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Devizes Area Board - Monday 30 June 2025 6.30 pm
June 30, 2025 View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)Summary
The Devizes Area Board met to discuss community engagement, funding, and local initiatives. Councillors approved funding for various community projects, received updates on local policing and transport, and discussed strategies for supporting vulnerable residents. Cllr Dominic Muns, The Lavingtons, was appointed as Chairman of the Devizes Area Board for 2025/26, and Cllr Tamara Reay, Devizes Rural West, was appointed as Vice-Chairman.
Community Grant Funding
The board approved several community area grants, youth grants, and older and vulnerable adults grants.
- St Josephs Nursery was awarded £5,000 towards an outdoor play space at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School.
- Lavington & District Swimming Club received £500 for an administration laptop.
- Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA) was granted £3,783 towards DOCA evolving to thrive.
- The Patch in Potterne CIC was allocated £2,500 for new fire doors and refurbishment of toilets.
- Bromham Community Hub was awarded £1,000 towards new hub tables.
- Devizes Mens Shed received £500 towards a dust extractor.
- The Mind Tree Cafe, Rowde was granted £2,000 towards employing a part-time staff member to support those who have come through their counselling into employment, including those with special needs.
- West Lavington Youth Club was awarded £5,000 towards the youth club.
- Wiltshire Youth For Christ (YFC) received £500 towards support for the pop-up activities to be run on the green in the summer holidays.
- Devizes Area Board Initiative was granted £500 towards running activity days for young people and their families in the location where they live, continuing to work with Family Hubs.
Wiltshire Community Air Network
The Environmental Control & Protection team is preparing to launch a new citizen science air quality monitoring project that will place more than one hundred low-cost air quality sensors in communities across Wiltshire for one year. The sensors will measure PM2.51 air pollution, small particles in the air that can increase the risk of health problems and be damaging to the environment. The team are working closely with the Data & Insights team to develop a Power BI dashboard that will analyse the data to identify PM2.5 pollution trends and hotspots.
The council will be allocating sensors to each of the eighteen community areas of Wiltshire, based on the size of the population, prioritising applications from schools, NHS medical settings, and supported housing facilities, and locations that are close to known or suspected sources of PM2.5.
Data from the sensors will be publicly available online, so that people can see PM2.5 air pollution across Wiltshire in real time.
Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
Wiltshire Police have been working with the Ending VAWG Coalition Wiltshire (E-VAWG) and have started offering domestic abuse perpetrators who are in custody at Swindon's Gablecross police station the opportunity to work with Open to Change.
Wiltshire Police supported the national Stalking Awareness Week campaign to raise awareness of the devastating impact caused by stalking, and have invested in further training and awareness with all officers and staff to improve their understanding of how a victim of stalking can be best supported.
Project Vigilant continues to keep people safe in the nighttime economy through using intelligence to identify people who are displaying concerning behaviours and stop predatory sex offenders who are looking to target women.
Local Highways and Footpaths Improvements Group (LHFIG)
The LHFIG operates as an informal working group making recommendations to the Area Board for approval. Cllr Philip Whitehead was appointed as interim Lead Member at the extraordinary meeting held on 20 May 2025, and the Area Board confirmed the appointment for the forthcoming year.
Air Quality and Sustainable Transport (AQST) Group
The Air Quality and Sustainable Transport (AQST) Group is an informal working group of the Devizes Area Board, discussing matters relating to Air Quality and Sustainable Transport and they may make recommendations to the Area Board for approval. Cllr Tamara Reay was appointed as Lead Councillor.
The AQST Notes Jun 25 document recorded that all monitoring Sites in Devizes were below the 40ug/m3 objective for the nitrogen dioxide annual mean, and that the Wiltshire Community Air Network was launched.
Community Organiser and Campaigns Manager's Report
The Devizes and District Foodbank Community Organising Annual Report 2024-25 reported that in 2024-25, the Community Organising team continued to bring people together to challenge the local drivers of food bank need through activism. The main focus has been raising the standards of social housing, particularly around flooring and window coverings which are often not present when tenants move in.
The report noted that social housing providers are becoming more aware of this issue, with some trialling providing flooring and even furniture, and that the Government is looking to update legislation so that social housing requires flooring throughout, as in Wales.
The report also noted that on 18th June 2025, all 400 Trussell food bank charities will be meeting in London for a Lobby Day with charities, Trussell and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, calling for social security payments to cover essential costs.
The report stated that this was a successful Wiltshire-wide campaign, which will be coming to an end on 30th June as the role of Community Organiser and Campaigns Manager ends.
Engagement and Partnerships Update
The EP Report to Devizes Area Boards - June 2025 provided an overview of the strategic work of the Engagement and Partnerships Service, key upcoming engagement work and the role of the service with Area Boards, a brief overview of the Area Boards and the approach for 2025-2029, and additional resources for Councillors, partners and residents.
The report noted that the Engagement and Partnerships service work on key strategic organisational objectives at a local level, including:
- Working with communities to develop renewable energy community profiles through the Future Energy Landscapes (FEL) programme.
- Delivering the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector and Wiltshire Council framework.
- Delivering employment opportunities for residents with SEND.
- Wiltshire Youth framework action.
- Food poverty actions.
- Working through Social Value opportunities.
- Older and Vulnerable adults.
Appointments
The Devizes AB_Outside Bodies and Working Groups Report listed the following appointments:
- Cllr Philip Whitehead and Cllr Maria Hoult to the Devizes Leisure Centre Group
- Cllr Philip Whitehead to the Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG)
- Cllr Tamara Reay to the Air Quality and Sustainable Transport Group (AQST)
Community First
The Community First update - June 2025 noted current vacancies for a Young Carers Support Worker, and that Wiltshire Young Carers recently performed with Bath Philharmonia at the Bath Forum before an audience of over 1,000.
The update also noted that Oxenwood Outdoor Education Centre is now offering holiday clubs, and that in Q4 the Carers Together Wiltshire partnership supported 352 unpaid Carers and finalised 80 Carers Assessments.
BSW Together (Integrated Care System)
The BSW Together ICB Update - May 2025 noted that local people who are most at risk of falling seriously ill from Covid-19 have been coming forward to receive their spring booster vaccine, and that opportunities to find out more about the new and exciting Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre will be happening at community locations throughout the spring and summer months.
The update also noted that at the beginning of April, the ICB launched an engagement programme to understand what had driven a 5.6 per cent increase in patients visiting A&E departments across Bath, Swindon and Salisbury during 2024, and that The Big A&E Survey went live in April and has, to date, been completed by 822 people.
Age UK Wiltshire
The Age UK - April 2025 Newsletter included a message from the CEO of Age UK Wiltshire & Age UK Southampton, Sarah Cardy, noting that as we navigate through some challenging times, it is crucial to acknowledge the unique difficulties for our older population, and that it is more important than ever to hear the concerns of our older community.
The newsletter also noted a new partnership with KFR, offering a unique and innovative change to the way house clearances are carried out in the county, and that the Wellbeing Checks with Meals service has expanded to be able to support older people in Southampton, helping them remain independent and safe in their own homes.
Local Sponsorship Request for SEND Fest 2025
The Area Board were asked to help deliver Wiltshire SEND Fest 2025 by helping to identify and connect with local businesses or organisations who may be interested in sponsoring the event.
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PM2.5 refers to airborne particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5µm or less. Particulate matter is a complex mix of solids and liquids from a variety of human and natural sources, such as pollen, sea spray, domestic wood burning and tyre/ brake wear from vehicles. ↩
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