Agenda and minutes

To welcome those present to the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence from any Area Board councillors, however apologies were noted from:

 

·       Chilmark Parish Council

·       Inspector Tina Osborn – Salisbury Community Policing Team (CPT)

·       Jaki Farrell – Seeds4Success

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

 

There were no declarations of interest.

 

To confirm as a correct record and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 14 December 2022.

 

 

The minutes of the previous meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board held on 14 December 2022 were considered.

 

Following which, it was:

 

Resolved

 

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board held on 14 December 2022 as a true and correct record.

To receive announcement through the Chairman, such as:

 

·       Cost of Living

·       The King’s Coronation – 6 May 2023

·       Family Help Hubs

Reference was made to the Chairman’s Announcements briefing notes and additional information as listed in the Agenda Pack, namely:

 

·       Cost of Living Update

·       The King’s Coronation – Community Celebrations

·       Family Help Hubs

To receive an update about local policing issues, including Community Speed Watch.

 

Swindon and Wiltshire’s Strategic Planning and Performance Officer, John Derryman, from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, will provide an update about efforts to tackle speeding in the local area.

As apologies from Inspector Tina Osborn had been received, Inspector Kevin Harmsworth, Warminster CPT, provided both the Salisbury and Warminster update for attendees.

 

The local priorities for Salisbury, as listed within the Agenda Pack, were discussed, namely: vehicle crime, shed/garage burglaries, vulnerability patrols/closure notices, rural crime, ASB involving catapults, and Community Speed Watch.

 

Changes to the Membership for the Warminster CPT were highlighted and then the local priorities for Warminster, as listed within the Agenda Pack, were discussed, namely: youth related anti-social behaviour, The Old Nurseries in Burton, Mere, and road traffic offences. It was confirmed that Warminster CPT were planning to attend Mere and Tisbury Town and Parish Council meetings to discuss the local priorities with Councillors. Members discussed the potential for a dedicated Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for the Mere area after reports of the public toilets on the A303 being vandalised. Further discussions around increasing the resourcing levels were had, with Members raising concerns as to the small number of police officers responsible for the area.

 

John Derryman, Strategic Planning and Performance Officer for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, gave an update on the Community Speed Watch (CSW) Scheme and highlighted the Road Safety Update as included in Agenda Supplement 1. The CSW data over the last two years was displayed alongside details of the SID Pilot Scheme which used Qlik analytics software to create interactive reports and dashboards that can be utilised by Officers to discover trends and therefore deliver more targeted enforcement. Furthermore, two new roles, Community Road Safety Officers (CRSO’s) and Community Speed Enforcement Officers (CSEO’s), were explained, and it was noted that there were now approximately 115 CSW schemes with over 1,000 volunteers.

 

Members welcomed the SID scheme and it was confirmed that South West Wiltshire would be amongst the first areas to start the importing of data. The involvement of the volunteers was highlighted as being of vital importance to the success of the scheme to ensure that as much information as possible was submitted in order to determine where the speeding hotspots are, thus allowing effective enforcement. A member of the public requested that Chalke Valley Road be considered for speeding enforcement. Full data regarding enforcement could be found on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) here: https://www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk/your-pcc/campaigns/road-safety/.

 

Attendees were informed that to report a crime they should contact the crime communication centre, either online or over the phone, instead of contacting their PCSOs.

 

The Chairman thanked Inspector Harmsworth and John Derryman for the information and noted that they would welcome future updates.

To receive the Highways Maintenance Programme plan 2023/24 – 2029/30.

Samantha Howell, Director – Highways & Transport, presented the Highways Maintenance Programme plan 2023/24 – 2029/30.

 

Volatile and adverse weather conditions as well as the impact of the rise of inflation were noted as being the main challenges faced by the Council in terms of highway maintenance. The council comprehensively reviewed the network and then works were prioritised accordingly. 

 

Pothole reports were noted as having increased significantly at the start of the year, with approximately 900 reports in December 2022, increasing to approximately 4,000 in January 2023. As such, additional resources from the Parish Stewards would be deployed to aid in fixing them.

 

Attendees were also informed that the Council would have a new works contractor from April 2023, Milestone Infrastructure Ltd. Any works not completed by Ringway would transfer across to Milestone.

 

During the discussion, points raised included:

 

·       The delivery for the Shaftesbury Road repairs were still on programme.

·       Once the annual settlement from central government was received then officers would have the ability to develop a realistic delivery programme for the Highways Maintenance Programme with additional details such as proposed dates, which could be brought back to the Area Board when appropriate.

·       Officers explained that not all potholes met the intervention criteria and as such contractors may not repair all of them, however they have the autonomy to undertake additional repairs in the close vicinity if they are able. The criteria for potholes was noted as being available on the Council’s website (https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highways-roads-care-cycle-lanes, see page 16 of the Wiltshire Highways Safety Inspection Manual) and a Priority 1 pothole was stated as being In carriageway more than 75mm deep and horizontal dimensions greater than 300mm x 300mm, in line with national standards.

·       The expected settlement was emphasised alongside the limited budget that officers have to work with, hence why a lot of significant defects were temporarily repaired to minimise danger ahead of a full repair. In the meantime, officers and contractors undertook inspections and a contract management process was in place to monitor this.

·       Details as to the total amount paid in claims to motorists as a result of vehicle damage from potholes was requested, however the officer did not have this data available at the meeting.

·       Members were informed that there were dedicated officers in the team that liaise with the police and the Rural Road Safety Campaign as well as providing support for changing behaviours.

·       Various roads were raised by attendees as being in a concerning state, these included:

o   Boar St Mere to West Knoyle

o   Roads in Tollard Royal, in particular the B3081

 

Chris Hilldrup, the new National Highways route manager for Wiltshire was introduced.  It was hoped that he could attend future area board meetings to ensure a much stronger collaboration with Wiltshire Council and local parishes regarding National Highway route issues, especially of course the A36 and A303.

To receive any verbal updates from Partners and Community Groups, including:

 

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

·       Community First

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Health and Wellbeing Group

·       Silver Salisbury

The Chairman referred attendees to the written updates included within the agenda pack.

 

Cllr Nick Errington gave a verbal update to accompany the written update in the agenda with regard to the Health and Wellbeing Group. They had been discussions on a range of issues with Silver Salisbury and Tisbury, Mere and Wilton Libraries had all received good feedback on their Warm Spaces. The group were considering a digital inclusion project, that could work to support people in their digital literacy skills to ensure that people were not excluded from the modern world.

 

Irene Kohler from Silver Salisbury also provided an update. The purpose of the group was to help alleviate loneliness and social isolation for those most vulnerable in the community. As such, Silver Salisbury produced a programme of events which included regular and one off events taking place in the community. This was distributed on 1 October (National Older People’s Day) alongside a further updated edition during spring. The importance of investing in hard copies for residents was emphasised and thanks were given to the Area Board for their support via grants.

 

A representative from Alabare Christian Care & Support noted that they had previously been granted £500 for supporting the running of pottery classes and updated Members on the funding’s impact to their group. Members were told to keep an eye on Alabare’s social media pages for further information of their upcoming open days.

 

Lastly, a representative from Barford St Martin informed Members that a new playground had been built in the village with its official opening the weekend following the meeting.

 

The Chairman thanked all attendees for their updates and those included in the agenda pack.

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

Camella Town, National Power Outage Project Officer, and Chris Manuel, Community Resilience Lead Officer, delivered a verbal presentation on the proposal of Emergency Contact Hubs (ECHs) and their purpose; to help resilience in the community.

 

The idea of ECHs was introduced and explained as being inspired by similar endeavours in New Zealand where such places were created for emergency purposes to help residents experiencing urgent issues such as power outages or severe flooding. Officers noted that this would build on existing community spirit and resilience arrangements in recognised community locations and would be community led, driven and owned. As such, officers would not be attempting to enforce a detailed structure and instead would look to volunteers to organise how they saw best but would be there to provide support and advise if needed. The aim was to formalise the communications link between communities and authorities. Authorities would know where to go to disseminate information and residents would know where to go to get help or pass information back up the chain.

 

The introduction of the hubs would be promoted widely on various media platforms through Wiltshire Council to ensure that residents would know the locations of the sites alongside any other necessary information.

 

The Chairman noted that some of the parishes in his area had invested significantly in their emergency planning and had well developed plans. In response, officers stated that they would welcome the parishes to contact them, and they could work together to support those community areas that were unfamiliar with the process. Furthermore, officers stated that they would circulate the presentation slides with Parish and Town Councils where needed. Officers then reiterated that they were looking for well known locations within communities and that they would collaborate with Councillors and multi-agency partners. By working together in this way, they hoped the communication links would be strong and agile. However, future tests were planned to ensure that the linkages would work effectively across the different community areas in Wiltshire.

 

Attendees were encouraged to get in touch with Camella through the following email address if they or anyone they knew wanted to volunteer or wanted any further details: camella.town@wiltshire.gov.uk. The presentation slides shown can be seen in agenda supplement 2.

 

To receive an update on the South West Wiltshire Area Board local priorities and work plan. The work plan can be seen in the attached report.

 

The Area Board priorities are:

 

·       Addressing environmental issues in partnership with the Cranborne Chase AONB

·       Strengthening youth engagement

·       Support older people and vulnerable adults' health and wellbeing

·       Support the local economy

·       Community safety

Karen Linaker, Strategic Engagement and Partnership Manager (SEPM), provided an update to the Area Board on the local priorities and work plan, as included within the Agenda Pack.

 

It was explained that in the next scheduled meeting of the Area Board in June 2023, Members would receive a more detailed report would be asked to reset the priorities. Each of the lead Councillors then commented on the action taken and issues considered, including:

 

·       Youth Engagement – Cllr Bridget Wayman notified attendees of the Youth Employment event being held at Wiltshire College on 19 May 2023, where young people would have a go at hands-on activities, with approximately 40 sign-ups thus far. Further highlights from Seeds4Success were also detailed.

·       Environment – Members were informed of the ‘Big Green Week’ occurring from 11 – 18 June 2023 with events being held in Tisbury at the Nadder Centre and the Guild in Wilton. The Chairman noted that the events due to be held in Mere were still to be confirmed.

·       Community Safety – It was noted that the topic had already been covered in previous agenda items, but it was emphasised that tackling the speeding issues as discussed was a top priority.

·       Health and Wellbeing – Again, as the majority of the updates had already been discussed, Cllr Nick Errington highlighted the popular ‘Celebrating Age’ programme which had received funding from grants and the lottery.

 

 

To find out more about becoming a foster parent.

Karen Linaker, SEPM, presented the item focussing on the importance of recruiting foster parents across the County.

 

A statistical overview of the number of children in care nationally and County wide was provided before a more in-depth summary of the challenges fostering in the local area. A total of 14 children were in care across Wilton, Tisbury and Mere areas with an additional eight fostering families required. Attendees were then asked to help promote fostering in their local communities and were shown a video from an adult who was a looked-after child where they discussed the impacts that fostering had on their life.

 

Cllr Pauline Church, as a former Children’s Services Cabinet Member, emphasised the importance of fostering and how you can change the lives and future of young people in Wiltshire. She also reinforced that all Wiltshire Councillors had a responsibility as corporate parents for those children in care.

 

For more information from our fostering service:

Contact: Fostering Recruitment Duty

Call: 01225 716510

Email: fosteringrecruitment@wiltshire.gov.uk 

 

For those interested in becoming a foster carer:

Call: 0800 169 6321

Text: ‘Foster’ to 60002

Email: fostering@wiltshire.gov.uk  

Website: www.fosteringwiltshire.uk   

 

To find out more about the progress made towards establishing the car club.

Karen Linaker, SEPM, updated the Area Board on the progress made towards establishing the car club.

 

Attendees were informed that unfortunately after an extended period of discussions, the chosen provider had withdrawn due to their inability to provide the desired service. However, Mere would still receive a number of electric car chargers and Members may have the ability to try initiate the club again next year.

 

Cllr George Jeans expressed disappointment in the situation but thanked the officer for all of the hard work she had undertaken.

To receive an update about plans for the event.

 

 

It was announced that a youth employment event organised by the Area Board would be taking place at Wiltshire College on 19 May 2023. An update on how this went could be given at the next Area Board meeting.

To note the actions and recommendations as set out in the report from the last meeting of LHFIG held on 22 February 2023, as detailed in the attached papers.

 

Cllr Bridget Wayman gave a brief update on the LHFIG and informed attendees that there were no new schemes or funding recommendations to approve. The move to the new contractor, Milestone Infrastructure Ltd, was highlighted and Members were hopeful that services would improve. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the next meeting of the LHFIG would be 31 May 2023.

 

Resolved:

 

The Area Board noted the minutes of the previous meeting of the LHFIG held on 22 February 2023.

 

The Board members will consider the following applications for funding:

 

·       Youth Employment Event - £500 (Area Board Initiative)

·       Developing digital know how - £500 (Area Board Initiative)

·       Donhead Sports Club - £5,000 (Community Area Grant)

·       Berwick St John Village Hall Committee – glass washing machine, £500 (Community Area Grant)

·       Chalke Valley Fete and Produce Show - £1,250 (Community Area Grant)

·       Friends of Broad Chalke Playground, renovation - £5,000 (Community Area Grant)

·       Burcombe Village Hall Renovation - £688.19 (Community Area Grant)

·       Hindon Warm Hub - £300 (Older people and vulnerable adults funding)

The Area Board considered the applications for Community Area, Older and Vulnerable People’s, and Youth grant funding (including Area Board initiatives) as detailed in the report attached to the Agenda Pack. Representatives of the organisations applying for grants spoke in support of their applications. The Area Board discussed each of the grant applications.

 

Area Board Initiatives:

 

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Jeans, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

To grant the Youth Employment Event, £500, towards the joint Youth Employment Event.

 

Reason:

The application met the Youth Grant criteria 2022/23.

 

On the proposal of Cllr Errington, seconded by the Chairman, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

·       To grant the Developing Digital Know How Project, £500, towards aiding vulnerable adults and older people in improving their digital accessibility and understanding.

 

Reason:

The application met the Older and Vulnerable People’s grants criteria 2022/23.

 

Community Area Grant Funding:

 

On the proposal of Cllr Errington, seconded by Cllr Jeans, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

·       To grant Donhead Sports Club, £5,000, towards the Donhead Sports Club roof refurbishment.

 

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

 

 

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

·       To grant the Berwick St John Village Hall Committee, £500, towards a glass washing machine.

 

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

 

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Errington, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

 

·       To grant the Chalke Valley Fete Committee, £1,250, towards advertising banners and equipment for the Chalke Valley Fete and Produce Show 2023.

 

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

 

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Church, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

 

·       To grant the Friends of Broad Chalke Playground, £5,000, towards the Broad Chalke playground renovation.

 

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

 

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Jeans, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

 

·       To grant the Burcombe Village Hall Committee, £688.19, towards the village hall renovation.

 

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

 

Older People and Vulnerable People’s Funding:

 

 

On the proposal of the Vice-Chairman, seconded by Cllr Errington, it was resolved to make the following:

 

Decision

 

 

·       To grant the Hindon Warm Hub Volunteers, £300, towards the Hindon Warm Hub.

 

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

 

The next meeting of the Board is on Wednesday 28 June, at 6.30pm.

The next meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board would be Wednesday 28 June at 6.30pm.