Agenda item

The Board will hear from representatives about the plans and activity taking place around town centre and village regeneration and explore opportunities to support the community and economic recovery.

 

Topic 1: Town Centre regeneration and planning.

Cllr Gareth Williams will present an update to the Community Board on Town Centre regeneration and planning.

 

Topic 2: Bucks Business First – Be Your Own Boss.

Philippa Batting, CEO of Bucks Business First, will present an overview of the BYOB training programme to the Community Board.

 

Topic 3: The Village Forum; Rural regeneration.

Cllr Chris Brown will give an overview of the Board’s Villages Forum, which represents the 6 rural areas of the Community Board.

 

Topic 4: Chesham Masterplan.

Tony Molesworth will present a brief update to the Community Board on the current status of the Chesham Masterplan.

 

Minutes:

Topic 1: Town Centre Regeneration & Planning

 

Cllr Gareth Williams explained that he was Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration at Buckinghamshire Council and was also Deputy Leader of the Council. Cllr Williams explained that he was also a Town Councillor for the Waterside Ward in Chesham and that he was a warden of the Emmanuel Church on Broad Street as well we being a debt coach for a local charity called Christians Against Poverty.

 

Cllr Williams reported that since November 2020 the Council had distributed the government money it had received, which amounted to £21 million, into the local economy across Buckinghamshire. This meant that 4,500 businesses had been supported which amounted to 16,000 employees received support. Buckinghamshire was the second authority in the country in terms of the Local Restrictions Grant Distribution Support in terms of the speed in which the distribution took place. The business package had been designed to be simple to ensure the speed of delivery.

 

In terms of opening up lots of activity had taken place, to be on the side of business ensuring that they could open up and access to public spaces was available, given Covid measures. Whether it was alfresco dining or simply creating a vibrancy where possible. Signs had been put up ‘Welcome Back’ campaign and some processes had been simplified to assist with the opening up.

 

Cllr Williams reported that there had been an increase in unemployment and focus would continue to address this. Work had taken place with the DWP to retrain people for jobs in the aeronautical industry as well as the film industry as they were a large part of Buckinghamshire.

 

Towns across the county were moving at different paces. In Aylesbury there was a Garden Town Scheme and in Wycombe there was a significant regional future High Street fund and it was noted that £11.7million of government money had been secured which the Council would top up as necessary. Chesham, as the third largest town in the county, had been added to the agenda for the town’s allocation.

 

The Town Council was dynamic and there was also a Chesham Masterplan team and priority was being given to projects and capital funding was being looked at too. An ambitious levelling up bid was submitted to government thanks to many people involved in the Board.

 

Examples of what some other Community Boards had undertaken was shown (slides were attached to these minutes for information).

 

Topic 2: Bucks Business First – Be Your Own Boss

 

Heather Dean commented that Bucks Business First (BBF) was running a project called Be Your Own Boss which was supporting people who wished to start self-employed work or perhaps who want to go further and start a business and employ people.

 

A programme had been developed - £3,000 for up to 12 participants and Community Boards had been approached to explore whether they wished to support people in their local area to start their own business.             The programme included an Enterprise Day which looked at whether the business was right for them which for many it was, although there were one or two who maybe needed to refine their ideas or that it would not work at all.

If people wished to continue with the programme, a two-day course was offered which gave advice and information on subjects such as digital skills, in particular marketing skills, basics of accountancy, how to produce a business plan, marketing and sales.

 

Provision of one to one advice with a business advisor was also offered.

 

Many courses were planned for the coming year.

BBF prided itself in having the best database, certainly in the county, of businesses which could be provided to people who needed it. BBF undertook marketing itself which was sent out in an e-newsletter to 13,000 of their members and information was included in an Events Bulletin which was shared with organisations such as local libraries to spread the word. BBF had a large number of resources available for people starting their own businesses such as being available on their website under a specific tab called Starting Up and press releases for this resource had been undertaken.

 

BBF have a range of marketing toolkits available to use. Toolkits included press release leaflets, posters, promotional videos, social media posts, graphics, suggested themes etc.

 

Chesham was welcome. It was noted that 7 Community Boards were already taking part.

 

In response to questions, it was noted that the scheme was open to 12 applicants within this Board’s area and that £3,000 was the total sum available and people we were welcome at any time not just on Enterprise Days.

 

It was noted that one Board member had started a business recently but struggled to open a bank account – the comment was that banks were not on the side of new businesses. Heather Dean suggested that the member was welcome to talk to her team of advisors for help (although no promises were given).

 

Councillor MacBean commented that she was part of the Chiltern Chamber of Commerce and thought that linking with BBF could be useful due to the really local level of businesses.

 

It was also noted that 59% of employees within the Bucks area were working for companies that were classed as either micro, small or medium and that larger companies, e.g. those employing more than 250 people, employed 41% of workers. The national equivalent was 45%. Hence it was noted that the BBF initiative was very helpful as it was a growing sector.

 

It was noted that 4 people from the Chesham area were already on BFF’s waiting list and that if Parish Council’s wished to promote the initiative then that would be acceptable as the Board would be able to support the initiative. Heather Dean commented that as BBF paid for everything, it would be useful if the Board could market the initiative to attract the remaining 8 people.

 

The Board agreed that this would go forward.

 

The Chairman thanked Heather Dean for her informative presentation and it was agreed that the slides would be attached to the Minutes and Heather Dean’s email address was heather@bbf.uk.com.

 

Topic 3: Village Forum; Rural Regeneration

 

Councillor Chris Brown, Chairman of Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards Parish Council, reported that they were part of a Villages Forum that focussed on the rural community and issues within those communities and that it met periodically to discuss priorities within the 6 parishes, which were:

 

            Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards

            The Lee

            Chartridge

            Chenies

             

            Ashley Green

            Latimer & Ley Hill

 

The opportunity to learn about this programme was taken at their last meeting when discussions took place in relation to rural rejuvenation, concentrating on the needs of businesses in the rural communities and how these needs differed from those living/working in towns. Village businesses were not so obvious as towns were. A list of rural businesses was noted, of which businesses such as pubs, restaurants, hotels, golf clubs, holiday lets, campsites, shops, liveries, kennels/catteries, garages, manufacturing and agriculture were a part. The question was asked to what extent these businesses were at peril, perhaps having been affected by Covid and the change in the way work was carried out. The thinking was to approach businesses who were perhaps in peril to discover whether they had thought about their survival over the coming 10 to 15 years and what plans had been put in place. It was noted that maybe these businesses had not given much thought to that far ahead as they were thinking more of their immediate future. However, there was a need to give support to rural businesses as well as town centre businesses.

 

It was noted that there may be unique challenges in helping rural businesses or that there could be common challenges with the town centre although focus should be on what particular needs the rural businesses had.

 

Finally, two questions were put to the Board:

 

1.      Can those organisations presenting tonight consider what intelligence and support could be directed towards rural-based businesses?

2.      What relevant research has been done or is currently underway about rejuvenating rural based businesses and how can we access it?

 

The question was asked of whether there was an opportunity, if not already in place, to hear from the local rural businesses directly through a session with them about how they had adapted their business throughout Covid and opportunities; also the issues they were facing, to get their ideas on innovative solutions to help rural regeneration - perhaps a workshop session facilitated through the village forum. The informal groups were ideal to identify issues and prioritise those issues. If a Board member wished to be involved with the informal group they were invited to contact the Chairman, Vice-Chairman or the Board’s co-ordinator.

 

Councillor Chris Brown asked Councillor Gareth Williams in his Cabinet role which team, within Buckinghamshire Council, to discover what initiatives were taking place. However, it was noted that the team was quite small and they were currently focussing on town centre’s rejuvenation, funding and planning. The team had picked up what the legacy District Councils had done and had added Chesham. It was hoped that a thriving town would have a knock-on positive effect to outlying villages. Some tactical work had been undertaken for instance helping out a business if it wanted to expand, helping village pubs to be able to put in outdoor seating. Longer term village regeneration was not yet within the plan although a package/offer for villages could be created. Primarily, the channel for regeneration was through the local Community Boards.

 

Councillor Gareth Williams also stated that the Council had a Rural Forum, which was originally a Wycombe District Council initiative and included organisations such as the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Food Partnership etc. The Forum was particularly tied up with farming based backgrounds and attempting to know how to re-purpose rural communities. Councillor Williams reported that he would be looking to enlarge this to a more Bucks-wide approach where villages could tap into the information as well. It was noted that this had worked very well in Wycombe but had not been created elsewhere in Bucks. It was noted that different areas of the county had different profiles and this was being acted on.

 

The Board could help with achieving push out regeneration to the local villages once infrastructure and investment was put in place. The Board would need to identify level of need and the villages had been successful in doing that. Identification on how many organisations within those villages would need to be undertaken. Resources were required to first of all identify the scale of what was being discussed by working with each Parish Council to identify who and what each business was which could lead to some synergy between businesses as well as cross promotion. However, this would entail officer time as well as volunteers from the parishes who would provide the relevant information. Once that was completed, meaningful actions would be created.

 

It was noted that Oasis had an outreach programme, to be piloted for about a year, to take some services out to the villages although it was not definite how this would be used but they were keen to engage with people, whether it was employment training or a mobile art class. Work with the Board’s co-ordinator would continue.

 

Topic 4: Chesham Masterplan

 

Tony Molesworth referred to the report appended to the agenda.

 

During his presentation, the following was noted:

 

·         Chesham Town Council was kept informed of the Chesham Masterplan. A major consultation was undertaken in 2018 which received 450 written responses. It was noted there were in the region of 4,000 visits to their website.

·         Detailed briefings with the Town Council took place in 2019.

·         As soon as was possible work with Buckinghamshire Council and also with the Town Council had been and was still being undertaken.

·         It was noted that much of the principles and objective that were in the Chesham Masterplan had been mentioned in the Chesham Neighbourhood Plan.

·         Currently working on stage 2 and identified 15 key sites in and around the centre of the town and had already engaged with a developer at pre-application phase and that the three major landowners on that site were signed up and agreed to progress. This site was near Hyde Mead.

·         Focus demonstrating achievements. Covid interrupted much of the development work being undertaken.

·         Currently in the delivery phase of work. Public consultation would involve Board members. Public consultation would be undertaken once the developers phase has been completed.

·         The Masterplan is ambitious with 600 houses to be built near the town centre. Delivery phase would be complicated.

·         Meetings with key parties would be organised once progression to the next stage had been reached. 

·         Focus from planning to regeneration happened over the past 12 months.

·         A key component was when the Chesham Regeneration Committee was formed in the last quarter of 2020 with some key participants and organisation involved making it a community based committee. This would have a direct link into Buckinghamshire Cabinet.

·         The basis for regeneration would need to be updated working with Buckinghamshire Council and Chesham Town Council as BC owned many sites. Grant funding was required. It was noted that no significant capital funding had been spent in recent years.

·         A levelling up fund application was submitted recently.

·         Hope that the Board would support the Masterplan. It was noted that funding had been applied for at various levels although the level of funding required was substantial and none had been forthcoming. Chesham Renaissance has invested a substantial sum of money.

·         Chesham Renaissance was a community interest company and all assets generated would, it was hoped, be significant and once Chesham Renaissance was closed as a sunset company, all assets would become community assets. A community interest company was funds and/or assets could not be transferred to a council or public body, it was required to go into the community. Something for the regulator to arrange.

 

The Chairman thanked Tony Molesworth for his informative presentation. It was agreed that the slides would be attached to the minutes for information.

 

Topic 5: Skills to Screen Training Programme

 

Jackie Campbell explained the Aviation Project had come from a partnership between Pinewood, the Bucks LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership), the Enterprise M3 LEP and Screen Skills which was the UK skills body for film and TV. All these organisations met to look at people who had lost their jobs working at Heathrow, either in the supply chain working for the airport or working for the airlines and looked at the negative impact this had due to Covid. The group looked at how to transfer their skills as many had useful, transferable skills to film and TV. Working with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) who helped identify those people who were affected and ran a series of workshops which helped connect people with work opportunities. There were many and varied transferable skills. Once the programme had finished it was noted that the initial support given was no longer available. Working with Martina an onward training platform was developed.

 

Martina Porter explained that her business was Chesham-based and called All Spring Media who provided apprenticeships for some of the biggest names in the film, TV and the content creation industry, particularly the BBC and Channel 4, ITV, Amazon Studios, Netflix and Warner Bros. and working with companies such as Global Radio and it was noted that all that training would be coming out of Chesham. Idea was to take training given to apprenticeships and working with people in key areas such as the aviation and (potentially) hospitality industries and how to get them into the film, TV and content creation industry. Noting there was a skills gap and skills shortage within that industry, which had recently exploded in terms of production, with a lot of crews having difficulty finding people, the idea was to get those people with transferable skills, to give them a short burst of training to get them into the industry.

 

Martina reported that a Community Renewal Fund bid had recently been submitted, feedback from which was imminent and it was approved at Bucks level and hoped that now it had gone to government level it would be approved.

 

It was hoped to work with 140 people across Buckinghamshire to train them on the learning platform being developed, online, and would be 2 weeks of intensive training. An outreach officer would be employed to support these people and helping them gain jobs. The training would be accredited and about investing in their future. As a result of this training, 3 Chesham-based jobs would be created and it was hoped more jobs would be forthcoming as a result of this initiative. If funding was approved, then the programme would start in August and be wrapped up by March 2022 meaning timescales were tight and would be an intensive few months. However, because engagement with a pilot scheme had already taken place and that apprenticeship training was already being delivered confidence in delivering this scheme was high.

 

It was noted that, geographically, Chesham was ideally placed due to its proximity to local film and television studios. It was hoped that there would interest from the local area.

 

Colin McGregor CEO of The Oasis Partnership stated that he was keen to possibly work with Martina Porter. He also stated that he had recently won a contract with DWP to develop a Youth Hub within Chesham, as well as one in Wycombe. Opportunities were being sought for younger people aged 18 to 24 to also get into the business. Martina explained that some of the apprenticeships they delivered were targeted at the 18 to 24 age group and agreed that a meeting would be helpful.

 

In response to a question about that key jobs shortage was within the TV industry it was explained that production accountancy was a large key shortage which has been so for a while but as the whole industry has grown quite quickly recently there was a demand for content, which was now a large part of the industry. Production assistants and co-ordinators were needed too and work with Martina was ongoing to fill key jobs at Netflix and Warner Bros. Locations people are also in demand.

 

It was noted that filming in the county was a large growth area and that this message was being impressed on the government who are taking note. It was hoped that further funding would be made available. It was noted that even though Bovingdon airfield was across the county border, they did employ people from this county and it would be useful to maybe collaborate with Decorum Council.

 

The Chairman thanked Jackie Campbell and Martina Porter for their very informative presentation.

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