Meeting documents

See above.

The Chairman welcomed Jonathan Dickens, who was the new Local Area Technician for the Chesham Local Area. Jonathan Dickens had previously worked in the Missendens area.

Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader, was on sick leave and members sent her their best wishes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on 25 January 2012

The Minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2012 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

Matters arising

·         Chiltern Credit Union – this was progressing and the Chairman encouraged members to become involved / lend assistance to the Union.

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 receive a full answer on the day of the meeting.  Questions sent in advance will be dealt with first, followed by verbal questions.  Please contact Helen Wailling on 01296 383614 or hwailling@buckscc.gov.uk to submit your question

There were no questions.

There were no petitions.

Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council

Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and Chairman of the 51m Group was welcomed to the meeting. Nick Rose, Leader of Chiltern District Council and a member of the 51m Group, was also in attendance.

Nick Rose introduced Martin Tett and said that a very productive 51m Group meeting had been held earlier that day.

Martin Tett gave the following update:

Legal issues

The decision from the Secretary of State to proceed with High Speed 2 (HS2) had not been unexpected.

Evidence had been built up gradually which could be used for a judicial review (JR) application. JR applications could either be based on a process being flawed or on a decision having been irrational. Most JR applications were based on a process being flawed. It was very hard to prove that a decision had been irrational.

A letter had been submitted to the Court, giving the seven main grounds for the claim, including:

·         The consultation being flawed (two consultations were carried out at the same time – one on the specific route and one on the entire high speed network strategy) (there had not been an adequate consultation on the alternative put forward by the 51m Group, to upgrade the West Coast mainline).

·         The decision to proceed being flawed. In particular the impact on Euston Station.

·         An equalities impact assessment had not been carried out regarding the use of Euston Station. 

A response had been received from the Department for Transport on 27 April 2012. A court date for the JR was expected in November 2012.

51m also supported the JR application being made by the HS2 Action Alliance which challenged the environmental assessment and its conformance with EU law.

Five JR applications had been made in total, by:

·         51M Group

·         High Speed 2 Action Alliance (two applications)

·         Heathrow Hub Group (lobbying for a terminal near Heathrow)

·         Aylesbury Golf Club Group

The Government had asked that all four JRs be consolidated into one hearing.

Engagement

As well as campaigning against HS2, the 51m Group was also working to support residents in engagement. A National Environment Forum meeting had been set up but no local authorities had been invited to this. A Planning Forum had also been set up, but this was for officers only and not for elected members. 51M had stated that this was not acceptable.

HS2 Ltd had set up seven community forums in Buckinghamshire, but there was no over-arching group for the whole County. It was important that any changes made in one forum area were not detrimental to another forum area.

51m had also worked with the leaders of Staffordshire County Council and East Cheshire Council, who were potentially interested in joining 51M if HS2 was detrimental to their areas.

A member said that the HS2 Summit had been very good, and said they were pleased to hear that 51m was working to put an over-arching structure in place. The member said that they were concerned that anger against HS2 could affect the level  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader

Simon Dudley (Transport for Buckinghamshire) referred members to the report on pages 7-14 of the papers. Simon Dudley was in attendance in place of Ann-Marie Davies, who was on sick leave.

Jonathan Dickens, the new Local Area Technician for the Chesham and Chiltern Villages area was also in attendance.

Simon Dudley said that Moveable Vehicle Activated Signs (MVAS) had been piloted in the village of Ford. Temporary speed indicator devices were also available (£100 per week).

A member asked how long it took to replace a sign or lamp column which had been knocked over. Simon Dudley said that a sign would take 6-8 weeks to be replaced. A light column would take 4-6 weeks to be replaced.

A member thanked Jonathan Dickens for his communications and updates to Councillors.

A member of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards Parish Council said that it was not clear what jobs the community road gangs could carry out. Jonathan Dickens said that he would supply a list of jobs (attached).

An updated list of applications for the delegated budget 2012-13 had been circulated.

The budget allocations for 2012-13 had not yet been made. However members could agree schemes in principle, subject to the funding allocated.

Funding for the Local Area Forum in the future would no longer be ring-fenced or divided between Transport and Local Priorities. Instead, there would be one pot of money, which could be allocated as the Local Area Forum decided, although any applications for the funding would have to meet at least one of the Local Area Forum’s agreed priorities (see agenda item 8).

Members expressed disappointment at the late arrival of the proposals for the Highway funding, and requested they were taken back and resubmitted with recommendations and costs. Simon Dudley apologised for the situation that had arisen.

The updated list of applications would be sent out three weeks before the next meeting.

·         Responses to actions template circulated for comment - Christine Gardner

·         Update on "Revitalisation of the town centre and villages" local priority - Fred Wilson / Martin Parkes

·         Update on Building Community Capacity project - Chris Brown

·         Applications for funding from the Local Priorities Budget – Christine Gardner

Christine Gardner referred members to the reports on pages 15-34.

Responses to actions template circulated for comment

Pages 15-17 contained an action plan based on the previously agreed local priorities. Christine Gardner said that this was a working document and that changes could be made to it along the way. Members had already sent their comments on the action plan and these had been incorporated.  A lead from a rural area was needed for the Priority ‘Investment in the revitalisation of the town centre and villages including a Visitor / tourist strategy.’ Chris Brown said that he was happy to lead on this with Fred Wilson.

Update on ‘Revitalisation of the town centre and villages’ local priority (see attached update)

Martin Parkes (Chesham Chamber of Commerce) told members that Chesham had submitted a bid to be a pilot in the Mary Portas Pilots. Performing and visual arts were central to this. Young people would be involved via schools. The activities and excellence already in place needed to be communicated. Arts and culture was all around the area and should be accessible to everyone. The ‘Better Chesham’ Group had agreed that performing arts were a special feature of the local area.

One idea was an Arts Bus, which would be full of pieces of art and would travel round schools and villages. The bus could take art to the villages during the day and take performing arts out in the evenings (e.g. dancers). The aim was also to attract attention towards the local area and to air talent.

Members noted that there was a fire bus and also a painted bus which could be hired from Oxfordshire.

Fred Wilson said that music had been played in Chesham at Christmas. This had attracted a lot of people and had received a lot of feedback. The Chairman said that the arts trail through the shops had also caused a lot of interest. A member of Chartridge Parish Council said that it needed to be better advertised as they had not known about it.

Update on Building Community Capacity Project (see attached update)

Chris Brown, Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards Parish Council, referred members to his update paper. In addition, he said the following:

·         About 30 new volunteers had been recruited but succession-planning was needed for volunteers.

·         It was hoped that the volunteer 4x4 car scheme would lead to a more general car scheme.

·         The pub lunch club was for all ages and cost £6 for a two-course meal.

The Chairman said that the scheme was a very good blueprint for other villages, and had done very well.

A member asked if the initial funding had been used as start-up costs or as ongoing costs. Chris Brown said that the funding had provided a salary for a project manager. The scheme was sustainable as once it had been set up, the project manager would gradually be required less and less.

Applications for funding from the Local Priorities Budget

Christine Gardner told members the following:

·         The Report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Sue Burke, Domestic & Sexual Violence Coordinator

This item was deferred due to timing at the meeting.

Hannah Ladlow, 2012 Events Team, Buckinghamshire County Council

This item was taken out of order.

Hannah Ladlow, Events Officer, 2012 Programme Team at Buckinghamshire County Council, told members that 2012 would be a year of celebration, with both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics and Paralympics.

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

2012 beacons would be lit on 4 June 2012 across the UK. 60 of these would be in Buckinghamshire. The beacons would be included in a book which would be presented to the Queen.

A toolkit had been prepared for parties (street parties or beacon celebrations). There was also an events calendar:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/sites/bcc/leisure/jubilee.page

Bunting had been ordered in bulk, and sold to Parish Councils at a discounted rate. An ongoing discount had been secured, and if any more was required, members should telephone on 0845 3708090 or email buckscc2012@buckscc.gov.uk

London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics

Buckinghamshire was hosting the rowing and canoeing events at Dorney Lake. The Olympic torch would also be going through Buckinghamshire on 9 July 2012, through Buckingham and Aylesbury.

There would also be a flame festival at Stoke Mandeville Stadium for the Paralympic Torch.

Four live site community events were planned, with big screens:

·     Saturday 4th August, Burnham Park, Burnham

·     Sunday 5th August, The Rye, High Wycombe

·     Saturday 11th August, George V playing field, Amersham

·     Saturday 1st September, Vale Park, Aylesbury

The Amersham event was being planned in association with Chiltern District Council, Amersham Town Council, Amersham Library, Amersham Community Centre and Nexus. The event would include sporting activities run by Cadbury’s, a climbing wall, the I-van, a diving display and other sporting and creative groups. 3000 people were expected. A road closure order had been arranged for Woodside Close in Amersham. Parking would be an issue, and it was hoped that there would be a park and ride site at the Amersham School and two primary schools.

The aim was for a legacy to be left in Buckinghamshire after the 2012 Games were finished, and visitors would be encouraged to join the groups after attending the events.

Further information on the Olympics and Paralympics in Buckinghamshire:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/sites/bcc/london2012/london2012.page

The Chairman said that there had been a proposal to start the Local Area Forum meetings earlier, to avoid late finishes.

Members discussed this but agreed that the meeting start time should remain as 7:30pm.

Members noted the slides.

11 July 2012, 7:30pm, venue tbc

26 September 2012, 7:30pm, venue tbc

11 July 2012, 7:30pm, venue tbc

26 September 2012, 7:30pm, venue tbc