Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Rich Rogers, welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Southern Wiltshire Area Board.

 

Apologies for absence were received from:

 

• Chris Wood – Fire & Rescue
• Ruth Wilson – Carers Support

 

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 17 November 2022.

Decision

 

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 17 November 2022, 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 13, Area Board Funding, the following declarations were made:

 

Cllr Ian McLennan’s declared a Non-Registerable Interest, in that his daughter was the applicant for the Sounds Better 2022 CIC application. He left the room and did not take part in the discussion or vote on this application.

 

Cllr’s Zoe & Richard Clewer noted a non-disclosable Personal Interest, in relation to the Phoenix Stars application, as their daughter had attended the club. For openness, both Members opted not to take part in the discussion or vote on this application.

 

 

To receive Chairman’s Announcements including:

 

Cost of Living

The Chairman made the following announcements:

 

Cost of Living

Wiltshire Council is continuing to provide targeted support in response to the cost of living crisis, specifically aimed at residents, businesses, schools and council staff. The dedicated cost of living page and wellbeing hub on the Wiltshire council website provides a useful landing site of resources and support available. Further cost of living payments are to be made to eligible residents throughout the year and alternative fuel payments of £200 are also being made to those not on mains gas energy, administered by electricity providers.

 

The AB would also continue to support community led initiatives in the Southern Wiltshire Area, many of which could be found on the interactive community directory. 

 

Bus companies were currently offering discounted travel in the area, until 31 March, where bus users could travel on most routes in the county for just £2 or less for a single fare. This initiative was funded by central government and was aimed at encouraging more bus use across the county and to provide support during the cost of living crisis.  

 

Wiltshire Council’s friendly library staff continued to play their part too, by working with Warm and Safe Wiltshire and The Rural Communities Energy Support Network, to assist residents seeking basic energy advice and guidance. Libraries would be collection points for Warm Packs, which include a hot water bottle and blanket, for anyone who would benefit from some free essentials. 

 

Potholes 

The particularly cold weather over the festive period had resulted in a higher than average number of potholes. During Dec, a total of 3000 potholes were reported on the My Wilts app; a five-fold increase on the number usually reported. As such, parish stewards had been prioritising making roads safe, with further work planned for later in the year when the conditions were preferable for long-term repairs.

 

Budget

On 21 February, Wiltshire Council approved a 2.99% budget increase and a further 2% to the adult social care levy. In the budget, additional spending had been allocated towards care for the vulnerable, families, children, waste and recycle services, highways, and transport, whilst £200million was also allocated to capital projects. These were difficult times, but through sound management, Wiltshire Council stood in a financially resilient position which balanced the protection of services whilst minimising the burden on residents.

 

Neighbourhood Collaboratives 

Since the last meeting of the Area Board, the Chairman had attended a Neighbourhood Collaboratives Workshop aimed towards developing an integrated approach to improving community health and wellbeing. The approach was centred on 6 key principles and had already begun running pilot schemes in various parts of the county. The area board would play a key part in this initiative and had already started to have discussions with key stakeholders in the partnership. Further updates would be presented at future AB meetings.

·       Fire & Rescue Service (to follow)

·       Wiltshire Council Updates:

1.     King Charles III Coronation - Community Celebrations

2.     Proposed Police Precept Increase for 2023-24

 

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       Community First

·       BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

·       Current consultations:https://wiltshire.objective.co.uk/portal/

The Board noted the written updates published in the agenda and in supplement 1, which were:

 

• Fire & Rescue Service
• Wiltshire Council Update - King Charles III Coronation - Community Celebrations
• Healthwatch Wiltshire
• Community First
• BSW Together (Integrated Care System)
• Current consultations: https://wiltshire.objective.co.uk/portal/

 

a) Parish Councils and Community groups –  any verbal updates

 

b) Community Policing – local issues and priorities - Inspector Tina Osborn (written update to follow)

 

c) Silver Salisbury Outreach Programme – written update

Parish Councils and Community groups

 

Jessica Tarrant, Community Development Officer - Abri Housing gave an update on the Good Grub Club community project at Longhedge, which had been funded by the Board at a previous meeting.

 

The initiative had been formed in 2017 to tackle school holiday hunger, by teaching families to create meals from scratch and learn new skills through cooking sessions. The project was supported by partners including GPs and Health Visitors.

 

As well as cooking meals, there were sports sessions and the provision of ingredients to take away so that further healthy meals could be created at home. The initiative was free for all to attend.

 

 

Community Policing – local issues and priorities - Inspector Tina Osborn

 

Following the changes to the structure in January, Tina would now be responsible for the Salisbury area NHPT and for the Response Teams, which would better enable her to target the local priorities.

 

There had been an increase in shed and vehicle break ins, mainly to vans for power tools. Tina urged people not to store tools in vehicles overnight.  

 

There had also been reports of incidents involving the use of catapults in Downton.

 

A video was shown detailing CCTV footage of a relay theft. The video can be seen here: https://youtu.be/8pffcngJJq0

 

A relay theft is where high value vehicles which are keyless are stolen from outside homes by using a device which can steal the key signal. These crimes are very difficult to investigate and solve, as the identity of the vehicle is quickly changed making it difficult to track the vehicle down.

 

Tina recommended the use of a Faraday pouch, to keep these keys in, as they provide protection from signal theft.

 

Questions and comments:

 

·       Would the weekly crime updates from PCSOs on the social media site start back up again? Answer - Yes the system broke, but it would be back up and running soon.

 

·       The regular Police visit through the village of Coombe Bissett had not happened for a while now. Would Police visibility be improved? Answer: - The NHPT was now smaller than it used to be. There is a dedicated Police Officer for the southern area community area who still made visits to the parishes when possible. Parishes can make contact with the local NHPT to ask them to drop into a coffee morning or organised club or session.

 

c)     Silver Salisbury Outreach Programme – written update

 

An introduction from Chris Hilldrup, Highways Agency, to explain his role as a local point of contact.

 

 

Chris Hilldrup - Route Manager Wiltshire, South West Operations at National Highways, accompanied by Paul Warner provided an overview of his role and area of current work.

Part of his work involved making sure the right people were brought together to progress workstreams, to identify area of need across the network and feasibility studies.

Chris would be working with the council at county hall once a week to enable cooperative working with the aim of being more present and joined up.

In and around the Salisbury area there were many schemes that National Highways was working on. One of the projects which Chris had been involved with when he first came to the area was the Salisbury River Park project, in partnership with the Environment Agency.

Chris was now working in partnership with the council on a study to improve the underpasses around Salisbury. Four had been identified for improvements to lighting to promote a feeling of safety by users.

Other areas of work included improved road markings and surfaces, drainage issues, pumping station condition, upgrading traffic signals and air quality.

The A36 Southampton Road section of the network impacted the southern Wiltshire community area the most. A £20m investment had been made to enable improvements, studies would look at different models and information would be drawn from partners including Wiltshire Council (WC) and Salisbury City Council (SCC). Any work taken forward must not impact negatively on other areas of the road network.

The model for Southampton Road was currently going well, with testing underway. It was estimated that any visible construction work would not start until around 2025. 

Questions and comments:

It was good to have you here talking about solutions to the A36, it was positive to see that there was now a tangible scheme to address the problems.

Years ago the Highways Agency said they would oppose significant development in Alderbury as the A36 was at its capacity. Since then there has been further development, however, during all of the consultation the Highways Agency had been silent. What was your position on development that feeds into the A36? Answer: We are statutory consultees in the planning process, there are increased demands and over periods of time the ‘significant number’ of development would change. I would need to take that question away and feedback.

In Harnham traffic is at peak. On the development sites, 82 of the 920 houses had been built. Existing residents were horrified with the traffic. The developments in Harnham would affect the whole of the road network. The gyratory was particularly tricky. There was also a Heat Project (hospital programme) for better access to consider. This would include a university faculty beside it, putting more traffic into the city on the A36.

Answer: I have shared material you sent me to counter parts at WC, as the roads you mention are not in my gift to comment on. We do consider the linkage of roads such as the Harnham Gyratory when we carry  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

To discuss the 2023-2030 Highways Investment Programme for the Southern Wiltshire Area.

The Board discussed the 2023-2030 Highways Investment Programme for the
Southern Wiltshire Area as detailed in the report attached to the agenda.

 

The Chairman gave a presentation by division area of schemes included in the programme and proposed additional schemes which would be fed back to the Highways Maintenance Team for consideration.  

 

Questions and comments:

 

·       Winterbournes – Was there a separate priority list for schemes dealing with more structural needs?

Answer: Parvis Khansari, Director Place - Drainage and other ancillary works where we are aware of other issues, are carried out first, before any repair to the surface. Footways were part of separate funding and projects.

 

·       Cllr Z Clewer - Add in Stop Lane & New Road in Landford to the schemes for consideration.

 

An update on the initiative.

This item was postponed to a future meeting due to the unavailability of the speaker.

 

Update from Karen Linaker and Lead Members on the Boards priorities:

 

 

Karen Linaker, Strategic Partnership Engagement Manager and Lead Members for the Boards priorities, each provided an update.

 

Addressing Environmental Issues – Cllr Andy Oliver

 

·       strong collaboration with Climate Change team

·       support new and existing school initiatives

·       explore potential for new solar panel projects

·       support Salisbury-Amesbury cycle route initiative

 

Youth Engagement & Rural Outreach – Cllrs Ian McLennan & Zoe Clewer

 

·       Rural Youth Outreach Project (RYOP) – February engagement in Laverstock

·       Winterslow Youth Club re-started with new volunteer team supported by RYOP

·       Streetwatch schemes and PSPO ongoing

·       2023 youth employment and volunteering events being planned

 

Older People & Vulnerable Adults, Health & Wellbeing – Cllr Rich Rogers

 

·       2 new silent disco events being planned for Redlynch and Winterbourne

·       Make A Friend Be A Friend initiative in Downton and Redlynch

·       Silver Salisbury Outreach successfully delivered

·       New dementia initiative for Downton and outlying areas

·       8 warm spaces supporting cost of living crisis

 

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations for funding arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 8 February 2023, as detailed in the report (to follow).

 

Recommendations for scheme funding:

 

·        4c - A338 Tidworth Road / Church Road Junction Visibility Improvements - £5913.75

·       4h - School Keep Clear Markings – Newton Toney - £1939.94

·       4k - Moot Lane Playground Warning Sign £375

·       4o - Bowers Hill Street Nameplates - £508.50

 

 

The Board noted the minutes from the last LHFIG meeting held on 8 February 2023 and considered the recommendations for funding within the report.

 

Questions:

 

Cllr Oliver noted that work to the East Gomeldon railway arch had been put on hold to seek approval. The funding for this had now been secured so could the work move forward again?

Answer: The Chairman confirmed that if the costs had been absorbed then yes, the work could move forward.

 

Decision:

 

The Area Board approved LHFIG funding to the following schemes:

 

·       4c - A338 Tidworth Road / Church Road Junction Visibility Improvements - £5913.75

·       4h - School Keep Clear Markings – Newton Toney - £1939.94

·       4k - Moot Lane Playground Warning Sign £375

·       4o - Bowers Hill Street Nameplates - £508.50

 

To consider any funding requests as set out in the attached report and summarised below:

 

Officer: Karen Linaker, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager

 

Remaining Budgets at this meeting:

 

Community Area Grants	Youg People	Older & Vulnerable
£27,012.29	£23,850.80	£12,015.70

 

 

Area Board Initiatives:

 

Ref	Grant Information	Amount requested
ABG918	Youth Employment Event	£500
ABG987	Volunteers Fair	£250
ABG988	Volunteers - Fun Fair	£250
ABG1001	Winterslow Youth Club Funding Boost	£500

 

Community Area Grants:

 

Ref	Grant Information	Amount requested
ABG867	Whiteparish Cricket Club	£5000
ABG996	Winterslow Village Hall	£5000

 

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

 

Ref	Grant Information	Amount requested
ABG966	Whiteparish Surgery	£468
ABG982	Redlynch Parish Council	£400
ABG983	Winterbourne Glebe Hall	£347
ABG984	Sounds Better 2022 CIC	£2998.50

 

Young People

 

Ref	Grant Information	Amount requested
ABG985	Phoenix Stars	£912
ABG991	The bridge Youth Project	£5,000

 

The Board noted the remaining budgets and considered the applications for funding as set out in the Funding Report attached to the agenda.

 

Applicants present were invited to speak in support of their projects, followed by any questions.

 

Area Board Initiative Applications:

 

Youth Employment Event (transport to get young people to the venue) – Requested £500 from the Youth budget.

 

Decision

The Area Board Initiative - Youth Employment Event was awarded £500 of Youth funding.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

Volunteers Fair 

Requested £250 from the Health & Wellbeing budget.

 

Decision

The Area Board Initiative – Volunteer Fair was awarded £250 of Health & Wellbeing funding.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

Volunteers Fair

Requested £250 from the Youth budget.

 

Decision

The Area Board Initiative – Volunteer Fair was awarded £250 of Youth funding.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

Winterslow Youth Club (Funding Boost)

Requested £500 from the Youth budget.

 

Decision

The Area Board Initiative – Winterslow Youth Club was awarded £500 of Youth funding.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

The Area Board thanked Karen Linaker for the work she had contributed on the grants.

 

Community Area Grant Applications:

 

Whiteparish Cricket Club

Patio and outside improvement project, requested £5000

Applicant, Mike Coulshed spoke in support of the application.

 

Decision

Whiteparish Cricket Club was awarded £5000 of Community Area Grant funding towards the Patio and outside improvement project.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

Winterslow Village Hall

Hall improvement project, requested £5000

Applicant Clive Broadley spoke in support of the application.

 

Questions:

This is a large project with phases, the Area Board had supported other elements in the past, would you be returning with other applications in the future, or do you plan to ask the PC to plan for future funding?

Answer: The PC had included future help towards the project as part of its forthcoming years budget.

 

Cllr R Clewer - There was a distinction between PCs and village halls, we need to do what we can to help the bodies to plan for the future maintenance of village halls, as there was no guarantee that Area Boards would continue to have funding into the future. 

 

Decision

Winterslow Village Hall was awarded £5000 of Community Area Grant funding towards the Hall Improvement project.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

 

Whiteparish Surgery

Support Group hall hire and refreshments, requested £468.

Applicant Dawn Beauchamp spoke in support of the application.

 

Questions:

 

Cllr R Clewer, chair of the Integrated Care Partnership, praised valuable initiative noting that the model could be rolled out across the county. 

 

Cllr Z Clewer asked that any learnings from the project could be shared with other GP surgeries wishing to replicate the initiative.

 

Decision

Whiteparish Surgery was awarded £468 of Older & Vulnerable funding towards the Support Group project.

Reason

The application met the Grants Criteria for 2022/23.

 

Redlynch Parish Council

Silent Disco project requested £400  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

Future meeting dates (7-9pm):

 

·       8 September 2022

·       17 November 2022

·       23 February 2023

 

 

Area Board Funding deadlines are 4 weeks prior to the meeting date.

Contact karlene.jammeh@wiltshire.gov for further information.

 

The Chairman drew attention to the future meeting dates and closed the meeting.

 

Future meeting dates (7-9pm):

 

•        25 May 2023 - Winterbourne Glebe Village Hall

•        7 September 2023

•        22 February 2024