Meeting documents

In response to separate requests from the Economic and Social Improvement and Scrutiny Committees this Information Sheet provides an overview of the Rural Forum, the current position on Rural Strategy and other ongoing work in related areas.

Introduction to the Rural Forum

The Rural Forum takes place twice a year in Spring and Autumn.  Invitations are sent out to a number of individuals and organisations involved in or with a vested interested in rural affairs and issues.  Meetings are chaired by the Chairman of the Council or in his absence the Vice Chairman.

The Forum began as a farmers’ forum, acting as an opportunity for farmers to create a dialogue between other like-minded farmers and the Council.  Over the last 5 years it has evolved to become a wider ‘rural’ Forum allowing others with interests outside of farming to become involved.

Terms of Reference were agreed for the Forum in 2002 and these are reproduced at the end of this Information Sheet.

Make-up of the Rural Forum

The Forum is made up of a mix of people and organisations all involved in varying aspects of rural life.

A large number of farmers still attend the Forum and use the gathering as an opportunity to discuss issues affecting farming with other farmers, to stay up-to-date with regulatory changes as well as providing an opportunity to discuss relevant farming issues with the Council.

A variety of organisations attend the Forum including representatives from Parish Councils, the Chilterns AONB Shadow Conservation Board, the National Farmers Union, the Chilterns Society, Bucks Community Action, the Wycombe District Association of Local Councils, the Environment Agency and others.  

Just under 100 individuals and organisations are invited to each Forum, the administration of which is managed by Committee Services.

All district Councillors are invited to attend the Forum and attendance is usually good, allowing Members to remain aware of rural issues affecting their rural constituents.

Officers from the Council are represented, most regularly from Planning Policy, Environmental Services and Community Services.

The format of the Forum begins with the informal presentation of information items providing short updates and an opportunity to ask questions.  This is followed by a number of presentations from persons who have been invited to address the Forum on subjects of interest.  The presentations aim to be short and concise (10-15 minutes), putting across relevant information and allowing the attendees to remain focused and interested.  Questions are taken at the end of each presentation.  The last stage of the Forum is for a panel discussion and any urgent or any other business.

Recent Forum Topics

October 2003 Forum

Information Items:

·     Feedback from Forum steering group on recent comments regarding the Forum

·     Bucks Rural Affairs Group Update

·     Feedback from recent SEEDA event on forthcoming CAP reforms

·     Feedback from Forum’s summer Farm Tour

·     Announcement of Annual Chilterns Forum

Presentations

·     Presentation from the Council on the Draft Rural Health Check

March 2004 Forum

Information Items

·     Update from Bryan Edgley of recent Bucks Rural Affairs Group

Presentations

·     Feedback on Forum’s Farm Diversification Workshop

Draft Agenda for the October 2004 Forum:

Information Items:

·     Feedback form the Farm Tour

·     CAP update

·     Rural Tourism in the District

·     Farm Diversification Advice Note update

Presentations:

·     Waste Controls and Farming - Talk from the Environment Agency

·     Princes Risborough Market Town Initiative

·     WDC One Stop Shop

The Forum aims to encourage maximum involvement from outside individuals and bodies.  Wherever possible suitable external representatives are invited to give presentations with the Council trying to maintain a facilitating role.

Rural Forum Steering Group

The Rural Forum Steering Group is a group of representatives from the Forum who meet to discuss future agendas, the performance of the Forum and whether any changes are required.  The present group was formed in 2002 and is chaired by Councillor Cartwright, Cabinet Member for Transport and Employment whose portfolio includes rural Issues.

The group comprises of three farmers, three District Councillors, and representatives from the Chilterns AONB Shadow Conservation Board, the National Farmers Union, Bucks Community Action and a representative from the Rural Housing Trust.

Officer co-ordination for the Steering Group is from Planning Policy.

The group meets 4 times a year, several weeks before and after each Forum.  This allows the group to discuss the upcoming Forum, agendas for future Forums and assess the performance of the previous Forum.

The Farm Tour

The farm tour is an event organised for Rural Forum members on an annual basis.  It is organised in collaboration between the National Farmers Union and the Council to showcase farms in the District that illustrate interesting or innovative methods or practices.

In July 2004 the Forum visited Bencombe Farm in Marlow Bottom.  The farm provided an example of how farms could maintain farming practices through the support of various diversification practices.  The tour included an introduction by the farm owner and a tour around the farm including the cattery, workshops and brewery on site.

The tour allowed those in attendance to ask questions and discuss the issues with the farmers, Councillors and officers in attendance.

Approximately 30 Forum members attended this year’s tour.  Those who attended found it both very enjoyable and informative.

Requests have been made not to arrange next year’s tour on a Friday evening, as many are unable to attend.  This request has been noted.

The Role the Rural Forum

The Council has been keen to fulfil the 2002 ‘Terms of Reference’ (see attached) and ensure the Forum continues to provide a useful function for its members and the Council.

The steering group also endeavour to maintain high standards, providing suitable agendas that are relevant and interesting to the members.

The Rural Forum is a useful tool in that it provides an opportunity for the Council to work in conjunction with the rural community.  It allows a dialogue to be created between those with an interest in the rural community and District Councillors and Council officers.

The Forum provides the Council with a useful source of ready consultees with interests in rural strategies and policies.  

In the past, the Forum has been used to consult on the draft Rural Health Check, part of the Fact File series which contains District statistics and information to help identify the characteristics of the District.

The Council’s ‘Farm Diversification Advice Note for Farmers’ was also circulated to the Forum’s steering group before adoption and was publicised among the Forum members (this is available on the Council’s web site).

Recent Forums have provided an opportunity for the Council to publicise to the rural community the processes, which will arise from the production of the District’s new Local Development Framework and the revision of the Community Plan.

Outcomes of the Rural Forum

As well as providing a forum for discussion, the Rural Forum also fulfils a role facilitating actions.

In February this year the Council hosted a Farm Diversification Workshop, a result of requests from Forum members.  The aim of the workshop was to open a dialogue between farmers and the Council to discuss aspects of farm diversification and how the Council views and assesses various proposals.

The outcomes of the workshop were presented to the March 2004 Forum which included a review of the existing Farm Diversification Advice Note.  This is currently being undertaken and an update will be presented at the forthcoming October Forum.

Future Actions

Recent feedback from the Forums has been positive however measures need to be taken to ensure that the Forum remains a positive and useful tool.

A number of immediate actions are proposed to be discussed with the Rural Forum Steering Group, with the view to making the Forum more effective, including:

The Rural Action Group

The Rural Action Group (RAG) is an informal grouping of Council officers (Planning Policy, Urban Design, Environmental Services, Economic Development, Leisure and Community Development, as well as a representative from the Chilterns AONB) who meet 2-3 times a year to discuss issues and co-ordinate work areas which have an impact on rural areas.

Items discussed at recent meetings include: the Rural proofing of the Community plan, the March Rural Forum, update on Bucks Community Action’s works, the Wycombe TRANQUIL (TRansport and QUIet Lanes) project and the Wycombe Rural Update, farmers markets and the Rural Health Check.

The Rural Health Check

The Rural Health Check was published in November 2003 as part of the Council’s Fact File series.  These are a series of reports providing information on the characteristics of the District.

The Rural Health Check utilises a number of sources providing information about the state of the rural population and ethnic make up, mobility status, the employment and economic activity, levels of development, housing affordability, crime, community facilities/services and levels of disadvantage.

The Health check was created in consultation with the Rural Forum steering group and a draft was presented and submitted to the Forum for comments before completion.  It can be viewed on the Council’s website.

Link with Bucks Rural Affairs Group (BRAG)

This group is made up of representatives from Bucks County Council, Business Link, Buckinghamshire Association of Local Councils, Bucks Economic Partnership, Government Office for the South East, Bucks Community Action, Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as all the District Council’s in the County.

Wycombe District Council is represented by Bryan Edgley, one of our Rural Forum Steering Group members and often an Officer.  Bryan provides updates of BRAG meetings at each Wycombe District Rural Forum.

The group meets on a quarterly basis to discuss, and if necessary act on, items of rural importance to the County including ongoing work on the Bucks Rural Strategy.  Guest speakers are also invited to address the group on initiatives and issues affecting the County.  A regular item is a summary of Wycombe’s Rural Forum.

Link with Chiltern’s AONB Shadow Conservation Board

Government has recently passed an Establishment Order, which will grant the Chilterns AONB Shadow Conservation Board full status as a Conservation Board when it comes into force in February 2005.  The Council is currently in the process of nominating a Board member.

The new Board would be an independent corporate body, with statutory objectives to conserve and enhance the AONB, promote and enhance understanding of it and to foster the economic well being of its residents.

The Board will share some Local Authority powers in the AONB.

To avoid confusion, a scheme (or protocol) could be drawn up between the parties sharing powers in the AONB, detailing which party will use each power, when and where. Although this approach is not a mandatory requirement for the Board, it is one that local authorities might wish to consider.

Financially the Council, alongside other Councils, is a core funder of the Chilterns AONB.  Under the new Establishment Order the Countryside Agency will fund 80% of the Board’s core costs and 50% of particular projects.

Councillor Richard Pushman currently sits on the Shadow Board of Members on behalf of Wycombe District Council.

Wycombe Rural Update Newsletter

The Wycombe Rural Update newsletter is produced approximately every 3-4 months.  The update is collated by Planning Policy Officer, Caroline Owen, who gathers items from officers within the Council as well as using external sources such as the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Countryside Agency and the Chilterns AONB Shadow Conservation Board.

The update aims to focus on local initiatives and organisations together with wider initiatives having an effect on rural areas within the District.

The newsletter is distributed to all Rural Forum members and relevant officers within the Council.  It is also publicised in the Planning Weekly Bulletin and is available to view on the Council’s web site on the Rural Activities pages.

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Rural Strategy

The current Rural Strategy was approved in 2002 (after consideration by our Cabinet) and was produced through a wide range of local organisations with an interest in rural issues.

The aim of the Strategy is to identify the most pressing rural issues and set out practical actions to address those issues.

The Strategy sets out aims/ targets but has no specific action plan.  Implementation takes place through a range of organisations, including Bucks Community Action.

At present BCC are undertaking a review of its rural activities, which could possibly lead to a review of the current Rural Strategy.

The Role of Community Plan and Wycombe Development Framework

In April this year the Council undertook initial public consultation in relation to the review of the Community Plan and an early non-statutory consultation stage of the Wycombe Development Framework.

It is these two documents that will, in due course, set out the local framework for action and decisions affecting the rural areas of the District.  It is therefore imperative that the new policies devised are fully integrated with the needs of the rural areas of the District and the people who live and work there.  A process of ‘rural proofing’ emerging plans assists in this, something we shall integrate with the sustainability appraisal of the plans.

At the March 2004 Rural Forum the attendees were introduced to the processes relating to the two documents and the upcoming public events in which they could become involved.

In October this year the Council is going to undertake a further consultation stage in relation to the two documents and this again will be the subject of a presentation at the October Rural Forum.

Wycombe Rural Forum - Terms of Reference

Wycombe District Rural Forum

19.11.02

A.   Role and Purpose

B.   Membership

Membership of the Rural Forum will be by invite and will consist of representatives from:

C.   Operational Aspects

*  2 hour meetings will be held bi-annually and will be organised by WDC.  An Annual Farm tour will also be organised by WDC for Forum Members.

*  The agenda will be developed through consultation with a Steering Group.  This Group will be comprised of up to 6 people drawn from the Forum.  Membership of the Steering Group will be reviewed at Forum meetings every two years.  The main objectives of the Steering Group will be for consultation on agendas and on key rural issues raised in-between Forum meetings, and to be involved in the Council’s Planning Forum

*  Forum Members will be asked to fill out a short survey at the end of each Forum

*  Minutes will be reported to WDC’s Environment Improvement Scrutiny Committee as an Information Sheet, and will be sent to the appropriate representative of the South East Rural Affairs Forum (SERAF)

*  Report back consensus/requests to WDC, BCC, and Government policy-forming bodies

*  Agendas and minutes of each Forum will be made available on the Council’s website