Agenda item

Open Floor session with updates from partners, parishes and free flow discussion.

The Chairman invited partners, parishes and attendees to give updates or ask questions.

·       Wiltshire Police

Inspector Tina Osbourn sent apologies.

·       Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)

Russell Holland, the Deputy PCC, gave an update to the meeting. He was aware that speeding was a big issue for all area boards and stated that the Community Speedwatch offer was being improved, 3 more cameras had been purchased and teams were being trained on their use. The Deputy PCC was keen to encourage people to report any crimes. He was aware of some frustrations regarding the reporting of crime, however the more that was reported the more it would help to plan and target resources.

Hare coursing was a problem in the rural areas, which was usually linked to criminal gangs coming in from out of the area and would get live streamed across the internet for betting purposes. Night vision cameras and very bright torches had been purchased to help combat this problem.

The police station in Salisbury generated discussion, the current site at Bourne Hill was not as good as it needed to be, and work was ongoing to narrow down options for a possible new police station. The options under consideration included what would happen to Amesbury police station.

Electric Scooters were also highlighted as an issue and the Deputy PCC would feed this back to Inspector Tina Osbourn as an operational issue.

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service

Chris Wood, District Commander for South East Wiltshire gave an update to the meeting. The service had been very busy over the summer. There had been a large increase in the number of fires, largely due to the hot, dry weather and fires on Salisbury Plain.

The service were recruiting and anyone interested was encouraged to look at their website, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service | On-call firefighters (dwfire.org.uk).

An open day was due to be held on Saturday 24 September at Salisbury Fire Station, it would be a fun day out for children and there would also be fire safety advice available. A local resident in attendance gave feedback regarding a fire which had taken place in their street and praised the fire service for their quick response. In response to a question on false alarms, it was explained that these were where fire alarms were triggered rather than hoax calls.

·       Cost of Living

The Chairman discussed the cost of living crisis and what could be done to help communities. Leaflets on where to go for help were available at the meeting and are attached to these minutes. Further details can be found on the Wiltshire Council website here: Council tax, benefits and financial support - Wiltshire Council. Netheravon Parish Council had recently held a useful meeting to discuss the issues and thanks were given to the food banks provided by the Trussell Trust, who had seen their usage more than double. It was hoped that parishes could help to compile a warm spaces directory or places where people could go if they needed warmth.