Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Matthew Walsh, welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them all for attending.

There were no declarations of interest.

Apologies were received from Buckinghamshire Councillors Shade Adoh, David Carrol, Clive Harriss and Paul Turner; Councillor Catherine Campbell (Princes Risborough Town Council), Councillor Stan Jones (Hughenden Parish Council), Councillor Jane Rogers (Longwick cum Ilmer Parish Council), John McGownan (Ellesborough Parish Council Parish Clerk), Giles Tandy (Downley Parish Council,  Parish Clerk), Councillor James Cripps (Great and Little Kimble Parish Council), Councillor Josephine Biss (Princes Risborough Town Council), Councillor Simon Cope (West Wycombe Parish Council), Peter Spence (Hughenden Valley Residents Association), Hilda Stearn (Hughenden Street Association) and Rob Mills (JSM).

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2022.

Jackie Binning, Community Board Manager, confirmed that all the actions had been carried out.  It was noted that an amendment was required to item 9, Community Matters, Former Molins Site, Haw Lane, Saunderton.  The text ‘and part was due to High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) rail works’ would be removed and the first sentence now read: ‘Sharon Henson, clerk, and Councillor Vicki Smith, West Wycombe PC, raised the issue regarding the volume of traffic passing through West Wycombe High Street, much of which was related to the former Molins site demolition works.’

Resolved:  The minutes of the meeting held on 27 July2022 were agreed as accurate record, subject to the amendment being made.

A presentation will be provided by the agents and contractors acting on behalf of the owners of the former Molins site in Saunderton:

·       Rees Westley and Chris den Heijer, BCS Utilities

·       Dave Burton and David Gaughan, JSM Group

Rees Westley and Chris den Heijer, BCS Utilities and Dave Burton and David Gaughan, JSM Group, attended the meeting to increase stakeholder engagement, answer any questions, discuss the route to be taken off site and mitigate as much disruption as possible.  A presentation was provided, appended to the minutes. Rees explained that BCS were managing the project and JSM were the principal contractor. 

The following key points were raised during the presentation/answered by the team:

• It was confirmed that no houses would be built on the site; it would be a technological centre which had planning consent and the site was almost ready for construction.
• The power requirement was 120 MVA but this would be rationalised and possibly reduced.
• The Data Centre would not take precedence over residents during a power outage as it would be completely separate.
• The power would be supplied from the National Grid Amersham Substation rather than from Longwick as the Longwick site could not provide enough power.
• In response to a query on whether there would be any background noise; it was confirmed that acoustic surveys had been carried out at the site and there was a requirement to meet certain parameters which were set out in the planning conditions and were publicly available.  The acoustic level was based on normal operational use; it would be a highly efficient sub-station, and less noisy than an older sub-station.
• Avalon DC Ltd had commissioned JSM to design and build the sub-station.  JSM were a privately owned, accredited company, with extensive knowledge of this type of work and had a good reputation. 
•  The length of the cable route was 16.4 km, running from Mop End to Saunderton.  It was agreed that a list of the roads affected would be supplied and circulated.

Action: Dave Gaughan/Jackie Binning

• There would be a dedicated site management team.  An in-house engineering team would manage and co-ordinate the electrical and civil engineering activities.
• The trench for the cable would measure approximately one metre wide x 1.4 metre deep. 
• It was anticipated that there would be approximately 10 HGV movements from the Haw Lane site per day.
• Two ‘Special Engineering Difficulties’ had been identified – Valley Road, Hughenden and Haw Lane Bridge, Saunderton. 
• A third party traffic management company would be used, approved by the Local Authority.
• Variable Messaging Signs (VSMs) would be in place four weeks before the start date.
• The start date was confirmed as 3 January 2023; the cabling work would start in January 2024 and would commence in five different locations.   There was an energisation date of August 2024 and the site would be cleared by September 2024. 
• In response to a question on whether night time working would be undertaken on major routes such as the A4010; it was confirmed that night works were not being contemplated and that traffic lights would be used.
• The fibre installation would be carried out in conjunction with the cabling works on Wycombe Road.
• The biggest risks/difficulties were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The agenda pack includes the following papers:

·       Action Groups briefing reports – to be presented by the Chairman, Councillor Matthew Walsh.

·       Funding applications and 2022/23 budget – to be presented by Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator.

·       Buckinghamshire Council Update – to be presented by Sophie Payne, Community Board Champion/Service Director, Culture, Sport and Leisure.

Action Groups Briefing Reports

The Chairman advised that the briefing reports had been circulated with the agenda pack.  Jim Stevens, Chairman of the Transport and Road Issue Action Group, added that the report only provided a snapshot of what was actually being carried out.   The Chairman stated that he had received excellent feedback on the work of the action groups at a recent meeting with the Community Board Service Director.

The following key points were raised in discussion:

·      In response to a request for an update on the ‘County Lines’ in Buckinghamshire, Councillor Valerie McPherson, Chairman of the Community Resilience Action Group, explained that the group had been concentrating on knife crime as County Lines was not such a big problem as in other areas of the Thames Valley region, although there was a problem in High Wycombe.  Jackie Binning added that the knife crime project dealt with children and young people who became involved with County Lines.  Last year, the Transitions UK project had interlinked with the knife crime project and County Lines; it had been successful and shared across whole of Buckinghamshire. 

• It was agreed that a wild verge scheme would be discussed at the next Environmental and Climate Change Action Group meeting.

Action:  Cllr Carington

Funding update

Jackie Binning, Community Board Manager, advised that the funding summary report included in the agenda pack stated that £55,192 remained in the budget; however, two Project Initiation Documents had been withdrawn and the allocated funding had been returned to the pot.  Other projects had since been approved and there were several pending applications amounting to approximately £26,000.  There were also some pre-application conversations taking place, also amounting to approximately £26,000, which, if progressed, would mean that the budget would be spent.  If anyone knew of any other projects, let Jackie know as they could be considered for next year’s budget.

The North West Chilterns Community Board action plan was available on the Buckinghamshire Council website.

To be presented by the Chairman, Councillor Matthew Walsh.

·       Question time: to respond to questions received.

The link to live countywide and local consultations on the Your Voice page of Buckinghamshire Council’s website is included for information:

Your Voice Bucks - Citizen Space

Sophie Payne, local resident and Community Board champion, highlighted the following from the Buckinghamshire Council update in the agenda pack:

• A comprehensive package, provided by the Council, was available to help residents with the rising cost of living.  The Helping Hands team at BC was the key point of contact for any residents who were struggling financially. 
• The Council libraries would be acting as welcoming spaces to provide a warm, welcoming, supportive place for anyone in need of one.  A toolkit and guidance were available for other venues who were interested in opening up as a welcoming space.
• Two new Highways contracts had been awarded; Atkins (consultancy contractor) and Balfour Beaty who would replace Transport for Bucks).  The general message was that there would be further communications with the community boards. 
• Some hosts were coming to the end of their arrangement with Ukrainian guests and work was being undertaken with the Housing Team to support the guests.  Work was also continuing to support asylum seekers.
• There had been an improvement in the waste collection service; however, any issues should be logged http://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/missed-bin.
• The garden waste charges scheme launched in September and had received a good response with approximately 26,000 households having signed up.
• There was a new on-demand PickMeUp bus service in High Wycombe.  The pilot scheme had received good feedback and was designed to help people in areas not well served with bus routes.  Buses could be booked in advance via an app or by phoning 01494 296021.
• The County Show was very successful with the community boards being well represented.
• There was a new Town and Parish Charter.
• Funding had been received to develop a Local Heritage listing and nominations were being assessed.
• There was a library service survey available on the BC website – ‘Help Shape the Buckinghamshire Libraries’ Vision and Strategy for 2023 to 2028 https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/communities/libraries-vision-and-strategy/.  Libraries carried out a huge amount of partnership work e.g., to reduce social isolation, cultural participation opportunity, health and wellbeing as well as traditional activities.
• The Buckinghamshire Film Office launched last week.  Anyone could register their property on their database as an opportunity for filming.   The CB members were asked to promote the webpage to residents to maximise investment for Buckinghamshire. 

The following key points were raised in discussion:

• Cllr Steve Broadbent suggested that in areas where moving traffic offences were an issue e.g., parking on zig zag lines, that a recommendation be submitted for inclusion on the list for monitoring by camera.

·   The Council had been successful in a bid for providing EV charging points in the council car parks; the EV  charging points would be provided by BP Pulse.

• A traffic flow problem was raised at George Road in Stokenchurch and a number of suggestions were made.  Cllr Carl Etholen offered to discuss the situation with the parish council/residents.

Action:  Cllr Etholen

The Chairman thanked the residents, parish councils, BC officers and BC councillors for their work over the past year.

Tuesday 7 February 2023

Tuesday 7 February 2023