Agenda and draft minutes

Eliza Alqassar, Nick Crank, Jo Short (HE)

Cllr Chapple read out a short statement prepared by Milton Keynes Council in remembrance of Cllr Robin Bradburn who sadly passed away.

'Robin was dedicated to representing the residents of Milton Keynes and the Thames Valley, striving to improve community safety and prevent crime and disorder.

As Chair, his notable achievements included pushing for the formation of auxiliary Task and Finish Groups which are in place to bring about additional scrutiny on critical issues such as Violence Against Women and Girls, Road Safety, Anti—Social Behaviour and Internet Fraud. These groups conduct in-depth scrutiny into critical areas and produce reports with recommendations submitted to the Police and Crime Panel, and then onto the Police and Crime Commissioner for his consideration and recommended adoption.

Robin became Chair of the Panel in June 2023, after serving as an active Member since June 2018.

His experience, passion, and drive will be deeply missed.'

The reading was followed by a minute of silence.

None

It was noted that some events in past tense should be future tense - otherwise agreed.

Eliza Alqassar – Historic & Built Environment Manager, Buckinghamshire Council

Jo Horton presented on the proposed reframing of future BHEF meetings to try and ensure that the meeting provided maximum benefit to members of the forum and supported beneficial outcomes for all partners. Feedback on the proposal was invited and input to new approaches is welcomed.

The overarching aims as discussed are:

Great communication – concise and relevant with opportunities to ask questions, share insights and news

Topical Discussion - to frame discussion and presentations around helpful and relevant topics

Raise key issues - relating to the Historic Environment that our elected members and other partners should be aware of

Build Connections - Time for coffee, relaxed discussion and networking

Asks of partners include:

Provision of concise written reports to be submitted no later than 1 week prior to the date of the next meeting.

Opportunities to be provided within the meeting for questions to be raised on the reports.

Space will be provided within future meetings for 2-3 15min presentations with Q&A on the agreed topic. Offers to present and suggestions for future topics are welcomed.

Engagement with any questionnaires circulated prior to the meeting would help to provide a broad overview to the group on partner activities in relation to the topic.

GM – asked about the Constitution & Terms of Reference [JW1] document which LL located and it was agreed that this should be reviewed and updated for the next meeting. He also commented that the group historically kept each other accountable and brought challenge and he feels that perhaps this should be a function for the group going forward.

BC – noted that Buckinghamshire Council budget cuts threatened the existence of the group until he and PB pushed back and agreed to continue with diminished support from Democratic Services. He also noted that the next meeting would be his last as chair with a new council[JW2]  in place from May 2025.

It was also agreed that we should review membership suggestions to include Historic England Buildings Officers and renewed efforts should be made to contact the Oxford Diocese and National Trust.

WM – asked if the meeting could be hybrid to improve accessibility which was supported by Cllr Petchey. The group felt that the ‘in person’ format of the group helped to encourage better networking and was preferrable, but agreed that a hybrid option was a good idea for those that genuinely could not attend otherwise.

JH - suggested that we could ask Democratic Services to send out a diary date for report submission deadlines.

Action Points:

Review terms of reference - Eliza

Review membership - PM

Review options for hybrid meeting and report deadline alerts - PM

Wendy Morrison – Chilterns National Landscape

Chilterns Heritage & Archaeology Partnership (CHAP) – Wendy had been working on the Beacons of the Past Project but has now become Heritage & Archaeology Manager for CHAP, their aim is to support the management and conservation of habitats and historic landscapes. This is a partnership activity pulling together work on Chalk streams and supporting community involvement and increased local understanding and appreciation. The CHAP initiative launched in January.

A Defra initiative for Farming in Protected Landscapes funded improvements e.g. working with Carrington Estate to resolve overgrowth and to reveal the Bledlow Cross – monument now visible and with clear lines of sight – awaiting approval from Historic England for trenching and dating of the cross.

Chalk Cherries and Chairs project working with LL on Grim’s Ditch. WM had written a book providing a children’s introduction to archaeology - available for £5 from the Chilterns national Landscape (CNL) website.

The Routes to the Past initiative created 4 x heritage trails with hidden archaeology. Bespoke information boards and QR codes were located along these circular trails, e.g. at Hodgemore Wood.

The ITV Marlow Murder mysteries production consulted with CHAP to ensure that archaeological excavation details were correct in the series.

The CHAP initiative partnered with the University of Winchester to undertake ground penetrating radar and resistivity investigations at Flaunden church.

Further geophysics investigations in the Chess valley using new machinery had been funded by Thames Water, on which 20 volunteers had been trained so far. CHAP were gathering good demographic information on people engaging with archaeology and were beginning to identify which groups are missing.

Local Nature Recovery Strategy projects provided no protection for heritage so CHAP involvement in this work is an approach had been welcomed by Natural England.

CHAP secured a successful bid for lottery funding to deliver the ‘Not Bourne Yesterday’ chalk stream archaeology project, including an apprenticeship scheme.

Lucy Lawrence – Archaeological Officer, Buckinghamshire Council

Lucy is presenting next week with Brett Thorn from Discover Bucks Museum to CIFA Archives group AGM.

The County Museum holds responsibility for the county’s archaeological archives – when landowners agree to sign over artefacts they go to the Halton Museum store. Museum renovation happened during COVID – aim to increase footfall, refresh galleries, present new objects – keen for there to be a space for a revolving temporary display of recent discoveries to seize the moment and offer the public a glimpse into physical appreciation of current news items – increases a sense of place and local value to local people. Historically this could have taken years for all the post ex and reporting to conclude and for artefacts to be released to museums.

Brett needed to know what was happening on the ground so has been working in close collaboration with Buckinghamshire Council Archaeology Team to ensure that there is variety in the displays and that the space can respond to local interest and current press exposure. LL noted that the team can look ahead and enter agreement with contractors to include provision and timetabling for loan of artefacts [JW1] for this purpose through written schemes of investigation linked to planning conditions. Artefacts that require minimal conservation ahead of display are carefully selected and consider any impacts on post excavation timetables

First display - HS2 Stoke Mandeville Roman heads – felt that this led to an increase in footfall.

Second display – Roman artefacts from the Little Kimble site.

Third display – 19^th century branded crockery from the Buckinghamshire Lunatic Asylum. Displayed with similar branded crockery already in the museum collection from later phases of the site’s history.

WM – what is in place to track and verify impacts on footfall? SM – it is mostly qualitative data from visitors’ word of mouth.

GM – is there opportunity for more local e.g. library displays? LL- this is highly dependent on venue insurance.

MP - How can we extend this to the Milton Keynes Museum particularly for discoveries made in the north of the county? LL – The arrangement could be replicated in the MK area in collaboration with Nick Crank (MK Archaeology Officer).

PB – How are the exhibits publicised? Can this kind of good news story be pushed to elected members? SM – publicity usually through social media, the museums website, some radio coverage, press releases and through Friends of the Museum. The group recognised the value of informing elected members.

Lisa Harvey – Heritage Project Officer, Buckinghamshire Council

While there is no requirement to consult the public on Conservation Area reviews, Historic England are supportive of the idea that local communities can provide insightful input into the process.

Buckinghamshire Council currently have 179 Conservation Areas (CAs) 95 % of which have not been reviewed in the last 20 years. Legislation requires that they should be reviewed ‘from time to time’ which is somewhat ambiguous.

Ahead of work on a single Local Plan for Buckinghamshire, funding has been provided from the Policy Team to review the existing appraisal documents and boundaries for Aylesbury, Buckingham, Haddenham and Winslow this year followed by High Wycombe and Chesham next year. Consultants are being engaged to carry out the review work and the funding supports Lisa’s role as Heritage Project Officer to help manage the internal processes towards adoption.

Alongside this work Lisa is working with some local Parish Councils and volunteers, to progress reviews for some smaller CAs. Volunteer interest largely stemmed from prior involvement in the completed Local Heritage List Project and has led to one volunteer now pursuing a qualification in conservation.

Stakeholders have been identified and contacted. Early engagement activities have taken place for some of the towns and it is anticipated that public consultation will begin in October. Consultations will be open for a 6 week period and will include public meetings, publicity on the Bucks ‘Your Voice’ web pages etc.

WM – voiced her interest in getting involved in the Chesham review next year and offered her help contacting community stakeholders as well as for any other reviews in the Chilterns.

BC – anticipates an increase in interest in CAs from villages due to pressure of development from new housing quotas, new towns and renewable energy schemes. He noted that the Hulcott estate went on the market on Monday.

PB – Asked about the cost of reviews. JH – costs are subject to size of the area and the quality of any existing document, but roughly between £10-20k + VAT although there is need for additional amounts to cover Lisa’s post.

PB – what new information have we learned from the Grim’s Ditch excavations? PM – Nothing official has been confirmed as yet awaiting further investigations and research on dating samples taken from site. This is the first Scheduled Monument to have been excavated in 40 years – the work has been extensive and the developer has responded to all of our asks including providing opportunities for the Young Archaeologists Clubs and Bucks Archaeological Society to visit site.

GM – reminded the group about the Buckinghamshire Local History Network Conference on October 5^th entitled ‘Food for Thought’.

PB – Supportive of the new BHEF approach. Request to discuss Heritage at Risk next time? Agreed by the group.

Action Points:

Enquire about possible venue at Stowe – JH

Thanks were extended to Wendy for hosting the meeting in Chesham and to all speakers who provided an engaging and interesting forum for discussion.

Thursday 13^th March 2025

Thursday 13^th March