Agenda item

To receive updates from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board

·       Older People/Carers Champion

·       Town and Parish Councils

·       Other Community Groups

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board noted a written update which had been attached to the agenda pack. It was also stated that it would be positive to discuss the local priorities that had been included within the report as well as information regarding speed watch. It was also queried whether the police would be able to provide long trend data for crime rates during Covid and now out of the pandemic.

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The Area Board noted a written update which had been attached to the agenda pack.

·       Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda pack. It was stressed that it would be positive for an update to be provided on Chippenham Hospital and additionally that there had been no mention within the report of the current situation with NHS dentists. Kate Blackburn agreed that she would take away an action to seek an update on Chippenham Hospital.

·       Older People’s Champion

Alison Butler provided an update to the Area Board, which covered the following points:

·       Allison raised the importance of resuscitation and defibrillators with the current shortage of ambulances. It was also noted that communities should consider the positions of their defibrillators should their areas be stretched.

·       A Police meeting recently took place, which highlighted how few resources there are within rural communities and that though the police now have drones and training, the use of the 101 number is important.

·       Awareness was raised in regard to an undercurrent of older vulnerable people being scammed, with a need for relatives and those around to be vigilant.

·       It was suggested that the Area Board needs to revisit its priorities to ensure knowledge of how each one is progressing.

·       Town and Parish Councils

Chairman of Castle Combe Parish Council, Fred Winup spoke to the Area Board regarding the parking charges that were set to be applied to Dunns Lane carpark in Castle Combe. Mr Winup raised the following points:

·       There were safety concerns in regard to the Council introducing parking charges as previously this had led to visitors parking on double yellow road markings, which consequently blocked an emergency services vehicle, causing a 6-mile detour and 17-minute delay.

·       Mr Winup referenced a recent Radio Wiltshire interview, in which the council stated that they wanted each village to be treated the same however he believed that they didn’t refer to the public consultation which received opposition.

·       Mr Winup stated that he had placed a Freedom of Information Request in order to ask how many consultations taken place since 2019 and how many objections had been received.

·       Mr Winup requested that he would like the Area Board to express concerns to the Leader and Chief Executive that they were proposing to implement parking charges before safety measures could be put in place.

Following the points made by Mr Winup, a discussion took place amongst Area Board Members. Key points included, but were not limited to:

·       It was stated that it would potentially set a dangerous precedent should the Area Board get involved with matters such as planning applications and highways issues. To have a vote on such issues could potentially undermine the system in place.

·       As Chairman of the Local Highways and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG), Cllr Henning stated that it would be positive from a view of the LHFIG to see what safety measures were being proposed by Castle Combe Parish Council. Cllr Henning also invited Castle Combe Parish Council to attend the next LHFIG meeting on 4 October for them to be able to provide a statement regarding their concerns. This invitation was supported by other members of the Area Board with it stated that the issue should be added to the LHFIG agenda.

·       It was recognised by some of the Members that the complaints were well placed and should not be swept away but rather taken on board.

·       It was suggested that this issue should be a lesson for the Members to consider in regard to the process of consultation and engagement before decisions are made.

Following the discussion, it was;

Resolved:

That the Chairman of the Chippenham and Villages Area Board would write to Cllr Dr Mark McClelland as Cabinet Member for Transport, to pass on the discussions that had taken place at the Area Board ahead of the next Local Highways and Footway Improvement Group meeting. The Chairman would also request that the charges set to be applied to Dunns Lane Car Park in Castle Combe be delayed until at least after the next Local Highways and Footway Improvement Group meeting in order to get a committed response.