Members present; chair Pam Freegard, Treasurer Bob Walter, IT Secretary Robert Williams, Muhammad Chaudhry, John Freegard, Paul Izquierdo, Kate Johnson, Brenda Warwick, Bob Wedge
Also present; Cllr John Firmin (South Swindon Parish Council),
John Pryce (resident).
Apologies for Absence; Brenda Arnold, John Clark, Violet Clark, Violet Clark, Cluniford Mason, Evelyn Mason, Rebecca McIntosh, Pat Townsend, Roy Townsend
There being less than ten menmbers present confirmation of the minutes and the treasurer's statement were deferred to the next meeting.
Policing issues. The chair report that there was still no communication from Wiltshire Police. IT secretary Rob Williams offered to look into the possibility of presenting available on-line statistics at future meetings.
Parish Council issues.
There was an ongoing issue of litter and flytipping.
The refurbished Broadgreen Centre games area was attracting food waste but this might reduce with time and cctv monitoring.
There was a discussion on possible reasons for StreetSmart's practise of closing the files of reported flytipping when no work had been done, and possible solutions. Requiring before and after photographs, perhaps from body-cameras, was suggested. It was noted that non-conformance could be reported on the same telephone system.
CCTV cameras had been put up in Manchester Rd but the number of cameras available remained unclear.
It was noted that uncollected charity bags were adding to the problem.
Cllr Firmin said there was a balance between the transfer of borough responsibilities to the parish and a rise in the Parish precept. This year's precept had been frozen due to doubts over the eventual cost of transfers of assets and responsibilities already proposed.
There was a suggestion that residents might want to apply for Council Tax band reassessment to take account of the effect of the state of the area but the legal position was unclear.
Borough issues.
Cllr Firmin reported on Cllr Wright's behalf that enquires were being made about the permission to hold a fair on the County Ground car park despite an understood ban. Planning officers were apparently unclear whether a mistake had been made or that there was no formal ban.
Annual General Meeting.
The chair reminded everyone that the next meeting (3rd April) would be proceeded by the Annual General Meeting.
