Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the South West Wiltshire Area Board for 2014/15.

Steve Harris, Community Area Manager called for nominations for Chairman for 2014/15.

Decision

Councillor George Jeans was elected as Chairman of the South West Wiltshire Area Board for 2014/15.

Councillor George Jeans in the chair

To elect a Vice Chairman for the South West Wiltshire Area Board for 2014/15.

The Chairman, Councillor George Jeans called for nominations for Vice-Chairman for 2014/15.

Decision

Councillor Peter Edge was elected as Vice-Chairman of the South West Wiltshire Area Board for 2014/15.

The Board will note the report attached to the agenda and will consider the recommendations to:

a.         Appoint Councillor representatives to Outside Bodies as set out at Appendix A;

b.         Agree to reconstitute and appoint to the CATG and COB as set out in Appendix B; and

c.         Note the Terms of Reference for the CATG and COB, as set out in Appendix C.

The Board noted the Outside Bodies and Working Groups report attached to the agenda and considered the recommendations within.

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board agreed to:

a.           Appoint Councillor representatives to Outside Bodies as set out at Appendix A;

b.          Agree to reconstitute and appoint to the CATG and COB as set out in Appendix B; and

c.           Note the Terms of Reference for the CATG and COB, as set out in Appendix C.

The Chairman, Councillor Jeans welcomed everyone to the meeting of the South West Wiltshire Area Board. The Councillors and Officers sitting at the top table introduced themselves.

Robin Townsend, Associate Director (AD) for Policy and Performance; was in attendance as the newly assigned AD supporting the South West Wiltshire Area Board.

Apologies for absence were received from:

·       Cllr Bridget Wayman – Area Board Member

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

There were none.

To confirm as a correct record and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 26 March 2014.  

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 26 March 2014, were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Board will discuss any matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting.

Rights of Way Project

Work had started on the Area Board’s Rights of Way Project. 17 villages had now submitted their audits. Sedgehill & Semley and Bishopstone had already started work on their schemes, with Bowerchalke to begin shortly. A key requirement was that local volunteers needed to assist with the improvement works.

The next step would be for the remaining villages to respond to the Community Area Manager about the proposed schemes put forward in their area.

Mini Recycling Sites

Wiltshire residents were being encouraged to recycle as much as possible and not to present additional household waste next to their bin, known as 'side waste'. The implementation of the side waste programme in the Mere area had started. Wiltshire Council had completed the side waste surveys of the households in that area, and had completed all the Officer visits of those properties which had been seen to present side waste on one occasion. This program would bring South Wiltshire into line with the rest of Wiltshire.

The next step would be to place bin hangars on all bins which present out side waste on their collection day (Monday 19 May in Mere), to warn households not to present side waste, whilst still collecting all additional waste. After this, on Monday 2 June (the following household waste collection week), no side waste was taken on collection day. Any side waste presented would be clearly labelled as such, and a hangar would also be left on their bin to advise them that the additional waste was not collected.

Any household waste which was produced over and above the capacity of the bin from 2 June onwards would be stickered and left inside the bin following collection. Residents could  then either wait another two weeks for it to be collected at the kerbside, or they could take it to a Household Recycling Centre for disposal.

However, there would be some exceptions, such as any household presenting out additional waste due to having medical needs or large families of 6 or more, or families of 5 who had one child and above in nappies, for example, larger bins (of 240 litre capacity) would be issued automatically upon request.

Households which produced a lot of recycling could have two black boxes and a larger blue lidded bin upon request. In many areas all recycling would now be collected from residences, some remote areas such as Tisbury would still have mini recycling facilities, some of which were not Wiltshire Council controlled.

Questions and comments were then received, these included:

·         Was there a policy in place which dealt with removing the chemical element from batteries on landfill sites? Answer: Businesses which sold batteries should offer a recycling service, to limit the numbers of batteries being thrown into the waste.

·         Why was there no consultation prior to removing the mini recycling sites? Answer: This was being looked at again, mini recycling sites would remain open at Waitrose in Salisbury and in the car park in Tisbury.

Broadband

The online postcode checker was now working. Works in Wilton Town would go ahead towards the end of June 2014, however it was not clear whether the coverage would include the surrounding villages to Wilton.

The Board would hold a special meeting on Broadband, once further information was available for circulation.

Area Board Funding

The amount of funding allocated to Area Boards had changed. There had been a budget reduction which meant that other Boards lost  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To note the information on current consultations, to take part and for further information, visit the consultation portal: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal

The Board noted the information on current consultations, available by visiting the consultation portal: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal

To note the Area Board Projects and Priorities updates attached to the agenda.

The Board noted the Project and Priorities updates attached to the agenda.

Question:

·       The Boards Fingerpost Funding project awards up to £550 to parishes to replace a fingerpost, £200 of that is for Highways to remove and re-site the post, however sometimes Highways charged more than £200. Answer: Cllr Deane explained that the £200 was a fixed price for the job, agreed with the previous contractor. He asked for a copy of any correspondence the parish had had with the new contractor, detailing the higher amount requested for the work.

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

·         Police – Neighbourhood Teams

·         Fire & Rescue

To note the following written updates attached to the agenda:

a)    Police

b)    Wiltshire Council Items for Information

c)    Wilton Town Team minutes

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minutes slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Community Area Manager.

Police – Inspector Dave Minty

The Board noted the written update for the Wilton community Area.

Inspector Minty then gave an update to the Board. Structural Changes would reduce the current tiers of management; there would be no new Chief Inspectors. The new Superintendant for Salisbury, Warminster and Amesbury was Charlie Armstrong, Inspector Noble was moving to a new post, working under her.

A new scheme which was being trialled by Beat Managers would provide more of an insight into possible causes of local trends, to enable resources to be used where needed most.

A new candidate would be appointed shortly to the vacant Community Beat Managers post in Tisbury.

Questions and comments received included:

·       When would the PCSO in Wilton be replaced? Answer: There was PCSO and PC recruitment taking place at present.

·       There were volunteers for the CSW scheme who needed training before they could begin, however training was only currently being offered at Devizes. Could training be brought out to the villages? Those volunteers already trained could provide the training to new volunteers in 20 minutes; it did not require a two hour training session. Answer: Inspector Minty would take a message back to Inspector Steve Cox, who was involved with the CSW scheme.

·       When would the new Officer for Tisbury appear? Answer: There was a 28 day notice period from his previous post; he would be in place within the next couple of weeks.

Fire – Mike Franklin

The standard written update was currently not available due to an issue with IT software, it was hoped that the problem would be resolved and a report would be available in time for the next meeting.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue (WFRS) had been in discussions with the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, to look at possibilities for a joint working relationship. WFRS had a shortfall in budget of between £3.1 million to £3.9 million which had to be resolved by 2018. They had appraised their options and put forward a business case to combine the Wiltshire and Dorset authorities, on which a decision would be made in September 2014. A consultation would take place between 16 June 2014 and 24 August 2014 which would include the public, police and council. This would be promoted through their website, social media and press and a helpline would be set up.

Comments and questions were then received, these included:

·       The briefing provided informs of a business plan being drawn up between Dorset and Wiltshire. If there was going to be a consultation would there be a second option. Nothing in the statement indicated that there had been any consideration of a merger with Wiltshire Council.

·       The benefits of merging one Fire Service with another are far greater due to the similarities between both services, than merging it with a council, which would be minimal.

Youth – Jaki Farrell, Youth Development Co-ordinator Mere & Tisbury

Jaki read the following statement:

As you will be aware the past few months had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To receive information on Wiltshire Council’s policy on the future of the A303 across Wiltshire.

Officer: Parvis Khansari, Associate Director for Highways and Transport

Parvis Khansari, Associate Director for Transport and Highways, delivered a presentation on the future if the A303 through Wiltshire

·       Wiltshire Council had been promoting improvements to the A303 in partnership with Devon and Somerset County Councils since 2012.

·       Objective was to encourage economic growth and improve resilience of transport links to the South West.

·       The initiative was now supported by many Local Authorities and all Local Enterprise Partnerships in the South West.

·       Meetings had been held with many stakeholders to raise awareness.

·       In 2013 a prospectus was produced by Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon to make the case for improvements to A303.

·       In 2013 government announced a feasibility study, which would look at the whole route. The Study aim was to identify the opportunities and understand the case for future investment solutions on the A303/A30/A358 corridor that were deliverable, affordable and offered value for money.

Stage 1 - Review of evidence and identification of problems along the corridor. Completed by end of March 2104.

Stage 2 -  Work to finalise the range of infrastructure proposals that could address the problems along the corridor. Completed by end of July 2014.

Stage 3 -  Work to assess the affordability, value for money and deliverability of prioritised infrastructure proposals. Completed by Autumn 2014.

Questions and comments were then received, these included:

·       If three sections are being looked at, does that mean that only one would be chosen for implementation? Answer: There were five sections of road being considered. There would be more information available after the Stakeholder meeting in July.

·       What would happen at Stonehenge? Now that sightseers could no longer drive past, they slow down on the road to get a look from the car, causing congestion. Could drivers be prevented from stopping? Answer: The situation was being tackled, as far as people stopping along the track; we did look at closing this. Highways had put a No Right Turn in one direction and the council had put one in the other direction.

·       Had you considered implementing a tidal flow system? Answer: Everything had been looked at; the tidal system was not usually implemented on 70mph roads.

·       Any changes to the A303 at Stonehenge would need to be seriously considered for its impact on the site. We would not want to lose the World Heritage status for Stonehenge.

The Board will consider the list of proposed highway maintenance schemes in South West Wiltshire for 2014/15, as detailed in the attached report.

Parvis Khansari, Associate Director for Highways and Transport gave an update to the Board.

Wiltshire Council had recently approved a major programme of investment in highway maintenance over the next six years. This would see a significant improvement in the condition of the county’s highway network.

The investment would be targeted at those roads in worst condition, and would include minor roads as well as the main roads. An initial assessment based on road safety information and road condition data had been used to prepare a list of priority sites for treatment in 2014/15 in each community area. This information was provided in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report attached to the agenda.

A provisional list of sites for potential treatment until 2020 had also been prepared and attached to the agenda as appendices 3 and 4.

Comments and questions were taken, these included:

·       Patching repairs had already taken place on the A30 at Barford St Martin, what works were planned here, more patching or a proper job? Answer: The work to be carried out would involve resurfacing.

·       Would the Councillors be able to highlight roads in their own area which they felt should be considered for work? Answer: Local knowledge was useful; we would take these views on board and feedback.

·       What was the difference with the priorities 1 to 6? Answer: This relates to the six year programme, years 1 to 6. The priority rating was not purely dependant on the quality of the road, other factors were also considered, such as, whether the road was due to be dug up within the next 2 years, would a road detour be possible and whether any housing developments were planned?

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board agreed the list of proposed highway maintenance schemes in their areas for 2014/15, and agreed to review the list of potential schemes for future years at a separate Councillors meeting, to be scheduled by the CAM.

Action: CAM to schedule a Councillor meeting to consider the list of proposed Highways maintenance schemes for future years.

To consider the conference report and recommendations, as detailed in the report attached to the agenda.

Steve Harris, Community Area Manager drew attention to the attached information, detailing the outcome of the ‘What matters to you?’ conference held at Dinton Village Hall.

Decision

The Board agreed to carry out an online consultation to prioritise themes and issues, as there was not adequate time to carry out a voting session at the meeting. The results of that would then be revisited in July.

To receive an update from the Chairman of the Tisbury Campus Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB).

Cllr Tony Deane

Councillor Tony Deane, Chairman of the Tisbury Community Operations Board; gave an update to the Board.

·       The documents had now been submitted for planning permission, and could be viewed online. Application number 14/04907/FUL.

·       A site visit was planned for 16 July, where anyone interested could attend.

·       The next stage would be to receive tenders for work.

To note the notes of the last CATG meeting and the accompanying information, as attached to the agenda.

The Board will receive a verbal update from Councillor Tony Deane.

Councillor Tony Deane, Chairman of the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) gave an update to the Board.

The CATG had a relatively small budget for small local schemes. At the next meeting, the CATG would discuss options for bringing the Community Speedwatch (CSW) scheme and the Speed Indicator Device (SID) Scheme closer, to alleviate any duplication where possible.

After contacting the CAM for advice, a new scheme could be logged on the online Issues System at:

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

Decision
The Board noted the following documents attached to the agenda;

·       The minutes from the last CATG meeting held on 12 May 2014

·       A financial spending update up to March 2014.

·       CATG schemes/Issues for 2014

·       Notes from the SWWAB CATG 20MPH Sub-Committee

The Board will consider whether to continue supporting the Area Board Fingerpost Funding project for 2014/15, as detailed in the attached report.

The Board considered the proposal to ring-fence funding to the Finger Post project for 2014/15, as set out in the report attached to the agenda.

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board, agreed to ring-fence £4,000 for the Finger Post Area Board project in 2014/15, as set out in the report.

Fingerpost Funding

The Board will consider three bids to the Area Board Fingerpost Funding Project for 2014/15, as detailed in the attached report.

Community Area Grants

To consider six applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme for 2014/15, as detailed in the attached report.

Finger Post Funding

The Board considered three bids to the Area Board project Finger Post funding scheme for 2014/15. The bid from Hindon Parish Council was deferred until the next meeting as further clarification was required.

Decision

The South West Wiltshire Area Board agreed the following:

·         Broad Chalke Parish Council was awarded £550 towards the replacement of one finger post.

·         Sedgehill and Semley Parish Council was awarded £550 towards the replacement of one finger post.

Community Area Grants

The Board considered six applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme for 2014/15, as detailed in the report attached to the agenda. The Chairman invited applicants present to speak in support of their projects. Following discussion, the Board voted on each application in turn.

Decision

South Newton Parish Council was awarded £2,000 (£500 of that to come from the digital literacy budget) towards digital equipment for village hall.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

Decision

Bishopstone Village Hall was awarded £1,400 towards the purchase of a new air source heat pump for memorial room.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

Decision

The application from Dinton Cricket Club for a new roller was deferred, the Board agreed to make a decision on this grant, out of an Area Board meeting, once the information had been received.
Reason

Further information was required.

Decision

Quidhampton Village Hall Committee was awarded £600 towards new kitchen equipment.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

Decision

Wilton Community Centre was awarded £964 (£500 of that to come from the digital literacy budget) towards the installation of wi-fi access.
Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

Decision

Mere & District Railway Modellers was awarded £2,000 towards restoration of band hut.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2014/15.

To note the table of current Issues on the system, as detailed in the attached report, and to consider the recommendation to close the issues as marked in green on the report.

The Board noted the table of current Issues on the online system, as detailed in the report attached to the agenda, and considered the recommendation to closed issues as marked.

Decision:

The South West Wiltshire Area Board agreed to close issue numbers 2654, 2741, 2817, 3016, 3133, 3295, 3334, 3360.

The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting.

The next meeting of the South west Wiltshire Area Board will be held on Wednesday 23 July 2014.

Please note the start time of this meeting will be 6.30pm, with refreshments available from 6.00pm.