Minutes of the meeting of the RURAL AFFAIRS CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY of the POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE held on THURSDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2001 at 7.00 pm Present: Councillor O’Sullivan (Chair) - Milton Keynes Council (Loughton Park Ward) Councillor S Clark - Milton Keynes Council (Olney Ward) Councillor G Mabbutt - Milton Keynes Council (Olney Ward) Councillor P Seymour - Milton Keynes Council (Sherington Ward) I Fraser - CCSP G Mann - Emberton Parish Council R Newth - Filgrave and Tyringham Neighbourhood Council J Newth - Filgrave and Tyringham Neighbourhood Council B Moore - Hanslope Parish Council G Clark - Hanslope Parish Council D Briggs - Hanslope Parish Council R Payne - Hanslope Parish Council N Richards - Moulsoe Parish Council T Fraser - Federation and Residents Associations Officers: N Coolman (Thames Valley Police), M Small (Projects, Partnerships and Sponsorship Manager), C Godfrey (Senior Parish Liaison Officer), R Solly (Crime and Community Safety Partnership Co- ordinator), R Callow (Community Safety Officer), J Phillips (Regeneration Co-ordinator) and S Parker (Senior Committee Manager) Apologies: Councillors Ellis, Hopkins and Newcombe P Hall (CPRE) and K Owen (Loughton Parish Council) 1.0 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of the meeting of the Rural Affairs Consultative Assembly held on 12 October 2000, were received and approved. RURAL AFFAIRS 8 FEBRUARY 2001 PAGE 1 CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY L:\Resources IT\mel\Minutes to be converted\2000-01\enl_Minutes_384271_MINUTES.doc It was requested that future meetings of the Consultative Assemblies; Rural, Parish and Neighbourhood; should be included on the Council’s Calendar of Meetings, to ensure that there was not a clash of meetings. 2.0 LOCAL MANAGEMENT OF CRIME PREVENTION - A NEW APPROACH The Assembly received a presentation from Richard Solly, the Council’s Crime and Community Safety Officer, on a proposed local strategy on crime prevention in Milton Keynes, to encourage greater direct involvement of Parish Councils in the promotion of community safety. The proposal, which arose out of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, was a radical new method of tackling crime prevention through the creation of locally based multi-agency teams, which would consist of Police and Council officers and might also include one or more locality Community Safety officers. It was proposed that each Crime Reduction Team would cover a group of Parish Councils and would be lead by a Police Inspector. The Assembly noted that the proposed strategy involved a new concept in crime reduction and would take some time to establish throughout the Borough. The Assembly also noted that it was proposed that the scheme should be piloted in the Campbell Park and Woughton Parishes prior to more general implementation, and Parish Councils would be invited to participate fully in the development and design of this strategy as it evolved. The Assembly noted that the proposed strategy would require the active participation of Parish Councils in implementing the outline proposals, to enable it to work effectively. The proposals included the following: (a) to establish permanent multi-agency Crime Reduction Teams, which would be based in each Police sector in Milton Keynes; (b) to ensure a multi-agency approach to crime reduction and prevention in each locality; (c) to reduce the fear of crime in each locality; and (d) to develop local accountability for crime reduction. Concern was expressed at the breakdown of regular meetings which had been held between Parish Council representatives and the Newport Pagnell Police. It was noted that the proposals were a separate Government initiative to the existing interaction between the Police and the community. RURAL AFFAIRS 8 FEBRUARY 2001 PAGE 2 CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY L:\Resources IT\mel\Minutes to be converted\2000-01\enl_Minutes_384271_MINUTES.doc It was agreed that as a number of members had not received the report on the proposals before the meeting, that consideration of them should be deferred to the next meeting of the Rural Affairs Consultative Assembly. It was also agreed that Gerald Mann of Emberton Parish Council and the Chair of Hanslope Parish Council should be appointed as representatives to the Steering Group, which is currently being put together on the proposals. It was also agreed that the Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils should be informed of the proposals, and a circular sent to the Parishes on the matter. The Assembly welcomed a regular report on the Agenda on crime prevention. 3.0 SRB 6 RURAL TOWNS, RURAL LIFE The Assembly received a report from Jan Phillips, the Council’s Regeneration Co-ordinator, on a Government initiative, the object of which was as follows: (a) to support the development of rural town regeneration partnerships to implement local responses to local needs; (b) to support and promote growth in local economies in the fostering of new businesses; (c) to promote sustainable regeneration, improving and protecting the environment and fostering the local distinctiveness of rural towns; and (d) to address social exclusions and enhance opportunities for the disadvantaged; Outline information on the delivery plan for January 2001 to March 2001, was circulated to members of the Assembly and is attached at Annex A of the Minutes. It was noted that money had been given by SEEDA for the initiative and the target area for the project would be whole of South East England. The Assembly welcomed the support for rural areas. It was agreed that all Rural Parishes and Parish Councillors should receive a copy of the outline information. It was noted that a report would be presented to the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee on SRB6 issues. 4.0 BUCKS COUNTY SHOW The Assembly received a report from Jan Phillips, the Council’s Regeneration Co-ordinator, on the forthcoming Bucks County Show, at which the Council’s were working with Buckinghamshire County RURAL AFFAIRS 8 FEBRUARY 2001 PAGE 3 CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY L:\Resources IT\mel\Minutes to be converted\2000-01\enl_Minutes_384271_MINUTES.doc Council to support a Farm Diversification Project on local food throughout the county. The Assembly noted that Milton Keynes Council had agreed to sponsor cattle and sheep classes at the Bucks County Show. A Food Directory Database would be launched at the show and there would be room for Milton Keynes’ producers in the marquee. The Assembly noted that Parish Councils had been informed of the event, which was to take place on 30 August 2001. 5.0 PLAY AREAS The Assembly noted that the Council’s Scrutiny Commission, at its meeting on 6 September 2000, had received a report on the standards of the Council’s play areas, when it was noted that whilst safety and cleanliness of the play areas was generally satisfactory, consideration was being given by officers to make them more interesting as part of a wider play strategy. It was noted that an item had been placed in the December Parish Newsletter on the Select Committee on Play Areas. The Committee wanted to hear from a wide range of stakeholders and local Council were invited to contribute their views. It was also noted that at the December meeting of the Parish and Neighbourhood Consultative Assembly, the general view of the Assembly was that they would prefer all local councils to receive a questionnaire. This has been sent out to all Parishes with a request to return by end of February 2001. Where Parishes have done some work already regarding play areas, the Committee hopes they will share that information, as indeed Lavendon Parish Council have done. It is the Select Committee’s intention to produce a draft report for March 2001, having heard from both internal and external witnesses, a focus group with children and parents, as well as local councils. The Assembly was informed that more information could be provided on this matter from John Boothroyde, Democratic Services Manager (Scrutiny) (telephone - MK252092). 6.0 LOCAL PLAN REVIEW The Assembly noted that following the end of the consultation on the first deposit draft of the Local Plan in October 2000, the Council’s Planning Officers have been processing the large response. The Assembly noted that over 5,500 individual comments/objections had been made to the Plan, and two directories of responses had been produced, so that people could easily search for what had been said about different parts of the Plan. RURAL AFFAIRS 8 FEBRUARY 2001 PAGE 4 CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY L:\Resources IT\mel\Minutes to be converted\2000-01\enl_Minutes_384271_MINUTES.doc The Assembly noted that the next stage was to summarise the comments and report to the Council’s Local Plan Sub-Committee. An update of the Milton Keynes Local Plan Review is attached at Annex B to the Minutes. 7.0 MINERALS AND WASTE LOCAL PLAN The Assembly noted that there was no progress to report at the present time on the Minerals and Waste Local Plan. It was noted that a report was being presented on Minerals and Waste Local Plan to the next meeting of the Council’s Local Plan Sub-Committee. Members of the Assembly expressed concern about the need for the Minerals and Waste Local Plan to be produced on time, especially as this could affect the outcome of public inquires, with specific concern about proposals for gravel extraction which may succeed in the absence of an approved plan. 8.0 ROAD CLOSURE CHANGE The Assembly noted that the Council’s Head of Transport had been given delegated powers, under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, to authorise temporary road closures. This meant that there would be no charge made to cover the cost of making, posting and maintaining notices for closure on behalf of charitable/non-profit making organisations, but a charge would be introduced to enable the Council to recover its costs for all other closures.