Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will welcome those present to the meeting.

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

Apologies for absence were received from:

·       Heather Abernethie – Warminster Town Council

·       Sarah Jefferies – Maiden Bradley with Yarnbrook Parish Council and Horningsham Parish Council

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2015 (copy attached).

Decision

The minutes of the previous meeting 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 no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will introduce the Announcements included in the agenda and invite any questions.

·       Extra Care Scheme Woodmead Site

·       Integrated Performance Management Report

·       Dementia in Wiltshire

The Chairman made the following announcements:

Green Bins

The Chairman reported that a charge of £40 a year per bin for the collection of green waste was to be introduced across the county and that further details would be sent to all households shortly.

Extra Care Scheme

The announcement in the agenda pack was referred to noting that the Woodmead Care home had now closed, a new extra care scheme with 40 units has been identified to be built on the Woodmead site and that Cllr Humphries was looking for volunteers to join the working group and help with the development.

Integrated Performance Management

The Chairman referred to the written announcement in the agenda pack.

Dementia in Wiltshire

The Chairman referred to the written announcement in the agenda pack.

Rail Users Group

The chairman had been asked to pass on the thanks of Rosemary Buchan from the Rail Users Group to the Area Board for the grant they had received and to the Town Council for providing flowers for the planters.

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

Ø  Wiltshire Police

Ø  Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Ø  Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

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

Some written updates had been received before the meeting and were included in the agenda.

Wiltshire Police

Inspector Webb referred to the hand out provided which highlighted that:

Victim based crime coming from Warminster Town centre had been increasing.

Neighbourhood Policing Teams, as part of Safer Internet Day, gave talks to key stage 2 primary school students on the safe and positive use of technology.

The Warminster sector had taken part in dementia training as part of becoming a dementia friendly town.

It was hoped to establish a group of police cadets to introduce police work to young people.

A question was asked about speeding in Chitterne noting that the community speed watch initiative was not deterring speeding and that during Operation Harness over 200 motorists were caught speeding with no tickets being issued by the police.

Inspector Webb agreed to look into the figures and noted that recent discussions around a tri service initiative happened. Strategic roads were the focus at the moment. It was also noted that although there had been an increase in the number of tickets issued in Chitterne although that number still remained low compared to other areas.

It was also noted that lorry watch and community speed watch should work together.

Maiden Bradley Parish Council

An issue was raised about parking around Shearwater lake. The roads were in a bad condition with unsafe parking which was making the road dangerous for drivers.

It was noted that Inspector Webb would take the details outside of the meeting.

i.              Updates

ii.            Grants

Sandra Samuel, Community Youth Officer, gave an update noting that there had been good participation. A recent survey returned over 1300 results which identified what the youths were interested in. Once all of the information was compiled it would be bought to the Area Board for consideration.

It was noted that there were no youth grants and that the money was able to roll over to the next financial year.

Resolved

To note the amount of money in the LYN pot.

To thank Sandra for the work to complete the survey.

An update from the Community Area Manager and leaders of the groups working on existing issues.

If you would like to raise an issue please contact the Warminster Community Area Manager, Jacqui Abbott on 07771 844 530 or jacqui.abbott@wiltshire.gov.uk or report the issue on the Wiltshire Council Website by using this link.

The Chairman will invite those attending to raise any urgent items of public concerns and will also invite any questions from the floor.

The Community Area Manager referred to the issues report in the agenda pack.

The Economic and Tourism group from the Warminster and Villages Community Partnership highlighted an issue with the scaffolding at 3, High Street noting that it had been there for over 5 years which was an eye sore. They had tried to communicate with the agents/ owners although they had not got anywhere.

It was noted that Andrew Murrison would be visiting the site and that Wiltshire Council have been trying to resolve the issue with no luck due to not getting any response from the owners/ agents and with no success because the council's statutory powers were limited. It was noted that the building was dangerous and needed scaffolding.

It was noted that the agents had recently changed and they had been communicating.

A question was asked on how long the scaffolding was necessary for because it was an unnecessary obstruction.

Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe would follow up with the lawyers.

To approve the attached report.

The Chairman referred to the Highways report included in the agenda pack and it was;

Resolved

To note the report.

To receive a presentation and talk about the services DEVELOP provide for the voluntary sector.

The Chairman welcomed Teresa Cairney to the Area Board.

A presentation was given on DEVELOP and the volunteer opportunities in the community area. It was noted that DEVELOP was a charity organisation who  provide group support to new and emerging groups, charities and volunteers in all areas of policy development, governance and providing volunteers. They could also assist with training, recruiting volunteers, mentoring, researching and marketing.

It was noted that group and charities were able to join the emailing list which highlighted opportunities and funding opportunities.

The Chairman thanked Teresa for her presentation.

To receive an interactive presentation on ‘Is your community ready for the Wiltshire Energy Challenge?’ and to discuss the Wiltshire council’s Energy Resilience Plan.

The Chairman welcomed Ariane Crampton, Head of Service for Energy and Environment, to the Area Board.

A presentation was given on the Councils plans to cut its own and residents carbon emissions and how the green agenda could be used to create new jobs and boost the economy.

It was noted that Wiltshire Council had been aiming to reduce its carbon emission by tackling energy efficiency, affordable warmth, renewable energy and sustainable transport.

So far in the Warminster area the leisure centre had lighting upgrades with saving of around £1900 per year and 11 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Last year, Wiltshire Council successfully bidded for a £225,000 grant from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), to install rapid charging units at key sites around the county. Warminster was one of the strategic sites selected. The charge point is located in Central Car Park and provides a 20-30 minute recharge for an electric vehicle. Charging point locations throughout the county can be found at www.openchargemap.org.

The Bore Hill Farm Biodigester, developed and run by Malaby Biogas, is a local renewable energy business utilising Anaerobic Digestion technology to convert food waste to power. It provides a combined waste disposal and energy generation solution in one.

To date the facility has processed more than 35,000 tonnes of food waste, generated over 13,000 MW of renewable electricity and provided over 33,000 tonnes of nutrient rich low-carbon fertiliser to local farmers. The electricity is exported into the local grid network and powers up to 3000 local homes. Malaby designed, constructed and operates the digestion plant on the A36 south of Warminster, using local business and labour and employs local personnel to run the plant.

Bore Hill Farm Biodigester includes a self-contained visitors centre which has been available for tours of the site since it was opened in May 2012. To date over 1,000 people have visited the facility to learn about the process and wider sustainability matters. The majority of visitors have been local community groups, schools and several foreign delegations.

The Energy Resilience Plan aims to develop energy resilience in Wiltshire  as a whole by helping to make the counties energy supply more secure, affordable and sustainable.

The initiative Ready to Switch was discussed noting that anyone could sign up. The initiative aimed to get the best energy deals.

A question was asked about clauses in current energy contracts and it was noted that people could still sign up although individually people would have to check their current exit clauses to see if it would be beneficial for them to switch.

Another question was asked about cavity wall insulation and if that related to Wiltshire Councils energy targets. It was noted that there has been a change of obligation and companies were no longer required to provide loft insulation unless certain criteria was met. 

The Chairman thanked Ariane for the presentation.

To receive a presentation on the activities held in Warminster since 2012 and up and coming events in 2015.

Jacqui Abbott, Community Area Manager, gave a presentation on the Legacy for Wiltshire which highlighted events throughout 2014 and forthcoming events in 2015.

2014 was a great success throughout Wiltshire which helped build closer links with communities and local businesses. Key event dates for 2015 included:

March 26 – Business and sports dinner to support Olympians and Paralympians.

May to September – The Big Pledge – Communities are encouraged to make a pledge whether it be big or small. The area Board and Communications would be happy to help and promote any events where they can.

May 3 – 10 – Cycling festival

June 15 – Magna Carta celebrations  - Schools and local communities were being encouraged to take part in the Magna Carta celebrations by creating a new modern Magna Carta, school competitions, designing and making community barons to be displayed or carried in the Wiltshire wide festivals and the Magna Carta parade on 15 June in Salisbury.

September 6 to 12 – Walking festival

The Chairman thanked Jacqui for the presentation

To discuss the Community Asset Transfer.

The Chairman introduced the item and invited those representing the Warminster Football Club to add any further information. It was noted that currently the football club had a short lease which made it difficult to secure grants and funding.

Resolved

To approve the transfer subject to the matters listed below (Paragraph 9 of the report).

·       As the applicant is not a town or parish council, the land is to be transferred by a 125 year lease. This will restrict use of the land to community football club purposes. If the land should cease to be used for this purpose the lease will end and it will revert to Wiltshire Council.

·       The land is subject to planning restrictions which protect the existing use. Therefore, the property is of low value. Warminster Football Club is responsible for all outgoings under the terms of the lease so there are no financial implications.

To received an update on the Community Operations Board (notes from the previous meeting attached).

Cllr Keith Humphries noted that the Shadow Community Operations Board were moving into the second stage of consultations.

The Area Board noted their position.

To consider the applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme.

The area board considered the following applications seeking 2014/15 Community Area Grant funding and it was;

Resolved;

1.     To award Maiden Bradley Village Hall £500 towards a new kitchen.

2.     To award Corsley Royal Oak £1000 for a defibrillator.

3.     To award the Corsley Show Society £2942 for capital assets.

4.     To award Friends of Warminster Community Radio £857.95 for a community visual media service.

5.     To award Heytesbury & Sutton Veny Cricket Club £5000 towards new changing rooms and showers.

6.     To award Codford Parish Council £ 2000 towards two defibrillators.

7.     To award Warminster Ukulele Club £1973 towards equipment.

The meeting date for 2015 of the Warminster Area Board will be:

·       30 April                 Warminster Civic Centre

·       2 July                     Warminster Civic Centre

·       10 September        Chapmanslade Village Hall

·       5 November           Warminster Civic Centre

It was noted that the next meeting of the Area Board would be on:

30 April 2015, 7pm at the Warminster Civic Centre.