Agenda and minutes

Venue: TBC

Contact: Leone Dale (Community Board Co-ordinator)  Harry Thomas (Democratic Services, meeting support)

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman’s Welcome, online etiquette and brief introduction to the Community Board (for the benefit of new members)

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave a brief overview of the procedural rules and general housekeeping.

2.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were heard from Councillor Macpherson.

3.

Notes from the last meeting pdf icon PDF 460 KB

To agree the minutes of the meeting held 18 February 2021.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18th February, 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

4.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

Councillor Chilver declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to agenda item 9 as a Governor of the Sir Thomas Freemantle School in Winslow. The School used fields in the town currently restricted from public access which were being discussed as part of efforts to open up green spaces in Winslow to members of the public.

5.

TVP Update

Thames Valley Police to provide update.

Minutes:

PC Lee Turnham was invited to give a brief presentation to the Community Board in relation to the ongoing Community Speedwatch programme in the Community Board Area. PC Turnham drew attention to the ongoing pilot schemes for online, automated Speedwatch systems being trialled by Thames Valley Police (TVP) in High Wycombe and South Oxfordshire and the Valley of the White Horse. Initial results were positive, and Members were informed that a successful pilot scheme could result in the adoption of the system by TVP as standard and a wider rollout across Buckinghamshire. The online system would enable local communities to run the system independently, and TVP hoped to train Community Officers to carry out enforcement duty against repeat offenders identified by the data.

 

Additionally, the wider use of handheld speed readers had been authorised by TVP, with the exception of ‘Pocket Radar’ devices, which were more prone to abuse than other devices owing to their size.

 

PC Turnham clarified that those areas not currently in the pilot scheme would continue to operate as normal. A decision on the wider rollout of the online system was expected by TVP at the end of August. The outcome of the decision and any necessary subsequent steps would be communicated to Parish/Town councils by PC Turnham in due course. At the conclusion of the pilot schemes, it was hoped that the rollout of the online system would finish by the end of September should the decision be made to adopt it.

 

Councillor Gomm informed Members that discussions about speeding would be held at the next meeting of the Transport and Highways Action Group and invited people to come along if they had any concerns or issues to raise.

 

Members thanked PC Turnham for his time. Anyone with further questions for PC Turnham could contact the Community Board at WinVill@buckinghamshire.gov.uk where they would be passed on.

6.

Look back at 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

End of year review.

Minutes:

Leone Dale gave a brief presentation looking back on the work of the Winslow and Villages Community Board during the previous municipal year for the benefit of newer Members. The presentation reminded Members of the Community Board’s priorities of Improving the Environment, Transport and Road Safety, Health and Wellbeing and Covid-19 recovery as well as some of the projects that had been supported with Community Board funding including the Whaddon Allotment Accessibility project and the St. Laurence Food Cupboard. The full details on the presentation slides would be appended to the Minutes of the meeting for the benefit and convenience of Members.

7.

Looking forward to 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 478 KB

Opportunity for Members/Partners to share their views and ideas on priority areas from 2020/21, links to their areas of work and key focus areas of Local Economy, Environment, Health & Wellbeing,  and Community Safety.

Minutes:

Leone Dale then outlined the vision of the Community Board for the next municipal year and invited comments and feedback from attendees. The presentation gave a brief breakdown of the budget allocation for the board which stood at a total of £472,554 for 2021/22. This included a sum of £261,072 which had been carried forward from the previous year’s budget. The funding process had also been streamlined with the removal of funding streams, and applications would instead be funded from the same pot. The Community Board aimed to spend at least 15% of its budget each on environmental projects and local economic recovery following the pandemic. At least 25% of the budget was to be spent on roads and highways projects.

 

Community Board Members would be given information on funding applications via email and invited to make comments over the course of the subsequent week before a decision was made to either approve or reject the application. It was hoped that this would foster a more in-depth and broad conversation surrounding potential projects, rather than these taking place at the formal Community Board meeting.

Leone also updated Members on the Action Groups and introduced their Chairmen for the ensuing year. These were as follows:

 

·         Improving the Environment Action Group (Chaired by Councillor John Chilver)

·         Supporting Economic Recovery Action Group (Chaired by Councillor David Goss)

·         Transport and Highways Action Group (Chaired by Councillor Billy Stanier)

·         Health and Wellbeing Action Group (Chaired by Councillor Phil Gomm)

 

Future meeting dates for the Action Groups would be communicated when finalised by Leone following the meeting. Anyone interested in joining one of the Action Groups could contact the Community Board, or one of the Chairmen directly to express an interest.

 

Councillor Gomm notified members that he would also be involved in the Transport and Highways Action Group working under Councillor Stanier, specifically in relation to rural speeding issues. Anyone with concerns about speeding was encouraged to contact him.

 

Councillor Chilver notified members that the Joint Working Group dedicated to issues concerning the East-West Rail and High Speed 2 construction projects was still meeting monthly. The next meeting of the Working Group would be 22nd July on MS Teams from 6-8pm. Anyone wishing to attend the meeting was encouraged to contact Leone for further details.

 

Leone informed Members that meetings of the Community Board would take place in November and February, with an annual event in April. The deadline for highways applications seeking funding from the 2022/23 budget was 30th September 2021.

 

Roy van de Poll expressed his hope that the Community Board’s Health and Wellbeing group would continue to explore and advocate for the replacement of Norden House Surgery in Winslow with more contemporary facilities over the ensuing year. Marco Dias also clarified that the online application process would be reviewed to consider removing the requirement to complete the form in one sitting in the future.

 

Marco confirmed that the requirement for match funding would not continue as standard practice for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Formal Community Board updates pdf icon PDF 191 KB

Funding report/ Funding update including update on budget position for 2021/22; funding applications including TfB schemes, general applications.

Minutes:

Leone Dale drew Members’ attention to the Funding Summary Report that had been circulated prior to the meeting. The report provided a summary of the funding applications received, considered and approved since the last Community Board meeting on 18 February 2021 as well as some applications that were to be considered at future meetings. A copy of the report was appended to the Minutes of the meeting. Members could submit any questions or feedback on the contents of the report to Leone following the meeting.

9.

Community Matters

Opportunity to address any public questions that have been submitted in advance.

Minutes:

Tom Boyse and Kate Mulhearn from the Winslow Grange and Glade Residents Association gave a brief presentation highlighting the lack of open green space available to the public in Winslow. This issue had been exacerbated by the travel restrictions in force during the pandemic, which had prevented people living locally from accessing green space to exercise when time outdoors had been limited, and where residents did not have a garden. Those living in western Winslow were particularly negatively affected, and Kate explained to Members that those residents had less green space per-head than London residents.

 

It was hoped that the green space currently fenced off by Buckinghamshire Council with the intention to build housing and assisted living could be opened up safely again to residents until the consultation on the 2014 Neighbourhood Plan had concluded.

 

Councillor Chilver clarified the Council’s position as Cabinet Member for Property and Assets and confirmed that there were existing agreements with the Sir Thomas Freemantle School and the Winslow Tennis Club to continue using the sites currently fenced off. It was hoped that a presentation detailing the Council’s plans for the sites as well as the construction of the Sports Centre in the north of the town would be delivered in the Autumn meeting of the Community Board. Tom and Kate as well as anyone else who wanted to contribute was invited to attend the next meeting of the ‘Improving the Environment’ Action Group of which he was the Chairman, when these issues could be discussed in greater depth. Councillor Jordan suggested that the effort to open up more green space in Winslow could be jointly tackled by the ‘Improving the Environment’ and ‘Health and Wellbeing’ Action Groups moving forward.

 

Anwar Rashid (Mursley Parish Council) raised the possibility of a future funding application concerning the redevelopment of the park on the sports ground in the village. Leone encouraged him to contact her following the meeting to discuss the way forward with a possible application for Community Board funding.

10.

Topics for future consideration

To discuss topics for future meetings.

Minutes:

Members were encouraged to contact Leone if they had any ideas for discussion topics at a future Community Board or Action Group meeting.

11.

Date of next meeting

TBC

Minutes:

The next meeting would take place in November. A final date would be communicated to Members in due course.