Agenda and minutes

Contact: Harry Thomas / Craig Saunders 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman's Welcome

Minutes:

Attendees received a brief, introductory presentation by the Chairman of the Wing and Ivinghoe Community Board Councillor Wight, welcoming them to the meeting and reviewing the purpose and aims of the Community Board. The presentation touched on the ongoing work of the Board to facilitate an environment in which Parish and Town Councils together with external partners, could work collectively to tackle challenges, develop and realise local projects and build a more cohesive community.

2.

Apologies

Minutes:

There were apologies from Abigail Bond, Corinna Martin and Marco Dias.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 435 KB

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 July, 2020.

Minutes:

Resolved: -

 

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2020 be approved as a correct record.

4.

Declarations of Interest

Members to declare any interests.

Minutes:

There were none.

5.

Covid-19 Response – Proud of Bucks pdf icon PDF 406 KB

Cllr Anne Wight

Minutes:

Members heard a brief reminder from the Chairman that nominations were still open for Buckinghamshire Council’s Proud of Bucks Awards, which sought to recognise the outstanding efforts carried out by the many local individuals, groups and organisations who carried out essential community support and volunteering work in direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nominations could still be made until the deadline at midnight on Sunday 27th September, and online and postal nominations would be accepted.

 

Members and attendees present were encouraged to spread the word and encourage anyone who might know of someone deserving of recognition for their efforts, to ensure that nominations were made before the deadline.

 

Members were keen to stress that as the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic continued to change moving into the winter season, that many of the previously dormant groups that had conducted vital support work had begun to restart their efforts anew, and expressed their sincere thanks for their ongoing work.

6.

Bucks Business First

Philippa Batting

Minutes:

Following discussions at the previous meeting of the Community Board, local business and economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic had emerged as a priority area for Members and attendees. Philippa Batting, Managing Director of Bucks Business First, was invited to outline the work undertaken by her team of 60 to support 13,000 local businesses of all sizes during the recent months to this end. This was achieved by supporting local businesses to partner with the most appropriate of the 700 subsidised schemes supporting businesses nationwide.

 

Philippa explained that whilst the COVID-19 pandemic continued to alter the rules and restrictions in place for business operations, Bucks Business First was able to provide ongoing support and guidance to local business owners including support to increase digital footfall, which had been of particular benefit to the retail sector when physical stores had been unable to open. Bucks Business First had also facilitated networks within local areas, with groups of businesses able to tackle common challenges together.

 

Bucks Business First would continue to offer support to businesses as the Government’s Furlough Scheme came to an end on 31st October, businesses dealing with job losses, those facing redundancy, reduced public spending, and the impact that the pandemic has had on the mental health of the workforce. Support would also be offered in managing the repayment of Government loans in the Spring of 2021.

 

The Community Board was identified as a valuable future partner and Members were encouraged to signpost any of the remaining 20,000 businesses not currently associated with Buckinghamshire Business First across Buckinghamshire to seek help from them should they need it.

 

Members thanked Philippa Batting for her time and presentation, and expressed hope that a deep and fruitful partnership could be developed long into the future.

7.

Voting on Current Projects pdf icon PDF 460 KB

Cllr Anne Wight

 

Note: Aston Abbotts Traffic Calming Scheme has been deferred for consideration at 19th November 2020 Wing and Ivinghoe Community Board meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members voted on granting approval to three outstanding traffic calming initiatives that had been inherited from the Legacy Council structure. These were as follows:

 

1.    Ivinghoe Traffic Calming Scheme

2.    Mentmore to Cheddington Cyclepath Scheme

3.    Cublington Traffic Calming Scheme

 

Owing to their familiarity with the proposals, Members agreed to vote en bloc and

 

Resolved: -

 

That the above traffic calming initiatives be approved.

8.

Community Board Action Plan – Subgroup Formation pdf icon PDF 418 KB

Katrina Kelly

Minutes:

Coordinator Katrina Kelly presented a draft of the Wing and Ivinghoe Community Board Action Plan to Members, outlining the funding streams available to support project proposals within the four priority areas of the Board, namely:

 

1.    Environment

2.    COVID-19 Recovery

3.    Health and Wellbeing

4.    Transport

 

The Action Plan detailed some of the issues to address that had been raised by residents following discussions at the previous meeting, as well as corresponding Sub-Groups which could be formed to tackle them within each of the priority areas.

 

To illustrate the work that could be undertaken as part of a Working Group, Katrina invited Hannah Price to update Members on her work with Peter Brazier and David Harnett to make electric vehicles more accessible for those without dedicated driveways and charging points. Hannah explained that the Working Group was exploring the feasibility of increasing publicly available charging points, as well as increasing charging points outside homes where possible. This project was in keeping with priority areas 1 and 4 of the Community Board. Charging point suppliers were already being contacted, and an appropriate Buckinghamshire Council Officer had been sourced for consultation by Katrina. The Working Group was open to new members.

 

Attendees were encouraged to contact Katrina if they wished to join or create a Working Group and develop a project for further discussion and future funding application. Projects that were funded or ready to be funded before the end of the fiscal year, would be able to be funded into the next fiscal year. It was stressed that Members of the Board were always open to invitations to meetings and to provide administrative support to Sub-Groups should it be required, and that the Board could be used as a platform to source necessary contacts with external partners and Officers to contribute to the work of Sub-Groups.

9.

Q&A pdf icon PDF 332 KB

Minutes:

Katrina drew Members’ attention to a document addressing the most frequently asked questions she received by those wanting to learn more about the community board, the funding structure, and the scope and operations of the Sub-Groups. The document would be made publicly available on the Buckinghamshire Council website, and attendees were encouraged to read through the document, and contact Katrina if there were any other outstanding questions that needed to be answered.

10.

Thames Valley Police

David Kuttner

Minutes:

Members received a presentation by Sergeant David Kuttner of the Thames Valley Police Aylesbury Vale Rural Neighbourhood team, outlining the work of Thames Valley Police in the local area. Sergeant Kuttner informed Members that the Wing and Ivinghoe team operate out of Wing Police Station and consist of 1 PC and 4 PCSOs working on a shift pattern, in addition to Response Officers in Buckingham and Aylesbury who are available 24/7 for emergencies across the Vale. There would be another PC joining the team in December.

 

The presentation outlined the challenges faced by Thames Valley Police during the COVID-19 pandemic, which had impacted services such as Community Speedwatch, which had to be suspended indefinitely owing to safety concerns. Parishes were still able to request a 7 day Speed Survey by contacting Transport for Bucks, to gather evidence for future action to take place where speeding was an issue.

 

Sergeant Kuttner informed the Board that the rates of incidents and crime across the area were largely in keeping with expected patterns for previous years, though Police were acting on an increased number of reports of drug use in one area. Police were also responding to breaches of COVID-19 social distancing regulations. This was of concern as the rules continued to change. Members of the public were encouraged to follow the rule of 6 and the latest Government advice.

 

Thames Valley Police would look to prioritise reduction of impactive crime in the local area, including burglaries, drug use and anti-social behaviour. Members and attendees were encouraged to give their feedback to help shape Policing priorities in the local area moving forward. Members raised concerns regarding traffic and speeding in the area, and encouraged Thames Valley Police to support the 20mph speed limits locally. Sergeant Kuttner expressed thanks for the feedback and would raise the issue with the relevant department in Thames Valley Police. He also encouraged anyone with information on areas where speeding was prevalent to contact him.

 

Members thanked Sergeant Kuttner for his time and presentation, and hoped that a mutually beneficial partnership between the Board and Thames Valley Police could be developed moving forwards.

11.

Comms Strategy and Examples pdf icon PDF 125 KB

Kate Walker and Jill Hemmings

Minutes:

Localism Manager Kate Walker gave a presentation concerning communication and engagement with the Community Boards, touching on the work undertaken jointly by the Communications Teams and the Localities and Strategic Partnerships Team to promote the Community Boards initiative by Buckinghamshire Council across the County.

 

The presentation also stressed to Members the importance of communicating the work of the Wing and Ivinghoe Community Board and the Working Groups to local residents to develop a positive relationship, and foster constructive engagement with and public interest in the Board. This should be a two-way system, with avenues for external partners and residents to be able to communicate back to the Board. Members were given some suggestions and encouraged to consider which method(s) of communication would be most appropriate to achieve this within their own communities, which would be supported by the Communications Team and Localities Team as part of a tailored communication strategy in the local area.

 

Members thanked Kate for her presentation, and would begin considering effective communication methods to develop a local strategy. Members’ attention was drawn to the Community Board Facebook page which would be created in the near future as a first step to this end.