Agenda and minutes

Election of the Chairman

·       To elect a Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Cllr Allison Bucknell was elected as Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Election of the Vice Chairman

·       To elect a Vice Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Cllr Jacqui Lay was elected as Vice Chairman for the forthcoming year.

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 the meeting that Penny Bell had now left her post as the Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board Community Area Manager as she had been promoted and had with immediate effect become the new Corsham Community Area Campus manager.

The Chairman requested and it was agreed by the Area Board members that:

·       The Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board thanked Penny Bell for her approachable nature and hard work, and wished her well in her new role in Corsham.

The Chairman then introduced Julia Densham as the new Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board Community Area Manager.

Apologies for absence were received from Insp Mark Thompson & Sgt Martin Alvis – Wiltshire Police, Diana Kirby – Tockenham Parish Council, Ruth Szybiak – Cricklade Town Council, Dr Richard Pagett and Steve Palmer.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on the 19March 2014.

Decision

·       The minutes of the meeting held on the 19 March 2014 were agreed as correct record and signed by the Chairman.

·       The Minutes of the 19 March referred to the 3 Ms Memory Café as the Three Ms Memory Café, this was noted.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

News and information on what’s going on in your local community and across the county:

·       Chairman’s End of Year Report.

·       Caring about Dementia.

·       Cold Calling Zones.

·       Leader Funding.

·       Community Area Grants Scheme.

·       Health Trainer programme rolls out across Wiltshire.

The following Chairman’s Announcements were noted:

·       Chairman’s End of Year Report – was included in the agenda pack.

·       Caring about Dementia –Wiltshire Council has pledged to help develop dementia-friendly communities in Wiltshire. This would involve bringing together partners within local communities, including people with dementia, to deliver small improvements that make a difference to the quality of life for people living with dementia. Examples might include giving bus drivers dementia awareness training or local areas deciding that they want to set up dementia friendly activities.

Community area boards would be central to this and Royal Wootton Bassett would be acting as the pilot area to test a new dementia friendly community toolkit, which would then be made available to all areas across Wiltshire. 

·       Cold Calling Zones – was included in the agenda pack.

·       Community Area Grants Scheme – was included in the agenda pack.

·       Health Trainer Programme rolls out across Wiltshire – Janice Bardwell was introduced as the Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Community Area Health Trainer. Health trainers would be in libraries and children’s centres across the county working with people to encourage them to adopt healthier habits and stick to them.

Captain Bob Rusbridger gave a short update.

Points made included:

·       Update from REME – Programme is on track for completion Summer 2015.
REME move is planned for 25 September – 9 November 2015.
Numbers for REME move 1500 students, 500 staff plus others
REME are engaging with the community already.

·       Chamber of Commerce working with Lyneham Business Buddies and is looking to hold a programme of events to explore business opportunities brought about by the influx of people – we need things for people to spend their money on LOCALLY.

·       LEADER funding – potential opportunities to help local rural businesses.

·       OUR COMMUNITY MATTERS has a new page for DCTT and would be updated as news becomes available, to include jobs. If anybody has anything that they want to share, please send this to Julia Densham.

It was noted that the C Site grass was no longer being cut and had become very long. Captain Rusbridger advised that he would investigate who would have been cutting it.

The Chairman thanked Captain Bob Rusbridger for his update.

Presentation from Alan Truscott of the Plain Action Local Action Group (LAG)

Points made included:

·       That grant funding had been made available to start up or expand businesses.

·       Grants would be available from £1000 to £150,000 for up to 75% of the total cost.

·       Plain Action currently operates across Salisbury Plain but was looking expand into the north western side of Wiltshire in the new funding programme from January 2015.

·       Plain Action plans to bid for Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding to enable them to continue and expand the LEADER programme during 2015-2020.  If the funding is secured the Local Action Group would be able to continue to award grants to eligible community projects, rural businesses and for farming, forestry and tourism related projects in the Royal Wootton Bassett area.

The Local Action Group were keen to:

·       Understand from area and community representatives what they consider to be the key funding priorities for the next 7-8 years.

·       Work with area and community representatives to ensure wide business and community input during the bidding stage.

·       Once funding is secured, work with area and community representatives to communicate as widely as possible the benefits of the Programmes.

The Chairman thanked Alan Truscott for his presentation.

To receive updates from our key partners, including:

a.     Wiltshire Police

b.     Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

c.     Military Civilian Integration Partnership

d.     Defence Technical Training

e.     NHS Wiltshire

f.      Youth Advisory Group (YAG)

g.     Neighbourhood Planning Working Group

h.     Community-Led Planning Steering Groups

i.       Chambers of Commerce/Business Associations

j.       Community Groups

k.     Housing Associations.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

Wiltshire Police

The written update was noted.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service – Mike Franklin

Points made included:

·       That the issues preventing the publishing of the written reports were nearly resolved.

·       That a statement concerning the merging of Wiltshire and Dorset Fire & Rescue Services would soon be in the public domain.

Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association – Paul Harrison

The written update was noted.

REME - Defence College of Technical Training

The written update was noted.

The Chairman thanked everybody for their updates.

Robin Basu & David Wilson – Network Rail gave an update on the GWMLE Gauge Clearance Works.

Points made included:

Skew Bridges

·       Rail Track is in the process of assessing the options for delivering this project.

·       The northern structure is currently undergoing an internal review to assess if reconstruction is required.

·       Until all engineering reviews are completed the full extent of the construction works will not be identified in detail.

·       Rail Track are therefore not in a position to answer detailed questions on the project at this stage; it is worth noting that some issues of concern may never actually materialise.

Templars Farm

·       Drop-in session was conducted on Thursday 24 April.

·       Diversion routes were discussed and preferred options submitted.

Broad Town Marlborough Road

·       Rail Track has requested a work breakdown for the incorporation of the footbridge into the road bridge.

·       The possibility of looking at replacing the WC owned footbridge is being explored.

·       Rail Track will be engaging directly with local companies, residents and WC to try and ameliorate diversion issues, as far as is practically possible.

Chaddington Lane

·       Possession planned for in May 2015.

·       Alan Baxter are producing a design and undertaking the consultations with the English Heritage and Wiltshire Council Conservation Officer.

Dauntsey Lock

·       May Bank Holiday weekend - demolition of the central span and the installation of the new precast concrete portals and parapets completed during a 52 hour rail closure. Handed back to the Rail operation company 8 hours early.

·       The new precast concrete portal and parapet units were installed on Monday 5th May.  In total 8 precast concrete units were installed each weighing between 20 and 22tons.

·       Following this scaffolding has been installed to the four corners of the bridge to allow bricklayers to reinstate the brickwork between the existing bridge and the new concrete portal units.

·       The existing bricks are old imperial sizes which are no longer available, after a long search some reclaimed bricks have been sourced which will be used to achieve a good match with the side spans.

·       Dauntsey Lock programme is on schedule for reopening on the 7th August 2014.

The Chairman thanked Robin Basu and David Wilson for their update.

To receive feedback from the event on 15th March and to identify priorities for the Area Board to take forward.

It was decided to defer this agenda item until the next Area Board meeting due to an error in the data on the voting slides.

To note the intended programme of work for 2014/15 and to note the new process for 2015-20.

Jim Bailey - Principal Engineer, Highways Assets & Commissioning, Wiltshire Council, gave a presentation that outlined Wiltshire Council’s recently approved major programme of investment in highway maintenance over the next six years which would see a significant improvement in the condition of the county’s highway network.

The investment was being targeted at those roads in worst condition, and would include minor roads as well as the main roads. An initial assessment based on road safety information and road condition data had been used to prepare a list of priority sites for treatment in 2014/15 in each community area.

A provisional list of sites for potential treatment until 2020 had also been prepared for each community area. The site list was based on the existing condition of the roads and the anticipated deterioration in the future, but it would need to be reviewed annually as the rate of deterioration of individual roads may vary because of weather and local conditions.

The Area Board was asked to consider the list of proposed highway maintenance schemes for 2014/15, and agree the final list for implementation.

Decision

·       That the Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board agrees and notes the proposed highway maintenance schemes for 2014/15, and agree the final list for implementation.

The Chairman thanked Jim Bailey for his presentation.

To receive written and verbal updates from our town and parish councils.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council

·       The written report was noted.

Cricklade Town Council

·       The written report was noted.

The Chairman thanked the partners for their updates.

To note that appointments to outside bodies and working groups for the forthcoming year:

·       Community Area Transport Group (CAT-G)

·       C&DCA (Cricklade Leisure Centre)

·       Community & RAF Fairford Liaison Group

·       Neighbourhood Planning Forum

·       Lyneham Steering Group

The following appointments to outside bodies and working groups were made for the forthcoming year:

·       Community Area Transport Group (CAT-G) – All Area Board members.

·       C&DCA (Cricklade Leisure Centre) – Cllr Bob Jones.

·       Community & RAF Fairford Liaison Group – Cllr Bob Jones.

·       Neighbourhood Planning Forum – Cllr Mollie Groom.

·       Lyneham Steering Group – Cllr Allison Bucknell.

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

·         Community Area Transport Group.

·         Dog Fouling Task Group.

·         Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board.

·         Royal Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board.

• Set up a Task Group to look into Older People’s Housing provision across the Area Board.

To consider reports from the following task groups:

Community Area Transport Group.

·       That a date was being sorted for the next meeting.

·       That the Broad town speeding issue was still an issue – Cllr Allison Bucknell to chase this.

Dog Fouling Task Group

·       That the group haven’t met since the last update.

Cricklade Shadow Community Operations Board.

·       The written report was noted.

Royal Wootton Bassett Shadow Community Operations Board.

·       The written report was noted.

Older People’s Housing Provision

·       It was agreed that a Task Group would be set up to look at this.

The Chairman thanked everybody for their updates.

Any other business:

·       Flood Damage - that up to £5,000 per home was available for internal flood damage. Contact Wiltshire Council for further details.

·       Purton – Cricklade No.53 Bus – that this service is now a 90 minute service.

·       Purton – the damage being caused by caused by construction traffic due to the local ongoing rail work.

·       Purton Road Development – that Iron Age artifacts had been found on the site.