Agenda item

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

·       Wiltshire Police – Acting Inspector Chris Wickham

·       Kennet and Avon Medical Partnership – Suzie Deering

·       Town / Parish Councils

·       Grant Recipients

Written and Online Updates

The Board is asked to note the following written and online updates attached to the agenda:

·       Neighbourhood Policing Team

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire Annual Report, The Value of Listening - online

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue – online

·       Community First

·       BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3-minute slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager.

The Chairman agreed to take feedback from grant recipients in advance of Items 4 and 5 on the agenda.

Marlborough Sing-Along Social

Representatives thanked the Area Board for a £500 grant to support a sing along in St Mary’s Church, which helped older and isolated people and those with additional needs. The Area Board the enjoyed a song played by members of the band.

Marlborough Sports Forum

Dominique from Marlborough Sports Forum gave a presentation about the Marlborough Sports and Activity Festival held on 6 May 2024. She explained that they had run 12 different activities for the 161 young people that had attended. A survey, asking for the event to be ranked between one and 10, had been handed out to the young people after the event and had had around 60 responses. The majority of the young people that had attended had ranked the event as being 10 out of 10, although the organisers sought more detailed feedback to help them encourage participation in sport. The young people had identified that not having people to go with and membership fees were the biggest obstacles to the participating. Efforts to improve engagement included providing details about local sports clubs and giving out free vouchers.  Climbing had been the most popular activity, and the Sports Forum were working with Marlborough College on running a new community climbing session. Thanks were given to the Area Board for part funding the event.

Aldbourne Youth Council

Peter Hogan, a trustee of Aldbourne Youth Council, explained that they were lucky to be able to use a local building called The Junction, rent free. He reported that 70 young people had registered with the group and confirmed that they did not charge subscription fees. They ran a programme of activities over the summer holidays, with six sessions per week organised between two different age groups. Activities included cooking and financial management. He thanked the Area Board for their financial support and invited them to attend an event on Sunday when the young people would be baking cakes.

MantonFest

Roger Grant from MantonFest explained that they were a community and family friendly festival that were celebrating their fifteenth anniversary in 2024. He reported that they had been able to offer young people from local schools the opportunity to perform, or support, activities. He then gave examples of the way in which some young people had benefitted, such as a young man who had gained experience of stage and lighting management and was due to complete a related apprenticeship next year. Another young student had become involved in amateur dramatics after attending MantonFest and was able to perform in French. Mr Grant thanked the Area Board for their support and was pleased to report that MantonFest planned to run festivals in other areas, including in Devizes next year.

Merchant’s House

Thanks were given to the Area Board for providing £3,000 towards roof repairs and £500 towards museum display exhibits. The representative explained that the £500 was invested to help them to run self-guided tours and that 71 percent of their visitors now experienced Merchant’s House that way. The changes to the visitor experience had not only allowed them to significantly increase their revenue from £10,000 last year, to £15,000 in the current year, but also helped the venue to become more accessible.

Details about some of the recent events and exhibits were provided, including a Civil War event in July. Poppys, previously on display in the Tower of London, were due to be installed on 10 November and people would be invited to write the names of people that they wanted to be remembered on them. On 11 November, there would be free entry to the museum between 10am and 1pm to mark Armistice Day. Further changes to the museum were planned in 2025, with more post-war content to be included. Thanks were given to the Area Board and to Marlborough Town Council for their support.

2^nd Marlborough Scouts

Donna from 2^nd Marlborough Scouts thanked the Area Board for contributing £3,000 towards roof repairs at their hut. She explained that unforeseen costs had emerged during construction, including the discovery of a rotten beam, lack of joists in their flat roof and a tree root growing through a soakaway, which had meant that the original budget of £26,000 had increased. However, she was pleased to report that the hut was now watertight. They had installed insulation in the roof and the roof had been covered in an environmentally friendly, fully recyclable, product. The hut was used by a wide section of the community, not just the Scouts, and the new roof would help to secure the building’s long-term future.

Marlborough Tennis

Andrew Payne, Chairman of Marlborough Tennis Club, explained that they were a volunteer run organisation. They had completed their new two-storey clubhouse, which was built by a local builder on a fixed price contract, in July. He thanked the Area Board for providing funding for the top-floor fit out. He was also pleased to report that they had received help from the Lawn Tennis Association to support more youth and walking tennis and to allow people from disadvantaged backgrounds to play the sport.

The Area Board thanked the grant recipients for their feedback and were pleased to hear about the positive impact that grant funding was having in the community.

After the Area Board had heard from grant recipients, Acting Inspector Chris Wickham provided an update on behalf of the Neighbourhood Police Team. Points included:

·       Inspector Simon Garett would be joining the team in October and Acting Inspector Wickham would return to his previous role as Sergeant.

·       Acting Inspector Wickham had worked with Inspector Garett previously. He stated that Inspector Garett would do a good job and had recently had experience working in Swindon.

·       Overall levels of crime were stable, although there had been a decrease in the number of reported thefts.

·       Reports of ‘violence against the person’ crimes had gone up slightly over the past two months, although they were still down on the equivalent period in 2023.

·       A local Shop Watch scheme allowed businesses to share information about suspected shoplifters.

·       There had been an increase in vehicle offences in July and August. This was largely a seasonal issue as cars were targeted during the summer when parked near popular beauty spots.

·       There were no sexual offences under investigation in the Area Board’s area where the offender was unknown.

·       It was clarified that crimes categorised as miscellaneous included impersonating a police officer and creating indecent images.

·       Wiltshire Police were aiming to attend 100 percent of reported burglaries.

·       Wiltshire Police’s Formal Action Taken (FAT) rate for burglaries was around a percentage point higher than similar forces.

·       Most of the burglaries of business premises in the Area Board’s area targeted farms and there had been recent instances in Baydon.

·       There was often an increase in hare coursing at this time of year and a number of incidents had been reported on Marlborough Downs. Two people had recently been arrested on the border between Pewsey and Marlborough for hare coursing offences.

·       More police patrols were taking place in villages to deter burglaries and provide reassurance to residents.

During the discussion, the following points were made:

·       The Area Board thanked the Acting Inspector for his presentation.

·       When asked about how to identify signs of hare coursing, the Acting Inspector explained that four by fours driving erratically were often a sign that hare coursing was taking place. He noted that there was a good network of local spotters and encouraged people to come forward if they had any information.

·       Cllr Jerry Kunkler thanked Acting Inspector Wickham for how his team had marshalled the recent Pewsey Carnival and praised him for stepping up and taking responsibility for the team whilst Inspector Ben Huggins was on secondment.

·       In response to a query from Roger Grant about drug offences in the local area, Acting Inspector Wickham reassured him that offences in the Area Board’s area were relatively low when compared to other areas. However, they were aware of a few individuals trying to sell drugs in the local area and they were working hard to tackle the issue. An illegal immigrant had been arrested for possession.

The Area Board also noted the following written and online updates:

·       Neighbourhood Policing Team, pg. 25-32

·       Wiltshire Road Safety Partnership, pg. 33-43

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire Annual Report, The Value of Listening - online

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue – online

·       BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Together - Integrated Care Board, pg. 45-47

·       Community First, pg. 49-54