The Keynsham Area Forum comprises the parished areas of Compton Dando, Corston, Keynsham, Marksbury, Saltford and Whitchurch (joint membership with Chew Valley Area Forum)
The Keynsham Area Forum is one of five Connecting Communities Forums within Bath and North East Somerset (the others are Bath Area Forum; Bathavon Area Forum; Chew Valley Area Forum and Somer Valley Forum). All the Forum meetings are open to the public and community group representatives as well Ward and Parish Councillors.
Bath and North East Somerset is a diverse area with differing needs and priorities. The Council and its partners recognise this and value the local information and feedback the Forums provide as these help to shape local services. The items discussed at Forum meetings include those the Council and its partners need to share or would like feedback on; items the Forum members themselves wish to discuss and opportunities for local organisations to share information and best practice.
The 'Connecting Communities' approach has been built around five key principles:
- listen
- prioritise
- join-up
- work with you
- share ideas
As there is now much less public funding available, local people and neighbourhoods are being asked to help run services too. The Forums help to improve local engagement, encourage people to talk to each other and to share their skills and ideas.
2023 Meeting Dates
- Wednesday 28 June 2023, 6pm - Community Space, Keynsham
- Wednesday 27 September 2023, 6pm
Recent Past Meetings (Click on the date to view the meeting on the Council's YouTube Channel)
Wednesday 22 February 2023, 6pm
The Forum received an update on Voter ID and were asked to help promote this among their own networks. They also had an update on the Keynsham High Street Heritage Action Zone and Local Cultural Programme. The Forum welcomed Simon Allen, Chief Executive of Age UK BANES to hear more about a new Ageing Better project. They also heard from the Council's Head of Housing, Graham Sabourn on some of the challenges relating to housing conditions across the area. There was an update on the Local Plan and recent workshops held from Kaoru Jacques, Principal Planning Officer at the Council. The main agenda item was Public Transport and the Forum welcomed Phil Wright - Public Transport Programme Manager with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). WECA is the regional transport authority.
Council Budget Engagement - 2 November 2022 and 3 November 2022
Thursday 29 September 2022, 6pm
The theme of the first part of the meeting was 'Preparing for the Future' with Richard Daone, Deputy Head of Planning Policy and Fedalia Richardson from Public Health giving a presentation on the Local Plan and Health & Wellbeing Strategy in preparation for further engagement on these important items. There was also a presentation on the potential to develop Liveable Neighbourhoods.
The theme of the second part of the meeting was 'Building Community Resilience'. There was an update on the cost of living crisis with details of where people can go now for support and ongoing work to provide Warm Places as the weather gets colder. The Forum was asked to let the Community Engagement Team know if they have any planned initiatives such as Warm Places, grants, food clubs etc. Please contact us at Connecting_Communities@bathnes.gov.uk. Daniel Noad from the Council's Emergency Planning Team also gave a presentation on community resilience and the importance of having local and personal emergency plans.
It was also the Forum's AGM and we are pleased to announce that Cllr Alan Hale was voted in as Chair of the Forum with Adrian Inker as Vice Chair. We look forward to working with them again over the coming year. All the presentations from the meeting can be found on this webpage.
Key Positions
Chair: Cllr Alan Hale
Vice Chair: Adrian Inker
Lead Officers: Sara Dixon and Alison Wells
