Agenda and minutes

Members noted the appointment of Councillor David Goss as the Chairman of the Winslow and Villages Community Board. The appointment had been made by the Cabinet Member for Communities in accordance with the Community Board Terms of Reference. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and gave an overview of the Community Board’s aims and objectives for the benefit of newcomers.

Members noted the appointment of Councillor Sir Beville Stanier Bt as Vice-Chairman of the Winslow and Villages Community Board. The Vice-Chairman had been nominated by the Chairman and approved by the Cabinet Member for Communities in accordance with the Community Board Terms of Reference. The Chairman explained that as Councillor Stanier had given his apologies for the meeting, Councillor Gomm had offered to act as Vice-Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Jilly Jordan as the outgoing chairman for all her work for the Winslow and Villages Community Board.

Apologies were heard from Caroline Cousin (Great Horwood Parish Council), Inspector James Davies (Thames Valley Police), Martin Dickman (Buckinghamshire Council), John Gilbey (Great Horwood Parish Council), Keith Higgins (Stewkley Parish Council), Suzanne Lindsey (Whaddon Parish Council), Corrinna Martin (Family Support Service), Trish Perkins (Oving Parish Council), Councillor Sir Beville Stanier.

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 24^th February 2022.

It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 24th February 2022 be approved as a correct record, pending two adjustments for clarity.

The fourth bullet point under item eight would be amended to read as follows:

A public consultation on the proposed sports hub development closed at the end of January 2022. 86% of respondents supported or strongly supported the development of the site. Martin and his team would consider amending the proposals to address the feedback by respondents where possible.

In addition, the seventh bullet point under item eight would be amended to read as follows:

Mr Connor felt that the proposed sports hub development was in keeping with the draft Winslow Neighbourhood Plan 2022-2033 which was out for consultation. Meetings with Winslow Town Council had taken place to take feedback on this.

There were none.

PC Lee Turnham

PC Lee Turnham gave an update to the Winslow and Villages Community Board on the Community Speed Watch project, which empowered local volunteers to monitor the speed of vehicles travelling through their area and deter speeders. The following key points were made in his update:

·       A new, exclusively online Speedwatch system would be implemented in the near future following a successful six-month pilot scheme.

·       Following a short training course, residents would be able to operate as a local group to monitor traffic speed (Operators would collect the data from the roadside, and Co-Ordinators would upload information to the system).

·       TVP would send any necessary warning letters to those flagged as speeding, based on the uploaded data.

·       The new system could process the information of up to 100 vehicles per minute and distribute letters.

·       Data would be made available online to residents to monitor traffic trends in their areas based on the uploaded data.

·       Data would be gathered and assessed over approximately six months to determine hotspot areas where enforcement may be necessary.

·       During the pilot scheme, 94.02% of those who received a first warning letter did not receive a second or third warning.

·       TVP would loan a kit of necessary Speedwatch equipment to any local group for the lifetime of the group.

Following questions from the Community Board, PC Turnham confirmed the following key points:

·       The start-up kit loaned by TVP would contain a Speedwatch sign to be placed ahead of the roadside checkpoint, a handheld speed gun (with instructions) and three reflective jackets.

·       TVP would supply one kit per group, but recommended the use of multiple kits per group to facilitate coordination of data collection in a local area. Additional kits would cost between £200-300

·       Information and news updates related to Community Speedwatch would be communicated via the Police and Crime Commissioner’s website which could be found via the following link: https://www.thamesvalley-pcc.gov.uk/get-involved/speedwatch/

·       Anyone interested in joining an existing Speedwatch group, or forming a new one was encouraged to do so via the dedicated website at the following link: https://communityspeedwatch.org/FRONT-v2-Home.php

Members thanked PC Turnham for his presentation.

Sophia Comer gave a brief summary of the Winslow and Villages Community Board event held on 27^th July 2022. Sophia thanked everyone who attended and participated for their role in making the event a success. It was hoped that the event had played a part in fostering a closer-knit local community and raised the profile of local organisations and partners for the community board in future projects.

The community board would be present at the Winslow Show on Mon 29^th August and the Buckinghamshire County Show on Thursday 1^st September. Attendees were asked to contact Sophia at winvill@buckinghamshire.gov.uk if they knew of any other events that they would like the community board to attend to promote its work.

The Chairman confirmed that the action groups that had formed part of the community board structure over the past year would be reformed moving forward with more information to follow in due course. It was the Chairman’s hope to form task and finish groups to tackle problems that arose during action group discussions.

Councillor Chilver stressed his intention to continue the Environment Action Group and welcomed any feedback or input on this in advance of the next meeting.

Beth Dormer, Buckinghamshire Council

Beth Dormer and Deborah Stevens (Sponsor Liaison Area Lead Officers) gave a presentation to the Community Board detailing the work undertaken in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly regarding the local support given to the Ukrainian refugees settling in the community board area. The following key points were made in their presentation:

·       The visa scheme for Ukrainian refugees launched in March 2022, with three-year visas being awarded to successful applicants.

·       Local authorities were awarded £10,500 per person supported.

·       Twenty people were working full-time as part of the project team, with other officers helping in addition to their normal roles.

·       There were thirty-three sponsors in the Winslow and Villages Community Board Area, with sixty guests. Up to forty more guests were expected as of the time of the meeting.

·       The team was awaiting government guidance on how to support guests who decided not to continue their existing host arrangements beyond the initial six-month period and sought to live on their own.

·       Living arrangements with host families could be extended for a period up to one year. Payments of £350 per month to the host family would continue to be made during this time.

·       Where existing matches needed to end, the rematching team would step in to contact those who had expressed an interest in acting as a host and find suitable arrangements for both parties.

·       Key areas being tackled by the team included rural transportation solutions, finding places at local schools, and providing mental health support.

·       The team was supported by two key funding areas. ‘Helping Hands’ funded essential items, while ‘Heart of Bucks’ funded non-essential items (e.g. translation services and school trip fees).

Following questions from the community board, the following was clarified:

·       Following a jobs fair held at the Gateway Offices in Aylesbury, sixty Ukrainians had found employment. It was hoped that this could be expanded, especially as part of the effort to support those wanting to live independently moving forward.

·       An email detailing step-by-step help would be sent to sponsors when government guidance regarding independent living for Ukrainian refugees was received. Ukrainians on the three year visa were entitled to Local Housing Allowance.

·       (ACTION: Beth and Deborah) The team would look to see how families still sponsoring Ukrainian refugees beyond the specified one-year period could be financially supported, as the £350 per month payments would come to an end beyond this time.

Members thanked Beth and her team for the work they had done to ensure that those displaced by the war had received a warm welcome in the Winslow and Villages Community Board Area.

Questions from members of the public can be submitted in advance of the meeting to winvill@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Members noted the response to the pre-submitted question received which concerning the flagging of overgrown hedgerows outside 30mph zones.

Sophia Comer also drew attention to the Community Board Summer Updates sheet circulated with the reports pack in advance of the meeting, which detailed information and upcoming events taking place between July and September 2022. This included the following:

·       A request for further help to support Ukrainian refugees across the county.

·       Raising awareness of the Helping Hand and Holiday Activity Fund to support households with the increased cost of living.

·       The Community Boards would be present at the Bucks County Show on 1st September.

·       Update on the £150 council tax energy rebate.

·       Information regarding the Bucks Online Directory.

·       A reminder to visit yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com to participate in the ongoing Buckinghamshire Council consultations.

Nick Graham confirmed that a consultation from the Local Government Boundary Review regarding warding arrangements in Buckinghamshire would begin on Tuesday 2^nd August and run until October. The feedback and views of Parishes and community groups as part of that process would be valued and could be submitted at the following website: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/29857 

Sophia Comer also provided a funding update. The following key points were raised:

·       The budget for the Winslow and Villages Community Board was £108,452 for the ensuing year.

·       Applications could be made for sums up to £15,000 for projects. Contributory funding would be mandatory as part of all project applications.

·       A small grants fund would be established providing up to £1,000 to support grassroots activities.

·       An emergency fund could provide up to £1,000 where money was needed (e.g. in the event of flooding).

·       All applications for community board funding were to be discussed with Sophia prior to an official funding application.

Sophia gave an overview of the applications that had been awarded community board funding. This included the following applications:

·       Winslow Lions North Bucks Bike ride - £1,250

·       UK Astronomy Project (multi-board project) - £1,300

·       Stewkley Players - £745.00 with a £200 contribution

·       Great Horwood Cricket Club - £1,000 with a £7,000 contribution

·       North Bucks Breathe Easy - £960.80

It was clarified that whilst applications that were made to multiple community boards would no longer be permitted moving forward, two or more boards could choose to work together on a project if it was to the benefit of both areas. The community board was also working with Community Impact Bucks on possible avenues for contributory funding where applicants were unable to provide this themselves.

Thanks were received on behalf of Winslow Lions Club for the funding given for their charity bike ride. Over £8,000 was raised for charity, half of which had been given to Bucks Mind. Furze Down School received £1,300 with smaller contributions being donated to other partners. Feedback was taken on the length of time it had taken to process the initial application for this funding, and the revised funding process would be communicated publicly to minimise the chances of similar delays happening in future (ACTION: Amy Jenner).

Winslow Town Council gave feedback  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

It was suggested that an update from East-West Rail could be considered for inclusion at a future community board meeting.

It was suggested that a ‘hot topics’ item could be considered for inclusion as a standing item at the start of future agendas to cover pressing local matters in the community board area.

(ACTION: Sophia to explore the possibility of the above items.)

Thanks were received on behalf of Newton Longville Parish Council for the local road resurfacing works that had been undertaken. It was explained that the village crossroads remained shut, but that inadequate signage was causing confusion for motorists regarding diversions. Councillor Gomm commented that he and others had begun working with those implementing diversionary routes to address issues of clarity when they arose and thanked the representative of Newton Longville PC for raising it. It was hoped that this would prevent similar issues happening again.

Wednesday 2^nd November 2022.

Wednesday 2nd November 2022.