Agenda item

The Committee will receive an update on Opportunity Bucks – the Council’s local ‘levelling up’ initiative which is supporting residents in ten specific wards in Aylesbury, Chesham and High Wycombe. 

Contributors:

Cllr Arif Hussain, Cabinet Member for Communities

Cllr Angela Macpherson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing

Matt Everitt, Service Director, Business Intelligence and Community Support

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Communities for staying and welcomed Roger Goodes, Service Director, Policy and Communications to the meeting.  The Cabinet Member outlined Buckinghamshire Council’s commitment to localism, which included the establishment of the Community Boards and a Town and Parish Charter. Town and Parish Councils and local groups had been invited to submit expressions of interest for devolution of assets or services and the Council had chosen six initial pilot projects, as follows:

1.      Prestwood Recreation Ground – This had been completed recently, with a 25-year lease granted.

2.      Aylesbury Christmas lights – a 3-year agreement had been put in place in July 2023.

3.      Green Street Community Centre – negotiations were ongoing but it was hoped that a handover would be completed by 31^st March 2024

4.      Aylesbury Community Centres – three centres were planned to be devolved in 2024 and leases were currently with Aylesbury Town Council for consideration and agreement.

5.      Denham Scout Hut – unfortunately the Scout Hut had burned down during negotiations and the Parish Council had looked at raising funds for a rebuild.

6.      Aylesbury Town Annual Remembrance Sunday Service – this devolution application had been rejected due to the status of the ceremony as a county event.

The Cabinet Member explained that the process of devolution was much more complicated than had been anticipated and required significant legal and property resources, in order to progress the projects. Covid 19 had also contributed to delays.

A revised policy was agreed at Cabinet on 11^th October 2023 which aimed to make the devolution process quicker by undertaking an initial viability assessment of applications.  In addition, car parks would not be included in the devolution programme and the freehold of an asset would not usually be devolved. Cabinet also agreed that in future, no more than two devolution projects will be worked on at any one time.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for this summary, noting that only two devolution projects had been completed to date and asked him to elaborate on the key challenges. In response to this question and others and during subsequent discussions, the following main points were noted:

• The main delays with the devolution process had been the legal issues involved.  Surveys of properties had been required and, in some cases, remedial work was necessary. It was important that the Council and the new asset owner were clear about their respective liabilities. Roger Goodes gave the example of the Green Street Community Centre where Japanese knotweed and an on-site telephone mast had posed difficulties. With regards to the Aylesbury community centres, the Council had consulted with existing users to ensure that they would be able to continue to use them. 
• A Member gave an example of a field which Westcott Parish Council had asked to be devolved on several occasions.  This was a relatively straightforward devolution request as the field had no utilities etc. but the parish council had not received any feedback. He asked how devolution projects would be chosen in the future if only two were worked on at any one time. 
• The Cabinet Member stated that where devolution could be done quickly and easily, these projects could be progressed and he agreed to provide an update on the specific application in Westcott. Roger Goodes stated that there was a waiting list for devolution projects and that new projects would be taken on in early 2024. The Council would look for ‘easy wins’ - projects that would most benefit the Council and the organisations applying for devolution.

ACTION: Roger Goodes

·         A Member asked about the community centres which were to be devolved in Aylesbury, enquiring about what Buckinghamshire Council was spending to get the assets up to the standard where Aylesbury Town Council could take them on. The Cabinet Member replied that this was subject to negotiation.

·         A Member pointed out that where requests had been made to devolve play areas to parish councils, it was disappointing that no progress had been made.  Local play areas could only be a cost to Buckinghamshire Council and it was disappointing that small projects had not been completed to produce quick wins already. The Cabinet Member agreed that this was a lesson learned.

·         A Member stated that he saw three failings with the devolution process to date - 1) the previous district councils had not been quick to hand assets over, 2) the process had been advertised as quick and simple – this had not been the case and 3) there had been delays in formulating a comprehensive devolution policy.

·         He also raised concerns about a lack of communication between Buckinghamshire Council and Denham Parish Council regarding the scout hut. The Cabinet Member agreed to look into this matter and report back.

                                                                       Action: Cllr Hussain

·         A Member noted that it seemed that parish and town councils had tried to take control of assets that were formerly important to them. He felt that the emphasis should be on the needs of the local community.  Roger Goodes agreed that any decision on devolution should be right for the council and the local community.

·         A Member expressed the view that the council was being too risk-averse where devolution was concerned and that local councils could use their precepts to help fund a local asset if necessary.  The Cabinet Member appreciated the Members’ frustration and agreed to look at assets which could be devolved quickly. 

·         A Member pointed out the wording in the report which stated that devolved projects should benefit local communities and the council. She felt that the emphasis should be on community benefit.  The Cabinet Member stated that value should be added to both parties.

·         Roger Goodes advised the Select Committee that there was one officer leading on devolution projects.  However, he explained that a number of officers from different teams, for example Legal Services or Property, were involved in each application.  Every application was treated as a project in its own right and would have its own lead officer.  For future projects it was agreed that Roger Goodes would ensure that relevant contact details were shared.

                                                                                  Action: Roger Goodes

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Communities and Roger Goodes for their contributions to the meeting.