Agenda item

To note the attached Partner updates and receive any further information partners wish to share:

1. Wiltshire Police
2. Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
3. Healthwatch Wiltshire
4. Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
5. MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)
6. Transition Marlborough
7. Town / Parish Councils
8. Marlborough Neighbourhood Plan

Attention was drawn to the written reports from partners attached to the agenda. In addition to the written updates, the following verbal updates were given by partners present.

·         Malcolm Price of the Aldbourne Recreation Sports Group thanked the Area Board for the grant funding they had received. The group had ordered 2 pole gates to stop vehicle access to the sports ground.

·         Wiltshire Police – Inspector Chris Martin gave a verbal update. Crime figures over the last two years were relatively stable. Vehicle crime had gone down however burglaries had gone up so tackling this would become a priority. A new Deputy Inspector – Sergeant Peter Foster would be starting in a few weeks.

·         PCC – The PCC Angus Macpherson was unable to attend, however a written update from the PCC was provided at the meeting. This detailed a report given to Marlborough Town Council on 23 July 2018. The PCC report mentioned its horror at the major incident in Salisbury and Amesbury and detailed some of the pressures Wiltshire Police had been placed under as a result. Thanks were given to all the Police forces that had been supporting Wiltshire and to the Army who had been providing accommodation for police officers from out of the area. The PCC had spoken to Policing Minster Nick Hurd to ensure that the increased pressure on Wiltshire officers was addressed as quickly as possible with the result that private security guards had been employed to help maintain some of the cordons freeing up officers to undertake their usual roles.

The report also detailed the move of the police force in Marlborough. As part of an estates strategy all buildings owned by the police in Wiltshire and Swindon had been reviewed. The current Marlborough station no longer met the operational needs of the Force and was too big for the policing requirements of the town. The vast bulk of the site was used for specialist services which they were looking to move to their Gablecross police station on the outskirts of Swindon. Under the new community policing model, officers and staff no longer needed to return to a police station to do paperwork and could effectively work anywhere using mobile technology. The PCC stated they were looking to gain planning approval to use The Corner House as a touchdown point for Marlborough.  This would provide 24 hour access to welfare facilities, for example; toilet and kitchen, plus rest area. The Corner House would, in addition, accommodate an interview room, part-time front counter service and have access to the building’s WiFi service. If this went ahead, the proposed move would save Wiltshire Police the equivalent cost of three police officers.

·         Marlborough Town Council provided an update on the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan (MANP). It was stated that Consultants had been employed to help develop the Neighbourhood Plan policies and document, which would be understandable by the general public but would also include detailed technical planning documents. It was hoped that this would be ready for public consultation early in 2019. The aim of the plan was to address community needs, conservation and land availability. As part of the land availability issue, brownfield sites were being looked at. A Wiltshire Council Housing Officer was to attend a future meeting of the MANP in order to discuss the possibility of a Community Land Trust being established which would be another way of managing land and development for the benefit of communities.