Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the Chairman, Cllr Nabil Najjar. Therefore, Cllr Bridget Wayman, as Vice-Chairman, would preside over the meeting.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 29 May 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 May 2024 were presented for consideration and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will give an update on outcomes and actions arising from previous meetings of the Area Board.

·       Consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning and Policy Framework, closes at 11.45pm on 24 September. For more information please see: Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

·       Explore Wiltshire app - Tisbury and Wilton have been added to the Explore Wiltshire app for visitors and residents to explore their heritage, landscapes and amenities this summer. Download the free app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Cllr Bridget Wayman gave the updates as detailed on the agenda:

• Consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning and Policy Framework, closes at 11.45pm on 24 September. For more information please see: Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Explore Wiltshire app - Tisbury and Wilton have been added to the Explore Wiltshire app for visitors and residents to explore their heritage, landscapes and amenities this summer. Download the free app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

In addition, in relation to the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning and Policy Framework, Cllr Wayman stated that this was a real concern to her, as housing targets and numbers had increased by 81% for Wiltshire. If Wiltshire Council could get its draft Local Plan submitted and approved in time, then it would still be valid, however the council would need to develop a new Local Plan following that. Furthermore, the proposals would bring back the 5 year Housing Land Supply (HLS). At the current time, Wiltshire Council only had a 3.8 year HLS, which was worrying.

The Area Board is asked to note the following Information items:

·       Community First

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Wiltshire Council Information Items:

o   Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan consultation (closes 5pm on 4 October)

o   Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal

o   Families and Children's Transformation (FACT) Transitional Safeguarding Project

o   Families Children's Transformation (FACT) Family Help Project

o   Overview of Wiltshire Youth Council

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

·       Community First (pages 19-26)

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire (pages 27-29)

·       BSW Together (Integrated Care System) (pages 31-58)

·       Wiltshire Council Information Items:

o   Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan consultation (closes 5pm on 4 October) (pages 59 – 60)

o   Wiltshire Council Consultation Portal

o   Families and Children's Transformation (FACT) Transitional Safeguarding Project (pages 61 – 62)

o   Families Children's Transformation (FACT) Family Help Project (pages 63-64)

o   Overview of Wiltshire Youth Council (pages 65-66)

·       Police – Sergeant Josef Sadowski, Warminster NPT

·       Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership – Perry Payne

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda and received the following verbal updates:

Wiltshire Police - Sergeant Josef Sadowski, Warminster Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT)

The Sergeant explained that he was standing in for Inspector Louise Oakley and highlighted that there were written reports in the agenda pack from the 3 NPT’s which covered the South West Wiltshire (SWW) community area, these were Warminster NPT, Salisbury NPT and Amesbury NPT.

The Sergeant’s patch covered Warminster, Westbury, Mere and Tisbury. It was the largest NPT by geographical area and contained over 50 parish councils. The Sergeant had been in post since 5 July 2024 and since then had been trying to engage with as many people as possible and would continue to do so over time. The staff within his NPT were listed and it was noted that the NPT team were not the team that would respond if you called 999, that would be the response team. It was also noted that that not all the staff listed were on duty at the same time, there were usually 2-3 Police Constable’s (PC’s) patrolling at any one time and the same for the Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s). So, the team was spread quite thinly in a large area with a number of competing problems. The team liaised with partner agencies in order to increase leverage, enact change and respond to issues.

The team’s priorities were:

·       Engaging Communities – this was the team’s primary priority. The team wanted to be visible and tried to engage via meetings such as the Area Board, school visits, coffee morning, church visits and the like.

·       Solving Problems – the Sergeant wanted to highlight burglaries and rural crime and stated that there was a rural crime team working with local farmers to try to prevent crimes such as hare coursing. There had been a high value burglary at the Co-Op in Tisbury, that had been led by a national gang which had hit a few places on the same night. The Sergeant had led a highly visible operation recently with 10 mobile units and the tasking team, to deter crime. Speeding and enforcement were discussed as an issue and the Sergeant would pick this up with some of the Cllrs outside of the meeting. Particular concerns raised were the A30 in Tisbury and the A350 from East Knoyle to Shaftesbury. The Sergeant would look to see where enforcement could be conducted safely.

·       Targeting Activity – the supply of drugs was an ongoing issue, this was related to high level criminality, and modern slavery. It was known that there were 2 organised criminal gangs working in the area and there was ongoing monitoring and intelligence gathering taking place so that enforcement could take place. An update could be given at the next meeting.

An attendee from Donhead St Mary stated that there had been an issue in Donhead St Mary for about 10 years which had now been resolved.

The Sergeant stated that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

·       Summer events and activities in SWW - Karen Linaker

·       Town and Parish Councils

Karen Linaker (Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager) explained that this summer had been far busier in terms of summer events and activities, and things seemed to be returning to normal following Covid. A video of the Semley Music Festival was shown, which the Area Board had provided some funds towards.

An animation was also shown which included pictures from:

·       Berwick St John Country Fayre

·       Chalke Valley Fete and Show

·       Chalke Valley History Festival

·       Chilmark Church Fete

·       Classic Triumph Stags meet in Mere

·       Cranbourne Chase & Chalke National Landscape Event

·       Dinton Primary School Fun Day

·       Donhead St Andrews village fete

·       East Knoyle Open Gardens event

·       Fonthill Dog Show

·       Fovant Flower and Produce Show

·       Kilmington Village BBQ

·       Langford Beer, Gin and Cider Festival

·       Mere Art Group

·       Over 50’s activities in Mere weekend

·       Stourton and Kilmington Home Guard Fete

·       Stourton Flower and Produce Show

·       The opening of the new play area in Broad Chalke

·       Wilton Carnival

·       Wylye Village Fete

To receive updates on the Area Board priorities:

·       Youth Engagement and Wellbeing (Lead councillor – Cllr Pauline Church)

·       Older and Vulnerable Adults Health and Wellbeing (Lead councillor – Cllr Richard Budden)

·       The Environment (Lead councillor – Cllr George Jeans)

·       Community and Road Safety (Lead councillor – Cllr Bridget Wayman)

Karen Linaker, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager (SEPM) explained that the Board had renewed their priorities at the last meeting in May 2024. The Board would try to align grant funding and practical actions to their priorities. There was a report in the agenda pack detailing the priorities and actions against them. In addition to this the following updates were given.

Youth Engagement and Wellbeing:

The Youth Partnership Forum had met for the first time and a summary of that meeting would be appended to these minutes. The next meeting of the forum would be October/November time and the SEPM would get the date out to those interested. There were 39 parishes in the South West Wilts so it was a massive area to cover. They were not reaching as many young people as they would like and were thinking about what could be done to address that. They would likely focus on the Chalke Valley as their first piece of work as there was quite a gap there in terms of youth engagement.

Older and Vulnerable Adults Health and Wellbeing:

There was an Area Board Initiative to be considered later in the meeting which would hopefully provide funding towards an intergenerational big band Christmas party aligned with the Celebrating Age Programme. The HWB group would also continue their Tech Savy Initiative, which taught people how to use gadgets and technology so that they could do online banking, shopping and connect with their families. They were also looking to do some new initiatives under this priority based on Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) data.

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 28 August 2024, as set out in the attached report.

Recommendations:

·       4a – Fovant High Street Junction Improvements – £8,646.00 (from 2025 / 2026 financial allocation subject to the submission of bid to the Substantive LHFIG fund).

·       4b – Tollard Royal Lining Improvements – £13,181.25

·       4c – Ansty 20mph Speed Limit - £11,035.50

·       4e – Donhead St. Mary A350 Signing & Lining Improvements – £2322.14

The Area Board considered the report and funding recommendations arising from the latest LHFIG meeting held on 28 August 2024.

On the proposal of Cllr Bridget Wayman, seconded by Cllr Richard Budden, it was resolved to make the following decision.

Decision:

·       To note the minutes of the LHFIG meeting which took place on 28 August 2024.

·       To approve the funding recommendations as follows:

o   4a – Fovant High Street Junction Improvements – £8,646.00 (from 2025 / 2026 financial allocation subject to the submission of bid to the Substantive LHFIG fund).

o   4b – Tollard Royal Lining Improvements – £13,181.25

o   4c – Ansty 20mph Speed Limit - £11,035.50

o   4e – Donhead St. Mary A350 Signing & Lining Improvements – £2322.14

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

Remaining Budgets:

Area Board Initiatives:

Community Area Grants:

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

The Area Board noted the budgets remaining for allocation at the meeting and in particular noted that if all grants were awarded in full at the meeting the remaining budgets would be:

• Community Area Grants: -£9,744
• Older and Vulnerable: £3,773
• Youth: £19,148

Due to the lack of funds remaining, the Board would be unable to award all grants in full.

The Board heard from grant applicants in attendance who gave a brief overview of their project followed by any questions by the Board.

Area Board Initiatives:

·       South West Wiltshire Area Board, requested £500 towards their Intergenerational Big Band Christmas Party (to come from the Older and Vulnerable grant budget). 

Karen Linaker (Strategic Engagement and Partnership Manager) briefly explained the project.

Cllr Richard Budden moved a motion to award the grant in full. This was seconded by Cllr Pauline Church.

Decision:

The South West Wiltshire Area Board initiative was awarded £500 towards their Intergenerational Big Band Christmas Party.

Reason – The application met the Older and Vulnerable Grants Criteria 2024/25

Community Area Grants

·       Community Transport South Wiltshire requested £5,000 towards a community minibus replacement.

The manager of Community Transport South Wiltshire spoke in support of the application. The aims and objectives were to provide door to door affordable transport for people struggling to get out. It was highlighted that in the South West Wiltshire (SWW) area around 1,100 people had been carried by the service. Only a small area of SWW was covered at present and they were hoping to expand their services in that area. In response to questions, it was stated that the service would not be at risk if they were unable to get a replacement minibus. To use their services, you had to be a member and pay £25 a year. The group did receive some concessionary funding from Wiltshire Council.

Cllrs highlighted how limited their funds were and Cllr Bridget Wayman proposed to award £100, this was seconded by Cllr Richard Budden.

Decision:

Community Transport South Wiltshire was awarded £100 towards a community minibus replacement.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25

·       Steeple Langford Children’s Play Area requested £1,450 towards a new lawn mower for Steeple Langford Play Area.

A representative of the play area spoke in support of the application. It was stated that the parish council had agreed to contribute £300.

Cllr Richard Budden proposed to award £1,000, which was seconded by Cllr Pauline Church.

Decision:

Steeple Langford Children’s Play Area was awarded £1,000 towards a new lawn mower for Steeple Langford Play Area.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25

·       Swallowcliffe village hall management committee requested £937.50 towards Swallowcliffe village hall fire exit door replacement.

The Chairman of the village hall spoke in support of their application. The parish council had agreed to give £300 towards the project and it was confirmed that this would come off the amount requested, so the group were actually looking for £637.50.

Cllr George Jeans proposed to award  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.