Agenda and minutes

Venue: MS Teams Virtual Meeting

Contact: Elaine Hassall (Community Board Co-ordinator)  Rebecca Binstead (Democratic Services Support)

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman's welcome and introduction to the Community Board

Cllr Ashley Waite - Chair

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave an overview of the virtual meeting procedure rules.

2.

Notes from the last meeting pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Elaine Hassall – Community Board Coordinator

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 18th March, 2021 be approved as a correct record.

3.

Declarations of Interest

Elaine Hassall - Community Board Coordinator

Minutes:

There were none.

4.

Thames Valley Police - Neighbourhood Update

Insp James Davies - Thames Valley Police

Minutes:

Sergeant David Kuttner was standing in for Inspector James Davies to update the Members on the work of Thames Valley Police (TVP) in the Community Board area. Members were informed that the Haddenham and Waddesdon neighbourhood teams were prioritising rural crime prevention, including thefts from outbuildings and sheds. Focus has also been placed on prevention and detection of serious acquisitive crime such as burglaries and thefts of motor vehicles.

 

At the beginning of the year, 14 burglaries were reported with the areas most affected by this being Bishopstone, Brill, and Cuddington. Since the 1st of April 2021, this figure has dropped to 7 reports of burglaries mostly of sheds and allotments. Thus, the team have held Crime Reduction Prevention Events in local garden centres. Meanwhile, the amount of reports of theft of motor vehicles has risen, from 7 in the first three months of the year, to 14 reports from the 1st of April 2021. 6 of these occurred in Long Crendon with other areas of concern including Ickford and other villages. In response, Officers have been changing their shifts to match when offences have taken place.

 

Sgt Kuttner explained that COVID restrictions may be having an affect on the type of crime being committed, as there has been a nationwide drop in domestic burglaries due to people staying home. However, this has caused a rise in other types of offences, such as rural crime.

 

Members were given the opportunity to ask questions relating to the update and were informed that:

·         Speedwatch has recommenced.

·         The Integrated Offender Management Programme is working with probation to reduce reoffending and the Neighbourhood Team are also tasked to engage with previous offenders.

·         Additional training is being given to call takers to help identify rural crime within the report logging system.

·         The Rural Tasking Team has been set up, comprised of 18 Police Officers, 2 Sergeants and an Inspector. Their priority is to disrupt offenders and they are in the early stages on creating a WhatsApp group with local farmers to improve their engagement. This should be set up later in the year.

5.

Spotlight on how support groups have risen to the challenges of lockdown

Community Board Coordinator to interview local group leaders

Minutes:

Ms E Hassall (Community Board Coordinator) introduced the item to display the work of smaller support groups who have been operating during Covid and the challenges they have faced. Ms Paula Rogers, Chairman of the Waddesdon Wednesday Club, detailed their shift from a paid to free offering, as well as welcoming those aged 65 and above regardless of their needs. They are open every Wednesday from 10am – 3pm in the Waddesdon village hall.

 

The main challenge was continuing the delivery of their service, as most of their clients were shielding. They partnered with the Waddesdon Support Group to organise activities, phone calls, and deliveries in order to keep people still engaged with the service. When asked how the Community Board could help, Ms Roger highlighted the lack of cohesion between support groups and how their services should be offered to all potential service users. The Waddesdon Wednesday Club is also looking for volunteers, both for the trustee board and volunteer rota, which will require a DBS check and some level of commitment. They will resume their activities on the 21st July 2021 and call for those interested to get involved.

 

Ms Agnieszka Alborzpour, of the Waddesdon Support Group, detailed how the group was started in the lockdown of March 2020 as a community-initiated organisation. Local residents were concerned about those isolating and how they could access additional support. Initially there were 120 volunteers who set up a helpline. They are no longer a Covid support group, but carry on as the Waddesdon Support Group as there has been a continued demand for their services. Currently, they have 12 volunteers with roughly 5-10 requests per week. The group is struggling to find volunteers with transport, as they are receiving calls from older individuals who wish to attend hospital appointments during the working day.

 

Anyone wanting to get involved in the Waddesdon Wednesday Group or the Waddesdon Support Group are encouraged to email Ms Hassall at: hadwadcb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk and it will be passed on.

6.

Update on funding criteria, process and applications pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Elaine Hassall - Community Board Coordinator

Minutes:

Ms Hassall gave an update on the funding criteria and applications, as part of the Community Board refresh. The funding process has been simplified with a new online funding application form that went live on the 30th July 2021. Ms Hassall encouraged the Members to circulate this amongst their community groups and partners. Those interested in becoming a member of the environmental action group are encouraged to contact the Community Board at: hadwadcb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

 

The slides providing specific details on Community Board projects and funding applications over the past year would be circulated to Members and appended to the Minutes of the meeting.

7.

Look back at the 2020/21 - end of year review (review of dashboard) pdf icon PDF 5 MB

Elaine Hassall - Community Board Coordinator

Minutes:

Ms Hassall gave a review of the previous working year (2020/21) and the schemes supported by the Community Board. The Members were shown the dashboard of the previous year and noted that an updated dashboard will be presented in a future meeting. Monitoring of previous projects is ongoing and a project update is also scheduled in the future.

 

The slides would be circulated to Members and appended to the Minutes of the meeting.

8.

Funding update - update on budget position for 2021/22, funding applications - TfB schemes and general applications pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Cllr Ashley Waite - Chair

Elaine Hassall - Community Board Coordinator

Minutes:

The Members were updated on the current status of ongoing projects, including 4 HS2 Road Safety Fund applications. The Highways Action Group will be meeting on Monday 5th July 2021 to comment on the two Transport for Bucks funding applications, as well as the Brill and Chearsley Parish Council funding applications. Members were then made aware of the monthly update email on all applications received, which will be sent to Buckinghamshire and Parish Councillors as well as those who have asked to be informed about the Community Board.

 

9.

Looking forward to 2021/22 - Supporting Council and Buckinghamshire priorities at a local level; key focus areas for 2021: Economic Recovery, Environment and Climate Change. pdf icon PDF 58 KB

Marco Dias - Localities Manager,  North Team

Minutes:

Marco Dias, the Localities Manager for the North Team, gave an update on the action groups and their Chairs:

·         Environment – Mick Caffrey

·         Highways and Travel – Ken Birkby

·         Economic Recovery – Ashley Waite

·         Health and Wellbeing – Phil Gomm

 

Members noted that the Freight and Flood groups will continue to meet outside the Community Board, but will still be linked and will provide updates when required.

10.

Community Matters (opportunity to raise pre-submitted questions)

Cllr Ashley Waite - Chair

Minutes:

Members were given the opportunity to ask questions on any local community matters and were informed that:

·         Questions can be submitted to the HS2 East West Rail Working Group ahead of their meeting next July.

·         Cycling concerns will be covered under the Environmental group.

·         Participants from the reflective sessions will receive the report late July. Changes have been implemented from this feedback such as the single process for agreeing funding across all Community Boards.

·         Funding will need to be allocated in this financial year, but on a case-by-case basis, projects can carry onto the following financial year. Such exceptions may include transport schemes.

·         Organisations that received funding last year can still apply for funding this year. It must be noted that the Community Board cannot fund maintenance costs such as an ongoing salary.

·         There is no requirement for an application to have match-funding.

 

11.

Topics for future consideration

Elaine Hassall - Community Board Coordinator

Minutes:

Members were encouraged to submit any further ideas for future topics to Ms Hassall.

12.

Date of next meeting

Elaine Hassall - Community Board Coordinator

TBC

Minutes:

TBC