Meeting documents

Mr R Reed was confirmed as the Chairman for the Denham And Gerrards Cross LAF and Mr S Chhokar was appointed as Vice Chairman.

The Chairman confirmed that the appointments had been agreed by the Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health and confirmation of LAF Chairman had been discussed at the County Council meeting in May 2017.  The Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health, Mr N Brown, could be contacted at County Hall should LAF members wish to discuss the procedure.

Apologies were received from Mr D Dhillon.

To disclose any Personal or Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

There were no declarations of interest.

Update from Mr P Hodson.

Mr P Hodson gave an overview of the terms of reference provided in the agenda pack.

The forum noted the terms of reference.

The Gerrard’s Cross Town Council representative raised the point that it was felt there was no need for the forum to be taking place. There was some discussion around the need for the Denham & Gerrard’s Cross forum; the Chairman invited the Members that still had issues with the forum to take these up with the Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health.

The representative for Gerrard’s Cross Town Council left the meeting.

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.

A member asked why Gerrard’s Cross felt there was no need for the LAF to be taking place. The Chairman invited the member to take this up with the Gerrard’s Cross representative directly as he was not aware of the answer.

None Received.

There were no petitions.

Report attached for information. Verbal update to be provided.

Ms R Taylor introduced herself and Mr W Fabian to the forum; she gave an overview of the report provided in the agenda pack. The following points were raised in discussion:

·         The Chairman gave an updated list as to road resurfacing works that were due to be jet patched in the area due to additional funding from County Councillors including the Chairman of the LAF and the Leader of the council Mr M Tett. The programme of works was yet to be put together as the jet patching was  weather dependant.  TfB were hoping to have completed works prior to December, failing this it was advised completion date would be February 2018. It was noted as soon as TfB had a date they would further advise the forum. The list included:

o   Alderbourne Lane, Fulmer

o   Fulmer Lane, Fulmer

o   Red Hill, Denham

o   Slade Oak Lane, Denham

o   Tile House lane, Denham

·         It was asked if the old fashioned, tar and chip systems were still used, where the full surface was removed and then replaced. It was confirmed this was still used; although there was an updated practice but all works were done in a very similar way. It was just a much faster process now.

·         A typo of page 27 of the report was pointed out. The report should have read that Eco Driving would make an improvement to MPG rather than a reduction in MPG

The Chairman thanked Ms R Taylor for the update.

Update to be provided by Thames Valley Police.

PC Teresa Covey introduced herself to the forum, Statistics were passed out to the forum and a copy have been attached to the minutes for information. During discussion key points were highlighted as follows:

• Currently down to 2 police officers to cover the vast area.

• Travellers; this has been a countywide issue. There were a lot of encampments in the Denham area, TVP had started to record each encampment. The Gypsy and traveller officer within the County Council was doing all that was possible to resolve the issue, it was noted there was more of a consistency issue than anything else, thiswas an ongoing issue that is being looked into further.

• Old Mill, prior Meadow, complaints from residents- it was noted that rubbish still remained left by the previous traveller encampment.  This land was actually owned by the County Council, therefore a formal report would need to be made through the  County Council website, www.buckscc.gov.uk
• Travellers were parking on the footpath by the roundabout, which residents found very intimidating to walk past. The only solution to this was for complaints to be made to the police although it was noted that there was never going to be a quick and easy solution to this.

• There was no mention of Gypsy and Traveller issues in the recent crime and commissioner’s report, although TVP were aware that there were other serious issues that have taken priority. Although it was noted that this was a serious uninsured issue that needed police investigation as it had quite a high level of impact on society.

• Were there specific officers that carry firearms and are they ever used? It was advised only in certain areas by a specific team.

• Police stations were closing down; it was queried whether any discussions about where residents could go locally to report these issues had been had as  there were less stations. A resident had triedto report a fence being knocked down, but had been unable to report it over the telephone and wereadvised they had to go to Amersham to report it This was notvery convenient for residents and would have a negative impact on residents reporting incidents. TVP agreed that this comment would be raised and an update would be provided at the next Forum meeting.

ACTION: PC T Covey

• It was noted that any incidents other than a traffic accident could be recorded online or over the telephone.

It was confirmed that there were areas on BCC website to report travellers and fly tipping.

The Chairman thanked PC Covey for the update.

Update to be provieded by Mr P Hodson.

Mr P Hodson gave an overview of the report provided; the following points were raised in discussion

·         It was established that clarification was needed around the match funding for the CCTV proposal.

·         The forum agreed the proposal in principal once further investigation and clarification had been advised.

·         A member of the forum raised the issue with Denham bus stop drainage and the issues being faced. The forum agreed the proposal in principle, subject to further discussion and agreement on match funding.

·         The forum held a discussion on match funding and whether the Forum could agree a presumption of an amount of match funding that would need to be reached to allow projects to go ahead.

·         A future application would be submitted from Gerrards Cross around car parking, the proposal to be put forward would be for be for a feasibility study to be completed to find a solution for the on-going car parking issues. It was requested that some of the budget be ring fenced for the project. It was advised in regard to this year’s funding that the funds had already been spent, although there may be more room to manoeuvre for next year’s budget, a proposal would need to be put in to be considered.

The Chairman thanked Mr Hodson for the update.

Verbal update to be provided for information.

Ms J Austin- Lavery gave an overview of Prevention Matters projects in the area:

Written report attached for information.

The Chairman thanked Ms Austin-Lavery for the update.

Report attached for information.

The forum noted the report.

·         Venue for future meetings- clerk to investigate. Suggestions or volunteers from the forum would be appreciated.

ACTION: Miss C Beevers

31 January 2018, venue to be confirmed.

·         31 January 2018, Hedgerley Village Hall

·         04 July 2018- venue to be confirmed

·         05 September 2018- venue to be confirmed