Agenda and minutes

The Chair will welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chair, Councillor Pip Ridout, welcomed everyone to the meeting, invited members of the Board to introduce themselves and explained the procedures for remote meetings.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Stephanie Stevens and Ben Gunstone.

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2020.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 September 2020 were considered. One member of the Board highlighted the minutes for Agenda Item 11, Health & Wellbeing Management Group, and sought clarity over the use of the word “they” under the Older People’s Champion update. Once confirmed that this meant the members of the Area Board it was requested that the minutes be amended to reflect that detail. After which, it was:

Resolved

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2020 subject to an amendment to Agenda Item 11, Health & Wellbeing Management Group, to specify that it was the members of the Area Board who were seeking a replacement for the position of Older People’s Champion.

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

Councillors Pip Ridout and Christopher Newbury declared a pecuniary interest in the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Youth Grant application towards the Warminster Salamander. They both stated that they would not vote on the item.

To receive the following announcements through the Chair:

·       Update on last year’s grant applications

The Chair stated that the scheduled announcement of the update on last year’s grant applications would be discussed under Agenda Item 7, the Community Engagement Manager (CEM) update.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

Ø  Wiltshire Police

Ø  Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Ø  Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Ø  Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Some written updates had been received before the meeting and were included in the agenda pack. Verbal updates from Town and Parish Councils, and other Partners were received as follows:

1)    Wiltshire Police

o   Sergeant Kevin Harmsworth spoke to the written update included within the agenda pack. Reference was made to the executed misuse of drugs act warrants, community Speedwatch updates, and hate crime updates. It was confirmed that Road Safety Week was approaching which would entail extra checks from response officers and neighbourhood teams. An online training package was noted to be provided for new recruits which would deliver theoretical equipment training that could then be utilised practically after the second national lockdown was eased. A COVID-19 update was delivered with information on the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued alongside an update on the two members of the Warminster community area who had been taken to Court over unpaid fines from the previous lockdown period. The new Police Station situated behind the Fire Station was mentioned with an opening date of May 2021 stated. The three new PCSO’s were discussed and it was confirmed that one would be joining the Warminster team; it was noted that there were 6 weeks of training left before they were ready for independent patrol.

o   The Chair requested an update on the JSNA, particularly regarding anti-social behaviour and speeding, for the next meeting of the Warminster Area Board. Cllr Jackson additionally noted the introduction of the 30mph speed limit on Smallbrook Road and requested that Police Officers were mindful of this during Road Safety Week.

2)    Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

o   Len Turner, Chair of the WVCP, updated members on the Community Hub which had to close again due to the second national lockdown but noted that they had managed to retain all volunteers throughout the first lockdown period. Warminster town centre was discussed, and it was noted that this was the tenth year of conducting a survey on town centre businesses, the results of which showed that there were 218 trading units in the town centre with 199 occupied and open for the public, and 19 vacant towards the end of September 2020. It was highlighted that nationally, Warminster had shown to have been the least effected by COVID-19 in terms of loss of retailers. The closures of both Edinburgh Woollen Mills and Peacocks were mentioned. It was noted that the second lockdown would impact the town centre again and that support should be given across the communities for local businesses, particularly those that had opened during or just prior to the initial lockdown in March 2020. Members of the Board expressed their pride of the community area.

3)    Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

o   Warminster Town Council

The Chair provided an update on behalf of the Warminster Town Council which informed members of the virtual Remembrance Sunday service that had been delivered in partnership with the Royal British Legion, broadcasted on the radio and available on YouTube. It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive an update from Graeme Morrison, Community Engagement Manager.

Graeme Morrison, Community Engagement Manager, gave the following updates:

Ø  Local Youth Network (LYN)

o   It was confirmed that meetings would be scheduled for January 2021 for youth groups in the Warminster Community Area to discuss how the LYN will work moving forward.

o   It was noted that £5,000 was awarded at the end of the 2019/20 period for the Rural Youth Engagement Project and it was confirmed that four other Area Boards had contributed and were involved. The project was looking to restart, and it was confirmed that new project managers were being sought.

o   The Chair noted that a lot of work with the LYN had been conducted 5-6 years ago in the form of consultations with young people on what they wanted to see in the community; she requested that these results and sets of data were found to help benchmark and show the progression of young people’s viewpoints alongside more recent data collected.

Ø  New COVID-19 Restrictions; Community Response

o   As a result of the new national COVID-19 restrictions that came into force on Thursday 5 November 2020, it was noted that demand for support with tasks such as shopping and prescription collecting for people vulnerable to COVID was not anticipated to be as great as the initial lockdown due to established relationships, better response/delivery systems and more businesses continuing to trade.

o   Thanks were given to the continued support of the community response groups and volunteers.

Ø  COVID-19 Local Recovery Plan

o   Following on from the update given at the previous meeting of the Area Board in September, it was noted that there would be meetings held between November 2020 and the end of the year with four specific themes: young people, older people, families and local businesses within the wider Warminster Community Area. These meetings would help inform the Local Area Status Report (LASR) which would be presented at the next meeting of the Area Board in February 2021, which would in turn inform the creation of the Local Area COVID-19 Recovery Plan which would be presented at the following meeting of the Area Board.

To receive an update on the Health & Wellbeing Management Group.

As noted under the Agenda Item 2, Apologies, Stephanie Stevens was absent, therefore Graeme Morrison as the CEM provided the following update for members.

Following from the last meeting of the Warminster Area Board it was confirmed that both the Health & Wellbeing (HWB) Management Group and the HWB Forum had met and the next meetings of both would be held in December 2020. It was noted that a priority of Wiltshire Council was to have a community focus on loneliness, isolation and mental health particularly in the rural communities within the County; the CEM stated that this would be one of the main focuses of the Local Area Recovery Plan. The Chair urged members of the public and Area Board to contact the CEM if they knew of anyone that focussed on these areas and supported people suffering from these issues.

The Health Fair 2021 was raised, and Councillor Tony Jackson suggested that officers considered hosting the event in a number of different venues instead of the one if social distancing restrictions continued, which the CEM confirmed that he would raise within his team.

In response to a question from Heather Parks, Heytesbury, Imber and Knook Parish Council Clerk, the CEM reiterated that members of the public within rural communities would be reached through the four themed meetings.

To receive a brief verbal update on the Warminster Regeneration Working Group.

The Chair noted that planning permission had been granted for four portacabins to be erected in the Avenue Surgery car park for three years. Councillor Jackson stated that he believed Wiltshire Council would be amenable to offering the car parking spaces but raised the idea of occupying the Station Road building vacated by the Police, which was discussed by members.

To consider the notes and actions log of the previous meeting of the Community Area Transport Group held on 13 August 2020.

Councillor Andrew Davis referred to the notes of the CATG meeting held on 13 August 2020 included in the agenda pack and stated that there had also been a meeting of the CATG held earlier that day prior to the Area Board meeting.

Attention was drawn to the two Priority 1 schemes highlighted in the attached notes and it was requested that two more items that had been discussed at the most recent meeting of the CATG be considered as urgent requests due to the next Area Board meeting not taking place until 2021. Cllr Davis noted that all schemes had been discussed with the respective Parish Councils who echoed their recommendation for approval during the meeting.

The two additional schemes were noted as so:

1)    17-20-7 High Street, Maiden Bradley - £7000 (CATG - £5250, Maiden Bradley PC £1750.00)

2)    17-20-17 High Street Warminster - Bollards £950.00 (CATG £712.50, Warminster TC £237.50)

Further details of the above schemes were included in the notes of the CATG meeting on 12 November 2020 attached to these minutes for information.

The Priority 1 scheme, 6661 Codford High Street. HGV Signs to Lyons Seafood, detailed in the report was raised and noted as ongoing with no developments at that time.

Councillor Tony Jackson proposed that the additional schemes be added and approved alongside the two Priority 1 schemes as detailed within the report to which Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe seconded. Following which, it was:

Resolved

1)    To note the minutes of the CATG meeting held on 13 August 2020 and approve the CATG schemes and recommendations detailed in those minutes.

2)    To approve the two additional CATG schemes proposed as urgent items and detailed below:

a.    17-20-7 High Street, Maiden Bradley - £7000 (CATG - £5250, Maiden Bradley PC £1750.00)

b.    17-20-17 High Street Warminster - Bollards £950.00 (CATG £712.50, Warminster TC £237.50)

To determine the following grant applications:

Community Area Grants:

To consider the following applications for Community Area Grant funding:

·       Wiltshire and Swindon Countryside Access Forum, £750, towards the Warminster Common Youth Football Pitch.

·       Warminster Rugby Football Club, £3,734, towards Warminster RFC Pitch Fencing.

·       St Mary’s Church, Codford, £5,000, towards the St Mary’s Church Codford Bell Restoration.

·       Open Door Voluntary Group, £700, towards The Warminster Chat Café.

Youth Grant Applications:

To consider the following applications for Youth Grant funding:

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, £4,000, towards the Warminster Salamander.

The Area Board considered four applications for Community Area Grant funding and one application for Youth Grant funding.

The Chair invited representatives for each of the applications to speak, to which the Area Board heard statements from Nigel Linge for the Wiltshire and Swindon Countryside Forum; Derek Buckles for the St Mary’s Church, Codford; Deborah Gogarty for the Open Door Voluntary Group; and Rob Guy for the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Area Board members decided that the Community Area Grant application for the Warminster Common Youth Football Pitch should instead be considered as a Youth Grant application and funded as such. 

Councillors Pip Ridout and Christopher Newbury declared a pecuniary interest in the Youth Grant application for the Warminster Salamander and stated that they would not vote on the item.

Following which, it was:

Resolved

1)    To grant the Wiltshire and Swindon Countryside Access Forum application, £750, towards the Warminster Common Youth Football Pitch, and that this would be funded from the Youth Grant budget.

2)    To defer the Warminster Rugby Football Club application, £3,734, towards the Warminster RFC Pitch Fencing to the next meeting of the Area Board whereby a representative for the application would be invited to attend to provide further information.

3)    To grant the St Mary’s Church, Codford application, £5,000, towards the St Mary’s Church, Codford, Bell Restoration.

4)    To grant the Open Door Voluntary Group application, £700, towards The Warminster Chat Café.

5)    To grant the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service application, £4,000, towards the Warminster Salamander.

Any other items of business which the Chair agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

An urgent CATG request was considered, as detailed under Agenda Item 10.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will be held on 4 February 2021, 7.00pm.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board would be held on 4 February 2021, 7.00pm.