Report for Town Council Meeting 7th October 2014
Recommendations from the Policy Group and Finance Committee Meeting 05/09/2014
The expanding population brings with it the need to increase facilities, improve information exchange and provide sustainable resources for the people of Amesbury.
Amesbury is rich in history, surrounded by beautiful countryside, and on the edge of the World Heritage Site. If the Town Council wishes to tap into these gems, it must work carefully over the next five years to provide adequate facilities – development of the History Centre, improved signage and booklets for local walks, and direction signs to Stonehenge.
Residents’ daily lives will be the richer through involvement in social activities. It is important to encourage and widely advertise community events. The Bowman Centre will play a vital role in this, and advertising, extra activities and improved staffing are key to its future.
Residents’ health and wellbeing are high on the agenda, and with the recent transfer of land at Archers Gate comes the ideal opportunity to develop areas for allotments, BMX track and Skate Park, not to mention the use of the new pavilion at Archers Gate for football and cricket teams. Improvement of the path at Lords Walk is long overdue, and this is seen to be a long-term project.
The aesthetic appearance of Amesbury needs to be developed to provide a tidy, attractive town, with floral decoration and litter-free streets. ‘In Bloom’ is to be developed, roundabouts sponsored, further litter bins installed, bus shelters maintained, grants made available to local groups for litter picking.
The next five years should see a change to the Council Office, ensuring better contact with the general public through a move to the town centre.
The future of the Community Shop could be secured as part of this move, providing a focal point for residents and visitors alike.
The following suggestions were agreed by councillors at the meeting on the 7th October 2014 to be recommended to the Full Council for inclusion in the Five Year Plan:
| Community Storage | |
| 15/16 – 16/17 | New allotments |
| On-going | Maintenance of play parks |
| As development progresses | Walkway – Archers Gate/Kings Gate |
| 2015/16 | Youth facilities (£2,000) |
| Holders Road Pavilion – future unknown following fire | |
| 2015/16 | Skate Park –- £8,000 + £6,000 for landscaping + £14,000 from 2014/15 |
| 2015/16 | BMX –– for signage, gateway etc (money from S.106 conts) |
| 2015/16 | Bus shelters (maintenance) –- £1,000 |
| 2015/16 - on-going | Amesbury In Bloom - £4,000 to be budgeted each year |
| 2015/16 | Litter bins - £2,000 |
| On-going | Remembrance – include in ‘grants’ (insurance paid for British Legion) |
| On-going | Museum support for promotion – £500. Reports to be given re. how money is spent, with subsequent results |
| On-going | Museum maintenance |
| 2017/18 | WW1 Commemoration – benches – one for each year of the war – to be placed around the cricket/football field + one in the town |
| 2014/15, 2015/16 | Roundabout signs – sponsorship |
| 2015/16, 2016/17 | Rights of Way signs – to Stonehenge (£2,000) |
| 2015/16 | Signs to the Bowman Centre – at White Railings and Solstice Park (Highways, but ATC to pay) |
| 2015/16 | Brown sign to the museum (in the town centre) - £1,000 |
| 2015/16 | Information Board – main car park (oldest settlement ...) - £3,000 |
| on-going – each year | Booklets for walks - £1,000 |
| next few years | Lords Walk paths – (no estimated figure) |
| on-going – each year | Carnival - £1,000 per year |
| on-going – each year | Christmas Lights – continue for coming years |
| on-going – each year | Bonnymead maintenance – cricket pitch will be retained and will require maintenance |
| on-going | Neighbourhood Plan - £2,000 per year |
| on-going | Bowman Centre improvements / extension - £10,000 per year to accumulate funds |
| 2015/16 – on-going | Community Shop |
| on-going | Office efficiency (premises / phones etc) |
| 2014/15 – 15/16 | Bins & Pavilion perimeter – S.106 funds |
| 2015/16 | Notice board for Butterfield (2015/16) |
| Noticeboard at Stonehenge? (Tourism) – Cllr Fisher to enquire about the possibility | |
| 2015/16 | Weekend Caretaker for Bowman Centre and Pavilion |
| 2016/17 | Photocopier |