Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

An apology for absence was received from Cllr S Guy

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2022

A Member queried whether there were any further updates on the Pine Trees Petition originally discussed in July 2021. It was confirmed that this would be investigated.    

RESOLVED: That

(i)                  the minutes of the meeting of the High Wycombe Town Committee held on 20 September 2022 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman

(ii)                further updates on the Pine Trees petition be investigated.

An update note had been circulated to Members on the Sunday burial provision which would be attached to the Minutes.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest

A presentation was conducted by Peter Lerner on behalf of the Wycombe Wanderers Disabled Supporters Association. The objective of the Association was outlined which was to welcome supporters and potential supporters of Wycombe Wanderers and all visitors to Adams Park. It aimed to ensure that everything possible was done to make each visit stress free and enjoyable.

It was hoped that all sections of the local community, including those from under- represented groups could be engaged and the match day experience at Adams Park improved for existing and new supporters. A total amount of 20k was trying to be raised for this purpose including a separate area for disabled supporters to watch the match safely,  through a variety of means such as  grants, fundraising and crowdfunding, charities, the Council (who would have information about funding streams)  and philanthropists. It was emphasised that the success of the Football Club would ultimately be a success for the community allowing the Club to be able to share its facilities with all.

The presentation was very positively received by Members, followed by a number of questions. One member enquired as to whether there had been any communication with other disabled organisations. Mr Lerner responded in the affirmative and stated that whilst this had been a very helpful exercise in terms of signposting to other bodies, charities themselves remained short of money in many cases.  Another Member highlighted that funding could potentially be sought from the High Wycombe Community Board for such a project  under Buckinghamshire Council.

Mr Lerner expressed his appreciation to Members for the  ideas put forward and thanked the Committee for its consideration. He asked Members if they could promote the work of the Club particularly too hard to reach groups who might benefit from the work of the Association.

RESOLVED: That Mr Lerner be thanked for his presentation and be wished every success in achieving his funding target.  The slides would be attached to the minutes.

A presentation was given by Rev Morley on the All Saints Churchyard. The churchyard was opened in around 1087 and closed to new burials in 1854. In 1972 maintenance of the churchyard was passed to the Council under Section 215 of the Local Government Act. The ownership and management of the churchyard remained with the Church. The churchyard was unfortunately experiencing issues with anti social behaviour and other environmental issues such as poor maintenance, vermin and lack of seating. There were also safety issues and problems with access. A landscape survey had been carried out with ideas for improvements including blocking access to stop ASB and a seating area. The project had been costed at £263,520. Some of these costs could be used for a PSPO gating order. The church had already secured and/ or spent £4,200 and the Council had spent approx. £3-5,000 on the repair of the churchyard gates. A further £20,000 was required as other grant bodies would provide funding once 10% of the funding was secured.

During discussion the following points were noted:-

• Applications for grants could be made to the Town Committee or the Community Board however, there was not a large amount of funding available. It could be worth contacting the Council’s Regeneration Team. Applications could be made for lottery funding and other partners such as Network Rail, who could help with addressing the litter problem.
• Members welcomed restricting access at the back to stop ASB. A PSPO lasted for three years and an option would be to add this area onto an existing PSPO. Changing a Right of Way could be difficult.
• The Churchyard was a bit of a peculiarity in that the Council was responsible for some of the maintenance but not all of it. In terms of parked cars; only cars who were on church business could park in the car park. The church had taken measures to control parking. The churchyard had been damaged by parked cars with regular damage to bollards.
• Some changes to the churchyard could be undertaken through the Diocese Advisory Committee rather than obtaining planning permission.
• Any work would not interfere with burial ground.
• A Member suggested prioritising the works so that safety and security were addressed first. There would be a phased approach to the works.

RESOLVED: That Rev Morley be thanked for his presentation and Members wished him every success in achieving his funding target.  The slides would be attached to the Minutes.

A presentation was conducted on the approach to the parking review to ensure that all the requirements within the town were met across the board. Members were informed regarding the background issues regarding parking stating that a number of complaints had been received from residents and businesses alike about the difficulties in parking in their roads and area. In order to alleviate displacement of such issues the decision was taken to conduct a town wide review.  

The presenting officer confirmed that there would be a need to establish a project board in order to consider the full scope of the scheme.

A member enquired whether anything could be done out of hours in terms of illegal parking given that wardens numbers had been drastically cut and it would be difficult to enforce. The member also asked whether there could be any access to an out of hours number to assist in this regard. The officer stated that there was no such facility at present as the new service was still in the process of being reviewed, however certain enforcement did exist in core areas where there were safety concerns etc. There were a number of vacancies out for recruitment which was supported by a campaign. Some wardens were using e-scooters to cover more ground quickly and if there was a shortage enforcement officers would be used from other geographical areas e.g. Amersham and Aylesbury. The new Service would operate more flexibly as it would be integrated (off and on street parking) to provide more cover. They were also looking at opportunities to improve the customer experience where there could be online reporting of any parking issues, however it was difficult to react quickly to active enforcement issues . A Member commented that she was not aware of the recruitment campaign. This had been undertaken via social media via the Media Team and the presenting officer would check details of the campaign.

Concern was raised at the length of time this project would take as discussions had been ongoing for some time. The presenting officer reported that a consultant had been appointed to undertake the project and the timeline could be shortened depending on the frequency of meetings, boundaries being agreed quickly and agreeing a draft to go out to consultation. The funding covered the consultant costs, implementation and signs and lines but did not cover enforcement. Drones could not be used as there was strict criteria regarding camera enforcement. There were also strict rules about qualified officers only being able to undertake enforcement.

In terms of the delay in issuing parking permits this would be included in the review. A further question was asked about selling cars on the highway  this was illegal and would require enforcement and education.

In response to another query it was confirmed that the compliance survey and stress survey would be part and parcel of the brief which the project board would decide upon.

RESOLVED: That Members would email the Chairman with expressions of interest  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

A brief update was provided regarding the LCWIP and the High Wycombe Transport Strategy. Members were informed that the decision to consult on both matters had been taken and was to commence on line from 14 October 2022 for a 6 week period. It was confirmed that all was being done to achieve a wide coverage of the consultation, including the placement of paper copies within the libraries, adverts on the radio and the scheduling of two roadshow days on 5^th and 18^th November. The 5^th of November roadshow was to take place at the Eden Centre hoping to reach the maximum number of people.  In addition a press release was also planned to take place.

Members were urged to publicise the consultation amongst constituents and to feedback any proposed comments and amendments to the draft strategy document during this time. Member agreed that widespread feedback was of the utmost importance and a link to the consultation was requested.

RESOLVED: That

(i)                   the Presenting officer Ms Everett-Puttur be thanked for her attendance and update.

(ii)                A link to the consultation be circulated to Members of the Committee

A report was submitted which requested Members` consideration of the quarter 1 revenue forecast position for 2022/23. This was detailed within the report along with the likely impact on working balances by year end.  The report highlighted that the net forecast position for the year was £417k a favourable variance of £11k against a total budget of £428k. The table on page 9 of the agenda pack provided the detailed information at activity level.

With regards to Community grants, it was reported that none had been awarded within quarter 1 but that one had been approved since then. No applications had been declined during this period and there were currently no grants in the pipeline awaiting approval. The impact of these activities were detailed in page 10 of the of the agenda pack.

The Presenting Officer also addressed a question previously raised regarding the costs associated with office fit out at the Penn Road Cemetery.  It was confirmed that the work remained in progress with the remaining CIL funding and was being used for such matters as signage, shoring and soil removal, in addition to the physical office fit out e.g. furniture fitting and health & safety. It was anticipated the work would be completed during 2022/23.

Members were further informed that it was likely that a new Budget Working Group would need to be established for up to sessions potentially in November and January. Dates would be confirmed closer the time.

RESOLVED: That

(i)                  the report be noted

(ii)                Members email the Chairman directly to express interest in serving on the Budget Working Group

RESOLVED: That

(i)                  the work programme be noted

(ii)                The Deputy Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration and Charles Brocklehurst be asked if they could attend the meeting to provide an update on Town Centre Regeneration

(iii)              An update be given at the January meeting on the LCWIP.

The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 22 November 2022 at QVR High Wycombe