Agenda item

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

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner - Precept consultation.

·         Wiltshire Fire and Rescue

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

·         MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)

·         Transition Marlborough

·         Town / Parish Councils

·         Neighbourhood Plan

Written updates were available in the agenda pack or supplements from  The Fire Service, The OPCC, Healthwatch Wiltshire and the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

In addition to the written updates, the following verbal updates were given by

partners present.

·         Wiltshire Police

Inspector Chris Martin updated the meeting. Two burglars had been arrested and two people had been charged with carrying telescopic batons and an imitation firearm. Many drivers had been stopped over the Christmas period and there had been an increase in people being charged with drug driving. On 19 December the local PCSO had observed suspicious activity and had called in Police Officers for support. As a result a number of people were arrested for possession with intent to supply. In response to a question from the Chairman it was stated that Marlborough did not have an issues with County Lines. However this was becoming much more common and people were encouraged to report anything suspicious.

·         Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner – Precept consultation

A video from the OPCC was shown to the meeting explaining the reasoning behind proposed increases to the PCC precept. This would mean that for an average household the precept would increase by around £2.00 per month. The extra funds raised were to be spent on increasing community policing and tackling cyber-crime. The consultation deadline was midday on 31 January 2019.

The Deputy PCC, Jerry Herbert gave a brief summary. Using the funds raised by the increased precept the PCC was hoping to recruit 41 more officers and 2 dedicated cybercrime staff. There would be 2 cyber teams, one focusing on child sexual exploitation and one on fraud. The Home Office provided two thirds of the PCC budget and the rest came from local taxes (council tax). The large size of Wiltshire added to budgetary pressures and their office received the fourth lowest funding in England and Wales. They wanted to raise the police precept by £2 per month (raising it to £17.19 per month for an average household).

The Deputy PCC, then took questions from the meeting. In response to a question from Cllr Jane Davies regarding how they would increase road safety, traffic safety enforcement and reduce speeding, all of which were very important to the public, the Deputy PCC stated that Speedwatch were currently working on a project to increase use and effectiveness. 24 of the planned new officers would be directly involved in armed response and road traffic capabilities. Currently this capability was shared with other forces. The PCC wanted improved integration with Community Policing teams, so Inspector Chris Martin would have more of a say in where resources were deployed. The PCC were very happy to look at this further.

Other comments and questions from the meeting included:

o   Community Speedwatch could only be undertaken on roads with a speed limit less than 40mph, however there were a lot of roads with a speed limit over 40mph that were a problem. If the police are going to base their speed enforcement locations on the basis of intelligence from Community Speedwatch, there will be many roads, with a limit greater than 40mph where Speedwatch cannot take place, that will miss out on this enforcement;

o   CATG was only effective for small issues so it would be good to establish a Road Safety Forum;

o   Thoughts that Speedwatch was not effective as no enforcement action was taken; and

o   Who was responsible for Road Safety Education?

In response the Deputy PCC stated that:

o   The PCC were meeting with the head of the crime prevention team (who run Speedwatch) soon, and he would feedback the meetings’ comments.

o   If people thought that speed limits need changing they should contact the Council as this fell under their area of responsibility.

o   All evidence suggested that Speedwatch had been proven to be effective as a deterrent.

o   The Deputy PCC, Police and Council Officers were unsure who was the lead responsible for road safety education, so the Board would follow this up and feedback at the next meeting.

Cllr Davies also stated that there were hopes they might be able to set up a Community Safety Partnership.

·         Fire Service

A short video on DWFRS was shown to the meeting

·         Healthwatch Wiltshire

·         Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

·         MADT (Marlborough Area Development Trust)

·         Transition Marlborough

·         Town / Parish Councils

Marlborough Town Council Mayor – Lisa Farrell gave an update to the meeting. There would be an election in May at which point a new Mayor would be elected. The children’s play area in Coopers Meadow had opened in November and the children were enjoying it. The Council and Community had won a Community First award for Best Community Project for the work done on the Marlborough Community and Youth Centre. As part of plans to extend the use of the centre to all age groups tea and cake events for the elderly were planned. The WW1 commemorative events had all gone well. The Mayor was very proud of Marlborough, the parishes and the community for the work done that weekend commemorating the fallen and survivors. The Christmas Lights switch on had been a very good and successful event. TV presenter Paul Martin had switched on the lights. The citizen of the year award had been awarded to Andrew Barnett for his work as Scout Leader. A blue plaque was to be erected to Bob Pelham, founder of Pelham Puppets on the building in Kingsbury Street where his puppet designs were first created. The Battle of Marlborough civil war re-enactment was due to take place on Marlborough common on 27 and 28 July 2019. The re-enactment would be staged by the English Civil War Society and it looked like it would be a really good event. Phase 2 of the refurbishment of the George Lane Toilet Block was about to start, this would include a Community Room and small Tourist Information Point. A new public toilet was also to be installed in the basement of the town hall, this would be a disabled toilet with baby change facilities. More cameras had been added to the Marlborough CCTV network, one at Marlborough Community and Youth Centre and one at the George Lane Toilet Block. New cameras would also be installed in Priory Gardens soon. A new Youth Council had been set up, the first meeting involving Marlborough College and St Johns Academy had taken place the week before. The idea was to give youths a voice. Other projects in progress included the lighting at the skatepark and upgrading of play area at Jubilee Field, Manton. The Mayor thanked Andrew Jack, Community Engagement Manager for all his hard work.

·         Neighbourhood Plan

·         Cllr Hall, Deputy Mayor of Marlborough Town Council and Chair of the Planning Steering Group gave an update to the meeting. MTC were working with consultants and Wiltshire Council towards drafting local policies and neighbourhood plan itself. The plan was there to try to help meet community needs, such as:

o   Affordable Housing

o   Parking – about 100 more spaces were required

o   Recreational land for sports – there was currently a lack of pitch space which they hoped could be addressed

o   New Surgery – the current building needed to be 50% bigger, due to population growth and having to provide a much greater range of services. The local MP was pointing them in the right direction for funding and they were due to meet with the CCG and partners to discuss.

o   Cemetery provision

o   Replacement for Preshute School – the current facilities at Preshute were not good enough so there was a need to acquire funding and find a new site.

MANP had issued a call for sites to landowners in Marlborough, Mildenhall, Preshute and Savernake. All proposed sites would be considered against criteria based on evidenced community need at a meeting on 31 January 2019. MANP also continued to try to influence the future of brownfield sites including former St Peter’s School and the Police Station. A Town Centre benchmarking exercise had been undertaken which included an online survey of views on the Town Centre.  A report was to be published in the next month and would be available to all businesses and traders. This exercise had last been undertaken in 2014 and the results would help to inform the neighbourhood plan. 

The Chairman thanked all the speakers for their contribution.