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PRESENT: Councillors Burbage (Chairman), Mrs Bateson (Vice-Chairman), Holness, Mrs Quick and D Wilson

Also in attendance: Mr Chetter, Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce

Officers: Mrs Hornby and Mr Hunjan

01/09 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

None were received.

02/09 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor D Wilson declared a Personal interest in the Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce item, due to being a member of the Maidenhead Town Partnership.

Councillor D Burbage declared a Personal interest in the Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce item, due to being a member of the Maidenhead Town Partnership.

Councillor Mrs Bateson declared a Personal interest in the RBWM Fire Provision item, due to being a member of the Fire Authority.

03/09 OVERVIEW OF PANEL MEMBERS ROLE

Councillor Mrs Bateson outlined the Royal Borough ‘s SCA process to the Panel. Once proposals have been received, the Sustainable Communities Act Cross Party Panel would meet to assess their suitability and whether they should go forward. If agreed, the proposals would be taken forward to the Panel of Representatives, to be Chaired by Mr Hunjan. The membership of this panel would be drawn from a cross section of partners, community groups, Parish or Ward Councillors, Officers, any members of the public who would be affected by the proposal. A Clerk from Democratic Services would be in attendance.

Councillor Mrs Bateson then explained that proposals would also go to a Steering Group drawn form a membership of senior Officers and Chaired by Councillor Mrs Bateson. The Officer Steering Group would have the responsibility for overseeing the development of proposals. Proposals would be brought back to the Sustainable Communities Act Cross Party Panel for final approval, prior to being submitted to the Selector (in this case the Local Government Association). The LGA would assess and shortlist proposals to be submitted to the Secretary of State for consideration. It was explained that at this stage there was an opportunity to make an oral presentation in support of the written proposal.


04/09 ACT REQUIREMENTS, LGA PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM AND TIME SCALES

Mr Hunjan explained that the version of the proposal form in front of the Panel was in draft form and the final version to be used for submitting proposals was still being developed by the LGA. Mr Hunjan commented that there had not been much guidance on when the final form would be completed and issued. The final, completed form, had to be submitted on or before the 31 July 2009.

The Panel noted that the proposal form was an online form and that the current guidance indicated that up 8 people could contribute to its completion. However the final form to be submitted must be signed by just one person. Mr Jonathan Adams would be asked ensure that the final version of any proposal form to be submitted to the LGA would be translated into the correct formal and met the requirement as stipulated by the LGA. Mr Hunjan stated that Information on spending and financial reports had been released, although not all the information was included, he was still awaiting the relevant information to be released.

The Panel requested that a Flow Chart be attached to these Minutes for clarification on timescales.

05/09 DETAILS AND DISCUSSION OF PROPOSALS RECEIVED

Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce.

The Panel received a proposal ‘Support for Businesses’ from the Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce presented by Mr John Chetter. It was noted that small business made a significant contribution to prosperity in the local community through employment and their taxes contributing to services that Central Government provide. It was also noted that they were part of a successful and sustainable community. It was noted that the Sustainable Communities Act would be ideal for the Chamber of Commerce and their requirements.

During the ensuing discussion, it was noted that –

Ø This was the ideal application to be considered.
Ø That the form would need to be fully completed and Mr Hunjan agreed that he would assist with this process.
Ø It was agreed that Mr Mike Miller would be asked to assist the application.
Ø That the Panel of Representatives would meet in early July to agree to send the completed final application to the Selector.

RESOLVED: That the application be taken forward.

RBWM Fire Provision

The Panel received some paperwork from the Fire Authority in relation to the application for the new RBWM Fire Provision.

Mr Hunjan reported that a meeting had taken place with the RBWM Fire Provision Working Group. Councillor Mrs Bateson confirmed that the Working Group were due to meet again, depending on the outcome of this Panel on 28 May 2009. It was noted that the cost of running the Service was in the region of £6.6 million and the Chief Accountant had advised further figures would need to be sought. The Panel noted that the main contributor to the Fire Service was the Royal Borough and therefore the Royal Borough would seek to take over control of all retained locations.

The Panel noted that arrangements with other cross-border Fire Authorities would be sought to be kept in place, and noted in particular that Ascot and Sunningdale residents tended to be served from either Windsor or Bracknell.

Mr Mike Miller and Mr Richard Coates had offered to complete the application form and then pass to the Panel of Representatives for approval. The Panel recommended the application be taken forward.

RESOLVED: That the application be taken forward.

06/09 RECOMMENDATIONS AND WAY FORWARD

It was agreed that a further meeting of the Cross Party Panel should take place (every three weeks) and that meetings of the Panel of Representatives and Steering Group be convened as soon as possible.

Mr Hunjan agreed to arrange memberships of the Panel of Representatives and could distribute this once it was agreed.

The Panel agreed a possible start time of 6.00pm or possibly 8.30am.

07/09 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Mr Hunjan agreed to arrange the further meetings and would produce a timetable to attach to these Minutes.

RESOLVED: That the Windsor Chamber of Commerce be approached and invited to take part in the discussions.

08/09 MEETING

The meeting, which began at 7.30pm, concluded at 8.36pm.