Meeting documents

Members agreed that Noel Brown should continue as Chairman for 2012-13.

Fred Wilson (Chiltern District Council) was appointed as Vice-Chairman for 2012-13.

See above for apologies.

John Axon (Ashley Green Parish Council) welcomed members to the Old School in Ashley Green.

The Chairman welcomed Zoe Dixon (Senior Manager, Planning, Advisory and Compliance, Place Service, Buckinghamshire County Council) who was the new Lead Area Officer for Chesham and the Chiltern Villages.

The Chairman also welcomed back Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader, who had been away on sick leave.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on 2 May 2012

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 May 2012 were agreed and signed as a correct record, with the following amendment:

·         Page 4, agenda item 7, 6^th paragraph to be amended to read "Members expressed disappointment at the late arrival of the proposals for the Highways funding,…"

Matters arising

Page 4 – Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader, apologised for the late arrival of the highways funding proposals at the last meeting.

Page 7 – The Chairman reminded members about the Live Community Event on 11 August 2012 in King George V Playing Field, Amersham.

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.

Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader

The Local Area Forum received the Report of Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader.

Ann-Marie Davies apologised for the delay to works in Red Lion Street, Waterside and The Broadway. This work was going out for competitive tender, as was required for larger pieces of work, and an update would be provided with the Minutes – Action: AMD

The Chairman asked that as much warning as possible be given for works in the centre of Chesham.

Ann-Marie Davies told members that SWARCO, the company responsible for fitting Moveable Activated Signs (MVAS) had written to all Parish Councils about purchasing an MVAS. Prices started at £2000. A VAS had been fitted on the Latimer Road but had been much too big for the location. A meeting was being held the following day to agree a way forward.

A member of Latimer Parish Council said that the Police had been checking speeds on the Latimer Road earlier that day.

A member said that plants had grown up along the edge of the Latimer Road. The Chairman said that there was also an overgrowth of vegetation on White Hill, near the Grammar School, which was a safety hazard.

Jonathan Dickens, Local Area Technician, said that previously there had been a contractor who regularly carried out proactive vegetation clearance. Now the only resource for clearing vegetation was the community gang, which was only in the same area every five weeks. Community gangs were in high demand and it was difficult to balance conflicting priorities. In addition, the community gangs had been needed at Dorney for clearance work before the Olympics. It was hoped that the backlog of vegetation clearance would be cleared by the end of September 2012, and Latimer Road would be made a priority for this.

A member asked if Chesham Town Council could assist with vegetation clearance. Jonathan Dickens said that he would speak to the Town Clerk.

A member asked about verge-cutting. Jonathan Dickens said that this was carried out by a separate contractor.

A member asked about a road closure at Blackwell Hall Lane. Jonathan Dickens said that this closure was due to works by a utility company.

A member of Chartridge Parish Council said that their Parish Council was willing to use a contractor for vegetation cutting in their area, but had been told that they could not use this contractor. Ann-Marie Davies said that a letter had been received about this and that the matter had been escalated. Transport for Buckinghamshire acknowledged that the contractor had carried out a high standard of work. It had been agreed that going forward Transport for Buckinghamshire would honour the arrangements put in place by the Parish Council for grips maintenance.

The Chairman thanked Jonathan Dickens for his work since starting as the Local Area Technician for the Chesham and Chiltern Villages area.

Christine Gardner told members the following:

·         The Report starting on page 21 described how the 2011-12 delegated budgets had been spent.

·         The two budgets which previously had been separate were being merged to form a single Local Priorities Budget (ring-fencing had been removed).

·         Current applications for 2012-13 were described in the revised report in the supplementary pack, pages 1 onwards. This was the first year in which a combined report had been prepared. Paragraph 6 showed projects which had already been funded in 2012-13. The budget remaining was £38 499.

·         The transport applications had been listed according to the scores allocated by the transport officers. These scores were provided as a guide only and could be overridden by Local Area Forum members. The scoring took a number of factors into account, including accessibility, road congestion and road safety.

Members said the following:

·         There was a concern from Parish Council members that a large proportion of the recommended schemes were for Chesham Town. The schemes needed to be looked at with fairness.

·         One of the schemes put forward by Chartridge Parish Council (pages 10-11) could be funded in part.

·         £4000 was being requested for a flooding issue in Fullers Hill, Chesham. However £171k had already been provided by Central Government for flooding issues in Buckinghamshire.

Ann-Marie Davies said that the national funding for flooding had been for Wycombe and Chesham, and not just for the Chesham area. A Surface Water Management Plan had been developed and was available via this link:

http://www.transportforbucks.net/Flooding/Surface-Water-Management.aspx

The Plan contained three schemes in Chesham and one in High Wycombe.  Bids would be made for Government funding in the current financial year for Chesham works and in the next financial year for High Wycombe works.

Zoe Dixon (Lead Area Officer) said that she could provide information on these – Action: ZD

A member confirmed that a bid had been made for Government funding for the proposed scheme in Fullers Hill.

Members agreed all the recommended schemes on page 2 apart from the scheme for Fullers Hill and the three grit bins for Chesham. 

The Chairman asked if the remaining funding (£7350) could be carried forward to the next financial year for the scheme for the resurfacing of the bridleway that led alongside Old Sax Lane (at a cost of £18500). Christine Gardner said that she would find out, but that if this was not possible, the Local Area Forum confirmed that the resurfacing of Old Sax Lane would be made a priority scheme for the next financial year. Action: CG

The Vice-Chairman said that 100% of the community funding proposals had been agreed, where was only c.32% of the highways projects had been agreed. The Vice-Chairman asked if more funding could be requested for highways schemes. The Chairman said that this was the first year in which the budgets had been combined, but that this point should be borne in mind for the future.

Christine Gardner said that at the next meeting the findings of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Teresa Martin, Senior Domestic Violence Co-ordinator

The Chairman welcomed Teresa Martin, Senior Domestic Violence Co-ordinator, Buckinghamshire County Council, who spoke on Domestic Abuse.

The following was noted:

·           Domestic abuse is a national issue.

·           Domestic abuse is about power and control over another person.

·           Domestic abuse is a pattern of behaviour, rather than a one-off incident.

·           In 2011 there were approximately 3000 recorded domestic abuse crimes in Buckinghamshire.

·           In 2011 there were approximately 3000 non-recorded domestic abuse crimes. Incidents marked as non-recorded were often public disorder or related to anti-social behaviour.

·           It was estimated that 16 500 incidents had occurred in Buckinghamshire in 2011, which was many more than the reported number of incidents.

·           The cost to Buckinghamshire of domestic abuse was estimated to be £53 546,387 per year. The cost of Domestic Abuse nationally was estimated to be £23 billion.

·           In 2011-12 there had been three domestic homicides in Buckinghamshire.

·           Drugs and alcohol are not a cause of domestic abuse, but a catalyst for it.

·           Practitioners are given training to support them in being able to identify abuse and understand the context.

·           The third Domestic Violence Strategy is being written, and will include an Action Plan.

·           Teresa Martin’s contact details: 01296 383701   tmartin@buckscc.gov.uk

·           The National Domestic Violence Helpline - 0808 2000 247

·           Directory of Services: http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/community_safety/domestic_violence/local_national_services.page

The Chairman thanked Teresa Martin for her presentation.

Members discussed the presentation and how victims of domestic violence could be helped.

A member asked if Teresa Martin and her team worked with District Councils or Town Councils. Teresa Martin said that they worked very closely with District Councils, the Police, the Probation Service and Health Services, through the Community Safety Partnership.

A member said that they had noticed a number of campaigns targeting domestic abuse among people aged 16-25. Teresa Martin said that this was the most common age profile for domestic abuse. Work had been carried out with Bucks New University, and students were setting up a drop-in and support scheme, to be launched in September 2012.

A member said that there was a belief that domestic abuse did not happen in rural communities, and asked how this could be addressed. Teresa Martin said that the Women’s Institute has carried out research on domestic abuse in rural communities. Most domestic abuse in rural communities was reported through Health Visitors, who received a lot of training about this, and also through GPs.

A member said that schools were an important place for young people to get information about tackling domestic abuse.

A member said that abuse of older people also took place, and that this was cross-generational.

·         Health inequalities in the Chesham and Chiltern Villages area

·         Health and Wellbeing Strategy / transfer of public health functions to Buckinghamshire County Council

Piers Simey, Consultant in Public Health, Public Health NHS Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Cluster

Piers Simey, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Cluster, was welcomed to the meeting. Piers Simey gave an update presentation on Public Health (slides attached) focusing on issues requested by the Chairman.

Overall, Buckinghamshire has a very healthy population. However health outcomes vary according to geographical area and deprivation levels.  More information on health and wellbeing issues for Buckinghamshire is available in the Director of Public Health’s Report:

[Link no longer valid]

Chesham’s Local Area Profile contains useful information on health and wellbeing in the area.

According to the ACORN classification, 16% of those in the Chesham area were classified as ‘hard pressed,’ which was 44% higher than Buckinghamshire overall.  8% of those in the Chesham area were of ‘moderate means,’ which was 13% higher than Buckinghamshire overall.

More than one in five children (22%) in the Chesham area were in England’s most educationally deprived 30%. This is higher than the Buckinghamshire average.

In the Chesham area fewer people felt safe after dark than in Buckinghamshire overall, and there was less community cohesion.

There were also slightly higher early death rates in the Chesham area than in Buckinghamshire overall.

A member suggested that money could be saved if people had regular check-ups. Piers Simey said that NHS healthchecks were being carried out for all those aged 40-75 (without pre-existing conditions) who would be invited once every five years.  National modelling suggests that this programme should lead to a cost saving.

A member said that there was a need for better crossover work between the County Council and the District Councils. Piers Simey said that the Healthy Communities Partnership worked across these organisations.

A member said that the shift to preventative care was exciting. The Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum had previously provided funding for local preventative projects such as ‘Movers and Shakers’ and a project to address rural isolation (in Cholesbury).

Zoe Dixon, Lead Area Officer for the Chesham and Chiltern Villages area

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

26 September 2012 10 October 2012, 7:30pm (please note change of meeting date)

10 October 2012, 7:30pm (please note change of meeting date)