Agenda and draft minutes

Welcome to everyone and highlighted how the Community Board can interact on projects for the benefit of the Community and linking back to Buckinghamshire Council. Tonight’s theme is on Community Safety and we welcome our presenters from TVP, Bucks FRS and Buckinghamshire Council

Apologies – Cllr David Brackin, Cllr Grant Kirby, Cllr Tim Butcher, Cllr Andrew Wood, Cllr Guy Hollis, Cllr Jonathan Rush

No declarations of interest

Minutes of last meeting –  agreed as an accurate record

Simon James, Service Director Education

Makyla Devlin – Senior Community Board Manager

Question – Cllr Isobel Derby - rural broadband – no of premises in the area that have been affected – how do any of the items within the update affect Denham and Gerrards Cross CB? ACTION LC – to feed back to Board and include with action notes of meeting – see full Corporate update for details

Questions from members of the public can be submitted in advance of the meeting to denhamgxchalfonts@Buckinghamshire.gov.uk 

Public Questions – none received prior to the meeting

TVP – James Ellis Neighbourhood Inspector, TVP

Community Safety  – Abdul Rahim, Community Safety Manager, Buckinghamshire Council.

TVP – Inspector James Ellis –. The report was attached to the agenda pack

• Newsletters being produced quarterly to capture highlights in the area.
• Home Burglaries – generally seen a downturn in offending rates in first half of the year. There has been some organised groups offending and some successful prosecutions.
• Affluent areas are being targeted in the arterial road network.
• Window film recommended to place over vulnerable windows to prevent burglaries.
• Pony and Trap racing – met with Bucks Council on site at A413 to discuss concerns. This is a developing group who spans the whole country in significant numbers. Would like to see the characteristics of the road changed – discussions are ongoing. Thank you to the Board for the successful platform and partnership working that has taken place regarding this activity to forming a holistic approach.
• Keyless thefts – criminal devices have become more sophisticated. There are products out there to protect your keys and protect your cars.
• Trades vehicles and theft of tools – this is an ongoing operation
• Rural crime – poaching, theft of plant machinery and prevention information sharing
• Police issues forum – 26 July, all are invited and will cover the above.

Question – Cllr Carl Jackson – ASB from secondary school pupils intimidating residents. How should this be reported. Answer – further presence in the area by TVP and look at interventions with parents of pupils and working with Bucks Council Community Safety Team. Residents to be encouraged to report incidents on line rather than 999

Abdul Rahim – Buckinghamshire Council – Community Safety (slides will be provided with the action notes)

• Section 17 of the crime and disorder act outlines the statutory duty for Local Authorities.
• Buckinghamshire Council completes a strategic assessment every 3 years. Current one runs from 2023-2026 and called Safer bucks Strategy and Strategic Assessment compiled with data from online survey.
• Public Survey will be released over the coming months. Would encourage the survey to be completed to provide quantitative data.

Question – Cllr Des Bray – ASB including public sexual activity in the open. Can the Council do something about it as the school holidays are imminent. It is in Hodgemoor Woods ACTION – AR will liaise with Forestry

Engagement Event & other activities

Action Groups

Engagement event and other activities Coronation events, a CB engagement event as well as Proud of Bucks Awards have taken place.

Projects

Budget position 2023/24 £108,496

Community Safety TS

Sustainability Action Group JC

Infrastructure & Highways JR/DB

Health & Wellbeing ID

Community Safety – Cllr Tony Shinner – Chairman

Sustainability- Cllr Jane Chamberlain- Chairman

Infrastructure and Highways – Cllr Des Bray- Vice Chairman

Health & Wellbeing – Cllr Isobel Darby – Chairman

MEMO TO       Liz Charter & Members of the Community Board

FROM             Tony Shinner (Cllr Chalfont St Peter Parish Council)

DATE              13.07.2023

RE                   Acton Group: Community Safety

1          My apologies to those attending for my being unable to take part in Tuesday’s Community Board meeting due to IT problems.(I had been using internet throughout the day without problem but had trouble logging into MSTeams, then found neither video nor microphone would work, nor could I use the chatbox. I did listen to most of the meeting however and this is what I intended to say ref Community Safety

2          I have discussed this prevliousy with Liz Charter as coordinator and we generated a short list of issues we think merit most attention. Mindful of the limited funding we should look for other actions his action group can recommend

3          A significantly increasing problem concerns Fraud, and how we as smaller communities can help challenge it. I include in this cold calling especially to garner house and garden repairs; but internet and telephone activity is reaching serious levels

            These activities cross over with ID theft and other criminal activity. Sadly the profile of the victims tends to be the more vulnerable in the community,

            The issue is often in getting advice to those sectors of the community, and providing them with the knowledge to resist scams. A number of organisations already provide this sort of service (eg Help The Aged). It would be helpful to find out what advice is available in the different communities this board services

4          Of concern to residents in the SL9 area in particular is the Pony Trap racing on the A413. We hope to receive an update of the work Bucks Council and Thames Valley Police have been investing in by way of partnership. This is an extreme example of several Public Order issues which need to be compared from community to community

5          In two previous years we have discussed CCTV and we were asked by Buckinghamshire Council to think twice about investing in new systems and/or software whilst they agreed a uniform approach across the county.           

6          CCTV goes hand in hand with another issue: Fly Tipping. Again an exchange of information between communities can be helpful as much of this activity takes place along country lanes between communities

7          Speeding and Parking issues continue to irritate members of the public. In some communities (eg ChStPeter) inconsistent enforcement leads to abuse of free parking facilities, yet one hour free parking is often the make or break for survival of many small businesses. What is your experience?. Should the larger T&PC’s be allowed to contribute towards the cost of additional enforcement. Chalfont St Peter have been asking for this for at least three years

Tony Shinner (cllr.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

16^th November 2023 6.30pm via Teams