Meeting documents

Apologies were received from Claire Mowat and Ravi Gidar.

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests.

None.

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on 26 January 2010

The Action Notes for the meeting held on 26 January 2010 were confirmed

Report from Chris Schwier.

Members are asked to decide on which schemes to put forward under the delegated budget.

Members received the report from the Head of Transport which sought determination of which schemes should be carried out in the financial year 2010/11.  Members noted that the delegated budget amounted to £33,086.74 and a list of the schemes was attached to the report.

In answer to a member’s question about how vandal-proof the glass in the bus shelters was, it was noted that some bus shelters are wooden with no glass but that members could order the type of shelters they wanted.  Chris Schwier agreed to discuss this further with members outside of the meeting.  Members agreed that the bus shelters on the list should be considered as a priority and that a request should be made for one VAS sign, not two as noted in the list.

The following schemes were agreed:

The Wexham and Ivers Local Area Forum agreed the list of schemes to be carried out on 2010/11 as set out above.

Report from Chris Schwier.

Members received the report of the Head of Transport, which requested that delegated budget schemes for the financial year 2011/1012 are submitted to Chris Schwier as soon as possible and at the latest by the next meeting on 30 June.  The budget for the year 2011/2012 will be £26,111.00

The schemes put forward need to reflect the priorities arising from the Local Area Planning Workshop.  It was agreed that the schemes would be presented to the meeting on 30 June.

Action: Agenda item for June meeting

Chris Schwier informed members of the Service Information Centre (SIC) which should be in place by June 2010.  The programme will give day to day updates and mapping for each job which has been requested and in the process of being completed.  Those who do not have access to the internet will continue to be updated as needed. Members and Parish Clerks have been invited to see the SIC in action.

The Operative making the repairs will feed back information to the centre via hand held devices which will give constant updates on work being carried out, including photographs of the work before and after completion.  It was noted that work being undertaken by outside contractors would also be included in the information which will include the type of work being undertaken and by which contractor.

The Chairman asked about repairs made by outside contractors once they have completed their works, which then need further repair.  It was noted that there is a two year warranty on any road works carried out by utility companies.  During that time they will be called back to ensure that any repairs are permanent.

It was hoped that at the next meeting there will be a demonstration of SIC, but this will be confirmed nearer the date.

Action:  Possible Agenda Item for the next meeting

There will be a 20 minute period for public questions, and each speaker will have a maximum of three minutes to speak.

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.

Speedwatch system in Richings Park

Wendy Matthews from Richings Park Residents Association gave members a briefing on the work carried out in relation to the speedwatch system which was set up jointly by Buckinghamshire County Council and Thames Valley Police.  Most County Councils operate the system and provide funding for equipment which is authorised by TVP.  Volunteers are used to enter data onto a website.  However, in the past the data from the roadside was collated by hand and a request has now been made for a camera based scheme which will photograph the speeding vehicle in order to make identification easier.  Once the data is entered on the TVP website, the speeding drivers will receive warning letters.  The drivers can be prosecuted if they repeat the offence three times.

Having the camera would increase accuracy and reduce the number of volunteers involved.  It could also be shared with Wexham.

Wendy Matthews stated that they were asking for funding for the camera in the amount of £500.  It was agreed that the request would be discussed under the agenda item on Local Area Forum budgets.

To receive petitions addressed to County, District or Parish Councils

Request for Pedestrian Crossing in Thorney Lane North

Request for Pedestrian Crossing in Thorney Lane

The Chairman informed members that she presented the petition to County Council at its meeting on 22 April.

A report from Rebecca Dengler was presented to members in answer to the petition, stating that the Travel Planning Team are currently working with Iver Village Infant School on their School Travel Plan, and will arrange a visit to discuss this latest issue.

Alan Oxley stated that a School Travel Plan had been submitted but needed amending to encourage people to walk to school using the footpath to Grange Way rather than going along the main road.  Bill Lidgate, as Chairman of the Rights of Way Committee, offered to liaise with Mike Walker should work be needed to ensure that the footpath is accessible.  Chris Schwier stated that this service has been devolved to Iver Parish Council, who should be contacted if any work was needed.  Mark Averill stated that the LAF could also look at how to deal with these types of issues through the Local Priorities Budget.

Concern was expressed that petitions may raise expectations.  It was noted that some petitions are successful and this particular crossing may produce a high score and receive funding.  However, if the Local Area Forum were to make it a priority it could be paid for via the delegated budget.

A member expressed concern that there may be a ‘league table’ for priorities. However, Chris Schwier stated that this was not the case and agreed to provide members with the criteria used to established whether a crossing was feasible. In answer to a member’s question about how the public will know whether or not a request for a crossing has met the criteria, the Chairman stated that the School Travel Plan will communicate the outcome.  With regard to the outcome of the petition, members noted that the local member will be informed of the decision and outcome. 

Geoff Spring expressed concern that money was needed to undertake a survey prior to putting in a crossing.  It was noted that if members were minded they could ask for the survey to be undertaken as part of their Local Priorities Budget.  Mr Spring stated that it appeared that if the survey could be paid for by the Local Area Forum there was no need for a petition.  Mark Averill agreed to provide an explanation on the process.

Action:  Mark Averill to provide the criteria used in connection with crossings

Other Items discussed

Members discussed publicity for meetings and how this was carried out.  It was noted that posters were sent to Parish Clerks so that they could be placed on notice boards.  It was also suggested that dates of future meetings could be placed in the local press and parish magazines.

Presentation from John Charlton, Parking Services Manager (Strategy), Transport for Buckinghamshire

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting John Charlton, Parking Specialist, who briefed members on the County Parking and Enforcement Policy which was out for consultation.

John informed members that officers were working on the document with District Councils, drawing together policies from central government and also areas where Civil Enforcement Areas (CEA) were in place.  Although there is no CEA in South Bucks District a feasibility study was carried out, which concluded that it would not be financially viable for the area.  The County Council has written to the three CEAs in the County asking them if they would prepared to form a consortium or hand back authority to the County Council.  Work is being undertaken to look at the economies of scale to become self-financing in relation to costs for back office staff and parking attendants. 

Because there is no CEA in South Bucks a waiting restriction review will not be undertaken, but Val Letheren, Cabinet Member for Transport, has asked John Charlton to look at waiting restrictions in Beaconsfield.  John stated he was aware that the PCSOs in South Bucks were taking on some enforcement on parking restrictions, but he asked members to feed back any comments about the parking policy or waiting restrictions in their area.

Members raised the issue of parking around Wexham Park Hospital.  It was noted that Emergency Services had suggested parking should be removed from Wexham Street because it was an emergency services route.  It would be a priority if there was funding for this.  Funding will need to be sought elsewhere such as the Local Area Forum or Parish Councils.  It was noted that the Wycombe LAF had put in money for such a scheme and, therefore, if members saw fit, the Wexham and Ivers LAF could consider it in the future.

The Chairman asked whether Wexham Park Hospital had been approached for funding to relieve the parking situation.  It was noted that the Hospital has no funds and money could only be forthcoming through the District or Parish Councils or the LAF itself. 

With regard to funding it was noted that approximately £3,000 would be needed for the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) plus legal fees. It was noted that where requests were made for waiting restrictions, research would also need to be undertaken on surrounding areas where vehicles would be displaced.  It was also noted that if other enforcement, such as double yellow lines, was needed it could be covered in one TRO.  A residents parking scheme would also need to go through the necessary procedure.  John Charlton agreed to send an officer to look at the areas where it was considered parking restrictions were needed in order to discuss the implications with the LAF.

Action:  John Charlton to send an officer to look at the areas which members of the LAF considered were in need to parking restrictions and agreed to bring the outcome back to the LAF

Geoff Spring asked whether there would be liaison with Slough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report from Stephen Young.

Members received the report of the Head of Service, Locality Services, which set out the arrangements for the allocation of the funding devolved to Local Area Forums in 2010/11.  The report also outlined the amount of funding awarded to each project in the Wexham and Iver Local Area in 2009/10.

The report stated that the amount of money devolved for Transportation Local improvements was £34,006.74, whereas the report from Chris Schwier stated the amount was £33,086.74 and it was agreed that this would be investigated and members would be informed of the correct amount.

Action:  Chris Schwier

(Addendum, subsequent to the meeting Chris Schwier confirmed that the amount of money devolved for Transportation Local Improvements for 2010/11 is £33,086.74)

The budgets for the year 2010/11 are as follows:

With regard to the Local Priorities Budget, the outcomes from the Local Area Planning Workshop will decide the priorities for 2010/11, for instance the speedwatch equipment and parking restrictions for Wexham Street.  The deadline by which the budget must be spent is March 2011.

The Early Years Services has revised its criteria and now covers 0-19 years.  However, the budget for Positive Activities for Young People covers 11-19 years only. 

PAYP funding needs to be used for addressing specific areas identified in the Local Area Plan, using the following one or both of the following mechanisms:

• Direct funding of LAF youth priorities identified through the Local Area Plan and a programme of activities commissioned by the LAF;
• Creation of local area youth plans and youth-led forums.  The need to involve young people in the decision making process and in this connection funding could be used to support Youth Councils or Forums or for training for young people to empower them and make them part of the community.

In answer to a member’s question about whether the money could be used for parenting classes, it was noted that PAYP would not cover this, but it was possible that funding could be sought from the Early Years Grant.  Once the Early Years Team provides the criteria for the funding, discussions can beheld with regard to the process for bids.  It may be that the Early years Team will ask for applications to be received through the LAF, who could then evaluate them and feed them back to the Early Years Team.

Members discussed the need for a youth worker in the Wexham area.  It was noted that Youth Services need to make a saving of £1m from their budget and may be re-structuring, which will have an impact on their services. 

If the money from PAYP is to be used to involve young people, it may be that the LAF could work with the Participation Team as well as the District Council and voluntary sector, in establishing a Youth Plan and Forum.  Concern was expressed that the funding may be used up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

• Local Transport Plan 3 Consultation

Please follow the link to see the results of the consultations held.  A report will be given at the LAF meeting on 30 June 2010.

[Links no longer valid]

• PAYP and Local Priorities Delegated Budgets 2010/11 – June
• Transformation of Adult Day Services – June
• Good Neighbour Scheme

• Local Transport Plan 3 Consultation  
• PAYP and Local Priorities Delegated Budgets 2010/11 – June
• Youth Provision in the Wexham and Iver areas
• Transport Delegated Budget 2011/12
• Service Information Centre – demonstration
• Local Area Planning Workshop - outcome

With regard to the Good Neighbour Scheme a member asked what had been done with the money allocated to the scheme at the last meeting.  It was agreed that that a report would be presented at the meeting on 30 June.  (Report attached as appendix 1)

The next meeting of the Wexham and Ivers Local Area Forum will be held on Wednesday 30 June 2010 at 7.30pm

Dates of future meetings

13 October

The next meeting of the Wexham and Ivers Local Area Forum will be held on Wednesday 30 June 2010 at 7.30pm

Attached is a report from Jim Stevens, Head of Transportation

Members received and noted the report of the Head of Transport, which provided a comprehensive update on current and relevant Transportation issues in relation to the Wexham and Iver area.

The Wexham and Ivers Local Area Forum noted the contents of the report.