Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board and announced that it was good to see such a positive level of attendance.

Apologies for absence were received from Laurie Bell, Service Director, Inspector Chris Martin of Wiltshire Police and George Croxford, Headteacher of Wootton Bassett School.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 2 February 2011.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 2 February 2011 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor Bill Roberts declared a prejudicial interest in Item 10(ii) due to being a member of Wootton Bassett Town Council, and would leave the meeting for this item.

Councillor Peter Colmer declared a prejudicial interest in Item 10(i) due to being a member of Cricklade Town Council, and would leave the meeting for this item.

The Chairman referred to the details contained within two announcements that were distributed at the meeting.

Royal Wootton Bassett

The first related to the recent announcement by the Prime Minister that the town of Wootton Bassett was to become ‘Royal Wootton Bassett’ later this year as an enduring symbol of the nation’s admiration and gratitude. The Chairman drew particular attention to the letter of congratulations that had been received from the Chairman of Wiltshire Council.

RAF Lyneham

The second announcement was regarding the future of the RAF Lyneham site, and Wiltshire Council was continuing to press the MOD for a decision on the site’s future.

The Military Civilian Integration (MCI) Programme was to form a Lyneham Steering Group to bring together community and economy-related groups who would be affected by the closure of RAF Lyneham. The main purpose of this group was to provide a voice for particular concerns and to deal with a broad spectrum of community issues. The first meeting of this group would be held on Thursday 7 April (4-6pm at the Hive, RAF Lyneham) and MCI would be sending out invitations to this meeting during the course of the week.

Lime Kiln Leisure Centre

The Chairman announced that, following the recent fire at Lime Kiln Centre, the facility would be reopening on Monday 28 March 2011. Nick Moran of DC Leisure reported that use of the building had been regained on 21 March, and that staff from DC Leisure and the Workplace Transformation Team at Wiltshire Council had been working hard together to get everything ready for the reopening.

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

      i.        Wiltshire Police

    ii.        Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

   iv.        Parish and Town Councils

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

   vi.        Chambers of Commerce

  vii.        Community Groups

viii.        Outside Bodies

   ix.        Westlea Housing Association.

a)    Updates from partners were received as follows:

                      i.        Wiltshire Police

Sergeant Martin Alvis presented an update report from Wiltshire Police and commented on the slight peak in theft from non-dwellings. He reported that a male from Swindon had been arrested in connection to these crimes. Another male from Pewsey had also been arrested and charged for a series of local thefts.

                    ii.        Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

The written update report was noted. There were no further updates.

                   iii.        NHS Wiltshire

The written update report was noted. There were no further updates.

                   iv.        Parish and Town Councils

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

A correction to Wootton Bassett Town Council’s report was noted, that the Mayor’s charity event planned for 23 April 2011 would now be held on 30 April 2011.

Purton Parish Council reported that, since the last meeting, the Council had met with Ridgeway Farm officials but it was still unclear when a decision would be made. The policy statement had now been received, and did allow for the development to happen.

                    v.        Community Groups

An Extended Services newsletter and leaflet was distributed, including details of activities being held in the area. The Chairman also reported that the October meeting of the Area Board would have a focus on education matters.

b)    Task Group Updates were received as follows:

                      i.        Local Traffic & Highways Working Group

The next meeting was due to take place on Thursday 5 May 2011, from 7.00pm at Cricklade Town Council offices. All parish and town councils were invited to send a representative.

                    ii.        Rural Buffer Zone Task Group

Councillor Mollie Groom provided an update and proposed that the Area Board passed a resolution to Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council opposing to development at Ridgeway Farm.

Decision

The Area Board agreed:

                      i.        To note the numerous objections made by local residents against the outline planning application for Ridgeway Farm (10/0475/OUT) together with objections from:

Cricklade Town Council

Purton Parish Council and

Lydiard Millicent Parish Council

Swindon Borough Haydon Wick Parish Council

Thames Water and

Natural England

                    ii.        That the scale of development proposed is contrary to Core Policies in the North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011 relating to:

Sustainability (C1)

Community infrastructure (C2)

Development control (C3)

The landscape character of the countryside and features contributing to local distinctiveness (NE15) and

Residential development in open countryside (H4)

                   iii.        To request that the application should be refused for those reasons.

Action: To forward the above resolution to the appropriate officers at Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council.

Lucy Murray-Brown, Campus and Operational Estate Management Lead, gave a presentation on proposals for a community campus in Wootton Bassett and a community campus in Cricklade.

Lucy explained that a community campus was a building, or buildings, in a community area that would provide the services the local community needed in an accessible location.

Wiltshire Council had agreed to the development of a community campus in Wootton Bassett, due for completion in autumn 2012, and a separate community campus in Cricklade, due for completion in early 2013.

Following a wide ranging question and answer session it was proposed that the Area Board would develop an individual Shadow Community Operations Board for each community campus, in accordance with the specified Terms of Reference, and expressions of interest were welcomed from people wishing to sit on either of the Shadow Boards.

Following the presentation, a question arose as to the situation regarding insurance, and why the insurance money from Lime Kiln Leisure Centre was not being used to reinstate the swimming pool. Lucy stated that a response to this question would be prepared and circulated following the meeting.

NB since the meeting it has been confirmed by Wiltshire Council officers and the Area Board Chairman that the Lime Kiln building was and is insured, and that the insurance cover was more than adequate to provide full re-instatement.

The following additional information has also been provided since the meeting:

The fire at the Lime Kiln Leisure Centre on December 18 caused extensive damage to the swimming pool and the associated facilities.  Both Wiltshire Council and DC Leisure recognise the inconvenience the closure was having on the many frequent users of Lime Kiln and concerted efforts have been made to re-instate the key areas of the centre not directly damaged by the fire, onMarch28. 
 
At this stage, it would not be financially prudent to invest in the reinstatement of the damaged facilities, irrespective of where the money comes from, as the leisure complex is linked to the wider discussions which will assess opportunities to create a campus in Wootton Bassett.  This is a hugely positive project for Wootton Bassett and the surrounding area and if anything the unfortunate incident with the fire creates an opportunity to bring forward the timeline for developing a campus facility.
 
There is a need to avoid pre-empting the results of the community consultation that will take place in the coming weeks around the wider proposal to create  a campus in Wotton Bassett as the detail and options for a campus cannot be developed until the community have had an opportunity to influence the indicative specification of a campus.  This will be carried out through the initial consultation which the shadow community operations board are likely to consider in the coming weeks.  The Shadow Community Operations Board could also consider the various options for the reinstatement of the pool facilities and make recommendations to the Area Board.

In the interim, as a minimum, weather protection will be installed to protect  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive a short presentation prepared by David Buxton, Policy Advisor on Neighbourhood Planning, Department for Communities and Local Government.

The Chairman gave a short presentation on localism and neighbourhood planning, prepared by the department for Communities and Local Government.

The presentation focussed on the government’s priorities, as follows:

·         Localism – doing everything at the lowest possible level, and only involving central government if absolutely necessary.

·         Decentralisation – giving away power to individuals, professionals, communities and local institutions.

·         Big Society – a society where people, neighbourhoods and communities had more power and responsibility and used it to create better services and outcomes.

The full presentation can be viewed via the following link:

http://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/userfiles/file/annual%20forum/af-2011/david-buxton-annual-forum-4-march-11.ppt

Decision

The Area Board agreed that the Community Area Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Area Board, be granted delegated authority to approve expenditure not exceeding £250 from the budget delegated to the Area Board, for the purpose of booking public meeting rooms for Area Board purposes. Such expenditure will be restricted to meeting costs directly associated with the work of the Area Board and its associated working or task groups, and all such expenditure will be publicly reported at the earliest opportunity to the next full Area Board.

The Area Board will consider the following funding applications for community planning, in line with proposals agreed at the previous Area Board meeting:

      i.        Cricklade Town Plan Steering Group – seeking £2,000

2. Wootton Bassett Town Council – seeking £4,000
3. Purton Parish Council – seeking £2,000.

The Area Board considered the following applications for community-led planning funding:

      i.        Cricklade Town Plan Steering Group

The Cricklade Town Plan Steering Group was requesting the sum of £2,000.

Councillor Peter Colmer left the meeting.

            Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,000 to the Cricklade Town Plan Steering Group.

Reason: The application linked to the Area Board’s commitment of supporting and facilitating the development of community-led plans in the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Community Area.

    ii.        Wootton Bassett Town Council

Wootton Bassett Town Council was requesting the sum of £4,000.

            Councillor Bill Roberts left the meeting.

            Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £4,000 to Wootton Bassett Town Council.

Reason: The application linked to the Area Board’s commitment of supporting and facilitating the development of community-led plans in the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Community Area.

            Councillor Bill Roberts returned to the meeting.

   iii.        Purton Parish Council

Purton Parish Council was requesting the sum of £2,000.

            Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £2,000 to Purton Parish Council.

Reason: The application linked to the Area Board’s commitment of supporting and facilitating the development of community-led plans in the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Community Area.

Councillor Peter Colmer returned to the meeting.

The Area Board considered applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2010/11, as follows:

      i.        Longleaze Primary School

The sum of £930 was requested to replace an access ramp and hand rail to the community preschool and nursery.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £930 to Longleaze Preschool.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would meet the locally agreed priority of prioritising young people.

    ii.        Purton Institute Village Hall Charity

The sum of 820 was requested towards refurbishing the kitchen in the village hall.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £820 to Purton Institute Village Hall Charity.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would create opportunities for recreation, culture and leisure.

   iii.        Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Wootton Bassett

The sum of £1,736 was requested to improve the surface of the tow path.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,736 to Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Wootton Bassett.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would promote tourism and sites of historic interest.

   iv.        Thames Hall Management Committee

The sum of £1,045 was requested to replace the central heating boiler.

At this point, Councillor Colmer declared a prejudicial interest, being a member of Cricklade Town Council and the Thames Hall was an asset of the Town Council. Councillor Colmer left the meeting.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,045 to Thames Hall Management Committee.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would contribute to reducing the impact on the environment.

Councillor Colmer returned to the meeting.

    v.        Cricklade Bloomers

The sum of £1,630 was requested to purchase lamp post baskets for spring and autumn to supplement the summer planting.

Decision

The Area Board awarded the sum of £1,630 to Cricklade Bloomers.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria 2010/11 and would promote tourism development of the market town.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and encouraged the completion of the feedback forms.

The next meeting of the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board would be held on Wednesday 25 May 2011, 7.00 pm at Cricklade Town Hall.