Agenda and minutes

Councillor David Anthony, Chairman of the Beeches Community Board, welcomedmembers and guests to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Cllr R Bagge, J Morrissey (MP for Beaconsfield), A Turner (Office manager for Joy Morrissey MP), R Small (Lent Rise School), D Alder (Neighbourhood Watch), M Bergh (Youth Practitioner), A French, R Home, J Jebson, H Mee (The Clare Foundation), R Horton-Kitchlew, E Chason and D Hulme (Family Support Service).

To agree the Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 26 July 2022 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 26 July 2022 were agreed as an

accurate record.

Councillor P Kelly requested an update on the Bucks Mind Mental Health project being ran in schools. Andy Chapman, Community Board Manager, explained that the project had been extended and feedback would be available and circulated at the end of the school term.

None.

Guest Speakers:

·       Helping Hand – Gill Harding

·       Burnham Care & Share – Lisa Pope

·       Bucks & Surrey Trading Standards – Pei Harper

·       Community Impact Bucks – Lew Headley

Gill Harding, Head of Community Support, was in attendance to inform the Community Board about the Helping Hand Team. The presentation slides referred to in this meeting would be appended to these minutes, with some key points below:

• The team received £2.4 million from the Government’s Household Support Fund for April to September 2022.
• A further Household Support Fund grant of £2.4 million was received for October 2022 to April 2023 to support vulnerable households.
• The Helping Hand team continued to support individuals and families in need of financial support. It was noted that they can assist with referrals to food banks and other food support organisations. You can get in touch via the Buckinghamshire Council website or by telephone: 01296531151.
• The level of demand has increased, with on average 50 new Helping Hand applications every working day. It was expected that the number of first-time applications would rise.
• G Harding informed attendees of a range of schemes including Food Support, financial insecurity, cost of living and Opportunity Bucks.

Lisa Pope, Burnham Care and Share, informed attendees of the initiative based in Burnham Park Hall. 2021 was its first full year of operation, issuing 1000 vouchers and supporting 2562 individuals. At point of this meeting, Burnham Care and Share had issued 827 vouchers supporting 2308 individuals. The following was noted:

• The food bank was now operating self-sufficiently, with the help of grants and local donations.
• L Pope had observed an increase in people asking for support with electricity and gas. It was hoped that potential grant funding would help fill this demand. Moreover, St Peter’s Church had provided every client with at least 1 energy voucher over the December period.
• A greater number of asylum seekers looking for support were recorded; however it was noted the food bank is only able to assist them as an emergency and not as an ongoing basis.
• Burnham Care and Share had assisted a number of clients to be rehomed.
• They had recently signed up to the Buckinghamshire Council Food Champions Scheme, which encouraged residents to organise long-life food collections for their street. So far, 6 streets had registered.
• Maidenhead Food Share were supporting the Burnham Care and Share.

Pei Harper, Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards, was present to speak about safeguarding against scams, particularly cost of living scams. The key points were highlighted below:

• Attendees were informed that once an individual has been scammed, they were twice as likely to be scammed within 12 months. Intervention during this period was a key focus for Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards.
• Types of scams included postal, doorstep rogue traders, online, and text message scams.
• It was noted that Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards were able to provide free call blocking devices to avoid scam calls, doorbell cameras, and “no cold calling” sticker packs.
• Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards were the lead authority in prosecuting illegal money lending and loan sharks.
• P Harper asked attendees to think of any community groups they would like Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards to liaise  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Richard Ambrose, Director of Major Projects

Richard Ambrose, Buckinghamshire Council, was present to give an update. The full report was available in the agenda pack and the following was highlighted:

• Support for Ukrainian Guests past the initial 6 months. The Council had been trying to extend agreements where possible, rematch families, and assist families enter private rented accommodation. Buckinghamshire Council had agreed to financial incentives to help but was looking into increasing the supply of temporary accommodation.
• The Town and Parish Charter had been agreed and had been published on the Buckinghamshire Council website.
• Buckinghamshire Council had gained powers to enforce moving traffic offences. This was going to be rolled out in 14 locations across Buckinghamshire, with one being in Taplow.
• Consultations including spending priorities for Buckinghamshire Council, Dorney Lake Public Spaces Protection Order, and proposed changes to Home to School transport.

Councillor George Sandy presented the update for the Wellbeing action group. The following was noted:

• Farnham Royal Girl Group received a new shed via Community Board funding.
• Community Ventures volunteered to run an outreach programme. The Family Information Service provided a list of local organisations who can provide support for young people.
• The Burnham Beeches Rotary Club were planning to distribute 300 Christmas food parcels to families. The project cost was estimated at £9235 and an application had been made to the Community Board for a grant of £5000.

Andy Chapman, Community Board Manager, gave an update on the Infrastructure and Highways action group. The points below were raised:

• Balfour Beatty Living Places maintenance contract. Projects that had not been started would be reviewed by the new contractor to check costings and delivery plans.
• A “menu of options” design would be developed to provide information around small highways schemes with indicative prices and delivery times.
• Community Boards would be consulted over new arrangements with the provider.

Andy Chapman, Community Board Manager, gave an update on the Improving our Environment action group. The following was mentioned:

• Community Board had approved applications from Taplow and Burnham Parish Council for the Eco Audit Projects. These involved surveys of parish buildings to identify opportunities for carbon reduction. The learning from this would be shared.
• A Chapman called for volunteers to get involved in the action group.

A Chapman gave a funding and applications update. The full update would be appended to these minutes. It was noted that around £53,000 had been granted to fund projects.

Public questions, consultations and petitions

A Chapman mentioned the new Buckinghamshire Boundaries Consultation from the Boundary Commission.

One petition had been running locally through August and September 2022, to remove layby parking on Bath Road. It was noted that there was not enough support for the petition to be taken forward.

A Chapman explained that this update had been circulated with the agenda report pack and would be available to read.

A Chapman explained that the dates for the 2023 Proud of Bucks Awards had been decided. Nominations would open on 9 January until 12 February 2023.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 at 6pm on Microsoft Teams

Tuesday 21 February 2023