Agenda and minutes

An opportunity to meet the Cabinet Member, Director and Highways Officers.

Those in attendance had the opportunity to partake in an informal networking session with the Cabinet Member, Director and Highways Officers.

The Area Board Chairman will welcome those in attendance and provide an overview of the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed those in attendance and provided an overview of the meeting. The Chairman also provided Councillors and Officers in attendance an opportunity to introduce themselves.

It was outlined that a presentation would take place covering the following matters:

·       Strategic Business Plan Priorities

·       Maintenance

·       Local Transport Plan

·       Congestion

·       Public Transport

·       Air Quality

To receive presentations that will cover topics such as the strategic business plan priorities, maintenance, LTP, congestion, public transport, and air quality.

The Area Board received a presentation from Sam Howell (Director Highways and Transport), Allan Creedy (Head of Sustainable Transport) and Cllr Caroline Thomas (Cabinet Member for Transport, Street Scene, and Flooding). The presentation covered, but was not limited to, the following matters:

Introduction:

·       An overview of the Wiltshire transport context was provided, including how the highway network represented the Council’s largest and most valuable public asset with a replacement value of over £5billion including over 2,8000 miles of road.

·       The relation of Highways and Transport to the Wiltshire Council Business Plan was outlined.

·       Statistics were provided regarding asset management, including maintenance.

Investment in the Network:

·       An overview of the funding available to Highways maintenance was outlined, including that there was a Highways Maintenance fund of £21million, which was topped up by additional funds, such as an additional £3.6million pothole fund.

·       Other additional sources of funding top ups were covered, including additional investment from Wiltshire Council and further Government funding to span a two-year period.

·       It was noted that as a local authority, Wiltshire was robust and had a preventative eye with the importance of prioritising issued outlined.

The Local Transport Plan:

·       The importance of having a Local Transport Plan was outlined, with it setting a framework for maintaining and improving transport in Wiltshire.

·       The importance of the Local Transport Plan aligning with the Local Plan Review to help deliver Wiltshire Council’s Business Plan priorities was stated, with key themes identified including decarbonisation, freight, and active travel.

·       It was noted that there would be plenty of opportunities to be involved in the consultation of the Local Transport Plan.

Public Transport Review:

·       An overview was provided regarding the public transport review, which would aim to shape the future bus policy as well as priorities for support.

·       The consultation timeframe, which ended on 10 November 2023, was outlined as well as that there had been over 1,000 responses.

·       The aim was for a new policy and network to be implemented from April 2024.

Highways Maintenance:

·       It was outlined that the Council has three different approaches to maintenance:

o   Reactive Maintenance - Responding to issues as they arise, such as repairing potholes or replacing damaged signs.

o   Planned Maintenance - Scheduling regular maintenance tasks to prevent issues from arising in the first place or getting worse.

o   Asset Maintenance - Taking a long-term view of highways maintenance and involves evaluating the condition of roads and infrastructure and prioritizing maintenance tasks based on factors like condition, safety, cost, and rate of deterioration.

·       An overview of benchmarking for Highways was provided following a 2022 South West Road condition scanner survey, with Wiltshire in a good position compared to other local authorities. Furthermore, it was noted that this data was used to prioritise investment.

·       An explanation of why so many potholes have occurred was provided as well as detail regarding interim and permanent repairs.

·       It was noted that officers have a defect dashboard which enables them to monitor real time data relating to reported and completed defects  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Those in attendance will have the opportunity to partake in a Q&A session coordinated by the Area Board Chairman.

A question-and-answer session took place coordinated by the Area Board Chairman. Questions raised included:

Question – Resident: In isolation, the statistics included within the PCC presentation looked impressive but recently a traffic survey took place in Silver Street which showed that circa 400 drivers a day were exceeding the 30mph speed limit. Not enough is being done to tackle speeding.

Response: It is difficult for the police to be everywhere with resources. There is a process that can take place if a community does have a perception of speeding, with the first step being the Council undertaking a road survey, which if it gets to a certain level could require speeding education. The next step would then be to form a Community Speed Watch group using speed indication devices (SIDs).

Question – Resident: The road traffic survey took place and residents don’t feel as if the speeding is acceptable to be tolerated, where is the line drawn? It is appreciated that there is only a certain budget and capability, however, there has to be a reality check from residents with the council held accountable to what residents are living with every day.

Response: When the traffic survey is exceeded, that is when speed watch takes action. If there is a specific issue, residents are encouraged to report to the PCC and they will then attend the area when they can in partnership. From this, the PCC will work out how best to educate those offending.

Question – Resident: Circa400 people exceed the speed limit every day in Silver Street and the footways are narrow, with it not safe to walk on the streets. The criteria of the checks are of no relevance to the residents of this area and someone needs to question this and the total number of people speeding involved rather than a percentage.

Response: Wiltshire Council is an evidence led authority and with the traffic survey recently conducted, the Council is working with Warminster Town Council to investigate what can be done and will return back to residents with a pathway for intervention in due course.

Question – Resident: 12 years ago, Wiltshire Council took the decision not to continue to use speed cameras, which have since laid dormant. Is there a plan to use them again as there could be huge revenue benefits, for example Dorset have used cameras on mass and speeding levels have reduced.

Response: The cameras mentioned are static speed cameras and with technology improving all the time, there is a need for a balanced approach. Officers are not supportive of static speed cameras as when drivers see these they tend to slow down and then return to speeding thereafter. The Council is working through Speed Watch and investment in technology, with the recommendation that investment doesn’t take place into static speed cameras. Recently at a road safety conference there was a demonstration of an AI camera system which was able to take photos of offenders using mobile phones and not wearing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

For the Area Board Chairman to summarise the session and outline next steps.

The Chairman of the Area Board summarised session as well as next steps with key actions to be provided in due course. It was noted that written answers would be provided on the website with the presentation published as part of the minutes.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Cllr Tony Jackson left the meeting at 19:55pm.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2023 were presented for consideration and it was;

Resolved:

To approve and sign as a true and correct record of the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2023.

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

Cllr Andrew Davis declared that he was a Trustee Feoffee of the Chapel of St Lawrence, Warminster and would therefore leave the room during their grant application and would not vote.

Cllr Bill Parks declared that he was a Friend of St Lawrence Chapel, Warminster and that his wife was a Feoffee of the Chapel of St Lawrence, Warminster. Cllr Parks stated that he would therefore leave the room during their grant application and would not vote.

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

Remaining Budgets:

Area Board Initiatives:

Community Area Grants:

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

Young People Grants:

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

The SEPM informed the Area Board of the opening balances for grant funding, after which the Area Board considered the following applications for funding:

Area Board Initiatives:

Warminster Area Board – £500 towards Environment and Sustainability Exhibition

Decision:

Warminster Area Board was awarded £500 towards Environment and Sustainability Exhibition.

Moved – Cllr Andrew Davis

Seconded – Cllr Christopher Newbury

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24.

Community Area Grants:

St Lawrence Chapel Warminster – £2,000 towards St Lawrence Chapel Front Pillar.

Decision:

The Area Board agreed to defer making a decision on the St Lawrence Chapel Warminster grant application due to not having a quorum due to the interests disclosed. It was agreed that this application would be brought to the next meeting of the Area Board on 21 March 2024.

Selwood Housing – £ 5,000 towards Westleigh Community CCTV Project.

Decision:

A motion was moved by the Area Board to reject the grant application from Selwood Housing and to refuse awarding funding on the basis of requiring supporting information. This motion was tied at two votes for and two votes against and was decided with a Chairman’s casting vote against the motion.

Moved – Cllr Christopher Newbury

Seconded – Cllr Andrew Davis

A second motion was then moved by the Area Board, which agreed to defer making a decision on the St Lawrence Chapel Warminster grant application for further information and investigation. It was agreed that this application would be brought to a meeting in the next financial year, after April 2024, with additional information regarding monitoring, charges and an expression of interest from Warminster Police requested. The motion was carried.

Moved – Cllr Pip Ridout

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

Heytesbury and Sutton Veny Cricket Club - £4,531.07 towards Sutton Veny Cricket Pitch Ground Equipment and Rain Covers.

Further clarity was provided by the applicant that Heytesbury and Sutton Veny Cricket Club had circa 150 under 18 members and 50 adult members.

Decision:

Heytesbury and Sutton Veny Cricket Club was awarded £4,531,07 towards Sutton Veny Cricket Pitch Ground Equipment and Rain Covers with half of the funding being taken from the Youth Grants budget and the remaining half taken from the Community Area Grants budget.

Moved – Cllr Christopher Newbury

Seconded – Cllr Pip Ridout

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24.

Heytesbury and Codford Football club - £486 towards Football goal nets and Aerator.

Decision:

Heytesbury and Codford Football club was awarded £486 towards Football goal nets and Aerator.

Moved – Cllr Christopher Newbury

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24.

Warminster Athenaeum Trust – £4,000 towards Building access control and security.

Decision:

Warminster Athenaeum Trust was awarded £1,000 towards Building access control and security.

Moved – Cllr Christopher Newbury

Seconded – Cllr Bill Parks

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2023/24.

Older and Vulnerable Grants:

Alzheimers Support - £1,260 towards Old Silk Works Dementia  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 25 October 2023, as set out in the attached report.

Further information on the LHFIG process can be found here.

Cllr Bill Parks introduced the minutes and recommendations from the LHFIG

meeting held on 25 November 2023.

After which, it was;

Resolved:

The minutes of the Local Highways and Footway Improvement Group meeting held on 25 November 2023 were agreed as a correct record and the spending recommendations within were approved.

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

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will take place on 21 March 2024.

The date of the next meeting was 20 March 2024.