Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Warminster Area Board.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Ray Bridgman (Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service) who has now left post and will be replaced by Simon Todd in the future. Apologies for absence were also recorded from Heather Parks (Heytesbury, Imber and Knook Parish Council Clerk).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2021 were presented for consideration. It was noted that on Page 6 of the previous minutes the Warminster Regeneration Working Group is part of the Warminster Town Council, which Councillors Pip Ridout and Tony Jackson are members of. Additionally, there was a typo regarding the Community Engagement Manager delegated power, which should be up to £5000 per application. After which it was;

Resolved

To approve the minutes as a correct record.

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

Councillor Andrew Davis declared an interest regarding the Westbury and Warminster Youth Club grant application as he is part of the management committee of the Lakeside Centre. He declared he would therefore be abstaining in a vote to award funding.

To receive the following announcements through the Chair:

·       The 2023 Boundary Review

·       Ash Dieback

·       Wiltshire Council Draft Climate Strategy Consultation

·       Local Successes

·       A303 Stonehenge Scheme

The chairman gave the following updates:

·       The 2023 Boundary Review

Last month the Boundary Commission for England published its initial proposals for new constituency boundaries, with the proposals and maps for the nine English regions published on their website. Though the consultation window has now closed, area specific information can be found on the linked website within the agenda pack by entering a post code or region. This can be used to view the current constituency and local authority boundaries as well as the proposals for the new constituency boundaries.

·       Wiltshire Council Draft Climate Strategy Consultation

Consultations on both the draft Wiltshire Climate Strategy and Our Natural Environment Plan started on 1 September and run until 23.59 on 17 October 2021.Information about both consultations are available through the links in the agenda supplement and comments can also be submitted through the two online surveys that are included.

• Local Successes

Congratulations were offered to the following organisations and individuals, for the following respective achievements:

·       Kate French, an athlete from Chapmanslade, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in the Modern Pentathlon at the Tokyo 2020 summer Olympic Games.

• The villages of Sutton Veny and Bishopstrow, which won the best kept Medium and Small villages in award in Wiltshire for 2021. Additionally, to Maiden Bradley which came second in Newcomer villages award.

·       The churches of Warminster who together held the “Warminster Open Fair” in the park on 1^st August to raise awareness of businesses, clubs and groups.

• The Warminster Royal British Legion, which celebrated its Centenary birthday on 2 July 2021.
• Makenzie Leckie a Year 12 student from Kingdown School, who was nominated for and won the Diana Award.

• A3030 Stonehenge Scheme

The Chairman informed those in attendance that the Government is currently considering whether or not to appeal the High Court decision which ruled out the A303 Stonehenge Scheme. As the scheme would have implications for villages to the north of the A303, the outcome of this decision will be awaited with interest.

·       Ash Dieback

The announcement was introduced by Community Engagement Manager, Graeme Morrison, which was then followed by a video covering the issues of Ash Dieback. A link to the video can be found in the agenda pack as part of the attached Ash Dieback report. The following useful web links were provided within the presentation:

Wiltshire Council, www.wiltshire.gov.uk/recreation-trees-forests 

The Tree Council, www.treecouncil.org.uk

Woodland Trust, Woodland Trust www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

Forest Research, www.forestresearch.gov.uk

The Arboricultural Association www.trees.org.uk 

The Forestry Commission www.forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk   

Following the announcement there was time for the following points to be raised:

• Councillor Neil Carpenter (Corsley Parish Council) emphasised the need for each parish to look at their local Ash trees and gain an understanding of the number and size of them. Councillor Carpenter also stressed the need to fell Ash trees quickly as otherwise it becomes expensive, especially those near to playing fields or roads.
• Sarah Jeffries updated that the parishes of Horningsham and Maiden Bradley have worked with tree specialists to identify and then deal with ash  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

Ø  Wiltshire Police

Ø  Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Ø  BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Ø  Healthwatch

Ø  Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Ø  Local Youth Network

Ø  Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Some written updates have been received and are included in this agenda.

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board received a verbal update from Inspector Al Lumley. An overview was provided of the performance over the last 12 months to July 2021, which included the following points:

• Comparative data was provided which saw Warminster aligned with the rest of the force, suggesting that there is not one specific issue affecting Warminster. A couple of areas were slightly higher, such as criminal damage.
• Stop and Search data was provided with 64.4% of searches having found nothing on the individual. This is average for what the Police achieves nationally.

An overview of the local priorities for Warminster was provided, which included the following areas:

·       Speed Enforcement – The Police are aware that this continues to be an issue especially following the easing of restrictions. Community Speedwatch teams are active, and the Police are trying to support them with a uniformed presence.

·       Drug Use Activity – The Police have been active on social media to share messages about a “bad batch” of Heroine. A well-known drug dealing group is frequenting hotels on outskirts of Warminster as a temporary business set up and the Police have visited to educate staff on what to look for.

·       E-Scooters – Due to the divisive nature of E-Scooters the Police are responding proportionally and are speaking to individuals to educatethem before escalating if needed. A staggered approach on how to deal with e-scooters is being implemented, for example educating unsuspecting people who are unaware whereas repeat offenders will face prosecution with their vehicles seized.

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda supplement. It was also acknowledged that the Fire Service is also supporting Gas Safety week with useful information available in the update provided.

·       BaNES, Swindon & Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG)

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda.

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda.

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

The area board noted the following written updates that had been attached to the agenda from the following Parish Councils; Heytesbury, Imber and Knook,

Horningsham and Maiden Bradley.

Councillor Neil Carpenter provided an update on behalf of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive a presentation from a Highways Officer in regards to the Highways 5-year Work Plan.

The Area Board received a presentation regarding the Highways 5-year Work Plan from Head of Highways Asset Management and Commissioning, Dave Thomas. The presentation covered the following points:

·       Dave provided the email address of Highways Principal Technical Officer Diane Ware (diane.ware@wiltshire.gov.uk) for if any attendees wanted to get in touch with her regarding the current proposed plan. It was stated that this is the first revision and pre-plan to inform what the Council is thinking of doing over the next 5 years. The plan will be authorised in April.

·       Graphs were used to indicate the condition of A,B,C roads in the county, with the ideal aim being that only 20% of roads on average would need treatment. It was outlined that Warminster’s roads were around the 23% mark in comparison to other Area Board roads.

·       It was outlined that the budget for major maintenance this year is roughly 6 million pounds less than that of last year, with an overall budget of 23 million pounds for all maintenance activities in the county.

·       The proposed spend level for Warminster was outlined as being 3.7 million pounds over a 5-year period, with the average spend for other community areas being 3.3 million pounds.

·       With the aim of being carbon neutral by 2030, Dave Thomas outlined some of the preventative treatments that are used on roads, in order to make carbon savings and ultimately prevent road surfaces from needing major intervention work.

Following the presentation there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       It was questioned whether the 10-million-pound cost of Ash dieback would affect the Highways 5-year work plan budget. It was clarified that though Ash dieback would have had a significant effect on the budget, the Highways maintenance funding would come from Department for Transport capital grant funding, whereas Ash dieback funding would come from the Council’s own revenue funding streams.

·       It was noted that the current condition of Warminster roads are very good in comparison to others. It would therefore make sense for the 5-year plan to be reviewed annually in order to adjust the programme if roads are deteriorating quicker than expected.

Resolved

The Area Board agreed to note the contents of the presentation and the report provided by Highways. Additionally it was agreed that the report included in the agenda pack would be taken to the Warminster Community Area Transport Group (CATG) for further comment before returning back to the Area Board next year for approval.

To receive an update from the Health and Wellbeing Management Group.

Councillor Pip Ridout provided an update on the Warminster Health and Wellbeing Management Group, that at the last meeting it was decided that the Health and Wellbeing Management Group would be subsumed into the Health and Wellbeing Forum. Additionally, a report would be produced for the next Area Board to outline what the Forum would be doing.

To receive an update from the Warminster Regeneration Working Group.

Councillor Tony Jackson provided an update on the Warminster Regeneration Working Group that the next meeting for the group would take place on 17 September 2021.

To consider the notes and actions log of the previous meeting of the Community Area Transport Group held on 21 July 2021.

Councillor Andrew Davis introduced the minutes and recommendations from the CATG meeting held on 21 July 2021. Councillor Davis updated that in the recent meeting items on the priority list for the CATG were addressed, with some items being elevated in need of priority and others being removed.

Resolved:

The minutes of the Community Area Transport Group meeting held on 21 July 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

To consider the following applications for funding:

Community Area Grants:

1.     Corsley War Memorial Playing Field - £4,500 towards Flying carpet play equipment for Corsley Memorial Playing Field.

Youth Grants:

1.     Kingdown School - £2,325 towards Shell European Eco Marathon 2022.

2. Westbury and Warminster Youth Club - £3,345 towards Westbury Youth Club.

Health and Wellbeing Grants:

1. Wiltshire Music Centre - £1,500 towards Celebrating Age Wiltshire.

The Area Board considered the following as detailed in the report attached to the agenda supplement:

Community Area Grants:

1.     Corsley War Memorial Playing Field - £4,500 towards Flying carpet play equipment for Corsley Memorial Playing Field.

Resolved:

Corsley War Memorial Playing Field was awarded £4,500 towards Flying carpet play equipment for Corsley Memorial Playing Field.

Youth Grants:

1.     Kingdown School - £2,325 towards Shell European Eco Marathon 2022.

Resolved:

Kingdown School was awarded £2,325 towards Shell European Eco Marathon2022. It was additionally agreed that if possible, the Kingdown School would mention the Warminster Area Board if there was to be any opportunities for sponsorship for the event.

2. Westbury and Warminster Youth Club - £3,345 towards Westbury Youth Club.

Graeme Morrison (Community Engagement Manager) updated the Area Board that the applicant’s rental costs have since changed to £2,604 and they would therefore now be applying for this respective amount.

Resolved:

Westbury and Warminster Youth Club was awarded £2,604 towards Westbury Youth Club.

Health and Wellbeing Grants:

1. Wiltshire Music Centre - £1,500 towards Celebrating Age Wiltshire.

Resolved:

Wiltshire Music Centre was awarded £1,500 towards Celebrating Age Wiltshire.

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

Councillor Pip Ridout updated the Area Board that following a recent licensing meeting, local licensed premises will be taking part in the “Ask for Angela” initiative. Which is a codeword initiative to keep people safe if being hassled or coerced in licensed premises; allowing individuals to return home safely and discreetly.

The next meetings of the Warminster Area Board will be on 11 November 2021.

The date of the next meeting is Thursday 11 November at 7.00pm.