Agenda item

·  Agreeing priority areas of focus for the year ahead

·  Task and finish groups

The Chairman advised the minimum spending targets for Community Boards had been removed. In addition, there were no specific areas of focus allowing residents to decide where funding should be spent. Projects would not exceed £15,000 and requests for funds in excess of £1000 would need contributory funding at the discretion of the Board.

The Vice-Chair confirmed there were four areas of focus for the Community Board this coming year including, health wellbeing, supporting our young people, improving environment and enabling a safe and thriving community.

The Community Board Manager advised projects and ideas relating to the areas of focus would be collated from the community, with help running the projects sought from volunteers and voluntary organisations. If members had any ideas or interests, they were advised to contact the Community Board Manager.

The Chairman advised the working group meetings were to be replaced with

Task and finish groups. These groups would liaise with the Community Board Manager to ensure projects are delivered more effectively. The groups would consist of a small number of people with key skills and interests to deliver projects and feedback to the Board. The groups would be supported by sixth form students, boy scouts and girl guides.

The Community Board Manager highlighted the Board were currently working on providing cycle racks across the community area. Cycling was encouraged due to the health benefits of active travel and a reduction in carbon emissions. The proposal had gone forward to Transport for Bucks and the Board was encouraged to consider locations of cycle routes to avoid the public highways. The Board was seeking 3-5 volunteers to lead on the project from all 5 areas within the Board areas. The volunteers would be required to commit limited time to liaise with land owners to install cycle racks, research equipment suppliers and decide on suitable locations. In addition, existing cycle racks would be maintained or fixed if damaged. Any interested parties were advised to contact the Community Board Manager.

The Chairman advised a task and finish group relating to speeding would be set up. The Board purchased MVAS machines under the Speedwatch programme last year. Areas with high numbers of speeding cars needed to be investigated and machines would be installed. There was an opportunity to liaise with TVP for persistent problem areas in order for the police to attend with speed guns and issue speeding tickets. In the areas where MVAS was set up a schedule would be required to monitor and respond to the data received. The group needed at least one person from each ward area to volunteer.

An update on projects was provided by the Vice-Chairman.

• The commemorative benches project was underway and discussions had taken place at Parish meetings. Dr Challoner’s School were being consulted on materials, sustainability and durability of the benches.
• Olly O’Neil from the Treehouse Association was working with local schools to determine locations for defibrillators. The Clare Foundation had also expressed an interest in the project.
• The first Artisan Market was held in Amersham on Easter Sunday. There were over 20 stalls and 2500 people in attendance, it was noted the event had proved very successful. A debrief session had been scheduled to discuss any feedback before the next event.

·         Dr Challoner’s School was awaiting costs from Transport for Bucks for 20mph speed limit outside the school. £6,000 had been set aside for the project and funding would be applied to HS2 also.