Working together: local voices, local choices, local action

In Bucks Unitary Council, Community Boards are a new way of bringing the council, groups, organisations and local people together to look at local issues and find ways of improving them together.

Community Boards sit between Parish Councils and Bucks Unitary Council

As a community-led partnership, Community Boards will:

influence how decisions are made and how services are delivered
represent the voice of local people
capture thoughts, ideas and suggestions
bring together key community partners and residents
identify local needs and work to produce creative solutions
There will be many ways the boards will work with the community to identify what is important in each area and take action together.

The boards will use local data, intelligence and the views of people and partners in the community to identify key areas of focus and priorities for the board. These priorities will help determine where the boards take action and allocate funding to improve the local area.

The boards are all about taking action. Working groups will explore the local priorities, set up local projects and find creative ways to make local changes.

Each board has an allocated budget to fund local projects and initiatives.

There will be five public meetings held each year. At these meetings, funding is allocated and feedback will be shared on the plan of action. Action notes from these meetings will be published online.

Community Board Chair and Coordinators
Each board is supported by a dedicated chair and coordinator who will make links with people in the local community to make sure information is shared and local views and ideas are heard.

They will make sure the local people, groups and organisations feel connected with the boards and the council, developing working relationships across the community board area.

Beeches Community Board
Chair – David Anthony

Deputy Chair – Barbara Gibbs

Board coordinator – Jack Pearce

Email: beechescb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

The Beeches Community Board covers the following town and parish areas:

Burnham
Dorney
Farnham Royal
Stoke Poges
Taplow PC

Our priorities
Each year we will look at what matters to our local area the most, using data and local intelligence to help us determine the priorities our board will focus on. We will involve residents, partners, local groups and organisations in understanding what the local issues and priorities are.

Priorities for 2020/21 are:

Infrastructure & Highways
Supporting older and vulnerable people
Young People

These priorities will help us determine where we take action and allocate funding to improve the local area.

Apply for funding
If you have a project that relates to one of the priorities above, you can apply for funding online.

Working Groups
We take actions on issues linked to our priorities. To do this, we have working groups that bring together board members and representatives from the community and relevant partner organisations.

Working groups identify and discuss issues linked to our priorities, and we consider project ideas and requests for funding linked to these issues. Current working groups are:

Infrastructure & Highways
Supporting older and vulnerable people
Young People

If you’re interested in getting involved with one of the working groups or would like to discuss an idea you may have for a project, contact us at beechescb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

Get Involved
If you join your community board, you’ll be able to have your say on issues that affect your area. How involved you become is up to you. We’ll:

invite you to our board meetings and events
give you the opportunity to get involved with our working groups
let you know about local consultations
share information on funding for communities

If you would like to find out more about your local Community Board, contact us at beechescb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.