Agenda item

To note the written updates attached to the agenda and to receive any verbal updates from representatives present.

 

a)    Salisbury City Council (SCC)

b)    Laverstock and Ford Parish Council

c)     Police

d)    Fire

e)    Salisbury BID

f)      Community Engagement Manager

g)    Air Quality Group

 

 

Note: Speakers are reminded that they each have a 3 minutes slot, unless they have previously discussed alternative arrangements with the Chairman.

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda and circulated at the meeting.

 

The following verbal updates were received:

 

a) Salisbury City Council (SCC) - Cllr Matthew Dean updated on the following:

 

·       A Food and Drink Festival to support the local traders would be held this weekend – with some amazing celebrity chefs in attendance.

·       Some successful community days had been held in the Friary, Harnham and Bemerton Heath, with over 1000 people in attendance.

·       The inaugural City Council car show was held in market square. Over 10,000 people attended this, and only cost a little over £1k to put on due to the level of commercial support.

·       Commencement of fixed penalty notices for litter enforcement had begun.

·       Freedom of the City had been awarded to the Royal Military Police

·       A new water fountain was due to be installed in the market square – This had come from customer and residents demand to reduce the amount of plastic we dispose of.

·       The Salisbury War Memorial would be cleaned.

·       The clean-up was complete in Queen Elizabeth gardens now and it had re-opened. Thanks to the parks teams who worked hard to aid this work.

·       A Business Support event was planned - Salisbury charter markets had had a rough time, both with the weather in March and then the poisoning.

·       The Armed Forces event would be one of the biggest in the calendar.

 

c) Police – Sergeant John Hutchings & Jerry Herbert Deputy PCC

 

In addition to the written report in the pack, some positive news, the Special constabulary are our voluntary Officers, over the last three months they have provided the county of over 3000 hours of voluntary service, this equates to £28,000.

 

Visibility and engagement are key focuses for us. We will try to send someone to represent the Police at events, where possible.

 

We are running a knife amnesty at the moment, and have had 60 knives brought in to the 5 Rivers office.

 

Questions:

·       Will we ever see a holding unit for prisoners in the city? Answer: Our transgression to the community holding facility in Melksham has been quite successful.

 

Cllr Dean added that he had met with senior officers and it was clear that the policing model had changed and fewer people were held in custody than had previously been the case. The cost of a full time Custody Sergeant and a Welfare Officer would need to be taken from the budget for Community Policing, and this would see a reduction in the front line to look after the back office.

 

·       Cllr Hoque – please to hear about the visibility aspect is this sustainable? Answer: That would depend on funding moving forward. At the moment it is something that we can sustain.

 

The Chairman asked that Thanks were passed on to the Community Officers.

 

Jerry Herbert – Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner. Started in roll on 1^st August, to assist the PCC Angus Macpherson.

 

70% of his time was spent on community engagement, as it was important for them to understand issues around Wiltshire and Swindon.

 

Other areas of work focused on strategy, policy and resourcing. Police numbers for Wiltshire Police were at 931 at the start of the year, and had risen to 964. This was the first time that staffing numbers has gone up.

 

60% of the annual budget comes from central government, with 40% from local government. We need to ensure we are spending our money in the best way we can.

 

Questions:

·       What are you doing with young people to educate them – a lot of our crime comes from teenagers, so you need to get the schools involved.

Answer: It is central to a lot of what we want to achieve. There are small steps for some of these young people to move on to crime. Often young people from chaotic backgrounds need help. The police do have a very comprehensive youth engagement package. We have been this week to the college with our knife amnesty and we do work with all ages.

 

d) Fire – Jason Moncrieff – Circulated written update at the meeting

 

Next week is home safety week, this ties in with International Older Peoples day. More information was available on the website.

 

Operationally, there had been 90 incidents in July and 76 in August.

 

During the poisoning incidents we still maintained cover for the rest of the city.

 

A recent recruitment drive had brought in four new retained officers in Salisbury and three whole time Officers, with one apprentice being offered a position on blue watch in Salisbury.

 

Cllr Dean thanked the Police and the Fire Service for all they had done during the poisoning incidents, as they had worked long hours, and some had needed to give up their leave to cover the cordons.

 

e) Salisbury BID – written update circulated at the meeting

read out by the chair:

 

Christmas in Salisbury:

A strong Christmas trading period is imperative for many of our business members, and therefore the BID team are working hard behind the scenes to bring additionality to Christmas in Salisbury this year.

 

Following BID’s successful application to the government’s recovery funds, BID have secured additional funding to help with this.

 

As well as the Salisbury Christmas Market, the BID will be bringing a real ice rink to the Guildhall Square for locals and visitors to enjoy this Christmas.

 

BID is also bringing a trailer stage to the Square which will host live music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 29th November – 22nd December.

 

The Salisbury Nutcracker Trail returns to the city on 29th November and will run until 6th January. Find the names of the 10 6.5ft Nutcracker Kings located in the city centre and enter the draw to win a £250 Salisbury Gift Card.

 

BID is also working closely with VisitWiltshire to ensure the city is promoted and marketed to attract visitors.

 

To find about more about Christmas events in Salisbury, visit www.salisburychristmasmarket.co.uk

 

Salisbury CCTV:

Ownership of the CCTV system for Salisbury has been passed from Wiltshire Council to Salisbury City Council.

 

Salisbury Citywatch, which is jointly funded by Salisbury BID and Salisbury City Council, will be operating the system on behalf of the council with immediate effect.

 

The CCTV system operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A team of volunteers will begin to monitor the system at key times

 

Salisbury Gift Card:

BID launched the Salisbury Gift Card in June. It is a pre-loaded gift card which helps to keep spend in the city-centre and support our businesses.

 

It works in the same way as a store gift card but can be spent in over 100 Salisbury city-centre businesses.

The Salisbury Gift Card can be purchased from the Information Centre, Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury Museum or online at www.salisburygiftcard.co.uk  (delivery is free!)

 

It makes the perfect gift for all occasions – Christmas, birthdays, teacher gifts, employee rewards, customer incentives, thank you presents and more.

Give a Salisbury Gift Card and help support our businesses.

 

Great British High Street Award: Run by the Ministry of Housing and Communities & Local Government, the Great British High Street Awards celebrates achievements on our high streets.

 

Salisbury’s application was submitted by Salisbury BID in recognition for its unique shops, community spirit and resilience since the tragic events in the city this year.

 

f) Community Engagement Manager – Karen Linaker

 

Stonehenge was planning to celebrate acquiring the stones 100 years ago, they will be having a tea party and looking to welcome a group of 100 year olds.

 

g) Air Quality Group – paper circulated at the meeting

 

The Chairman gave thanks to Margaret Willmott who was a long serving member of the group and had recently stood down due to ill health, thanks to her for all she has done over the years.

 

The recommendations detailed in the report circulated at the meeting were considered by the Area Board.

 

Decision

The Area Board approved the recommendations of the Air Quality Group.