Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual meeting via MS Teams. Join this meeting by clicking on the link below.

Contact: Makyla Devlin (Community Board Co-ordinator)  Sally Taylor (Democratic Services Meeting Support)

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman's Welcome pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To be presented by the Chairman, Councillor Dominic Barnes.

Minutes:

The Chairman, Councillor Dominic Barnes, welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Chairman advised that a question had been received from a member of the public.

 

Question:  Will there be a public consultation on the Trinity Road Quietway, and if so, how and when would the consultation questions and criteria for keeping as a Quietway be decided and when would be the expected final decision date?

 

Response:  The Chairman stated that Trinity Road, Marlow, had been closed in order to encourage walking and cycling.  The consultation was underway, and responses would be monitored; work would be undertaken with the local community to find the best solution and review whether to continue with the road closure.

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies had been received from Sian Herschel, Great Marlow PC; Carl Griffin, Buckinghamshire Council and Dr Penny MacDonald, Marlow Medical Centre.

3.

Notes of the last meeting pdf icon PDF 538 KB

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2020 and 23 February 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman confirmed that all the actions had been completed.

 

Resolved:  The minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2020 and 23 February 2021 were agreed as an accurate record. 

4.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

5.

Introduction to the South West Chilterns Community Board pdf icon PDF 566 KB

The Chairman, Councillor Dominic Barnes and the Community Board Co-ordinator, Makyla Devlin will provide an update following the reset for 2021/22.

.

Minutes:

The Chairman explained that the South West Chilterns Community Board was the local link between the Council and the community and was in place to take action on local issues.   Community boards (CBs) were a way to work together to make a difference on the things that mattered to the local area, with money to support local projects. The Chairman welcomed the Buckinghamshire Councillors, representatives from the town and parish councils, statutory partners, local businesses, community groups and local residents.  Cllr Barnes thanked the councillors who had been part of the Community Board for the last municipal year but had either retired or not returned; Cllrs Mike Appleyard, Julia Adey, Julia Langley, Tony Lee, Jean Teesdale, Ian McInnis, Mark Harris, Richard Scott, Suzanne Brown, Roger Wilson and Chris Whitehead.  The Chairman introduced Cllrs Neil Marshall (Vice-Chairman), Alex Collingwood, David Watson and David Johncock who remained on the Board from last year.  The Chairman also welcomed the seven newly elected councillors; Cllrs Jocelyn Towns, Zahir Mohammed, Carol Heap, Mark Turner, Sophia Kayani, Stuart Wilson and Penny Drayton.  The Chairman advised that there were four action groups where the majority of the work would take place with engagement from the community;

 

  • Environment and Climate Change
  • Economic Recovery and Development
  • Transport and Highways
  • Community Engagement. 

 

Anyone who wanted to be involved in an action group should contact Makyla Devlin, Community Board Co-ordinator.

6.

Service Director Update pdf icon PDF 864 KB

To receive an update on Council related matters of interest from the Service Director of Business Operations, Mr Lloyd Jeffries.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Lloyd Jeffries, Service Director, Business Operations and the Community Board Liaison Officer. Please refer to Lloyd’s slides, appended to the minutes, for the detailed information.

 

Lloyd explained that his Service area covered Customer Service, Customer Service Centre, Council Access Points, Corporate Business Support, Customer Experience Improvement, Business Development and Civil Contingencies Unit, and that there are 405 full time equivalent staff in the service. 

 

Lloyd highlighted that the Local Contact Tracing team had achieved over 50% success rate as residents recognised that they were being called from a local number.  The Service also ran the rapid testing sites in Aylesbury and High Wycombe.   Marlow Library (CAP) was ranked at number three for the number of visitors (463 during April-June). 

 

The Fix My Street (FMS) app was undergoing a 12 month improvement plan. 

 

Stay Safe, Protect Bucks – anyone with Covid symptoms or a positive lateral flow test result must self-isolate and arrange for a PCR test.  All adults aged 18 and over could now get a vaccine by booking online or phoning 119.  From Friday 2nd July 2021 the ‘Health on the Move’ buses would be visiting areas where vaccine take up was low.

 

Home to school transport was changing, contracts were being renewed and routes that carried few or no eligible children would be taken over by bus companies as commercial school bus routes from September 2021.  There would be changes to the routes and the timetables would be available from 15 August 2021 on the Buckinghamshire Council website.

 

The following questions were raised.  The responses were provided shortly after the meeting and have been included for information.

 

Q - If children in the Marlow area wanted to go to a same sex school they needed to travel to High Wycombe and the current buses were not big enough.  What was the plan?

 

A. The Council would always ensure provision was in place for eligible children who required transport assistance under the Council’s policy. If the Council provided a bus for eligible children any remaining spare seats were sold. The Council only contracted for provision for eligible children as per the Council’s policy set by Cabinet.  In Buckinghamshire there were many commercial bus operators who would sell tickets directly to parents and they would often increase their vehicle size or run extra buses where there was parental demand.

 

Q.  When would the revised bus routes be available online?

 

A.  The routes for September 2021 were published online on 24th June and were available here:  School bus routes and stops 2021/22 | Buckinghamshire Council (buckscc.gov.uk)

 

Detailed timetables would be published on 15th August 2021.  School bus timetables | Buckinghamshire Council (buckscc.gov.uk)

 

Q.    Would there be any changes with provision for children with special educational needs (SEND)? 

 

A.    During 2021 there had been a phased retendering of contracts for taxi provision for SEND children throughout the year. All parents affected had been notified in advance and schools briefed.  In addition, the Council had also made  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

The On Street Residential Induction Charging (OSRIC) Project, Marlow

A presentation will be provided by Ms Janine White.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Janine White who provided a presentation on the ‘On Street Residential Induction Charging’ (OSRIC) project, appended to the minutes.  Janine explained that it was an exciting project in Liston Street Car Park, Marlow and involved working with several partners.  Buckinghamshire Council had received funding from Char.gy to trial and install Wireless Electrical Induction Charging Pads.  One pad was to be installed in Marlow and would be the first trial to be carried out; it would last for nine months and would end on 31 March 2022.  The aim was to reduce the need for charging cables and enable users to hire and drive an electric vehicle (EV) without purchasing one.  The car park had been selected due to its demographical and geographical location.  It was an area where electric vehicle points were not yet installed and was considered an ideal area to test the market.  The electrical feed would be via an existing lighting column and the induction pad would fit neatly into the car park; the car charged when parked over the pad.  The launch day was planned for 2nd August 2021 (tbc) and would include demonstrations. The process would be carried out via the ‘hiyacar’ app and a YouTube video hiyacar - how it works was available.

 

The following key points were raised in discussion:

 

  • In response to being asked whether any vehicle could be charged on the pad; Janine replied that the pad could only be used on an induction car; the car would have a cable so could also be charged at an EV point.
  • A member of the board asked whether other locations were being considered such as the High Street.  Janine advised that charging took a couple of hours, more to be fully charged, but agreed the suggestion of charging being available on the High Street was a good idea and the way forward to eradicate charging cables.
  • Once charged, the car had a range of approximately 200 miles.  Three Renault Zoe cars will be available to hire in Buckinghamshire. One location being the Liston Road car park in Marlow. The other two locations in Buckinghamshire are still to be agreed.  
  • It was confirmed that the car park was monitored by CCTV.  The user would also take photographs before and after hiring the vehicle.
  • In response to a question on the expected uptake; Janine stated that she was hoping for a positive uptake and that the purpose of the trial was to gauge the demand.
  • If the trial was unsuccessful, funding was available to decommission the project.
  • The car could be booked in advance via the ‘hiyacar’ app.
  • Janine confirmed that there was no financial risk to the Council and that there were no health risks to people or animals, should they happen to cross the induction pad.
  • The electricity supply was unmetered and would be provided by SSE.
  • Janine was invited, and agreed, to attend an Environmental Action Group meeting.

 

The Chairman thanked Janine for attending and it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Funding Update pdf icon PDF 216 KB

To be presented by Mr Simon Garwood, Localism Manager.

Minutes:

Simon Garwood, Localism Manager, provided a presentation, appended to the minutes.  The CB’s budget for 2021/22 was £338,487 which included the underspend for last year of £99,557 and this year’s allocation of £238,930 [these are the correct figures, unfortunately the funding amounts mentioned during the meeting were incorrect].  Simon explained that the funding process had been streamlined and outlined the steps.  The new process made it easier for CBs to make funding decisions; checks were carried out and there was a monthly funding panel for referral, if required.  The aim was to address local issues and the Board had been provided with recommendations on how the budget could be used percentage-wise for priorities; 15% on improving the environment, 15% on supporting economic recovery and a maximum of 25% on transport projects.   Simon highlighted that the deadline for receipt of highways applications that would be delivered by TfB was 30 September 2021.

 

The following key points were raised in discussion:

 

  • A query was raised on who would qualify for the funding; the Chairman advised that the CB had been allocated its own budget, the action groups would work on projects and any organisation could approach the CB to apply for funding.  The action group would check whether the application complied with the criteria, it would be debated in the action group, the chairman of the action group would make a recommendation, the application would then come to the CB or be emailed to members for a decision.  Participatory funding was required for applications. 
  • In response to being asked why the CB would pay for the painting of traffic lines; the Chairman stated that if it was important to the local community it could be considered.  Decisions were made to benefit the local community.

Examples of what would qualify in terms of transport schemes were available on the website.  Road safety and parking schemes could be accepted but not road re-surfacing.

9.

Formal Community Board Updates/Overview pdf icon PDF 791 KB

To review the previous working groups with a brief reflection and receive the notes of the previous round of working group meetings for information

 

·       Notes of the Transport, Infrastructure, Re-opening of our High Streets and Regeneration working group – 15 April 2021; to be presented by Councillor Alex Collingwood.

·       Notes of the Covid-19 Recovery working group – 2 March 2021; to be presented by Councillor David Johncock.

·       Notes of the Broadband workstream -20 April 2021; to be presented by Councillor Mark Turner.

 

Funding Report – 2021/21 – to be presented by Councillor Dominic Barnes.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Transport, Infrastructure, Reopening of High Streets and Regeneration (TIRR) action group

Cllr Alex Collingwood, Chairman of the TIRR action group, advised that there were two sections to the group; highways and transport and the reopening/ regeneration/ infrastructure.  Cllr Collingwood highlighted the following points:

 

  • Approximately 12-15 roads had been resurfaced/plane and patched/fixed in the area. 
  • £3.9 million had been secured to upgrade the interchange on the Marlow Bypass to Globe Park. 
  • £1.4m had been secured for the future of Marlow Bridge.
  • The group had worked with Swish Fibre, Instalcom and Cadent to keep the utility companies on track. 
  • A ‘quiet way’ trial had commenced in Trinity Road. 
  • The group had worked with the farmers’ market to ensure it was Covid secure when it reopened.
  • The group had also worked with Brand Events on the Comedy Weekend and similar events were planned for later in the year. 
  • There was a potential film studio in the CB area and the group would take a proactive role in its development.

 

The following points were raised in discussion:

 

  • Speed management projects would be considered by the TIRR group.
  • It was noted that communities needed to ensure that the police enforced speed limits and that other ideas for traffic calming would be welcomed.

 

Rural Broadband

Cllr Mark Turner provided the following update on the Rural Broadband project:

  • Open Reach were carrying out phase one of the Government scheme.
  • An alternative supplier to Swish Fibre might be considered in Lane End.
  • Open Reach had provided the costs for Turville, but it was expensive and would not be covered by the voucher scheme.
  • The cost for providing rural broadband in Medmenham was also high and the area would be split.
  • There was a Government initiative to provide fibre to new builds and there would be more options for 4G and 5G due to changes to the regulations regarding masts. 
  • Dark Fibre was being installed for the new data centre at Didcot but would not be used for residential homes.
  • There was no evidence of Swish Fibre installing broadband in rural areas despite many conversations.
  • Cllr Johncock added that Swish Fibre were rolling out broadband in Bourne End, and would also be doing so in Wooburn Green, Flackwell Health, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross.

 

Covid-19 Recovery, Young and Older People and Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group

Cllr David Johncock thanked Suzanne Browne, who stood down as a councillor in May, for her work last year.  The group had supported many different organisations during the pandemic; one of which was a food group which brought organisations together in a coordinated manner. The food group evolved to become the Chiltern and South Bucks Food Group.  The extended period of lockdown had affected people’s mental health and the group had identified and supported a number of projects, particularly with Chiltern Rangers who had experience in this area.  The Board had also supported the creation of an all-abilities garden in Parmoor, near Frieth.  Four young people were in receipt of mentoring for two years from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Community Matters pdf icon PDF 382 KB

For attendees to ask any questions submitted in advance or to receive questions from those in attendance.

 

The following information has been included in the agenda pack:

 

·       Key messages around staying safe and where you can get a vaccination

·       Home to school transport changes for September 2021

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman asked for everyone to promote the Community Board and spread the word.  Makyla Devlin, Community Board Co-ordinator, agreed to circulate the funding application form to the Board Members for cascading to any interested parties.

Action:  Makyla Devlin

11.

Topics for Future Consideration

Ideas for themed meetings throughout the year - to be presented by Makyla Devlin, Community Board Co-ordinator.

Minutes:

Suggestions of topics for themed meetings or organisations who could come and speak to the CB were welcome and should be emailed to Makyla Devlin at SWCCB@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

12.

Date of the next meeting

17 November 2021.

Minutes:

17 November 2021 and 16 February 2022 – details to be confirmed.