Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board, and introduced the councillors and officers present.

For those that were new to the Area Board meeting, the Chairman explained that the meetings were open and informal, and that everyone would be given the opportunity to have their say.

The Chairman also announced that filming and photography would be taking place during the course of the meeting for the purpose of developing the Area Board’s social media communication.

Apologies for absence were received from Inspector Chris Martin, Mike Leighfield of Wootton Bassett Town Council, Ray Thomas of Purton Parish Council and Ruth Szybiak of the Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 25 May 2011.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 25 May 2011 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman drew attention to a number of announcements, as follows, full details of which were included within the agenda:

      i.        13 to 19 Draft Commissioning Strategy

The Draft Strategy, which outlined a series of plans for improving services for children between the ages of 13 to 19, was now out for consultation until Friday 5 August 2011.

    ii.        Help to Live at Home

The Council had been working with the NHS and residents of Wiltshire to review services that were available to older and vulnerable people.

   iii.        Military Civilian Integration Programme Update

A full update of the recent activities of this Programme, including the present situation with RAF Lyneham, was included in the agenda. The next meeting of the Lyneham Steering Group was due to be held on Thursday 21 July.

   iv.        Wiltshire Core Strategy Consultation Document

Wiltshire Council’s Core Strategy was currently out for consultation until Monday 8 August 2011. A community consultation event would be taking place on Monday 18 July from 2pm until 8pm at the Wootton Bassett Library. This event had previously been incorrectly advertised as Wednesday 20 July.

The following additional announcements were made:

Brian Atfield

Since the previous Area Board meeting it had been announced that Brian Atfield had sadly passed away after a short illness. Tributes were paid to Brian and the work he did for the people of Cricklade and Wiltshire. Brian’s family had been very appreciative of people’s support since Brian passed away, and for the overwhelming attendance at his funeral.

Petitions

The Area Board noted receipt of two petitions; one from residents of Purton regarding Sunday bus service provision, and one from residents of Wootton Bassett regarding the suspension of bus service 54. Both petitions had been formally logged with Democratic Services, and had been passed to Councillor Dick Tonge (Cabinet member for Highways and Transport) and Councillor Richard Gamble (Portfolio Holder for Public Transport) for formal responses to be directly provided.

To note the written reports and receive any verbal updates from the following:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

   iv.        Parish and Town Councils

    v.        Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG)

   vi.        Community-Led Planning Steering Groups

  vii.        Chambers of Commerce

viii.        Westlea Housing Association

   ix.        Community Groups.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

The written update report was received and noted. Sergeant Martin Alvis wished to thank Wootton Bassett School for its help with the Battle of the Bands event on 10June, which had been a great success.

Sergeant Alvis reported that crime figures had increased in the area, particularly in relation to burglaries, non-dwelling burglaries and theft from motor vehicles. Efforts were being made to reduce crime levels, and some positive arrests had been made.

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

The written update report was received noted. There was no further update.

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

The written update report was received and noted. There was no further update.

   iv.        Parish and Town Councils

Written updates from Cricklade Town Council, Purton Parish Council and Wootton Bassett Town Council were received and noted.

Purton Parish Council expressed concern regarding parking issues in the parish, particularly problems with motorists parking on double-yellow lines.

Action: The Chairman agreed to investigate the matter and determine what measures were being taken to address this issue and how frequently the area was patrolled by parking wardens.

    v.        Community Area Young Peoples’ Issues Group (CAYPIG)

There was no update from the CAYPIG.

   vi.        Community-Led Planning Steering Groups

Broad Town Parish Plan Steering Group announced that, after three years of work, the Parish Plan was now complete and had been distributed to all households in the parish. The Chairman congratulated the Steering Group on their hard work.

Cricklade Community-Led Plan Steering Group was at the start of the Community-Led Plan process and was hoping to get underway very soon, and Wootton Bassett had begun the process and was making good progress, with the next meeting planned for Monday 25 July.

 vii.        Chambers of Commerce

There were no updates from the Chambers of Commerce.

viii.        Westlea Housing Association

The written update was received and noted.

   ix.        Community Groups

Wootton Bassett Sports Association – Plans to relocate to a larger site on land opposite the existing Ballard’s Ash sports ground had unfortunately been delayed by the economic climate, but recent developments had taken place and it was envisaged that building works would commence in 2012.

Cricklade Leisure Centre – Thanks were paid to the Area Board for its support of the Performance Reward Grant application for new gym equipment, which had been successful.

To note the written updates and receive any verbal updates from the following:

      i.        Local Traffic and Highways Working Group – no report

    ii.        Rural Buffer Zone/Neighbourhood Planning Task Group

   iii.        Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board

   iv.        Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board.

Updates were received as follows:

      i.        Local Traffic & Highways Working Group

There was no update from this Group as it had not held a meeting since the previous Area Board meeting. The next meeting of the Local Traffic & Highways Working Group would be held on Thursday 11 August, and all parish and town councils were invited to send a representative.

    ii.        Rural Buffer Zone/Neighbourhood Planning Task Group

At the previous meeting of the Area Board the decision was taken to progress the pilot Neighbourhood Planning Project in collaboration with spatial planning officers. A further report had been produced with a series of agreed actions for progressing the project; the report was distributed in the supplementary pack at the meeting.

It was proposed that a Neighbourhood Planning Forum would be established that would replace the current Rural Buffer Zone Task Group.

Representatives for the Neighbourhood Planning Forum would be invited from town and parish councils, community led planning groups; the MOD; Chambers of Commerce and the North Wilts Economic Partnership.

Once established, it was proposed that the Neighbourhood Planning Forum would meet quarterly from September 2011.

Work to be done included an Issues Paper for consideration by Community Led Planning Groups and others, vision and scoping tasks, and a facilitated workshop to develop a working proposal. The working assumption was that one Neighbourhood Plan for the community area would be developed, but that this would be flexible to meet local need.

Decision

The Area Board noted the report from Spatial Planning Officers and endorsed the agreed actions.

The Chairman asked for a show of hands from those present in support of the proposals. Of those who participated, 15 agreed with the proposals and 4 disagreed.

   iii.        Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board

The report from the Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board was contained within the supplementary pack and noted by the Area Board.

   iv.        Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board

Thomas Woodhouse, Chairman of the Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board, presented the report which contained the results of the recent consultation and a series of recommendations to the Area Board for the progression of the Campus project.

A petition was presented to the Area Board from residents of Wootton Bassett opposing the closure of the Lime Kiln swimming pool. The petition stated:

“We object that Wootton Bassett and the surrounding area not having its swimming pool, an invaluable asset for the community of this area. Many different clubs and groups made use of the pool. The pool was in use every day of the week by groups.

Not forgetting those who use the pool as a healthy and enjoyable form of exercise, many of whom are disabled or elderly.

The modern school curriculum requires that primary aged children receive swimming instruction; whilst the Lime Kiln is not open, this opportunity is being denied to local children. As children cannot have lessons in school nor reach other pools for lessons there is a potential risk to their future health and safety.

We,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a presentation from Laurie Bell, Service Director of Policy, Research and Communications.

Laurie Bell, Service Director for Policy, Research and Communications, gave a presentation about creating a lasting legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games in Wiltshire.

The Olympics coming to the UK was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a fantastic opportunity to showcase Wiltshire and all that the county had to offer.

The recent formal announcement of the route of the Olympic Torch had confirmed that Salisbury had been chosen as one of the locations to hold an evening event. The exact route of the Olympic Torch through Wiltshire was unconfirmed at this stage, but was due to be officially announced in November.

Nominations for torchbearers were being sought and it was hoped to have as many Wiltshire residents selected as possible. Nominations could be made online via the following website: http://www.london2012.com/games/olympic-torch-relay/index.php.

Volunteers were also being sought to help with various activities locally in the run-up to the Olympics and anybody interested in volunteering should pass their details to Alison Sullivan, Community Area Manager at alison.sullivan@wiltshire.gov.uk .

To receive an update on the various changes to waste and recycling collections from Andy Conn, Head of Waste Management.

The Chairman announced that this presentation would no longer be received due to time constraints.

A copy of the presentation would be made available via the Community Area Network, and copies could also be obtained by contacting Alison Sullivan, Community Area Manager.

Further information was also available on the Wiltshire Council website at

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/rubbishrecycling/waste.htm

To nominate a representative of the Area Board to the Viridor Credits Landfill Communities Fund Steering Group.

Decision

Councillor Allison Bucknell was nominated as the Area Board’s representative to the Viridor Credits Landfill Communities Fund Steering Group.

a.    Community Area Grants

To consider the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2011/12:

                      i.        Wootton Bassett Bowls Club - applying for £765 for New Age bowls.

                    ii.        Purton and Cricklade Young Farmers Club - applying for £951 for an Outdoor trip - Acorn Adventure Brecon Beacons

                   iii.        Purton Historical Society - applying for £722 for a plaque to commemorate Astronomer Royal buried in Purton

                   iv.        Lyneham Guide and Scout HQ Association – applying for £5,000 for relocating  and refurbishment of Lyneham Guide and Scout HQ

                    v.        Lyneham Village Pre School - applying for £4000 for provision of outdoor expansion to pre-school.

Grant application packs for the Community Area Grants Scheme are available from the Community Area Manager or electronically at

www.wiltshire.gov.uk/areaboardscommunitygrantsscheme.htm

b.    Delegation of authority to Community Area Manager

To consider the delegation of authority to the Community Area Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Area Board, to approve expenditure not exceeding £1,000 from the budget delegated to the Area Board, for the purpose of funding urgent  activities arising from the work undertaken by the Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Boards, and to include retrospective expenditure of this nature incurred to date. Any such expenditure will be publicly reported at the earliest opportunity to the next full meeting of the Area Board.

c.    Area Board Projects

To consider the following applications for Area Board projects:

                      i.        The Safari Project - £1,500 requested.

a)    Community Area Grants

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2011/12:

                      i.        Wootton Bassett Bowls Club

The sum of £765 was requested for New Age bowls.

                        Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £765 to Wootton Bassett Bowls Club.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

                    ii.        Purton and Cricklade Young Farmers Club

The sum of £951 was requested for an outdoor trip – Acorn Adventure Brecon Beacons.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £951 to Purton and Cricklade Young Farmers Club.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

                   iii.        Purton Historical Society

The sum of £722 was requested for a plaque to commemorate Astronomer Royal buried in Purton.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £722 to Purton Historical Society.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

                   iv.        Lyneham Guide and Scout HQ Association

The sum of £5,000 was requested for relocating and refurbishing of Lyneham Guide and Scout HQ.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £5,000 to Lyneham Guide and Scout HQ Association.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

                    v.        Lyneham Village Pre-School

The sum of £4,000 was requested for provision of outdoor expansion to the pre-school.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £4,000 to Lyneham Village Pre-School. 

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2011/12 and demonstrated a link to the Community Plan.

b)   Delegation of Authority to Community Area Manager

Decision

The Area Board agreed that the Community Area Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Area Board, is granted delegated authority to approve expenditure not exceeding £1,000 from the budget delegated to the Area Board, for the purpose of funding urgent activities arising from the work undertaken by the Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Boards, and to include retrospective expenditure of this nature incurred to date. Any such expenditure will be publicly reported at the earliest opportunity to the next full Area Board.

c)    Area Board Projects

The Area Board considered one Area Board Project application, as follows:

                      i.        The Safari Project

The sum of £1,500 was requested for the provision of a Blue Bus for young people.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,500 to the Safari Project for the provision of a Blue Bus for young people.

The Chairman will invite any remaining questions from the floor.

The meeting is asked to note the future meeting dates below and is reminded to complete the evaluation forms in the packs.

The Forward Plan is attached for information.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting, and extended particular thanks to the staff at St Bartholomew’s Primary School for the use of their hall.

The next ordinary meeting of the Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Board would be held on Wednesday 12 October 2011, 7.00pm at Cricklade Town Hall.