Meeting documents

See above.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on 10 October 2012

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2012 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

Matters arising

Page 1 – carrying budgets forward – Zoe Dixon said that a paper had gone to the Service Director for Finance and Commercial Services at Buckinghamshire County Council, and discussions would be held about the options available. A reserve could be set up but there would have to be set criteria for this. A member said that this area was not clear constitutionally, as the County Council did not fully delegate funding to the Local Area Forums.

Zoe Dixon said that she would circulate notes regarding her other actions in the Minutes – Action: ZD

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.

Petition re: Chesham Traffic Regulation Orders – 317 Signatures

Petition for the Council to review Traffic Regulation Orders in Chesham and remove Bank Holiday anomalies

Response attached

Hivings Hill Petition – 131 Signatures

Petition for the Council to take action over cars speeding up and down Hivings Hill, as a result of which a number of serious accidents have been recorded in recent years.

Response attached with appendices

Petition re: Traffic Regulation Orders

Joanna Leach and two other residents from Eskdale Avenue were welcomed to the meeting.

Currently the parking restrictions were in place 8am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday. It had been suggested that the restrictions be changed to 8am to 6pm, to make them more ‘resident-friendly.’ Joanna Leach asked if the restrictions could even end at 5:30pm.

The main reason for the restrictions was the buses, and none of these ran after 5pm, Monday to Friday (they finished even earlier on a Saturday). Enforcement officers had been observed at 6:50pm in Eskdale Road, which was considered to be a cynical approach to parking enforcement.

Joanna Leach thanked Noel Brown for his work on this.

The Chairman asked for it to be noted that the response report was incorrect in stating his views, and that these were not his comments.

Anne James (Network Resilience Manager, Buckinghamshire County Council) said that the timings could certainly be looked at, and that the views of residents were taken into account. However not all residents had the same views, and views held could sometimes be very different.

A member of Chartridge Parish Council asked if the main reason for the yellow lines was due to school buses, could it be a term-time only restriction. Anne James said that this would be very difficult to enforce and that there was no legal signage available for this. The only exception was zigzag yellow lines outside a school.

Alan Bacon said that Chesham Town Council was very concerned about the parking issue and was working towards a review of parking. The parking issue was bigger than bank holiday restrictions, and all roads in the town centre needed to be looked at.

Issues needing to be considered were: the times of restrictions; whether lining could be changed; and whether residents’ parking was a possibility. Chesham Town Council had put £5000 towards a parking review and would be applying for further funding from the Local Area Forum.

The Chairman noted that the parking review would take between 1 year and 18 months to complete.

Michael Brand (Buckinghamshire County Council) said that he was disappointed with the response report, and said that he had found it difficult to obtain categorical information. Michael Brand also said that the timescale was too elongated, and that a working group was needed.

Anne James said that it was not clear if exemptions could be made to Traffic Road Orders (TROs). It was not possible to suspend parking enforcements on a particular day as this could be challenged by other members of the public. Anne James said that they were working with the Legal Service at Buckinghamshire County Council. A key decision would be needed to change a TRO, and this was a longer process. If a parking review was carried out, TROs could be changed collectively, to keep the costs down.

The Chairman suggested that the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transport be asked to clarify whether restrictions could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader

Members noted the Report.

Salting leaflets were distributed.

Ann-Marie Davies, Transport Localities Team Leader, said that she had received a question from Latimer Parish Council about the vehicle-activated sign (VAS) on the Latimer Road. The supplier had said that they would reduce the size of the solar panels and the VAS would be changed to 12 volts instead of 24 volts. This should be completed by Easter 2013.

If a second sign was required, this would need to be solar-powered and would need permission from the landowner.

Ann-Marie Davies referred to page 48, which listed the applications for funding for highways schemes which had been agreed in 2012-13. The culvert improvements in Chesham had now been completed.

The verge hardening in Fullers Close in Chesham would be carried out in mid February 2013.

The kerbing of the grass triangles in Cholesbury would be carried out in early February 2013. Both salt bins (in Chesham and in Cholesbury) had been delivered.

The car park entrance improvements in Chesham were pending.

The Chairman asked if pavements would be gritted. Jonathan Dickens, Local Area Technician, said that on the Transport for Buckinghamshire web pages there was a section containing the Winter Maintenance Operational Policy. This included details about when pavements would be salted, subject to resources being available. The cold spell was due to end that weekend.

The Chairman asked that the Local Area Forum’s concerns about pavements not being gritted be taken back Action: JD

The County Council needed to work with the District Council, Town Council, Parish Councils and local residents.

A member of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards Parish Council asked if the ‘snow routes’ had been brought into use (only gritting the major roads). Jonathan Dickens said that this had not been activated.

The member said that farmers had not taken up the offer to clear snow as serviceable snow ploughs had not been available. In Kent only 15% of schools had been closed during the severe weather, as opposed to 85% in Buckinghamshire. Kent had used 160 farmers to clear snow. Buckinghamshire had used two farmers. The member asked how the situation would be improved in the next year – Action: Simon Dudley be asked to report on this.

The Chairman noted that decisions to close schools were made by the headteachers, and that the Council had very little influence with schools which had become academies.

Up to 5 minutes each

Latimer Parish Council

Latimer Parish Council had applied to change its name to ‘Latimer and Ley Hill Parish Council.’ The application was currently with the District Council.

Ashley Green Parish Council

Issues which were important to residents were:

·         Pavements

·         Roads

·         Snowhill estate – slipping on pavements

·         Traffic congestion at Haresfoot School

Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards Parish Council

The Parish Council had been assertive in dealing with issues arising from Luton airport, and had responded to three consultations. They had understood that Chilterns Conservation Board had joined the Group, but had subsequently found out that BALC (Buckinghamshire Association of Local Councils) had voted against this. The Parish Council was writing to BALC to complain about this.

Chartridge Parish Council

There had been two recent achievements:

·         Planning permission had been achieved for six affordable houses in Bellingdon

·         Seven stiles had been replaced with mobility-friendly gates, as part of increasing mobility in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Chesham Town Council

Parking was currently a huge issue (commuters parking). Those people who worked in Chesham Town had to pay for parking out of their salaries.

Recently the Town Council had undertaken a survey about their services and had found that resident satisfaction with services had increased since 2005, which was very pleasing.

Thames Valley Police

There had been a huge spike of dwelling burglaries around Christmas, and most resource had been put towards dealing with this. Metal theft had reduced.

The number of Police personnel was back up to full strength.

10 minutes each plus discussion

·         Chesham Wellbeing Project Update - Nigel Sims, Senior Manager, Economic Development, Place Service, Buckinghamshire County Council

·         Local Nature Partnership – Mai Nielsen, Ecology Adviser, Buckinghamshire County Council

Chesham Wellbeing Project

Nigel Sims, Senior Manager, Economic Development, Place Service, Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC), was welcomed to the meeting.

Nigel Sims took members through some slides (attached), and made the following points:

·         Many parts of Chesham had up to 15% of households in fuel poverty.

·         20 interventions would happen in the current year in Chesham.

·         Areas which were going to be worked upon were crime levels, substance misuse, skills levels and unemployment levels.

·         A key meeting with partners would be held on 15 February 2013.

Christopher Spruytenburg said that he had only recently heard about the Project and said that he represented an area of deprivation. He said it was an excellent initiative and that he would like to be involved in the Project.

Nigel Sims referred to the ‘Families First’ project, which was a response to the national ‘Troubled Families’ scheme. ‘Families First’ was being piloted in Chesham, with 11 families.  The Chairman said that there was also an NHS scheme to provide support to Mums under 19, so that they could stay in education.

A member asked how many years the Chesham Wellbeing Project was for and how much funding there was. Nigel Sims said that the project had to last at least four years to have a chance of succeeding. There was no actual funding, but human resources had been provided. Resources could be released (e.g. £50k from the Department for Work and Pensions).

Paul Nanji said that there were very strong and active communities in the local area.

The Chairman wished the project success and members asked for an update every six months.

Local Nature Partnership (LNP)

Mai Nielsen was welcomed to the meeting. Mai Nielsen took members through some slides (attached).

The Local Nature Partnership (LNP) had come out of the Government’s 2011 White Paper, and was a strategic partnership to set the vision for the area. There had been two LNPs in Buckinghamshire and these had been combined. Buckinghamshire was 13^th on the list of the highest rates for extinction for wild flowers.

A grant had been given by Defra in the previous year to fund workshops and community events. The bid to Defra had been approved in August 2012.

The LNP was being taken forward by a delivery group.

The Chairman noted that there were environmental ‘grass roots’ groups, and that they should lead on the LNP, rather than statutory organisations.

Nigel Sims noted that the removal of woodland could lead to flooding.

A member asked if Bucks Business First were involved with the LNP. Mai Nielsen said that they were.

A member asked if the LNP knew of the environmental groups in Chesham. Mai Nielsen asked for this information to be sent to her.

A member asked when the LNP Board would be established. Mai Nielsen said that the Board would be established over the next couple of months.

Martin Parkes said that environmental groups could be contacted through the Chesham Action Partnership.

Zoe Dixon said that the LNP was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Christine Gardner said that the Local Priorities sub-group had come up with some draft priorities, which had been circulated to members for comment. Three comments had been received. Members asked that the priorities be updated and re-circulated – Action: CG

The Local Area Forum received the Report of Phil Dart, Head of Localities and Safer Communities.

Christine Gardner, Localities and Communities Manager, took members through the report.

Two proposals for funding had been received. Both were time-sensitive.

The U-Project, Chesham

Christine Gardner told members that this was a project to revitalise neighbourliness and community spirit within communities. The project fitted in with the Community Wellbeing Project.

The County Council was prepared to under-write the Project.

The Project would deliver about 27 90-minute sessions for skills learning, such as first aid. It had been piloted already in two areas, and there were case studies for these.

The Project would cost £25 000 (£5000 was requested from the Local Area Forum) and would include employment of two part-time project workers. The project workers would recruit volunteer hosts, and be managed by the Young Foundation.

A member asked why the skills sessions were restricted to people aged 18-25 for the alcohol awareness sessions, and it was suggested that this could be highlighted and the age range widened.

A member said that they felt that the Project was top-heavy, and that more money was being used for administrative costs than for the actual work of the Project. Christine Gardner said that the funding which had been requested from the Local Area Forum would be paying for staff time from the Young Foundation.

A member said that a network base was needed for the Project. Christine Gardner said that there was work going on to look for a shop front in Chesham.

A member asked who would be nominating / selecting the people for the Project, and asked about the target group. Christine Gardner said that there had been a stakeholders’ meeting the week before. The Youth Foundation would be keen to select people for whom there would be the biggest impact. The leads for the Project were Christine Gardner and David Gardner from Chiltern District Council. Ultimately they would be paying the Youth Foundation to deliver the Project.

Waterside Urban Street Art Project

This project would address the growing problem of graffiti in Waterside, Chesham, by training young people in street art.

A member asked who decided which young people could be involved in the Project. Paul Nanji said that the Project was linked to a youth club and community association.

A member said that they needed to find out if the previous project had had any effect. The Chairman said that the last project had been shown to reduce anti-social behaviour by 25% in Waterside. A summer project in Chesham had reduced anti-social behaviour by 65%. It was noted that it would be useful for the LAF to have feedback on this project at a later date – Action: HW

PC Thomson said that the project in Waterside had been very successful, and that more projects like it would be very useful.

A member said that if both the projects were agreed, 10% of the budget for 2013-14 would be spent before  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

·         Young People – more activities and facilities

·         Revitalisation of town centre and villages

·         Strengthening links with Asian communities

·         Older / vulnerable people

·         Highways

·         Protection of the Environment and green spaces

The priorities listed were the current (old) priorities. The last one (protection of the Environment and Green Spaces) had been removed from the list.

Chiltern District Council Young People's Award - David Gardner, Community Projects & Revitalisation Officer, Chiltern District Council

Paul Nanji reported that the Chiltern Young People Awards Ceremony would be held on 12 March 2013 at the Elgiva Theatre and that there had been over 50 nominations.

10 April 2013, 7:30pm, venue tbc

10 April 2013, 7:30pm, venue tbc