Creative was awarded £5000 towards SK Shlomo Breath event and academy project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24

Delegated Funding

The Board noted a funding award made under the Delegated Funding Process, by the Strategic Engagement & Partnership Manager, between meetings due to matters of urgency.

Wiltshire Makers CIC - £1000

A presentation from the Police & Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson OBE, followed by a Q & A session.

The Board welcomed the Police & Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson OBE, who gave an overview of current areas of work.

The PCC noted the vast array of fantastic organisations engaging with young people across Wiltshire and Swindon, drawing attention to a funding scheme for young people, offered by the OPCC where applicants could apply for up to £5k at a time.

The PCC went on to outline his background in national defence and safeguarding and his current role which included holding the Police to account, working closely with the new Chief Constable and her soon to be in role new Deputy Chief Constable and Senior Leadership Team.

The Police & Crime Plan focused on four priority areas. The priorities included a Police force which was better communicated with the public, community commitment and improved response times for the 101 service.

A new shift system which had been reorganised to provide a greater emphasis on the Community Policing Teams, with more Officers on the streets.

Violence against women and girls now had a positive outcome rate with further improvements planned.

Drugs and county lines – collaborative multi force operations were carried out between all 5 Police forces in the southwest. Operation Scorpion was a regional approach to focus on county lines activity, with Wiltshire a top performing force across the country.

Speeding – In 2021 a total of 192 speeding tickets were issued. In 2023 there had been 12k tickets issued this year already. 

Wiltshire was performing well with the Community Speedwatch Initiative, able to identify hotspots and persistent offenders to enable the deployment of Speed Enforcement Officers to specifically identified locations.

Ongoing issues with Anti-Social behaviour (ASB) were multi-facetted. The force would need to get behind the causes to then address the symptoms. Engaging with the thematic groups to have a joined-up approach was beneficial. In areas where there had been a higher level of ASB, work was carried out with multi agencies to create a package of support.

Following the success of Operation Scorpion, the collaborative work of the five forces in the Southwest would look to address Rural Crime. Taking a much more coherent approach to tackle the groups targeting farms and rural settings.

The PCC and Chief Constable were radically reforming the enabling resources to improve operational matters.

The request for a local Police Station in the south had not been forgotten. There were two sites up for consideration, these were located at Old Sarum and at the High Post and work was currently underway to assess each for biodiversity value.

Questions and comments included:

If a piece of farm machinery had a tracker, could it be retrieved before it was moved abroad?

Answer: There are no-go areas in Wiltshire.

Regarding speeding tickets, what was your opinion on auto speedwatch?

Answer: The system was not as good as a SID and the data could not be used in a court of law. Strongly recommend a SID.

There had been a number of burglaries around the Bishopdown area,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 169.

Christopher Williams of the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Office to update on the Safer Street Funding Scheme, followed by any questions.

Christopher Williams (community safety strategic lead) of the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Office provided an update on the Safer Street Funding Scheme.

·       Home Office funding to support innovative approaches to crime and ASB

·       Previous rounds delivered through local government.

·       Focus on safety in public places and strict rules around spending

·       Projects for an 18 month period

·       Not able to replicate previously funded activity

Wiltshire Bid:

·       A bid for £1m of activity across Wiltshire and Swindon

·       Focused on violence against women and girls (VAWG), anti-social behaviour (ASB) and youth crime.

·       Home Office demand focus on small neighbourhoods

·       We identified areas responsible for most crime in the county.

Proposal 1: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) and the Nighttime Economy

•        Supporting women’s safety, especially in town centres after dark

Proposal 2: Neighbourhood Crime

•        Making the most vulnerable localities more resilient to crime and ASB

Proposal 3: Youth Engagement

•        Finding those young people most at risk of being drawn into crime and ASB and supporting them positively

Priority areas in Salisbury were identified as St Martin central and St Edmunds South wards. Venture Security had been awarded the contract to carry out the security work (Wardens).

Next steps:

·       The Home Office had approved funding bid in Nov 2023.

·       Undertaking due diligence and commencing project arrangements with providers

·       Expected delivery date – December

Questions and comments:

Cllr hocking stated that when the opportunity first came up, he and others looked at the criteria and put together some projects for submission. When they met again a week before the deadline, the criteria had  changed quite drastically leaving little time to reform the projects. The criteria included ‘cannot replicate previously funded activity’ yet the cctv and bobby van were already in existence.

Funding for venture security was good, they have previously done a fantastic job over last few years when hired by SCC.

Karen Linaker, Strategic Engagement and Partnership Manager, spoke on the Million Hours Fund, which was a government initiative providing funding. As part of a stage 1 bid they received £2k for a youth detached model and in stage 2, the aim was to work with a partner to form something more creative.  As officers we think the Safer Street Funding grant is great, as we are crying out for detached youth work. The physical stuff is effective but so too are the outreach opportunities.

Claire Francis, Public Protection Team Leader to update on the progress of the PSPO process.

Claire Francis, Public Protection Team Leader to update on the progress of the PSPO process.

PSPO was a tool which helped to manage antisocial behaviour. There was currently a PSPO in place in the south of the county.

A PSPO could only be made by applying a legal test. The Salisbury PSPO was supported by the provision of data provided by the Police.  Consultation on the Salisbury PSPO closed on 30 October. The data showed that all response were from people over 24 years of age, so a second consultation was planned.

A webpage was available with further information and a map detailing the area covered by the PSPO.

Next Steps:

•        Further 2 week consultation in January 2024 - to engage more of the hard to reach groups

•        The PSPO would be made through delegated powers

•        Advertisement of the PSPO would be carried out using sticker signs in relevant locations.

•        Fixed penalty Notices issued to the police.

•        The PSPO would last for 3 years and be kept under review

Questions and Comments:

·       Bemerton had experienced issues with catapults, would the PSPO be in force by March 2024?

Answer: Yes, as we would use delegated powers to agree it.

·       A poster and leaflet campaign would be really important to get the message across.

Answer: Stickers could be provided for display in the most appropriate places. 

·       Venture Security Team look after the city centre security scheme, we have been working with others in tackling antisocial behaviour issues. In other towns where we also operate, we were issued delegated powers to enforce the PSPO. Will the powers here just stay at Police level?

Answer: The plan at the moment would be to stay at Police level – but this may change. It was something that could be looked at as part of the consultation.

·       When would this realistically be in place?

Answer: The consultation would start 1^st week in Jan for 2 weeks. Hope to be in place by March 2024 if no legal challenge.

·       If only the Police were enforcing the PSPO, they were not around all the time. If our City Centre Security Officers had the delegated power to confiscate alcohol if been consumed inappropriately in the city centre, this would be a benefit. Venture security could assist if had delegated powers.

Answer: Ok. We are meeting with legal so will raise this.

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

·       Underpasses working group update – Cllr Hocking

·       Air Quality Group –Cllr Hocking

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minute slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Chairman

Written Updates

The Board is asked to note the following written and online updates attached to the agenda:

·       Neighbourhood Policing Team

·       Fire & Rescue

·       Salisbury BID – website link

The Board Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

Underpasses working group update–Cllr Hocking

A report was produced which costed a list of works. National Highways considered the report and advised that they could not carry out the work it would cost £1.5m.

Air Quality Group–Cllr Hocking

Air quality areas would be divided between specific members of the group to enable them each to focus on actions. The Action Plan would be circulated later in the week.

Written Updates

1.     The Board noted the written and online updates attached to the agenda, which were:

2.     Neighbourhood Policing Team

3.     Fire & Rescue

4.     Salisbury BID

Attendance of Partners during the meeting

Cllr Dalton asked the Board to consider reintroducing the invitation to Partners to attend the meeting section rather than the networking section only.

Update from Emily Hughes, Multiply Programme Manager, on the implementation of Multiply funding and how communities can receive support with their numeracy skills.

The Board received an update from Emily Hughes, Multiply Programme Manager, on the implementation of Multiply funding and how communities can receive support with their numeracy skills.

•        A Government funded initiative

•        Wiltshire Council had been allocated £2,108 million over 3 years

•        Grant funding had been allocated to local providers to support the community to up skill and improve their confidence in numeracy.

•        Available for adults (19+) who don’t have a level 2 maths qualification

•        Allowing individuals to take small steps, basic Maths all the way to qualifications

•        Designed to be confidence building, using everyday Mathsnot algebra!!

For further information email – multiply@wiltshire.gov.uk or visit the website – www.workwiltshire.co.uk/multiply

To receive any update for the Area Board Priorities listed below:

·       Youth engagement, employment and positive activity opportunities - Cllr Ricky Rogers

·       Addressing climate change - Cllr Sven Hocking

·       Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing - Cllr Caroline Corbin

·       Supporting under represented groups - Cllr Caroline Corbin

·       Improving transport and access - Cllr Sven Hocking

The Board received an update on the Area Board Priorities listed below:

·       Youth engagement, employment and positive activity opportunities-Cllr Ricky Rogers - One focus of the Youth Forum was the Safe Spaces initiative. There are currently 35 organisations in Salisbury as part of the Youth Network.

·       Addressing climate change-Cllr Sven Hocking  - Air Quality Action Plan

·       Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing-Cllr Caroline Corbin – Safer and supportive Salisbury and other community groups had been carrying out amazing work.

·       Supporting under represented groups-Cllr Caroline Corbin – A Foody network meeting was scheduled for the following day, and another project was the cost of living support flyer.

·       Improving transport and access-Cllr Sven Hocking

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 7 November 2023, as set out in the attached report.

Recommendations:

·        4b – Netherhampton Road Zebra Crossing Warning Signs – £1,250

·       4d – Devizes Road Topographical Survey – £2,000

·       4e – Provision of Tactile Paving at Dropped Kerb Crossing Points in the Vicinity of Victoria Park – £3,640.

Further information on the LHFIG process can be found here.

The Board noted the minutes and considered funding recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 7 November 2023, as set out in the report.

It was;

Resolved:

To approve LHFIG funding to the following schemes:

·       4b–Netherhampton Road Zebra Crossing Warning Signs–£1,250

·       4d–Devizes Road Topographical Survey–£2,000

·       4e–Provision of Tactile Paving at Dropped Kerb Crossing Points in the Vicinity of Victoria Park–£3,640.

The Board is asked to approve the attached list of identified schemes to be submitted for consideration for funding from the Salisbury Transportation Strategy budget.

The Board considered the list of identified schemes proposed to be submitted for consideration for funding from the Salisbury Transportation Strategy (STS) budget.

The Board agreed to have future updates on the STS at meetings where applicable, so that further bids for funding could be made. 

It was;

Resolved:

To agree the list of schemes below be submitted for consideration for funding from the Salisbury Transportation Strategy budget:

·       Improved pedestrian crossing facility at the junction of Stratford Road and Waters Road-£50,000

·       Provision of ANPR cameras to enforce school keep clear markings in Bishopdown Road and Somerset Road-£10,000

·       Provision of bus shelter in Castle Road-£7,000

·       Provision of ANPR camera to enforce No Right turn from Friary Lane into St. Ann Street-£30,000 [Note: This scheme could not be taken forward until the DfT approve the Council’s application to take on powers to deal with moving traffic offences.]

·       Provision of additional cycle parking stands in Salisbury City Centre-£10,000

·       Installation of Modupost System at Netherhampton Road Zebra crossing-£15,000

·       Installation of bus stop hardstanding in Stratford Road-£10,000

·       Upgrading of St. Mark’s Path between St. Francis Road and Wessex Water Site-£40,000 [Note: Estimated cost as detailed design work has not yet been commenced]

·       Purchase of land at Middle Street to improve access to Middle Street Meadow

·       -£5,000

·       Salisbury City Centre Street Lighting Improvements-£20,000

·       Underpasses Schemes-£60,000

Total Requested £257,000