Meeting documents

Members discussed the Chairmanship of the meeting. Currently Mr B Chapple OBE and Mr P Martin Co-chair the meetings. As both Members were happy to remain as Co-chair it was proposed that this arrangement continue.

Members were in agreement that Mr B Chapple OBE and Mr P Martin Co-chair the meeting.

Apologies of absence were received from:

Lin Hazell

Marion Clayton

Val Letheren

Mary Baldwin

Madeleine Howe

The Committee was informed that dispensation for some County Councillors was recently discussed at the Buckinghamshire County Council Standards Committee in relation to the proposed routes for High Speed 2 (HS2). It was explained that the dispensation was to stop Members having to declare a prejudicial interest.

The question of dispensations for Parish Councilors was raised and the Committee was advised that this would be a matter for the Head of Legal at the relevant District Council and the District Council’s Standards Committee if appropriate.

of the meeting held on 22 October 2009 to be confirmed as a correct record

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2009 were confirmed as a correct record.

Matters arising

Locality Services Update

It was highlighted that Ms Carley usually provided a locality update but that it had not been included in this agenda. There were some points raised in the previous minutes and the Officer made the following points:

• BALC had been carrying out a consultancy exercise to explore a number of issues including how the County Council relate to Parish Councils. Ms Blue had communicated with over 60 local Councils as part of the exercise.
• The findings of the consultation will be reported back in due course.
• Initial feedback suggests Parish Councils get too many consultation documents. Ways to streamline this need to be considered. There also appears to be patchy feedback in receiving responses to requests for service and this needs to improve.  
• The Parish Council consultation portal is been completed. Over the next couple of months there will be promotion of training for the portal.
• BCC continue to work with Parishes interested in taking on devolved services. Since the last meeting two more Parishes have taken on these services. Ms Blue said that the main constraint is the capacity of Parishes to do more rather than a lack of interest.
• 3 pilot workshops on community leadership have taken place and Officers are currently evaluating feedback. Feedback to those people who took part will be provided.
• Attendance by Town and Parish Councils at the County and Parishes Liaison Committee appears to have decreased over time. The Officer said she would be interested for ideas on how to re-energise the meeting and that she would like to bring the issue back to the next meeting. If anyone has any comments/ideas in the meantime please contact Ms Carley rcarley@buckscc.gov.uk

The Chairman advised the Committee that he had received a letter from Ivinghoe Parish Council to say how beneficial the Local Area Forum was proving to their area.

Ms Aston advised that following a meeting with Inspector Garside, Haddenham LAF would be combining the NAG meetings with the LAF. This was welcomed by Members of the LAF and considered a great achievement.

In relation to re-energising the County and Parishes Liaison Committee a Member asked if any work was being carried out with unparished areas such as Wycombe Town. It was recognised that unparished areas should be involved. It was commented that the County and Parishes committee has a unique role and responsibility as it addresses managing the broad relationships between the tiers of local government. It needs to be considered how things can be run more efficiently to enhance local democracy. Barriers as to why Parish attendance has dropped needs to be addressed e.g. would changing the time and location of meetings assist greater attendance or perhaps the agenda items need to be altered? The Committee was advised that the County Council is open to change. In response a Member said that attendance had ebbed and flowed over the years  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Malcolm Godwin

Malcolm Godwin updated Members and said the following:

• The Market Towns Programme is progressing well and there are two years left to run of the programme. There is some SEEDA money unspent and there have been expressions of interest received from three areas. Following this another town project is being sought to use the remaining balance.
• The launch of the ‘Access to Essential Services’ project in Aylesbury Vale has been delayed due to the difficulty of attracting enough volunteer drivers.
• It is being considered whether the purchased vehicle should be switched to the Chiltern/South Bucks area.
• The Wheels to Work programme is proving successful. All 17 scooters have been allocated and 1 scooter re-allocated. Whether the scheme could be extended to other areas is being considered.
• The Princes Risborough Community Bus has been ordered. This was achieved through the rural access to services grant, s106 monies and the LEADER programme. The aim is for the service to commence in June 2010.

Members discussed the Market Towns Programme and asked whether the project which was being sought had to finish within the programme timeframe. Mr Godwin advised that the SEEDA rural team no longer exists and that the South East Rural Towns Partnership (SERTP) would now formally endorse any decisions. Mr Godwin said that provided the project had been approved and money allocated before March 2012 there may be some flexibility.

A Member commented on the ‘Access to Essential Services’ project and asked Mr Godwin if Volunteer centres had been contacted. Mr Godwin confirmed that all routes had been investigated. The Member highlighted that the Aylesbury Vale Association of Local Councils was running a session, where Ms Hussey, Buckinghamshire Community Action, Rural Transport Partnership Officer would be attending and 84 Parish Councils invited to attend. The Member would highlight the need for volunteers for the project at the session and with Vale Volunteers. BALC also agreed to advertise the need for volunteers.

Mr Godwin handed out copies of the South East Rural Towns Partnership magazine to Members.

Nick Cave, Buckinghamshire Pathfinder Director

Nick Cave, Buckinghamshire Pathfinder Director attended the meeting to provide the Committee with an update on Pathfinder. (A hard copy of the update was provided to Members at the meeting)

The key points were as follows:

• The Strong & Prosperous Communities Local Government Act 2007 placed an obligation on all Local Authorities to develop "two tier" partnership working. 
• The Act also sought commitments from Authorities "to developing a radically improved two-tier approach". 
• In Buckinghamshire the 5 Councils committed to a binding Agreement to deliver enhanced two tier working.
• Pathfinder aims to retain Council sovereignty, whilst harmonising services and reduce duplication.
• Buckinghamshire is one of five Pathfinder areas that also include Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Dorset.
• The core efficiencies required would be achieved through an integrated approach to the design and delivery of Community Engagement, Procurement, Support Services, Customer Services, Demand Led Transport and Waste.
• To attain these efficiencies there has been development of Programme Management and governance arrangements and continued joint working on Communications and change management. 
• Other areas being progressed include; a single Council tax leaflet, Environmental Planning and Environment Health.

Following discussion a Member commented that their Parish Council had benefited from the Joint Grass Cutting service. Concern was raised by another Member who felt the communication of Pathfinder with Parish Councils had broken down and said that as a result there was a growing mistrust of Pathfinder within their area and said that the County and District Councils need to consider how they are being perceived by residents. In response the Chairman said that there could be a working group, whose role is to get the communication link right. Mr C Williams said he would feedback the communication issues to the Implementation group. It was further commented that Pathfinder had been reported at the Executive committee, there had been a seminar held in Wycombe and that Triple and Double hatters should be feeding back.

Mr Cave said that not all projects were applicable to all and that it was a question of targeting communication for the project area. However there may become a point in time when it becomes appropriate to feedback to Parish Council level. It was highlighted that mechanisms for reporting included: Buckinghamshire Joint Implementation Board, County and District Councils, Joint Leaders Meeting and the Pathfinder website. Other partners are communicated with as appropriate.

Mr Williams informed the Committee that the aim of Pathfinder is to deliver efficiency savings and thus reduce council tax. The 5 Councils retain sovereignty and their decision making but integrate as much as possible with the delivery. He then provided a brief update on the following:

Community Engagement

Wycombe District Council piloted a Community Engagement project and it was realised quickly that it involved more partners that just the County and District Councils and that it involved the Police, Fire and rescue and volunteer sector amongst others. It was agreed that this was more relevant to the Buckinghamshire Strategic Partnership Board (BSP) and updates were reported at those  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Tim Bellamy, Buckinghamshire County Council, Transport and Regeneration Manager

Chris Kenneford, Buckinghamshire County Council Planning Manager attended the meeting to inform the Committee of High Speed 2 (HS2). A leaflet produced by Buckinghamshire County Council on HS2, detailing the preferred route, preferred route alternative and the County and Districts preferred route was handed out to Members. The Officer made the following points:

• HS2 Ltd was a company set up by the Government to look at the feasibility of a new high speed rail line between London and the West Midlands.
• The Government has published proposals for a second high speed rail line in Britain, High Speed 2 (HS2)
• HS2 has a preference for one route, known as the ‘preferred route’.
• The proposals are not yet at public consultation stage.
• The consultation is due to start in autumn 2010.
• The HS2 preferred route runs through Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
• Many sections of the preferred route are on viaducts, which is likely to have a severe environmental impact.
• The route also runs through part of Hartwell Park.
• The ‘preferred route’ alternative would see a 700m viaduct through Hughenden Valley.
• HS2 Ltd intends to carry out further work on mitigating noise and vibration. They also want to develop consultation proposals and are keen to know the views of the County, District and Parish Council on how best to carry this out.
• The consultation on the HS2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme was published on 11 March 2010 and runs until 20 May 2010.
• There is a link to this consultation on the Buckinghamshire County Council website and it is also on the Department of Transport website.
• Local Authorities (LAs) have issued press releases about HS2.
• Chiltern District Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council have published leaflets which have been delivered to houses within each district.
• Buckinghamshire County Council has published a leaflet (which Members had received). This has been circulated to all Parish Councils, libraries and other stakeholders around the County.
• HS2 is looking at a direct access at Heathrow Airport and will be looking at the feasibility of options over the summer. This may result in a consultation on the Heathrow Hub.

Members then had a discussion and concern was raised that there appeared to be a lot of splinter groups starting up, which may reduce the impact of one voice. It was suggested that there should be a lead authority. The significance of the alternative preferred route was discussed and concern raised that it was not being discussed and that it may become the route as a consequence.

It was highlighted that there was house blight for those houses near to the preferred route and that those trying to sell would only receive 85% of the open market sum under the exceptional hardship scheme should they qualify. It was highlighted that people are experiencing difficulty in selling their homes since the publication of the route and that people were experiencing hardship now but that there would be a time lapse from the publication  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Mr P Martin informed the Committee that this would be the last County and Parishes Liasion Committee that Ms L Blue would be attending as she would be leaving on 24 May 2010 as she had another job offer. Ms Blue had met with over 64 Parishes during her time at BALC and achieved a lot of good work, which was much appreciated. Ms Blue was wished well in her new post.

Proposed date – Tuesday 12 October 2010 at 2.30pm, Mezzanine room 1, County Hall, Aylesbury

Tuesday 12 October 2010 at 2.30pm, Mezzanine room 1, County Hall, Aylesbury