Meeting documents

Venue: The Main Hall, Winslow Centre, Park Road, Winslow MK18 3RB

Contact: Liz Wheaton 

Items
Note No. Item

19.00

1.

Apologies for Absence / Changes in Membership

Minutes:

Apologies as above.

2.

Declarations of Interest

To declare any personal or prejudicial interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Action Notes pdf icon PDF 97 KB

To confirm the notes of the meeting held on 21 June 2012.

Minutes:

The action notes of the meeting held on 21 June 2012 were agreed as a correct record.

 

Matters arising

 

Mark Grindall reported that Mr Capstick had received responses to his questions and he was happy with the responses he received.

 

Mr Wright from Granborough asked whether the action notes from the meetings could be made available sooner.

 

Post meeting note – the draft action notes are published on the internet once all contributors have seen them and commented on them (normally 4-6 weeks after the meeting).  The draft notes are then attached to the agenda for the next meeting which is sent out a week before the meeting.

4.

Chairman's update

Minutes:

The Chairman started by reading out an update from the Cabinet Member for Transportation on the 20mph speed limit reviews – "In the current financial year 2012/13, there is no dedicated funding allocation within the Transport for Buckinghamshire for the delivery of 20mph schemes therefore the cost would need to be met either directly by communities or via the delegated budget allocation to the relevant Local Area Forum."

 

The Chairman referred Members to a questionnaire which Bucks County Council would like people to complete.  The questionnaire is entitled "Tackling what’s important to Buckinghamshire residents" and the aim is to find out what local people want from their Council in the future.  He encouraged Members to take a copy with them.  The Council is particularly keen to hear from young people.  A Member asked who has received the questionnaire and which channels of communication have been used.  Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, said that the parishes have all been sent a copy but he said he would look into this further.

 

Action: Mark Grindall

 

19.10

5.

Question Time

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:

A Member proposed the setting up of a small working party to review the Terms of Reference following the Local Area Forums Task and Finish report.  The Chairman explained that the report was discussed at the Cabinet meeting held on 22 October so he suggested that the final report should be brought to the next LAF meeting for a fuller debate on the recommendations in the report. 

 

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, read out the following Cabinet response to one of the recommendations, "Cabinet agree a new LAF terms of reference refocusing LAFs around their role ‘influencing, enabling and taking action to address local issues’."  A response to this will be deferred until the reconsideration of the Council’s localism approach is completed.  This reconsideration will confirm the purpose and scope for the LAF function going forwards.  A detailed response will be provided by April 2013.  Until that time, any LAF which wishes to reconsider its current terms of reference in line with this recommendation and within the parameters of the 2008 approved Locality Strategy is welcome to do so.

 

It was agreed that Mark would circulate the Task and Finish report to all Members and if Members would like to set up a working group, then this could be agreed at the next meeting.

 

Action: Mark Grindall

 

A Member referred to recommendation 5 in the Cabinet response which provides details on the LAF forward plan.  The Member asked why a fuller debate on East/West rail was not taking place at this meeting as this had been asked to be put on the agenda.  The Chairman explained that members of the East/West rail team were invited to attend this meeting but unfortunately, due to other work commitments, there was no-one available from the team to attend the meeting.  Mr O’Sullivan is hoping to attend the meeting in January so a fuller debate can be had at this meeting.

 

Mark Grindall explained that all parishes are welcome to submit agenda items which are then discussed with the Chairman at the agenda setting meeting.

 

The representative from Granborough expressed concern over the fact that 30% of the local priorities budget had been allocated to a project without a full discussion at a LAF meeting.  He felt it was totally inappropriate to spend this amount of money without a discussion and parishes were only given a few days to respond to the email.  Mark Grindall responded by saying that one of the priorities which has been identified for the area is around providing facilities for young people.  This scheme provides an opportunity to improve youth involvement.  He said that he undertook a straw poll amongst the parishes to see whether they could find young people who would be suitable to be part of the scheme.  He said that he had not received any negative comments from the parishes he had spoken to.

6.

Petitions

None received

Minutes:

There were no petitions.

19.30

7.

East/West rail update

A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.  A member of the East/West rail project team has been invited to a future LAF meeting.

Minutes:

The Chairman explained that the representatives from East/West rail were unable to attend this meeting but they will be coming to a future meeting to discuss the plans in more detail.

 

The Chairman read out a project update which had been prepared by Patrick O’Sullivan (EWR Project Consultant) and Caryl Jones (EWR Communications Manager).  He made the following main points.

 

  • The Department for Transport (DfT) has agreed funding for the construction of the western section of the EWR line, supplemented by local authority contributions.
  • DfT has also committed a further £130 million for electrifrication.
  • Plans to design and construct the new rail link are now underway.
  • The Oxford to Bedford section of the route will be electrified.
  • A Joint Delivery Board of EWR Consortium members, Network Rail and the Department for Transport has been set-up.  EWR, Network Rail and DfT will work in partnership to deliver the railway and the economic benefits the opportunity presents.
  • The goal is for train services to be operational by December 2017.
  • The EWR line, originally envisaged as a £270 million diesel-powered link between Oxford and Aylesbury, and Milton Keynes and Bedfrod, has taken a more strategic role with the announcement in July 2012 by the Transport Secretary that not only confirmed funding for the project but also announced additional funding of £130 million for the electrification of the Oxford to Bedford part of the route.
  • EWR will now provide an electric link between the electrified Great Western, West Coast and Midland main lines.
  • EWR funding of £270 million would be made available providing that the EWR Consortium met two conditions.  Firstly, a strong business case for the route was required and this has now been accepted as robust.
  • The second condition was for a commitment by local authorities along the route to contribute to the cost of the project and a ‘commitment in principle’ to make a local contribution over a period of 15 to 20 years from 2014 onwards.
  • EWR Consortium (Chaired by Neil Gibson, Strategic Director at Bucks County Council), Network Rail and DfT have stated their commitment to work in close partnership to deliver the railway to support the local communities which it will serve, whilst connecting to the national strategic rail network and to deliver the economic benefits as a result of the opportunity the railway presents to the region.
  • The frequency of services is not yet known.
  • The EWR project team is involved in discussions about the new station for Winslow.  The team are also speaking to Network Rail and the owner of the site with regard to parking provision and Buckinghamshire Highways.

 

19.40

8.

Transport for Buckinghamshire Update pdf icon PDF 357 KB

Ann-Marie Davies will provide an update for Members.

Minutes:

Ann-Marie Davies, Transport for Buckinghamshire, referred Members to the 20mph speed limits briefing note and copies were made available for Members to take away with them.  Transport for Buckinghamshire is currently developing a draft 20mph policy to ensure a fair, consistent and constructive response to demands for 20mph limits in the future.

 

The Winter Maintenance leaflet will be sent out to parishes soon.  There have been no changes to the gritting routes.

 

The Local Priorities Transportation schemes for 2012/13 are as follows:

 

  • Great Horwood – Footpath where Nash Road meets the A421 (£8,600 plus £1,000 contribution).
  • Little Horwood – Bus Shelter (£5,500 plus £500 contribution)
  • North MarstonSportsfield signing (£2,000)
  • Newton Longville – Two salt bins (£900).

 

A Member asked whether it is possible to see a list of the roads which have been identified as a priority as they wanted to know where the roads in their area fitted in.  The Chairman suggested that Members send any queries to Ann-Marie Davies after the meeting.

19.50

9.

Thames Valley Neighbourhood Police Update

Inspector Emma Garside will provide Members with an update on police activity in the area.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Inspector Emma Garside.  She started by saying that the neighbourhood boundary changes went live on 1 October 2012 and the police teams are now co-terminus with the LAF areas.  There have also been changes to the shift patterns to reflect the night-time economy but this has not affected the number of officers working in the area.  The Winslow office is open 4 days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday between 12-2pm) and is manned by volunteers.  The sale is going through on the Buckingham Police Station and the team will be relocated to Swan Industrial Estate.  There will still be a front counter office in the Old Gaol in Buckingham which will be open Monday to Friday from 10am-2pm.

 

Inspector Garside highlighted some of the police activity in the local area.

 

  • The Olympics Torch relay went very well and there were lots of preparations before the day itself.
  • Along the A413 there is a traveller encampment and an Anti-Social Behaviour Order is being sought which should prevent the family from camping illegally.
  • In Pitchcott, there was an unexpected traveller group linked to a religious group.  Inspector Garside said that her team were pleased with how it got resolved.
  • With the clocks changing, the risk of burglary increases so a campaign has just been launched to advise people to leave lights on and make the house look lived in.
  • Speeding continues to be a priority and the officers are keen to promote Community Speed Watch.  Inspector Garside went on to say that the majority of people caught speeding in the area are local people.
  • Officers are working with Mark Grindall and other Members of the LAF on the MVAS project.
  • There is a Property Marking event taking place in November.  It is a good investment to mark certain items so that there is a better chance of them being recovered if stolen.

 

Local Crime Statistics

 

  • Overall, between 1 April-30 September 2012, there has been an 11% reduction in offences (187 reported offences in April compared to 167 offences in September).
  • There has been a reduction in burglaries from 8 to 6 and the number of thefts of vehicles reduced from 5 to 3 in the same period.
  • Theft from vehicles has increased from 17 to 25.  There has been a rise in catalytic convertors being stolen, particularly from people carriers.
  • The number of non-dwelling burglaries has decreased from 19 to 14.

 

During discussion, Members asked the following questions.

 

  • Do people who do door-step trading have to inform the local police?  Inspector Garside explained that residential areas can put up signs saying "No Cold Calling area".  Legally, they are not doing anything wrong.  A parish representative said that it is really a trading standards issue.

 

County Councillor Netta Glover expressed her thanks to Inspector Garside and her team for the way they handled the incident at Pitchcott.

20.00

10.

Fire & Rescue Update

Tim Parkins will provide members with an update on Fire & Rescue activity in the area.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Tim Parkins from Bucks Fire and Rescue.  Mr Parkins read out a summary of recent activity in the local area which included the following.

 

  • Silverstone F1GP – raising awareness of camping safety, particularly following several incidents in the UK involving carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • Olympics – crews from Buckingham were involved on the day of the torch relay as it made its way through the county.  Mr Parkins was part of the Bucks Fire and Rescue Service team involved in the multi-agency control suite at Eton Dorney for the Olympics and Paralympics.
  • Crews have completed 320 Home Fire Checks in the area since April 2012.
  • Community events include attendance at a number of recent flu jab clinics resulting in a number of Home Fire Risk Checks.
  • Safety themes for the next quarter include the national media advertising campaign to tie-in with the clock change at the end of October, Candle Fire Safety Week which ties-in with the build up to Christmas and a range of issue to be covered in-line with festive celebrations.
  • Incidents of note recently attended by Winslow Fire Station include a lorry and trailer on fire on the A41 at Aston Clinton, a barn fire at Hoggeston and a commercial building at Turweston.
  • The Winslow based Thames Valley Police vehicles can now park at the rear of the Station.  This agreement has been effective from 1 October 2012.

 

Mr Parkins ended his update on a personal note saying that he has just completed a three day 208 mile bike ride from Aylesbury to Ypres in Belgium as part of a Bucks Fire and Rescue Service team in memory of two colleagues who died last year.  Monies raised are being donated to the Fire Fighters Charities – the British Heart Foundation and the Florence Nightingale Hospice.  Anyone wishing to donate should visit http://www.justgiving.com/teams/BFRSA2YChallenge.

 

If Members require further information on current events or enquiries about home safety checks, please visit the website (www.bucksfire.gov.uk) or contact Tim Parkins at Buckingham Fire Station on 01280 812133 or by email at tparkins@bucksfire.gov.uk.

 

 

20.10

11.

AVDC Update pdf icon PDF 158 KB

Teresa Lane, Area Officer, from AVDC will provide members with an update which is attached.

Minutes:

Teresa Lane, AVDC Lead Officer, sent her apologises.  The Chairman asked Members to note the AVDC update and asked Members to contact either Teresa Lane or the relevant officer mentioned in the report for further information.

20.20

12.

Action tracker update

A verbal update will be provided by Mark Grindall.

Minutes:

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, explained that a new system for tracking actions from the LAF has just been launched.  The action tracker can be accessed via the County Council’s website ("My Communities" page) and it shows the status of the actions from each LAF meeting.

20.30

13.

Local Priorities Update pdf icon PDF 236 KB

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, will present the funding requests for the area.  Report attached.

Minutes:

Mark Grindall, Localities Manager, took Members through his report.  He started by saying that there is £21,499.75 available for funding projects in this financial year and he asked Members to consider three funding requests totalling £18,500.

 

1.                  North Bucks Credit Union (funding request - £2,000)

 

The LAF has identified as a priority for the area ‘Improving general community facilities and activities’.  Credit Unions are locally run ‘not for profit’ financial co-operatives providing savings, affordable loans and other financial services to its members.

 

MKCU plan to identify local activists and volunteers who would be willing to form a Committee to act at the Winslow branch of MK Credit Union and who would run a local service point for members to join and access savings and loans.  MKCU already have a project application being considered for part funding by Milton Keynes Community Foundation.  This would provide a part-time manager/facilitator post for 2 years.  They now propose that this MK only project be expanded to cover the North Bucks areas of Buckingham, Winslow and Districts.  Providing funding for the other half of the manager/facilitator post, making this a full-time post split equally between Milton Keynes and North Bucks.

 

The Members were asked to consider allocating £2,000 of the LAF’s budget to this project.

 

Members AGREED to allocate £2,000.

 

2.                  MVAS Project (funding request - £9,000)

 

The LAF has identified as a priority for the area ‘Reducing Speeding on the Roads around the area’.  Following a workshop attended by a number of LAF members, it was agreed that Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) on roads in the villages would be a significant tool to discourage speeding.  A meeting took place between Swarco, a leading provider of mobile VAS units (MVAS) and interested parishes to consider the options.  The meeting concluded that those parishes who wished to have an MVAS system would be able to do so, supported by the LAF delegated budget.

 

Rather than a ‘per site’ charge, a ‘per village’ charge has been agreed in principle at £350.  Each interested parish will be required to complete a TfB application form which not only gathers the insurance data but deals with the requirement to complete a risk assessment and adhere to the recommendations.

 

The recommendations are as follows.

 

  • The LAF should provide funding for 50% of the MVAS unit, one spare battery and the software.
  • The LAF should provide funding for 100% of two training sessions.
  • The parishes would fund all installation and maintenance costs, plus the balance of the capital costs not funded by Bucks County Council.  All insurance costs would be the responsibility of the parish concerned as would the charge levied by Bucks County Council for the survey and administration.

 

An indicative cost per parish for participating villages (1 unit, 4 locations), excluding on-costs would be as follows:

 

  • £1,036.36 for the MVAS unit, spare battery and software
  • £676.86 for four ground screws and one post
  • £350 fee to Bucks County Council.

 

The cost to the LAF would be:

 

14.

Bucks broadband activity - information item

Leaflets will be circulated at the meeting.

Minutes:

Members were notified of the Bucks broadband leaflets which were made available at the meeting.

15.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 17 January 2013.  Venue to be confirmed.

 

Minutes:

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 17 January 2013.  Venue to be confirmed.