Agenda item

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

·         Wiltshire Police

·         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 from the Police, Fire Service, Healthwatch Wiltshire, the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Transition Marlborough.

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

·         Wiltshire Police

Acting Inspector Pete Foster gave an update to the meeting. It was stated that the Deputy PCC spoke at the last meeting regarding precept increases. As a result of the increase Marlborough would be getting a new police constable. A new PCSO would also be starting the week after the area board. The increased staffing was welcomed. The PC would be completely dedicated to Marlborough and would be focusing on solving long term problems.

A ram-raid had taken place at Screwfix, the suspect was chased to Swindon where he ran out of petrol and was arrested. The suspect was remanded in custody and was awaiting trial.

Plain clothes police had stopped a male from London from coming into Marlborough with class A drugs, the suspect was arrested.

Marlborough Police Station would close, the  new site was likely to be Corner House in George Lane Car Park. This would not affect the service provided. Decisions about the police estate were made by the OPCC.

In response to a question from the Chair regarding the timeline for the move it was stated that the move was slightly delayed as they were waiting for sign off from the solicitors. All being well the move was scheduled to take place in July.

In response to members of the audience who had contacted the police regarding setting up Community Speedwatches, but had not received a response, the Inspector stated that he would chase this up for them.

·         Transition Marlborough

Milly Carmichael of Transition Marlborough gave an update to the meeting. Wiltshire Council was now one of 48 councils to have declared a climate emergency. Plans were being made to reduce emissions and Milly was attending a conference to gather ideas and help to move plans forward. There were very promising discussions underway for Swindon to also become a transition town. Further details could be found in the agenda pack.

·         Town and Parish Councils

Froxfield Parish Council announced that they had been awarded a grant of £5,500 to upgrade Pocket Park. Pocket Park was a 1.1 acre water meadow site to the south of the A4 which had bene given to Froxfield Parish Council and was a nature and wildlife area. Lack of maintenance had led to the area being overtaken by nettles. The parish council had sought help from ARK who had put together a design, design statement and helped with planning permission. The design included a dipping pond, boardwalk and new hedging and would vastly improve the area. The Devizes Community Payback Scheme had come on 5 consecutive Saturdays to help strim and clear the site. The upgrades required a lot of funding and ARK had paid for everything so far. The Ministry of Housing provides grants to Wiltshire Council that can be used for projects which meet the criteria and they had applied for some for some of this funding. They wanted £15,000, however, weren’t sure if they met the criteria. You also have to match fund and they only had £5,000 of funding. A letter of support was provided by Wiltshire Council. They recently found out they had been awarded £5,500 and were very pleased. They would not have been successful without the enthusiasm of the parish clerk, parish council, Wiltshire Council and ARK. They have also applied for lottery funding but are awaiting a response.

The Chairman thanked them for the update and praised them on a fantastic job.

·         Neighbourhood Plan

Cllr Mervyn Hall, Chairman of the Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan (MANP) Steering Group, gave a verbal update.

A call for sites had been put out, looking to meet community need, for example affordable housing. They had received submissions from a number of land owners and should be able to meet the need. Land for parking had been more problematic and they were struggling to find land to provide the 100 new spaces required.

Land for a new cemetery, Preschute School and the medical centre was also required. The redundant police station was a possible option but may get sold to the highest bidder.

Sites were being evaluated and policies formed which would then go out to consultation. After consultation the plans would be submitted to Wiltshire Council, after which there would be more consultation and then a referendum.