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ANNUAL REPORT2017–2018

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Chairman’s Report

This has been a year of considerable change. Town Clerk Fiona Fox took up her post in March 2017,shortly before the elections in May 2017 which produced four new members of the Council – CouncillorsDenis Brett, Tony Nicklin, Nick Pitcher and Chris Robbins. Councillor Paul Macdonald tendered hisresignation in March 2018, leaving the Council with a vacancy.

Having taken on the public toilets and the Lake PleasureGrounds from Wiltshire Council in late 2016, the Council nowhas to plan for further devolved services. It is known that playareas are no longer being maintained by Wiltshire Council andthe Town Council has to consider the implications and costsof taking on the nine play areas that exist in Warminster. APlay Areas Working Group has been set up to look at thelocation and condition of these. There are likely to be furtherservices that the Town Council will need to take on, so it hasbeen necessary to raise the precept by an appropriate amountfor 2018–19 to provide sufficient funds to enable us toundertake this additional work.

Two of the Council’s working groups have been reconstituted as sub-committees of the Finance andAssets Committee – these are the Devolved Services and Assets Sub-Committee and the Town PromotionSub-Committee. A working group deals with specific projects rather than ongoing work, and bothsub-committees will be dealing with long-term issues.

There are currently four working groups:� The CCTV Working Group which reports back to the Town Development Committee.

The Spatial Planning Review Working Group (previously the Neighbourhood Plan Policy ReviewWorking Group). This group looks at plans for major developments and advises the Planning AdvisoryCommittee as to whether there is any contravention of the policies and community actions containedin the Neighbourhood Plan. It monitors any strategic plans from Wiltshire Council for futuredevelopment that affects Warminster and will make recommendations for any revisions to theNeighbourhood Plan. It meets as and when necessary. The group reports back to the TownDevelopment Committee.� The Traffic System Working Group, set up to look at potential one-way traffic systems and problem

traffic areas in Warminster. Two highways officers from Wiltshire Council advise the group, whichreports back to the Town Development Committee.� The Play Areas Working Group (see above).

The Council is looking forward to its new ‘Spring inthe Park’ event on 6th May, at which the Mayor willrelaunch the long-awaited boats on the lake at afamily fun event which will include a dog show,Morris dancing, maypole dancing, donkey rides anda climbing wall, as well as loads of stalls and otheractivities.

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Warminster Civic Centre

The Civic Centre is the perfect venue for conferences and meetings, as well as for private functions suchas weddings and birthday parties. It’s easily accessible for people of all abilities, and with the Westerncar park immediately adjacent to the building there’s never any problem finding a parking space.

‘Percy the People’s Bustard’ welcomes you into the building and thecoffee bar in the foyer provides a warm and safe place to meet friendsand colleagues. Our male and female toilets both have baby changingfacilities, there’s a standard disabled toiletand also a fantastic fully equipped ChangingPlaces Personal Care Room for use by adultsand children with profound disabilities. This

includes a height-adjustable adult changing bench, a shower and a trackinghoist system. There is sufficient space for a wheelchair plus two carers toaccompany the user.

The Civic Centre is a popular venue for community events with a large number of regular hirers providingdiverse weekly, fortnightly and monthly activities for residents of Warminster across a range of ages –from infants in The Singing Tree to Age UK’s popular Fitness and Friendship Group. There is a strongfocus on health and wellbeing. Figures for the year so far indicate that the anticipated income fromhirers will be achieved.

Civic Centre Film Matinees

The Civic Centre shows film matinees on the third Wednesday of each month. Theyare always popular, with 110 people attending the showing of ‘Viceroy’s House’ inAugust. Films are shown in seasons of four, with the audience getting the chance tochoose from a selection of ten films on the third film showing of the season (in March,August and November). The top four choices are selected for the next season. Thelatest version of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is showing in April and choices forthe next season include ‘Paddington 2’ and ‘The Greatest Showman’.

Christmas Market

The Christmas Market on 25th November was a sell-out with 34 stalls offering a widevariety of Christmas gifts. The stallholders were delighted with the steady stream ofvisitors throughout the day, and the majority have already secured their stalls againfor this year’s market on 24th November.

Christmas Lights

The Christmas Lights switch-on was once again centred on the gardens of the Chapel of St Lawrence,with the newly formed Christmas Choir aiding the massed singing of traditional carols. The High Streetwas closed for the event which drew large crowds to witness the lantern parade from the Civic Centreled by Charlie the donkey, who behaved impeccably. A live nativity was performed and the lights wereswitched on by Penny-Jayne Loveday.

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Town Development

The Town Development Committee, chaired this year by Councillor Paul Macfarlane, deals with issuesrelating to the town’s infrastructure, many of which are projects requested by residents. This year thesehave included the following:

� Roundabout improvements at Victoria Road/Masefield Road – the mini roundabout had becomeincreasingly dangerous after Swaledale was built.� Bollards installed on the pavement on the north and south sides of West Street to prevent vehicles

mounting the pavement.� White lining outside properties on Imber Road between Boreham Road and Fairfield Road.� Yellow lines at Plants Green and Houghton Close.� Footway improvements at The Close.� Request from residents of Newport for a permit parking only zone.� Request for a speed indicator device (SID) on Imber Road between Copheap Road and Waterloo

Lines following a metro count. (SIDs are not considered cost-effective as they have a short-terminfluence on traffic speed, so a Community Speedwatch Scheme would be preferable if enoughvolunteers can be found.)� Request for a pedestrian crossing at Woodcock Road for the residents of Woodcock Park and

Whitfield Close.� Request for a metro count in Brook Street between King Street and Broadway roundabout to check

speed.� Request for directional signs for the Rugby Club.

Any highways issues such as these are referred to the Community Area Transport Group of WiltshireCouncil for decision based on feasibility and cost. Once schemes have been approved the Town Councilwould normally be expected to contribute 25% of the cost.

Planning Advisory Committee

The Planning Advisory Committee, chaired by Councillor Sue Fraser, meets more than any othercommittee of the Council, coming together every month to consider all planning applications submittedto the Principal Authority, Wiltshire Council. The most contentious plans were:

� Plans for 5 dwellings behind 3 High Street which was recommended for rejection on the grounds ofgross overdevelopment. Despite the Council’s desire to see 3 High Street developed, the proposalswere out of keeping with the surrounding conservation area.� Plans from Longleat for a hotel at Tascroft. This has been approved by Wiltshire Council.� Plans for a retirement community at Grovelands. This has been approved by Wiltshire Council.� Plans for 34 dwellings at the rear of Damask Way. The Town Council has objected to these but a

decision is yet to be made by Wiltshire Council.� Ongoing problems with the construction site at St Andrew Road.

The Town Council can only comment on plans; the ultimate decision rests with Wiltshire Council whotake into consideration the policies in the Warminster Neighbourhood Plan.

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HR

The HR committee is comprised of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and chairs of committees, and meetsquarterly to discuss any issues relating to staffing and to monitor the Council’s risk assessments.

Finance and Assets Committee

The Finance and Assets Committee monitors all the Council’s financial procedures and approves relevantexpenditure. It scrutinises the draft budget before making recommendations to Full Council.

Full Council

Full Council meetings oversee reports from committees and deal with issues that need decisions fromall members. The Town Council was proud to achieve the Gold Award under the Local Council AwardScheme this year. This is the highest award available and is indicative of the standard of service theCouncil provides to its electors.

The members were consulted on Wiltshire Council’s parking review. The Town Council had been allowed812 free parking spaces for the year in Wiltshire Council pay-and-display car parks for the purpose ofevents. This allocation was used for the Highbury Football tournament on 27th May, the Vintage BusRunning Day on 1st October, the Carnival on 28th October and the Christmas Market and ChristmasLights Switch-on on 25th November. This system replaced the original offer of two free days parkingper year across all car parks. The allowance of 812 free spaces will continue next year but with theproviso that they cannot be used in November or December. The Council expressed its disappointmentthat it will be unable to offer free parking for the Christmas events which attract our biggest audienceother than the Carnival. This will affect our stallholders as well as our visitors. However, Wiltshire Councilhas decided that the spaces should be used for events that need more promotion rather than for eventswhich are already popular. Wiltshire Council has also increased parking charges and will be introducingSunday charges from 1st September.

Anybody wishing to hold an event in the town for which they would like to use car parking spaces shouldcontact the Park and Open Spaces Manager, Stuart Legg, to discuss their requirements.

Warminster Parking Partnership

The Town Council runs the Warminster Parking Partnership, allowing shoppers toreclaim their first two hours of parking costs by taking their refund vouchers to thoseretailers who display the Parking Partnership sign in their windows. With parkingcharges having increased in February, the maximum refund for two hours is now£1.30. Terms and conditions may apply, with most retailers asking for a minimumspend. There are currently 16 businesses signed up to the partnership. The schemeappears to have levelled in demand, with £3008.20 having been refunded up to the end of Februaryand an average of 399 vouchers being submitted per month, compared with £2965 and 418 by the sametime last year.

The Council welcomes any independent businesses who wish to join the scheme.

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Devolved Services and Assets Sub-Committee

The Devolved Services and Assets Sub-Committee generally meets every month to make key decisionson Council assets, particularly the town park. The main issues for the year were:

� Taking on the Pavilion Café from June 2017. The café is open every day between 9.30 and 4.30 inthe summer (1st April–30th September) and from Thursday to Sunday, 9.30 to 3.30 in the winter(1st October–31st March). It is run by Deb Symon with assistance from seasonal staff. Picnic bencheshave been installed alongside the café.� Achieving Green Flag status for the park. This was a fantastic achievement

after such a short time� Signage for the town park. A logo has been designed by John Leighton to

be used on all park signage. Work is underway to replace existing WiltshireCouncil signage with signs bearing the park and Town Council logos.� Reinstatement of boats on the lake. Four rowing boats and two canoes will be launched at the Spring

in the Park event.� The renovation of the Civic Trust Garden with the help of Fairfield Farm College. The garden has

been renamed the Elisabeth Collyns Garden in recognition of Elisabeth’s efforts in creating this spaceand is to reopen on Monday 16th April 2108.� New bins are being installed in the park for recyclable dry mixed waste and general waste.� The boathouse electrics are in need of upgrading and fire alarms will be installed in the boathouse

and toilets when this work is undertaken. New doors for the toilets are being investigated.� A tree survey of all the Council’s trees was undertaken and the necessary work has been completed.� Flower beds were planted by six primary schools last summer and schools are being approached to

engage in this again.� A new state-of-the-art skatepark has been designed by Maverick to replace the existing facility

which is almost obsolete. Fundraising by the Skatepark Group and Friends of Warminster Park iswell under way.� The putting green reopened in the summer and has proved popular.� Grants are being sought for refurbishing the tennis courts.� Six benches have been replaced in the park and three in the Elisabeth Collyns Garden.

Town Promotion Sub-Committee

The Town Promotion Sub-Committee has arisen from the old Town Promotion Team and is looking atways to better promote the town. The re are several outside representatives from businesses in thetown and the committee is chaired by Councillor Nick Pitcher. Discussions have centred around theneed for a town map and ways to make town events more visible, as well as issues with the heritagesigns at the entrances to the town, which should be placed on the A36 before the access roads arereached. There is a need to make more use of the partnership with Visit Wiltshire for publicising ourevents. The committee is engaging in a ‘buddy scheme’ with Devizes and membership of the MarketTowns Forum helps with gaining ideas from other towns in the county.

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Communications

Communicating with the electorate is a key part of the Council’s activities, and it takes many forms.There is an increasing reliance on social media with the Town Council and Civic Centre having Facebookpages and Twitter accounts to communicate information on the latest news and activities. Stuart Legghas set up a Facebook page and Twitter account for the Town Park, which have proved very popular.

The newsletter is distributed to 7,800 homes via the Warminster Way and The Villager.

The Town Council’s website contains the timetable, agendas and minutes of Council meetings, and alsohas a calendar of events at the Civic Centre and elsewhere in the town. The Council is happy to advertisecharity events in the town if the groups send us the relevant information. The Data Transparency Actis recognised by the Town Council and it observes the principles of getting as much information uploadedonto the website as possible.

We advertise all our meetings weekly in the Warminster Journal, as well as posting notices on ourinternal and external notice boards at the Civic Centre. Additional events are advertised in theWarminster Journal, such as the Remembrance Service, Civic Award and Civic Service.

To keep information up to date every committee and working group of the Council looks at relevantpress releases to send to our media contacts. We are published in most of the local papers in and aroundWarminster and feature on local radio, in magazines and occasionally on TV.

CCTV

Warminster’s CCTV operations are an important part of the Town Council’s activities. Headed bysupervisor Mike Herriott, a dedicated small team of staff and volunteers situated in Dewey House workclosely with the local community police team as well as agencies from further afield. The Council iscurrently looking for volunteers to join the team. Anyone interested should contact Mike Herriott on01985 217604.

The cameras situated in the town are working 24 hours a day, seven daysa week, and the team also covers the monitoring of Westbury town andthe West Wilts Trading Estate. In addition close working relationships withWarminster Garrison and Battlesbury Barracks enable a wide range ofissues in respect of prevention of crime to be covered. The CCTV teamcontinues to be involved in the local Pubwatch and Shopwatch schemesand supplies radios to participants.

The CCTV service is currently covered by the Data Protection Act, which is to be replaced by the GeneralData Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new EU law that will come into effect on 25 May 2018. This is thebiggest overhaul of data protection legislation for over 25 years, and will introduce new requirementsfor how organisations process personal data. This will affect all aspects of the Council’s operations, notjust those at CCTV.

Warminster Cubs and Scouts visit CCTV

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Civic Award and Junior Civic Award

The deserved recipient of this year’s Civic Award was Colin French, the founderof the Warminster Wobble and Warminster Community Orchard. Colin hasworked tirelessly on improving the town’s cycle routes, his notable achievementbeing Glover’s Lane, and has instigated Saturday cycle rides for health andwellbeing.

Flora Hyde was awarded the Junior Civic Award for her services to Warminsterthrough her involvement with Warminster Community Radio. One of her manyroles was to develop and present programmes aimed at young people in thetown. She trained in media and radio at Warminster Community Radio and used her skills to train andsupport local children at Kingdown as head of the school’s radio station.

Events

The ninth Warminster Wobble festival of cycling took place on the weekend of 18th–19th June 2017and is now an established event in Wiltshire, attracting cycling enthusiasts from far and wide. The tenthfestival will be held on 17th and 18th June 2018. The Town Council contributes £3000 annually towardsthe Wobble.

The Inspire music festival was held on Sunday 16th July 2017 and had avaried line-up including Driftt (pictured), the Military Wives Choir and theWarminster Ukelele Club . This year’s festival will be on Sunday 8th July,from 1pm to 7pm. Inspire showcases local music acts with an emphasis onyouth and inspiring people to take up a musical instrument. The Councilprovides a budget of £3,500 for this event.

The Carnival attracted large numbers of people from Warminsterand the surrounding area, and continues to be very important inWarminster’s events calendar. This year it formed part of thebiennial Warminster Festival, which took place from 18th–29thOctober 2017. There was a wide range of entertainment on offer,from Nutty Noah who played to a packed house of children andparents at the Athenaeum, to internationally acclaimed Cecilia deMaria who sold out St George’s Church for her harp recital. TheCouncil provides annual funds of £3,000 towards the Carnival and£2000 towards the Festival.

A list of all the regular events held at the Civic Centre and elsewhere in Warminster is available fromthe Civic Centre. The Town Council is also happy to display posters for local events on its communitynotice boards, its website and its Facebook pages.

The Town Council is now a member of Visit Wiltshire which provides a forum to advertise events in thetown throughout the county.

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Grants

A total of 15 grants were agreed and paid for from the Town Council budget. Recipients were from arange of organisations from support services, sports clubs and the arts. They included Alzheimer’sSupport, Headway Salisbury and South Wilts, the Wessex MS Therapy centre, Highbury Youth FC,Warminster Town FC, Warminster Brass Band and Warminster Philharmonic Orchestra.

If your organisation has not had the benefit of a grant, please contact the Town Council to discuss yourrequirements. Grant application forms are available online at www.warminster-tc.gov.uk or can bepicked up from the Council offices. Applications must be received at the Civic Centre by 31st May 2018.Grants will be decided by the Finance and Assets Committee in June and given out in September.

WCR

Warminster Community Radio (WCR) has a service level agreement with theTown Council. In return for the Council providing an annual sum of £10,000 toWCR for five years from April 2017, the period of a full broadcasting licence,WCR assists at all Council events including the provision of a public address(PA) system and outside broadcasts for the Civic Service, Remembrance Sundayand the Christmas Lights switch on. They will be providing the PA for theCouncil’s new venture, Spring in the Park, on 6th May.

WCR also provides a PA system when necessary for significant council meetingsand is always on hand for advice.

List of complaints received 01/04/2017–31/03/2018

22.08.17 Complaint regarding a Planning Advisory Committee meeting.

Freedom of Information requests received 01/04/2017–31/03/2018

23.08.17 Request by letter requesting copies of any communication between the Town Council and Wiltshire Council regarding Wiltshire Council’s consultation on the Draft Housing Site Allocation and changes to settlement boundaries. The request was answered by letter on 23.08.17.08.09.17 Request by email for answers to a list of questions regarding the CCTV operations in the town, including cost of running and number of incidents reported to the police. The request was answered by email with the relevant papers attached.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Town Clerk, Fiona Fox, along with her staff at the Civic Centre and CCTV, forthe support I have received from them in my term of office. It has been an honour to representWarminster as mayor for a second time and I have thoroughly enjoyed my term of office, once againhaving the opportunity to meet many of the residents of the town who give up their time so selflesslyfor the benefit of others. It never ceases to amaze me how many diverse organisations there are in thetown and how much they rely on support from volunteers. It is important to recognise that the TownCouncillors are also volunteers, as are all those members of our working groups whose input is sovaluable.

Councillor Rob FryerMayor of Warminster31st March 2018

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FINANCIAL REPORT 2017–2018

The end of the Council’s financial year is 31st March and shutdown of the accounts will take place on24th April 2018 to account for all expenditure and income. This report gives details of the income andexpenditure to 28th February 2018 with a breakdown of our current situation. Once the accounts arecompleted these figures may have changed. The full audited accounts are available to the public andthe details are advised on completion of the process which will take place by the end of June 2018.

The Councillors will make declaration through their annual governance statement that they understandtheir responsibility to have and maintain a sound system of internal control which includes thepreparation of the accounting statements. This means they followed the Accounts and AuditRegulations, made proper arrangements for the safeguarding of public money and have only done whatthey have the legal power to do and have complied with proper practices in so doing.

As assessment of the risks facing this smaller authority has been undertaken and the Councillors havetaken steps to manage those risks including internal controls and/or external insurance cover whererequired.

Throughout the financial year an effective system of internal audit of the accounting records and controlsystems has been carried out by the appointment of a competent independent person to give anobjective view on whether internal controls meet the needs of this smaller authority. Appropriate actionwas taken on all matters raised in reports from internal and external audits.

Throughout the financial year this smaller authority has disclosed everything it should have about itsbusiness activity during the year including events taking place after the year-end if relevant.

Fiona Fox BA (Hons) MCIPD FILCMTown Clerk and RFO31st March 2018

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SUMMARY OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURETO 28th FEBRUARY 2018

Due to the timing of the Town Meeting this set of figures represents 11 months’ Income and Expenditure.The final figures will be established following the closedown operation on 24th April 2018. Completedaccounts are likely to be available in June 2018 and will be available for the public to inspect.

Budget 2017–18 £ Actual 2017–18 £Expenditure at 28th February 2018Administration 209 836 149 921Properties, buildings and town amenities 346 996 448 161Town development, grants and projects 86 600 82 374Total gross expenditure 643 432 680 456

Income at 28th February 2018Miscellaneous 90 820 96 472Precept 552 612 552 612Total income 643 432 649 084

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The Precept amounted to

Long-term LiabilitiesPublic Works Loan Board

General Reserves

Earmarked Reserves:Capital ProjectsDevolved ServicesElectionsTennis courtsCCTVOpen spacesCatenary cablesTrainingTown CrierWebsiteOutdoor Gym

£552,612

376,797

141,810

203,779151,512

6,61310,00016,176 3,7941,6601,4061,261

8636,000

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Warminster Town Council is composed of 13 councillors. The town is divided into four wards: WarminsterWest, Warminster East and Broadway, each with four councillors, and Copheap with one councillor.The Council is led by the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, who are elected each May at the Annual Meeting.

WARMINSTER WEST WARMINSTER EAST

Sue Fraser6 Masefield RoadWarminsterBA12 8HN07813 930808s.fraser2@blueyonder.co.uk

Denis Brett50 Gipsy LaneWarminsterBA12 9LR01985 301366revdb@yahoo.co.uk

Paul Macfarlane49 Highbury ParkWarminsterBA12 9JE07767 897938admin@warminster-tc.gov.uk

Andrew Davis13 The RidgewayWarminsterBA12 9NG01985 217431andrew.davis@wiltshire.gov.uk

Tony NicklinChedlanger House147 Bath RoadWarminsterBA12 7RZ01985 847293tony.nicklin@btconnect.com

Chris Robbins3 HeronsladeWarminsterBA12 9HR07734 025196

Pip Ridout17 Savernake CloseWarminsterBA12 8RF01985 214971pipridout@virginmedia.com

Vacancy

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WARMINSTER BROADWAY WARMINSTER COPHEAP

Paul Batchelorc/o Warminster Civic CentreSambourne RoadWarminsterBA12 8LB07887 947925paulbatchelor55@gmail.com

Steve Jeffries9 Beech GroveWarminsterBA12 0AB07712 649613stevejeffries.wtc@virginmedia.com

Rob Fryer39 PortwayWarminsterBA12 8AQQ01985 847168wildswim@talk21.com

George Jolley5 Old Were CourtWarminsterBA12 8FG01985 216242jolley.wets@btinternet.com

Nick Pitcher16 PortwayWarminsterBA12 8QD07941 193007councillorpitcher@gmail.com

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Town Council meetings and committee meetings are held at the Civic Centre and are opento the public. The public are welcome to attend the majority of Council meetings, either tolisten or to speak in the public session.

Dates and times of meetings and agendas are posted on the notice boards at the Civic Centre, and arelisted on our website at www.warminster-tc.gov.uk. Meetings are also listed in the Warminster Journal.

Minutes of Council meetings can also be found on our website or requested from the Civic Centre.

The Town Council offices at the Civic Centre are open Monday–Friday, 9.00am–4.30pm, and the publicare welcome to call in during those hours.

Fiona Fox BA (Hons) MCIPD FILCMTown ClerkWarminster Town CouncilWarminster Civic CentreSambourne RoadWarminsterWiltshireBA12 8LB

Tel: 01985 214847email: admin@warminster-tc.gov.ukwww.warminster-tc.gov.uk