Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Richard Britton welcomed everyone to the meeting. Those on the top table introduced themselves.

There were none.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 8 October 2015.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 1 October 2015, 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.

There were none.

To receive announcements including:

• Speed Indicator Device policy
• Dementia Event on 26 January 2016 in Alderbury

Speed Indicator Device policy

The Community Engagement Manager; Tom Bray had emailed parish clerks with information on the new policy. Tom would send a further email to explain how to take the scheme forward in the Southern Wiltshire community area.

Dementia Friends and a Reminiscence Tea Party

The Board was holding two information sessions in Alderbury for people to attend and become a Dementia Friend. A Dementia Friend learns more about what it is like to live with dementia, and then is able to turn that understanding into action. Anyone of any age can be a Dementia Friend.

3.30 – 4.30pm – Become a Dementia Friend

4.30 – 5.15pm – Refreshments and Chat

5.15 – 6.15pm – Become a Dementia Friend

To sign up for a session, contact Tom Bray, Community Engagement Manager: 01722 434252 email: tom.bray@wiltshire.cov.uk

A ‘Reminiscence tea party’ had been scheduled for Tuesday 26 January 2016, 2pm – 3.30pm at Alderbury Village Hall. This event was open to all, it was hoped that people would bring photos and share memories.

To note the attached information on the following current consultations:

Public Convenience Survey

Due to the reduction in the government funding for Wiltshire Council and the need to continue to challenge what and how services were provided. One of the services under review for 2015/16 was the public convenience service. Council's did not have a statutory duty to provide public conveniences. Many town and parish councils already provided the public convenience service in their area. In some areas supermarkets and shops were open to the public to use, often with longer opening hours.

The Public conveniences survey sought to identify the views of stakeholders on the future provision of the public convenience service. Please note that no decisions had yet been made as the Council wanted to hear from all stakeholders with their ideas and whether alternative operating arrangements could be found.

Comments:

Roger Yeates – Downton Parish Council

We know that it was not a requirement for Wiltshire Council to provide non statutory facilities, such as public toilets, but if we as a parish take these services on we would not only need to raise the precept, but we would need to have someone to unlock them in the morning, and lock them back up at night, as well as someone to clean them twice a day. This was quite a big commitment to take on. The parish council has gone out to consultation to seek community views.

Community Governance Review Survey

The Council was undertaking a Community Governance Review (CGR) at the request of a number of parish and town councils. This was essentially a review of parish boundaries and in some cases also the number of seats on a parish council. Unitary council areas and seats were not covered by this review.

A CGR must reflect the identities and interests of the communities in that area and also facilitate effective and convenient local government. Consequently, a CGR must take into account the impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion, and the size, population and boundaries of a local community or parish. Find out more about the Community governance review 2015.

There were two areas with proposed schemes which affected the Southern Wiltshire Community Area, these were:

1. Nomansland (Redlynch and Landford)

Cllr Randall explained that Nomansland was currently in the parish of Redlynch, but that he had made the proposal that as it had more affinity with the neighbouring parish of Landford than it has with the rest of the parish of Redlynch, that the boundary should be moved.

This proposal had been supported and would be going ahead.

2. Properties within Hampton Park and Bishopdown farm

Cllr McLennan explained that two scheme suggestions had been received for the Hampton Park and Bishopdown Farm areas of Salisbury City and Laverstock and Ford Parish. The two schemes sought to move most properties into one parish or the other, hence the current consultation on the two proposals, which are being presented neutrally.

Salisbury’s scheme was to move properties in to Salisbury. Laverstock and Ford’s scheme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Written Updates attached are:

·         Police – Neighbourhood Team Update

·         Fire & Rescue Service

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Southern Wiltshire Issues System

·         Alternative Activities

·         Community Area Transport Group (CATG) update

·         Any other comments or reports

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

Police

Inspector David Minty gave an update to the Board and invited anyone to contact him if they had any specific enquires.

·       Operation Midas – There had been a cross border operation, working with farmers and rural residents to flag up any suspicious activity.

·       New PCSO Tina Roylance had joined the area.

·       Salisbury Journal – There had been a report in the paper which speculated that there was a terrorist threat to Salisbury Cathedral. This story had been taken out of context, from an interview where it was said that any terrorist attack would target iconic places such as Stonehenge or Salisbury Cathedral, but there had been no specific threats towards these places.

·       Dog Theft – There had been a report in the Journal relating to local concern over dog theft. There had only actually been two incidents where dogs had been taken; these were in Whiteparish and Amesbury. Both of these incidents involved the dogs being taken from outside areas of people’s houses. No dogs had been taken from people whilst on dog walks or from people in their homes.

Question: Were you involved with any preventative work with young people to educate them around consent issues? Answer: We do have two Schools Officers who cover the whole county. They attend schools and work with young people on various issues.

Fire & Rescue – Cllr Chris Devine updated the Board. Everything was going well with the combination for April 2016. The Authority was expecting Central Government to tell them that they could adjust the precept for Wiltshire, to bring it in line with Dorset.

Healthwatch Wiltshire

The Chairman drew attention to the attached paper which promoted the new website. link: http://www.yourcareyoursupportwiltshire.org.uk/home/

Working in partnership with Wiltshire Council to manage and develop ‘Your Care Your Support Wiltshire’, the new health and social care information website for the county.

As part of this work, Healthwatch Wiltshire had regularly engaged with local people to make sure that the website reflects their need for good quality, comprehensive, and accessible health and care information. The website went live on April 1^st 2015 and is still evolving. This is really exciting as it means that Wiltshire people have a chance to be part of its future growth.

Southern Wiltshire Issues System – Note the update.

Alternative Activities

Tom circulated a list of positive activities planned for the coming year. If anyone had any ideas or requests then they should contact the Community Youth Officer, Emma Drage. Emma.drage@wiltshire.gov.uk

Community Area Transport Group (CATG) update

The new guidance for the CATG was that only projects endorsed by Town and Parish Councils should be considered. If anyone was thinking of submitting a project, they should first contact the parish council to get them on board.

Comments:

Cllr Devine noted that the request for a replacement bus shelter at Clarendon Park had been on the list for a long time.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a follow up presentation from Alzheimer’s Society on how people can live well with dementia and make use of technological aids available.

Caroline Wilson gave a follow-up presentation on dementia friendly communities across Southern Wiltshire, and how people could live well with dementia and make use of the various technological aids which were available.

Since the last meeting at Trafalgar School in Downton, Alderbury Whiteparish and the Grimsteads, Laverstock and Ford had all expressed an interest in becoming  dementia friendly communities.

Working in conjunction with Tom Bray to plan a "Reminiscence Tea Party"  in Alderbury in January 2016. Alzheimer’s Society activities organiser Kate Western would be there along with large amounts of tea and cake!

There will be an open Dementia Friends session in the afternoon and it was hoped that lots of people would want to come along. A particular aim was to involve local residents from all parts of the community, shops, businesses , taxi services, schools, doctors surgeries, as it was felt it should be a good  opportunity  for a post-Christmas get together.

There would be discussion and an exchange of ideas about how best to support the parishes in becoming a dementia friendly community.

Caroline was looking forward to attending the Laverstock and FordJanuary Parish meeting. A small article from the Alzheimer’s Society had been included in the Parish newsletter. It may be that they had similar requirements to Alderbury, but as with all communities it was important to recognise the differences and of course include people with dementia, and to create as many customer-facing Dementia friends as possible.

We are continuing to join forces with Safe Places, as it helped to provide a reassuring place, which increased the confidence of people when they were out and about in the city. It was hoped that the Safe Places initiative would continue to grow throughout the southern area too.

The Board had asked Caroline to explain a little about assistive technology for people with dementia.  There were a few simple things that could be done to improve the environment for those living with dementia.

Alongside all the wonderful technical things that are being developed to help people there are quite a few simple things that can make huge differences to people with dementia and other visual disabilities most of them are about making things more obvious and ensuring safety.

Signage: In public areasclear dementia friendly signage is available for all areas these were usually simple and pictorial with large clear print, and were very effective.

Paint:As we age we lose the ability to see so well, this coupled with a possible cognitive problem resulting from dementia could make the world a very confusing place. Simple things like choosing the right paint colours could really help identify doors and provide contrast for light switches and door handles. In public spaces like the new campus, toilet doors should be painted  a bright colour something distinctive. Not being able to find a loo can be a very distressing experience.

Lighting: Improving the lighting levels could really help at home just change a few light bulbs, make sure the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Board will consider Community Youth Grant applications as detailed in the attached report.

• Alderbury football club - £1500
• Whiteparish youth group - £1248.68
• Community rewards Old Sarum - £2000
• Community rewards Whiteparish - £2000

The Board considered four Community Youth Grants, as detailed in the report, attached to the agenda. Applicants present were invited to speak in support of their projects. Following discussion, the Board Members voted on each application in turn.

Decision

The Southern Wiltshire Area Board awarded the following Youth Funding grants:

To receive an update on the extension of the Volunteer Coordinator’s contract, the footpaths event planned for April 2016 and proposals for providing equipment for local footpath groups to utilise.

Due to the success of the project over the last 18 months, additional funding has been secured from Wiltshire Council’s Public Health team to keep the Volunteer Coordinator position going until October 2016. The Chairman gave thanks to Tracy Carter who had been instrumental in securing the additional funding.

The main focus of the work going forward would be to develop templates for communities to set up and run their own local footpath groups and work sessions. The Group would continue to work with Riverbourne Community Farm, who employs the volunteer coordinator, Abby Sullivan.

The Board would be holding an event in Hazel Hill Wood in April 2016, to showcase the footpath project, offering practical sessions on improving footpaths, legal issues and local environment. The event will be open to parish councils, members of the public and interested stakeholder groups. The aim of the event is to provide practical insight into setting up and running local footpaths groups and activity days across the Southern Wiltshire community area.

Strimmer Initiative

To support local footpath groups the Board would like to provide some start-up kit as a pilot project. In particular multipurpose machinery that would enable volunteers to deal with annual growth on the footpaths. So far Winterslow’s footpath group and Coombe Bissett’s Active Volunteer group, both working alongside their respective parish council, had expressed an interest.

Any volunteers using this machinery would need to be fully trained and as part of the project we would look to train nominated members of these groups.
Costing:

Decision

The Southern Wiltshire Area Board agreed to:

1.     Set aside £2,470 for this project but request that parish councils contribute a third of the cost (£60) of the £180 per person one off training cost for the volunteers. 

2.     Have an evaluation of this project be brought back to the Board in 6 months.

A discussion around parish precepts at the request of Winterslow and Firsdown Parish Councils.

The Chairman explained that this item was on the agenda at the request of Winterslow and Firsdown Parish Councils, he then invited them to speak.

Mike Taylor of Winterslow Parish Council explained that the request had come because they were looking for some guidance on which tasks may need to be considered as part of the precept setting for 2016.

Peter Edgeley of Firsdown Parish Council added that the parishes were different from each other, and the services which one parish might wish to take on may differ from that of another. It was unlikely that Parish Councils would be able to suddenly raise the precept at short notice and that information was needed now so that the precepts could be set accordingly.

One suggestion which had come from the CEM was that parishes may wish to take on the Speed Indicator Device (SIDs) programme in the future, should it not be continued. Firsdown had asked the parishioners, but it had not been supported.

Parishes were looking for guidance on which services Wiltshire Council (WC) may not continue to provide next year and in the future.

The Chairman suggested that in the future, the Council may only be providing its statutory duties, and little more. He agreed to push for as much information as possible, but as we were at the end of the year, the Council was in the process of a number crunching exercise, so it was unlikely that much information would be available.

Alderbury Parish Council added that they were taking the approach that it was likely they would have to take on unknown services throughout the year, so would be raising the precept to cover additional costs which had been obtained from quotes. If at the end of the year they had under-spent then the following year they would adjust to compensate.

Associate Director, Tracy Carter advised that WC was in the process of setting its budget. There was uncertainty until the Council received notification of the grant from Central Government as to where any cuts would have to be made.

Other Community Area’s had shown similar concern and requests for information. The Salisbury Community Asset transfer package was going through and would act as a model for other areas in the future.

Tracy agreed to take the request back and work on getting an update to feedback to the Board.

The Chairman noted that the Board would have a session on the subject, inviting Officers to present as much information as possible, in autumn next year in readiness for the following year’s precept setting deadline.  

In preparation for 2016/17 we would like to start a consultation on which themes we should take forward (plus a bit of fun to get us in the Christmas spirit!).

Tom ran an interactive quiz where people were asked Christmas and Area Board based questions, and gathered the scope of interest for future areas of work for the Board.

Some of the questions included:

The Board will consider applications for funding from the Community Area Grant Scheme.

·         River Bourne Community Farm, Farmyard Enhancement and Signage - £4950.00

·         Winterslow Village Hall, Solar Panel Installation - £5000.00

·         Lover & Redlynch Pre-school, Outdoor Assembly Shelter - £1000.00

·         Nomansland preschool, Forest school equipment and resources - £392.34

Officer: Tom Bray, Community Area Manager

The Board considered four applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme for 2015/16, as detailed in the agenda. Applicants present were invited to speak in support of their projects. Following discussion the Board members voted on each application in turn.

Decision

Riverbourne Community Farm was awarded £4950.00 towards Farmyard Enhancement Signage.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16.

Decision

Winterslow Village Hall was awarded £5,000 towards Solar Panel Installation.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16.

Decision

Lover and Redlynch Pre-School was awarded £1,000 towards an Outdoor Assembly Shelter.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16.

Decision

Nomandsland Pre-School was awarded £492.34 towards Forest School Equipment and resources.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2015/16.

The Chairman thanked everyone for coming, wished everyone a Happy Christmas  and closed the meeting.

The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday 28 January 2016, 7.00pm – venue to be confirmed.