Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Kathryn Macdermid. Cllr Nick Botterill was also absent between 7.20pm-8.15pm.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2024.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2024 were agreed a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

Cllr Peter Hutton declared an interest in agenda item 10 – Area Board Funding and in particular the grant application for Wiltshire Council – Chatty Bench, as he was supporting the applicant. Cllr Hutton spoke on the application but did not vote.

The Chairman will give an update on outcomes and actions arising from previous meetings of the Area Board.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

The Board is asked to note the following Information items:

·       Community First

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       Update from BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

The board noted the following information items:

• Community First
• Healthwatch Wiltshire
• Update from BSW Together (Integrated Care System)

To receive an update from the Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police – Catherine Roper.

The Area Board received two updates. The first from Insp Pete Foster who provided a written update and presentation on the following matters:

·       Police community commitment

·       Retail Working Group

·       Speed enforcement

·       Night-time economy

·       Community engagements

·       Chippenham town and rural areas crime and incident statistics, and

·       Operational priorities 

The second update was received from Catherine Roper, Wiltshire Police Chief Constable. The update included the following points:

• Members were reminded that in the summer of 2022, Wiltshire Police had been placed into “Engage” by the independent auditor after it had not provided a satisfactory service. In May 2024, the force had been taken out of “Engage”, which demonstrated that it was making process with investigations, protecting the vulnerable and responding to crime.
• Wiltshire Police had since had a further PEEL inspection on 15 August 2024, where significant improvements had been made over the ten graded categories, with no areas graded inadequate with all areas showing an increased improvement, particularly in the area of community engagement.
• Whilst some areas were recognised as improving, some were recognised as not being where they should be, therefore the Chief Constable aimed to continue improvements in these areas.
• It was outlined that regarding the Control Room, there was a statutory duty to respond to 999 calls within 10 seconds and that previously Wiltshire had been the worst performing force for this but had since improved to rise 8 places and answer more calls within 10 seconds.
• The impact of the re-establishment of dedicated Neighbourhood Teams was discussed.
• It was outlined that there had been a drive to increase the Police’s online presence.
• A press release from Wiltshire Police regarding the HMICFRS PEEL report publication can be found at this link.

Following the two updates the Area Board raised a number of points and asked questions as detailed below:

• The Area Board thanked the Chief Constable and her officers for their work in the community and for the significant and positive changes evidenced during the first 18 months of the Chief Constables being in post.
• Insp Foster confirmed that additional patrols were taking place in the northern villages of the Area Board locality following an increase in rural crime, resulting in no burglaries for the past month. A number of arrests have taken place although there have not been any convictions at this stage. The Chief Constable provided assurance that rural crime was within the three priority areas that she had identified for the policing approach, which was aligned with data and demand.
• Town and Parish Councils were being encouraged to invest in the use of Speed Indicator Devices, and they help to reduce speeding where they are in operation.
• Issues were raised of speeding and traffic contraventions at Eastern Lane, Marshfield Road, Hungerdown Lane, Malmesbury Road, Canal Road, Sutton Benger High Street. Insp Foster confirmed that engagement CCTV vans were being fully utilised in targeted areas and the CCTV van had a few technical issues which were being fixed. Discussions were taking place with supermarkets to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

To receive a presentation from the Sports Club.

The Chairman welcomed a number of representatives of Chippenham Sports Club, who provided the Area Board with a tour of the facility and refreshments prior to the start of the Area Board meeting.

Guy Timberlake, Fiona Wheadon, Mark Dodd from the Sports Club introduced proposals for a new indoor sports facility project. They explained that the current sports dome is coming to the end of its life and has insufficient spectator seating, restricting the type of tournaments held on site. Club members have to use the clubhouse changing facilities as there are none in the dome. The Club are proposing a more permanent and sustainable sports hall that would benefit the whole community.

The presentation provided information about the club, why the proposals are important to Chippenham, support from local schools, the journey so far and the way ahead.

The Area Board had an opportunity to comment on the proposals and raised the following points:

·       Engaging the local community to raise funds

·       The need to use ‘green’ energy sources

·       Explanation of the building’s dimensions

·       Provide reassurances to local residents about the size of the building

·       Traffic issues

The Chairman thanked the Sports Club for attending the Area Board meeting and providing further information about their proposals.

To receive a presentation from Andy Wallis, Environment Agency, who will provide an update on the Chippenham Avon Project.

The Chairman welcomed Andy Wallis, Environment Agency, who provided an update on the proposals for the Chippenham Avon Project.

Andy explained the background to the existing flood prevention scheme which was constructed in the 1960’s, the consultation undertaken with the local community and subsequent changes following the consultation, the proposals – Reach 1 new pathways, Reach 2 cascade, new bridges, low level walkway, Reach 2/3 impact of lowered water levels, Reach 3 island park seating area, Monkton Park seating area, rock cascade, island park and other works, Reach 4 Canoe Club and sea cadets, wetland area, engagement, funding position and next steps.        

The Area Board had an opportunity to comment on the proposals and raised the following points:

·       Concerns about the water levels being addressed

·       The cycle path – segregated or shared?

·       Impressive community engagement

·       On-going maintenance funding for the life of the scheme and access to the river for the disabled

·       Appropriate infrastructure being in place from the start and no retrofitting

·       Proposals for Monkton Meadows – no hard interventions required

·       Renovation of existing routes

·       Funding streams to complete the proposals

·       Meetings of the Partnership Board

The Chairman thanked Andy for attending the Area Board meeting and providing further information about the Project proposals.

Written Updates

The Board is asked to note any written and online updates attached

to the agenda from the following:

•       Neighbourhood Policing Team – to follow

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

•       Parish Forum Notes – copy attached for the meeting held on 25 September 2024 (Inc. Parish and Town Councils updates)

•       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service – Quarterly update - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHP0Q6ToS2s

•       Other Community Groups

The Area Board received several updates from Partners and community organisations as detailed below:

1. Neighbourhood Policing Team

This update was received alongside the update from the Chief Constable at minute 114 above.

Road Safety Update

The Road Safety update attached to the supplementary agenda was received and noted.

2. Parish Forum Notes

The Area Board received the notes of the Parish Forum meeting held on 25 September 2024.

3. Town and Parish Council Updates

There were no verbal updates.

4.    Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

A Quarterly update is available on YouTube at the following link  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHP0Q6ToS2s  

The Area Board raised a concern about the possibility of Fire Station closures and the impact on Wiltshire residents, and noted that Wiltshire Council representative’s on the Fire Authority may be allocated a responsibility for specific areas within the County.

It was suggested that any concerns from the Area Board should be forwarded to the Council’s representative for the Chippenham area so they can be raised at a future Fire Authority meeting.

5.    Other Community Groups

There were no other Community Group updates.    

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

Remaining Budgets if all grants are agreed:

Area Board Initiatives:

Community Area Grants:

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

Young People Grants:

Delegated Funding

The Board is asked to note any funding awards made under the Delegated Funding Process, by the Strategic Engagement & Partnership Manager, between meetings due to matters of urgency:

• None

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

The Area Board considered a number of applications for Area Board initiatives, Community Area Grants and Young People Grants and heard from the applicants.

Resolved:

1.    Area Board Initiative

a.    Wiltshire Council – to award £500 towards a Chatty Bench

2.    Community Area Grants

a.    Yatton Keynell Recreation Association – to award £5,000 towards a monitored fire alarm installation and safety upgrades for Yatton Keynell Village Hall.

b.    Chippenham Cricket Club – to award £2,822 towards Chippenham Cricket Club ground maintenance equipment.

3.    Young People Grants

a.    We Hear You – to award £5,000 towards counselling in Chippenham for young people aged 13 to 19 affected by cancer.

b.    Families Out Loud – to award £1,250 towards Families Out Loud specialist teen support in Chippenham.

c.    CPM Sounds CIC – to award £5,000 towards Future Sounds of Chippenham and Take The Stage live music events for young people

To receive an update from the Strategic Engagement & Partnership Manager and consider further the following priorities for 2024/25:

•       Youth engagement and positive activity opportunities (Cllrs Macdermid, Alstrom, Foster, Hutton and Henning)

•       Addressing climate change and nature recovery (Cllrs Murry and Macdermid)

•       Promoting wellbeing and reducing social isolation in older and vulnerable adults (Cllr Cape)

•       Supporting the local economy and addressing cost of living challenges (Cllrs Greenman and Henning)

•       Reducing anti-social behaviour (Cllrs Alstrom and Henning)

The Chairman explained that due to the wide range of projects and updates for each of the Area Board priorities listed below, that a summary document would be prepared and circulated to Area Board members following the meeting:

• Youth engagement and positive activity opportunities (Cllr Macdermid, Cllr Alstrom, Cllr Foster, Cllr Hutton and Cllr Henning)
• Addressing climate change and nature recovery (Cllr Murry and Cllr Macdermid)
• Promoting wellbeing and reducing social isolation in older and vulnerable adults (Cllr Cape)
• Supporting the local economy and addressing cost of living challenges (Cllr Greenman and Cllr Henning)
• Reducing anti-social behaviour (Cllr Alstrom and Cllr Henning)

To note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 10 October 2024, as set out in the attached report.

The Area Board received the notes of the LHFIG meeting held on 10 October 2024 and considered the recommendations arising from the meeting.

Members commented on discussions at the LHFIG meeting about the substantive bid process for Marshfield Road, Chippenham and Yatton Keynell and the need to confirm the scheme(s) being proposed for inclusion in this process.

Resolved:

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 10 October 2024 and approve the funding allocations detailed in the minutes.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

Future Meeting Dates (6.30-8.30pm):

·       10 February 2025

·       20 May 2025

·       2 June 2025

For information on applying for a grant or grant application deadlines for these meetings, contact the Strategic Engagement & Partnerships Manager (SEPM) – Ros Griffiths – email: Ros.Griffiths@wiltshire.gov.uk or the Engagement and Partnership Lead – Alexa Davies – email: alexa.davies@wiltshire.gov.uk  

The Area Board noted that the next meeting would be held on 10 February 2025 between 6.30pm and 8.30pm, venue to be confirmed.