Agenda and minutes

The meeting was opened by Council Officer Dave Dixon due to John Adler being delayed.

A showcase of Priston Parish community activities and facilities.

Richard provided a presentation that included details of the range of events that are held Priston Village and how this builds a strong local community.

The village hall received community empowerment funding which allowed them to purchase a hearing loop which was demonstrated at the meeting.

Cathryn Brown delivered a presentation on the proposed option for a clean air zone in Bath.

Questions and comments were recorded:-

What will the effect be on tourism in our heritage city?

Ø  Yes, there will be changes needed for older non-compliant coach companies who will need to upgrade their vehicles or pay £100 each day they enter the zone.

Why not simply charge all vehicles that come into the city, would this not be fairer?

Ø  This has been suggested by a number of people. We are following the government guidance on how to approach implementing a scheme.

Do we have an idea of the amount of emissions that we want to reduce?

Ø  This is dependent on the levels at different locations around the City

Ø  We know some of our higher levels are in Dorchester Street and at the London Road

What happens if the targets set by government are not achieved?

Ø  If the targets are breached the Council are likely to receive fines from the government.

What about having moveable zones and charges?

Ø  This would require a further action plan.

If stopping cars is a priority for B&NES why did the Batheaston Park & Ride happen as a priority?  

Ø  This is a scheme that is about stopping non-compliant vehicles.

If we leave Europe do we still have to go ahead with this?

Ø  As this is already UK legislation, yes.

Will a CAZ really make a difference?

Ø  Yes, if we get the non-compliant vehicles out of the zone.

Where about are the air quality monitors situated?

Ø  You will see the test tube devices fixed to a number of lampposts in Bath.

The park and ride service does not offer any single tickets and is too expensive; the journey should be no more than £1 one way.

Ø  We have received lots of meaningful comments about park and ride, and we will have a new tender for the services in 2020.

Have alternative suitable routes been devised to help people to get around Bath? Rural areas suffer with rat runs and the shopping centres are suffering.

Ø  There has been traffic modelling carried out and maps are online which show the predicted changes in movement.

Ø  Further data is also being collected through the bands across the roads.

Ø  Ongoing monitoring of data will continue.

Congestion is a wider picture than just a CAZ.

Ø  This is a CAZ project which has been the directive and scope that we have been working towards.

Ø  WECA will publish the wider joint local transport plan next year.

How will people gain access to the Railway Station as it sits inside the zone?

Ø  This is a similar situation to the Sainsbury Supermarket at Pinesway and we are looking into possible options.

The East of Bath Park and Ride appear to have been abandoned due to cost rather than solving a problem.

Ø  There are valid reasons to have an East of Bath Park and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The forum has asked for a discussion around speeding issues in rural areas. There have been quite a few accidents in Camerton / Meadgate area from vehicles travelling down Tunley Hill at excessive speeds.  Also there are problems in the lanes of Englishcombe and along the B3115 in Tunley. 

PCSO Nigel Penney attended the forum and led a discussion on the issues of speeding in the lanes of rural communities and drug issues in Midsomer Norton.

The Police are aware of the issues that have been brought to their attention; it can be a difficult topic as everybody has different perceptions of speed. Speed watch has been used in some areas but as people have become aware that the scheme is not enforceable they decide to ignore this. Signage is available if there is group that wishes to set up a scheme.

Mark Nicolson is a local Police Motorcycle Officer who could be asked to carry out work on some troublesome local hotspots. Priston was mentioned as a rat rum area that suffers at school times, if the registration numbers of the offenders are gathered and passed on.

There are a number of measures that could be taken including, variations in speed limits, speed bumps and electronic warning signs. In Midsomer Norton data collection boxes have been used to collect speeding information, these are moveable and there may be an option to share this resource.

Where there are a number of communities that are looking to take action it would be worthwhile looking at pooling resources that can be deployed in different locations. Radstock Police Station has cameras that can be deployed in locations where concerns are raised.

If any community needs to make a report of bad experiences than the 101 number can be used otherwise e-mails can be sent in following an incident.

snn@avonandsomerset.police.uk

The issue of drug dealing in Midsomer Norton was raised; it was pointed out that when an incident was blatantly taking place near the Town Hall the offenders just continued even though they were award they had been spotted.

The issue has been reported, the Inspector was written to and DHI met to discuss the issues. It crime is being committed it is everybody’s duty to report the incidents, where neighbourhood watch schemes are run it can make people more confident.

Ryan Taylor, NatWest Community Banker will hold a discussion on how you can become more aware of scams and provide advice on how you can protect yourself.

Ryan Taylor, NatWest Community Banker was welcomed to the forum to talk about scams and fraud.

Ryan's roll is to reach out to communities and help more vulnerable people who of victims or potential victims of scams, this work is supported by Bath and North East Somerset trading standards team. It is thought that 1500 instances occur in Bath and North East Somerset over the period of the year, but many of these I'm not reported to the police.

Whenever NatWest speak with somebody about a scam they will always log and report each instance to the police. A scam is when somebody has been tricked into something that they did not want to do, it is believed that 50% of people that are aged over 65 have been scanned in some way. Because many people have being scammed out of what they perceive to be lower amounts of money of around £20-£30 they have and attitudes where they say is not worth reporting this.

It is more likely that older people who are on their own or less mobile will be victims of scams. Scams take place not only online but through telephone calls and face-to-face home callers; it is common that young women are used on the telephone as their voices will seem to be more trustworthy. It is commonplace that scams over the telephone involve people impersonating banks and the police.

When customers don't keep their personal details secure it is very difficult for banks to offer any kind of refund or protection even when people have been tricked into giving out their secure information.

A website exists which is called action fraud which allows people two self-reports incidents where fraud could of occurred but didn’t. www.actionfraud.police.uk

Doorstep scammers normally speculate and approach people offering services or deals that they have not asked for. It has been known that scammers have waited outside victims homes and even taken then to the bank to get money from them straightaway. When you're not sure you need to make relevant checks on who you are dealing with, if you are approached unexpectedly then you need to think carefully before agreeing any payments, if you really needs a service of any kind then you should be the one who is approaching companies for quotes.

When receiving cold calls if you do not require what is being offered or are unsure then feel free to just put the phone down. There are methods that are used to keep your telephone line open even if you think you have hung up, if you need to call somebody back it is recommended that you either use another phone (maybe a mobile phone)  or unplug you’re  landline and wait a while before making the call back.

There are many different types of scams that people have tried and commonly they will use methods such as saying that you are under a time limit, make you feel pressured or even present threatening repercussions. Some examples are,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Cllr Paul Myers will explain how B&NES Council are challenging themselves to improve how Community Engagement and Consultation is carried out.

Councillor Paul Myers explained that the Bath City Forum had opened discussions on how the Council carries out Consultation earlier this year.

This has led to all of the forums being asked to put forward representatives for a one off workshop on Consultation and Communication.

A slide was used that demonstrated the complexities that exist in the consultation arena.

Kathryn Manchee and John Adler agreed to represent the CAM Valley Forum at the Consultation Workshop,

Dunkerton & Tunley suggested that it was not clear how the Forum might get involved in taking forward the outcomes of the April 18 Rural Transport workshop at Timsbury. The Somer Valley Forum had apparently been briefed during the summer of 2018 but there did not seem to be any follow-up to that, nor any co-ordination or structure in place to address issues like the reduction in the First 179 service.

After some discussion Cllr Myers suggested, and it was agreed, that the question should be raised at the Forum Chairs’ Joint meeting on 19^th December.

The minutes off the last meeting were agreed as an accurate record.