Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were heard from Councillor Sir B Stanier (Buckinghamshire Council), J Collinge (Newton Longville) and C Dodds (Winslow Resident).

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd November 2022.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2nd November 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

Sophia Comer confirmed the following action had been taken following the last meeting:

·       Sophia had requested the referral forms for the Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service from Jo Cook, and would pass these on once they had been received.

·       Sophia had supported the establishment of a Task and Finish Action Group with an aim to revitalise Winslow High Street.

·       Great Horwood School had confirmed that they were in receipt of the additional funding available for schools with displaced Ukrainian students studying with them. Mrs Shaw, Head of Great Horwood School had confirmed that one iPad had been purchased for each child with a variety of apps to support learning and translation. They had also used the funding to recruit a LSA who speaks both Russian and Ukrainian who worked two days a week to support Ukrainian pupils, the LSA was also a guest under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.?

There were none.

Stuart Grosse.

Stuart Grosse (Group Commander Response South) gave a presentation to the Community Board outlining the work of the Fire and Rescue Service in the Community Board Area. The slides for the presentation were appended to the Minutes of the meeting. The following key points were made during his presentation:

·       There was uncertainty as to what the service will look like in a year’s time owing to anticipated funding cuts.

·       Buckingham wholetime station and Winslow on-call station were the nearest responders to incidents within the community board area. There were two junior officers and six crew within the Winslow station, which was a good number.

·       132 incidents were attended by the service in the community board area last year. These were mostly outdoor fires, field fires, or large commercial fires.

·       Regarding priorities, the service wanted to ensure that vulnerable groups including the over 80s had smoke detectors fitted, as well as reducing fires caused by fly tipping in the Winslow area. There was also a key effort to improve community engagement with local school clubs and community groups.

·       The service had faced particularly high pressure in July 2022 due to the record summer heat.

·       It was anticipated that HS2 would pose unique challenges. Construction underneath the Chiltern Hills would create the second longest tunnel in the UK, and the service was assessing ways in which it could best be prepared to respond to incidents arising within the tunnel with their existing resources, as no new funding would be made available to the service.

·       Hotter summers and wetter winters due to climate change would also alter future service provision with increased risk, including flooding.

Following questions, it was confirmed that:

·       Buckinghamshire service delivery area data service can access data from NHS and social services to identify areas and individuals likely to be at greater risk (over 80s etc) and reach out to them to ensure they remain safe. Anyone who knows someone not currently receiving help are welcome to pass on their info. Over 80s because correlation with dementia etc.

·       The Fire service worked closely with Buckinghamshire Council regarding road accident data, where accident hotspots had been identified.

·       It was anticipated that the Fire service would be heavily impacted by any future industrial action, owing to a high union membership among local Firefighters. A small number of military personnel had been used for service resilience alongside volunteer crews who could undertake basic firefighting roles to cover as many shortfalls in available firefighters as possible.

·       There was a desire to replace the current 4x4 vehicles in use by the service. Vehicles would be repurposed wherever possible. New, multipurpose vehicles would be ideal as a replacement, given the increased chance of operating in both warmer and colder climates moving forward.

·       Efforts to work with local road safety groups to educate drivers on proper road use were often frustrated by the fact that identified problem areas were used by a largely transient population on a work commute, making them difficult to reach out to.

Attendees  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Martin Dickman, Buckinghamshire Council.

Martin Dickman (Winslow and Villages Community Board Champion) drew attention to the document circulated with the agenda reports pack which detailed several key updates from Buckinghamshire Council. These were as follows:

The launch of Buckinghamshire’s Local Heritage List

Plans to submit a combined bid to the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) in March 2023 to broaden the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging points across Buckinghamshire as part of the county’s transition to EVs. (SOPHIA TO CIRCULATE CONTACT LINK FOR PARISHES).

Ongoing work to evaluate and publish a list of brownfield sites across Buckinghamshire as part of the Local Plan for Buckinghamshire.

The launch of a Tourism Survey which would run until 17^th February 2023.

A request for residents to get involved in current and upcoming public consultations from Buckinghamshire Council.

Martin also updated attendees on proposed waste collection changes. From 20^th Feb, a small optimisation in routes would see 1800 properties in AV area (mainly falling within Aylesbury itself) see a day change to their collections. Some of those properties fell in the Winslow and Villages community board area. Impacted residents had already contacted to warn them about the change and subsequent information would soon be circulated to specify the new collection date. New collection routes would be given to parishes to signpost people with queries about the change. Some missed collections were anticipated in the in the initial ‘teething period’. Attendees were invited to contact Martin through Sophia if any questions arose following the meeting.

Following questions, Martin confirmed that:

·       He would confirm which carparks in Winslow were already earmarked for inclusion in the EV charging scheme.

·       The heritage list did not automatically give any statutory protection to assets, but they would be assessed by the team and considered for further protection.

Attendees thanked Martin for his update.

·       Winslow and District Fishing Club - Alan Knowles

·       North Marston History Club – John Spargo

·       Greener Padbury – Felicity Mallam

Representatives from three projects that had received funding from the community board were invited to give a brief presentation to highlight the impact of their respective projects on their local areas.

Winslow and District Fishing Club - Alan Knowles

The club had been running for 40 years on a lake in Mursely with around 100 current members and was open to all with a small membership fee. Requirement to manage the lake (particularly weed control) had caused difficulties for the more elderly membership. The club identified that the process of clearing the weeds would be made easier with different equipment (water testing instruments and larger weed rakes) but this would require about £1000. An application for grant funding was completed, submitted to the community board, and Sophia Comer visited the site before funding was approved. The necessary equipment was purchased which reduced the work time by weeks. The club was very grateful for the assistance provided by the community board and found the process to be simple and easy to understand.

North Marston History Club – John Spargo

Following a parish survey which resulted in a request for a printed history of the North Marston village, the club was established in 2010. A book (‘Memories Shared’) was compiled from interviews conducted with elderly residents to fulfil this request. The club continued to operate with a focus on the social and architectural history of the village and had since undertaken several projects including the publication of ‘North Marston History’, a renovation of the Wesleyan church as a heritage centre and organising a commemorative event for six R.A.F servicemen who were killed in an aeroplane crash near the village during the Second World War. As of the meeting, the club had around 140 members. A grant had been received from the community board which would be used to digitise and preserve old deeds to properties in North Marston, as many were on old, delicate parchment and vellum, with some being 400-500 years old. The group was very grateful to the community board for the grant funding which enabled them to undertake this work. There was an upcoming club event discussing the history of the Titanic which anyone interested in joining the club was welcome to attend.

Greener Padbury – Felicity Mallam and Robert Manasse

The project was developed during the coronavirus lockdown and focused on encouraging Padbury residents to be more environmentally conscious. Accompanying slides to Felicity and Robert’s presentation would be appended to the Minutes of the meeting. A key aspect of the project involved efforts to improve biodiversity within and engagement with the Padbury Millennium Wood, which stood in the middle of the village and was just under 15 acres large. They had been successful in getting a grant from the community board and undertook consultations to develop a woodland management plan. The grant would utilise the plan to support holiday and weekend activities in the woods alongside school engagement (including a forest school). Recent activities that had taken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Sophia Comer.

Sophia Comer (Community Board Manager) gave an overview of the community board’s budget for the 2022/23 fiscal year, which originally stood at £108,452. Of that figure, £40,244 had been allocated to community projects such as those discussed in agenda item 7. The community board’s budget for the 2023/24 fiscal year was yet to be confirmed.

Representatives from Stoke Hammond Parish Council raised concerns about the status of their application. The Chairman confirmed that he was happy to investigate the matter to ascertain what happened and that the Parish Council would be contacted following the meeting to clarify this for them.

·       Environment – Cllr Chilver

·       Rural Economy Uplift – Cllr Gomm

Attendees heard updates from two task and finish groups giving an overview of the work they had undertaken since the previous community board meeting.

Environment – Councillor J Chilver

The group looked to undertake field trips to places of environmental interest in the community board area. It was hoped that a visit would be made to Stewkley in June, to see the Forest School established by Stewkley School following their successful application for funding to the community board last year. The group also hoped to visit Stewkley wildlife reserve, which was a plot of six acres acquired by the Parish Council fifteen years ago with financial support from the former AVDC with the intention to return former agricultural land to biodiverse natural meadow. Anyone who wants to join group let Sophia know.

Rural Economy Uplift – Councillor P Gomm

The group recognised the adverse impact that recent economic trends were having on rural businesses and would look to identify ways to promote independent and rural enterprises in the community board area. Initial contact had already been made with business owners on the Highstreet in Winslow as well as local business groups to take their views, with the aim to hold a meeting to bring people together and identify problem areas. It was hoped that representatives from parish councils would also get involved with the task and finish group, so that a cohesive strategy could be developed on a community board level to improve the rural economy in the area.

Attendees thanked Councillors Chilver and Gomm for their updates.

Sophia thanked everyone who contributed suggestions for community board priority areas at the previous meeting. Following that feedback, four initial priorities had been identified, which were Environment, Rural Economy Uplift, Active Lifestyles, and Youth. Once the new highways contract had come into effect, it was suggested that Transport could be revisited as a fifth priority.

Sophia asked attendees to begin thinking about those who they may like to nominate for a Proud of Bucks award at the next ceremony in Spring 2023.  Categories included Local community Champion, Young community champion, and Community Group contribution.

The Proud of Bucks awards were partnered with the Clare Foundation. As a key infrastructure charity, they worked closely with Buckinghamshire Council and the Community Boards to help understand the 3rd sector.

Nominations opened on 9th Jan 2023, running until 12th Feb 2023

The shortlisting process would operate between 13th and 20th Feb 2023

The award winners would be selected between 27th Feb and 6th Mar 2023

Certificates and trophies would be finalised and produced between 7th and 31st March 2023

The awards ceremony and presentations would take place on 1st April 2023.

Sophia asked attendees to promote the awards through their local networks and to get in touch if any supporting literature was needed as part of their efforts (e.g. nomination forms).

The Chairman explained that he wanted to take a moment to remind attendees of the King’s upcoming coronation in May, and the possibilities for various events and celebrations in parishes and towns across the community board area. He had been made aware of some proposed events under discussion, and encouraged anyone holding celebrations and activities in their area to notify Sophia, so that a good record of the celebrations in Winslow and Villages could be kept.

Martin Dickman confirmed that the Buckinghamshire Council website would be updated in due course with information related to proposed coronation events including how to apply for road closures.

Tuesday 25^th April, St. Laurence Room, 7:30pm.

25^th April 2023 (7:30pm, St Laurence Room, Winslow).