Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Area Board for the forthcoming municipal year.

Councillor Peter Davis (as current Vice Chairman) sought nominations for Chairman of the Area Board.

Decision

To elect Councillor Alan MacRae as Chairman of the Corsham Area Board for the forthcoming municipal year.

To elect a Vice Chairman of the Area Board for the forthcoming municipal year.

(Councillor Alan MacRae in the chair)

Councillor Alan MacRae asked for nominations for Vice Chairman of the Area Board.

Decision

To elect Councillor Peter Davis as Vice Chairman of the Corsham Area Board for the forthcoming municipal year.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated that the Area Board was pleased to be visiting Colerne.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Josie Evans – Member of the public

Mike Franklin – Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Cllr Philip Glen – Lacock Parish Council

Anna MacKie – Corsham Community Operations Board

Cllr Laura Mayes – Wiltshire Council

Cllr Toby Sturgis – Wiltshire Council

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2012.

Decision

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held 22 March 2012 as a correct record.

The Chairman confirmed that all actions noted in the minutes had been carried out and that he would report on the response from the Leader of the Council to his letter (minute number 12 refers) once this had been received,

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the following chairman’s announcements:

·         11-19 Commissioning Strategy

·         Path Improvement Grant Scheme

·         Rural Facilities Survey

·         Bath HGV Restrictions

·         Helping People to Live Safely in their own homes

(a)  11-19 Commissioning Strategy

The Cabinet has now approved the Commissioning Strategy for 11-19 year olds and had also approved a Wiltshire Youth Work Offer.  Details of progress on this issue regarding increased use of volunteers, the formation of Youth Advisory Groups and income generation were outlined in the agenda papers.

(b)  Paths Improvement Grants Scheme

The above grants scheme was available to help local people to make innovative improvements to countryside access in their areas.  The closing date for applications is Friday 13 July 2012.

(c)  Rural Facilities Survey 2012

The above survey would be posted out to parish clerks over the coming weeks and results would be analysed and form part of the evidence base used to refresh the Joint Strategic Assessment for Wiltshire.

(d)  Cleveland Bridge Weight Restriction

Information was provided regarding the experimental weight restriction in Bath between the A36 Bathwick Street and A36 Beckford Road.  Wiltshire Council have opposed this restriction.

(e)  Helping People to live safely in their own homes

Following extensive consultation the care and support service was now in place throughout the county provided by Leonard Cheshire, Aster living, Enara Complete Care and Somerset Care.  Further service improvements had taken place in relation to telecare response and community equipment services and specialist financial advice. 

To receive any updates from the following partners:

(a)   Wiltshire Police

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

(c)  NHS Wiltshire

(d)  Town and Parish Council Nominated Representatives

(e)  Chamber of Commerce

(f)   Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB)

(a)  Wiltshire Police

·         Sergeant Alan George had now retired and Sergeant Alex Reid would be moving to the Chippenham police area for a temporary period.  PC Mandy Ball would cover the Corsham Area during this time.

·         A number of volunteers had now come forward to help with the Speedwatch schemes at Lacock and Gastard. 

·         The Police had been working with licensing officers to deal with anti social behaviour and the situation had improved.

·         2012 was a unique year with a number of special events taking place.  Sometimes officers would not be able to attend community events particularly on Bank Holidays due to the large number of commitments required of them.

·         A recent event had resulted in a large backlog of traffic and a meeting would be held in August to find out what could have been done to prevent this situation.

(b)  Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The Area Board noted the report submitted by the Fire and Rescue Service which was included in the agenda pack.  People were urged to undergo home fire safety checks before the winter period.

(c)  NHS Wiltshire

The Area Board noted the report submitted by NHS Wiltshire which was included in the agenda pack.

(d)  Box Parish Council

No representative from the Parish Council was present but Cllr Sheila Parker reported that the Diamond Jubilee Committee was looking forward to the events that had been planned for the Jubilee and thanked the Area Board for its financial support.

(e)  Colerne Parish Council

·         Preparations were underway for the village fete which was being organised with support from the Parish Council and Tom Hall thanked the Area Board for its financial support.

·         The village had recently hosted a very successful Junior football event.

·         A Community Action Group had been formed and it was hoped that this would enable a skatepark facility to be built.

(f)   Corsham Town Council

·         Neston had formed a lorry watch scheme to monitor HGVs passing through the village.  The Area Board agreed to give its support to the scheme.

·         A report had been received regarding pedestrian crossings on Pickwick Road.

·         The Council was pleased to see that the campus had now received planning permission and looked forward to the next stage of development including the land transfer.

·         Wiltshire Council’s Capital Assets Committee had now considered the future of Rudloe Community Centre.  The Town Council hoped that the open aspect and recreation facilities would remain.

·         A fete would be held in Corsham on 2 June and the Town Council thanked the Area Board for its financial support.  There would also be free parking on Saturday 2 June and thanks was given to Wiltshire Council for permitting this.

(g)  Lacock Parish Council

Traffic restrictions in Lacock would be strictly enforced over the next few months.

(h)  Shadow Community Operations Board (SCOB)

Allan Bosley reported that planning permission for the campus had now been approved.  Over 2,000 hours had been given by volunteers and Allan thanked those that had willingly given their time.  He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Scott Taylor, Station Manager, from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service will talk to the Area Board about the Risk Management Plan for 2012-15.

The Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Risk Management item was not considered at this meeting but may come to a future meeting if appropriate.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services, will talk to the area board about options for the future of informal adult education.

The Area Board received a presentation by the Chairman regarding the future of informal adult education in Wiltshire.

The following issues were covered:

·         The courses provided under this heading were for leisure or pleasure and were a non- statutory service.

·         Wiltshire Council currently provided some informal adult education along with other providers such as Wiltshire College.  The Government also provided some financial support.

·         The reasons for the consultation were:

o   Closure of Urchfont Manor College

o   Government’s “Community Learning Trust” model

o   New Community Campuses

o   Need to consider what role Wiltshire Council should take

·         There were four options outlined in the report as follows:

o   To take no action in relation to informal adult education.

o   To be a provider of informal adult education.

o   To facilitate the provision of informal adult education at a local level.

o   To coordinate and promote informal adult learning opportunities offered from across the county.

·         It was noted that some form of informal adult education could be provided at the campus building.

·         The majority of people attending courses at Urchfont Manor had been from outside the county but these courses were being subsidised by Wiltshire Council.

·         There were other colleges around the county that could provide these courses.

Decision

To recommend the Cabinet to agree Option 4 as outlined in the report – Wiltshire Council to coordinate and promote informal adult learning opportunities offered across the county.

ACTION: Marie Todd, Area Board and Member Support Manager, to forward recommendation to report author to feed back to Cabinet.

The Wiltshire Councillors will consider the following applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme:

·         Box Rock Circus - £1,406

·         Wiltshire Scrapstore and Resource Centre - £1,000

The Area Board consider two applications for 2012/13 Community Area Grant Funding.

Decision

(1)  To award £1,046 to the Box Rocks Circus Project to construct an educational facility that will show how rocks formed and uses of rocks.  This award is conditional on the balance of funds being available and any necessary planning permissions being agreed.

Reason for Decision

The project will give enhanced facilities for young people from all social groups.

(2)  To award Wiltshire Scrapstore and Resource Centre £1,000 towards the creation of activity packs for children to make a reminder of the Olympics and Jubilee celebrations.

Reason for Decision

The project will provide activities for children and young people and involves reducing, reusing and recycling materials.

ACTION: Dave Roberts, Community Area Manager

To receive an update from Paul Carey, representing the Colerne Colts, regarding their project to set up a village football team for boys and girls following receipt of a £5k grant from the Area Board.

Paul Carey representing the Colerne Colts Football Team gave an update on this project which had been supported by a grant of £5k from the Corsham Area Board.  A number of team members also accompanied him to the meeting.  The following points were covered:

·         There had previously not been a children’s football team in Colerne for a number of years and children playing football had to travel outside of the village to do so.

·         The team now had over 30 players comprising both boys and girls of mixed ability.

·         There were also a number of qualified coaches.

·         Fundraising had taken place and the team also had its own website.

·         One tournament had already been held.

·         It was very much hoped that the club was sustainable for the future and those involved looked forward to keeping a team in the village and planned to expand as necessary.

·         The team thanked the Area Board for the grant funding it had provided and gave particular thanks to the support they had received from Dave Roberts and Tom Hall.

To receive an update on the Jubilee event that was held in Salisbury on Tuesday 1 May 2012.

The Chairman gave the following update regarding the Jubilee event that had taken place on Tuesday 1 May in Salisbury:

·         There had been 18 jousting tents representing each of the Area Boards in Wiltshire.

·         Over 10,000 people had attended the event.

·         A large number of people had visited the Corsham tent to view the displays relating to the local area.

·         The Chairman thanked all those who had worked so hard to make the event such a success and in particular:

o   Marianne La Frenais – National Trust Lacock

o   Helen Drake – Hartham Park

o   Beryl Mould and Cheryl Gibbs – Corsham Area Heritage Information Centre

o   Kristina Kennedy and Jessica Gabbart – Bath Spa University

o   Mary Auld and Tom Durnford – Bath Spa University

o   Nicola Chruszcz and Sharon Thomas – Corsham Town Council

Councillor Toby Sturgis, Cabinet member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services will talk briefly about his portfolio and answer any questions.

Unfortunately Cllr Toby Sturgis had been unable to attend the meeting so this item was withdrawn.

There were two questions which members of the public wished to raise with Cllr Sturgis and it was agreed that officers would arrange for written responses to be sent.

ACTION: Dave Roberts, Community Area Manager

To consider recommendations from the CATG meeting held on 19 April 2012.

The Area Board received an update on the position of the proposals from the Community Area Transport Groups (CATG).

Decision

To agree to put forward the C48 and C155 as priorities for the first round of C and unclassified road reviews for the Corsham Community Area with the C185 being the reserve priority.

Reason

This proposal has the support of the CATG.  The C48 has the highest incidents of road collisions and the C155 is part of the cycle network route.

ACTION: Dave Roberts , Community Area Manager and Local Highways Officer.

To consider any updates and a request from the Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN) for the next tranche of funding.  The detailed workplan for the forthcoming year can be viewed on the Wiltshire Council or CCAN website.

The Area Board considered a request from the Corsham Community Area Network (CCAN) for core funding to cover the financial year 2012/13.

It was noted that a large part of CCAN’s work last year had involved consultation events linked to refreshing the community plan.  Details of the CCAN budget were also circulated with the agenda papers.  A further public engagement event was likely to be held in the forthcoming year linked to the community plan and community priorities.

CCAN welcomed involvement from interested members of the community who wished to join the steering group.

Decision

To approve the release of the whole year’s funding of £8,450 to CCAN.

Reason

To enable CCAN to take forward their work programme for 2012/13.

ACTION: Dave Roberts, Community Area Manager.

To confirm or amend the appointment of councillors to outside bodies and working groups.

The Area Board noted the appointments to outside bodies and Working Groups as set out in Appendix A of the report. 

Decision

To confirm the appointments to outside bodies as follows:

Corsham Community Area Network – Cllr Sheila Parker

The Pound Arts Centre – Cllr Alan MacRae

Corsham Youth Issues Group – Cllrs Peter Davis and Sheila Parker

To note that future meetings will take place on:

Thursday 26 July 2012 – Lacock Village Hall – 7pm

Thursday 20 September 2012 – Corsham Town Hall – 7pm

Thursday 22 November 2012 – Corsham Community Centre – 7pm

Thursday 24 January 2013 – Corsham Town Hall – 7pm

Thursday 21 March 2013 – Box Pavilion – 7pm

Thursday 26 July 2012 – Lacock Village Hall – 7pm

Thursday 20 September 2012 – Corsham Town Hall – 7pm

Thursday 22 November 2012 – Corsham Community Centre – 7pm

Thursday 24 January 2013 – Corsham Town Hall – 7pm

Thursday 21 March 2013 – Box Pavilion – 7pm