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 (Community Board Co-ordinator)  Sally Taylor (Democratic Services Meeting Support)

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman's Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman, Councillor Gary Hall, welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained that the Community Board’s primary focus was to provide funding and support for community projects. 

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies had been received from Councillor Jane Rogers, Longwick Parish Council; Councillor Carl Etholen, Councillor Matthew Walsh, Colin Courtney, and Jaaganroop Marshall.

 

Notes:

Councillor Paul Nicholls, Hughenden Parish Council, left the meeting at approximately 7.10 pm.

Councillor Robert Carrington left the meeting at 7.15 pm.

Councillor Moyra Lazenby, Downley Parish Council left the meeting at 7.45 pm.

3.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

4.

Notes of the last meeting pdf icon PDF 465 KB

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2021.

Minutes:

Resolved:  The minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2021 were agreed as an accurate record.

5.

Petition - Warrendene Road pdf icon PDF 167 KB

The Chairman, Councillor Gary Hall, and Jim Stevens will present the comments received since the extraordinatory Community Board meeting on 16th September 2021 and agree next steps.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that the Warrendene Road petition had come to the attention of the Community Board and that, luckily, one of the Board members, J Stevens, was a qualified expert in highways and transportation and had taken the lead, at the request of the Community Board.  Councillor David Carroll, on behalf of himself, Councillor Steve Broadbent and Councillor Clive Harriss, requested that the idea to ‘Build a new access and a small customer parking area’ should be discarded immediately as it involved the use of Green Belt land which would not be supported.  The Chairman stated that it was a local matter, and it was agreed that this idea would be discounted. 

 

J Stevens provided a presentation, appended to the minutes and highlighted the following key points:

 

  • Country Supplies operated from two sites: Oakleaf Farm, Warrendene Road and Shana in Walters Ash. 
  • Lorry parking was a daily occurrence and at peak trading times there could be as many as nine lorries parked along Warrendene Road waiting to access the Oakleaf Farm site. The lorry parking had been an issue for more than twenty years.
  • The residents submitted a petition in February 2021 which requested that a large part of the business be moved from Oakleaf Farm to the Shana site.  The Community Board (CB) considered the petition in March 2021; the role of the CB was not to make decisions but to find possible solutions. 
  • The petition and suggested ideas for possible solutions were discussed with key parties. 
  • The petition report was written by the Service Director, Communities, Highways and Technical Services, Buckinghamshire Council (BC) and stated that BC had no powers to require Country Supplies to change its business operations. 
  • The recommendation in the report stated that the petition request could not be supported due to displacement and adverse traffic impact on Walters Ash.  The report recognised the residents’ concerns and also recognised the work undertaken by J Stevens and J Binning that looked at other ideas that might solve the lorry parking issues. The report stated that no decisions had been made on any of the suggested ideas identified in the work conducted by J Stevens and J Binning.
  • The report stated that the Director was aware that J Stevens was an experienced highways engineer and he (the Director) had no reason to question the quality or content of the work that J Stevens had carried out,
  • The detailed report, written by J Stevens and J Binning, was an ‘ideas’ report; no decisions were made by the CB and written feedback was invited.
  • The supplementary report was the most recent report, also written by J Stevens and J Binning and looked at the residents’ feedback. The report provided an initial technical response from J Stevens and input from BC’s Head of Legal Services had been sought to help formulate the responses.  It did not make any decisions or recommendations.
  • Approximately 40 comments had been received which had been grouped together into themes.
  • J Stevens provided the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Action Groups pdf icon PDF 422 KB

The Chairman, Councillor Gary Hall, will provide an update on the key activity of the action groups.

Minutes:

The Chairman advised there were four action groups which all held regular meetings and there were a number of projects ongoing/pending e.g. speeding problem areas, Christmas lights in Princes Risborough, solar panels for various community buildings, a defibrillator in Ilmer and a new initiative for mental health training in schools from Bucks Mind.   Funding applications needed to be received by the end of February 2022 to allow time for approval. 

7.

Exploring Opportunities to Work in Partnership with the Community Board pdf icon PDF 915 KB

To be presented by Daniel Cope, Low Carbon Workspace Team

This is an ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funded programme that offers grants of between £1,000 to £5,000 to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs – including charities/community groups where the majority of income comes from trading activity i.e. hall hire) to fund 33% of the cost of energy-reducing measures at commercial premises.This links with our priorities around Environmental & Climate Change and Economic Regeneration.

Minutes:

Daniel Cope, Programme Manager, Low Carbon Workspace team provided a presentation, appended to the minutes, and highlighted the following key points:

 

  • The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was available until the end of 2022 to businesses and charity organisations with a revenue trading element e.g. hall hire. 
  • It was a match funded grant programme with grants available of £1,000-£5,000 for heat pumps, double glazing, solar panels, and specialist products to cut carbon emissions, save money and minimise waste. 
  • D Cope emphasised that he knew there were more businesses that he could connect with. There was an excellent website - https://www.lowcarbonworkspaces.co.uk/ which provide examples of the breadth of the programme. 
  • The application process was quick, with just one quote required.
  • There was a team of environmental specialists who provided advice or an audit free of charge.
  • The programme was supported by key partners e.g. Buckinghamshire Council.
  • Members of the Community Board were asked to follow the scheme on Twitter/social media and spread the word.   D Cope stressed that it was not possible to claim for a grant after the work had been carried out; it had to be carried out beforehand.

 

The Chairman thanked Daniel for his presentation and emphasised that the area had many halls for hire and numerous businesses that could benefit from the programme.

 

The following key points were raised in discussion.

 

  • A member of the Board stated that 50% of emissions were from transport, and asked if a grant existed to help people change their vehicle or fleet of vehicles?  In response, D Cope advised that, unfortunately, the scheme did not provide any funding towards electric vehicles.  However, he noted the request and stated he would feed the comment back to Bucks Business First who oversaw the programme.
  • In response to a query on why only one quote was required; D Cope explained that he used the experience of having assisted approximately 600 businesses.  Checks were carried out on the qualifications and value for money aspects along with independent measurements on the carbon savings.
  • In relation to the amount of match funding provided; D Cope confirmed the scheme covered a third of the cost of the project and this would be provided within two weeks of the evidence that the work had been carried out being submitted and their portion being paid.  It did not matter where the other funding came from as long as it was not from the European Regional Development Fund. 

 

Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator, confirmed that the Low Carbon Workspaces Scheme met the priorities and objections of the Environment and Climate Change Action Group and hoped they would obtain some leads.

 

The Chairman thanked Daniel for his presentation.

8.

Community Board Updates pdf icon PDF 339 KB

Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator to present:

Funding applications received since the last meeting

The Community Board Action Plan

 

Minutes:

Funding Update

Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator, provided an update on the funding situation.  As of 26 October 2021, the total board fund was £353,324; the total project costs was just over £41,000.  £22,346 had been allocated so there was a large sum of money available.  J Binning had been working hard to encourage people to apply for funding and advised that any ‘not for profit organisations’ who had projects which would help the community, and met the criteria, should apply.   Funding applications needed to be received by the end of February 2022 to enable the funding to be allocated by the end of March 2022.  There were currently two pending projects; Bucks Mind, a multi-board application recommended by the North West Chilterns Community Board, and the Princes Risborough Town Council Christmas light switch on.  The Chairman stated that one of the local football clubs had put in a request and suggested that other people contacted their local sports clubs and community organisations.

 

There were three transport applications from Hughenden Parish Council, but these would come out of next year’s budget as the Project Initiation Documents needed to be completed.

 

J Binning agreed to email the funding criteria to all the residents’ associations within the community board area.

ACTION:  J Binning 

 

Community Board Action Plan

The Community Board Action Plan had been included in the agenda pack.  It was a high profile, evolving plan which would be updated regularly with the work undertaken on the agreed objectives.  The plan had been approved by the Chairman and the action group leads and would be available on the North West Chilterns Community Board webpage.  The Chairman added that it had been agreed the Board would have a branded marquee/gazebo to take to local events and raise the profile of the Board.

9.

Community Matters pdf icon PDF 1 MB

The Chairman, Councillor Gary Hall, to present and respond to any questions received.

For information

To be presented by Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator.

 

Consultations

For live countywide and local Consultations, go to Your Voice Bucks website Your Voice Bucks - Citizen Space

Queens Platinum Jubilee

A web page is now liveto inform and signpost information for the Jubilee and Queen’s Green Canopy - The Queen's Platinum Jubilee | Buckinghamshire Council.  A presentation is included for further details.

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that no questions had been received. 

 

J Binning signposted the live county-wide consultations and highlighted the information included in the agenda pack concerning the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. webpage available.  Cllr S Broadbent added that any road closures for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee would require a road offer and that it would be beneficial if multiple road orders were submitted in one batch as it would save money.  Contact J Binning with any queries or requests for road orders.

 

The Chairman stressed the need to find projects to benefit the community.

 

The Chairman thanked J Binning and everyone for their support.

10.

Date of the next meeting

3rd February 2022.

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting is 10 Feb 2022 not 3 February as stated in error at the end of the meeting and on the agenda.