Agenda item

To receive any updates from the following partners:

(a)  Wiltshire Police

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

(c)  Health Services

(d)  Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

(e)  Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN)

(f)    Chamber of Commerce

(g)  Schools

(h)  Health and Wellbeing Group

The Chairman drew the meeting’s attention to the written partner updates provided with the agenda.

Tom Hall, Colerne Parish Council, detailed that Colerne had held a successful May Fair and that 3 new Cllrs had been co-opted onto the Parish Council. He noted that the Parish Council would be organising more events in the future, such as for the Queen’s Birthday and Armed Forces Day.

Ruth Hopkinson, Corsham Town Council, stated that the Corsham Summer Fete would be held on Saturday 11 June and that the Town Council were looking into organising an art survey, in order to consider how the Town Council could best support the arts in Corsham.

PC Hazel Anderson, Neighbourhood Policing Team, provided an update from the Neighbourhood Policing Team for the Corsham community area. She drew attention to the written update provided with the agenda and stressed that regular patrols would be maintained in the Lacock area, in response to the recent robbery at a jewellers in Lacock. PC Anderson also highlighted that the perpetrators who had robbed vehicles in the Box and Colerne areas had been arrested. The vehicles in question had been located in the Bath area and enquiries were continuing. It was noted that regular patrols of the areas had led to the quick arrest of the offenders.

Mark Unwin, Watch Manager – Corsham Fire Station, informed the meeting that the joining of the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Services had been a huge task and that several organisational changes were still taking shape. He stated that an excellent service was delivered to the residents of Corsham and that there was always an appliance available for the Corsham community area.

Richard Rogers, Community Engagement Manager, was then invited to present on the Health and Wellbeing Group and the successes from the Corsham community area from 2015/16, as well as the priorities for 2016/17. Mr Rogers explained that the budget for the Area Board was slightly higher than the previous year and that such an increase could be attributed to the fact that the Area Board had previously provided a substantial amount of money to grant applicants and, as a result, had effectively engaged with the community. He noted that the Health and Wellbeing group had been allocated a fund of £7,700 for the forthcoming municipal year.

Mr Rogers detailed that the Springfield Campus was deemed as a hugely successful initiative as, for example, library usage in Wiltshire had declined, however, Corsham represented an anomaly in this respect. Furthermore, usage of the leisure facilities and room bookings in the Campus had increased; which demonstrated the positive impact that the Campus had had on the community. Mr Rogers signalled that the Campus hoped to include a nail bar and hairdressing salon in the future.

In terms of the successes of 2015/16, Mr Rogers drew attention to several events that had been held in the Corsham community area, such as the ‘Magna Carta’, the ‘Big Get Together’ and ‘Clean for the Queen’. He highlighted that there were more events planned around the Queen’s Birthday and that engagement with the initiative known as ‘The Big Pledge – the Road to Rio’ had been positive, as it had encouraged more people in the area to become active.

He informed those present that for 2016/17, the focus would be upon the Health and Wellbeing group. Attention was drawn to the ‘Safe Places’ scheme; which had been designed to offer help and support for people that may feel as though they needed additional support when they were in the town. It was stated that public amenities that advertised the ‘Safe Place’ sign had had appropriate training and were available to people of any age group, should they feel the need for such support.

Cllr Parker provided an update on the appointment of a Health and Wellbeing Project Officer. She explained that 3 people had been interviewed for the position and that the decision had been a difficult one, however, it was agreed that Kevin Gaskin should be appointed as the Health and Wellbeing Project Officer.

Resolved:

The Area Board ratify the appointment of Kevin Gaskin as the Health and Wellbeing Project Officer for the Corsham community area.