Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Chris Williams welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Tidworth Area Board and thanked the Netheravon Parish Council Chairlady for allowing the use of Phoenix Hall. He then invited everyone in attendance to introduce themselves.

The Chairman and Board members then made the following announcements, some additional details were included in the agenda at pages 3 to 11:

Reconstruction Works to Bridge in Tidworth

Essential work to Tidworth 1^st Bridge was planned to start in the next financial year and would continue for approximately twenty weeks. Some temporary orders would be in place which would mean cars trying to turn right or left out of Ludgershall Road would not be able to do so.

Adverse Weather Warning

Wiltshire Council was looking to expand its partnership working with town and parish councils, prior to the onset of winter, with the aim of providing a more extensive coverage of service at a time when resources could be stretched.

Mobile Phone Safety

Information on a national free scheme which would allow individuals to register their mobile phones and other property, which would assist the police in the recovery if stolen and to catch criminals.

For more details click on the link: www.immobilise.com

Enford Day of Action

In September 2010, police, parish councillors and local residents had carried out high visibility foot patrols in 2s or 3s around Enford Parish, learning of the historical problems of the area. The Chairman urged other parish or town council to consider having their own day of action as it was an excellent way of getting to know a Parish.

2011 Census Local Perspectives

Information on the next census in England and Wales which would take place on 27 March 2011.

For more details click on the link: www.census.gov.uk

The following additional announcements were made:

Tidworth Garrison Auditorium

The Chairman brought people’s attention to a stand which had been set up in the hall to provide details of the Planning application for the Tidworth Garrison Auditorium (E/10/1465/FUL). Plans could be viewed online at:

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environmentandplanning/planninganddevelopment.htm

The Chairman gave his congratulations to Castledown Radio who had received an award at the Community Area Award Ceremony recently.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Jo Howles – NHS Wiltshire

Mike Cox – Chairman of Collingbourne Ducis Paish Council

David Wildman – Chairman of Tidworth and District Chamber of Commerce

Councillor Howard declared a prejudicial interest regarding item no. 8.8 - Grant application from the Parochial Church Council of Collingbourne Kingston, as he was a member of it. He left the room and did not vote for this application.

Councillor Connolly declared a personal interest regarding item no. 9 – Transfer of land to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). As he worked for a different section of the MOD, he stayed and voted for this item.

Gerry Hamersley (Natural England Area Team Manager) delivered a short presentation on Natural England’s Living River Project, which was a four year project funded by the Lottery fund, but led by Natural England.

The project had worked with thirty six communities to encourage volunteering, and had engaged over 20,000 people during its work. A Parish Resource Pack had been produced which consisted of twelve guidance notes. The pack urged parishes to come up with ideas of what they could do with their rivers, one suggestion was that parishes could appoint a river warden.

Questions and comments were then received, some of these were:

·         Several parts of the river cannot be accessed by the public, did the project address this issue. Answer: Yes the project did look at increasing access alongside the river and access points were created.

·         Who was the contact for communication in the Netheravon area, as we were not aware the project had taken place. Answer: The project was publicised where we could.

·         Do the public now have the right of access alongside the river where it flows through private land owned by a fishing club. Answer: A path has been established where possible in association with owners along the way. If you have an issue with a particular site, the pack could be used to find ways forward to resolve your issues.

The Chairman thanked Gerry for attending and urged people to take a ‘Living River Pack’ after the meeting from the reception.

The Chairman said that the Board would ideally like to place grit bins around the whole community area, but as there were not a sufficient amount to do this, the Board had prioritised the requests received.

Graeme Hay, Head of Service, Local Highways and Streetscene (South) gave a rundown on the effectiveness of grit in adverse weather situations. Some of the points he raised were:

·         Most of the salt contained in the bins was used on private properties.

·         Salt would protect the roads from freezing down to a temperature of -7?

·         Salt did not provide protection against snow.

·         When distributed correctly by the grit trucks, only 15-20 grams of salt was needed to cover an area of 2m².

·         1 Tonne bags of salt were available for Town and Parish councils, providing they could provide adequate storage.

Councillor Charles Howard explained that the Board had been allocated 4 new grit bins to distribute within the community area. At the last Area Board meeting, Town and Parish Councils had been asked to provide details of their first priority site. After considering the nine requests submitted, Councillor Howard recommended four sites on the basis that they would give the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people. Those sites were:

·         Gason Hill in Tidworth

·         Simonds Road in Ludgershall

·         Tibbs Meadow in Chute

·         Water Lane in Enford

Decision:

Tidworth Area Board would allocate a new grit bin to each of the four  locations as above.

Updates from partners were received as follows:

Wiltshire Police

Mark Freeman highlighted some of the figures from the update attached to the agenda.

NHS Wiltshire

Updates from the NHS for October and November, attached to the agenda were noted.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

Mike Franklin from the Fire Authority apologised and explained that the update attached to the agenda was out of date, so he had circulated hard copies of the most current update at the meeting. He also informed people that freepost cards were available for people to complete and return if they wished to be considered for a home safety check.

Parish and Town Councils

The Chairman thanked Everleigh Parish Council for providing a written update for the agenda and encouraged other parish and town councils to do the same.

Tidworth Town Council - Humphrey Jones explained that there had been recent discussions with Highways regarding increased traffic through the town when the North East Quadrant goes ahead. A site meeting had been held and another was awaited to discuss other options to the twin roundabouts which were currently not working.

Ludgershall Town Council – Owen White explained that the Town Council was working towards having the current speed limit of 40mph past the Wellington Academy reduced to 30mph.

Garrison

Colonel Tabor provided the following update from the Garrison:

·         Most of the 1,000 members deployed in Afghanistan would return next year.

·         A strategic housing review, had been carried out, details of which would follow regarding military population for the area, but it was thought that the current figures would remain roughly the same.

·         It was unknown what effect the withdrawal of 20,000 soldiers and their families from Germany by 2012 would have on the area.

·         It was likely that an increase in housing stock would be needed.

·         The Garrison bonfire party held on 4 November had been a success.

·         The Rifles regiment would be on parade in Salisbury on 29 November 2010.

·         There had been speculation regarding the future of Tedworth House. A business case would be signed which would see the building changed into a recovery centre. If that was the case, the centre would have an interim capacity to care for 50 sleeping patients. It would also act as a hub for people finding it difficult to get alternative employment. The refurbishment should be completed by 2012.

·         The Canadian estate had been completed with 260 new houses.

·         Colonel Paddy had recently signed over a small piece of land to widen the road slightly near the Ram corner on Pennings Road to make the traffic light option possible.

TCAP

Tony Pickenell – gave an update with the following points:

·         The proms concert held in October had been well attended by over 450 people, with the profit going to TCAP for its work.

·         A similar concert involving the schools was planned for 8 December 2010.

·         A group of parents and young people from Ludgershall had come together to raise money for a project to build a skate park.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Val Powley, Community Area Manager, provided an update on issues raised and progress made since the last Area Board meeting. There were 20 live issues on the system, 7 of which were ‘speeding’ related.

Other issues mentioned were:

·         There had been a complaint regarding the hygiene at Tidworth Leisure Centre. 

·         Repairs to the A345 had been completed, with other repairs being addressed by Highways in order of priority.

·         A request for plastic and cardboard kerbside recycling in the community area had been raised by the Tidworth Area Board at the Councillors first Full meeting. This would now be provided when the changes to the councils waste and recycling service were implemented.

·         Signage on the roads approaching and within Tidworth was being addressed by Highways department together with local representatives.

Issues could be logged and tracked on line at:

http://portal.wiltshire.gov.uk/area_board/areaboard_issues_search.php?issue_location_in=Tidworth

The Board members considered three applications for funding from the Youth Initiatives budget. These were:

Collingbourne Youth Club had applied for a grant of £1,500 to fund the running cost of the first year of the Club.

Tidworth & Ludgershall Youth Development Centres had applied for a grant of £430 to purchase and fit bike racks outside the Youth Development Centres.

Tidworth Community Area Partnership had applied for a grant of £1,040 towards transport costs for the transportation of young people to a Christmas Show planned at the Tidworth Garrison Theatre.

Applicants spoke in support of their applications and gave a brief summary of their projects. Board members discussed and voted on each application in turn.

Decision:

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £1,500 to Collingbourne Youth Club for running costs for the first year.

Decision:

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £430 to the Tidworth and Ludgershall Youth Development Centres for their project to provide and install bike racks outside the Youth Development Centres.

Decision:

The Area Board agreed to award the sum of £1,040 to the Tidworth Community Area Partnership for their project to provide transport for young people within the community areas to enable them to attend the Christmas Show at the Tidworth Garrison Theatre.

The Area Board considered eight applications for funding from the Community Area Grants Scheme. Applicants were invited to speak in support of their application. The Board members asked questions and after discussion the Board voted on each application.

Due to there being two grant applications linked to church bells, Val Powley, Community Area Manager read out a paragraph from the grants criteria which read; the Council would not consider grant applications for political or religious activities although secular activities promoted by faith groups were welcomed. Val went on to explain that it would be for the Board members to decide whether or not they thought the applications met the criteria.

One member of the public commented that the muffled bells were only used in times of mourning such as funerals, royal bereavement and ceremonies such as Remembrance Sunday, when the whole community came together to mourn.

Decision:

Collingbourne Short Mat Bowls Club was awarded £300 towards the cost of purchasing more bowls sets to cater for the increase in membership.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and the project would provide additional equipment which would cater for a larger number of users within the community.

Decision:

Collingbournes and Everleigh Society of Ringers was awarded £246 to replace existing worn out bell clapper muffles in order to use the church bells for funerals and public events such as Remembrance Sunday.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and the project would enable the bells to be muffled for sombre occasions which brought the community together.

Decision:

Ludgershall Pre-School was awarded £2,000 towards the cost of creating a new pond and nature garden.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and the project would provide a facility which would be enjoyed by the current and future children of Castle Primary School and Ludgershall Pre-School.

Decision:

The POP Youth Dance Project was awarded £1,000 towards the cost of the Young Peoples’ dance and music performance called Creative Juice.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and the project would provide an opportunity for young people in the community area to be involved in the dance project.

Decision:

Ludgershall Memorial Hall Management Committee was awarded £2,652 towards the cost of redecorating the Memorial Hall.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and the project would improve potential letting and revenue of the facility.

Decision:

Ludgershall Town Council was awarded £500 towards the cost of purchasing and installing Christmas lights to decorate 4 trees in Ludgershall car park.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and the project would provide enhancement over the festive period and benefit people and children of all ages.

Decision:

CollingbourneDucis Village Hall Trust was awarded £2,500 towards the cost of updating the electrical installation and replacing a dehumidifier.

 Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria for 2010/11 and would mean that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.