Latest Community Board news and information - April 2021 |
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Dear Community Board member,
Thank you for signing up to the Amersham Community Board quarterly newsletter.
We aim to keep local residents, businesses and partner agencies informed about projects and initiatives taking place in the local area and in relation to the Board's priorities. We will provide updates on working group activity, funding and upcoming meetings and events.
If you have any comments or suggestions on what we could include next time, get in touch! Amersham@Buckinghamshire.gov.uk
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Introduction to the Community Board |
What a year it's been! Community Boards officially launched in September 2020, and we're really proud of how far we've come; that's thanks to everyone who has come together in partnership to help make a difference in their local area.
The Amersham Community Board covers Amersham, Chesham Bois, Coleshill and Little Chalfont. At the very start, we agreed priorities which would enable us to support local projects that are important to local people and really make a difference.
The priorities and working groups agreed for 2020/21 were: - Coronavirus Recovery and Ongoing Support
- Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of Young People
- Village and Town Centre Revival
- Green Issues and the Environment
- Transport
We are always keen to hear from our local communities about priorities and ideas for projects and initiatives so that we can continue to focus on the issues that really matter to you.
Anyone in the community is welcome to be involved and put forward their ideas.
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Coronavirus Recovery & Ongoing Support |
The working group have been looking at ways to make our local people feel safe and comfortable when getting back out after Covid.
A number of local shops and businesses are already signed up to the Safe Places Scheme or have taken part in Dementia Friends Awareness sessions. |
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We want to encourage more local places to get involved and will be setting up some online Dementia Awareness sessions for local businesses and organisations.
If you're interested in taking part as a local business, contact us!
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Supporting the Health & Wellbeing of Young People |
The working group have been discussing ways to improve provision for children & young people locally.
We know this year has been tough, and we want to encourage social interaction and activities in a safe way. |
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If you have ideas about how we can encourage participation of young people in community activities, or if you are a young person who would like to get involved in the group and influence decision making, contact us!
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Village & Town Centre Revival |
The working group have discussed ways to encourage visitors to the town, from improving access to parking for both cars and bicycles, to looking at what types of organisations and businesses could occupy empty retail units, and will further consider how to influence these issues locally. |
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We want to support our retailers to thrive as we move out of lockdown and will be discussing how to celebrate the reopening of our town centres at a later date. We understand it will take time for people to regain confidence and we want to make sure that any celebrations are carried out in the safest way possible.
If you have ideas for events and promotions to support the high streets and village centres contact us!
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Green Issues & The Environment |
During the first meeting, the working group enjoyed hearing about the Council's Climate Change Strategy and were able to ask many interesting questions.
The group also started to talk about ideas for campaigns to encourage local families and communities to reduce their own Carbon Footprint. |
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The working group have agreed a new process for considering requests for new on-street parking controls, following the implementation of the latest Amersham Parking Review in 2020/21.
An online form is being developed to capture requests so that the Parking Team can easily monitor and help to prioritise them for Community Board's consideration. The new process will also help us to keep residents informed about what to expect. |
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The working group are also investigating petitions for Speed Limits on the A355 (following joint discussions with Beaconsfield and Chepping Wye Community Board) and Magpie Lane, Coleshill, as well as weight restrictions throughout Coleshill Village. |
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Since our last quarterly newsletter, funding has been agreed by the board to support the following projects:
Little Chalfont Nature Park CCTV - helping to protect our green spaces from vandalism. The Nature Park is an asset to our community and a perfect example of a place where local people can benefit from the environment and enjoy aspects of nature that are unlikely to be found elsewhere locally.
The Fitness Garden online health, fitness and mental wellbeing support - providing both community carers and young people (of secondary school age) with an 8 week programme of tailored physical activity. By partnering with local community organisations and small businesses TFG will help raise awareness and provide opportunities for the community to come together and be more active and healthy.
The Big Community Take Away - providing weekly hot meals for families and individuals severely affected by Covid. BCTA have been working alongside many local businesses and volunteers to provide vital support to individuals and families who are struggling either with Covid itself or self isolation but also some of the knock on effects it can have had such as furlough, loss of hours or redundancy.
A link to the Community Board funding criteria can be found on our web page: Apply for Community Board funding | Buckinghamshire Council |
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Updates from Partners and Local Activities |
Let us know if your organisation has important updates to share with the local community. |
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Trading Standards - Be Scam Aware!
Did you know that scams cost the UK economy between £5 – 10 billion pounds a year, with only 5% of them being reported? 53% of people over 65 years old have been targeted by scams.
There are 4 main types of scam: postal, telephone, doorstep and online scams. Recent examples have included those related to council tax rebates, personal protective equipment and vaccines for COVID-19, fake lottery wins and scam phones calls pretending to be from HMRC, Amazon or similar.
You can protect yourself and others by following these 5 tips: - Be sceptical, don’t be afraid to hang up, bin it, delete it or shut the door
- Never disclose your personal information or bank details
- Don’t assume everyone is genuine
- Take your time, don’t be rushed into making decisions
- Stay in control
If you or someone you know is a victim of a scam, there are several organisations who can help: - To request more information about call blockers or to get a free no cold calling sticker pack please email Trading.Standards@surreycc.gov.uk or call Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133
- To report a scam, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040
- To get advice or report a trader to Trading Standards, contact Citizen Advice on 0808 223 1133
- If you (or someone you know) is at imminent risk from losing money to a scam, contact police on 999. If it is a non-emergency, ring police on 101
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Chiltern Community Exercise Group
Get active with Chesham’s brand-new social keep fit group led by experienced coaches.
All abilities welcome. Come along and give it a try!
Mondays 9:15 – 10 Chesham Moor, HP5 1SD Thursdays 9:15 – 10 10 – 10:45 Lowndes Park, HP5 1BX
19 Weeks – Starts 19 Apr 21 Term time only |
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Breeze - Let's Ride (Ladies)
Breeze is all about remembering how good it is to ride a bike with friends. Organised by British Cycling trained Breeze Champions, these free rides explore local, accessible routes in small friendly COVID-19 safe groups. Rides take place all the year round and are ideal for women who are looking to get back on a bike and improve their confidence or to just get out there and ride and are a great way to make new friends, find new routes and to enjoy the fresh air and riding in the beautiful Chiltern countryside. |
Rides
vary in length from 5 miles to 45 miles and there is usually a coffee and cake
stop en route. What’s not to like?
Come and join us – check out where your next
local ride starting from Amersham is here.
Contact Rachel for more info.
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Food Champions
Local Food Champions have been managing a street collection in Amersham on behalf of Chiltern Foodbank.
If you would like to find out more: contact the organiser or visit their Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Thank you for reading the latest news and updates |
The next release will be scheduled for June 2021.
Yours Sincerely,
The Amersham Community Board Team
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