During 2012/13, the Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum provided funding to a number of projects to address the priorities of the local area. Some of these are set out in the following pages.

The projects were undertaken using the LAF’s Local Priorities budget from Buckinghamshire County Council.

Chesham and Chiltern Villages

Local Area Priorities

2012—2013 Review

The Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum includes the parishes of: Ashley Green, Chartridge, Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards, Latimer, the Lee and

and Chesham Town Council

What is a Local Area Forum?

To help planning and service delivery at a local level, Buckinghamshire has been divided into 19 local areas. The role of the Forum is to agree priorities and delegate resources effectively within the local area.

The Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum has identified priorities for the area and what steps can be taken, by the Local Area Forum or others, to address these priorities. The current actionable priorities against which the Local Area Forum’s budget can be allocated are: Reduce Anti Social Behaviour through

initiatives which involve young people in sporting, recreational, performance or creative activities or programmes designed for 'crime diversion'

Enhance a sense of community in a village or contribute to the sustainability of village life e.g. facilities in a village hall, keeping open a local shop or pub

Support the local economy and employment by developing Chesham and the Villages as a centre for Arts & Creative Industries, Conferences & Events, Hospitality/Local Foods/Gastropubs

Reduce the social isolation of the Asian Community in order to increase their capacity to improve the health and wellbeing of all members of their community

Contribute towards the priorities identified for the Chesham Community Wellbeing Project which aims to tackle deprivation and increase the wellbeing of the Chesham community

Develop community transport schemes to improve access to facilities and services for vulnerable or older age residents in rural areas

Improve highways and road safety.

How does the Local Area Forum develop it’s priorities? In March 2010 the Local Area Forum held a Lo-cal Priorities workshop which included commu-nity representatives. On the 19th October 2011, another workshop was held to refresh the prior-ities and to which young people were invited to input their views. In November 2012, a Local Priorities sub-group of the Local Area Forum was formed to update and re-focus the priorities and determine which areas should be worked on from April 2013 onwards.

Local Area Forums

Members of the Local Area Forum The Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum includes county councillors, district councillors and appointed representatives from each of the parishes. Local Area Forums can also invite other organisations to attend and so the Chairman of CHAP (Chesham Action Partnership) is also a member.

The Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum (LAF) has a devolved budget from the County Council (£54,584 in 2012/2013), which it can use to support its action plan.

For example, in 2012/13 the Local Area Forum used its budget to fund:

Blue Light course for young people, with Bucks Fire and Rescue

Citizens Advice Bureau outreach work A Movers and Shakers project for Asian men

targeting older people.

All projects funded can be found on the final page of this review.

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Blue Light Course This Blue Light Course was part-funded and supported by the Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum (£1,970) as part of the local area plan priorities concerning employment skills and diversionary activities.

The 30 hour Blue Light course was held at Chesham Fire Station during the February Half Term week.

The week was designed to give young people the experience of training with the emergency ser-vices and to learn new skills which include team building and safety activities. The course is ac-credited and provides candidates with the opportunity to gain 3 ASDAN accredited points and a First Aid Certificate from St John Ambulance. The joint initiative involved other agencies participating by providing

their professional input and included Thames Valley Police, St John’s Ambulance and Addaction.

The youth crew are issued with a uniform to wear for the course and participate in activities includ-ing drill ground and fire engine familiarisation, hose running, and kit checks. Other activities include first aid, arson reduction/awareness, radio procedure, knots and lines, chip pan display and home safety checks.

Project Reports

LAF Priorities: Diversionary activities for Young People and employabil-ity skills.

Food Trail—Chesham Walkers are Welcome Chesham Walkers Are Welcome have launched the brand new Chesham Food Trail to help people discover the local produce being created, used and sold in the town and surrounding villages. The leaflet features a town centre trail comprising some of the best loved shops and outlets, as well as some hidden gems! There are also details of suppliers beyond the town cen-tre and 3 trails featuring local producers in the surrounding villages, as well as information on local markets. It is hoped that the leaflet will help boost the local economy and also to get local people and visitors out walking, both for health and to appreciate the beauty of the Chilterns. The trail leaflet is both in printed form and as a web download. Chesham and Chiltern Villages LAF awarded Chesham Walkers are Welcome £500 to support printing and design.

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Project Reports

CAB Community Outreach Project Many vulnerable people, the elderly, the young, new parents and those with disabilities are not aware that they are able to seek help to improve their lives; or know how or where they could get help; or are too worried or fragile to make the first step. This project supported by The Chalfonts, Chesham and Chiltern Villages and the Missendens LAFs has provided the Chiltern CAB with the opportunity to extend outreach services and offer access to CAB advice at different centres in the area which do not have a regular outreach ser-vice but where people who need them are not able to access them for a number of reasons. In each area, as a result of the funding Chiltern CAB have been able to: Deliver sessions with large groups of older people who are residents of Paradigm Housing

offering: Advice on how to stay warm in the winter How to save money on fuel bills How to save money on other utility bills Information about Community Transport Schemes Information about where to get help and advice Signposting to CAB service and other agencies

Deliver advice subsequent to these sessions at CAB offices and on site at Paradigm Housing

locations. This has involved specialist caseworker advice. Meet with Health Professionals to reinforce the link between stress and health issues un-

derpinned by our work in GP surgeries. Meet with neighbourhood police to provide signposting to CAB services. Provide additional capacity to meet the local demand generated. Specifically, the following additional work has been carried out in the Chesham and Chiltern Villages area

6 sessions including Job Seekers group, Job Centre Plus, Probus 50 plus forum and Rotary Christmas Lunch Club

Attended Chesham Health Fare to raise awareness of CAB services Sessions in Sainsbury foyer to raise awareness of CAB services Attended sessions at all Chesham Children’s Centres to work with young families, raising

awareness of CAB service, offering direct assistance, providing food vouchers, providing budgeting advice , referring to caseworkers as needed.

LAF Priorities: Older people, Young people, Asian commu-nity, Employment, Communi-ty Wellbeing.

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Project Reports

Rafe’s Place Active Sessions In May 2012 Rafe’s Place received a £1,970 award from the Chesham and Chiltern Villages LAF to run an ‘active sessions’ pilot at Chesham Youth Centre over a 6 week period. Active sessions provide young people with access to activities that are of interest to them such as DJing, street dance and parkour. These were tailored to the specific requirements of local young people, informed by a consulta-tion period. The main objective of this pilot was to test if using students to plan and run the ac-tive sessions would work. The purpose of this was to provide a sustainable solution to youth cen-tres whilst providing valuable work experience for students.

Student Recruitment and Training Students were recruited initially through Buckinghamshire New University’s Freshers’ Fair. One student was recruited as part of a ‘professional practice scheme’ for which the student needed to contribute 100 hours in order to pass a module on the ‘Events and Festival Management’ course. All volunteers were inter-viewed by members of the Rafe’s Place core team in order to check suitability for the project. Successful students attended ‘Introduction to youth work’ and ‘safeguard’ training and were subject to CRB checks, provided by Action4Youth. Each student attended training on a total of two evenings. Programme Planning The event planning team worked with Rafe’s Place to schedule active sessions and organise resources. Students were provided with a template timetable, results from the consultation questionnaire and information about student volunteers and their skills. The events team contributed ideas to the plans, whilst Rafe’s Place managed the process

Active session implementation Active sessions were conducted over a 6 week period. Rafe’s Place core team members delivered any specialist equipment to the Youth Centre (e.g. mats for parkour or music equipment) prior to the sessions and drove student volunteers to and from Bucks New University to the Youth Centre. A member of Rafe’s Place or a professional was at all sessions supporting the student volunteers and helping to organise the young people. There was usually a Youth Leader present in addition to Rafe’s Place. Sessions lasted between 1 and 2 hours.

LAF Priority: Facilities and activities for young people

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Project Reports

Building Community Capacity / Neighbourliness Project

The decisions people make about how they prepare for older age have a significant impact upon the quality of their lives and the effective use of their personal finance. Older people and their families are often ill prepared for the significant decisions which need to be made as a result of aging, prompting an earlier or unnecessary move into institutional care.

The Building Community Capacity project, which piloted in Chesham and has now been rolled out to surrounding areas including Cholesbury, is designed to enable and encourage residents aged over 50 to plan for their future and for local communities to become better equipped to support vulnerable older people living in their community.

The intended outcomes of the project are to

See older people living longer in their local areas with less dependence on social care support and increased support provided by informal local care networks.

Improve health and independence in later life.

With an award of £8,200 from the Chesham and Chiltern Villages LAF, Chiltern District Council has been able to carry out the following activity:

Chesham

Building Community Capacity forum has met on a quarterly basis enabling both voluntary and statutory service providers to share best practice.

Promotion of CDC Flexible Home Improvement Loan scheme, Community workshop 2012 to introduce service providers to older residents Monthly email newsletter giving up to date information on services, events, activities in

Chesham, and an information fact sheet on a particular topic . Information further disseminated from newsletter to Parish newsletters, community websites etc.

Promotion of Chiltern’s Community Grants scheme resulted in local groups securing £4.5k funding to improve local services to older people.

Produced Life Check Tool Kit, in Quiz form, for use among groups. Golden Age Road Show to a group of agencies and existing groups using the Quiz and giving information.

Cholesbury cum St Leonards

Hilltop Villages Good Neighbours Group (GNG), grew its volunteer base to over 50. In May 2012, with support from Llew Monger of Community Impact Bucks and the

Landlord of the Rose and Crown Hawridge, the Group launched a Pub Lunch Club. Those regularly attending have grown from 20 to 60 in its first year.

Speakers from public services and voluntary organisations have attended members of the St Leonards Church Tea Party.

The GNG's first AGM was held in November 2012. The priorities for the year ending 2013 were reconfirmed as tackling the causes of isolation, providing social transport, sourcing advice, and support for elderly residents, carers and volunteers

In December 2012 an updated Public Services Directory was published and distributed to all households in the Parish

In December 2012 the Extreme Weather Car Scheme was activated for its second year in December to assist those unable to make urgent journeys.

In early 2013 the GNG and Chiltern Dial-A-Ride started discussions on the development a Parish-based Community Transport Project which, subject to funding, will be piloted in the second half of 2013.

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Project Reports

Elmtree School—Sensory Garden The Local Area Forum awarded £2000 to Elmtree School to support the completion works to their new Sensory Garden. Elmtree School is situated in an area of social deprivation characterised by high unemployment and a large Asian community many of whom originate from the poorer, illiterate areas of Pakistan. The garden has been created to provide Elmtree’s pupils and the wider community, with an inspirational outside space that would stimulate the senses.

With this in mind the plants and other design elements were selected with intention of providing experiences for seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, and tasting.

The school and the community were very much in-volved with the development of the garden. The final design is an interpretation of the winning entries of 8 of the pupils in the school following a competition to draw or write their vision of the garden. Parents and neigh-

bours also helped out with the organisation and the hard landscaping. The garden was opened in September 2012 The Elmtree School pupils are the primary users of the garden with 180 children in the main school and up to 100 in nursery. All of these children spend time in the Sensory Garden at playtimes, lunch and during the day for curriculum based activities. They enjoy a range of physical activities and are aware of the link with their health. It is beneficial for the children to be working in the garden, maintaining it, and carrying out other learning activities there too. It is also hoped that the successful transformation of the space into the Sensory Garden will enhance the local environment. In addition to the award from the Local Area Forum, Chiltern District Council, Chesham Council, Chesham In Bloom, Bucks Examiner, Michael Brand, Parent donations, Elmtree Friends and Family (PTA), Chatterbox Charity, Kingston Communications, Chesham Rotary, Ernest Cook Trust, Waitrose Community Matters and other smaller local businesses also funded the garden.

LAF Priority: Community Well-being, Asian community, Younger people.

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Project Reports

Chesham Jubilee Celebrations

A celebration event too place over the Jubilee weekend in 2012 in Chesham. The event was cross-generational in approach and included the promotion of different sites around Chesham where people would be gathering together to celebrate the Jubilee. A number of community based organisations such as the Mosque, local schools, Youth Council, Chesham Asian Welfare Society and the local shop retailers were involved in the extensive preparations for the event. Around 2000 people involved themselves in various activities over the weekend including a commu-nity lunch, the Chiltern Harriers run, the Walkers are Welcome Jubilee route , a concert and fireworks.

LAF Priorities: young people, older people, Asian community, local economy, sense of community.

Commonwealth Festival Chesham Asian Welfare Society

A celebration event too place over the Jubilee weekend in 2012 in Chesham. Tied in with this was the Chesham Asian Welfare Society’s Commonwealth Festival which was awarded £2,000 from the LAF. The aim of the festival was to highlight the different cultures of the commonwealth and to cele-brate the harmonious relationships that exist in Chesham. It was also an opportunity for a large eth-nic group that has found it’s home in Chesham within the period of the Queen’s reign to celebrate. Activities included live music, African drumming, instrumental Pothari music, Bollywood and Polish dance performances and singing. There was also face painting, henna artists, international cuisines and jewellery stalls.

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Project Reports

Pond Park Health and Community Fair

Chiltern District Council and NHS Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire Cluster were awarded £425 to put towards running a Health Fair, targeting the whole community, in Pond Park. Health Fairs offer people and their carers a convenient ‘one stop shop’ for infor-mation and advice.

Key organisations were invited, to give vital messages and infor-mation to children, parents and older people. In order to attract parents and children, the event was organised during the Jubilee week, and was promoted as a Jubilee Family Fun Day.

It was also decided to incorporate the 'mini health check' event with the health fair. The ‘mini health check’ raises awareness of the healthcare services in the local area, how to access them and to provide information on a variety of health topics.

The ‘mini health check’ provided a personalised check up to individuals which included smoking status, cholesterol checking, glucose checking and blood pres-sure reading.

Each individual was given a 'health card' at the event to be completed as they progressed around the different screening stations. With the data collected, the individual was asked permission for a copy to be taken and sent to their GP. The individual was encouraged to make an appointment with their GP to discuss the results in more detail if they required. (On receiving the data the GP also has the opportunity to invite the individual to see them to discuss their results in more detail.)

This event was extremely successful, with a turn out of 128, despite a very wet rainy day and the overall feedback was very positive. The halls were very lively, creating a warm atmosphere and people were very relaxed. There were many requests to make the event an annual event.

LAF Priority: Community Well-being, Older and younger people, Asian community.

Movers and Shakers (Chesham Asian Men)

The Movers and Shakers programme was awarded £1,950 from the LAF. The programme, which re-ceived between 8—11 men each week was varied including:

Sessions on healthy eating and giving information on what various fruits contain that is good for healthy living.

10 week ESOL course in Basic English. Model Making sessions using balsa wood. Sessions on gardening and cooking healthy food. First aid course run by The U Project which was received well by the group and there have been

requests for a course in the next stage of Fist Aid. Presentation from the Alzheimer’s Society resulting in two follow on sessions. GLL (Better) have run one hour fitness and health checks every week which have shown how the

men’s health improved, two were advised to go to their doctors (both received medical treatment and are now back exercising again). Several of the men have now joined the Leisure Centre.

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For more information on the Chesham and Chiltern Villages Local Area Forum, the local priorities budget, or if you want to get involved, please

contact: Christine Gardner, Localities and Communities Manager, Tel: 01296 383645 or email: cgardner@buckscc.gov.uk

All projects funded

Projects  Total Project Cost  LAF Contribu on 

Building Community Capacity (Came in under-budget at £5466)

£8,200

Commonwealth Festival £2,650 £2,000

Pond Park Health and Community Fair £725 £425

Rafes Place at Chesham Youth Centre £1,510 £1,510

Movers and Shakers Chesham Asian (and other BME) Men’s Health and Wellbeing Project

£5,020 £1,950

Elmtree School Sensory Garden £27,200 £2,000

Chesham Walkers are Welcome—Food Trail £1,600 £500

Blue Light Course £2,470 £1,970

 TOTAL   £   £23,879

Chesham Jubilee Celebrations £9,939 £2,000

Citizen’s Advice Bureau Outreach £6,600 £3,324

Transportation projects Loca on  Scheme  Cost Chesham TC—Market Square Black fencing and repair of culvert £4,000

Chesham TC—Fullers Close Grasscrete £15,425

Cholesbury PC—Oak Lane / Jenkins Lane Kerbing of grass island £2,500

Cholesbury PC—St Leonards Grit bin £450

Chartridge PC—Cogdells Lane Grit bin £450

Cholesbury PC—Pound Lane / Stoney Lane Kerbing of grass triangle £2,500

CDC— Star Yard car park, Chesham Marked crossing point for pede-trians

£5,000

Chesham—Pheasant Rise Grit bin £380

                                                                                                                             TOTAL £30,705