Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting.

The Chair congratulated Amersham in Bloom for winning the UK finals of Britain in Bloom.

It was noted that Community Board would continue to meet on MS Teams with one meeting in person a year.

Apologies were received from Cllr Tim Butcher (Buckinghamshire Council), Cllr Caroline Jones (Buckinghamshire Council), Mark Roberts (Amersham Town Council), Briony Hudson (Amersham Museum), Diane Rutter (Chiltern Foodbank), Marieke Bosman (Sustainable Amersham), Debbie Hulme (Buckinghamshire Family Information Service), Jane Barnes (Amersham Action Group / Town Council), Peter Lawson (Amersham Community Association), Lesley Winrow (Chesham Bois Parish Council), Pat Milliner (Old Amersham Revite Group / Town Council).

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting 28^th July 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held 28 July 2022 were agreed as an accurate record.

Questions frommembers ofthe publiccan besubmitted in advance of the meeting to Amersham@Buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Lizzie Wright, Community Board Manager gave a presentation on community matters, the slides were appended to these minutes.

The Board had been approached by a local camaraderie club who were seeking a venue to run lunch clubs for older residents. Additionally, a restaurant in Little Chalfont was interested in providing a lunch service for older residents. The Board had been in contact with Community Impact Bucks who ran a pub lunches project. They would support the two organisations to help set the lunch clubs up. There was an appeal for any members who wished to get involved or recommendations for venues to contact Lizzie Wright.

A member of the Board advised there was a room at Chiltern Lifestyles Centre which could be available for community use if not booked out. It was advised Steve Salwa Contract Manager at Everyone Active was the contact.

The policing issues forum survey asked residents their concerns closed on 30^th October. The survey would inform decisions on areas of focus for Thames Valley Police South Buckinghamshire Neighbourhood Policing team.

The Chair highlighted discussions were ongoing with the parking team at Buckinghamshire Council in relation to the parking petition for Amersham High Street. The Council were looking into solutions for the parking issues and further information would be reported at the next Board meeting. The parking meters in the Chiltern area would be updated to take contactless payment. The Old Amersham Car Park would have electric car charging points installed. The electric car charging bays on Old Amersham High Street were not marked as electric cars only as a legal Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) was required. 

Encouraging nominations to recognise members of the community for outstanding contributions.

The Chair provided an update on the Proud of Bucks awards, further information was included in the slides appended to these minutes.

Last year’s event was attended by over 110 people and 18 stallholders who had benefited from Community Board funding. It was hoped the Community Board meeting in April would be held in conjunction with the awards ceremony.

Communications had started to go out to the local community to encourage attendance. The nominations would open on 9^th January 2023 and the event would be held in spring. Members of the local community such as voluntary group and town/parish council representatives would be involved in the shortlisting and judging process.

Lizzie Wright, Community Board Manager provided an update on community engagement. The following points were highlighted:

• Lizzie Wright would attend Chilterns Lifestyle Centre and Little Chalfont Community Library every alternate Thursday from 10am-1pm to take any questions or ideas for community initiatives. Residents were encouraged to sign up for the Community Board newsletter and volunteer to help with projects.
• The eleven schools in the Community Board area had been contacted to encourage engagement with pupils and parents. The latest was a meeting with the new head teacher at Chalfont Valley School.
•  Board members attended local events including the Amersham monthly artisan market to seek new ideas from residents. The Board were also involved with the volunteer’s fayre at St Michael’s Church Amersham, an event held at the Hospice of St Francis Amersham and other events aimed at older residents.

Cllr Flys, Vice Chair encouraged people to sign up to the mailing list to receive the quarterly newsletter which provided an update on funding and projects. There were 34 projects funded by the Board last year and the target for this year was 50 projects. There were over 700 followers on the Boards Facebook page and 250 on the Instagram account. There would be a drive to encourage more followers to the social media accounts before Christmas.

There was a reminder the four areas of spending this year were health wellbeing, supporting our young people, improving our environment and enabling a safe and thriving community. Applicants for funding were reminded to keep these in mind when making an application. The budget for this year was £89,000 and it was hoped by funding smaller projects with £500-£1000 spend the Board could make a difference to more residents.

Presentation from the Bucks Community Safety Team 

The Chair introduced Eve Chason, Community Safety Officer, Buckinghamshire Council who gave a presentation on empowerment through self-defence classes.

The following points were highlighted:

• The Community Safety team were approached by a Met police officer in Uxbridge and gym owner from Little Chalfont who had formulated successful self-defence classes.
• There were two free classes which were held in Little Chalfont Community Hall. The classes were 1hour and 30 minutes in length. The classes were advertised on Facebook and through local community groups. There were 40 participants in the classes and 60 people on the waiting list.
• The event was very empowering and taught different moves and strategies for counter attack. The participants were women from all ages and professions who had different reasons for attending. Many attendees wanted to feel safer and surer about how to deal with an attack. Areas where people did not feel safe included under passes, alleyways, carparks and dark footpaths.
• Due to the success of the classes the team were aiming to hold further classes. Kevin Hawley from Bucks Pro Martial Arts at the Chiltern Lifestyle Centre advised classes could be held from £10 per person with a minimum of 20 participants including two instructions and all equipment. There was the potential to run a class in each of the Chiltern sports centres and schools for younger people.

It was suggested a class could be run in the village hall at Coleshill and other local venues as the group agreed it was a good initiative. The Chair highlighted they would take the idea forward.

Including Grow to Give and other current ongoing projects

An update on projects was provided, the slides were appended to these minutes.

Cllr Flys, Vice-Chair highlighted work with Café 22 in Little Chalfont to support the setup of a similar dementia café in Amersham was underway. Special thanks were given to Roger Funk and Helen for their support with the project. There were two venues shortlisted and an announcement would be made soon with an anticipated opening for the end of the year. Training was underway for cafe volunteers and there was a plea for more volunteers. The café had already generated a lot of interest with carers and local residents signing up to attend.

The Chair provided an update on the Grow to Give initiative. The task and finish group worked with local allotments over the spring and summer to provide fresh produce to residents. There was a thank you to all involved in the initiative and Peter Dale for gathering donations. The project ran for seven weeks and all produce was distributed. Some produce was available at the Buckinghamshire Council office in Amersham and social workers were able to take any excess to housebound residents.

There would be an additional Grow to Give collection in the December to distribute any excess winter vegetables. The task and finish group welcomed volunteers to assist with this project. The group would share their experience and processes with the 15 other Community Board’s in the hope of rolling the scheme out across Buckinghamshire. The Board would aim to begin the initiative fully in the spring of 2023.

Lizzie Wright, Community Board Manager provided an update on local events and activities which the Board had provided funding.

• There was an Older Person’s Day hosted by Rotate at St Michael & All Angels on 4^th October. There were lots of activities ranging from arts and crafts to heath checks and local IT advice. The turnout was lower than previous years however this could have been due to the after effects of the pandemic. Any future events or activities for older people organisations and residents were encouraged to get in contact.

• There was a Tea and Tales event held at the Chiltern Lifestyle Centre by theatre company Cue34. The event had jazz music, tea and cake and attendees shared memories of the pandemic and how it affected them. All information from the event would be used to help develop the play ‘In Tune’ which it was hoped would be performed at local theatres next year.

Cllr Flys, Vice-Chair advised the official unveiling of the five commemorative benches for the Queen’s platinum jubilee had been postponed due to the sad passing of the Queen. The benches were to be installed in Amersham on the Hill, Old Amersham, Chesham Bois, Coleshill and Little Chalfont. Two benches had already been installed and plaques would be added at a later date. 

Budget allocation, remaining balance and pipeline projects 

Lizzie Wright, Community Board Manager provided an update on funding. The following points were highlighted:

• The total current spend on projects approved by the Board was £5,232 and approximately £54,600 was currently in the project pipeline.
• Projects already delivered included Whizz Fizz Festival a spy day and town trail for young people held at Amersham library. Scannappeal received funding for oximeter devices, hand held thermometers for patient medical checks in their homes. Stoney Dean School received £500 funding for their inspiration programme to promote good citizenship. Other projects included Rotate Older Persons Day, Grow to Give, Sustainable Amersham working with Dr Challoners School encouraging the town to go plastic free and Long Covid Care assisting people with long covid to manage their symptoms.

Cllr Flys, Vice-Chair highlighted a few projects in pipeline.

• The Amersham hospital gardens project sought to redevelop eight gardens to provide a tranquil space for use by patients, staff and visitors.
• Forever Cycling wanted to promote activity in the community by introducing tri-weekly sessions in churches and community halls. Participants would be provided with a cycling machine with famous landscapes and scenery projected on a screen.
• Amersham Town FC had applied for funding for portable floodlights. There were over 300 attendees using the artificial pitches throughout the year.
• Amersham Youth Worker Training and Development? would provide support for young people with autism with activities, debates, money management and relationship workshops.

The Chair introduced a new competition for schools the Board was launching. The following points were highlighted:

• There were eleven schools in the Community Board area. The competition was for young students to put forward project ideas to win a share of the £9,000 funding prize.
• Examples of project ideas could include school allotments, sensory facilities and signage on parking and stopping.
• The competition was open to all school children with four age groups; infants, primary, senior and sixth formers.
• Competition winners would receive up to £1500 to fund their idea and runners up £750. The projects would tie into the Community Board four areas of spending.
• The competition would go live next month. The winners would be announced in the April engagement event alongside the Proud of Bucks awards. Board members were asked to promote the competition to students and parents once the details were finalised.   

·         Buckinghamshire Council updates 

·         Update on Parking Petition 

Lizzie Wright, Community Board Manager provided an update on Buckinghamshire Council matters, the notes were appended to these minutes. It was highlighted the Council had a number of initiatives to help with the cost of living crisis including helping hands scheme, welcoming spaces and information and advice. Support for Ukrainian refuges was ongoing with over 1200 guests and 700 host families in Buckinghamshire.

The Chair reiterated there were two task and finish groups the Amersham dementia café and Grow to Give which would provide fresh vegetables two weeks in the run up to Christmas. Members were encouraged to contact Lizzie Wright for involvement or ideas for projects.

TBC, February 2023

2nd February 2023 6:30pm via MS Teams.