Agenda and minutes

Venue: This meeting is being held on MS Teams. Please note that this meeting will be recorded and will subsequently be available to view via the Buckinghamshire Council website.

Contact: Jackie Binning 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Introductions/Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Cllr Gary Hall, the Chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained that the meeting was being recorded and would be available on the Buckinghamshire Council web page.  This meeting was to publicly launch the Community Board which would be the platform for community groups and members of the public to interact with Buckinghamshire Council.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Notes of the last meeting pdf icon PDF 433 KB

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2020 and review any actions.

Minutes:

The notes of the meeting held on 9 July 2020 were reviewed.  Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator, confirmed that the action for Caroline Thickens, Head of Public Health Intelligence under item 4 - Public Health - presentation on health and wellbeing data had been completed; the information was circulated to the Community Board members on 4 September 2020.

 

RESOLVED:  The minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2020 were AGREED as an accurate record.

4.

Update from the Leader (via video)

Martin Tett to provide an update on Community Boards.

 

Minutes:

Unfortunately there was technical issue with the video sound so the Chairman briefly summarised that the message from the Leader was that the Community Boards were a new way of interacting with councillors and the communities.  Buckinghamshire Council had followed the lead of other councils with a similar set up.  Communities would be encouraged to approach the Council with ideas for projects and see them come to fruition.

 

The video was available on YouTube - https://youtu.be/f0i722j79hw

5.

Priorities - Update from the Subgroups pdf icon PDF 366 KB

Chairman of the Community Board and Chairmen of each subgroup to review progress reports. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman highlighted the priorities which the Crime and Anti-social Behaviour, Economic Regeneration, Environmental and Climate Change, Transport and Road Issues and Young and The Elderly sub-groups would be focusing on – the list is appended to the minutes.  Jackie added that there were two recommendations to be agreed by the Community Board (CB).

Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour sub-group

It was clarified that the injunction did not apply to private land or land owned by travelers.

RESOLVED:  The Community Board unanimously AGREED to the proposal that the Council retain the injunction for the Wycombe area and recommended that Buckinghamshire Council extend this policy throughout the County.

Transport and Road Issues sub-group

RESOLVED: The Community Board unanimously AGREED to the proposal to engage initial key stakeholders with the draft Engagement Plan. These stakeholders were the N W Chilterns Community Board Chairman (who would liaise with the Leader and Cabinet Member) Buckinghamshire Council’s Corporate Comms and Transport Strategy Teams, members of the Transport and Road Issues subgroup.

6.

Presentation - Thames Valley Police (TVP)

Sergeant Nathan Daley to give a presentation on how TVP can work with Community Boards and to provide any updates.

 

Minutes:

Sgt Nathan Davey introduced himself and explained he was now part of the Princes Risborough Neighbourhood team, after having been in the CID.  He had been in the Wycombe Local Policing Area (LPA) for 12 years and was looking forward to working with the Community Board.  The Neighbourhood Policing team worked on a four strand model:

 

  • Engagement with the public
  • Working with partners and businesses
  • Problem solving
  • Reduced demand through prevention.

 

The team had been drawn into the response team during the Covid-19 pandemic but were now back to their normal duties providing community resilience and working together to build safer communities.  Parking, speeding, fraud and protection of vulnerable people were part of their role along with attending pop-up police stations to answer questions from members of the public.  He saw the role in the Community Board as a new, exciting adventure; it would be a fluid relationship dependent on the projects.

7.

Presentation - 7Roadlight pdf icon PDF 752 KB

Nosheen Nazar (Chief Operating Officer) to give a presentation on the work 7Roadlight do and how they can work with Community Boards.

 

Minutes:

Dwayne Jack, founder and CEO of 7Roadlight and his wife, Melanie, provided a presentation, appended to the minutes.  Dwayne and Melanie outlined their personal life stories; Dwayne’s past experiences led him to want to change and create a programme called 7Roadlight to help prevent young people offending.  His mission was to identify young people in school and provide a mentoring service to those at risk of exclusion as schools did not have the resources to support these young people.  7Roadlight provided OCN accredited courses in mentoring to equip young people with the knowledge and skills needed to work with others in a peer mentor role. The ‘Hit the Road Jack’ programme was designed by Dwayne whilst he was in prison and the title came from being told to ‘hit the road jack’ each time he was discharged.

 

Jackie added that 7Roadlight would be attending the next Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour sub-group meeting to explore how they could work with the CB.

 

The Chairman thanked Dwayne and Melanie for their presentation.

8.

Funding pdf icon PDF 210 KB

·       To review the funding procedure.

·       To review the Funding Reports.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman provided an overview of the simple funding procedure and the breakdown of the funding streams (presentation appended to the minutes). 

Most of the transport budget had been used by existing Local Area Forum schemes but Jackie emphasised that deadline for other transport applications for next year’s budget was 31 October 2020.   The Chairman stressed that the sub-groups were open to anyone who was interested.  It was clarified that the funding was only for capital items, not running costs.

 

Four funding reports had been circulated to the Community Board members for approval during the meeting.

 

RESOLVED:  One Community Board member abstained but the Community Board AGREED that the Downley Controlled Crossing Feasibility Study project be considered for funding. 

 

RESOLVED:  The Community Board unanimously AGREED that the Pipers Lane Speed Limit Reduction project be considered for funding. 

 

RESOLVED:  The Community Board unanimously AGREED that the West Wycombe High Street feasibility study on measures to prevent driving on the pavement through the High Street, West Wycombe be considered for funding. 

 

Junction Protection Markings - a joint scheme between High Wycombe Community Board and the North West Chilterns Community Board and Downley Parish Council.  Cllr Wendy Munroe-West asked for changes to be made to the funding report as she requested that the Hithercroft Road costs be split as only one junction fell under the Downley PC area, the rest were under High Wycombe.  Mines Close also needed separate costings for discussion by Downley PC.  It was noted that the funding report had been discussed and withdrawn by the High Wycombe CB.  It was agreed that the funding report be reviewed and returned to the next meeting in November 2020.

 

Transport Project Initiation Documents for Lacey Green and Whiteleaf had been accepted and would circulated to the sub-group.

9.

Community Matters pdf icon PDF 612 KB

  • Petition – A40: Darren Hayday to present the response from Transport for Bucks.
  • Petition – Bar Lane: Cllr Bill Bendyshe-Brown to present the response from Transport for Bucks.
  • Question Time: To respond to questions received.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Darren Hayday, Buckinghamshire Councillor for West Wycombe, introduced the A40 Studley Green petition report.  The online petition, signed by 1,768 people, had been set up by a constituent following the death of two cyclists near Piddington in June 2020.   Following investigations by Transport for Bucks(TfB) and the Police and site visits the following options for potential safety improvement measures included:

 

  • Reducing the speed limit from West Wycombe to Studley Green to 50 mph.
  • Install cyclists warning signs on both approaches to Dashwood Hill.
  • Encouraging cyclists to use Old Dashwood Hill.
  • Install a west bound on road advisory cycle lane.
  • Permanent closure of footway at Dashwood Hill.
  • Remove the tree canopy on Dashwood Hill.

 

Darren advised the Transport and Road Issue sub-group had requested clarification on whether the permanent closure of the footway would leave the stretch open from the bottom of Old Dashwood Hill, past Ham Farm to West Wycombe. 

ACTION:  Jackie Binning

 

Darren requested the following be considered to progress the petition further:

 

  • The CB to request an urgent maintenance job to cut back the tree canopy to improve the visibility on Old Dashwood Hill and the junction of the road leading up to Chipps Hill.
  • The CB to consider the possibility of installing average speed cameras between Studley Green and Piddington; they were costly but would deter speeding. 

 

Bill Bendyshe-Brown stated that the sub-group had considered and supported the proposal and recommended the CB take it forward to TfB and the Police for progression.

 

Jim Stevens highlighted that TfB was considering putting in an advisory cycle lane on the A40.  He also mentioned that the Government had issued a new cycling policy and that it would be useful for Transport for Bucks (TfB) to see the guidance. 

 

RESOLVED:  The Community Board unanimously AGREED the following recommendations be taken forward to Buckinghamshire Council, Transport for Bucks and the Police:

 

  • The speed limit along Oxford Road between West Wycombe and Studley Green is reduced to 50 mph (if supported at public consultation).
  • Cyclist warning signs are installed at Dashwood Hill
  • A feasibility into installing an on road advisory cycle lane for west bound cyclists be undertaken
  • The existing narrow footway along Dashwood Hill be permanently closed.
  • The CB to request an urgent maintenance job to cut back the tree canopy.

·       It was also requested that TfB urgently cut the back of the hedge foliage and vegetation overgrowth which is encroaching onto the length of the A40 footway between the Chipps Hill junction and the Old Dashwood Hill junction.

  • The CB to consider the possibility of installing average speed cameras between Studley Green and Piddington; they were costly but would deter speeding. 
  • That Transport for Bucks be informed of the new Government cycling guidance.

 

 

Bar Lane junction with Thame Road, Longwick Petition Report

Bill Bendyshe-Brown reported that there had been a series of accidents, but no fatalities, at the junction due to insufficient signage.  TfB had erected more signage and repainted the white lines but were unable to do more without  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Date of the next meeting

19 November 2020.

Minutes:

19 November 2020 at 6.30 pm.