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Agenda item

Updates from Partners and Town/Parish Councils

To receive updates from the following partners:

 

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       MOD/Military Civilian Integration

·       A303 – Highways England

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

·       NHS Wiltshire

·       Town and Parish Councils

 

Minutes:

Updates were received from the following partners:

 

·       Wiltshire Police

Dean Knight, Amesbury Inspector was in attendance and gave an update to the meeting. It was stated that crime figures were down. Several warrants had been executed resulting in the seizure of drugs and locating a vulnerable missing person. A joint operation with the Royal Military Police had been undertaking in order to combat 4x4’s driving on Salisbury Plain. Dog thefts were raised as there had been a lots of reports on social media regarding this. It was explained that there had been 17 reports of dog thefts in the whole of Wiltshire in the last year. Therefore, whilst not diminishing the issue dog thefts were not thought to be as prevalent as one would think from social media.

In response to questions it was stated that the money raised from COVID-19 fixed penalty notices did not go back to local forces directly but went into a national pot. So, there was no financial incentive to issue the notices. Regarding increased traffic levels compared to the first lock down and whether people were stopped to ask where they were coming from or going to, it was explained that all forces were moving from education to enforcement. There were patrols focusing on the issue, but these were currently intelligence led rather than patrolling certain routes.

 

·       Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

Jerry Herbert, deputy PCC gave details regarding the role of the PCC and what had been delivered by the PCC in the last year, including increased numbers of officers, a new rural crime team and investing in resources to counter cyber-crime.  The PCC was proposing a raise in police precept. It was explained that the maximum increase that was allowed to the police precept was £15 a year for a band D property, which was what the PCC was asking for. This equated to a band D property seeing an increase of £1.25 a month. It was highlighted that Wiltshire Police were the third lowest nationally funded force in the country. The extra £15 a year would help to fund an increase in officers and bolster community policing teams. The PCC was consulting on the proposals. More information could be found at www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk  and the survey was located at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PNHBKSG  and was open until 2 February 2021. It was confirmed that these details would be sent out in the weekly newsletter from the Community Engagement Manager.

Cllr Wright stated that the Police offered very good value for money and felt that the PCC should do more to promote their successes. Mr Herbert agreed and stated that if any Members had thoughts on how better they should communicate they should let the PCC know. Likewise, if any parishes had newsletters and they would like the PCC to input updates for, then they should get in touch.  

 

·       MOD/Military Civilian Integration

Lt Col Nick Turner gave an update. Some local units had been deployed to other locations to help with testing. Stringent rules were being followed on base in order to help prevent the spread of COVID. Following the last meeting Lt Col Turner had circulated details to the Members on fly tipping. Wg Cdr Vincent Thomas stated that Boscombe Down was quiet at the moment due to COVID-19.

 

·       A303 Highways England

Marcia Daniels and Esther Gordon Smith gave an update to the meeting. It was explained that the Stonehenge project for the A303 was given consent in November. The preliminary works contractor (Osbourne) and archaeology contactor (Wessex Archaeology) had been appointed. In late spring/early summer 2021 preliminary works would start, in late 2021/2022 the main works contractor would be announced, and the main works should start in 2022/23. More details on the timeline would be available soon. Virtual public information events would be held in order to keep local people informed and involved. Local small and medium enterprises were encouraged to sign up to the Highways England business directory so that they could get involved in the supply chain for the project. In response to questions it was stated that the Save the Stonehenge World Heritage Site group had applied for a Judicial Review (JR) to the Department of Transport, Highways England were an interested party. It was confirmed that the project would continue while the JR process continued. It was confirmed that the road would be kept open during construction and that disruption would be minimised. It was explained that the designated funds scheme could be used to fund local projects, for example the Solstice Park cycle route and Esther Gordon-Smith would be the contact for the scheme.

 

·       Healthwatch Wiltshire

A written report was attached to the agenda.

 

·       Wiltshire CCG

A written report was attached to the agenda.

 

·       Town and Parish Councils

At the invitation of the Vice-Chairman, Jan Tidd of Farleys Malone gave an update on a successful virtual Christmas Lunch that had been undertaken with the help of Amesbury Area Board grant funding.

Cllr Wright gave an update on behalf of Durrington Town Council who had recently installed some Speed Indicator Devices (SID’s) which had dramatically helped to reduce speeding. Durrington Town Council passed on their thanks to the board for funding received.

 

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