Local area priorities Recently Local Area Forum (LAF) members • Encouraging volunteering have been refreshing their priorities and the • Promoting local shops and businesses Local Area Plans updated accordingly. • Protecting the environment and green The most commonly occurring priorities are: spaces • Activities for young people, including focus The following pages show just a few of the on employment or tackling ASB projects that have been commissioned or • Supporting older people to live independ- worked on in the local areas to meet specific ently, and reducing social isolation local priorities. In Wycombe District, the LAFs • Speeding, traffic and parking issues are known as Local Community Partnerships (LCP). • Roads, footways and footpaths • Public transport and cycling For further information, please call 01296 383409 or email Locality Services Less commonly occurring, but a priority for a on [email protected]. number of areas: Activities for young people including employment and tackling anti -social behaviour Many local areas have been working on with young people, so two events were projects to engage with young people, to organised in Beaconsfield and Winslow to reduce youth unemployment and to tackle enable interested parishes to come along and anti-social behaviour (asb). Examples of this learn more about working with young people include commissioning a range of diversionary to developed youth councils or forums. or consultation activities, or engaging with From the Winslow event, it was identified that young people through youth councils or the some parishes would like to develop a youth creation of local area youth forums—or tack- council, but do not have the capacity to do so. ling specific issues by consulting with young people. In the Wendover local area it was therefore agreed that work would take place to develop Youth councils and forums an area-wide youth forum to provide young Many parishes would like to better engage people with a voice through the Local Area Forum and its parish councils. The young people can engage with the LAF members and work on priorities relevant to them. A local youth provider is currently working with Locality Services, youth groups and the local school (which also wants to develop this provision) to take this forward. The sports cage and sumo suits were on offer to young In other parishes throughout the county, BCC people at activities organised in the parishes. and partner agencies are working with parish on Activities and Opportunities for Young councils where applicable to develop capacity People. In 2011 three Blue Light Emergency to create local youth councils and give young Services courses for young people were de- people a voice. signed and funded in partnership with Bucks In Chiltern District, a Youth Club Forum has Fire and Rescue, Connexions and Street been set up by BCC and Chiltern District Dreams. This demonstrates partnership Council. This forum meets every couple of agencies working together to provide young months and has been developed to support people with more choices and opportunities local youth providers, who determine the to try something different, raise aspirations, agenda. get fit and healthy, gain a qualification and inspire individuals in career options. In Diversionary activities and tackling asb addition, it has brought individuals together A range of diversionary activities have been from different cultures, age groups, religions, developed throughout the county. Some of ethnic backgrounds and genders, encouraging the projects were developed to tackle specific cohesion and understanding of diversity. local issues. One example of this is a young The Youth Sounds project is a new project in people’s project in Prestwood, where early in High Wycombe and South West Chilterns & 2011, Prestwood Youth and Community Marlow which is designed to encourage a Action Group (PYCAG) identified a group a healthy and active lifestyle through singing for number of young people who had become dis- young people from all walks of life. The Youth engaged from the local community and were Sounds Project enables young people of all involved in substance misuse and petty crime. vocal abilities to join in a vocal choir/ group, The LAF worked with Chiltern District Coun- whilst also creating resources for other young cil, the Police and Paradigm Housing to de- singers. No other vocal provision or group in velop a project with an expert youth organisa- the locality targets young people—which is tion Street Dreams to resolve this issue and why the need was identified as a core focus engage with the young people. within this target group and offers the chance In other areas, positive activities were for young people to use singing as an outlet developed where gaps in provision were for pressures, problems and issues they maybe identified or pro-active engagement could be experiencing. undertaken. In Aylesbury Vale, a number of forums jointly In Chepping Wye Valley, the LCP has focused funded a sports cage and it was agreed this would be run by a provider, Aylesbury Vale Club and Chalfont St Giles Youth Club. Youth for Christ (AVYFC), and supplied at Work also took place with the Youth Service low cost to parishes in the area. Diversionary and Action4Youth to develop capacity within activities for young people were set up in a communities to take on the provision of youth number of parishes in Great Brickhill, Wing & services. In some communities, added value Ivinghoe and Wendover local areas. These was created with additional provision were developed in partnership with the LAF being developed—including Prebendal Farm in and AVYFC. They were highly successful and Aylesbury. have run for a number of years, with many parishes also organising their own activities Youth unemployment through the provider. Following from a Big Society networking event Importantly, this provision has also lead to with the theme of Overcoming Barriers in Bucks other activities and facilities being provided, for Young People to Enter Employment , an including parishes working with the provider Enterprise project with targeted schools was to create additional youth provision or designed to address the lack of employability/ consultation with young people. In addition, enterprise skills in young people. Funded by young people are encouraged to become the LAFs in relevant areas, teams from the junior volunteers and the appropriate training Peter Jones Enterprise Academy and Bucks is provided. New University will work with young people from targeted schools to develop Consultation enterprise and personal skills that will help In some of the local areas, the diversionary them prepare for the world of business and activities were used to consult with local work after leaving school. young people and feed into parish plans, local Work is also taking place with the Local projects, etc. Young people also attended a Children’s Trust Boards. In Chiltern & South number of the Local Area Forum refresh Bucks, the local trust board is thinking of workshops—coming from local youth clubs developing a workshop on apprenticeships and and youth cafes. This was seen as extremely work experience. successful by many of LAF members, who actively welcomed their contribution. Volunteering Developing capacity and provision SW Chilterns and Marlow LAF identified a local priority of supporting the identification, A number of volunteer-run youth clubs were training and support of local volunteers. A set up in areas where a need was identified, project was commissioned from Girlguiding with support from Locality Services and other Buckinghamshire and Action4Youth to agencies. These include: Weston Turville encourage parents from local schools and the youth café, Great Horwood youth club and area generally to think of becoming volunteers Pitstone youth café., Wooburn Green and supporting local young peoples opportunities. Bourne End youth clubs. Existing community- A series of workshops will be held to develop run youth clubs also receive support from the volunteers including first aid, food hygiene LAFs, for example Chalfont St Peter Youth safeguarding and youth work. Speeding, traffic and parking issues A number of schemes have been developed throughout the areas to review the issue of speeding, traffic and parking issues. HGVs HGVs are an issue for many parishes through- out the county where local roads and high streets are not designed for the heavy and long vehicles of today. negative impact of HGV traffic to ensure that A public meeting was held in Iver to discuss Buckinghamshire’s roads provide freight this issue with local residents. A LAF subgroup operators with the most efficient routes has been developed to take actions forward, through the county. which also include wider Transport issues, and the local Member is also organising a local Parking consultation meeting where HGV companies In Great Missenden, the Missendens LAF has and agencies can discuss road safety and set up a sub-group to take an overview of HGV routing issues with residents. issues including parking, speeding and cycling In Great Brickhill, Wing & Ivinghoe, a pilot and decide priorities. The local area technician Freight Quality Partnership (FQP) was set up has taken the lead to develop an action plan by county councillor and LAF chairman Avril for the area. Davies and a local parish councillor. A number of parking specific projects have The FQP started as a pilot in 2009, but its been implemented with multi-agency support membership has grown and it is an active across the areas. Local Members have taken voice for the LAF and local parishes, bringing the lead in addressing the issues below. together the relevant agencies (Road Haulage Hospital parking is a county-wide issue, but in Association, Police, BCC, etc) to ensure a tar- Beeches work has been undertaken through geted approach to the issues of HGVs using the LAF to alleviate parking issues and also inappropriate local roads and minimising the develop traffic calming measures.