Agenda and minutes

N Crank (MKC) – substituted by M Ellison, R King, L Levitt.

There were none.

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2020.

The following changes would be made to the minutes of the meeting held 10 September 2020.

• Item 3 - Radar work was carried out at Stowe Gardens not Stowe House.
• Item 9 - Stoke Poges golf course would be corrected to Stoke Park golf course.

The following actions from the previous meeting were discussed:

• Cllr M Petchley had asked for Milton Keynes Museum and Milton Keynes Arts and Heritage to be invited to this meet. Mr R Excell was representing Milton Keynes Hertiage however an invite had not been extended to Milton Keynes Museum in error.

RESOLVED

Members of the Forum AGREED the minutes of the meeting held 10 September 2020 pending the updates above.

To be presented by Eliza Alqassar, Environment Manager.

Ms E Alqassar, Historic & Built Environment Manager, Buckinghamshire Council gave an update on the Buckinghamshire Heritage Portal.

The following points were discussed:

• The portal had first been launched in August 2020 and had been well received with visitor numbers continuing to increase.
• An increase in traffic from outside the UK had been noted.
• The work of the Chiltern Beacons project had not been logged at this time.

To be presented by Lucy Lawrence, Archaeological Officer.

Ms L Lawrence, Archaeological Officer, Buckinghamshire Council gave an update on the Knowing Your Place project. 

The following points were discussed:

• The project was launched in April 2020 and officers were looking for volunteers with local knowledge or knowledge of historic environment records (HERs) to support updating parish records. Promotion had been carried out on Wycombe Sounds radio.
• There was a total of 146 parishes to work on with 40 parishes having been assigned to date.
• The project would not include the MKC area and Ms Lawrence would seek an update from Mr N Crank, Senior Archaeological Officer, Milton Keynes Council (MKC), for their plans.

ACTION

Ms Lawrence to contact Mr Crank to see if MKC had similar plans.

RESOLVED

Members of the forum noted the update.

To be presented by Eliza Alqassar, Environment Manager.

Ms E Alqassar, Historic & Built Environment Manager, Buckinghamshire Council gave an update on this project.

The following points were discussed:

• Buckinghamshire Council (BC) had received monies from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for a local heritage list for the county. This would cover sites that were not eligible for national listing but were locally relevant.
• Work was under way to create criteria and note buildings already included on local plans. This would include working with relevant outside agencies such as Bucks Architectural Society.
• A local heritage platform similar to the existing historical records portal would be launched in July/August 2021. This would include a nomination form.
• Milton Keynes Council had received monies for a similar project and had used a private contractor to draw up their criteria. The two councils would share information as projects progressed.

RESOLVED

Members of the forum noted the update.

To be presented by Laura Levitt, Principal Heritage Specialist.

This update would be postponed until the September 2021 meeting due to officer sickness.

·         Buckinghamshire Council Archaeology Service

·         Buckinghamshire Council Heritage Officers

·         Milton Keynes Council

·         Bucks County Museum Trust

·         National Trust

Mr P Markham, Senior Archaeologist, Buckinghamshire Council, referred to documents circulated with the agenda.

Mr Markham highlighted the following:

• Stoke Mandeville Church HS2 dig
  • 50% of remains had now been removed.
  • Site open days would be arranged as covid restrictions were lifted. 
  • HS2 were also planning lectures pitched at various levels of ability.
  • Lion TV, responsible for other HS2 archaeological documentaries, had been onsite but there was no definitive news on commissioning a full documentary.
• Grimm’s Ditch
  • The monument appeared to extend further than originally thought.
  • There were still plans to for further works under the Chalk, Cherries and Chairs project which had been delayed due to covid.

The following updates were received from Buckinghamshire Council Conservation Officers

• In the Wycombe area there had been an increased planning consultation in including Chiltern Shopping Centre.
• In the Chiltern and South Bucks area it had been necessary to take on contractors to support an increase in home improvement applications including home office space.

Buckinghamshire Museum Trust

• There were no representatives present from the Buckinghamshire Museum Trust but Ms Alqassar suggested that the September 2021 could have a museum focus.

To be presented by Mike Woods, Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust

Mr M Wood and Ms A Davies, Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust, referred to the documents circulated as a supplement to the agenda.

Members of the forum were asked to vote on whether Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust should become a voting member of the forum. The Chairman asked for an email poll to be taken outside of the meeting.

ACTION

Ms Kenward to ask eligible members to confirm their decision via email.

Cllr V McPake, Milton Keynes Council, noted the Environmental Agency flood prevention task force was currently involved in a project near Buckingham where works could involve removing as much as 2 metres of top soil. She hoped steps would be taken to ensure discoveries were logged and protected.

The East West Rail consultation was now open. 

23 September 2021, 2pm.

23 September 2021, 2pm