Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Area Board Members and officers.

Apologies for absence had been received from:

Manningford Parish Council

Upavon Parish Council

Woodborough Parish Council and Road Safety Group

Easton Royal Primary School

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2012.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2012 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman drew the Board’s attention to the Announcements provided within the agenda, namely:

a)    Your say on local waste and recycling sites

b)    Help to Live at Home scheme

c)    Review of polling districts and polling places

d)    Rural Facilities Survey

e)    Pathway Improvements Grants Scheme

f)     Chairman’s Annual Report

g)    Jubilee Event held on 1 May 2012

Additional information was provided as follows:

Help to Live at Home

An event was to be held at Devizes Corn Exchange on Saturday 26 May between 10:30am to 3:30pm.  Those wishing to attend should contact WIN directly to register. 

Jubilee Event held on 1 May 2012

The Pewsey Area Board tent had been visited by the Queen and Prince Phillip.  The work undertaken by Susie Brew, June Pearson and Caroline Brailey in particular to dress the tent was acknowledged.

Clarification was provided by Susie Brew that the posters, timelines and map of the area which were displayed in the tent could be hired for those interested in displaying the material.  Further details on how to book the material can be found on the Grafton Parish Website (www.graftonparish.com). 

(a)       Wiltshire Police

Inspector Ron Peach referred the meeting to the written update in the agenda.  Key points raised included:

·         End of year performance figures show that crime had reduced over the year by 18%.  There was also an increase in detection of 22%.

·         All vacant positions within the Pewsey area had now been filled.  It was hoped this would allow further improvement in the reduction of antisocial behaviour.

·         There had been a couple of noticeable incidents within the last few months mainly in relation to rural crime.  This included hare coursing where arrests had been made.

·         Non-dwelling burglaries remained an issue but continued to be addressed.

(b)       Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

            Mike Franklin, of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, referred the meeting to the written update.  Following a question received in relation to retained firemen, the Board were reminded that a consultation was currently underway which included proposals to alter the way firefighters on the Retained Duty System worked, as presented to the Board at its previous meeting.  The closing date for the consultation was 5 June 2012.

(c)        NHS Wiltshire

The update circulated with the agenda was noted.

(d)       Pewsey Community Area Partnership

Bob King, Chairman of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) gave an update on the work of PCAP.  This included:

that PCAP were hoping to appoint to the part-time coordinator position as soon as possible.

·         That PCAP were hoping to appoint to the part-time coordinator position as soon as possible.

·         That PCAP were currently looking for a chairman of a sub-group following a recent resignation.

·         The next meeting would be held on 14 June in Rushall which would include representatives in attendance to discuss housing in rural areas.

(e)       Parish Councils

Pewsey Parish Council were looking for volunteers for ‘Parkwatch’, which was a group that had been established to patrol areas around Pewsey in the evening to help alleviate damage being caused.

Inspector Ron Peach confirmed that there were several street warden schemes across the country which had proved very effective and invited Bob Woodward to speak with Wiltshire Police to ensure a coordinated approach.

Cllr Hall provided the Board with an update on the Great Stones Way which included:

·         That Bathe Association had been employed to draft an impact assessment by the Friends of the Ridgeway (the Group that had proposed the Great Stones Way (GSW)).

·         During a recent meeting each village in attendance had been given 5 minutes each to explain their interest in the GSW with many points raised in objection. 

·         Representatives from Friends of the Ridgeway agreed to visit the proposed route which, it was noted did not include Stonehenge nor Avebury along the route.

(f)        Pewsey Community Area Young People’s Issues Group (CAYPIG)

No update was provided.

The Pewsey Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB) was formed by the Area Board on 9 May 2011 to examine the opportunities of ‘localising’ and maximising on time-sharing of some council services with SCOT members appointed in July 2011.

An initial consultation was undertaken by the SCOB in August/September 2011 and a report with details of the work undertaken and working proposals for the next stage circulated at the Area Board meeting held in October 2011.

A further consultation exercise, which built on the results of the first, was subsequently undertaken from November 2011.  A report providing further details on the outcome of this consultation and working proposals arising was presented where the following points were raised:

·         That the proposals reflected an intention to bring services back into the community.

·         Consultation highlighted that the essential elements of the campus should include leisure, youth, community and satellite services, that these needed to be sustainable for the next 25 years and that the campus should add value to the community and not divert away from the present facilities.

·         A workshop was to be held at Pewsey Vale School on 23 May at 7pm to discuss factors that could preclude people from using the campus to ensure nobody is excluded. 

·         Transport had been taken into consideration as part of the SCOB’s proposals.

·         Feasibility studies would be done by the Design and Build Team who, should the Board support the recommendations proposed, would hold their first meeting on Friday 18 May.  The outcomes of these studies would help guide the case that would be presented to Cabinet.

·         The business case to be submitted to Cabinet would be modelled on previous campus proposals to Cabinet.  This included the Corsham Campus which, although much larger, as a split campus was similar to the proposals for Pewsey.

·         The business case to Cabinet would also include details on future ownership and management structures.

Upon conclusion of discussion the Board were asked to support the proposals within the report.

Decision:

That the Pewsey Area Board supported the proposals for the development of a community campus and would make the following recommendations to Cabinet:

·         To support a split-site community campus including the present Leisure/Youth complex, the library and a mobile facility, as defined within the report and ensure that the campus included as many of the services required as possible;

·         To develop and deliver the proposed campus with minimum disruption to existing services and facilities to the extent possible; and

·         Request that Cabinet consider the SCOB proposals and associated business case in September 2012.

The Community Manager, Volunteering Department, was in attendance to present to the Board the work being undertaken with partners to develop and support volunteering in Wiltshire.  The presentation also included the work taken to increase the number of people volunteering in Council funded youth centres.

In making the presentation the following additional information was provided:

The Volunteer Centre was trying out a new approach to volunteering with ‘time credits’.  The scheme (currently piloting in Chippenham and Salisbury) was hoped to encourage people to get involved in their local community.  For each hour’s volunteer work undertaken a time credit would be earned which could then be exchanged for activities, i.e. hiring a sports hall or a swimming session.

Rural areas were also being considered as part of the pilot scheme with Pewsey suggested as a possible area for future roll out.  Attendees were asked to consider what type of activities volunteers might wish to spend their time credits on in the area and to feed this information back to the Community Manager.

Contact details for Volunteer Centre Wiltshire are:

volunteercentre@growwiltshire.org.uk

www.volunteercentrewiltshire.org.uk

Tel: 0845 521 6224

To inform the Area Board of the consultation about proposed changes to the Marlborough – Bedwyn – Hungerford bus service.

To consult the Boards regarding the future provision of informal adult education in Wiltshire.

To consider the report and recommendations arising from the Community Area Transport Group meeting held on 19 April 2012.

The Chairman provided an update regarding the work of the Community Area Transport Group (CATG).  This included that the Group had met on 19 April 2012 to consider and prioritise requests for integrated transport schemes.  Recommendations on the schemes to be funded from the limited transport budget were provided within the report circulated with the agenda.

The report included recommendations to the Board for:

Review of C and Unclassified Roads

Area Board Issues 2201 request from Burbage Parish Council to move 30mph limit sign

Addition to SID Rota

Manningford request for weight restriction

CATG Priority List

Applications for Substantive Funding

In addition the issue of HGV Signage in Devizes through A342/A345 was raised.  It was acknowledged that the consultation had ended on 4 May and that responses were being considered for the report to be prepared by the Cabinet member for Transport.

It was hoped that by the next meeting of the Board in July a more detailed and full update would be provided.

Decision:

Review of C and Unclassified Roads

The roads put forward for review are:

Priority 1 - C8 (the road from Pewsey to Devizes through Wilcot, Alton, Stanton)

Priority 2 - C38 (the road through Alton, Woodborough, Hilcot)

Priority 3 - C52 (the road from Prospect through Manningford and Wilcot crossroads)

The third priority will only be taken forward if the top two priorities can’t be taken forward for whatever reason.

Area Board Issue 2201 request from Burbage Parish Council to move 30mph limit sign.

The Community Area Manager (CAM) to write to Burbage Parish Council and advise that the only way to have the road assessed would be if they would agree to pay the legal fees if the assessment is in favour of the change noting that it may not meet the criteria and that the legal fees are anticipated to be approximately £3,000.

Addition to SID Rota

That Eastcourt Road, Burbage would be added to the SID rota.

Manningford request for weight restriction

That the Area Board agrees that the correct process has been followed and that the Community Area Manager (CAM) would contact the Parish Council to inform them accordingly.

Issue 1957 Traffic Calming/Crossing Woodborough School

That the issue be closed as funding has been awarded for this scheme.

CATG Priority List

To agree the priority list as provided with the agenda

Applications for Substantive Funding

That the Area Board agrees to the applications for substantive funding to be made (Wilcot Road Junction Improvements £8,000 and Pedestrian Access to Pewsey Station £4,000) and that it agrees to an additional £10,000 being ring-fenced from the Area Board budget as a contribution towards the Pedestrian access to Pewsey station scheme which will only be required if both bids are approved.

Councillor Stuart Wheeler updated the meeting on the Community Issues which had been received by the Area Board. 

The update was noted.

The Area Board considered a number of applications for Community Area Grant funding.  The Chairman invited the local Councillor to introduce each application, following which a representative of the applicant was given an opportunity to give a brief overview of their project to the Area Board.

Decision

Shalbourne Cricket Club was awarded £938 towards the cost of developing the Junior Section.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2011/12 and would support several Pewsey Community Plan priorities.

Decision

Great Bedwyn Playgroup and Toddlers was awarded £644 towards a laptop and children’s furniture.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2012/13 and would support several Pewsey Community Plan priorities, including the provision of quality pre-school education.

Decision

1^st Upavon Scout Group was awarded £534 towards the reopening of the scout group.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2012/13 and would support several Pewsey Community Plan priorities, including providing activities for young people aged between 8-12 years old.

Decision

Alton Barnes Village Hall Committee was awarded £500 towards the commemoration of 200^th anniversary of the cutting of the Alton White Horse.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2012/13 and would support several Pewsey Community Plan priorities, including encouraging use of the Village Hall as a community focal point.

Decision

Rushall and Charlton Village Hall was awarded £1,000 towards security/safety lighting.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2012/13 and would support several Pewsey Community Plan priorities, including energy efficiency.

Decision

Easton Royal Village Hall Committee was awarded £400 towards heating controls for the Hall.

Reason The application met the Community Area Grants criteria for 2012/13 and would support several Pewsey Community Plan priorities, including energy conservation and will help support voluntary organisations and community groups.

Decision

Little Bedwyn Parish Council, Wootton Rivers Parish Council and Wilcot & Huisyh Parish Council were awarded £250 each (total £750) towards Jubilee funding.

A request from Upavon Parish Council was made for the Board’s approval to approach Highways for an assessment to be made in relation to their request for the switch off of lights in Andover Road.

Decision:

That the matter would be referred to the appropriate Highways Officer with clarification that this was with the support of the Area Board.

To note the Forward Plan attached.

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board is scheduled for 7pm on 2 July 2012 and will be held at Bouverie Hall, North Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5EQ.

The next meeting of the Pewsey Area Board was scheduled for Monday 2 July 2012, 7pm at Bouverie Hall, Goddard Road, Pewsey, Wiltshire, SN9 5QE.

Future meeting dates will be held on:

Monday 10 September 2012 at Bouverie Hall, Goddard Road, Pewsey, Wiltshire, SN9 5QE

Monday 12 November 2012 at Burbage Village Hall, Eastcourt Road, Burbage, Wiltshire, SN8 3AJ

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.