Agenda and minutes

To be presented by the Chairman, Cllr Wendy Matthews.

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

Apologies had been received from R Bagge, T Egleton, S Keyes, O Kraus, D Ryder and P Stanhope.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

The notes of the meeting held on 20 April 2022 were agreed as an accurate record.

Update to be provided by Chris Geen, Buckinghamshire Council.

The Community Board received a virtual presentation from Chris Geen (Community Safety Team Leader and Serious Organised/Violent Crime Lead) on the work of the Community Safety Team. The following key points were made during the presentation:

The Community Safety Team were responsible for delivering:

• Crime prevention and awareness campaigns, for example on water safety, burglaries, personal safety and anti-social behaviour (ASB).
• Communication messaging via social media, media, newsletters and by attending community events.

Safeguarding/Modern Slavery/Exploitation:

• Examples of community safety schemes across the county and campaigns to help raise awareness and put victims in contact with local support services included:
  • Hotel Watch: helped to prevent child exploitation in local hotels by helping owners and staff to spot and report potential crimes.
  • Safe Places: a business could become a safe space where people in need could get support.
  • Shop Watch: a partnership of local retailers that works with the Council and the Police to stop theft, crime and anti-social behaviour in shops across the county.
  • Ask for Angela: people who felt unsafe, vulnerable or threatened could discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’. This code-phrase would indicate to staff that they required help with their situation and a trained member of staff would then look to support and assist them.
• Serious Violence Task Force: role of the taskforce was to implement the new Serious Violence Duty, work to reduce serious violence in partnership and provide operational support to the Police.
• Place based local problem solving task groups have been established covering Aylesbury Town Open Space, Chesham Town, Buckingham Town and Wycombe Town.
• Early intervention support and youth outreach work was undertaken through funding and commissioning providers such as 1-2-1 mentoring to high risk young people.

The Domestic Abuse Team were responsible for:

• Co-ordinating partnership approach and activities to tackle Domestic Abuse (DA) & Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
• Providing triage workers to Multi-Agency-Safeguarding hub.
• Conducting homicide reviews, which was a statutory duty.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Team were responsible for:

• Investigating and collaborating with Police using ASB legal powers and restorative interventions.
• Co-ordinating the monthly Anti-Social Behaviour Multi-Agency Action Group.
• Problem solving local ASB issues, for example through projects such as the multi-agency run Blue Light Project.
• Co-ordinating Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) across the County.
• Co-ordinating Wardens activities Aylesbury and Wycombe Town.
• Co-ordinating CCTV across Buckinghamshire.  The team were currently conducting a service review of CCTV across Buckinghamshire.

In response to a question regarding what was happening in the Community Board area, Chris explained that he was aware that there were some anti-social behaviour issues in the area which the Anti-Social Behaviour Team were dealing with.  Chris advised that the team was working with Sergeant Dan Ryder from Thames Valley Police to look into whether there was any work which could be done with young people and youth groups in the area.  This would require funding and therefore the help of other organisations would be needed.  Julie Cook (Iver Parish Council) was aware of some work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Petition - Iverdale Close, Iver

Petition - Iverdale Close, Iver

Councillor Luisa Sullivan made reference to the report attached to the agenda regarding Iverdale Close in Iver.  The report referred to an e-petition, which had been received by Buckinghamshire Council, requesting for a speed table at the junction of Iverdale Close and Mansion Lane and further vertical traffic calming measure in the vicinity of No 52 Mansion Lane. The e-petition had attracted 71 signatures.   Concern had been raised by residents that there had been damage caused to wing mirrors of parked vehicles on Mansion Lane due to the “speed of the cars travelling along Mansion Lane….pets run over and near misses of those exiting Iverdale Close”.  

Having noted the reasons set out in the report as to why Buckinghamshire Council would not provide capital funding for traffic calming measures at the entrance at Iverdale Close and on Mansion Lane, the Community Board discussed the issues raised by the petitioners.   The Community Board felt that the alternative option, as set out in section 3 of the report, was not a viable option as would be unlikely to resolve the situation.

In recognition of the need to improve highway safety and reduce speed in the area, it was agreed that Councillor Sullivan would ask Neil O’Leary, Network Safety Team Leader –TfB, and the Local Area Technician whether there was some signage that could be provided which could help highlight the hidden junction and slow the speed of vehicles down.  Councillor Sullivan would also enquire about whether a safety traffic mirror would be beneficial. It was noted that Councillor Sullivan would update the Community Board at the next meeting.  Action: Councillor Sullivan

To be presented by Debbie Hulme, Buckinghamshire Council.

The Community Board received an update on Buckinghamshire’s Family Support Service from Debbie Hulme (Community Co-ordinator, Buckinghamshire Council).  Debbie explained that the service provided a range of support for parents and children aged up to 19 years (or up to 25 years for young people with special educational needs and disabilities).  An information leaflet was circulated to the Community Board, which set out the different levels of support that were offered by the Service and how these could be accessed:

• Level 1 support: The first level of support included online information, a local support directory and advice line from the Family Information Service.  There were sessions, courses and drop ins held at Family Centres across Buckinghamshire.  Furthermore, there was a partnership forum which supported professionals who worked with families, children and young people. 
• Level 2 support: The second level of support involved short term small group and, when required, individual targeted support for parents and young people.  The Service offered a range of groups which reflected the emerging needs of Buckinghamshire’s communities.
• Level 3 support: If a family were experiencing multiple or complex issues, the Service could offer more focused support for up to 6 months. The Service would work with the family and other relevant agencies to support the family through a coordinated agreed family plan.
• Requests for support for a child, young person or family could be made online at https://familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/.

Debbie advised that there was a Family Centre in Iver which ran a number of activities, including ‘play and explore’ and ‘messy play’ sessions.  More information on these activities and the support which the Service provides could be found online at https://familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/.  This includes information on a range of virtual and face to face courses for young people, such as ‘how to be confident and feel better about yourself’ and ‘how to cope with stress, anxiety and feeling low’.  There was also information available on a number of parenting programmes and resources.

A suggestion was made that information leaflets on the role of the Service could be made available at the Iver Christmas Lights Event, which was taking place at Iver Village Hall.

The Community Board thanked Debbie for her update.

To be presented by Stuart Parker, Buckinghamshire Council.

The Community Board received a presentation from Stuart Parker, Buckinghamshire Council’s Community Youth Service Development Manager.  The first half of the presentation covered the work of the Family Support Service Community Youth Team. The following key points were made:

• The Community Youth Team was currently made up of 9 officers.
• Youth service changes in 2012 led to 16 youth centres being leased out with service level agreements in place. The Council had an ongoing commitment to support these centres. 
• In terms of wider Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) representation, the team engaged with stakeholders of VCS organisations and took a lead on community youth forums.
• In response to a question, Stuart explained that he understood that a mapping exercise had been undertaken in the past to identify what provision was already available. [Post Meeting note: as the mapping exercise had been undertaken some time ago, the profile would not be circulated with the notes.  Moving forward, due to the structure changes within the service, the links with Community Boards and relevant sub-groups would help identify any gaps in youth provision.  Furthermore, once the Youth Ambassador Programme was fully launched, the Youth Ambassadors would help the service to identity any issues that need addressing directly from a young person’s perspective.]
• The Community Youth Team took an active role in supporting funding opportunities. They could provide advice on funding applications, including those submitted to Community Boards.  
• The Community Youth Team worked alongside the Community Safety Team to address youth issues.
• Other areas of support included; NEET, Youth Voice Bucks, Youth Voice Executive Committee, Shout Out For SEND, We Do Care and bucksinspired.

The second half of the presentation focused on the proposal to improve youth participation in Community Boards.  The following key points were made:

• Youth Voice was for 11 to 19-year olds (or up to 25 years old for young people with a disability or learning disability) from Buckinghamshire and was a place where young people could have their voices heard to benefit and strengthen the community and take an active role in making Buckinghamshire the best place to live for all young people. The Youth Voice Executive Committee informed senior leaders from the Council about youth issues and undertook programmes of work to improve local services.
• There was an opportunity to link Community Boards and the existing Youth Voice Executive Committee to ensure that youth participation was embedded into Community Boards and provide young people with the opportunity to have a voice in Community Board activity.
• The proposal was that the Youth Participation Team would support Community Boards to recruit young people to be Youth Ambassadors.   
• There would be two Youth Ambassadors per Community Board and they would be a part of the wider Youth Voice Executive Committee.
• The Youth Ambassadors would represent their Community Board at Youth Voice meetings and feedback relevant information and opportunities to their relevant Community Boards for further discussion and action.
• Their role in supporting the Community Boards would include:
  • Being youth advisors to councillors.
  • Conducting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Chairman, Councillor Wendy Matthews, provided an overview of the work carried out by Buckinghamshire Council’s Helping Hand Team. The slides from the presentation would be attached to these notes.  The following key points were made during the presentation:

• The Helping Hand Team offered advice, help and information to people who needed it, including financial help to cover the food and energy costs for households in crisis, as well as helping with paying for other essential items like sanitary items and nappies. The team was available to help individuals or families in need, those on low incomes and those who were experiencing a financial emergency or crisis. 
• For the period 1st April to 30th September 2022, Buckinghamshire was awarded £2.4m of funding from the Household Support Fund to provide support for residents in need of help with food, fuel and other essential household costs.
• There were 5,652 referrals into the team from April 2022 to September2022 (many were repeats requiring additional support).
• Confirmation had been received of the third tranche of Household Support Fund allocation for the period from 1st October 2022 – 31st March 2023.
• The Helping Hand Team continued to support individuals and families in need of food support. They were able to assist with referrals to food banks and other food support organisations.
• Buckinghamshire Council had launched a Cost of Living Campaign to support residents that were struggling financially. There was a dedicated website for residents to access support at https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/cost-of-living/.
• Welcoming Spaces were warm, free, safe and supportive spaces that people could visit during the winter. They offered somewhere to:
  • keep warm and save money on your heating
  • look after your physical and mental health
  • get access to support, advice and Wi-Fi

They were run by Buckinghamshire Council, council partners and other local organisations. Welcoming Spaces were currently available at main libraries and community libraries, as well as some local churches and halls. More information, including an online directory of Welcoming Spaces in Buckinghamshire, was available on the Council’s webpages.

·         Following the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ White Paper, Buckinghamshire Council carried out extensive work to draw up a local approach to promote better opportunity for everyone. The result was the Council’s new programme entitled “Opportunity Bucks- Succeeding for All.” The programme would focus on 10 wards, where there were significant challenges and people were facing hardship. The 10 wards were in parts of Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Chesham. The launch event would take place on 7th December and would bring together key stakeholders to discuss the next steps of the project. The 5 themes were: health and wellbeing, standard of living, quality of public realm, jobs and education. Initial action plans were being developed.  A locally-focused approach would be used, which would be led by the local Community Boards.

• The Helping Hand team could be contacted on 01296 531151 or via an online form at https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/cost-of-living/contact-helping-hand/.

The Community Board thanked Councillor Matthews for the presentation.

To be presented by Ann Mayling.

The Community Board received an update from Ann Mayling on the Ivers Hive, which was a community support group run by volunteers that supported families across the Ivers. The following points were raised during the update:

• Since the last update, a number of successful events had taken place including a teddy bears picnic, a colour run and fun event, a Lego fun event with model makers from Legoland Windsor and events related to Eid. 
• The Ivers Hive had been continuing its work to redistribute and recycle preloved items back into the community.
• The Ivers Hive was also very busy organising the Ivers Hive Christmas Children’s Gift Appeal. Most of the referrals which had been received had come from local schools.
• Now in its second year, the Ivers Hive was developing relationships with other organisations and groups so that it could work in collaboration with others.
• Funding was the biggest challenge as donations in terms of money were going down. If anyone was interested in getting involved with fundraising, they were asked to let Ann know.
• The Ivers Hive was very lucky to have a core group of committed volunteers, but was always looking for more volunteers. If anyone was interested in volunteering, please contact Ann for more information.

The Community Board thanked Ann for the update.

To be presented by the Chairman, Cllr Wendy Matthews.

The Community Board received an update from the Chairman, Councillor Wendy Matthews, on the Foodbank which was held every Friday 10.30am-12.00pm at The Pavillion on Iver Heath Recreational Ground.  The following points were made during the update:

• The Trussell Trust provided food parcels which contained a minimum of three days of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable, tinned and dried foods that have been donated by the local community.  Toiletries were also provided when stock allowed.  Parcels were set up to reflect the needs of families, for example nappies for those with babies. 

• The Foodbank at Iver had also teamed up with London Slough Food Run to provide fresh food in addition to the parcels provided by The Trussell Trust.
• The Foodbank was run on a referral basis. 
• There was a delivery service for those who could not get to the Foodbank.
• Fuel vouchers and mobile sim cards were also available.
• Whilst the demand for the Foodbank was increasing, the number of donations had been decreasing. Food donation baskets were to be placed around Iver to try to encourage more donations. 

The Community Board thanked Councillor Matthews for the update.

To be presented by Margaret Tait and Joanna Ward.

The Community Board received an update on Iver Heath Community Library from Margaret Tait (Iver Heath Community Library) and Joanna Ward (Library Manager, Buckinghamshire Library Service). The following points were made during the update:

• There were 2,017 members of the library. Many of these were online members.
• The library had a Facebook group which people could join.
• Details on the opening times of the library could be viewed on Buckinghamshire Council’s website. The library was now opening every Saturday morning 10am to 1pm.
• The library was one of the Council’s ‘Welcoming Spaces’.   Welcoming Spaces were warm, free, safe and supportive spaces that people could visit during the winter.
• There were a number of activities and events held at the library for children, such as rhyme time and story time.  There were also activities and events for adults, such as a scrabble afternoon and a craft afternoon, held at the library.
• Margaret was looking to set up a Friends of the Library Group.
• The library had a number of great volunteers working there, but more volunteers were needed. Anyone who was interested in volunteering at the library were asked to contact Margaret (lib-ivh@buckinghamshire.gov.uk).

In the discussion which followed, Margaret stated that she would welcome any suggestions for events/activities that people would like to be held/run at the library.  She intended to visit retirement homes and sheltered housing in the area to find out what residents would like to do at the library.  Debbie Hulme advised that Margaret was welcome to attend some of the family events held at the Ivers Family Centre to find out what families would be interested in.

It was noted that there was also a Social Library, run by Wexham Parish Council and Wexham Parish Residents Association, which was held every 3rd Saturday in the month starting at 2pm at the Harvey Memorial Hall on George Green Road. 

The Community Board thanked Margaret and Joanna for their update.

Update to be provided by Sarah Keyes, Buckinghamshire Council.

Makyla Devlin (Senior Community Board Manager) introduced the Buckinghamshire Council Update document, which had been circulated as part of the agenda reports pack. The update highlighted that the Council had a number of initiatives to help with the cost of living crisis including the helping hands scheme, welcoming spaces and information and advice.  

Support for Ukrainian guests continued across the county.  The Council continued to work hard to make sure families could access schooling, work, finance, practical items, English language lessons and emotional support through the Helping Hand for Ukraine Scheme.  The Council continued to also work with its voluntary sector colleagues and local community groups to support families. 

It was noted that Buckinghamshire Council would be starting new highways contracts in April 2023 and that these would impact on Community Board projects currently in the pipeline. Given the changes to the Highway Service, Community Boards should not accept any additional applications highway schemes in 2022/23 and no further projects should be submitted for consideration for 2023/24. Community Boards would be consulted on the development of a new protocol and process for Highway Schemes during the transition to the new contract ready for April 2023.  The new highways working arrangement would include a community based design delivery model for small schemes specifically for Community Boards to develop their local highway schemes.

Members of the Community Board were asked to let Aniqah Sultan (Community Board Manager) know if they had any questions regarding the update, which she would then forward onto Sarah Keyes (Service Director for Human Resources and Organisational Development, Buckinghamshire Council).

To receive a written policing update.

The Community Board noted the written policing update, which had been circulated with the agenda pack.

To receive a verbal budget and current projects update.

Aniqah Sultan (Community Board Manager) provided an update on the Community Board budget and current projects.  The following points were raised:

• The total spend to date for 2022-23 was £51,708.71. 
• The projects funded by the Community Board were as follows:
  • 1^st Iver Heath Scouts - Outdoor equipment: £990.00
  • Iver Community Association – Uplift on doors (the money necessary to account for the increase in price since the application was originally made): £1,265.00
  • Community Board – Ivers Parking Scheme: £36,729.89
  • Wexham Parish Council – Verge management: £11,923.82 (total cost of project was £12,923.82 - £1,000 being met by contributory funding)
  • Richings Park Residents’ Association – Children’s Christmas party: £800.00
• There was £38,766.29 remaining for 2022-23.
• Projects which were in the pipeline totalled £19,439.
• An update was provided on some of the projects which were in the pipeline.  There was now a contract in place for the Grow it, Cook it, Eat it project and Aniqah would shortly be meeting with the provider to progress the project.  Groundwork South had put forward a revised project and a decision was pending on the Black Park boats application.
• In response to a query regarding the application for the ‘Schools Litter Competition’, it was noted that the application was still going through the decision making process.
• Julie Cook (Iver Parish Council) noted that Iver Parish Council had put in an application for a speed gun and speed display signs, but had been advised that it was on hold as the funding had changed. In response to Julie’s question as to whether the application needed to be resubmitted, Aniqah advised that she would look into this and would let Julie know. Action: Aniqah Sultan
• With regard to the Community Board Working Groups, Aniqah advised that they were looking for more representatives from the Wexham area to sit on the Working Groups. If anyone was interested, please could they contact her.  

The Community Board Manager announced that the Proud of Bucks awards were back.  The awards were to recognise local people for their outstanding community contributions during 2022. Nominations would open on 9th January 2023 until 12th February 2023 and the awards would be presented at a local event in Spring.

The Nomination Categories were as follows and there would be 1 winner and 1 highly commended per category for each Community Board area: 

·             Local Community Champion - For an individual (over age 21) who had made a clear and positive impact in their local community during 2022. 

·             Young Community Champion - For a young person (under age 21) who had made a clear and positive impact in their local community or towards their peers during 2022. 

·             Community Group Contribution - Recognises and celebrates a group in the Community Board area who had made a clear and positive impact on the community during 2022. 

TBC

The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 7.00pm on 21 February 2023 at the Harvey Memorial Hall.