Agenda and minutes

To receive the following Chairman’s announcements:

·       Proposed Police Precept increase for 2023/24

·       The King’s Coronation – Community Celebrations

The Chairman, Cllr Chris Williams, welcomed those present to the meeting of the Tidworth Area Board.

Reference was then made to the Chairman’s Announcements briefing notes and additional information as listed in the Agenda Pack, namely:

·       Proposed Police Precept increase for 2023/24

·       The King’s Coronation – Community Celebrations

The Chairman suggested that some Health and Wellbeing funding could be allocated to support communities in planning for the event. The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager (SEPM) confirmed that applications of this type could only be considered if they fulfil the grants criteria for the Older and Vulnerable Adults Funding. However, funding could be ringfenced with this condition. The Chairman then proposed that £2,000, be ring-fenced on this basis which Members approved. This could be awarded in small grants of approximately £300-£400 to organisations.

Resolved

The Area Board approved that £2,000 of Health and Wellbeing funding be ring-fenced for the purpose of supporting community celebrations for the King’s Coronation. Requests for funds from this ring-fenced money would still need to meet grant criteria and go through the grant application process.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies from Area Board councillors.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 17 October 2022

The minutes of the previous meeting of the Tidworth Area Board held on 17 October 2022 were considered.

Following which, it was:

Resolved

The Area Board approved and signed the minutes of the previous meeting of the Tidworth Area Board held on 17 October 2022 as a true and correct record.

Inspector Ricky Lee – Wiltshire Police

Inspector Ricky Lee, Wiltshire Police, provided an update for attendees. It was noted that Inspector Lee had only been in the post for approximately two weeks but informed Members of his relevant previous experiences, local knowledge, and roles. Furthermore, it was noted that there had been a few changes to the team due to staff shortages, however attendees were reassured that Wiltshire Police were developing plans which looked at bolstering numbers in order to provide a greater presence in local communities and keep residents safe. It was highlighted that there was an increase in crime across Wiltshire, however this was in line with national trends and therefore Officers were not overly concerned as it was not a Wiltshire specific issue. Possible reasons for the increase were listed as more people using mobile phones and technology, greater access to the internet and greater staff numbers in call handling centres. 

The local priorities, as listed within the Agenda Pack and Agenda Supplement 2, were discussed and Inspector Lee informed attendees he wanted to liaise with Area Board Members and local residents into the future to identify their local priorities. The Chairman encouraged Inspector Lee to continue the quarterly meetings between the Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) and the Neighbourhood Tasking Group.

Sarah Holden, Citizens in Policing Supervisor, presented the Road Safety Update as included as part of Agenda Supplement 1. The Community Speed Watch (CSW) data over the last two years was detailed alongside a map showing the different CSW locations logged which, when used by Officers, could improve engagement. Following on from this, reference was made to the Qlik analytics software used by Wiltshire Police which creates interactive reports and dashboards that can be utilised by Officers to discover trends and therefore deliver more targeted enforcement. It was noted that Wiltshire Council were looking at create a similar dashboard with regard to traffic survey data. Officers highlighted that attendees could review all dashboard data online in the near future once it had been published and available for public sight.

Two new roles were then explained, namely: Community Road Safety Officers (CRSO’s) and Community Speed Enforcement Officers (CSEO’s). It was noted that these roles had been created as a result of the uplift programme and that Officers in these roles were a dedicated resource that residents and Members could contact if needed.

A quick overview of Police Operations was then given with regard to initiatives around reducing uninsured driving, impacts of people driving uninsured, the importance of said initiatives and highlighting that the SP9 and SP4 postal districts were within the top 10 uninsured postal districts in Wiltshire.

Lastly, wider work undertaken across the County in December 2022 was discussed with reference to seized vehicles, and drink and drug driving arrests. Officers encouraged residents and Members to have a look at the Wiltshire Specialist Ops Twitter account which would give more up to date information for people to follow. The account can be found through the following link: Wilts Specialist Ops (@WiltsSpecOps)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Station Manager Simon Todd – Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
Service

It was noted that a report from the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service had not been received by Democratic Services and there wasn’t a representative in attendance to deliver a verbal update, therefore no update was provided.

To receive a presentation from Camella Town (National Power Outage Project Officer) and Chris Manuel (Community Resilience Lead Officer) on the proposal of Emergency Contact Hubs and their purpose and helping resilience in the community.

Camella Town, National Power Outage Project Officer, and Chris Manuel, Community Resilience Lead Officer, delivered a verbal presentation on the proposal of Emergency Contact Hubs (ECHs) and their purpose, and helping resilience in the community.

The idea of ECHs was introduced and explained as being inspired by similar endeavours in New Zealand where such places were created for emergency purposes to help residents experiencing urgent issues such as power outages or severe flooding. Officers noted that this idea would build on existing community spirit and resilience arrangements in recognised community locations and would be community led, driven and owned. As such, officers would not be attempting to enforce a detailed structure and instead would look to volunteers to organise how they saw best but would be there to provide support and advice if needed. The aim was to formalise the communications link between communities and authorities. Authorities would know where to go to disseminate information and residents would know where to go to get help or pass information back up the chain.

The introduction of the hubs would be promoted widely on various media formats through Wiltshire Council to ensure that residents would know the locations of the sites alongside any other necessary information.

Attendees were encouraged to get in touch with Camella through the following email address if they or anyone they knew wanted to volunteer or wanted any further details: camella.town@wiltshire.gov.uk. The Chairman suggested that officers liaise with Parish Councils to discuss any existing emergency response plans and to also attend Health and Wellbeing Groups and other local meetings to gain further understanding on what will best suit each community.

The Chairman thanked officers for their presentation on behalf on the Board and attendees.

Cllr Mark Connolly

·       To approve the notes of the meetings held on the 24 October 2022 and 16 January 2023 (16 January minutes to follow)

Cllr Mark Connolly, Chairman of the LHFIG, introduced the minutes and outlined the recommendations from the previous two meetings held on 24 October 2022 and 16 January 2023. Following which, it was:

Resolved

The Area Board noted the minutes of the previous two meetings of the LHFIG held on 24 October 2022 and 16 January 2023 and approved the recommendations as detailed within those minutes.

Cllr Chris Williams – Youth

Cllr Mark Connolly – Environmental

Cllr Tony Pickernell – Health & Wellbeing

Cllr Chris Williams, as lead on the youth priority gave an update to the meeting. He had attended a meeting between the Yellow Brick Road Project (YBRP) and Community First. The YBRP had held football and Art Blast session for young people over the summer of 2022. Funding was in place for Art Blast sessions during the summers of 2023 and 2024. Community First also wanted to attend future YBRP sessions.

Cllr Tony Pickernell was keen to get the Ludgershall Youth Club up and running again on and highlighted the need for volunteers and youth workers. It was further noted that Community First were planning pop up events over the next 3 months and also that Community First could help with the set up of youth provision. Funding was still available for Youth Grants.

Cllr Mark Connolly briefly updated the Area Board on the Environmental Group and emphasised that as the topic had only recently become an Area Board priority then there wasn’t that much information to relay. However, Members were informed that meetings with interested parties had begun taking place and a more formal meeting was scheduled for 20 February 2023 to outline the function and operation of the group, the results of which would be discussed at the next meeting of the Area Board. Cllr Connolly encouraged attendees to get in touch or circulate contact details for further information.

Cllr Tony Pickernell briefly updated the Area Board on the Health and Wellbeing Group, noting the joint support of both the Area Board and Wiltshire Council in assisting the group, as well as further details on the Ludgershall and Tidworth link scheme, and the successful Christmas lunch enjoyed by Friends of Ludgershall.

Graeme Morrison - Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager

Graeme Morrison, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager, and Karlene Jammeh, Area Board Delivery Officer – South, delivered a presentation on the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and warm spaces.

Attendees were informed that the Health and Wellbeing Group had met in late October 2022 in which discussions pertaining to community responses and availability and location of warm spaces were had, with a Sub-Group being set up to help coordinate the community response. The Sub-Group then met on 31 October 2022 with meetings scheduled regularly.

The first meeting resulted in:

·       An established Network of Warm Spaces

·       An aim of ensuring a warm space would be available every day by the end of November 2022

·       The creation of two flyers outlining details of each warm space and other relevant information such as alternative support offered by organisations such as Wiltshire Council, Wiltshire Money, Citizens Advice, and Foodbanks.

Copies of each of the flyers was shown to Members. Further discussions were had regarding the amount of people using warm spaces generally, the use of specifically libraries as a warm place, and foodbank usage. The findings gleaned from the first few weeks of use were discussed and it was noted that warm spaces that offer additional activities such as showing films, running book clubs or providing board games were more likely to have a higher attendance. Furthermore, as the weather had been milder than not, it was suggested that groups consider delaying the opening of warm spaces until a more sustained cold snap was predicted to preserve resources. Lastly, it was suggested that the Sub-Group consider offering residents (who have received their winter fuel but don’t need the full amount) the opportunity to donate it to local people in financial need.

The Chairman thanked officers for their presentation and also thanked the groups organising the Warm Spaces on behalf of the Area Board.

Please find additional information on Warm Spaces and support with the cost-of-living crisis through the following links:

Warm Spaces: Warm Spaces Tidworth & Ludgershall - Tidworth Town Council

Cost of Living Support: Council tax, benefits and financial support - Wiltshire Council

To receive any updates.

The Chairman referred attendees to the written updates included within the agenda and supplement 1. In addition, Lt Col Rupert Whitelegge gave a verbal update. Quite a number of troops would be going out to America during February and March, which placed pressures on their families. Warm spaces were a valuable resource and several of the regiments were setting up warm spaces and foodbanks in order to help regiments and their families that were struggling. The help that service men can provide to their local area was also highlighted, with one example being a figure of £14k raised and donated to the two local Primary Schools to help upgrade their SEN facilities.

To determine the following application for a Community Area Grants:

·       King George Playing Field, £185 towards football goal nets.

To determine the following application for a Youth Grant:

·       Army Welfare Service, £5,000 towards Tidworth Youth and Community Hub.

Details on applying for grants can be found at: https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/6145/Area-Board-Grants

The Area Board considered the applications for Community Area and Youth Grant funding as detailed in the report attached to the Agenda Pack. Representatives of the organisations applying for grants spoke in support of their applications. The Area Board discussed each of the grant applications.

Following which, it was:

Resolved:

Community Area Grant Funding:

To grant the King George Playing Field, £185, towards football goal nets.

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

Youth Grant Funding:

To grant the Army Welfare Service, £5,000, towards Tidworth Youth and Community Hub.

Reason:

The application met the grants criteria 2022/23.

The next meeting of the Tidworth Area Board will be on Monday 23 March 2023

The date of the next meeting of the Tidworth Area Board was confirmed as Monday 20 March 2023 and not Monday 23 March 2023 which had been published in the agenda by error.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting.