Ilmer Past

Parish Meeting Minutes

LONGWICK-cum-ILMER PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD 19th APRIL 2017

Present: Councillors, Mrs Valerie McPherson BEM, Mr Brian Richards, Mrs Jane Rogers, Mrs Sally Whitworth, Mr Rolf van Apeldoorn and Mr Ian Walker.

Clerk Mrs Susanne Griffiths, Deputy Clerk Jayne Mylchreest.

13 Parishioners.

1. INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME

Cllr Mrs Valerie McPherson welcomed everyone and introduced the Parish Councillors, the Clerk and Deputy Clerk.

2. REPORT FROM THE POLICE

P.C. Andy Ralph reported that the crime statistics are very low for the parish in the last 3 months as per usual. Two cars were broken into on the Phoenix Trail and there have been four incidents of petrol not being paid for from the garage. In the Risborough area which includes the surrounding villages and hamlets twenty four victim based crimes have been reported during this calendar year.

The emphasis of policing has shifted due to the increase in cyber crime. To report cyber crime visit www.actionfraud.police.uk

Safeguarding the elderly, vulnerable and missing persons is a priority and the police liaise with Social Services and mental health services to get help for these people. The neighbourhood Policing team's emphasis is visibility and engagement within the community so the local schools and shops are often patrolled to offer reassurance and crime reduction advice.

Staffing is to remain the same for the foreseeable future at Princes Risborough station. The current police station may be sold next year but with all the new development in the area it is hoped that a station will remain in Princes Risborough and the possibility of moving to the Princes Risborough Fire Station is being investigated.

P.C. Andy Ralph took questions from members of the public.

3. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

Cllr Val McPherson BEM, Chairman of the Longwick-cum-Ilmer Parish Council gave the following report:-

Once again the Parish Council has had another busy year with the re-starting of the Neighbourhood Plan and Wycombe District Draft Local Plan. It was agreed at the Parish Council Meeting on 19th July 2016 to re-start the Neighbourhood Plan and re-employ our Consultant Designer Louise Thomas to assist with the preparation and submission of the plan. The Deputy Clerk wrote to WDC Planning Policy Officer to inform them officially that Longwick cum Ilmer Parish Council would be resubmitting a Neighbourhood Plan.

On 20th July the Parish Council sent out a leaflet to all residents across the Parish informing them that the Parish Council had decided to re-start the Neighbourhood Plan (NP) after taking advice from City of London lawyers and also Local Planning lawyers in Buckinghamshire. They stated that a NP is still the most effective way of guiding developments in our Area.

The Parish Council asked our parishioners to reply to the draft Local Plan that had been delivered to every household within the Parish, as this would guide the Parish Council with our new NP. The new local draft plan included an application for 65 new homes to be built on Rose Farm.

The Parish Council met with Penelope Tollitt Head of Planning and Sustainability from WDC to enquire why the Parish Council had not been consulted regarding this information, but also to inform her of our decision to re submit a draft NP.

The Rose Farm plans were consulted on separately the previous year by their Agents and then last year by WDC formally. This was independent of the NP process. The Parish Council objected to the Rose Farm application on 21st August 2016.

The Parish Council held a Public Meeting on 23rd November 2016 regarding our revised NP, stating why the Parish Council needed a new NP and invited Penelope Tollitt from WDC to explain about their new Draft Local Plan, which included 300 new homes (including Gladman's 160) for Longwick up to 2033.

Louise Thomas our Design Consultant explained why the last NP was withdrawn and to define policies for Longwick that were previously not covered in the existing draft new Local Plan or national policies and Mark Mathews, the Town Planning Manager from Thames Water on managing growth and flooding issues.

A vote was taken at the end of the meeting and everyone present agreed for the Parish Council to continue with the revised NP.

To date the draft NP has not progressed because we have been waiting for advice from WDC following the publication of the Government White Paper on housing and how it will affect the Longwick Parish Council draft NP.

However, the Steering Group committee has met a number of times throughout 2016 to discuss the proposals put forward for the revised plan and will be meeting again in May.

Planning applications received 47, Planning applications permitted 30 and number refused 7.

Throughout the year we had various events to celebrate the Queens 90th Birthday, and on 12 June 2016, "The Big Lunch" organised by Neighbourhood Watch was held in Longwick Village Hall due to bad weather, and was well attended. Everyone bought a plate or two of food to share with family and friends. A few games were played in between the showers on the playing field.

In August the Parish Council gave the go ahead for a new multi-play unit to be installed in the existing space in the children's play area and the elephant springer was replaced with a frog sit in springer. New surfacing was laid under each new piece of equipment. This was all possible by the Tesco's Ground work (Bags of Help Grant). The Parish Council received positive feedback from parents and children alike with the new equipment.

The two Mums who have also been raising funds for new play equipment in the children's playground have now increased their funds to over £1895.00 to date. They are looking into what other equipment they would like to see within the play area depending on space and are consulting with the Parish Council and a play equipment organisation too.

Problems within the Parish started with the closure of the Rights of Way of Wellington House development, in Lower Icknield Way. This caused a great deal of concern for the residents locally, especially those living on Lower Icknield Way and Chestnut Way. It was extremely dangerous trying to cross the road with the owner closing off the footpath that gave access onto Chestnut Way, whilst changing the occupation of various businesses into four flats. One resident took up the mantle and managed with the help of our County Councillor to get the footpath reinstated. The Landowner agreed to dedicate a public path over land in his ownership at Wellington House.

In September the Parish Council took part in a "Showcase Event" held in the Village Hall run by the Village Hall committee in order for residents to know what activities and events the hall is used for.

In October the Trustees of Longwick Sports Club informed the Parish Council, that they would close the club due to lack of support for football and cricket. This was a great shame as they had been running this sports club for a long time, but hoped that in the future, children and young people would become interested again in playing sports on the field.

A number of residents have commented on the wooden containers with flowers and plants to the entrances to the village, which was supplied by Briant's and Penns Flowers supporting the parish.

The Remembrance Service was arranged by Cllr Rolf Van Apeldoorn and Ian Walker and held at the War Memorial on 11th November at 11.00 am. The children of Longwick School took part in reading the poems and the Bugler played the last post.

The Parish Carol Service was held on 20th December in the Village Hall and this year, the new Longwick Choir sang three carols with the audience participating in a round with one of the carols. We also had a group of Young Carers speak on what they do within their organisation. The WI served the refreshments, mince pies and stollen cake again. Thank you to Cllrs Rolf Van Apeldoorn and Ian Walker for arranging this service.

During the year we have received complaints regarding potholes appearing especially in Owlswick, as large lorries are travelling through our country lanes with heavy loads. Fly tipping in the lay by on the B4009 with a number of tyres, including soil. The other lay by off the A4010 Thame Road had various items dumped. A variety of advertising boards have been placed around our village, from outside organisations and companies advertising their services, which seemed to blight our village for awhile, but have now been removed, and dog fouling has increased especially around the village and on the playing fields. The majority of our dog walkers do pick up their dog's mess, whereas some owners either forgets to bring doggy bags or do not care. It is an offence to leave your dog mess on pavements or on the field.

At our December Parish Council Meeting, the Parish Council received a petition from residents from Walnut Tree Lane/ Orchard Close and Dorrells Road concerning the planning application of 65 homes on Rose farm. This petition was sent to WDC for their attention and was also noted by the Parish Council.

In the near future our Parish Council notice board will be re-sited by the children play area on Longwick Playing Field due to a new house being built adjacent to the village shop and Post Office.

I would like to say thank you to Sue Griffiths our Clerk for all the help, support and advice she always gives to me as Chair, and to our Parish Councillors and to Jayne Mylchreest, who helps with the administration and deputises for Sue at Parish Council meetings.

4. REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR BILL BENDYSHE-BROWN ON COUNTY MATTERS CONCERNING LONGWICK-CUM-ILMER

Cllr Bill Bendyshe-Brown gave a report on the following:-

"The biggest issue facing the County Council at present is the ever increasing cost of providing care both for the elderly as well as for vulnerable children. The government has recognised this financial pressure by allowing us to increase local Council Tax by 3% for 2 years only over and above the normal maximum permitted 2%. This increased revenue will help enormously to offset some of this financial burden. However, because of these financial pressures this has forced us to consider the possibility of scrapping the current 3 tier local government – of Parish, District and County Councils – and replacing it with 2 tiers of Parish and a Unitary authority amalgamating the Districts and County into either one or 2 unitary authorities. One unitary authority would encompass the whole of Buckinghamshire or 2 unitaries would be split into Wycombe/Chiltern/South Bucks covering the urban southern areas and Aylesbury Vale covering the northern rural areas. The decision will be made by government shortly on which option they think will best suit our area based on the 2 submissions they have received. We hope to have a decision soon after the local elections on 4th May are over. Whichever decision the government opts for the benefits to us as local residents will be enormous as there will be significant savings made in administration and, most importantly, in us only having two authorities to approach rather than the current 3."

Local issues:-

Cllr B Bendyshe-Brown answered questions from the members of the public and Councillors.

5. PARISH ACCOUNTS AND PRECEPT

Copies of the Estimates Summary and the proposed budget for the year 2017/2018 of £32,424.00 were distributed to the members of the public.

Vice-Chairman Cllr Brian Richards explained the makeup of the precept. The Parish Council has requested a precept amount of £27,470.00. This equates to 12.5p per week for each band D property in the parish. The increase of £4,580 is required to fund the Neighbourhood Plan.

The District Council will give a reduced grant of £173.15 in response to the reduction in tax base for the Localised Council Tax Scheme. This is likely to be reduced again next year.

Cllr Brian Richards finished his report by saying that he hoped the residents of the Parish had approved the expenditure of the Parish Council and that the Councillors welcome any feedback.

6. REPORT FROM THE SCOUT GROUP

The 1st Longwick Scout Group is over 100 years old and with 520,000 individuals involved nationally. The aim is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential as individuals as responsible citizens and members of their local national and international communities.

Longwick is part of the Chiltern Vale district and includes Brill, Oakley, Hughenden Valley and Lane End. Longwick has 70+ members' girls and boys in 3 sections Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and meet on Mondays and Fridays but is limited by the number of adult volunteers.

A variety of activities are undertaken which can be read about in the local parish magazine. Activities include map reading, First Aid training, pioneering, hiking, camping, climbing and canoeing. Entertainment includes bowling, pantomimes' Alton Towers, astronomy.

The Group move with the times as badges include electronics and computing.

Civic responsibilities include Remembrance Day, St George's Day, and Armistice Day, fetes, flags and litter picking.

Scout Group members are encouraged and supported to become Young Leaders to be able to continue to be involved.

At the AGM last year it was discussed that the Scout Group is a true village organisation and is always looking to integrate more to benefit the community and is looking to developing deeper connection with the school. The group is keen to encourage the same form of service and is open to new ideas.

7. REPORT FROM THE W I

The WI is part of the largest women's voluntary organisation in the UK, with over 220,000 members in about 6,300 WIs.

The WI motto is inspiring women. It operates on 3 levels, first as a place to meet friends old and new; secondly it offers members the chance to extend their education or to learn new skills; and thirdly it offers members an opportunity to campaign on issues that matter to women and their communities.

The WI is not party political and has no religious affiliation, and is open to women of all ages. The movement originated in Canada in 1897 and reached England in 1915; it was originally intended for country women but now many towns have WIs too. Longwick Evening WI was established in 1963 and 2 of the founder members were Margaret Wickham and Dorothy Brock. The WI meets in the Village Hall on the second Wednesday evening of every month except August, with 40 members this year. The WI is a very friendly group: new members are always made very welcome and soon get to know everyone.

The evenings begin with a short business meeting, usually followed by a speaker whose talk may be educational or entertaining. For example, from one extreme to the other, this March the WI had an excellent speaker on the History of Bletchley Park, and a couple of Christmases ago the WI enjoyed a demonstration of Belly Dancing.

The WI had a go at water colour painting, and sometimes has a practical craft evening.

The WI also has several interest groups which meet weekly or monthly, including a very popular Book Club. Some members meet to walk and have a pub lunch, and our monthly coffee morning at the Red Lion is always well attended.

As a group, the WI supports the local community whenever it can. The WI provides the teas at the Village Fete and the Christmas Carol Concert. Some of the group takes part in litter picking in the village. The WI make donations to local charities such as the Princes Centre, but also look for other practical ways to support charities. For example, after a talk about the Mercy Hospital ships a collection of toothbrushes and toothpaste was made, and soft toys were collected to donate to the Helen and Douglas House charity shops.

Our members enjoy local theatre outings and garden visits. Next week some of the members will be putting on hard hats to visit the recycling facility at Greatmoor. The WI also support events organised by the Buckinghamshire Federation of WIs. Favourite ones include coach trips into London for exhibitions, or to pick up a Blue Badge guide who takes members to places you would never find on your own such as 'Secret Gardens of the City', or the nooks and crannies of 'Legal London'. Really this is only skimming the surface of what is available to WI members.

But there is a more serious side to the WI. Each year every member is able vote on a choice of resolutions put forward by individual WIs. Nationally the WI is a force to be reckoned with, and has mounted many successful campaigns on a very wide range of concerns including legal aid reform for victims of domestic violence, to funding research to protect the honey bee, and increasing the number of training places for midwives. At the moment, the WI is campaigning about food waste – as shown in a recent Daily Mail article.

To end just a quick word about the Needlework Group who have been very busy creating a unique wall hanging of Longwick scenes for the Village Hall. It will be unveiled at the Village Fete this year. Do please pop in to have a look, and why not try the tea and homemade cakes at the same time – and if you or someone you know would like to join do please get in touch.

8. REPORT FROM THE VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE

At present the Village Hall has a committee of 9 trustees, although the Charities Commission rules permit up to 15. It is proving very difficult to recruit new members, and the Village Hall has been without a permanent secretary for some time now. Meetings take place on average about 6 times a year.

In a typical week the hall is used every week-day by the Pre-school; Monday evening – Yoga; Tuesday – Tea at Three (Monthly); Wycombe Cycle Club; Wednesday – Shona Clack School of Dance; Tai Chi; Longwick WI; Thursday - VC 10 Cycle Club; Friday – Bingo (fortnightly).

The Village Hall has weekend bookings for wedding receptions and parties etc. A late booking came in today – to use as Polling Station in June.

Following the recent closure of the Longwick Sports Club, we have negotiated with Risborough Rangers Football Club, allowing them to use the changing rooms and showers twice each week during the football season.

The annual fete will take place on 29th April. The Village Hall committee are hoping for good weather, as this is a major fund-raising event. Last year around £3,500 was raised. A tapestry prepared by members of Longwick WI, depicting village features, will be unveiled during the fete.

Use of our car park by non-users of the hall has been a long-standing issue, particularly with regard to liability in the event of an accident. The Village Hall Committee has written confirmation from the insurers that the trustees would only be liable (and covered by our Insurance Policy) if negligence was proved. (I.e. if the car park had not been salted/sanded in icy conditions).

Major improvements during the year have included work on our electrical system, and refurbishment of the terrace and Wi-Fi.

9. REPORT FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

Longwick, Ilmer, Owlswick and Little Meadle NHW has 1 Area Co-ordinator, 24 Co-ordinators and 32 NHW schemes and cover approx 460 members, but there is still a few roads to cover in Longwick and a hamlet.

Our NHW is successful because the members are all part of a community that cares about preventing crime, the fear of crime, anti-social behaviour and creating a good place to live, work and play.

Our area has little crime, but when something does occur, then I send out an Alert message to all co-ordinators that in turn pass to their members so that everyone is well informed.

NHW is not just about reducing burglary, which I am pleased to say has decreased across the UK but that does not mean to say we should be complacent.

Opportunists usually do House burglary – never leave even a small window open. Do not forget to locks doors, windows, garages before you leave the house. Never leave packaging from goods bought by your general rubbish as criminals can then target your house. Keys should not be left in locks or visible from a window and never leave a spare key outside under the flowerpot or stone near a bush or tree! – Surprising what some people do!!

Garden Security another important point, as this is an access into your home. Remember keep ladders and garden tools locked away in a padlocked shed or garage to deter thieves and post code them. Outside lights can act as a deterrent from thieves as well as gravel on driveways.

Cyber Crime seems to have replaced burglary and this covers a much wider areas that affects everyone but especially our older generation and those with loss of hearing or some form of disability.

Doorstep crime - not sure who is at the door, then do not open it. Keep your front and back doors locked. If you have a door chain or door bar you do not need to open your door fully to see who is waiting on your doorstep. Advice from TS: do not buy at the door or services from a cold caller. Within our NHW we are a No to cold callers and no one is exempt.

We all suffer from unwanted callers – never give any personal information over the phone or engage in cold callers even if they know some details about you. Most of us have mobile phones so use a password or pattern code to unlock your phone – never store passwords on your phone they can be hacked into. It is a good idea to register your mobile phone with www.immobilise.com.

Protect yourself from Fraud & Identity Theft – never give any personal information to anyone – either online, face to face or over the phone before verifying their credentials.

Shred receipts with your card name and details on. Remember your bank will never ask for your PIN number.

Online Safety it is important to make sure you have up to date online security programme and anti-virus software installed on your computer. Do not click on links from an unknown sender. Spammers can use a friend's account to try and gain access by sending an uncharacteristic email containing a link from a friend, do not click but find another way to contact to make sure it is genuine.

If you use a wireless network at home password protect it. Never click on a link in an email from your bank. If you want to use online banking then go direct to their website address.

There is so much information to pass on about protecting yourself and that of your neighbours, friends and family that is why it is good to be in NHW as members communicate with each other, and with local partners such as the police, Trading Standards, local authorities. So if you are not in NHW and would like to be please contact me. [email protected]

The NHW motto is: Crime cannot flourish in a community that cares.

10. OPEN FORUM

There being no further questions, the meeting closed at 8.20pm.