Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone present to Sherston Village Hall.

Apologies for absence were received from Gareth Brown (Youth Development Co-ordinator), Terry Fraser (Crudwell Parish Council), Terry Mockler (Hankerton Parish Council), Robin Rogers (Oaksey Parish Council), Graham Thorne (Minety Parish Council), John Tremayne (Easton Grey Parish Council), Jacqui White (Service Director) and Andrew Woodcock (Malmesbury Town Council).

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2012.

Councillor Killane declared a prejudicial interest in item 14a, a Community Area Grant application from the White Lion Park Recreation Association, as a local resident. He declared an interest and left the room for the item.  

The Chairman will provide information about:

a.     Wiltshire Core Strategy (attached)

b.     Progress on broadband in the Malmesbury Community Area (attached)

c.     Wiltshire Assembly of Youth/UK Youth Parliament election results (verbal)

d.     JSA event (verbal)

e.     11-19 Commissioning Strategy/Youth Pilots (attached)

f.      Help to Live at Home – Update (attached)

g.     The Localism Act 2011 (attached)

h.     Minerals Site Allocations (attached).

The Chairman stated that the Chairman’s announcements provided for the meeting had become too long and they would be improved for future meetings.

From the agenda pack, he highlighted that a six week consultation period on the Wiltshire Core Strategy would run until 2 April 2012. The core strategy incorporated a strategy for each community area which identified specific development sites where appropriate and specific considerations in each area. In Malmesbury over the plan period 2006 to 2026 at least 1,200 new homes would be provided of which 760 should occur in Malmesbury. 440 homes would be provided in the rest of the community area. All the consultation documents were available on the Council’s website and at the main Wiltshire Council offices. Comments could be submitted online via the Wiltshire Council website or in writing.

Chloe Harris Alba spoke about the UK Youth Parliament/Wiltshire Assembly of Youth election results. She explained that 34,000 young people across Wiltshire had voted in the elections in the biggest turn out yet. Three young people from the county had been voted onto the UK Youth Parliament and ten young people had been voted onto the Wiltshire Assembly of Youth, with three elected members from the Malmesbury community area. Chloe hoped that members would become involved in communicating the voices of local young people to the area board.    

The Chairman noted on 21 February the area board and Malmesbury & Villages Community Area Partnership hosted a successful event to examine the local Malmesbury Joint Needs Assessment and other local evidence and needs based documents such as the Community Plan. The purpose was to begin to identify some of the actions which the community felt were important to address in order to improve the health and wellbeing of the local community. A special edition of the Community Area Network would be circulated with further information and links to the event on You Tube. The event would also be focused on at the 9 May area board meeting, when priorities for the coming year would collectively be agreed.

Groups of young people will present a range of proposals for funding. Participative budgeting means that those people attending the area board will make the decision as to who receives funding. 

a.     Ashton Keynes seeking funding for a last 60 years project

b.     Norton & Foxley seeking funding for a dry stone wall Jubilee egg sculpture

c.     Aunt Addies Farm seeking funding for dew and dipping ponds.

Groups of young people presented a range of proposals for funding. The Chairman asked the meeting to evaluate each project using the electronic voting handsets provided on the basis of whether the project showed young people getting involved in the community, whether the project represented good value for money and whether the project should receive funding.

Malmesbury Area Board agreed to support the following applications for the participative budgeting fund and agreed to take forward the most popular choices to be funded within the allocated budget, as selected by the participants in accordance with the participatory budgeting process outlined at the meeting.

Decision

Ashton Keynes C of E Primary School were awarded £1, 630 for a last 60 years project. This was for pupils and older people in the community to work together on a collage project and for a tea party to be held for all involved.

Decision

Norton & Foxley residents were awarded £1,500 for a Jubilee egg sculpture built using dry stone wall techniques.

Decision

Malmesbury School and Aunt Addies Farm were awarded £2,000 to for dew and dipping ponds.

James Cawley, Service Director – Strategy and Commissioning, and a member of the Burnham House Working Group will give a presentation to update the area board on the work of the group and the progress of the new development.

The area board will also be asked to decide the makeup of a sub-group for the project to select a development partner and finalise the design/facilities to be included in the new development. 

Martin Rose, Principal Highway Engineer, will give a presentation about speed indicator devices and the review of C class roads.

Martin Rose, Principal Highway Engineer, delivered a presentation about speed indicator devices and the review of C class roads.

Information was provided about Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs):

·       A SID was a portable temporary sign with a variable display that detected and displayed the speed of an approaching vehicle.

·       The role of SIDs – to highlight speeding issues where direct measures could not be used.

·       How SIDs were used – deployed on a temporary basis and generally erected for 14 days.

·       The deployment schedule – each area board had been allocated a SID and asked to review, amend or add new sites to the deployment schedule on a regular basis.

·       Requests for new sites should be made to the Community Area Manager, Miranda Gilmour, on 01672 515742 or miranda.gilmour@wiltshire.gov.uk. If the selection criteria was not met the final decision as to the deployment of the SID rested with the area board.

There was the opportunity to ask questions after the presentation:

·       In Malmesbury some individuals had taken bets on the highest speed they could reach, as indicated on the device – the device could record speeds, however this drained the battery to 7 days.

·       Abbey Row was identified as a site where a SID could be useful though a 20 mph zone and speed bumps were already in place – if a site put forward did not meet the selection criteria, the area board could still request a SID if the site was a persistent issue.

·       Permanent flashing speed limit signs were in existence in the county – since these had been put in place it had been recognised their effectiveness decreased over time and temporary signs were an improved option. 

Martin then provided information about the review of C class roads. A review of all A and B class roads was completed in 2010. As a result, in excess of 120 speed limit changes would take place in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Members also agreed to review C class and unclassified roads. Wiltshire Council would rank this road network within each area board based on collision rates and length. The information would be put to Community Area Transport Groups (CATGs) by the end of April 2012. The results of their assessment should be available by the end of December 2012.

Questions were taken from the floor. There was a wish to reduce the speed limit on the B4040 from 40 mph to 30 mph in Leigh. Martin commented that the road had already been subject to the A and B road network review, however other measures to reduce speeding traffic could be investigated. A Community Speed Watch member expressed frustration at the lack of recognition of the work of Community Speed Watch.

Councillor Soden assured the individual that the efforts of Community Speed Watch were appreciated and she thanked the group personally for the report they had produced about speeding traffic.

Decision

The report produced by Community Speed Watch about speeding traffic in Leigh would be considered by Martin Rose, Principal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Miranda Gilmour, Community Area Manager, explained the minutes of the previous Community Area Transport Group meeting were available at the area board meeting and to view on the Malmesbury Area Board website. She explained that town and parish councils had been written to twice regarding Speed Indicator Device and a response was required if they would like their device to remain.

The area board was then asked by the Community Area Manager to agree those community issues to be closed, ’mothballed’ (i.e. put on a back burner) and/or considered for funding.

Decision

The area board would close the following issues:

Issue 5 – traffic calming in High Road, Ashton Keynes would be picked up as part of any more substantive scheme (see Issue 4 below).

Issue 6 – with support from the parish council, kerb and signage works would be scheduled for 1 week from 5 March in High Road, Ashton Keynes. Further activity could be undertaken by the school through the ‘Taking Action on School Journeys Challenge’. 

Issue 18 – it was felt this issue should be pursued through the St Joseph’s School Travel Adviser.

Issue 29 – some markings had recently been provided at Knockdown Road, Sherston outside the school. The school had also updated their School Travel Plan which had enabled them to make a ‘Taking Action on School Journeys Challenge’ funding bid.

Issue 33 – the capacity of the car park at Brinkworth on the b4042 close to Little Foxes’ Nursery was causing problems and the nursery needed to consider expansion of parking facilities.

Decision

The area board would ‘mothball’ the following issues:

Issue 4 – some minor footway works were due to be undertaken regarding the High Road, Ashton Keynes, however a new footway along this length would cost in the range of £30,000-£40,000 and was therefore only suitable for a substantive scheme, should future funding become available.

Issue 18 – provision of gates, signage and lines with support from the parish council in Dauntsey between The Green and Sedgemoor. 

Decision

£5,000 was awarded from the area board budget to enable works to be undertaken at the existing pedestrian refuge and crossing point on Tetbury Hill near the Filands estate.

Decision

£5,000 was awarded from the area board budget to enable CATG to contribute towards Phase 1 of new footway works and enhancements in the High Street, Sherston.

Decision

The remaining schemes would be retained on the CATG list.

Decision

The area board would delegate the decision of where SIDs were sited to the Community Area Manager, in consultation with the CATG, in order to avoid unnecessary delays.   

Karen Scott, Community Manager, and Emma Johnson, Manager of Volunteer Centre, will give a brief presentation to update the area board on Wiltshire Council’s work with partners to develop and support volunteering in Wiltshire. This will be followed by a question and answer session.   

Karen Scott, Community Manager, and Emma Johnson, Manager of the Volunteer Centre, gave a presentation about volunteering in Wiltshire. This covered the volunteering plan and how the service was doing.

The volunteering plan was available to view on the Wiltshire Council website, or please email Karen on karen.scott@wiltshire.gov.uk. The main aim of the plan was to promote a partnership approach to volunteering with quality volunteering opportunities across the county to meet the needs of those concerned.

The Volunteer Centre had recently been awarded national accreditation. 1500 opportunities were promoted through the Volunteer Centre. The number of volunteers had doubled in the last year, the number of unemployed volunteers had increased by 36% and half of all enquirers were under 30.

If you would like to become involved in volunteering, please call 0845 034 5250 or visit www.volunteercentrewiltshire.org.uk. 

To receive updates from the following partners:

a)    Wiltshire Police (attached)

b)    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (attached)

c)     NHS Wiltshire (attached)

d)    Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership (attached)

e)    Town and Parish Councils

f)      Sherston Old School Project (attached).

The Chairman noted the written updates from partners included in the agenda pack.

a.     The written update Wiltshire Police was noted.

b.     The written update from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service was noted.

c.     The written update from NHS Wiltshire was noted.

d.     The written update from Malmesbury and the Villages Community Area Partnership was noted.

e.     Steve Cox commented that Malmesbury Town Council was holding regular meetings to develop an initiative to support older people in the local area. An outcome of this work was that regular film showings were being held at Glovers Court.   

f.      Martin Rea added that the Sherston Old School Project had been awarded £50,000 from the Prince’s Trust. This meant that building could go ahead and the final stage of the project should be completed in four weeks time.  

Station Manager Scott Taylor will brief the area board and members of the public to obtain their views on the Integrated Risk Management Plan.

Station Manager Scott Taylor and Area Manager Mark Gaskarth gave a short presentation about changes to the Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and consultation on its Integrated Risk Management Plan. In light of the time, the Chairman invited both back to the next Malmesbury Area Board meeting in order to provide further information and to answer any questions raised.   

The area board were asked by the Community Area Manager to agree those community issues to be closed and/or sent to the Community Area Transport Group.

There was a short discussion about dog fouling. Malmesbury Town Council had installed six new bins. Councillor Killane set out that extra bins from the Filands project would also be donated to the town council.    

Decision

The area board would close the following issues:

Issue 2170 – the request for Community Payback for Grove Wood, Sherston had been forwarded to the Community Payback team. 

Issue 2132 – the dog warden would address dog fouling in Hudson Road, Pool Gastons, Avon Road and Burnivale, Malmesbury. Information would also be provided via the electric Community Area Network.

Issue 1938 – the overgrown and littered lane giving access to Malmesbury School from Corn Gastons had been cleared, trimmed back and rubbish had been removed.

Issue 1624 – the issue regarding speeding outside Little Foxes Nursery, Brinkworth was that the nursery had outgrown its car parking capacity and should consider expansion of the car park. 

Issue 1602 – the hedges at Reeds Farm, Malmesbury had been cut and tidied up.

Issue 1499 – regarding the school crossing on Knockdown Road, Sherston, lines had been painted outside the school, the School Travel Plan had been updated and a ‘Taking Action on School Journeys Challenge’ bid submitted. 

Issue 656 – the issue of safe routes to St Joseph’s must be pursued through the School Travel Plan Adviser.

Decision

The area board would refer two issues to the Malmesbury Community Area Transport Group (CATG), as per the report included in the agenda pack (Issue 1783 – parking problems in Leigh and Issue 2070 – vehicular access to Malmesbury Primary Health Care Centre).  

Councillors will be asked to consider the Community Area Grants report and make recommendations on the applications received.

a.     White Lion Park Recreation Association – seeking £3,581 towards provision of new play facilities for children and young people in White Lion Park in Malmesbury, conditional on the balance of funding being in place.

Councillors will then be asked to consider using some of the remaining area board budget to support two Malmesbury Community Area Transport Group (CATG) schemes. 

Consideration was given to the one application made to the Community Area Grants Scheme.

Decision

White Lion Park Recreation Association were awarded £3,581 towards provision of new play facilities for children and young people in White Lion Park in Malmesbury, conditional on the balance of funding being in place.

Reason

The application met the 2011/12 grants criteria and there were specific references in the Community Plan 2009-2013 with respect to improving play areas.

Decision

Councillors agreed to use some of the remaining area board budget to support two Malmesbury Community Area Transport Group schemes.

The Chairman asked for a vote on doing an evaluation or closing the meeting, after the room voted to end the meeting, he thanked everyone who was able to attend. The next meeting would be held on Wednesday 9 May 2012 at Brinkworth Village Hall.