Agenda and minutes

Chairman’s announcements:

a)    Community Payback – Call for ‘Grot Spots’

b)    Local Transport Plan Car Parking Strategy

c)    Wiltshire Local Transport Plan Strategy

d)    Community Flooding Information

e)      Gypsy and Traveller Site Consultation

The Chairman, Councillor Andrew Davis, welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Warminster Area Board and introduced the councillors and officers present. The following announcements were then made (full details of each announcement were contained in the agenda at pages 3 to 11):

a)    Community Payback: Call for ‘Grot Spots’

A local scheme was now underway whereby offenders were directed to offer free labour to local communities to improve the local environment. Ideas were being sought locally for any suggested ‘Grot Spots’; local areas which needed clearing or community facilities which needed decorating, litter picking or graffiti removal. Any ideas or referrals could be submitted directly using the referral form on the Community Payback leaflet or via the Community Area Manager.

b)   Local Transport Plan Car Parking Strategy

The consultation on the new Car Parking Strategy was open from 12 July to 3 September. The results of the consultation would be brought back to a future meeting of the Area Board.

c)    Wiltshire Local Transport Plan Strategy

Consultation on the draft Local Transport Plan would run from 4 October to 26 November 2010. Full details were included in the agenda at page 7.

d)   Community Flooding Information

A reminder was issued to any parish or town council that had not yet submitted their completed flood pack information, to return them to Renate Malton at County Hall as soon as possible.

e)    Gypsy and Traveller Site Consultation

It was noted that the consultation planned on possible new Gypsy and Traveller sites following on from the work carried out in April and June this year, had now been put on hold due to the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategy. The Area Board would be informed once a revised timetable was available.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Christopher Newbury and from Jo Howes of NHS Wiltshire.

Councillors are requested to declare any personal or prejudicial interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Councillor Pip Ridout declared a prejudicial interest in Item 11, specifically in relation to the Community Area Grant application from the Warminster Christmas Lights Committee. Councillor Ridout would leave the room for consideration of this item.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 24 June 2010 and the Extraordinary meeting held on 28 July 2010.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2010 and the Extraordinary meeting held on 28 July 2010 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any updates from partners.

Updates from partners were received and noted as follows:

NHS Wiltshire

An update report was included in the agenda at pages 33 to 35. Councillor Humphries commented that a white paper on public health was due to be published imminently and it was expected that a lot of responsibility would be passed to local authorities.

Fire and Rescue Service

An update report was included in the agenda at pages 37 and 38.

Wiltshire Police

An update report was handed out by Inspector Dave Minty and would be attached to the minutes. Inspector Minty reported that there had been a 39.3% decrease in dwelling burglaries and a 37.5% decrease in theft from vehicles.

Parish and Town Councils

Update reports had been received from Horningsham and Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield Parish Councils, and were included in the agenda at pages 39 and 41.

To receive an update from the Community Area Manager on issues raised through the Community Issues system.

Katharine Dew, Community Area Manager, provided an update on issues raised through the Community Issues system, a summary of which was included in the agenda at page 43.

Katharine encouraged people to make use of the Community Issues system, as it was a very useful tool for reporting local issues and monitoring their progress.

To receive a presentation from the CAYPIG and an update on recent activities.

Sam Shore, accompanied by three local young people of the Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG), introduced the update report and gave a presentation on recent activities of the CAYPIG.

The issues with the Skate Park had first come to the attention of the Area Board last year. The young people identified issues of damage and repairs that were needed to get the skate park to the required standard. As a result, meetings took place and issues were brought to local councillors and the Area Board and, with the help from the Area Board and also the Friends of the Park, funding was secured and the repairs and maintenance of the park were able to take place. The Area Board also helped to secure the funds for a new Teen Shelter. Funding came directly from the Area Board and through a Performance Reward Grant.

The young people thanked the Area Board, the councillors and other partners for their continued help and support throughout these recent projects.

The Chairman thanked Sam and the young people for their presentation and for bringing their positive news to the attention of the Area Board.

To consider the results of the Warminster Community Radio interviews and determine next steps with the Warminster Voices project.

Katharine Dew, Community Area Manager, provided an overview of the Warminster Voices project.

A Warminster Voices coffee afternoon had been held on Thursday 19 August in Warminster Library.  The aim of the event was to talk to people with disabilities to find out what issues they thought should be brought to the Area Board and how they wanted to be kept in touch and consulted with. 

Some of the suggestions that came out of the event included a regular drop-in service to be available at the library and that Warminster Community Radio should visit day centres, residential care homes and sheltered housing to talk to people there and get their views.

During the event, Warminster Community Radio had questioned some of the attendees to obtain their views and opinions on the issues; a recording of which was played to the meeting.

Katharine explained that it was now the intention of the Area Board to obtain people’s views on how the project could be developed and how to reach people that are unable to attend the meetings. The following comments were made in the discussion that followed:

·         There was a lack of service provision in Warminster Community Area for people with profound learning disabilities and complex needs.

·         It was important to encourage more people to meetings, particularly general members of the public.

·         A record of the points raised should be maintained as a way of feeding back progress, and could also be relevant to the Community Area Plan.

·         Local organisations could be more involved, e.g. schools, clubs, businesses, etc, and may benefit from being visited from time to time.

·         The villages could be visited and interviewed, particularly Parish Councils and local groups such as WIs; this would give a better picture of what the individual parishes wanted.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their ideas and suggestions. A Performance Reward Grant application that was connected to these issues would be considered under Item 12 on the agenda.

To receive a report on the request for a roundabout at Copheap/Portway, Warminster.

The report, providing the conclusions to the investigations into the mini roundabout request at Copheap/Portway in Warminster, was received and noted. The recommendation in the report was that a mini roundabout was not justifiable at the present time.

Some concern was expressed that Warminster Town Council had invested a lot of time developing the proposal and was now being asked to dedicate more time and resource into undertaking a survey of local residents.

The Chairman commented that the outcome was disappointing, but that the report was quite explicit in its recommendation and the reasoning. The matter would not be considered at the Area Board again, so anybody with outstanding comments or concerns should submit them in writing to the Council.

The Chairman reminded the meeting that the Area Board was in the process of setting up a Community Area Transport Group (CATG). Once established, it was intended that the CATG would meet to consider small-scale local transport and highways proposals and report to the Area Board with recommendations.

To consult on the review of leisure services in Wiltshire. Councillor Stuart Wheeler, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler, Cabinet member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, gave a presentation on the Council’s proposals for leisure provision in the county over the next 25 years.

Wiltshire Council had inherited some form of financial responsibility for 23 leisure facilities on 1 April 2009 and it was considered that the present indoor leisure facility stock was broadly outdated, inefficient and unsustainable. £93 million would be required over the next 25 years to sustain the existing buildings, and this did not include any service or building enhancements, which were much required in some of the centres.

For Warminster Community Area the following was proposed:

•         Provision of a new indoor leisure facility within a Community Campus in the Warminster area to replace the existing facility at Kingdown School.

•         Proposed facilities for leisure aspect included a 25m main pool, learner pool, sports hall, fitness suite and multi-activity rooms.

•         The current indicative timeframe for completion was 2021.

•         Existing facilities would remain available for community use until a new site opened.

•         There was potential for a partnering approach with the Ministry of Defence.

The following comments were made following Councillor Wheeler’s presentation:

·         Kingdown School had recently applied for ‘Academy’ status which could affect the proposals. Councillor Wheeler did not foresee any difficulties because a similar arrangement in Marlborough with the college worked very well.

·         It would be useful if the comments made during the consultation were available; particularly for the Community Area Partnership to see. Robin Townsend, Head of Leisure, commented that they could arrange for officers to attend a Partnership meeting if that would be helpful.

·         If a new pool was to be provided, it would be very useful for the pool to have four lanes instead of three as per the present pool. This would allow the swimming club to complete locally and raise revenue instead of having to travel elsewhere to compete.

·         Some of the questions in the questionnaire appeared to be too vague.

·         The development of a Community Campus was connected to the Council’s Workplace Transformation programme and involved many different community services, including leisure, being provided in one location, or ‘campus’.

A voting exercise was conducted using the handheld voting system. A series of questions were asked concerning the leisure proposals and the results provided officers with an indicative ‘snapshot’ of people’s views. The results would not form part of the formal consultation.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Wheeler for his presentation and encouraged people to complete and return the questionnaire.

To consider the following applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme:

a)    Corsley Memorial Playing Field - £5,000 to improve safety, access and facilities.

b)    Warminster Christmas Lights Committee - £2,650 for a Christmas grotto and street fair.

c)      Maiden Bradley Village Shop - £1,923 for a new freezer display.

Consideration was given to three Community Area Grant applications, as follows:

Councillor Ridout left the room for consideration of the following application.

a)    Warminster Christmas Lights Committee - £2,650 for a Christmas grotto and street fair.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,650 to Warminster Christmas Lights Committee.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would allow the event to improve on the success of last year.

Councillor Ridout returned to the room.

b)    Corsley Memorial Playing Field - £5,000 to improve safety, access and facilities

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £5,000 to Corsley Memorial Playing Field.

Reason

The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would improve safety and access provision whilst reducing maintenance.

c)    Maiden Bradley Village Shop - £1,923 for a new freezer display – the officer recommendation was to refuse this application as it did not fully meet the criteria, however the Area Board could still decide to award the funding should there be a great community benefit.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,923 to Maiden Bradley Village Shop.

Reason

The application, although not fully meeting the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11, would provide a great community benefit by enabling the purchase of this vital piece of equipment for the thriving community shop.

To consider support for the following applications for funding from the Performance Reward Grant Scheme:

a)    Wiltshire Voices - £54,000 for a two-year initiative which will challenge Area Boards to develop new and innovative approaches to community engagement and empowerment particularly focused on engaging with hard to reach and traditionally excluded groups.

b)    Wiltshire Libraries: Energy Monitors – £12,566 for a supply of energy monitors to be available for free hire in all libraries across Wiltshire.

c)      Warminster and Villages Community Partnership: Health and Social Care Group - £8,000 for a Warminster Directory of Services for Older People.

Consideration was given to three Performance Reward Grant applications, as follows:

a)    Wiltshire Voices - £54,000 for a two-year initiative which would challenge Area Boards to develop new and innovative approaches to community engagement and empowerment particularly focused on engaging with hard to reach and traditionally excluded groups.

Decision

The Area Board was in support of the application from Wiltshire Voices and recommended it go forward to the Performance Reward Grant Panel.

b)    Wiltshire Libraries: Energy Monitors – £12,566 for a supply of energy monitors to be available for free hire in all libraries across Wiltshire.

Decision

The Area Board was in support of the application from Wiltshire Libraries and recommended it go forward to the Performance Reward Grant Panel.

c)    Warminster and Villages Community Partnership: Health and Social Care Group - £8,000 for a Warminster Directory of Services for Older People.

Councillor Humphries commented that, although he supported the principal behind the project, there was a risk of duplication. He also suggested that the printing costs could be reduced to make the booklet more affordable, with a view to applying for a Community Area Grant at a future meeting.

Decision

The Area Board did not support the application from Warminster and Villages Community Partnership Health and Social Care Group.

Reason

More work was required to investigate ways of reducing costs and ensuring that the project did not duplicate work already underway in the county. It was also important for the booklet to contain relevant local information.

A comment was made that the production of any such directory should also include services for people with complex needs and learning disabilities.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will be held on Thursday 11 November 2010, 7.00 pm at the Corsley Centre.

An evaluation of the evening’s meeting was conducted using the handheld voting system.

The next meeting of the Warminster Area Board will be held on Thursday 11 November 2010, 7.00 pm at the Corsley Centre.