Meeting documents

Apologies were received from Mrs Cakebread from Stowe, Mrs Beckett from Radclive-cum-Chackmore, Lillingstone Lovell Parish Meeting, Sir Beville Stanier from AVDC, Alex Matthews from Thornton Parish Council, Amanda Brooke-Webb from Bucks County Council, Phil Gomm, NAG Chairman, Sue Polhill from AVDC and Warren Whyte from Buckingham Town Council.

There were no changes in membership.

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests

Terry Cavender and Pearl Lewis declared that they had an interest in item 11 as they have submitted a bid for the formation of a Community Interest Company to address rural broadband issues.

The Chairman explained that he is unable to take part in any discussions regarding the Energy from Waste issue and he said that he would leave the room whilst this was discussed.  He asked Derrick Isham, the Vice Chairman to take the chair at this point.

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on Thursday 23 September 2010.

The notes of the meeting held on Thursday 23 September 2010 were agreed as a correct record.

The Chairman will update Members on issues affecting the local area, including Energy from Waste.

The Chairman reported that there are a number of issues in the North of the County which are taking awhile to resolve.

There will be a 20 minute period for public questions.  Members of the public are encouraged to submit their questions in advance of the meeting to facilitate a full answer on the day of the meeting.  Questions sent in advance will be dealt with first and verbal questions after.

Extinguishment Order

Vicky Webb, Chairman of Westbury Parish Council, updated Members on the recent decision by the Rights of Way Committee to extinguish a footpath through the grounds of Beachborough School.  The Chairman explained that the matter will now go to a public inquiry and he suggested that Mrs Webb hands in a petition which he will then present to full council at the next meeting.

Closure of Twyford Bridge

Cllr Jackie Phipps asked what is happening now that the Twyford bridge has been closed.  What are the reasons for its closure?  Simon Dudley responded by saying that the road has been closed on the grounds of safety as the state of the bridge has deteriorated so much that it is now unsafe to drive over it.  Simon went on to say that TfB have been awaiting confirmation of the landowners details before proceeding and he said that the team have just received these details.  He said that TfB have done the best that they can regarding stopping people from driving over the bridge and he said that people are not covered by their insurance if they damage their car whilst being told not to drive over the bridge.

A Member went on to ask whether it is illegal to drive down a road which has legally been closed.  Inspector Emma Garside responded by saying that it is a breach of the Highway Code and she would strongly recommend that people do not drive down roads which are closed.  Simon Dudley went on to say that there is a £50 fine under the Highways Act.

A Member asked whether it would be possible to have a report regarding the closure of the bridge which could then be circulated to parishioners.  Simon said that this could be done once further information has been obtained.

Action: Simon Dudley

A Member asked what the gritting policy is for the main routes to schools.  Simon Dudley explained that the gritting routes have been outlined in the Winter Maintenance document and he stressed that it is not possible to do every school in the County.  He said that some schools have had their profile raised on the risk assessment criteria so there could be some changes in the future.

A Member asked whether the main bus routes should be salted.  He mentioned in particular the No.60 bus route.  Simon explained that this route should be salted and he would look into this.

Action: Simon Dudley

[The Chairman leaves the meeting whilst EfW is discussed].

Energy from Waste

Roger Landells explained that at the Waddesdon LAF meeting the previous night, the Members deplored the Energy from Waste decision which the County Council has made.  Mr Landells went on to say that he believes the decision is wrong, the capacity of the site and the poor recycling capability.  He said that Bucks County Council takes around 114,000 tonnes a year to landfill yet the capacity of the site is 300,000 tonnes which means there is no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

None received

There were no petitions presented to the LAF.

Mark Grindall explained that there is a new petitions policy as a result of changes in legislation.  He said that he would circulate this to Members.

A Member asked whether the new policy could be made available to the call centre.

Action: Mark Grindall

Ann Kiceluk, Lead Officer from AVDC, will provide Members with an update on some of the key developments taking place in Buckingham.

Ann Kiceluk told Members she would cover the following:

• Growth
• Major projects
• LEP
• Parking.

Growth

Ann started by explaining that a number of local organisations have been awarded grants, including £3k to Aspirational Interiors.  She went on to explain that the proposed Government changes do not mean that growth is on-hold but it will provide opportunities for local areas to play a role in the growth agenda.  Planners will be working with parishes to explore the best way to take things forward, all parishes have been invited to attend meetings with AVDC planners, with the next one scheduled for 16 December.  She advised Members to keep an eye on AVDC’s website.

Major projects

In terms of major projects, Ann mentioned 2 projects which are currently underway.  Firstly, there is an offices build project to bring most of the office based AVDC employees onto one site in Aylesbury (on Gatehouse Road).  There will be a customer service presence retained in the High Street in Aylesbury.  The second project is the National Enterprise Academy dedicated to entrepreneurs aged 16-18 year olds.  A planning application is expected before Christmas and if approved, the facility should open in Autumn 2012.  The refuse and re-cycling depot in Aylesbury needs to be relocated as the lease expires in 2013.  Work is underway on identifying a new site.

LEPs

AVDC has been successful in being included as part of the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership and one of its main priorities is to identify opportunities for growth.  Ann explained that it is early days but it is good news of the Aylesbury Vale area and future economic growth.

Parking

At the last meeting, Members expressed concern regarding the usage of the car parks in Buckingham – Stratford Fields and Western Avenue.  There was a Cabinet Member decision taken that day to allow short term parking in those 2 parking areas.  This was in direct response to concerns raised by retailers and residents.  The changes will be implemented by Thursday 16 December to which the local traders are pleased.  A Member asked for clarification regarding the implementation date as they were told Thursday 15^th December.  Ann confirmed the implementation date as Thursday 16^th December and apologised for the confusion.

Inspector Emma Garside will update Members on local police activity.

Inspector Emma Garside started by explaining that as a force, Thames Valley Police has to make around £52 million worth of savings over the next four years.  She said that around 800 posts will have to go but these are likely to be police staff rather than officers which equates to around 10% of the workforce.  There is currently a freeze on recruitment.  Inspector Garside went on to say that a re-structuring of the Command Unit is underway.  Currently there are 5 Command Units which each have a senior management team and their own training, operations, duties departments, etc.  The new structure will see a removal of the Command Units structure and the introduction of 15 Local Police Areas (LPA’s) and a new shared service structure.  Aylesbury Vale Police area will be one of these LPA’s and existing boundaries of the area will remain as they currently are co-terminus with those of AVDC.  The aim is to reduce duplication and to stream-line processes.  Thames Valley Police are working in collaboration with other forces such as Hampshire.  The overarching objective is to do more with less.  The Chief Constable is determined to minimise cuts to neighbourhood officers and response teams.

Inspector Garside provided Members with an update on the crime figures for the area (although the LAF area is not co-terminus with the police areas) as well as an update on police activity within the area.  She started by saying that the Buckingham Town team comprises 2 Constables and 2 PCSOs.  In Buckingham North, there has been an increase in the number of posts with 2 officer posts covered by 3 officers and 3 PCSO posts covered by 4 officers.  In Buckingham South, there are 2 officers and 3 PCSOs.  She said that they are now a fully resourced team and the aim is to sustain this going forward.

There has been a general decrease in anti-social behaviour with Halloween and Bonfire night taking place without incident.  New Years Eve will be the next big event.

In Buckingham Town there has been an overall decrease in crime although there has been an increase in burglary dwellings particularly in the Linden Village area (6 reported burglaries – believe the suspects are from the Milton Keynes area).  In the centre of Buckingham, there has been a plain clothes operation to deter purse dippings and shoplifting which can often rise at this time of year.  In the North and South of Buckingham, there has been a decrease in burglaries and an increase in thefts of vehicles.  A milk tanker was stolen from Akeley.  Land Rovers are also being stolen to order and the neighbouring forces are working together on this.

Inspector Garside gave Members some crime reduction messages:

• Leave lights on in your house
• Do not leave Christmas presents under the tree
• When defrosting your car, do not leave your keys in the ignition.

She went on to say that the team hold regular "Have your say" meetings which provides  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Ann Cobban, joint Lead Area Officer for the Buckingham Local Area, will provide Members with information on contingency planning at a local level.

Ann Cobban, Lead Area Officer, explained that due to the adverse weather last year, parishes are being asked to complete interim community contingency plans.  She said that there is a toolkit which needs to be completed by the parishes.  Mark Grindall suggested that Members contact him or a Member of the resilience team if they need assistance in completing the interim plan – a template can be found on the website.  The deadline for completing the plan is the end of December.

Ann-Marie Davies will provide Members with an update on the delegated budgets.

Reports are attached.

Simon Dudley apologised for not having the delegated budget report available for the meeting.  This has been deferred until the next meeting.

Simon asked the representative from Nash Parish Council to confirm whether they had 2 salt bins in their parish.  The representative said he would check this after the meeting and let Ann-Marie Davies know.

Action: Nash Parish Council

Simon reported that the Area Maintenance budget has been cut by £1.3 million but he said that there would be more information available on this in the New Year.

Simon asked Members to check the Service Information Centre website for information on the gritters and other useful information.  He explained that a decision has been made to be resilient in terms of salt supplies as the Salt Union are struggling to keep up with demand.  Salt will only be supplied to parishes with devolved powers.

A Member asked whether the County Council will be re-filling the salt bins.  Simon explained that the County Council will be filling them with a 50/50 mix of salt and sand.

A Member asked whether farmers have been lined up to help out in the bad weather.  Simon explained that there was an update placed in the National Farmers Union magazine and 35 farmers responded to this.  There is an issue regarding liability and what would happen if a farmer or their tractor were damaged whilst clearing snow on the County Council’s behalf.  Simon said that the County Council’s legal department are looking into this.

A Member thanked Simon Dudley and his team for gritting Calvert to Gawcott.  The Chairman explained that there is a problem with red diesel and farmers should not be using it for the timebeing until there has been some guidance from DEFRA.

A Member asked whether Simon could get Ringwood Jacobs to look at the quality of the gully covers in Akeley as they have started to move.

Action: Simon Dudley

Mark Grindall will provide Members with an update and will be asking Members to consider funding for specific projects.

Report attached for Members to consider before the meeting.

Mark Grindall started by informing Members that there has been a change in his team structure and he is now responsible for 4 local areas.  He took Members through his report and explained that there is £16,650 available for funding projects in this financial year.  The eligible projects amount to a funding request totalling £27,630.  He explained that the funding request for the first project – Purchase of area based excavation equipment and soil testing should be £7,500 and not £8,000 as stated in the report.

The following projects were agreed by Members of the LAF:

• Formation of a Community Interest Company to address rural broadband issues - £5,000.
• Developing and promoting Twyford Village Stores - £4,930
• Promoting Buckingham – agreed funding of £3,270 (bid was for £6,250)
• Steeple Claydon Skate Park - £3,000
• Provision of Salt bin in accident black spot, Buckingham - £450.

Total funding agreed - £16,650

Mark Grindall will provide Members with an update on the funding arrangements detailed in the attached report.

Mark Grindall updated Members on the iVan project which has been funded jointly by the Buckingham and Waddesdon Local Area Forum PAYP budgets (£10,000 from each LAF).  He said that the project is up and running and there has been positive feedback received from parishes that have had the iVan.  A Member reinforced this and said it is an excellent project but it needs to be better advertised in order to get more young people to attend.  Mark said he would pass this onto Community Impact Bucks.

Action: Mark Grindall

Inspector Garside said that she would be happy to promote the iVan through the community messaging service but needs more information about times, dates and venues.

Action: Mark Grindall

The Chairman thanked Mark for his update.

Simon Dudley informed Members that TfB are currently under-going a re-organisation and some of the managers and the Local Area Technicians are re-applying for their jobs as part of this process.  He said that the LATs are reducing from a team of 19 to a team of 10.  A Member expressed disappointment at this decision as she felt that the LATs are the people on the ground who really know and understand the areas in which they work.  Simon said that the budgets are very tight and this is the current state of play.

The Chairman said that he recently attended a meeting with the Voluntary and Community Sector and he said that the sector is receiving reduced funding in future which has resulted in them approaching the County Council to try and work more closely in future.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 31 March 2011.

Future dates:

30 June

29 September

15 December

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 31 March 2011.

Future dates:

30 June

29 September

15 December.