Meeting documents

Venue: St Laurence Room, Market Square, Winslow, MK18 3AB

Contact: Liz Wheaton 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence / Changes in Membership

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Trish Cawte from Winslow Town Council and Richard Blakelock from Hardwick Parish Council.

2.

Declarations of Interest

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

County Councillor Netta Glover brought to the meetings attention that David Rowlands has been awarded with a National Gold Badge by the Royal British Legion for his meritorious service to the Royal British Legion in Winslow over the last 30 years.

3.

Action Notes pdf icon PDF 59 KB

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on Wednesday 7 September 2011.

Minutes:

The action notes of the meeting held on Wednesday 7 September 2011 were agreed as a correct record.

 

Matters arising

 

The Chairman updated Members on the matters arising from the previous meeting.

 

The Chairman explained that Martin Tett, Leader of Bucks County Council, has recently visited Winslow.  The Chairman took him to the Library and Youth Centre and introduced him to the staff there.  Martin Tett was very impressed with the roads in the North of the County.  County Councillor Brenda Jennings was also at this meeting.

 

Item 8

 

Ann-Marie Davies confirmed that the remaining budget (£2,000) has been spent – 6 new salt bins were purchased for the area.

 

Item 15

 

A Member asked why the terms of reference of the LAF was not an item on the agenda for this meeting.  Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, responded by saying that there is a Task and Finish Group currently being set-up which is looking into the workings of LAFs and he felt sure that the terms of reference of the LAF will be part of the review.

4.

Chairman's Update pdf icon PDF 270 KB

  • Budget update
  • HS2 update

 

Minutes:

County Council budget and Bucks and Milton Keynes and Rescue budget

 

The Chairman read out the following update in relation to Bucks County Council’s budget and the Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue budget.

 

"The County Council met on Thursday 16 February to discuss the budget for 2012/13 and 2014/15.  Martin Tett, Leader of the Council, gave a budget speech outlining the decisions made and what the budget for the next three years will look like.

 

The Council has approved the budget plans, including a freeze on the Council Tax for the second year in succession.  The budget requires the Council to make £42 million of revenue reductions over the next three years, on the top of the £26 million that have been made in 2011/12.  85% of these savings are service efficiencies rather than cuts, meaning that there will be a minimal impact on the level and quality of services provided to our residents.

 

In response to the need to make savings, as well as the recent public consultations, the County Council has agreed the following:

 

  • Protection of services to the most vulnerable where possible;
  • £30 million capital investment on roads over the two year period 2011/12 and 2012/13 with another £15 million in the following years;
  • Significant capital investment in our school buildings and property;
  • Grant funding for the voluntary sector maintained.

 

The net operating budget for 2012/13 is £328 million with capital investment of about £106 million.

 

In terms of Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue budget, the Chairman reported that there will be no increase in council tax for the second year running but £4.8 million of savings over three years still have to be made.  Moving the Bucks Control Centre to a combined centre in Cambridge/Suffolk will make a saving of around £600,000 a year.  The move is taking place in April 2013.

 

HS2 update

 

The Chairman reported that Members of 51m, the alliance of local authorities opposed to HS2, have served a formal letter on the Secretary of State for Transport asking that the decision to proceed be rescinded and giving notice that they may otherwise challenge the decision by way of judicial review.

 

Winter Maintenance

 

The Chairman congratulated TfB on all the positive comments the team have received following the bad weather.  The Chairman showed Members a copy of a leaflet which has been produced which compiles all the comments received from members of the public.  A copy of the leaflet is attached.

 

Reduction of LAF meetings

 

The Chairman started by explaining the reason for reducing the number of meetings was primarily due to a need to save costs.  The County Council is having to make significant savings and people are losing their jobs and there is enormous pressure on remaining staff.  He went on to say that some LAF areas have reduced to 3 meetings or, in some cases 2 meetings a year.  It costs around £1,000 in administrative costs to run each meeting, therefore the Chairmen of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Question Time pdf icon PDF 19 KB

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.

Minutes:

The Chairman explained that two questions have been received in advance of the meeting – one from Mr van de Poll and one from Mr Gilbey.

 

Mr van de Poll emailed his concerns in relation to Bucks County Council’s policy in providing email addresses of Bucks County Council employees.  A written response from Steve Bignell, Operations Manager at Bucks County Council, was included in the agenda papers.

 

Mr van de Poll felt that the response was unsatisfactory and said that there appeared to be no consistency in relation to the explanation.  Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, responded by saying that there has been further correspondence on this issue and the policy is currently being reviewed and options are being looked at.  He asked Members to email him if they have any similar issues in future.

 

Mr van de Poll commented that he hoped that the Task and Finish Group who are looking into LAFs will speak to Members of the LAFs in order to pick up on the areas of concern.  Mark explained that the Task and Finish Group has only just formed and has not met yet and the scope of the task and finish group still needs to be confirmed.  Ann-Marie Davies said that it is hoped to hold a number of workshops for LAF Members which will provide an opportunity for issues and concerns to be raised.

 

Mr Gilbey, Great Horwood Parish Council, emailed the following question.

 

"Following the disquiet from many town and parish councils concerning the use of the New Homes Bonus by AVDC, it would be interesting to hear how much Bucks County Council has received, what it has used it for and what is its policy for deciding the allocation of funding in the future?"

 

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, responded by saying that Bucks County Council received £417,000 in 2011/12 for the New Homes Bonus.  How the funding is going to be allocated is still under active discussion and no formal decision has been made.

 

A Member asked who is responsible for making this decision.  The Chairman suggested that he speaks to County Councillor Peter Cartwright, who is the Cabinet Member for Resources.

6.

Petitions

None received

Minutes:

There were no petitions.

7.

East/West Rail briefing and actions

Patrick O’Sullivan, Project Manager, East/West Rail Consortium, will present this item.

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced Patrick O’Sullivan from East/West Rail.  During his presentation, he made the following main points.

 

  • EWR western section is now part of the National Infrastructure Plan.  The Chancellor’s announcement is basically a prior approval to proceed, subject to two conditions:
    • A satisfactory business case;
    • A satisfactory local contribution is agreed with Government.
  • The Government is now committed to seeing the project through.
  • The rail industry are working with the Consortium and Department of Transport to ensure the conditions are met by Spring 2012 and beyond this, to move forward with practical detailed steps to plan and deliver the railway on the ground.
  • The Consortium is developing a funding package to enable delivery of the scheme through both the public and private sector.
  • The benefit/cost ratio is 6:3 (100% public sector funded and up to 11.3 with a 15% contribution from the private sector).
  • Iain Stewart MP for Milton Keynes South has established an ‘All party Parliamentary Group’ (APPG) to assist with the Westminster campaign.
  • Within the business case, the Consortium is forecasting that within the initial 5 years of operating the new train services, a positive income stream will be generated through the farebox leading to the train services no longer requiring public subsidy.
  • The announcement regarding the High Level Output Specification for CP5 (2014-19) is due in July.  Between now and then, the Consortium is looking at the planning process which also involves looking at which parts of the railway can be permitted for development and which bits are not.
  • A Joint Delivery board has been set up with local council members and it will be charged with the overall governance of the project.
  • County Councillor David Rowlands is on the Delivery Board.
  • A new station will be built at Winslow which will serve as a key location for commuters in North Bucks wishing to travel both east to Bedford or west to Bicester, Oxford and Reading as well as to Milton Keynes and down to Aylesbury, Princes Risborough and Wycombe.  A Member asked what the timescale for the service to Aylesbury and beyond will be.  Mr O’Sullivan responded by saying that the Aylesbury to Princes Risborough line could be developed as part of phase 2 but the plans are to build the whole line in one go.

 

The Chairman thanked Mr O’Sullivan for his very useful presentation and said that the LAF would invite him to a future meeting to report on progress of the project.

8.

Diamond Jubilee & London 2012 - Bucks involvement pdf icon PDF 24 KB

Provisional presentation by Vanessa King, 2012 Programme Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced Christine James, Communications Assistant for the 2012 Programme Team.  Christine provided Members with information on the planned Diamond Jubilee events and explained that a celebration toolkit has been produced to help communities to celebrate.  She went on to say that Bucks County Council has also produced an Olympics leaflet which contains useful contact details and information on how to find out more via the website.

 

Attached are the documents which Christine referred to in her presentation.

 

Christine said that the team are wishing to speak to more local voluntary organisations and asked Members to pass on her details to relevant organisations.  Her email address is c-cjames@buckscc.gov.uk.

9.

Thames Valley Neighbourhood Police Update

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Inspector Emma Garside.  She started by reporting to Members that the new non-emergency number (101) has now been launched.  The boundary changes have been agreed which means that the rural boundaries around Aylesbury Vale will now be co-terminus with the Local Areas.  These changes were due to be implemented on 1 April 2012 but ICT difficulties has meant that the implementation date will now be October time.

 

There are now 10 special constables aligned to the Winslow and Buckingham area which provides more visibility.  Events such as Halloween, Bonfire Night passed without incidence.

 

Thames Valley Police have teamed up with members from Trading Standards to conduct face-to-face visits to the most vulnerable people in the area.  February is a notorious month for increased reports of door-step crime.

 

Inspector Garside explained that theft from motor vehicles is still one of the main crimes in the area, particularly the theft of car number plates.  There have been a couple of operations undertaken with local garages to fix anti-theft screws to number plates.  There was an event in Whitchurch recently which resulted in 53 vehicles having anti-theft screws fitted in two and a half hours.  There have been instances of catalytic convertors being stolen which is a much harder crime to prevent.

 

Inspector Garside reported a recent crime in the Mursley area where an elderly person was involved in a distraction burglary by people posing as water meter checkers.  She asked Members to be extra vigilant.

 

Speed enforcement and road safety still remain priorities in the area.

 

The police office in Winslow is currently open 3 days a week (10am-2pm) but there are plans to open 5 days a week and more volunteers are being looked for.

 

Simon Dudley reported to Members an increase in iron works thefts which Inspector Garside is aware of.  28 pieces have been stolen in the last 3 months.  Simon urged Members to call 101 if they see anything suspicious.  Inspector Garside asked Members to call 999 if they see it happening as it is a ‘crime in action’.

 

A Member asked whether all gullies around the county are lockable to prevent being stolen.  Simon explained that there are around 22,000 gullies in Aylesbury and they can only be replaced with a lockable one when something happens to it.

10.

Local Priorities and Budget update

Mark Grindall, Localities and Communities Manager, to provide a verbal update.

Minutes:

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, explained that permission has been granted to carry-over the budget from 2011/12 to next year as it has not been spent.  The Local Priorities budget for 2012/13 will now be £40k.  He then went on to explain the Participatory Budget Scheme which has been piloted in the Wendover area and proved very effective and it was well received by the local residents.  He said that the local priorities are grouped and presented to the local community who can then identify specific projects which meet the priorities – normally around 10 projects would be presented to the community and the local residents can then vote on which project they would most like to support.

 

A Member asked how the voting would be monitored to avoid people voting more than once for a particular project.  Mark explained that when a person votes, a cookie is put on the system so that person would not be able to vote again.  He acknowledged that there are always exceptions to the rule.

 

The Chairman asked Members of the LAF whether they would be happy, in principle, to support the Participatory Budget Scheme.

 

A Member felt that it was a rather cumbersome route to spend a relatively small amount of money and felt that it would be better if each parish/town council were to be given an amount of money.

 

A Member asked whether the costs to publicise the schemes would have to be paid for out of the allocated £40k.  Mark responded by saying that it was not his intention to use part of the budget to fund the publicity.  Inspector Garside suggested community messaging, Twitter and other social media as possible methods to publicise the scheme at no cost.

 

A Member expressed concern in relation to the cost of communications and said that the actual budget is only £20k each year so they felt it was a lot of effort and resource for not very much money.  Mark said that he felt the scheme would help with local engagement.

 

Another Member agreed with the above and felt that it was a waste of what are already very limited resources and felt that a reality check needed to be undertaken.

 

A Member suggested that the reason there is nothing concrete being undertaken in terms of the local priorities is due to the changes in structure and the way the way the budget used to be allocated was much better, ie. the LAF would consider all the schemes received and allocate the budget according to the priorities.  The Member felt that the LAF should go back to this method of allocating the budget as the local councils have regular contact with their own areas and know what their local priorities are.

 

Mark then asked Members whether it was the will of the LAF not to consider the Participatory Budget Scheme.

 

The Chairman suggested that Members send him schemes from their local areas for consideration under the local priorities funding.

 

Mark agreed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Transport for Buckinghamshire Update pdf icon PDF 367 KB

Minutes:

Simon Dudley, from Transport for Buckinghamshire, referred Members to the report included in the agenda pack.  He reported that there has been a problem with one of the road patching machines with a number of parts having been stolen.  More localised decision-making helped to increase efficiency during the Winter months.

 

Simon reminded Members that information on all the work undertaken by TfB can be viewed on the County Council’s website.

 

A Member asked about Community Speed Watch.  Inspector Garside responded by saying that a number of local parishes have already bought the equipment and asked Members to encourage more communities to come on board.

 

The representative from Little Horwood thanked Simon and his team for the road maintenance work undertaken on the Winslow Road.

 

A Member asked when the Area 14 Speed Limit Review is due to take place.  Simon said that he would have to look into this after the meeting.

 

Action: Simon Dudley

12.

AVDC Update pdf icon PDF 191 KB

Minutes:

Teresa Lane, Lead Area Officer from AVDC, introduced her colleague, Andy Wilkins.  Andy provided Members with a presentation on the changes to the refuse and recycling in the Aylesbury Vale.  He circulated copies of his presentation to Members

 

During his presentation, Members asked the following questions.

 

  • When will the information regarding the changes be sent to households.  Andy responded by saying that the information will be circulated in June time, before the schools break-up for the Summer holidays.
  • Can shredded paper be put into the brown bin.  Andy confirmed that the brown bin can be used for shredded paper.
  • Will your team be around at the County Show to publicise the changes and also the Winslow Show (August Bank Holiday).  Andy said that his team are intending to be at as many events as possible over the Summer time.

 

Members were asked to note the AVDC update and if there were any questions in relation to the content of the update, please could Members contact Teresa Lane (tlane@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk).

13.

Information items

13a

Bucks CC Change to Household Waste Recycling Centres

Information item

Minutes:

Members were asked to note the report.

13b

Youth Centre Update

Minutes:

Members were asked to note the update.

13c

Libraries update

Minutes:

The Chairman referred Members to the note which was circulated before the meeting.

14.

Open Forum

Minutes:

There were no questions under open forum.

15.

Date of Next and Future Meetings

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 21 June 2012.  Venue to be confirmed.

 

Future meeting

 

Thursday 25 October 2012.

Minutes:

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 21 June 2012.

 

Future dates

 

Thursday 25 October 2012