Minutes
of the Risborough Area Business Group Monthly Meeting
Held
at
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Attendees |
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President L.Adlam
:L.Adlam Architects |
M.Thomas :Coppins
B&B |
J.Varle
:Sylvia & Jean Hairdressers |
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Chairman G.Wiles :IFC |
S.Dear :Chiltern
Circuits |
S.Baker
:Sylvia & Jean Hairdressers |
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Hon Sec P.Pitcher
:P.A.M. |
D.Kent :Special Days |
T.Long :RACA |
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H.Brown :Pickles
Delicatessen |
F.Brown :U3A |
L.Clapham :Bucks Free
Press |
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C.Waterton :WDC |
E.Brown :U3A |
M.Shaw :Bucks Herald |
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M.Pitcher :P.A.M. |
S.Barnes :Art &
Office |
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J.Hughes :Corporate
Comms |
A.Brown :Softech 2000 |
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Item |
Topic |
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1 |
Chairman’s Welcome The
Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, including our guests, Robin
Evans & Caroline Hughes from WDC, Elaine & Frank Brown (Princes Risborough
U3A) and Tony Long (RACA Transport).
He passed on apologies from Francis Gomme who, through illness, had to
cancel his presentation on Tourism & Funding scheduled for this
meeting. The Chairman also requested
RABG’s best wishes be sent to Richard Floyd (Chinnor Railway) who has been
taken ill. |
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2 |
Apologies for Absence
received from:
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3 |
Minutes of the meeting
held on The
Minutes were agreed as a true record. Unfortunately
the April social walk had to be cancelled through bad weather and lack of
support. The 17th May
meeting was also cancelled in favour of members attending the public meeting
on David Lock & Associates Risborough 2035 study. |
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4 |
Matters arising from
Minutes not already covered by the Agenda Updates
on current environment and transport issues etc are covered by the RACA
reports at the end of the meeting. |
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5 |
Presentation on Car
Parking Robin Evans : Parking
Services Manager WDC Caroline Hughes : Head
of Services Environment WDC Robin
has over 30 years experience in delivering services (catering, leisure and
tourism) and so appreciates the problems caused by car parks and parking. Parking services business operation Many
of the controversies arise from lack of knowledge regarding the different
parking regulations currently in force.
In this area: ·
Off-street parking is the responsibility of
WDC, controlled by the 1984 Road Traffic Act ·
On-street parking and highways are the
responsibility of BCC with Thames Valley Police enforcement in accordance
with the 1991 Highways Act. ·
SPAs (special parking areas) are controlled by
BCC. The management of the SPA in Having
two authorities responsible for parking causes confusion. Some County Councils delegate all the
management to the District Council.
Others involve subcontractors to enforce parking regulations. This in turn can cause further problems as
subcontractors have different objectives, i.e. to maximise revenue, from
councils who need to cover costs. It
is anticipated that the Department of Transport will decide, sometime in the
future, that DCs must take full responsibility for both on & off-street
parking. WDC’s
parking regulations are set by members of the Council with a designated cabinet
member, Audrey Jones, taking responsibility.
Suggestions and recommendations can be put forward, but the Council
members make the final decisions. Robin
stated that a fundamental principle is that parking demand and pricing are
determined by the quality of shopping and choice availble at the destination.
Therefore in better quality shopping
areas WDC are able to charge higher prices. Why is there a charge? Parking
charges are used to ‘manage’ motorists in various ways: ·
Prevent parking in designated areas unless
authorised ·
Stop cars from blocking spaces for long
periods ·
Keep vehicles moving on which helps traffic
flow ·
Make people ‘respect’ parking arrangements -
if they have to pay, motorists will comply ·
Manage where people prefer to park by varying
the cost of parking Various
studies on parking fees have shown that, contrary to belief, charges do not
drive customers away. In a recent
survey, 83% of motorists said the ability to park close to a location was
more important than the cost incurred.
Only 10% actually knew the cost of parking. Perceptions & myths WDC
manage 49 car parks, of which only 27 charge.
‘Pay & Display’ car parks are perceived to be more expensive than
‘Pay on Foot’ although the hourly rates are identical. Surveys show that car parks offering the 1st
hour free can result in a decrease in business, as motorists are made more
aware of time (members asked for data or references to support this if
possible). The Council believe the
longer the free period, the more congested car parks become, which in turn
deters potential customers. Parking reality – no such
thing as a ‘Free Lunch’ Someone
has to cover the cost of rates, lighting, repairs etc. WDC’s policy is to
raise the required income from users, not from the tax payer. Currently a small surplus is made which
goes into a general fund to help pay for other Council services. Robin undertook to provide RABG with
figures for the surplus in Risborough.
April 2004 was the last time charges were raised and there are no
increases planned. Risborough charges
are lower then those in HW with a maximum of £3 for 12 hours. Parking options /
possibilities Totally
free parking is not an option as it causes congestion. WDC cannot afford to fund free parking
periods but they might help set up a voucher system whereby businesses refund
shoppers’ parking fees (e.g Budgens). Such
a scheme would cost £2-3K to implement.
Aylesbury considered a similar one but did not proceed with it. Any
requested changes to parking regulations in Risborough would initially have
to be costed by WDC and then submitted to the cabinet member responsible for a
final decision. The
Chairman thanked Robin for his presentation and opened the discussion to
members. The following points made
were: ·
Accepting Robin’s philosophy that Risborough
competes with Aylesbury & High Wycombe, something urgently needs to be
done to attract more shoppers and stop the quality of the Town Centre deteriorating.
The development of HW & Aylesbury
will inevitably lead to shoppers potentially deserting Risborough. Also the quality of shopping offered in HW
& Aylesbury indicates that these towns can accept higher parking fees. ·
HW has 4,000,000 parking visits per
annum. Members suggested that just 2p
on a parking visit in HW would enable PR to have free parking to help balance
the declining Town Centre shoppers. ·
It was noted that the proposed or latest draft
of the Risborough 2035 study (which may well be the only bit of the report
that is read) would not be mentioning car parking and CCTV as major issues
despite being highlighted in the full report.
John Hughes (RACA) said he would try and remedy this before the report
is published. ·
Parking policies should be carefully thought
through as they could result in loss of business ·
Local council members should be lobbied to
represent the town’s wishes when parking decisions are being discussed ·
Amazingly WDC does not break down costs by car
park. They know only the revenue
raised per car park. Providing one free hour in ·
Any changes to current parking regulations
would cost around £5K to implement.
This includes changing the machines, legal charges, announcements in
the local press etc. ·
Members commented that our local open air car
parks are surely very low maintenance compared to HW’s multi-storey ones. ·
Profits from surface car parks do not go
towards maintaining the multi-storey parks in HW, contrary to popular
perception. The running costs of multi-storey
cp’s are high - £1 million over five years. ·
Risborough’s charges should be kept lower than
those of Aylesbury and HW. ·
Thame and Wendover have free parking periods
and a bus is now taking our shoppers from Risborough to Wendover on market
day! ·
There should be a range of parking costs on offer
so motorists can choose where and how much they want to pay. ·
There is no legislation protecting
disabled/parent & child parking bays.
As a result some motorists abuse the system which makes parking
difficult for those needing specialist help. ·
Charges in the Mount car park cover one or
three hours. This creates a problem
for meetings lasting two hours at the Community Centre. More parking next to the Community Centre is
needed for elderly and disabled people ·
WDC does not have any long term plans to
increase parking availability in Risborough.
This will be a problem when current RACA schemes to increase tourism get
under way. ·
Cars are parked without penalty for long
periods in the High Street. Why is
action not taken? ·
PCSOs are helping the police with parking and
now have the authority needed to take action.
Risborough has one PCSO responsible for enforcing parking regulations. ·
·
Members with parking issues should write to
their WDC councillors - Audrey Jones, Carl Etholen, Bill Bendyshe-Brown and
Dennis Green. ·
WDC does not provide parking permits for
employees unless a car is essential for their job. Councillors get permits only when on
council business. |
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6 |
Introduction to
‘Risborough Rewards’ Mike Pitcher Mike
outlined the exciting new ideas that his Retail Initiative group are
developing to encourage shoppers to spend more time and money in
Risborough. He hopes most retailers
will join the scheme: ·
People sign up to become a ‘Risborough
Shopper’ and carry a plastic card. ·
Each retailer decides an individual basic
discount they are prepared to offer to a card carrier (‘bronze level’). This discount will be different between
shops. ·
Shoppers can earn an extra level of discount
by collecting receipts which are exchanged for a one-off ‘Silver’ or ‘Gold’
voucher. ·
When shoppers join the scheme they will be
asked to complete a form including demographic details. This information will be analysed and used
to send out offers, promotional material etc. ·
Participating retailers will display a small sign
in their window promoting the scheme, and have forms etc available in the
shop. The
aim is to trial ‘Risborough Rewards’ with a core group of shops in the
autumn. Full details will be presented
at the Business Fair in October (see below).
The scheme must be up and running in time for Christmas. Various
issues still need addressing, e.g. security and who takes responsibility for
issuing Silver & Gold vouchers. With
the tourism projects currently being developed, it was suggested that Francis
Gomme should be kept updated with the scheme’s progress. Mike
would like all retailers interested to join his group to drive this scheme forward. There will be a briefing at 6.00 pm
on 11th July at Princes Risborough School (preceding our next RABG meeting at Please contact him on 01844 346687 or email mike@pamuk.demon.co.uk for details. |
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7 |
eBucks Broadband
Initiative Pam Pitcher This
initiative was launched on 18th May in Aylesbury. It is a Partnership that has been
established to help small & medium sized businesses (SMEs) and local
communities in Buckinghamshire to exploit ICT and Broadband
technologies. Bucks County Council‘s
current partners include: ·
·
Business Link ·
South Bucks District Council ·
Bucks Economic Partnership ·
Federation of Small Businesses ·
Nildram (ISP based in Aylesbury) ·
BT The
overall objective is to get the whole of Bucks connected to Broadband and
benefiting from its potential. To
achieve this, there are three main programmes of support to help businesses
improve their use of these technologies.
The main funding, in the form of a two-year government project grant,
is coming from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), and is
available to: ·
get connected to Broadband ·
receive specialist broadband advice ·
exploit Broadband further Broadband Connectivity If
your business does not have broadband, you can apply for a grant of £200 to get connected. Once your application has been accepted,
you then buy your connection from the supplier of your choice and get
reimbursed £200. Broadband Advice If
you need independent IT advice, or want to know how to improve your use of
broadband, Business Link will provide, free of charge, a TMB (Technology
Means Business) accredited adviser who will recommend your best way forward. The advice covers ·
Internet access ·
email and how to cope with it ·
websites ·
e commerce ·
local & wide area networks ·
remote working This
is the so-called e-adoption ladder that will lead your business through: ·
e-messaging ·
e-marketing ·
e-ordering & sales ·
e-payments There
are grants of up to £250 to start
on this e-adoption ladder and cover the cost of advice etc. Broadband Exploitation There
are further grants available of up to £200
towards: ·
consultancy related to integrating and
improving the use of broadband within
the business ·
purchase of hardware or software that will
enable the profitable exploitation of broadband. These
grants are limited and will be allocated on a strictly first come served
basis. HotSpot Project The
Bucks Partnership is also very keen to extend its HotSpot Project, and get
many more businesses offering wireless access to the Internet. This should be of interest to businesses
offering services to tourists, such as hotels, B&Bs, cafes etc. By providing wireless hotspots, visitors
may be encouraged to stay longer, spend more, and generally benefit from easy
Internet access. To encourage
businesses, £200 is available to
set up a wireless hot spot. The Future Broadband
technology will become part of our lives, always available, unlimited and
unrestricted. Businesses will have
virtual private networks allowing employees to work efficiently from home,
sharing information and files as needed.
Within the home all the current facilities, phone, television,
Internet etc will become integrated through the Home Gateway. Now is the time to get on board this
technology and prepare your business for the future. For
more information: email
info@businesslinksolutions.co.uk
or phone 01844 210430 email
e-bucks@buckscc.gov.uk or visit www.e-bucks.org.uk |
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8 |
Business Fair Heather Brown The
Community Centre, Please
support this event. For more
information, contact Heather on hbpicklesdeli@aol.com
or phone 01844 212056 |
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9 |
Risborough 2035 Study Graham Wiles David
Lock & Associates presented their final report to the public on May 17th. They have put forward some excellent
recommendations and ideas for Risborough over the next 30 years. However, there are some contentious issues
on which RABG should lobby on behalf of the majority view of members. An
example is the proposal to build some 600 homes on Park Mill Farm. A quick straw poll showed that three
members were definitely against it, more were in agreement but the majority
did not have sufficient information to make a decision. Several problems were mentioned in connection
with such a development: ·
the only access to the town would be via ·
no additional parking is planned in Risborough
to cope with the influx of people ·
development of homes only, no other facilities
included The
planning application has already been submitted to WDC. Graham
suggested that time should be allocated at the next RABG meeting to discuss this
and similar issues. The Risborough
2035 Summary, which is currently being prepared by WDC, will be circulated to
all members as soon as it becomes available, hopefully the next RABG meeting. |
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10 |
RACA Action Group
Reports: Economic. Graham
Wiles gave an update in Peter Keen’s absence: ·
Peter is standing down as chairman due to
other commitments. Graham thanked him
for all the time and effort he has put in over past year. The new chairman for RACA Economics is Tony
Maisey ·
RACA is working closely with Chinnor Railway
and progress is now being made.
Currently they are working on the legal document required, and it is
hoped the whole project will be completed within 18 months to two years. ·
Hypnos (Peter Keen) is sponsoring the Business
Fair on 18th October (see above) ·
Following Robin’s talk, the issue of parking
in Risborough will be rethought. Community
& Housing. Heather
Brown reported that the Youth Strategy is going well. | |||||||||||||||||||