The meeting was dominated by a presentation from the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson OBE, MPhil¹ and senior officers from Wiltshire Police, who spoke about the force's progress on tackling a wide range of issues that are important to residents. Two grants were also awarded, £2,200 to the Marlborough Rugby Club towards the cost of new goal posts and £500 to the Marlborough Area Youth Forum for kitchen equipment.

All Things Policing Event

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Wilkinson gave a strategic overview of the progress made by Wiltshire Police since he took office in 2021 and the objectives of his new Police and Crime Plan.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Cooper noted that Marlborough had a relatively low level of retail crime, but stressed the importance of improving confidence in reporting these offences. He praised Inspector Simon Garrett’s neighbourhood policing team for their high detection rate of over 50 per cent and reported that a programme of restorative justice was being used to tackle persistent offenders in the town. He also spoke about the issue of County Lines drug dealing and highlighted the importance of early intervention.

Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership Manager, Perry Payne, outlined the work being undertaken to improve safety on the county's roads. He reported that there had been 29 fatal collisions in 2022 and 21 in 2023. He explained that Community Speed Watch (CSW) teams, who monitor speeds on local roads, helped to inform police enforcement activity. Wiltshire Police issued 1,344 speeding tickets in the county between August and October 2024.

There was an extensive question and answer session in which a wide range of issues were discussed. In response to a question about call handling, Inspector Garrett explained that there had been a big increase in recruitment, which had led to a reduction in the number of people abandoning 101 calls. Assistant Chief Constable Cooper noted that Wiltshire had moved from being one of the worst performing police forces in England and Wales for response time to 999 calls in March 2024 to mid-table.

Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG)

The Vice-Chairman of the Area Board, Councillor James Sheppard, gave an overview of the work of the Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG). He reported that the group had recently held a successful meeting and outlined the decisions made at that meeting. It was resolved to:

• Progress and allocate up to £5,000 for ecological surveys on the proposed footway in Mildenhall (subject to a 25 per cent contribution from Mildenhall Parish Council).
• Progress a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) of up to £3,000 to introduce a 20mph speed limit in Marlborough (with £2,250 from the LHFIG and £750 from Marlborough Town Council).
• Ask Marlborough Town Council to fund approximately £15,000 for schemes to reduce traffic speeds on the A4 at Manton, the A346 at Postern Hill and Port Hill, and the A345 at Granham Hill.
• Allocate up to £1,000 to cover additional costs to the £4,000 scheme to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians outside Savernake Hospital on Maurice Way, which was being funded by the hospital.
• Close the following completed issues:
  • 8-20-4 - A4 Manton traffic calming – substantive scheme
  • 8-23-4 - Marlborough, Kennet Place – resident parking

Councillor Caroline Thomas encouraged councils to submit requests for parking improvement schemes. She noted that a recent survey in York Place had found that 98 per cent of the parking capacity was taken up.

Grants

Two grant applications were considered and it was resolved to award:

• £2,200 to Marlborough Rugby Club towards the cost of new goal posts.
• £500 to Marlborough Area Youth Forum towards kitchen equipment.

Councillor Thomas did not vote on the application from Marlborough Area Youth Forum, having declared an interest as Chair of Trustees.