Meeting documents

RESOLVED

That Mr A Busby be elected Chairman of the Beaconsfield Forum for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED

That Mrs J Simmonds be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Beaconsfield Forum for the ensuing year.

Apologies were received from Richard Keith and Nico Sacchetti.

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the Forum are asked to note:

a)     The purpose of Local Area Forums

b)     The proposed terms of reference and constitution for the Beaconsfield Forum (see Appendix A)

Members of the Forum are asked to agree:

a)   That elected members of Buckinghamshire County Council, South Bucks District Council and Beaconsfield Town Council    meet as a fully constituted Local Area Forum, titled Beaconsfield Forum.

b)   The proposed terms of reference and constitution for Beaconsfield Forum.

Stephen Young introduced the report on the purpose of Forums and on the proposed terms of reference and constitution for Beaconsfield Forum. The terms of reference would be reviewed in a year’s time.

Members of the Forum noted:

a)     The purpose of Forums

b)     The proposed terms of reference and constitution for the Beaconsfield Forum (see Appendix A of the report)

Members of the Forum agreed:

a)   That elected members of Buckinghamshire County Council, South Bucks District Council and Beaconsfield Town Council meet as a fully constituted Forum, titled Beaconsfield Forum.

b)   The proposed terms of reference and constitution for Beaconsfield Forum.

Beaconsfield Forum is recommended to approve;

a)     £2,700 Positive Activities Funding to Holtspur Youth Club

b)     £10,000 Local Priorities Funding to Beaconsfield Town Council All Age Fitness Trail

Beaconsfield Forum is recommended to determine;

a)     Its preferred use of the remaining Local Priority Delegated budget for 2010/11

Stephen Young introduced the report which described:-

a)     The arrangements for the allocation of the funding delegated to Forums in 2010/11.

b)     Delegated budgets for Forums

c)      Delegated funding for 2010/2011 approved prior to the formation of the Beaconsfield Forum.

d)     Proposals for use of remaining delegated budgets for the Beaconsfield Local Area for 2010/11

Members noted the following:-

a)     The arrangements for the allocation of the funding delegated to Forums in 2010/11 as described in the report

b)     The details of the Positive Activities For Young People (PAYP) delegated budget funding approved for 2010/2011 prior to the formation of the Beaconsfield Forum

The Forum approved the Positive Activities Funding and the Local Priorities Funding for the All Age Fitness Trail. They then discussed the remaining Local Priorities Budget for 2010/11 and the following points were made:-

·         All funding must be spent in line with the specific criteria associated with the relevant budget (see report.) The funding must be spent within the financial year for which it is allocated, ending on 31 March 2011. Monies must be effectively committed, work and equipment delivered, but the invoice does not have to be paid by 31 March 2011.

·         A Member asked about whether the funding could be used to help the Youth Service. He referred to the recent consultation being undertaken on Youth Services and the impact this would have on the Curzon Centre. He expressed concern that no information had been passed onto the Curzon Centre. This funding could not be used for this purpose as the changes to the youth service were only just being consulted upon and funding had to be committed by the end of the financial year.

·         Enquiries had been made regarding the Good Neighbourhood Scheme which is being run by Age Concern. There is already a Scheme up and running in Beaconsfield.

·         The Local Priorities budget has to be allocated in line with priorities identified in the Forums local area planning process to support local community needs and the well-being of the area. As there was already a delegated budget scheme for transport issues, non-transport areas would be preferred. Funding could not be carried over next year.

·         Local Priority Funding is likely to be the same next year although the budget is out to public consultation at present and extra funding has been given to the County Council in the form of the capital grant. It has yet to be determined how this will be used.

·         If a quick decision is required funding may be agreed in between Forum meetings in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman and other Forum members for the neighbourhood concerned. As the Town Council meet fortnightly it could be easily discussed at one of their meetings.

·         A discussion was held about improvements to the Broad Lane junction with the A40 which could receive some Section 106 funding. Mr Rippon was responding to the Town Council on the use of this funding. Some of the projects in the pipeline could use  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Members of the Forum are asked to note the contents of the report

Members noted the update report from Transport for Buckinghamshire.

Chris Schwier responded to the following issues:-

·         A Winter Maintenance Operational Plan had been agreed by the Cabinet Member and is available via the following linkhttp://democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=2111

·         There were 4 gangs fixing about 100 – 120 potholes. Category 1 potholes were dealt with first and were usually fixed by the end of the following day. The pothole gangs try and fix potholes in a concentrated area to obtain value for money. Estate roads do not take priority and potholes are only fixed if the traffic travels at a high speed. This has to be balanced against the claims made against the Council for vehicle damage.

·         £120 million has to be spent on roads to get them to a good standard. The Council had received a capital grant of £31.5 million; the proposal out for public consultation was that £7 million be spent on roads to help improve their condition by resurfacing. A decision will be made at Council on 17 February 2011.

·         A Member referred to inadequate pothole repairs.  He commented that a clause could be built into the contract that repairs are done for free if it needs repairing within 12 months of being fixed. Chris Schwier reported that the Council had an alliance with Transport for Buckinghamshire who had their own operatives that deliver the service back to the Council. It did not operate in the same way as a standard contract. The contract was performance managed.

The Forum decide which schemes should be carried out in 2011-2012

Members noted the delegated budget schemes submitted by Beaconsfield Town Council. The Forum now needs to decide which schemes should be carried out in 2011/12; the total budget available is £25,000. Members suggested considering Schemes at a later date once the budget had been finalised.

Chris Schwier reminded Members that even though funding had been given for Schemes; the Schemes could not go ahead without public consultation e.g they were consulting on the Park Lane Scheme. Consideration was being given to installing a layby on this road. A Member commented on the houses along Candlemas Lane which did not have any official off street parking. Members commented that it would be helpful to provide some details on Schemes before making a decision on them and an idea of what they would look like.

Reference was made to the junction at Broad Lane which was a priority for the Town Council. A hard standing footpath is required as when passengers alight from the bus they have to walk on uncut grass. Further information on Schemes would help understand the costings and where costs can be reduced.

Bids are required by the end of June at the latest in order to get the works underway for that current financial year.

A Member reported that the Coloured Crossing Area Scheme should say Windsor End not Wycombe End. The Coloured Crossing Area would be appropriate for Beaconsfield Old Town. This surfacing would be suitable for wheelchair users.

The Town Council would need to consider a list of Schemes and submit them to the next Forum.

Stephen Young reminded Members that the Local Priorities budget needed to be spent in accordance with priorities formally agreed by the Town Council through their Strategic Plan e.g. Youth Services. Iver Parish Council funded a Youth Worker. In response to a question about funding being utilised to compensate for the reduction in day centres, it was noted that this was an acceptable use of funding. Funding could also be used to pay wages if it was legal and a local priority but it could only be on an annual basis. A Member asked whether the Town Council could give a longer commitment where funding was required for more than a year. The concern with this was that the Town Council could pick up the cost for it if funding was not available from the County Council. A Member asked whether a consultation needed to be carried out on local priorities. The preference was that it should be as inclusive as possible.

There was no funding for Positive Activities for Young People for 2011/12.

To be agreed

Wednesday 13 April 2011 at 7pm at Beaconsfield Town Council