Bringing Community Boards to the local community

Community, Democracy and Local Affairs

Members of Buckinghamshire’s Community Boards have been out and about, spreading the word on what they are all about and encouraging people to get involved.

Community boards are the local link between the council and the people and organisations in Buckinghamshire to take action on local issues.

They are all about giving local people a voice and the chance to get involved and have a say in what goes on in their local area.

Each board has a chair and coordinator whose roles are to make connections within the local community, to come together to explore local issues and make a difference.

In High Wycombe, Chair Arif Hussain and Vice Chair Lesley Clarke have been actively promoting the High Wycombe board at a variety of events over the past month including World Mental Health Day, Suicide Prevention Day and Black History Month. Supporting these events is a part of the board’s priorities for this year.

Each local board identifies priorities to focus on based on what’s important in their local area. In High Wycombe, following discussions with community groups and organisations, there are five broad priorities for the coming year:

  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Local infrastructure and transport
  • Community cohesion
  • Mental health and community
  • Environment and climate change

The focus of the board is now to bring together people from across the area to explore these issues in working groups, delving deeper and finding creative ways to address each priority in practical terms.

Arif Hussain, Chair of the High Wycombe Community Board said: “We are excited to be able to work closely with our local communities to make things happen. We want as many people as possible to get involved. I would urge everyone who is interested in supporting and improving their local community here in High Wycombe to get in touch with us.”

Over coming weeks each board will develop ways to share what they are working on and how to get involved with local people including setting up local Facebook pages and newsletters.

Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Communities and Health said: “Community boards are not about the council deciding what happens in a local area, they are about communities themselves deciding and working together with us to bring about change and improvement.

“Each board has the ability to really get to the heart of local matters and make a real difference.”

There are 16 community boards in Buckinghamshire. All have now held their first public meetings and have agreed their priorities for the coming year. To find out more about your local board visit our website.