Milestone in Salisbury recovery

Hello,

We reached a significant milestone in the recovery of Salisbury this week with the Maltings site area being handed back to the recovery coordinating group by Defra following extensive cleaning and testing by specialist teams.

Work will now be carried out to repair and clean the area ready for opening. Other potentially affected sites – including nearby Zizzi and The Mill pub – are being cleaned by specialist teams. Defra is overseeing the work based on expert advice, and with the support of specially trained MOD personnel.

We’re now just over a week away from the grand final of elite cycling's OVO Energy Tour Series which will take place in Salisbury. The race action will be shown in two hour-long highlight programmes on ITV4 in the UK, as well as in over 100 countries worldwide, showcasing Salisbury to an international audience. From our perspective, it isn’t just about cycling of course, and there will be a range of free fun activities taking place during the day, with something for everyone to enjoy in the city.

An update on the Salisbury recovery was given to members earlier today at Full Council by Jane Scott and Alistair, outlining the progress which has been made and the support we have given to businesses, and the city more widely. The update finished with a round of applause from members for a job really well done to the very wide range of people and organisations who have been involved in the recovery – a sentiment echoed by us. To keep up to date on Salisbury developments, follow Wiltshire Council on Twitter and visit our dedicated webpage at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/salisbury

Another milestone this week – this time in adult social care where the transformation programme entered another phase with a new structure model now in place which will underpin a number of changes that will gradually be introduced over the coming weeks and months. We believe these changes will significantly improve how we provide these care services. These include further developing our Help to Live at Home service, improving people’s first point of contact to the service, introducing an adult care Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) based on the model we have in place for children, creating and running a council reablement service, and continually developing how we commission services. We will keep you updated, but for more information on some of the work the team are doing, please visit The Wire.

Another key transformation programme is digital, which is helping to improve how we will deliver our services more efficiently and effectively into the future. Part of this is making it as easy as possible for members of the public to report issues and so we’ve given the web version of My Wiltshire a fresh new look which will hopefully improve the overall experience for the user. The system is now a well-established means for people to contact the council about a range of issues at a time it suits them, and overall it has helped us become a much more efficient and responsive organisation. You can find out about all the changes on our website, and we should point out that the app version of the system won’t be changing just yet.

Finally, we joined with the rest of the organisation in joining in the minute’s silence held today to mark the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident.

Alistair, Carlton and Terence

Planning for the future

Hello,

Cabinet took place earlier today and discussed a couple of really important issues which will shape our county over the next few years – special schools and housing.

These are both subjects which really engage people, and the council chamber was packed for the meeting.

Cabinet agreed to begin a consultation to assess how best to meet the requirements for special school provision in Wiltshire into the future. We need an additional 220 places by 2026 for children and young people with special needs and/or disabilities. It’s really important that children with special educational needs are given high quality local placements, and in a large county likes ours it’s essential that these are provided in the right places geographically, with a balance between the north and the south. It’s not just about providing the right number of spaces, but about providing inspiring, state-of-the-art special schools which offer excellence in both education and outcomes for all pupils.

There was a good deal of discussion and questions about the draft Housing Site Allocations Plan which sets out how we will plan for growth and meet housing needs up to 2026, and this debate will continue when the issue comes back to Cabinet and Full Council before the summer.

Last week in Salisbury we welcomed the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV, who came to see how the city is recovering following the incident in March. The Ambassador took in some of the sights of the city before visiting the area in which the incident on 4 March took place. He was positive about the city and its recovery, and also praised the community’s resilience. The decontamination work carries on and we are continuing to support businesses and residents. The changes to free car parking took effect on Monday and we will monitor the impact this has.

Fostering Fortnight began yesterday and to coincide with this we’ve put out a call for more people who can offer a foster home to a child to come forward. We need to find 120 foster families over the next three years to cope with the demand, and we need 36 of those this year. You can find out more at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/fostering

We’re always keen to celebrate success – so well done to the team who were highly commended recently at the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport Annual Presidents Dinner for the pothole spotter trial. This pioneering project, jointly conducted with York City Council and Thurrock Borough Council, uses high definition cameras attached to our waste vehicles to monitor and scan Wiltshire’s roads to identify potential potholes. The data gathered can then be used to help inform decision-making about road repairs. A great example of cross-service working to deliver real improvements.

Looking ahead, if you’re going to be watching the Royal Wedding and want to do so in a unique way, why not head to Salisbury to join BBC Wiltshire’s party where the ceremony will be broadcast on 50ft screens outside Salisbury Cathedral. The event takes place from 9am-4pm, and they’ll be family friendly entertainment, live music performances and more. 

You can see our latest highlights presentation on The Wire.

Alistair, Carlton and Terence

Salisbury shortlisted for Armed Forces Day

Hello,

We hope you all managed to enjoy at least some of the brilliant sunshine over the long weekend (it doesn’t seem all that long ago we were talking about snow!) and are back to work feeling refreshed. Our thanks go to those staff who worked or were on call over the Bank Holiday.

Some really positive news – our joint bid, submitted alongside Salisbury City Council, for the city of Salisbury to host the Armed Forces Day National Event next year has been shortlisted and goes through to the next assessment stage.

This is a huge event in the calendar, and if we are ultimately successful it will be a tremendous boost to the city and a fitting way to thank the military personnel and emergency services that have supported the recovery programme.

The clean up operation in Salisbury continues and last week, eye-catching displays were put up to help promote businesses and direct visitors to the city’s attractions. Having discussed with businesses the impact of free parking in Salisbury, we are taking some steps to increase the turnover of spaces for shoppers and visitors. From next Monday parking will be free from midday on weekdays and all day on weekends. Park and ride sites will remain free, and we’ll continue to monitor the impact of how these measures are supporting the local economy.

Later today we are officially opening ‘Rothermere’, a combined innovative treatment hub and alcohol treatment service in Trowbridge, which we’ve worked in partnership to deliver. The ground floor will be an operational drug and alcohol treatment service, run by Turning Point, with the first floor a self-contained five-bedroom flat, with communal kitchen and bathroom, managed by Julian House. Tenants will go through the drug and alcohol treatment service and get support from both Turning Point and Julian House following their rehabilitation. It’s the first of its kind in the county and will make a real difference to the lives of those who need the support. 

The Staff Voices Conference takes place tomorrow in celebration of the National Day for Staff Networks. Staff Voices is the banner name for our staff networks (BME, LGBT+ and Carers and Disability) who are co-ordinated and work together. We are firmly committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion, not just in the way we delivery our services but also the kind of workplace we are. 

And finally – our annual Big Pledge campaign launches on Monday. This year it’s called Beat the Clock and encourages people to make personal pledges to get more active. The campaign runs from 14 May to 8 July and you can find out more about how you can get involved by visiting the website or watching this short video.

Our latest highlights presentation can be found on the intranet.

Alistair, Carlton and Terence

Televised cycle event coming to Salisbury

Hello,

In Salisbury, the clean up of affected sites continues, alongside our work with partners on the recovery plan for the city. As part of this, we announced at the end of last week that the city will host the Grand Final of the OVO Energy Tour Cycle series on 31 May. As a milestone in the cycling calendar, this is a real coup for the city and it will also bring a huge number of people in to the area who we hope will have a look around the city and see for themselves how Salisbury is recovering. The action will be shown on ITV4, along with more than 100 countries worldwide.

We are putting a call out for your support as we need marshals to assist with the delivery of the event, which will attract a large number of spectators. You would be required on site in Salisbury city centre from 3:30pm to 10pm approx.

If you would like to be part of the team and help to deliver this exciting event, please contact events@wiltshire.gov.uk by Friday 4 May.

We attended this year's South Wilts Business Expo at the Guildhall in Salisbury on Wednesday, which was a great opportunity to let residents know about lots of exciting entertainment and activities coming up in the city. This includes BBC Wiltshire’s forthcoming live screening of the Royal Wedding at Salisbury Cathedral.

On Thursday we met with leaders from right across the health and social care system in Wiltshire, to look at how we could work better together. It was agreed by everyone that there is a great deal of excellent work taking place, but that we could actually deliver more benefits for our residents if this work was more integrated. All agencies committed to a single overarching strategy to provide more effective prevention, health and social care outcomes for the population.

As part of this we will strengthen the arrangements of the health and wellbeing board, develop an integrated workforce strategy, and develop and review governance. We also reaffirmed our commitment to appoint a joint Corporate Director/Accountable Officer post for the council and the clinical commissioning group this year. There’s a lot of exciting work ahead – and we’ll keep you updated along the way.

The Ofsted Annual Conversation also took place last week. The name, of course, doesn’t reflect how often we interact with Ofsted, and this meeting - a formal discussion which enables critical self-evaluation - is part of our ongoing dialogue with them. We discussed with Ofsted our social care self-assessment, education and skills performance, and our future transformation plans. The initial feedback we received was positive, with formal feedback expected in the next two weeks. We’ll share this when we have it.

This week we’ll be launching a month-long campaign to encourage 11,000 people to sign on to the electoral roll ahead of the annual electoral canvass later in the summer. The more work and preparation we do now, the better shape we’ll be ahead of the summer. You have to be registered to vote to have your say in any local or national election, and although there is no major election on the horizon, by-elections regularly take place throughout the county along with other local referendums. If you want to have a say on development in your area, such as neighbourhood plan referendums, you need to be on the electoral register.

The regular Coaching Network meeting takes place this week in Trowbridge, with a talk on ‘stillness in coaching’ by guest speaker Penny Gundry. We always say that our people are our greatest asset and we’re committed to the continuous personal and professional development of our staff. We fully endorse coaching as a tool – it provides a confidential environment for staff to explore themes affecting their daily working lives and ways to move forward positively in their roles. If you haven’t considered coaching before, we’d highly recommend a conversation with your manager about it.

You can find out more about our coaching offer on the intranet.

Finally, booking has opened for the second #EPIC Talk which takes place at the end of the month – sign up now to hear RUH cardiologist Dr Ali Khavandiv talk about how to improve our health, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight through contemporary evidence-based dietary interventions. Further details are available on our website.

You can see our latest highlights presentation on the Wire.


Alistair, Carlton and Terence