Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Amesbury Area Board and thanked Shrewton for hosting the meeting.

Apologies for absence had been received from:

·         Cllr John Smale

·         Cllr Fred Westmoreland

·         Mike Franklyn – Fire & Rescue

·         Wessex Community Circus

·         Community Youth Officers

·         Carole Slater – Shrewton PC

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 May 2015.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 May 2015 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman will introduce the announcements and invite any questions.

·         Street Lighting

·         Army Re-basing

·         School Place Planning

·         NHS June Update

The Chairman referred to the announcements included in the agenda pack.

To receive a presentation on the Magna Carta event.

The item was deferred due to apologies.

i.              Updates

ii.            Grants

Cllr John Noeken referred to the report in the agenda pack noting the objectives and that there were some disturbing results.

A proposal was put forward to have an additional meeting with the Police, Public Health and School representatives to see what could be done to tackle underage drinking.

It was noted that the Blues and Zues events were a great success in the Amesbury area and that these should be taken to the villages and more often.

A pilot scheme undertaken by the Trowbridge Police Force, Trust2ID, was referred to noting how successful that had been, as an idea to use within the Amesbury area.  

A proposal was made to:

·         Employ two workers to attend 52 Youth café sessions each year.

·         Extend the opening hours to 10pm subject to the agreement of the Sport Centre management team.

·         That the WCA utilise the existing grant to fund the new provision and that the WCA submit revised costs to take into account the proposed extended service.

·         On receipt of the new costings a request be submitted to the LYN for funding.

·         The Community Engagement Manager be authorised to assist with the grant for the Redworth Centre to support the Youth café.

·         The Community Youth officers assist with revenue funding up to a maximum of £1000 to assist with consumables at the Youth café.

Resolved

To approve all of the proposals.

The Chairman referred to the updates set out in the agenda and invited further updates from Town/Parish Councils and other Partners, including outside bodies.  It was noted that the preferred option was for written updates, to minimise time spent during the meeting.

Police

Sgt Tine Osborne referred to the report included in the agenda pack.

A question was asked about the amount of accidents and vandalised cars in the area. Noting the expected increase in army personnel to come and the problems this would cause on traffic.

Response: More Police cars would be on patrol with an operation, to tackle speeding, starting this week. The Police had also been working closely with traffic enforcement officers. The public were urged to speak with officers either face to face, by phone or on facebook with any information they had.

Durrington Town Council

The Vintage Car Show held on 18-19 July was a great success with over 4500 people attending.

Shrewton Parish Council

Gave an update on traffic. It was noted that a traffic plan was ongoing and that the B3086 now had weight restrictions. The highways team who helped on implementing the weight limit were thanked.

Wyle Parish Council

Thanked the Area Board for the funding for their village hall.  

To receive a presentation from Alan Truscott on LEADER funding and how the community can apply.

The Chairman welcomed Alan Truscott, Programme Manager of Plain Action LAG, who gave a presentation on Leader funding.

It was noted that the programme would run from September 2015 – 2021. Grants were available for up to 40% of a project cost and paid on proof of expenditure.

Priority would be given to projects involving:

1        Increasing farm productivity

2        Micro and small enterprises and farm diversification

3        Rural tourism

4        Provision of rural services

5        Cultural and heritage activity

6        Increasing forestry productivity

The Chairman thanked Alan Truscott for the presentation.

To receive an update on the event and to look at recommendations arising.

The Community Engagement Manager gave a presentation on the Older peoples Event which looked at gaps in provision and how the Area Board intended to fill those gaps.

The top priorities for the Area Board included:

·       Promote opportunities for social interactions. 

·       Foster a sense of community

e.g. identify church drivers

e.g. support schemes for people to talk over the phone to stop isolation. 

·       More good neighbour co-ordinators.

·       Support subsidised social activities.  

·       Publicise what’s available.

·       Maintain funding for day centres.

·       Look at the library times and also the locations of the library services

·       Stonehenge Trader could be funded to make networks between people

·       Promote funding for services such as LINK, Good Neighbours, Alzheimers’ etc on the basis that it’s an investment to keep people in their own homes and will save money in the long run.

·       Location and timing of the Board meetings be aligned with public transport availability to facilitate the engagement of older people. 

It was noted that funding for the LINK and Good Neighbourhood services was being looked into.

To receive updates from the community plan working group.

Sport, Leisure and Culture

The Area Board thanked Amesbury Town Council for their input in helping to resolve issues for the football clubs. Talks were ongoing.

To consider an update from the Community Area Transport Group (CATG) in relation to the funding available towards Local Transport Projects.

The Minutes of the latest CATG meeting are attached for information.

An update was included within the agenda pack. Funding was still available for smaller schemes. Any requests should go through the relevant Town or parish Council.

To determine the applications for Community Area Grant funding.

At the Chairman’s invitation, Councillor Westmoreland, Lead Member for Grants, introduced the grants after which is was;

Decision

Brambles Pre School was awarded £900 to install new tables and chairs.

Reason - The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2015/16.

The next meeting of the Amesbury Area Board has been changed and will now take place on the 1 October 2015. The venue is to be confirmed.

It was noted that the date of the next meeting of the Amesbury Area Board had changed. The meeting would now take place on the 1^st October 2015 and the venue to be confirmed.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending.