The South West Wiltshire Area Board is scheduled to meet to elect a chair and vice-chair for the forthcoming year, and to appoint a representative to the Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG).

Appointment of a Representative to the Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG)

The South West Wiltshire Area Board is scheduled to appoint a lead councillor to the LHFIG.

The LHFIG operates as an informal working group that makes recommendations to the Area Board for approval. The LHFIG's terms of reference (ToR) are set out in the report pack.

According to the terms of reference, the LHFIG will normally be made up of:

• Members of the Area Board
• Town and Parish Council representatives
• Community / Stakeholder representatives

The report pack states that representatives should act as a conduit between their organisations and the LHFIGs by putting forward the views of the body they represent and providing feedback to its members regarding the work of the LHFIGs. The group members will also need to be mindful of the needs of the community area when making their recommendations, as not all councils and groups may be represented on the LHFIGs.

Recommendations to the Area Board will usually be reached by consensus, but if necessary, these can be agreed by a show of hands by those representatives present at the meeting.

The group will normally be chaired by a Wiltshire councillor. The role of Chairman will be appointed to on an annual basis, at the first meeting of the LHFIG which falls after the Annual Council Meeting.

The LHFIGs are scheduled to meet four times a year, ideally two to four weeks in advance of the Area Board meetings, to enable the recommendations report to be provided to the Area Board team in advance of the agenda publication.

The LHFIGs have no formal decision-making authority on operational matters or budget expenditure but act as an informal discussion forum making recommendations to the Area Board. Recommendations must be agreed at a full LHFIG meeting before being brought to the next Area Board for approval.

The LHFIGs can make recommendations to the Area Board to determine priorities and levels of expenditure required for small-scale transport schemes in the community area. A discretionary highways budget has been allocated to the board by the Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste, Street Scene and Flooding. The funding allocation is a mixture of highways and council capital funding and can only be used to provide new and improved highway infrastructure. It is suitable for schemes that improve safety, increase accessibility and sustainability by promoting walking, cycling and public transport and improve traffic management.

The LHFIGs cannot fund revenue functions, such as routine maintenance schemes or the provision of passenger transport services.

Examples of projects which the LHFIGs can fund include:

Pedestrian improvements: including dropped kerbs, new footways, substantive improvements to existing footways, pedestrian crossings (including assessments).

Cycle improvements: new cycle paths, cycle parking / storage.

Bus infrastructure: new and replacement Shelters (subject to agreement on future maintenance liability), bus border kerbs, bus stop road markings.

Traffic signing: new and replacement signs (including signposts), street name plates, village gateways.

New road markings: new and replacement of existing markings.

Speed limits: assessment and implementation.

Waiting restrictions: assessments and implementation.

Footpath improvements: styles, gates, surface improvements to rights of ways (council maintainable only).

Drainage: minor improvements, new gullies.

Street lighting: new installations.

Traffic management measures: including Sockets and posts for SID (Speed Indication Device) equipment.

As a general rule, an asset should exist at the end of the project, i.e. something new that wasn’t there beforehand.

Examples of projects which the LHFIGs cannot fund include:

Routine maintenance: such as gully emptying, ditch clearing, hedgerow cutting, pot hole repairs.

Service subsidy: bus services

Promotional campaigns

SID equipment

Improvements for individuals and properties

As a general rule, activities that repair, clean, tidy or remove something that is already present are likely to be considered routine maintenance and cannot be funded by LHFIGs.

Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman

The South West Wiltshire Area Board is scheduled to elect a chairman and vice-chairman for the forthcoming year.

According to the extract from the constitution included in the report pack, the Democratic Services representative will call for nominations for the position of Chairman of the Area Board and preside over the election. A Member’s nomination must be seconded to be valid. A Member shall not be nominated in their absence without their written consent.

In the event of only one valid nomination being received the person presiding will declare the nominated Member elected.

In the case of two valid nominations the Democratic Services representative will ask for a show of hands from those Members in favour of each Member and declare the candidate receiving the majority of votes of the Members present and voting, to be the winner.

In the case of an equality of votes for the two candidates, the Democratic Services representative shall draw lots, or an equivalent method to break the tie, to determine the winner of the election and then declare the result.

In the case of three or more valid nominations being made, the Democratic Services Representative will call for a show of hands for each of the candidates. The Democratic Services representative will then announce the candidate with the least number of votes and that candidate will be eliminated (in the case of a tie for the least number of votes, the Democratic Services representative shall draw lots or use an equivalent method to determine which candidate to be eliminated). A further vote shall be taken for the remaining candidates and after each vote the candidate with the least number of votes shall be eliminated until only two candidates remain and a final vote taken.

The newly elected Chairman of the Area Board shall then preside over the election of the Vice Chairman in the manner described above with the ability to use a casting vote in the event of an equality of votes.

With the exception of an election year, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of an Area Board shall remain in post until their successors are appointed.