Agenda and minutes

To note any apologies for absence.

Members heard apologies from Alan Batley (Drayton Parslow), David Smedley (Granborough) and Jo Anderson (St Laurence Church).

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September, 2020.

RESOLVED: -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 September, 2020 be approved as a correct record.

To note any declarations of interest.

There were none.

Introduction from Sue Renshell, Chairman of the Winslow and Villages Community Board.

Councillor Renshell welcomed everyone to the meeting and took the opportunity to inform Members

That Buckinghamshire Council had awarded the Villages Local Impact Award to Margot Jackson, who had worked with and supported Young Carers in the Buckingham and Winslow area throughout the current health crisis. The Chairman praised Margot for her efforts and informed Members that the presentation of the award would take place the following week.

The Chairman also drew Members’ attention to the inclusion of an item in the Padbury local newsletter promoting the Community Board and informing readers of the ongoing work of the Action Groups and how project funding could be applied for. Pam Molloy was thanked for organising this, and it was hoped that similar pieces could be included in other local newsletters to foster greater community engagement with the Community Board.

Introduction from Martin Dickman, Service Director, Neighbourhood Services.

Councillor Renshell informed Members that to ensure a strong connection between the Community Boards initiative and the Senior Management Team at Buckinghamshire Council, each Community Board had been appointed a dedicated Service Director Champion. These individuals would be able to advocate for the Community Boards within their respective service areas and engage locally to work with Members. Martin Dickman (Service Director for Neighbourhood Services) had been appointed as the dedicated Champion for the Winslow and Villages Community Board.

Martin was invited to speak and gave a brief presentation to Members in which he reiterated the role he could play as an advocate for the Community Board within the new Council Structure. Martin confirmed that he had experience working with local Parish and Town Councils as an attendee of the former Winslow Local Area Forum and was keen to get involved in the work of the new Winslow and Villages Community Board.

To note the response to the petition submitted by Great Horwood Parish Council.

Councillor Renshell reminded Members that a petition had been submitted to the previous meeting of the Community Board, concerning alterations to the speed limit on Nash Road by Great Horwood Parish Council. A response to the petition had been provided and circulated in the agenda reports pack in advance of the meeting.

It was proposed that consideration of the response be delegated to the Roads and Highways Action Group to deliberate further on the response provided. Councillor Stanier Bt (Chairman of the Roads and Highways Action Group) confirmed that the group would be happy to discuss the petition response at their next meeting.

As no Members raised objections, it was therefore

RESOLVED: -

That the response to the petition submitted by Great Horwood Parish Council be delegated to the Roads and Highways Action Group for further consideration.

The Community Board will receive a presentation on funding.

Leone Dale (Community Board Coordinator) gave a brief presentation reminding Members of the funding application process and updating them on the current funding available in each of the Funding Streams for applications. This stood at £81,254 in the Community Area Priorities Fund (up to 50% of which could be spent on transport-related projects), £10,417 in the Health and Wellbeing Fund (following a reduction of 50% which was put towards the COVID-19 response) and £217,629 in the Infrastructure Fund. The remaining COVID-19 response funding stood at £7,549. Leone informed Members that the deadline for Transport schemes had been extended to 31 December, 2020.

Anyone still unsure of the process following the meeting, or who had ideas for future projects was encouraged to contact Leone for further details.

Leone then briefly outlined seven funding applications that had been submitted for ratification by the Buckinghamshire Council Unitary Members of the Winslow and Villages Community Board. These were as follows:

·         Great Brickhill Traffic Calming - Phase 2: £20,523.45 (submitted by Great Brickhill Parish Council)

·         Community Facilities Feasibility Study: £8993.50 (submitted by Winslow Town Council)

·         MVAS Traffic Speed and Volume Monitoring: £4150 (submitted by Padbury Parish Council)

·         Footpath Surfacing: £2587.50 (submitted by Newton Longville Parish Council)

·         Crisis Counsellor: £2,139 (submitted by the Aylesbury Vale & Milton Keynes Sexual Assault & Abuse Support Service)

·         MVAS Traffic Speed and Volume Monitoring: £2107.97 (submitted by Mursley Parish Council)

·         Repairs to Bus Shelter and Garden of Peace: £380 (submitted by Little Horwood Parish Council)

The full funding recommendations for all above projects had been published with the Agenda Reports Pack and made available to view on the Council’s website.

Victor Wright raised the issue of Soulbury’s roads requiring repairs and traffic calming initiatives to mitigate the negative effects of traffic passing through. Leone was happy to discuss ideas he had for future projects and applications in Soulbury outside the meeting.

Leone also clarified for Councillor Monger that the funding for the Great Brickhill application had been agreed pending the approval of a suitable location for the buildouts required as part of the traffic calming methods, as had been required by Transport for Bucks.

No objections were raised to the approval of the above projects. It was therefore

RESOLVED: -

That the applications be approved.

Members were also updated on seven proposals that were in the pre-application stage of the funding process. This included a Traffic Calming Implementation in Swanbourne, a Traffic Scheme in Newton Longville and a Mursley Church Community Project. Interest for projects had also been communicated by Drayton Parslow and Great Horwood Parish Councils. Leone would continue to work with the applicants throughout the funding application process.

Leone reminded Members of the Councillor Crisis Fund which had been used in the initial lockdown, the necessary criteria for a successful application and the process by which funds could be requested. The fund was to be used for emergency COVID-19 funding and requests for use of the fund could be made to Counillor Renshell  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Action Groups will provide a verbal update to the Community Board.

Councillor Renshell informed Members that the following Action Groups had met since the previous meeting of the Community Board:

·         Roads and Highways

·         Public and Community Transport

·         Health

·         HS2 and EWR

At the first meeting of the Community Board, it had been agreed that young people and youth provision were important to Members and that an Action Group should be formed to explore opportunities to deliver this. However, no volunteers had yet been found to sit on this group. Anyone interested in volunteering to develop projects to improve the lives of local young people and promote youth engagement with the Community Board as part of this group was encouraged to contact Leone.

The Chairman then invited the Action Group leaders to give a brief verbal update on their work. Members heard from:

VronCorben – Health

The Health Action Group had examined the findings of the report presented by Dr. Shakiba Habibula at the first meeting of the Community Board on 16 July concerning specific health issues within the Community Board area. The group sought to increase the number of health checks in the region as recommended in the report. Advice was being sought from Norden House Surgery about the ways in which this could be achieved in advance of the next group meeting in February, where they would be discussed in further detail.

The group hoped to be able to provide regular future updates to the Community Board concerning the need for replacement healthcare facilities in Winslow. Councillor Monger informed Vron that a conversation had taken place with the Head of Primary Care at Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group in which it was indicated that views on the issue were welcome for future consideration with Buckinghamshire Council Officers. Further details would be shared with the group following the meeting.

Conversations had taken place concerning the health crisis’ ongoing impact on mental health, recognising that isolation and anxiety were already a greater risk in rural areas. The group hoped to take stock of the available befriending services in the voluntary sector, as well as the available services supporting residents with mental healthcare needs in the locality.

Youth groups and services would be contacted to explore avenues for promoting exercise as part of leading a healthy and active lifestyle. It was hoped that should a dedicated Youth Action Group be established, that this could be an area of close future cooperation, or a project they might like to take on themselves. Councillor Chilver reminded Vron of the Sports Hub development taking place on Great Horwood Road and encouraged her to pass on the findings of the group’s consultation with local services and youth groups for consideration as part of the development plans.

Councillor Stanier – Roads and Highways

Initial discussions had focused on issues relating to traffic and speeding as well as the use of MVAS systems. It was hoped that the group’s weight could be put behind future activities to mitigate these issues where they were most prominent. Anyone wanting to raise/discuss  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Presentations and discussions on COVID.

Members received a presentation from Emma Denley (Localism Manager) updating them on the work of the Council’s Covid Support Hubs and the response to the second lockdown across Buckinghamshire.

Emma reminded Members that the Support Hubs were set up to provide help to self-isolating residents, the 20,000 people across Buckinghamshire now classified as ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ and lastly, economically isolated/vulnerable residents who were struggling to make ends meet.

Those who had been asked to ‘Shield’ in the first lockdown had now been reclassified as ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ (CEV) and advised to work from home and remain indoors unless for exercise, to attend medical appointments or to meet with members of their support bubble. Those in this category unable to work from home could be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay or Employment Support Allowance using the letter they received from the Government (dated 4th November). Children classified as CEV were exempt from attending school during the lockdown. Following the end of the lockdown, those children would return to school and adults to work if possible. They were advised to continue to avoid shops and pharmacies.

People could contact the Support Hub through the Council’s website, the Customer Service Centre (01296 395000) or the Bucks Online Directory (directory.buckinghamshire.gov.uk). The Hub had made 1,400 calls to CEV people and 1,011 calls to Vulnerable Adult Social Care clients. These calls enquired as to the client’s general wellbeing, and ensured that they had access to food, prescriptions/medical treatment or financial help where necessary.

Local supermarkets were better prepared for the lockdown than had previously been the case, and priority supermarket deliveries had replaced weekly Government food parcels. Partnerships with volunteer groups and food banks were also being utilised to supplement deliveries where residents had limited or no internet access. Members were informed that the vast majority of those who had a priority food delivery slot with a supermarket had retained that status throughout the second lockdown. Some grant funding (up to £1000) was available, however most financial aid provision centred around signposting to other sources.

Emma clarified that the relationships that she and her team had developed with other local groups and organisations over the summer had ensured that the risk of duplicated work was kept to a minimum, as various teams focused on contacting different groups. The Hub’s primary clients throughout the second lockdown had been the CEV, and this had been achieved with a far smaller team than during the first lockdown. Anyone who did notice a duplication of work through their work with any external organisation should contact Leone who could pass on the information to Emma for consideration as necessary.

It was also clarified that there was an exit strategy in place for those who had been receiving help when the lockdown ended, and that working in collaboration with the Adult Social Care services would help to mitigate the risks of a culture of dependency developing with the Hub. In this way, it was hoped that clients remained as independent as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Please submit your questions to leone.dale@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Councillor Renshell and Leone gave a brief overview of several updates in the local community.

Furzedown School was looking to appoint two new Governors (contact Leone or the Headteacher for further information).

The Community Board Facebook Page would be launched soon and would post updates from Local Parish/Town Councils, Buckinghamshire Council and the Action Groups. Members were encouraged to submit suitable photographs of the local area to Leone for consideration. The best ones would be uploaded to the page to highlight the beauty of the local area.

Corrinna Martin had notified Leone that Whaddon Parish Council was running a food collection. Anyone with food that they would like to donate was encouraged to contact Leone for further details.

Clare Farrow (Acting Police Inspector for the Rural Aylesbury Area) made an announcement to Members, informing them that the community Speedwatch project was still on hold as conditions still needed to be made COVID safe for volunteers. Further updates would be sent to Leone and distributed through the Community Board. Councillor Whipp’s concerns about the lack of volunteers to input the data collected by Speedwatchers would be examined by Clare and taken up with Councillor Whipp after the meeting.

Clare also encouraged Members to participate in the Independent Action Group (IAG) run by Thames Valley Police every six months. The meetings were designed to promote community engagement with the Police through the Super Intendent and the local Inspectors and hold them to account. It had been noted that the previous meeting held in August had been largely attended by Aylesbury residents and it was hoped that more rural engagement could be found at subsequent meetings. Anyone interested in attending was advised to contact Leone to be added to the mailing list.

John Gilbey informed Members that Great Horwood Parish Council and Winslow Town Council had met to discuss the possibility of a new Cycleway between Great Horwood and Winslow. A possible route had been identified through the proposed development on WIN001 and across part of the old airfield, through Greenway Business Park and on to Spring Lane. The Chairman confirmed that the Buckinghamshire Council would be able to assist the Parish Councils with their enquiries once ownership of the land had been clarified.

Thursday 18th February 2021 at 7pm.

Thursday 18 February 2021 at 7.00 pm (currently scheduled to be held via MS Teams).