Agenda and minutes

To be presented by the Chair.

The Chairman, Councillor Wendy Matthews welcomed the Community Board to the meeting.

To be presented by the Chair.

Apologies had been received from Inspector James Ellis, Allen Wilson, Leigh Tugwood and Palvinder Kudhail.

To be presented by the Chair.

There were no declarations of interest.

Notes of the previous meeting to be signed off by the board.

The Chairman updated the Board on the outstanding actions from the previous meeting.

·         Item 6, the Air Quality Action Plan. It was clarified that a task and finish group had been set up to review this and objections would be raised through this group.

Public questions and updates to be given by the Community Board Coordinator.

An update from Children’s Services was circulated to the Community Board.

• Buckinghamshire Council Children’s Services was judged by Ofsted to have moved from requires improvement to be good. The statutory direction had been lifted by the Department for Education as the Council was no longer inadequate.
• The Service would continue the journey of improvement, with a plan in place to address the recommendations of the inspection. The Improvement Board will also continue chaired by an independent chair.

Update to be provided by Sgt. Dan Ryder, Thames Valley Police.

The Community Board received an update from Sgt Dan Ryder and PC Dan McBroom.

·         There had been a 55.5% reduction in Burglaries, a 47% reduction in serious violence, as well as a 30.8% reduction in personal robbery. This was over the previous year to date.

·         Increased police visibility had been achieved. As well as increased patrols, social media presence reached a broad audience. It was recognised that social media communication allowed for feedback and monitoring of Community Groups.

·         Harassment and Public Disorder offences had increased significantly. However, it was clarified that this was due to government reform of The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS). Crime recording for this category had changed to reflect reported crime.

·         Calls that came through to the police were largely dealt with by the response team. This team went directly out to investigate the reported crime.

·         When parking issues are highlighted to the police, it is important that the police are only notified if the vehicle is ‘obstructing the highway’. By reporting consistent offences, hotspots can be identified which shall allow the police to take further action

·         Bodycams were an option for School Parking Marshals to help monitor negative behaviour. This evidence could be used to report and deter offenders. This was being trialled in Stoke Poges.

·         The Community was encouraged to report violations such as anti-social behaviour (including drug use and street racing). If it was an emergency, call 999. Otherwise this can be reported online or through the 101 phone number. Consistent reporting of this would allow the police to identify problem areas and alter their plans (e.g. patrols) to combat problems. The online reporting link was: https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

Written update provided at the meeting with opportunity for questions/ comments from the board.

The Community Board welcomed the outcomes of the projects it had funded over the last year and felt that a lot had been achieved despite the pandemic.

Update to be provided by representatives from the Ivers Hive.

The Community received an update on the Ivers Hive from Ann Mayling. The project aimed to work across the Ivers area:

·       To signpost families to appropriate agencies that provide information and support.

·       The organisation was based on donations, recycling and providing childrens’ clothes, equipment, school items and toys.

·       Provided regular events to redistribute and recycle preloved items back to the community. In doing so, it aimed to remove the stigma of items being free.

·       It was highlighted that the most wanted items were clothes with logos, e.g. school uniform from any of the surrounding schools.

·       Volunteers that assisted with the events were well supported and got a lot out of running the community activities and events.

Updates to be given by the Community Board Coordinator on the following:

·         Ways of working

·         Budget

·         Funding Process

·         Task and Finish Groups/ Priorities

The Community Board Coordinator set the scene for 2022/23.

• Overall, the budget had been reduced to £90,475. However there was to be a focus on more local projects. All Community Boards had received similar reductions in their budget.
• Applications had been streamlined for those under £1000 to allow for quicker completion. The maximum limit was set on a single project to £15,000.
• All applications were to be part-funded. It was clarified that there is no minimum percentage set for this part funding.
• The Budget cannot be rolled over, so should be spent in the current year.
• Task and Finish Groups have been set up to achieve the Community Board’s aims. Members were encouraged to contact the Community Board Coordinator if they wished to join any. The current groups are Air Quality, HGV Strategy, Active Travel and Youth Provision.

Update to be provided by the Community Board Coordinator on the following:

·         Community Grow It, Cook It, Eat It

·         Anti-Littering School Poster Competition

The Community Board received an update on Rollover Projects.

• The Anti-Litter Poster campaign had received significant collaboration from local schools. Posters had been designed for the colouring competitions and Bucks Communications Unit were working on the roll out.  The winning posters would be mounted and displayed on streets across the area. 
• An update from Grow it, Cook it, Eat it was included with the agenda pack.

Community Engagement Event- Summer 2022

21 November 2022

8 February 2023

The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 7.00pm 21 November 2022.