Agenda and minutes

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

The Chairman advised that a new meeting format was being trialled and thanked everyone present for attending at the earlier time of 6pm. Feedback on the new format was welcomed.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Bill Roberts, Councillor Peter Colmer, Mike Leighfield of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council, Andrew Brand of Marston Meysey Parish Council, Paul Harrison of Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association and Jan Fisher of the 1^st Purton and Lydiard Scout Group.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 12 October 2011.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 12 October 2011 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of interest.

To include the following:

      i.        11 to 19 Commissioning Strategy – Outcome of Consultation

    ii.        What Matters to You – Household Survey.

The Chairman drew attention to two announcements which were contained within the agenda pack. The first was a short summary of the consultation on the 11 to 19 Commissioning Strategy, and the second was notice of a household survey being carried out by Wiltshire Council. Copies of the survey were available in paper format, or the survey could be completed online at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/whatmatterstoyou .

To consider reports from the following task groups and make any necessary decisions:

      i.        Community Area Transport Group

    ii.        Neighbourhood Planning Forum

   iii.        Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board

   iv.        Royal Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board.

Updates were received as follows:

      i.        Community Area Transport Group

The Community Area Transport Group had been looking at the current transport priorities and discussing with officers how the Council could work with town and parish councils to address the issues in partnership. The next meeting of the Community Area Transport Group would be held on Thursday 12 January 2012, venue to be confirmed.

    ii.        Neighbourhood Planning Forum

The Neighbourhood Planning Forum had recently held its first meeting and the notes of the meeting were included within the agenda and available on the Council’s website. The next meeting of the Neighbourhood Planning Forum would be held on Wednesday 14 December 2011, when discussions would be taken forward, and more detail would be provided at the January 2012 meeting of the Area Board.

   iii.        Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board

The Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board was about to commence phase 2 of the consultation, and full details would be reported back at the January 2012 meeting of the Area Board.

   iv.        Royal Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board

A report on the recent activity of the Royal Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board was circulated at the meeting.

One question had been received regarding what use would be made of any interest gained on the insurance monies relating to the fire damage at Lime Kiln Pool. A response to the question by the Campus Delivery team was distributed at the meeting and had been posted on the Council’s website. This could be viewed at: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityandliving/communitycampuses/woottonbassettcommunitycampus.htm

a.    Community Area Grants Scheme 2011/12

To consider the following applications:

                      i.        Cricklade Country Market seeking £215 for displays for the local community market.

                    ii.        Cricklade Cricket Club seeking £3,300 to erect a rabbit proof fence to the perimeter of the cricket ground.

b.    Community-Led Planning Grants

To consider an application from Latton for £500 towards the development of a community-led plan.

c.    Cricklade Part Night Lighting

To consider an application from Cricklade for part-night lighting.

a)    Community Area Grant Scheme 2011/12

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

       i.        Cricklade Country Market

The sum of £215 was requested for displays for the local community market.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £215 to Cricklade Country Market.

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

It was suggested that the Area Board could play an active role in promoting the Cricklade Country Market, and that details could be sent out to the community via the Community Area Network.

Action: Alison Sullivan to promote the Cricklade Country Market via the Community Area Network.

      ii.        Cricklade Cricket Club

The sum of £3,300 was requested to erect a rabbit-proof fence to the perimeter of the cricket ground.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £3,300 to Cricklade Cricket Club.

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

It was suggested that local communities and groups that have received Community Area Grant funding in the past could play an active role in promoting the Community Area Grant Scheme, in the hope of attracting more applications from the wider community.

b)   Community-Led Planning Grants

The Area Board considered one application for community-led planning funding as follows:

      i.        Latton Parish Council

The sum of £500 was requested towards the development of a community-led plan for Latton.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £500 to Latton Parish Council.

c)    Part Night Lighting

The Area Board considered one application from Cricklade to introduce part-night lighting to a number of residential streets in Cricklade.

            Decision

The Area Board approved the application from Cricklade for the introduction of part-night lighting.

Further applications for the switching-off or dimming of street lighting were welcomed.

A 30-minute interval was held for refreshments and networking opportunities.

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 People’s Issues Group (CAYPIG)

   vi.        Community-Led Planning Steering Groups

  vii.        Chambers of Commerce

viii.        Community Groups.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

      i.        Wiltshire Police

The written update was received and noted. Inspector Chris Martin reported that the new hub policing model was working well and that the level of local policing had increased. There had recently been an increase in the number of thefts from motor vehicles, and Inspector Martin advised all motorists to remove valuables from their vehicles and to remove suction marks from sat-navs, and also to remember to lock vehicles to prevent opportunists from getting into the vehicle.

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The written update was received and noted.

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

The written update was received and noted.

   iv.        Parish and Town Councils

The written updates from Cricklade Town Council, Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council and Purton Parish Council were received and noted. There were no further updates from parishes.

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

The written update regarding the youth transportation and bikability schemes was received and noted.

   vi.        Community Groups

The written update from Wootton Bassett Sports Association was received and noted.

It was also noted that there were now seven Community-Led Planning Steering Groups in the Community Area and a networking event held recently had been very successful. Further information on how to get started with a Community-Led Plan could be obtained from the local councillor, or from Alison Sullivan, Community Area Manager.

It was announced that a cinema event was going to be held at the Wootton Bassett School Sixth Form Lecture Theatre on Friday 27 January 2012. Any suggestions for films to be screened at this or future events were welcomed.

What this will mean for our Community Area and how we could make the most of this opportunity.

Facilitated by:

·         Laurie Bell, Director of Communications, Wiltshire Council

·         Johnathan Bourne, Clerk to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council

·         Shelley Parker, Clerk to Cricklade Town Council.

An interactive session was held which encompassed the various events throughout 2012; including the Olympic Games, the Olympic Torch Relay and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

2012 was planned as a ‘year of celebration’ for Wiltshire and as many people and communities as possible were encouraged to get involved in and celebrate these exciting events.

Johnathan Bourne and Michelle Temple, Clerk and Assistant Clerk to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council and Shelley Parker, Clerk to Cricklade Town Council, all provided informative presentations based on their experiences of planning and organising community events. Both town councils respectively had a lot of experience in event organisation and valuable advice and top tips were shared.

Laurie Bell, Director of Communications, Wiltshire Council, gave a presentation on the Olympic Torch Relay and the Diamond Jubilee, and also showed a short animation produced by the Olympics Committee that showed some of the famous places and landmarks around the country that the torch would pass through. This film could be viewed at http://www.london2012.com/videos/2011/olympic-torch-relay-route-animation.php .

Laurie provided advice on how communities could come together to celebrate these events, and advised that a toolkit was available to help people to plan their celebrations.

The Chairman announced that, at the previous Area Board meeting, support was shown for the Area Board to set aside some funding to be made available to assist communities and local groups to plan and hold events, and made a formal proposal for this to proceed.

Decision

The Area Board agreed to make available from its delegated budget the sum of up to £10,000 to be made available for bids from community groups and town and parish councils for events to celebrate the 2012 Olympics and/or Diamond Jubilee, provided that the bids met one or more of the following criteria:

1)    Reinvigorates our local economy

2)    Showcases what we have and what we do so well in the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade area

3)    Promotes our strong and vibrant community spirit.

The Chairman advised that the bids for funding would be considered at the January and March 2012 Area Board meetings, and suggested that applications should come from community groups with the support of their local councillor. Details of how to apply could be obtained from Alison Sullivan, Community Area Manager.

To conclude the item, a workshop session was held and people were asked to consider ideas for events for 2012. A number of exciting ideas were put forward and Laurie undertook to collate the ideas and produce an event plan to assist with the process of bidding for funding.

The Chairman thanked all of the facilitators for providing such an interesting and informative session, and thanked everyone present for their participation.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler will talk about his responsibilities for Campus Development and Culture (including Leisure, Sport and Libraries), and will respond to any questions.

Questions may be submitted in advance. Please email penny.bell@wiltshire.gov.uk by 23 November 2011.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler talked about his responsibilities for Campus Development and Culture (including Leisure, Sport and Libraries). The following comments arose in the discussions that ensued:

·         The proposals for the Royal Wootton Bassett campus were expected to be considered by Cabinet in spring 2012; however an update would be provided at the Cabinet meeting on 13 December 2011.

·         A business plan for the Royal Wootton Bassett campus was currently being prepared. The proposals were ambitious and the funding sources needed to be identified, which could potentially include some partner funding.

·         Despite some concern, reassurance was given that there were no alternative proposals being developed for the campus. The only working proposal was that being developed by the Shadow Community Operations Board.

·         It was confirmed that the insurance money from the fire-damaged Lime Kiln pool would be reinvested in the Royal Wootton Bassett campus. The insurance details, once known, would be made available to the public.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Wheeler for his attendance, and stated that the campus discussions would continue in more detail at the next Area Board meeting.

It was noted that the Royal Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board was hosting an Equalities Workshop on Wednesday 7 December 2011 from 6:30pm – 8pm.

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 provided.

The Forward Plan is attached for information.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting. The next meeting of the Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board would be held on Wednesday 25 January 2012, 6pm at Lyneham Primary School.