Agenda and minutes

Venue: Microsoft Teams meeting - Join on your computer or mobile app

Contact: Jackie Binning (Community Board Co-ordinator)  Sally Taylor (Democratic Services Meeting Support)

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome/Introductions/Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

The Chairman, Councillor Gary Hall, welcomed everyone to the last meeting before the Elections on 6 May 2021.  The Chairman thanked Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator, for her hard work and support to the Board which had achieved an enormous amount over the last year.  The Chairman welcomed, the Leader, Councillor Martin Tett, to the meeting.

 

Apologies had been received from Councillor Darren Hayday, Councillor Jean Teesdale, Councillor Wendy Monroe-West and Councillor Moyra Lazenby, Martin Fisher, Jaaganroop Marshall and Surinder Marshall.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

Under item 8 - Funding; Councillor Alan Turner declared a non-pecuniary interest as a trustee for the Princes Risborough charity who had been in receipt of a grant.

 

3.

Notes of the last meeting

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2020 and review any actions.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  The minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2021 were agreed as an accurate record.

4.

Priorities - Update from the Subgroup pdf icon PDF 371 KB

An overview of subgroup progress.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman provided a brief overview of the work being undertaken by the subgroups and emphasised the strength of the Board and the work which would continue after the Elections.  The written reports would be appended to the minutes.

Crime and Antisocial Behaviour the subgroup had been working with several organisations on a number of projects.  The objectives going forward would be to evaluate solutions around dog theft and tackling county drug line gangs.  Work would continue with partners and the subgroup had a good relationship with the Police.

Economic Regeneration – aimed to assist businesses in the towns and villages recover from Covid lockdown and build sustained business for the future.

Environmental and Climate Change – the subgroup had received a presentation from Transition Town Marlow who were challenging and leading green issues across Marlow. 

Traffic and Road Issues – this was the largest and busiest group and had eight priority objectives; one of which was to develop a draft area-wide transport strategy for the North West Chilterns.  The subgroup was also working on a Clean Air Strategy (i.e. reducing carbon emissions from transport) and the A4010 strategy.

Young and the Elderly – the subgroup was working with households in poverty and aimed to produce a strategy on food/cooking education.   The subgroup had received and supported an application from Lacey Green and Loosley Row Tennis Club for the funding of floodlights which would be presented under the funding item.

5.

Princes Risborough Expansion pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Aude Pantel, Planning Policy Officer and John Callaghan, Infrastructure and Projects Team Leader to provide an update.

 

Minutes:

John Callaghan, Infrastructure and Projects Team Leader, Buckinghamshire Council, provided a presentation appended to the minutes.  J Callaghan highlighted the following key points:

 

  • The Local Plan 2019 set out the vision, objectives and policies for the expansion of the town and allocated for approximately 2500 homes in Princes Risborough plus an infrastructure package of two primary schools, a local centre,  a pedestrian underpass, a sports hub, the relief road as a complete alternative to the A4010 and a high level of affordable housing (48%) .
  • The Supplementary Planning document (SPD) set out more detail.  The relief road was a key deliverable and would avoid the congested town centre. 
  • Extensive engagement had been carried out with the community prior to cabinet approval in February 2021. 
  • The costs had risen but the scheme remained viable. 
  • Coordination would be important to arrive at a cohesive and quality place with the infrastructure delivered in the right place at the right time.
  • There would be three development phases which would link in with relief road phases and junction improvements.  The building and infrastructure programme would take place over a number of years.
  • More information was available on the BC website. 
  • Engagement with developers would continue; planning applications were expected in summer 2021 and would be assessed against the policy and the SPD. 

 

The following key points were raised during discussion:

 

  • In response to a comment that there was little information on the station land and the consultation on the first phase of the relief road; J Callaghan advised that more information was required, and it was not yet ready for consultation.  The station site was relatively unconstrained and could potentially come forward as part of the first phase of development.

·       Concern was raised that the premise of building 2,500 homes by 2034, approximately 200 per year, would impact on the long term provisions for the town as the opening of the new primary school had already slipped to 2026.  An estate agent had advised that 100 homes per year would be acceptable.  J Callaghan stated that the expansion plan was the Council’s preferred option, but developers may have their own ideas.  The delivery rates were reasonable, and everything had slipped a year, not just the school.  Aude Pantel, Senior Planning Policy Officer, added that the Local Plan anticipated that over 500 homes would be delivered after 2033 (end of the plan period) the profile in the SPD was therefore more optimistic; comparisons with other sites where delivery rates were similar, had shown this was a good indication for Princes Risborough.

 

The Chairman emphasised that it was essential the infrastructure was delivered in a timely way and encouraged continued engagement with the officers on any concerns.

6.

Linking Priorities across Subgroups

Cllr David Knights to discuss cycling and walking promotions and promoting tourism and how these link with other subgroups.

Minutes:

Councillor David Knights explained the subgroups were carrying out work on the Community Board’s priorities, but some issues were being discussed across two subgroups and, in some cases, not at all.  Cllr   Knights raised the issues of promoting cycling and walking groups which had been discussed in the Environmental and Climate Change subgroup but also linked in with the Traffic and Road Issue subgroup.  The Chiltern Hills were an important asset and there was an opportunity to increase tourism which would also link in with the work being carried out by the Economic Regeneration subgroup.  Cllr Knights stressed the importance of working together to develop these two projects across the whole area and asked members to consider this when creating new priorities for the Board. 

 

The Chairman agreed it would be a very important issue going forward.  Cllr Steve Broadbent highlighted that development around the station areas would be key to increasing active travel and would involve crossover between different subgroups. It was noted that the Chilterns Conservation Board and the Chiltern Society would also be a useful link.

7.

A4010 Strategy pdf icon PDF 4 MB

Presentation from Jim Stevens on the A4010 Strategy.

Minutes:

Mr Jim Stevens provided a presentation, appended to the minutes; entitled “A Locally Inspired Suggested Strategy for the A4010”.  J Stevens highlighted the approach adopted to produce the draft strategy which had no formal status but was a document for ongoing discussion on the A4010; the main north to south artery through the area. The existing transport policies were the Buckinghamshire Local Transport Plan (LTP), the England’s Economic Heartland (EEH) Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) (published in February 2021) and Buckinghamshire Freight Strategy. The A4010 was classified as a strategic route, a blue light route and would also become a HS2 construction route and the suggested strategy aligned well with the RTS.  Traffic data had shown there was congestion in Princes Risborough and West Wycombe and an air quality management area had been declared on West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe.  Traffic was predicted to increase by 30% by 2036 due to housing and economic growth.  In summary, the A4010 was a stressed road, calling for attention.  The other north to south route was the A413 which had benefitted from route strategy over many years and there was a significant difference between the two routes.  J Stevens highlighted the progress so far and what an A4010 Strategy could deliver and the four suggested objectives which were:

 

  • To reduce carbon emissions and traffic demand.
  • To mitigate development traffic.
  • To address local road safety concerns.
  • To manage bottlenecks at each end of the route.

 

To fully develop (and ultimately deliver) a strategy for the A4010 would require ongoing engagement with, and support of, Buckinghamshire Council. The two immediate issues were the narrow road width and the lack of continuous cycleway.  Funding was a huge challenge and the delivery of the A4010 strategy   would be delivered by a range of organisations and would need to be integrated within the LTP 5 and EEH RTS.  The Community Board was recommended by J Stevens to support:

 

  • The general ‘direction of travel’ with the suggested A4010 Strategy.
  • The suggested key objectives as a basis for discussion with Buckinghamshire Council.
  • Engagement with Buckinghamshire Council to develop the suggested A4010 Strategy.
  • Working towards potential inclusion of the suggested A4010 Strategy in LTP5.
  • Engagement with England’s Economic Heartland on the RTS North to South Connectivity Study (working with BC).
  • A formal request to TfB to maintain the existing cycleway.

 

The following key points were raised in discussion:

 

  • It was noted that it had been an excellent piece of work.  There were issues on almost every section, particularly in High Wycombe as there was congestion along West Wycombe Road which would not be easy to address.
  • Restoration/reopening of the current cycle route and adding in the missing four miles of cycleway would make an improvement.
  • The cost was unknown for the widening of the road and care needed to be taken to avoid new housing being linked to the road widening as the Government did not tend to provide funding for improving existing efficiencies.  The Leader advised engagement with the Highways Team  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Funding pdf icon PDF 125 KB

Review funding reports to be approved and a  summary of those approved since the last meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Jackie Binning, Community Board Co-ordinator, referred to funding reports appended to the minutes.  Since the last meeting the following funding had been provided:

  • Cllr Crisis Funding; to supply Christmas Hampers to Princes Risborough Charity - £600.
  • St Michael’s Church, Hughenden; to acquire and install equipment for the live-streaming of services and community events - £3,750.
  • Bucks Business First; to fund the Be Your Own Boss Scheme - £3,000.
  • Stokenchurch Community Bus; to help residents access their vaccination - £900.
  • Active in the Community; a holiday hunger project – 12,328.
  • Transitions UK; a mentoring project for young people - £4,000. 

 

Resolved: The following four funding applications were all approved by the Community Board.

 

  • Lacey Green Parish Council; Kiln Pond clearance £420.
  • Princes Risborough Charity; to provide mains water supply to tenanted allotments - £1,800.
  • Lacey Green and Loosely Row tennis club; to install flood lighting - £6,000.

Studley Green Community Centre; Installation of 30 solar panels to community centre roof - £7,000.

9.

Community Matters pdf icon PDF 229 KB

·       Petition - B4009: response to be presented by Cllr James Cripps (see attached).

·       Petition – Warrendene Road: response to be presented by Cllr David Carroll (see attached).

·       For your information:

Ø  Consultations: to review County wide and local, go to Your Voice Bucks website Your Voice Bucks - Citizen Space

Ø  Covid – rapid testing: see factsheet and FAQ’s attached.

Ø  Census Day 21.03.21: Census Support Service – see information attached and website link:
Census 2021 | Buckinghamshire Council.

              To support Buckinghamshire residents Aylesbury Library and Buckinghamshire Adult Learning (from centres in Buckingham, Aylesbury and High Wycombe) are offering a census support service

Ø  HS2 funding – is open and closes on 15th May 2021.

 

·       Question Time: To respond to any questions received.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor James Cripps presented the B4009 Little Kimble Speed Limit petition and explained that the B4009 was part of what would become the A4010.  The road would become a problem because the number of houses in Great and Little Kimble would increase by 35-40% and there was already an increase in the use of the only crossing.  There had not yet been enough accidents to satisfy criteria for local funding and therefore, the petition had been refused.  The petition called for a reduction in speed, however, excess speed was not noted by Thames Valley Police as a contributory factor in either collision.  Jackie Binning added that the petition had been discussed in the Traffic and Road Issue subgroup and requested that the Community Board supported the recommendations provided in the report.

 

Resolved:  The Community Board agreed to support the following recommendations:

 

·       For a Speed Limit Assessment to be undertaken by Transport for Buckinghamshire.

·       To explore additional traffic calming measures to support a new or existing speed limit and raise driver’s awareness of the pedestrian island with advice from Transport for Buckinghamshire.

 

Councillor David Carroll presented the Response to Warrendene Road Petition to resolve HGV parking which had been submitted by residents of Warrendene Road.  The HGVs used the road as a waiting bay and there could be up to ten lorries parked; some arriving at 6.00 am and the situation was making residents’ lives a misery.  Councillor Carroll strongly recommended that a solution be found.  Jackie Binning added that the petition had been discussed in the Traffic and Road Issue subgroup and an urgent conversation would be undertaken with Country Supplies to find a resolution.  Jim Stevens agreed to lead on the work. 

 

Resolved:  The Community Board agreed that further conversations take place with the local business to try and resolve the issue. The council had made initial contact and they had indicated that the local business was keen to meet with local councillors, in order resolve the issue. These discussions would also make sure they were complying with the planning restrictions and operator’s licence in place. Jim Stevens had indicated that he was happy to be leading this with support from council officers.   At the same time, the parking services team would draft possible solutions for Highway Code supported waiting and parking restrictions and informal consultation with residents should take place.

 

No public questions had been received.

 

The Chairman thanked everyone for their contributions over last 12 months, particularly to the councillors who were not standing for re-election.

10.

Date of the next meeting

Thursday 17 June 2021.

 

Minutes:

Thursday 17 June 2021 at 6.30 pm.