Agenda item

To receive any updates from the following partners:

(a)   Wiltshire Police

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

(c)  NHS Wiltshire

(d)  Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

(e)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

(f)   Chamber of Commerce

(g)  Shadow Community Operations Board

a)    Wiltshire Police

• Inspector Nick Mawson, Sector Head, Chippenham introduced himself to the Area Board. He was accompanied by Sergeant Nick Cook.
• Details of the current priorities and consultation opportunities could be found at www.wiltshire.police.uk.
•  A Cannabis Factory had been discovered at a property on the High Street in Corsham, which had a possible yield of £100,000.
• A number of individuals had been found in possession of drugs in the area.
• No drink related incidents had been reported. 
• The Area Board was reminded to secure vehicles following a number of incidents of theft from cars in the area.
• A number of burglaries had occurred in the area and attendees were reminded to secure their houses and take preventative measures such as using timer lights if they were due to leave their house unoccupied for a period.
• Several incidents of criminal damage had been reported including damage to a satellite dish, broken windows at a local home and damage to a car.
• There had been a slight increase in anti-social behaviour and the police were working closely with youth workers to address this.
• The Christmas light switch on had been a success. The Bluez n’ Zuz event which took place on 19 December was also successful and there were plans to hold another event in February.

b)    Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

A written report including recent incident figures was circulated with the agenda papers.

A press release was made at the end of 2013 which highlighted planned changes to the force. A public consultation was to follow.

c)    Box Parish Council

New play equipment had been installed in the Village following a donation from a Parishioner.

The Parish Council had been reviewing the way they work with the objective of finding ways to work more efficiently. The Parish Council had lost one member of staff as a result of this review.

A new website would be launched on 1 February at www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk. It contained information on the history of Box.

d)    Colerne Parish Council

Funding for the Skatepark was progressing and a provider had been selected.

Work was occurring on the precept and the Parish Council were discovering the effect this would have on the Village.

e)    Corsham Town Council

An update was provided within the agenda pack.

f)     Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

The CCAN were focusing on support for projects rather than the steering group and had completed its chapter for arts and culture in the new Joint Strategic Assessment.

The Corsham Area Sustainable Homes Group had held a successful event at the Corsham Pound which focused on energy efficiency. The event was attended by the local MP.  

CCAN were working with Katherine Park to develop a nature trail between the park and the railway line.

g)    Corsham Chamber of Commerce

An update was provided in the agenda pack, which included details of the upcoming events.

h)   Shadow Campus Operation Board (SCOB)

It was confirmed that the construction of the Corsham campus was on schedule and the new building was due to open in June 2014. This would be followed by the demolition of the old Community Centre. The all-weather pitch was open and was being used by local schools, and available for use by other local community groups, although as the lighting is not yet operational, hours of use are limited to daylight.

A key challenge was securing transportation to the campus. The Area Board agreed to support the idea of a new bus route to the campus, which would be withdrawn if this service was not used by the community.