Agenda item

To receive Chairman’s Announcements including:

·       CATG

The Chairman made the following announcements:

·       Regular attendee, Roger Yeates, had passed away on New Year’s Day. He was a valued contributor at the Area Board and would be missed. 

·       The CATG meeting scheduled for 13^th February had been cancelled due to insufficient business. The next CATG meeting would now be held on 3^rd April.

The Great British Spring Clean Event – The Council was seeking guidance on whether this annual event would be promoted following the Salisbury and Amesbury Novichok events, as advice previous issued was not to pick up anything you had not dropped. Until this was resolved the Council would not be running the initiative.

The Chairman said that Parishes were able to organise their own events; however, subsequent to this Wiltshire Council’s Recovery Co-ordinating Group has made the decision not to request that Public Health England reviews the guidance that it issued in the summer: namely “if you didn’t drop it, don’t pick it up”. This advice therefore remains in place.  However, Wiltshire Council is considering how it could provide additional litter picks in the south of the county until such time as the guidance is reviewed and will be able to update Councillors shortly.

Question:

If parishes did organise an event, would the rubbish still be collected by the council?  Answer: The CEM would enquire whether there were arrangements to collect the rubbish, and would feedback.

Boundary Commission Proposals

Cllr Clewer gave an update on the proposals from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) which had just been released.

The LGBCE had sent through a number of maps, which were currently being converted for printing. Many of the proposals for the county seemed sensible, while in other areas they were more inconsistent.

In particular in Westbury & Laverstock there were proposals for unnecessary split rural and urban divisions which the Wiltshire Council submission tried to avoid.

A consultation was underway and would run until 15^th April. Anyone can take part and submit comments. This was the last chance to have any influence in the process.

For the Southern Area, the proposals are for a Winterslow and Alderbury Division, a Downton and Whiteparish Division and a Redlynch and Landford Division.

The LGBCE propose that Laverstock should be split in to three divisions, two of those include large parts of Salisbury.

They suggest that St Marks and Bishopdown remains as it stands.

That a Salisbury Milford and Laverstock south division are grouped together including Clarendon Park.

They also suggest Laverstock North Division including Longhedge, Old Sarum Ford and the Parish of Firsdown.

Britford and Odstock become part of the Fovant and Chalke Valley division, taking them out of the Southern Wiltshire Community Area. 

These proposals would potentially reduce the Southern Wiltshire Area Board to a three Member Board. We currently have other area boards with three Members and they struggle.

The impact this would have on the Board would be significantly less funding. Five Members is as low as an Area Board wants to go to be effective.

If you do feel strongly it is time for you to be heard in the strongest way.

Questions and comments included:

• The LGBCE had rejected the move by Coombe Bissett to remain in the Southern Wiltshire Community Area.
• Brian Edgeley, Firsdown PC – I had conversations with a number of people including Cllr Clewer. We are totally opposed to the proposals. Firsdown would become part of Salisbury Area Board. How would a small parish have any impact on an Area Board that was representing the city? Answer: It will be for Full Council to decide on the make-up of Area Boards. It causes me a great deal of concern and the impact on Clarendon and Firsdown.
• Keith Rodgers – We would find it helpful to have a synopsis of the Wiltshire Council’s proposals and the Boundary Commissions proposals. Answer: I should have this either late this week or early next week.
• What are your other compelling reasons for keeping Laverstock and Ford in the Southern Area? Answer: Community cohesion and effective governance, which would be eroded if merged with Salisbury. I can put some points together for you. The LGBCE should hear about what southern Wiltshire is.
• Cllr Randall - could we as the Board put together a response and submit to the consultation? Answer: Certainly, there was no reason why we should not put in our own solution.
• Cllr Devine - You know how we felt. All the bits and pieces you changed, now LGBCE comes back to bite you. Can you make sure we get those maps, so that I can give all the parishes I represent an update. Answer: There is a consultation running and the information is readily available online. We send out a briefing note to all PCs, with all the links on it. It is down to everybody to understand the proposals and contribute to the consultation.