Meeting documents

David Rowlands was confirmed as Chairman until May 2013.

The Chairman explained that John Cartwright, Leader of Aylesbury Vale District Council, had appointed District Councillor Susan Renshell as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.

Resolved that Susan Renshell be appointed Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.

Apologies were received from Phil Gomm, Buckinghamshire South NAG, Sir Beville Stanier, Aylesbury Vale District Council and Karen Adamson, Adult Social Care, BCC.

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on Thursday 23 February 2012.

The action notes of the meeting held on Thursday 23 February 2012 were agreed as a correct record.

Matters arising

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

Item 4

Mr Monger, Aylesbury Vale District Council asked the Chairman for confirmation that a fourth LAF meeting is being reinstated as there does not appear to be confirmation in the minutes of the meeting held on the 23 February 2012.

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager explained that an email had been sent to Mr Monger detailing the recommendations and suggestions from the County Council but unfortunately a response has not been received. 

The suggestion offered was that the fourth meeting would be a priorities review meeting, suitable to be clerked by an outside body.  Issues around how external clerking of a meeting could be incorporated in BCC systems had yet to be resolved.

Mr Monger advised that he had written the original letter several months ago and that the discussions with interested parties had made it clear that a full meeting was required and that information had been relayed to Mark Grindall at the workshop immediately preceding this meeting. Mr Monger asked for agreement that the LAF can revert to four meetings a year as funding has been agreed and therefore only a new schedule is required.

Teresa Lane advised that Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) are still willing to contribute towards the costs of future meetings but the involvement from the County Council in the fourth meeting is unclear.

Mark Grindall explained that in principle the County Council is delighted at the suggestion of a fourth LAF meeting being hosted, clerked and supported by an external organisation but it is necessary to discuss the process and Democratic Service involvement at length i.e. the publicity of meetings, compliance of requirements and making third party clerking of a County Council meeting feasible. 

The Chairman advised the decision to reinstate a fourth LAF meeting would happen and that the additional meeting would probably be the cancelled December meeting.  Members would be advised of the date in due course.

Action: Democratic Services

The Chairman advised members of the following;

Bucks/Milton Keynes Fire Authority

He has been re-elected as Chairman of the Bucks/Milton Keynes Fire Authority for the ninth consecutive year. 

On the 20 June 2012, he led a deputation of Chairman of Combined Fire Authorities to meet with Fire Minister, Bob Neil MP, in London.  Topics discussed were retained Firefighters pensions, changes to the Council Tax Benefit/Support and Business Rates Retention.

Bucks County Council

He has been reappointed as the Transport Spokesman North by Martin Tett which includes all of Aylesbury Vale and part of the Wycombe area.  A tour of the division recently took place with David Hedley to view the problems with the roads.

Thrift Farm

At a recent Bucks County Council meeting, Tricia Birchley, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing was asked to answer the following question;

‘is the future of Thrift Farm in doubt’.  Mrs Birchley responded ‘there are no plans at present to close this very important facility’.

Application for a Free School

A decision on the application for a Free School in the Winslow area is expected next month.

None received

There were no petitions.

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, explained that a brief workshop to discuss local priorities had taken place prior to the LAF meeting.  Members were referred to the recommendations on page 9 of the agenda pack as follows;

• The Winslow Local Area Forum is recommended to note the arrangements for 2012/13 for its delegated budget as described in the report.

• For the Winslow Local Area Forum to agree an allocation of £18,384.75 for previously submitted transportation schemes with the balance reserved for non-transportation schemes.  A decision on how to manage the proposed transportation schemes in following years should be made as soon as practicable.

The following key points were also highlighted:

• This year LAFs will receive the same allocation as previously.  For the Winslow LAF this is £38,384.75 plus £20,000 unspent budget from 2011/12 providing a total for allocation of £58,384.75.

• Allocations can only be made on schemes which span two financial years (or more), but funding can only be assured for the current year.  This should be borne in mind if making such an allocation i.e. what value can be achieved in the first year should funding not be available for the remainder of the scheme in subsequent years.

• For this transitional year only (2012-13), as transportation scheme proposals have already been submitted in anticipation of a ring-fenced transportation budget, a similar amount could be set aside for this purpose.  The LAF will then be able to decide later this year how to manage the single budget in subsequent years.  This is the recommended option.

• Each LAF will need to work with its Transportation officers to agree how ideas for transportation projects should be submitted and the timetable. The implication of many late allocations is that such schemes may not be deliverable until the following financial year.

Members agreed that the priorities of the LAF should be addressing the issue of speeding on roads around the county and the provision of facilities and activities for young people allied to the provisions of general community facilities and activities.

The next step is to circulate how the funding will be applied and to consider how priority areas will be addressed.

Action: Mark Grindall

Simon Dudley, Transport for Buckinghamshire, started by letting Members know that as a result of the restructure of TfB his role has changed from Area Maintenance Team Leader TfB to Safety Inspector Team Leader.

Members were referred to the ‘We’re Working On It’ capital works programme (page 14 of the agenda) which includes the following;

Expected carriageway Works

Works over the next two years include Aston Abbotts Road, Weedon, Main Street, Padbury, Oving Road, Whitchurch, Magpie Way, Winslow.

Area Maintenance

The jet patchers are fully operational and are working 24 hours a day in the South of the County and day working in the North (soon to be 24 hours).  The patchers are repairing three times the number of potholes a normal crew are able to achieve. Patching work on the A421 has been completed.

Golden Jubilee/Olympics

Bunting has been delivered to those parishes who requested it.

Traffic Management (Torch relay)

The traffic management plan is currently being written (Simon Dudley).

Local Priorities Bids

In terms of transport, the list of proposed carriageway works is one of the most extensive for a long time with a budget of £18,000 to carry out the work. 

Some schemes have been removed because they were either covered by existing maintenance issued works orders or were unsuitable for this type of funding. The Granborough scheme is the being covered under Capital Projects.  Full reconstruction of the footway will be carried out by the works team.

With this in mind the following three schemes are being proposed;

Members were advised that if the Parish Councils are willing to partly-fund projects, then a fourth scheme could be considered for example, (Whitchurch PC, Whistlers View Parking Area, Whitchurch, £8,500).

Llew Monger said match funding by all communities had been discussed and agreed at a previous meeting of the Winslow & District LAF.

Mr Van der Poll said he thought that the figures and funding were agreed at the LAF meeting held in North Marston in June 2011.  The minutes of the meeting held in June 2011 are to be checked to see if this action has been addressed.

Action: Sharon Griffin

Llew Monger said he was shocked at the estimated cost of £40,000 to convert the zebra crossing in Avenue Road, Winslow to a puffin crossing and asked what the figures are based on as a similar conversion in Hertford has been estimated at £22,000. Simon Dudley responded by saying the difference in cost could be due to the orientation of the site and the movement of the equipment.

Mr Capstick told members that he spent half a day observing the traffic at the zebra crossing in Winslow and expressed the following concerns;

• the zebra crossing is situated in a dip;
• the traffic sign indicating the crossing is obscured when approaching from Buckingham;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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.

Karen Adamson, Adult Social Care, will provide Members with an update.

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

Susie Yapp will provide a presentation for Members.

The Chairman welcomed Susie Yapp, Safer Bucks Partnership Manager, to the meeting.

Susie began by explaining that in response to the recognition of the changing landscape of the funding of community services in the future resulting from the creation of a Police and Crime Panel, the Overview & Scrutiny Committee has carried out a review of Domestic Violence services in Buckinghamshire.

Members were referred to the presentation included in the agenda pack from which the following key points were highlighted;

• Incidents of domestic violence are not related to one particular group, geographical area or income.  All areas are likely to have victims of domestic violence in their midst.
• One of the aims of the review is to raise awareness of services available and to increase publicity of these services via college notice boards etc.
• Domestic violence is a very serious issue which can also include emotional and financial control.
• The Domestic Abuse figures for Buckinghamshire for 2011 show approximately 3000 recorded crimes and approximately 3000 non recorded crimes.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men will be a victim of domestic violence.
• Professor Sylvia Walby has undertaken some research to find out how much domestic violence costs local authorities.  Based on her findings, the cost to Bucks County Council is £53.5 million (this does not include voluntary sector and the human cost).
• The vision is to promote a "zero tolerance and co-ordinated response to people at risk of domestic violence in Buckinghamshire ensuring that those who are affected are identified, supported, protected and empowered."  All partner agencies are working towards this.
• The reality is that domestic abuse may well be happening to neighbours.  Homicide is the worst case scenario.  Although figures for homicide are low in Buckinghamshire, incidents to happen.
• There are a number of domestic abuse champions working within the community.
• Work is also taking place with organisations such as Wycombe Women’s Aid, Victim Support, refuges, Youth Offending Service and the police.
• Independent Domestic Violence Advisors support high risk domestic violence victims.

During discussion, a Member asked the following question.

Where can a supply of domestic abuse information posters be obtained from? The officer advised that contact details for the Domestic Violence Officer at the County Council are on the last page of the presentation.

The Chairman thanked Susie Yapp for her very informative presentation.

Addendum

Please note that the Officer named is now on Maternity leave.  If you require any information or would like to speak to someone please call Teresa Martin on 01296 373701.

The Chairman welcomed Inspector Emma Garside who started by explaining that she is responsible for neighbourhood policing in Aylesbury Vale. She went on to provide the following general overview.

Front Counter opening times

As part of the Thames Valley Police review that front counter opening times at the Old Gaol, Buckingham have been revised (Monday-Friday, 10am-2pm).

Winslow High Street

Office staff providing crime prevention advice and signposting to services are located at the Police station in Winslow.  Volunteers are also being recruited.  The opening hours are currently Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday 10am-2pm.  It is hoped the opening hours will increase once the volunteers have been recruited and trained.  Patrols also take place from this office.

Moreton RoadPolice Station

This site is currently up for sale but there have been no offers yet.  In September, the team will relocate to the Buckingham Industrial Estate.

Changes to staff

There will now be 5 police constables and 6 PCSOs in the area.

Neighbourhood Priorities

Speeding and Anti-Social Behaviour still remain priorities in the area.  Inspector Garside explained that police enforcement works best in conjunction with other initiatives. 

1. Road safety issues. Historically, there have been issues around anti-social use of vehicles in Winslow, Steeple Claydon and Newton Longville. Whilst the reports of incidents have decreased it is still an area that we are keen to address. A series of enforcement operations are taking place with the assistance of the Road Policing Unit.  Neighbourhood policing now has Speedwatch kit which we are willing lend to qualified volunteers with the relevant Speedwatch training.  The system is will be up and running very shortly and will provide an excellent opportunity for members of the public to get involved with their parish councils to help with the reduction of speeding through their villages.

Details of the scheme can be found via the following link;

http://democracy.buckscc.gov.uk/Published/IssueDocs/5/2/4/5/I00025425/$CommunitySpeedwatchinfosheet.doc.pdf

An example of a successful prosecution is a driver, who was recorded doing 43mph in the 30mph limit on the Granborough Road, North Marston on 31st August 2011 and he only had a provisional licence. At Aylesbury Magistrates Court he was found guilty of both offences.  For the speeding he got 5 points and a £500 fine, for only having a provisional licence he got a £250 fine and was ordered to pay £500 court costs and to pay £15 pounds to the victim compensation scheme. In total-costs of £1,265 and five penalty points for the two offences.

Inspector Garside reported the following crime figures for the area and provided an update on local policing activity.

• The end of year figures show that the crime rates in the area are down which is good news – the number of reported crimes fell from 614 last year to 582 this year.
• In the Winslow area there has been a 25% decrease in serious acquisitive crime
• Serious Acquisitive crime has also decreased in the rural areas (from 64 reports to 46).
• 25% of burglaries from dwellings in the spring and summer months occur because the property  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Update attached from AVDC.

Teresa Lane, Lead Area Officer from AVDC, was welcomed to the meeting. She gave the following update;

Olympics/Paralympics

The Olympic Torch is coming through Aylesbury Vale on the 9 July 2012 and will visit the south of the county on the 10 July and Denham on the 24 July.

A lot of preparation has gone into the events and celebrations.  The timetable of the torch visits is as follows;

Buckingham: 10.19am

Winslow: 10.42am

Whitchurch: 11.02am

Aylesbury: 12.29pm

The torch will be in convoy by van/car in between villages/towns.  A rolling road closure will be in effect to avoid build up of traffic and allow time for crowds and traffic to disperse. A general newsletter has been sent out and further details of the Olympics and Paralympics are on the AVDC website.

Volunteers (primarily marshalls) to assist with the Olympics are still being sought.

Refuse collection will be a day later than the normal collection day as it is not feasible for refuse vehicles to be on the road during the torch visit.

Changes to refuse collection

A letter has been sent to residents advising changes to the current refuse and collection service.  Residents will receive their new recycling bins and an information pack during July and August.  The new service starts on the 4 September 2012.

Police & Crime Panel

The elections for the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner will take place on the 15 November 2012. Polling stations across Thames Valley will be open and the process will be the same as other elections.  The Police Commissioner post will be abolished. AVDC are taking the lead for the elections which includes counting the votes and announcement of the results.

During discussion, Members asked the following questions.

A Member asked if there is the option of a postal vote for the November elections. Teresa advised that postal votes can be made.

A Member asked if an explanatory note about double voting was available.  Teresa said more information on the election will be provided from summer 2012 onwards.

http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/council-democracy/elections-and-voting/

A Member said there are rumours that 1000 school children will be in Winslow to watch the Torch Relay.  Are barriers going to be erected on the High street to keep the children away from the traffic? Teresa explained that schools in the area have been contacted and those involved in the celebrations have written a school plan.  The names of the schools and pupil numbers attending have been advised.  As the general view is not using traffic barriers results in a more successful experience, there are designated red hatched areas specifically for schools.  Marshalls and the police will also be on hand to assist with crowd control.

A Member asked if parents attending the Torch Relay with their children would be aware of the arrangements. Teresa said whilst the use of designated ‘child’ areas is being advised, parents ultimately have the responsibility for their own children.

A Member asked for the definition of a roaming  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

• Fostering and Adoption summary attached for information.

Fostering and Adoption summary

Members were asked to note the report.

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 25 October 2012.  Venue to be confirmed.

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 25 October 2012.

Future dates

To be confirmed.