Agenda item

To include updates from:

·       Guy Benson – Wiltshire Council Military Civilian Integration Lead

·       Wiltshire Council Highways

·       DIO Army Basing – Neill Page

·       Cllr Wright - Communities Together

Guy Benson – Wiltshire Council Military Civilian Integration Lead

Guy Benson, Wiltshire Council Military Civilian Integration (MCI) Lead introduced himself and stated that Wiltshire Council was the only council in the UK to have an MCI lead.

The 75^th Anniversary of VE day would fall on 8 May 2020 and to mark this the Early May Bank Holiday was being moved from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May.   Wiltshire Council would hold a service at County Hall on 5 May 2020, with a bugle and piper. All were welcome to attend. Attendees would have the opportunity to form the shape of the number 75 outside County Hall and this would be recorded by a drone. Footage would be released on social media on 8 May 2020. The 8 May would also see Royal British Legion services at various church locations.

Wiltshire Council was to hold an MCI conference at the Tidworth Garrison Theatre. The date was hoped to be 4 June 2020; however this was to be confirmed.  The theme of the conference would be “What does good MCI look like?” and would cover MCI from a Wiltshire Council perspective, Military perspective, Town/Parish Council perspective and a Garrison perspective. Examples of good MCI would be looked at as well as development of MCI and future initiatives of MCI. The aim was to enhance MCI opportunities for our communities.

Mr Benson wanted to raise awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant. The Armed Forces Covenant was a promise by the nation to ensure that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, were treated fairly. Wiltshire Council was a member of the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership Board. Members of this South West partnership consisted of 7 partner local authorities, the Army, Royal Navy, RAF and the Wessex Reserve Forces' & Cadets' Association. The aim was to be people centric, support delivery of the covenant, improve outcomes and to meet and reduce needs. The Board met bi-annually or more if required. Current priorities included policy alignment, JSNA, outreach, funding, education, strengthening links with partners planning. There was mobile outreach including an outreach vehicle that could be used in different location to spread the word and help people. This was run by Forces Connect South West. More information could be found here: https://www.forcesconnectsouthwest.org.uk/. There was also Armed Forces Covenant grant money available.

Wiltshire Council Highways

Allan Creedy, Head of Sustainable Transport, Wiltshire Council and Parvis Khansari – Director, Highways and Waste, Wiltshire Council were in attendance along with Neill Page, DIO Army Basing.

It was suggested that Cllr Graham Wright ask questions of the above regarding Army Basing and resultant highways issues which he had been alerted to by residents.

Q) Cllr Wright asked how you cross the A345 when going from Durrington to Larkhill as a child?

A) Neill Page stated that from a MOD perspective a planning application was put in, in August. As a result of comments received, a revised planning application was being drawn up and would be submitted in March.   The design team was working with Wiltshire Council to find a compliant solution. The solution would be dependent on planning approval and then technical approval and was being worked on as a priority. The plans did include a refuge in the middle of the road.

Q) It was not easy to cross from the The Packway to St Michael’s school, was there a safety audit and would they get sight of it?

A) There had been a safety audit which had raised no issues, they would get sight of the safety audit. The safety audit would also include Bulford issues.

Q) There was no pedestrian barrier on the path down from Tombs Road, what would be done regarding this?

A) Lt Col Pete. Gentles and Cllr Wright would fund a barrier there so this would hopefully be resolved very soon.

Q) Would there be a review of speed limits at Larkhill?

A) It had been determined that it was safer to leave the speed limit at 40 mph, going down to 30 mph when you reach Larkhill. This was based on national guidance and the nature of the road. You wanted drivers to slow down when reaching Larkhill. This was the most effective way to achieve that.

Q) A zebra crossing had one of its LED outer flashing rings replaced by a standard type, reducing visibility, would this be addressed?

A) The LED flashing ring was on order, so this would be resolved soon.

Q) What were the plans for traffic management at Larkhill if and when the A303 tunnel was built?

A) Regular meetings between Highways England and Wiltshire Council were underway and the board would be updated regularly.

Q) At St Michael’s School Cllr Wright had provided traffic cones to make the situation safer. Would remedial work be undertaken there?

A) In terms of compliance the contractor had been back to look at the site and it was assessed as safe. However, the school and local authority were going to put in zig zags lines and signage. Work on that should start the following week.

Q) Amesbury Town Council spoke regarding problems with the round roundabout at Steeple Hill. Would this be resolved?

A) The roundabout was compliant, it had been through 2 Road Safety Audits and met the design that was approved. 

There were other complaints, which all involved parties would work through.

Some of the parents of children at St Michael’s school still had issues, it was suggested these be discussed after the meeting.

Cllr Wright explained that the issues addressed had concentrated on Larkhill as the meeting was being held in a Larkhill venue.

Bulford Parish Council stated that they wanted their issues aired and addressed. However, the Chairman explained that as time was running out we would need to move on to the next item. Cllr Richard Clewer, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Heritage, Arts, Tourism, Housing, Climate Change and Military Civilian Integration offered to have a discussion with them and the relevant officers in another room at the venue so that the meeting could continue as planned.

Bulford Parish Council explained that they had spent 12 months waiting for a meeting and were not happy with this solution, they wanted their problems aired and recorded in the minutes. 

Neill Page stated that there had been many meetings, they had responded to questions and there had been engagement with communities.

After some discussion Bulford Parish Council, Cllr Clewer and the Highways Officers did go for a side meeting in a different room to discuss their issues.

DIO Army Basing – Neill Page

Mr Page gave a brief update to the meeting on the Army Basing Programme. Progress on the delivery of barracks developments and Service Families Accommodation (SFA) continued. The majority of essential barracks assets and approximately 80% of the houses were now complete, with around 70% being occupied.  The Bulford and Ludgershall estates were complete, at Larkhill there was still some more houses to go and it was anticipated this would be completed in the Spring of 2020.

The living accommodations aspects had been delivered, with non-critical aspects still to go. The MOD/NHS shared medical facility would open the following week.

At Bulford a complete Road Safety Audit had been conducted. Outstanding planning elements would hopefully go in March with delivery by the end of the year for footpaths and cycleways to connect Bulford and Larkhill to the new estates. There would still be works continuing for the last 5% of deliverables until 2021.

A report by Mr Page would be published online after the meeting as agenda supplement 2.

Communities Together – Cllr Graham Wright

Cllr Wright gave a brief update. A picture was shown of 4 children from St Michaels School, showing their winning Drive Safely competition posters. Planning for this year’s Easter Egg Hunt was underway. The Larkhill Community Partnership was awaiting a meeting with Wiltshire Council regarding overall enhancements to Larkhill. The Scouts would have a February drive for new members. The new medical centre was nearly finished.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their updates.