Can anyone help? If so, please get in touch with Claire.

“Rennie Grove Hospice Care run the Santa Float every year in Pitstone and this year we intend to visit on Wednesday 16th & Thursday 17th December. Unfortunately we have had a number of problems finding a driver and volunteers to knock on doors this year.We may have to cancel if volunteers don’t come forward. If you have a vehicle that could tow the float or you can spare a few hours to walk along and knock on doors you will ensure this much loved festive tradition continues in Pitstone. We would hate to cancel this and disappoint the children of Pitstone but we can’t do it without your help. Please do help if you can. Email claire.redrup@renniegrove.org or call on 01442 820718 if you or anyone you know can help”

The November newsletter produced by Thames Valley Police is now available on their website:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/pub-pg-nh-upds-N416?id=323584

Buckinghamshire County Council has announced a freeze on non-essential spending to ensure it can meet the rising cost of looking after the most vulnerable people across Buckinghamshire.

The Council is taking decisive action to address a possible budget shortfall of almost £6m by March 2016, mainly due to increasing demand for social care for both adults and children.

Martin Tett, Leader of the Council, said: “Yesterday, my Cabinet and I agreed, in public, to a freeze on all non-essential spending until the end of the financial year to stop what could become a very challenging situation for us and the public.

“External pressures and demand for services mean we face a potential overspend, despite the fact we are a well-run, efficient Council which has saved almost £100m over the past five years. It is precisely because we are well-run that we can see the early warning signs and react to them in time.

“Many county councils across the country are facing similar difficulties, not helped by the fact that we legally have to set a balanced budget at the beginning of every financial year.

“The main catalyst for our potential overspend is the significant increase in demand on services for vulnerable adults and children. There is little we can do about this because we have to give priority to safeguarding our old and our young.

“However, we can control other parts of Council spending. So, from now, spending will be frozen on non-essential, non-committed items until the end of March. By non-essential, we mean activities that we are not required to do by law. There will of course be exceptions because we have to keep the business going.

“The actions will include a freeze on the filling of non-essential vacancies. We will also be reviewing all agency and contracted posts, renewal of computer equipment, building adaptions and staff training, amongst other things. And the public will also see an impact in terms of highways and pavements maintenance, as we will need to postpone some routine repairs and improvement projects.

“I’m sorry to have to do this but if we don’t act, we could find we have no money left in reserves in a year or so.

“Managing the council’s budget is like managing your own household budget – as soon as you see the prospect of getting into debt, you tighten your belt.”

You are invited to a Transport for Buckinghamshire Winter Driving Workshop being held during November and December.

These are particularly valuable to organisations and individuals who are required to drive to reach their clients in all weathers.

The workshops are free, but a £10 cheque is requested in order to reserve your place which is returned to you on the night.

All the workshops are running from 6.30pm – 8.00pm.  Dates are below.

Tuesday 17^th November – Buckingham

Thursday 19^th November – Chesham

Tuesday 24^th November – High Wycombe

Wednesday 2^nd December – Aylesbury

For more information please follow the link below:

http://www.transportforbucks.net/Road-Safety/Winter-Driving.aspx

Buckinghamshire County Council, Stroke Support, would like to hear from anyone who has suffered a stroke or who has cared for someone with a stroke, on their views of the support they received at home.

Please see attached survey form, which can be emailed to inform@buckscc.gov.uk or sent to the address on the form.

Elaine Hassall

Community Engagement Officer for Older People

A local resident lost a gold wrist watch of great sentimental value on Sunday 8^th November whilst walking their dog on the footpath across the fields that runs from Chequers Lane to “The Lawns”.

If you have found the watch or have any relevant information, please get in touch with the parish clerk on 01296 660791 or parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk.

Thank you.

Pitstone Memorial Hall needs YOUR help! We know we need to continue to upgrade the hall to make sure can provide the facilities the village needs but we only have limited funds, so we need to focus our efforts.

Please spare 5 minutes to fill in this survey and let us know what YOU want to see being provided at the hall.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJW7P3R

This online survey will close at the end of November but we are happy to hear suggestions at any time by email at memorialhall@pitstone.co.uk

ALSO COMING SOON – check out the hall’s new website at www.pitstonememorialhall.co.uk.

With thanks, the Memorial Hall Management Committee

1st Ivinghoe & Pitstone Scouts really need your help!

We have to vacate our current Scout Hut and we need to raise funds to make this happen. We have joined the Vale Lottery and would love if you could buy a ticket, support our cause and help to spread the word.

Tickets cost £1 each and 50p of that comes straight to us.

More importantly, you could win £20,000. All the details are on the website.

https://www.valelottery.co.uk/support/1st-ivinghoe-and-pitstone-scout-group

Tickets for the lottery cost just £1 per week. Each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week, with a top prize of £20,000! That’s a better chance of winning than the National Lottery or the Health Lottery!

Each ticket will consist of 6 numbers and each number will be between 0 and 9. There will be a draw every Saturday night when a 6 digit winning combination will be picked. Prizes will be given to players with tickets that match the first or last 2-6 numbers from the winning combination. Match all 6 and you win the JACKPOT!

Vale Lottery Poster Scouts

VOLUNTEERING IN PRISON AND THE COMMUNITY

Do you have a couple of hours a week you could give to helping someone really change their life?

Pact is working with people in prison and the community helping people that are currently unable to access mainstream provision and require specialist one to one support to increase their social inclusion and integrate positively within the local community.

Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) provides support to offenders during their sentence and in the community, our Volunteer Mentors encourage full integration and social inclusion.  Mentors provide such important and vital support to those who want to move forward with their life.

We are looking for people who can encourage others, have a reliable and dependable attitude and have great communication skills!

As a volunteer mentor there is no end to the list of support you could be providing and activities you could do, but all of the support makes a huge difference to motivation, self-esteem and choices in life, as they re-enter society.

We provide foundation and ongoing training and all our volunteers have regular support and opportunities to further their skills and knowledge.

For more information call

Mim on 07791 548511 or email miriam.mcconachie@prisonadvice.org.uk

Visit us at: www.prisonadvice.org.uk

Wintertime Burglary

The Aylesbury Vale Community Safety Partnership is urging residents to take simple steps to secure their properties as the winter approaches.

Operation Arctic runs from October to January. The campaign focuses on providing advice to people on how to keep their properties safe during the winter months as homes can remain in darkness for much longer periods. This makes them easier to target, especially if there are no obvious signs there is anyone home.

For more information please visit:

http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/burglary-wintertime and http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/

Christmas Events in Aylesbury Town Centre

Come and join us at our Christmas light switch on event, held on Thursday 19 November from 5.30 p.m. until 7.30 p.m. This popular event provides free family entertainment from 5.30 p.m. The lights 4

will be switched on at 7 p.m. followed by fireworks. There is also a small funfair and the opportunity to do some late night shopping until 8 p.m.

Santa’s parade has become a firm family favourite, and he will be joined by all his friends as they parade through the town on Sunday 29 November from 10.45 a.m. The parade will begin in the High Street, and go around Market Square. After the parade there will be a small funfair, activities and entertainment.

Looking for that special gift? Then come and browse the array of unusual present ideas on offer at the Christmas Craft and Gift fair on Sunday 6 December from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the historic Market Square.

If you want to do some late night Christmas shopping then take advantage of free parking in AVDC owned Aylesbury town centre car parks every Thursday from 4.30 p.m. from 19 November to 24 December inclusive.

Pitstone Memorial Hall Charity is holding its Annual General Meeting at 8pm in the meeting room at Pitstone Memorial Hall on Tuesday 10 November.  Refreshments will be available from 7.45pm.

Everyone is welcome, so do come along and support your local hall.

If you have a little spare time, we would love you to join our committee and there are currently trustee vacancies.   Please come along and have a chat with us.

County Councillors News

A4146 Proposed Reclassification and Weight Restriction

Transport for Bucks (TfB), Thames Valley Police (TVP), and senior officers from Central Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire county Council (HCC) have been working together to use the opportunity of the opening of the A5-M1 link road (the Dunstable Northern Bypass) to keep HGVs in the main arterial routes, reduce HGVs on unsuitable rural roads, and respond to local proposals from Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire residents to reclassify the A4146 and introduce weight restrictions.  As this will have serious repercussions for the B488 and B489, Buckinghamshire County Council and Transport for Bucks have acknowledged the importance of enforceable weight limits to be included for the B488 and 489.

Major advance signposting over long distances will be needed in order to make this work, so Highways England are also fully involved, as well as transport operators particularly the waste carriers going to Newton Longville.

Contact me by email if you need to know more and I can forward the briefing note made available to the Local Area Forum on Oct 1st, but not available on line.

‘Active Bucks’

The Local Area Forum voted for one off funding from the Public Health pot to be invested in this area in organised walking opportunities for all ages. There was a contest between setting up coached running groups similar to From Couch to 5K, and the Park Run, and for dance groups, but walking claimed the majority of votes.  There will be plenty of information available as soon as the walks are set up, which will be complementary to existing health walks and formal and informal Nordic walking groups that already take place.

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority

The fire authority presented it’s annual report to the County Council in September. The Bucks and MK authority is the only authority in the country to have reduced its council tax for 2015-16 and frozen it since 2011. Since 2010 there have been savings of £2.1M in a £29M budget without reducing the numbers of fire engines and fire stations.  In the last 5 years deliberate fires have been reduced by 56%, non domestic fires by 33%’ and domestic fires and related injuries still continue to fall despite increased housing numbers.

Children’s services and prevention of child sexual abuse

This continues to be the main priority of the County Council at the moment. The trial and sentencing in the summer at the Old Bailey of a group of men involved locally in abuse shocked many people into questioning if everything possible is being done to prevent this now and in the future.  As well as implementing the major improvement plan for children’s services, and a peer group review by leading officers and members from other authorities taking place as I write, the select committee review in which I take part in to the prevention of child sexual exploitation has been continuing exhaustively all summer, and has revealed some excellent practice from our partners in the health service and the police, and committed individuals in schools.

Please find below the link to the October newsletter from Thames Valley Police:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/pub-pg-nh-upds-N416?id=321618

Thames Valley Police Superintendent Olly Wright, LPA commander for Aylesbury, is to hold an online question and answer session this evenint (7/10) at 7pm, ahead of planned demonstrations in Aylesbury on Saturday 10 October.
The session’s aim will be to answer any questions that residents and local business owners may have about the forthcoming demonstrations.
It follows the announcement that the English Defence League (EDL) is planning to hold a peaceful demonstration in Aylesbury on 10 October. A counter-demonstration is also being planned in Aylesbury for the same day.
The route of the march will likely bring the EDL group from the top of Walton Street, into town and past the library, around Market Square and gathering in Kingsbury Square for speeches.
The march and speeches will take place between 1pm and 3pm approximately.
Superintendent Olly Wright, LPA commander for Aylesbury Vale, said: “Thames Valley Police recognises everyone’s right to demonstrate peacefully, and our aim is to facilitate a peaceful demonstration.
“I recognise the impact that this demonstration may have on the people of Aylesbury going about their business on Saturday.
“As always, we and our partner agencies will be working to ensure that the impact on local people, businesses and visitors is minimised.
“This online session is a valuable opportunity for members of the community to ask any questions, or make us aware of any concerns they might have about the planned demonstrations.
“I would ask for the support of all sections of the community to help us and our partners, to make sure these demonstrations pass by smoothly.”
Any residents with specific questions about the planned demonstrations can take part in the online question and answer session with Superintendent Wright, which can be accessed via the following link:
http://thamesvp.coverpage.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast
For more information about this weekend’s demonstrations, please follow @Tvp_aylesbury or #AylesburyDemos.

Your local NHS needs YOU

Are you interested in helping to shape NHS services operating across Aylesbury Vale, improving patient care and ensuring the voices of the whole community are heard?

If so, then now could be your chance to get involved.

NHS Aylesbury Vale Clinical Commissioning Group is seeking to fill two posts, including a Public Engagement Leader to work two days per month.

The role – a paid officer post – requires experience of the local community and the ability to champion engagement with all sectors within it. The CCG is especially keen to hear from people with experience of communicating with local black and minority ethnic groups.

Lou Patten, Chief Officer of the CCG, said:  “As a CCG it is vital that we hear the voices of everyone in our community to make sure their opinions and healthcare needs inform our efforts to secure the best services possible for them.

“That makes this role an invaluable one to our organisation, and hopefully an extremely rewarding one for the person we appoint.”

The CCG is also seeking to recruit a new Chair of its Audit Committee, a role involving a time commitment of up to three days a month. This post requires recent and relevant experience in financial management, preferably with an audit or accountancy qualification, and the appointee would act as champion for the CCG’s financial reporting and internal controls.

Ideally, both applicants should live in Buckinghamshire or have strong connections to the area.

AVCCG serves around 200,000 people through 19 member GP practices across north Bucks, with a budget of £210m. This public money is used to buy health services that meet the needs of the population. It seeks to improve the quality of services provided, listen to patients’ experiences and improve health outcomes for the people it serves.

For more information about the roles, please click here.

For an informal discussion about the Patient and Public Engagement Leader, contact Lou Patten, Chief Officer, at louise.patten@nhs.net; for the Lay Chair of Audit Committee, contact Robert Majilton, Chief Finance Officer, at robert.majilton@nhs.net

To apply, send a CV (with at least two references) and covering letter detailing why you wish to apply for the post. Closing date for the applications is 23 October.

If you have any further questions about these roles please contact Elaine Baldwin at elaine.baldwin1@nhs.net

Please follow the link to access details of the next free course taking place on 3 October 2015:

http://www.recycleforbuckinghamshire.co.uk/home-composting/master-composters/

We are delighted to tell you that we are launching an online Vale Lottery, which will offer good causes the opportunity to raise vital funds.

Community groups are being invited to set up their own page on the Vale Lottery website, free of charge. Your supporters will then be able to buy tickets at £1, and 50p from every sale will go to your cause. This is substantially higher than the national lottery which gives just 28p in the pound.

We’ve already done the hard work, getting the necessary licences in place and you will also be provided with free marketing materials, including posters bespoke to your organisation.  The process of setting up the web page will be easy but support will be given where required.

We are doing this in partnership with an External Lottery Management company who are local to Buckinghamshire and have developed the software, which means supporters can join up on all online devices, be that their  pc, mobile phone or tablet.  For the supporters themselves, there’s a huge incentive of a £20,000 jackpot, as well as a number of smaller prizes.

There are so many worthwhile causes in the Vale and we see this as a great opportunity to support them, requiring much less time and effort from volunteers than some of the more traditional fundraising methods.  All you’ll need to do is sign up and be pro-active in spreading the word to your members and encourage supporters.

To find out more, meet the partner company we’re working with and some of the organisations already signed up, please come along to our launch event at our Gateway Offices, on Monday October 5 at 6:30pm.  Refreshments will be provided.

To RSVP please click here (maximum 2 places per organisation)

Jan Roffe

Grants & Voluntary Sector Support Officer

Aylesbury Vale District Council

September update from Thames Valley Police available from the link below:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/pub-pg-nh-upds-N416?id=320111

Aldbury Parish Council are seeking a Parish Clerk, 5 hours per week.  More information can be found following the link below (please note that the application deadline has been extended and is still live):

http://www.aldburyparish.org.uk/2015/07/vacancy-for-parish-clerk-and-responsible-financial-officer/

Tring Town Council is also seeking a Deputy Clerk, 22 hours per week.  More information can be found by following the link below:

http://www.tring.gov.uk/council-staff.html

New awareness talks available now.

An evening for parents, carers and community leaders to find out more about child sexual exploitation and how to stop it.

7-9pm 14 Sept Chesham Grammar School

7-9pm 24 Sept Grange School Aylesbury

To book your place, please email : communications@buckscc.gov.uk

Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board

Annual electoral register reminder for residents

Many of you will have noticed that work has commenced on the Recreation Ground to lay some new cricket wickets.   As a result, a large number of rolls of turf have been removed by turf cutter.  Very good quality.

The Recreation Ground Charity & Parish Council would like to offer this turf free-of-charge to any resident of Pitstone that may require some for their garden.

The turf is currently stacked on pallets along the edge of the recreation ground where it borders the ditch by the Memorial Hall rear car park.  Residents are invited to visit the site and collect any turf they require.

First come, first served.  Collection only.

Thank you.

Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone Parish Council

British shoppers took 8.5m single-use carrier bags from major supermarkets in 2014, an increase for the 5th year in a row.

Plastic bags can take years to fully decompose and even though household recycling rates have improved significantly in recent years, 16,000 tonnes of waste still goes to landfill every year.  Around 8m tonnes of plastic also ends up in our oceans each year, polluting the marine environment and harming precious sea life.

Rory Stewart, the Resource Minister, said “simple changes to our shopping routines, such as taking our own bags with us or using more bags for life, can make a huge difference in reducing the amount of plastic in circulation meaning we can all enjoy a cleaner, healthier country.”

The introduction of a 5p charge for single-use carrier bags comes into effect in England next month (October) following the success of similar schemes in Scotland and Wales.  In Wales the charge led to a 79% decrease in plastic bags taken in the first three years and in second the number of ‘bags for life’ used quadrupled last year.

Rory Stewart added “The charge will also boost our growing economy by delivering savings of £60m in litter clean-up costs and £13m in carbon savings.  Good causes will also benefit from the charge and as much as £730m could be donated to charities and no-for-profit organisations over 10 years”.

We can all play our part, so next time you to pop into Masons or along to a supermarket, please remember to take your own bags.

From next month (October) it will be illegal to smoke in a car, or other vehicle, with anyone under 18 present.  The law is changing to protect children and young people from the dangers of second hand smoke.

Both the driver and the smoker could be fined £50.  The law applies to every driver in England and Wales, including those aged 17 and those with a provisional licence.  The law does not apply if the driver is 17 years old and is alone in the car.

Every time a child breathes in second hand smoke, they breathe in thousands of chemicals.  This puts them at risk of serious conditions including meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia.  It can also make asthma worse.

The law applies to any private vehicle that is enclosed wholly or partly by a roof.  It still applies if people have the windows or sunroof open, have the air conditioning on, or if they sit in the open doorway of the vehicle.  The law won’t apply to a convertible car with the roof completely down.

Have your say on transport in Buckinghamshire

As we start to develop the new Local Transport Plan for Buckinghamshire, we would like to hear your views on transport related matters. What is important to you? To share your views we have developed an app which allows you to have your say in a quick and easy way.

The app will be available from 24 August – 6 September 2015 and can be accessed via this link – https://bucks-transport.budgetsimulator.com/  Within the app you are provided with 100 points to allocate to issues that are most important to you.

Your views will then be considered when developing the new transport plan, which will set out our approach to transport across Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire is a growing county, with more people and businesses. This means more people will be moving around the county. Combined with falling central government funding, this means the plan will have to make some difficult choices. We need to understand your priorities, so the plan makes choices that work for you.

For more information please visit www.buckscc.gov.uk/LTP4

WENDOVER WOODS MEMORY WALK

 27th SEPTEMBER 2015

We are calling on the people of Buckinghamshire to walk for a world without dementia this September.

Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Walk will take place on 27^th September. Registration starts from 10am and we aim to start walking at 11am. Money raised from this fun community event will help some of the 6,800 people living with dementia in Buckinghamshire. We provide vital local services such as Dementia Support, Dementia Cafes and Singing for the Brain Groups to help people live well with the condition.

Last year’s walk showed great community spirit  and we hope people will be more determined than ever to take steps in support of those living with dementia.

To register go to memorywalk.org.uk or call 01296 331722 to find out more

Annual voter registration forms will be sent out this month and Aylesbury Vale District Council is asking residents to respond as quickly as possible in order to help save money.

From 10 August, around 77,000 properties in Aylesbury Vale will receive a ‘Household Enquiry Form’. Residents are required by law to confirm or update the details of anyone at their address who is eligible to vote in the UK.

The forms are pre-printed with the names of the occupants currently registered to vote at each address. A response is required; either to update their details if there are any changes or to confirm that the information is still the same. Even residents who voted in the recent elections still need to respond.

Chris Sheard, Electoral Services Manager, said: “Aylesbury Vale residents have always been excellent at using the automated systems to confirm their details and this year we hope to receive even more responses by text, phone or through the dedicated website. Canvassing every property in Aylesbury Vale is a legal necessity, however it is costly and so we are urging residents to help us save money wherever possible by responding to their Household Enquiry Form promptly. This will reduce the need to send unnecessary reminder letters and forms which would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Residents can respond online using their 10 digit unique reference number and internet password which are printed on the form.

The online process also allows people to add the names of any new occupants as well as remove names of those who no longer live at the address, request a postal application or opt out of the open register.

For further information, please visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk or call 01296 585807.

Green Flag hoisted with pride at Vale Park

http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/news/green-flag-hoisted-pride-vale-park

New skate park officially opens in Aylesbury

http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/news/new-skate-park-officially-opens-aylesbury

A small doll, found close to Glebe Close today, has been handed in to the parish council.  If you believe it is yours, please contact the parish council clerk and provide a description.  Hopefully we can reunite it with its owner.   The council still has one other stuffed toy and two other plastic toys that have been handed in over the past 12 months, again please contact us if you think they may be yours.  Thank you.

parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk or 01296 660791

Bucks County Council have a new campaign called Activate Bucks to get all residents of the county exercising more.   Until the end of August they are inviting you to complete a short survey to let BCC know how they can make it easier for you to get active.  The results of the survey will direct where their funding is spent.   Completing the survey will put you in with a chance of winning £200.00 of shopping vouchers.

BCC are keen to hear from everyone, but are particularly interested in responses from young people, people over 65 years, men of all ages and those from black & ethnic minority communities.

Please follow the link below for more information and to access the survey:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/healthy-living/active-bucks/

Seasonal rental fraud is an emerging trend with students looking for suitable accommodation around August, before the start of the new term.

Fraudsters use a variety of websites to advertise available properties to rent. often at attractive rates and convenient locations. Adverts will seem genuine, accompanied by a number of photos and contact information to discuss your interest.

Due to demand, students will often agree to pay upfront fees to secure the property quickly, without viewing the property, only to discover that the fraudster posing as the landlord does not have ownership of the property, or often there are already tenants living there.

Protect Yourself

• Only use reputable letting companies.
• Do some online research such as using Google maps to check the property does exist.
• Make an appointment to view the property in person.
• Always view the property prior to paying any advance fees.
• Look out for warning signs, such as landlords requesting a ‘holding deposit’ due to the property being in high demand.
• A landlord will usually conduct some due diligence on any successful applicant. Be wary of handing over cash without the landlord requesting employment or character references.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has received several reports of rental fraud whereby empty premises are being targeted and the locks are being changed for the purpose of adding legitimacy to a rental fraud.

The suspect(s) will find and enter an empty property for the purposes of changing the locks and then advertising it on online platforms, such as Gumtree, as a rental property. The suspect(s) then invite interested victims to visit the property for a viewing. Those victims which are interested in renting the property are then requested to pay a deposit and/or rent upfront in cash.

In some instances the victims have moved into the property only to be evicted by the real property owner, or have found that the locks have been changed, once they have received the keys. There are several instances where this fraud has left victims homeless.

Property Owners:

• If you or someone you know currently has an empty property, encourage them to visit the property regularly to make sure that the locks have not been changed and no damage has occurred.

Prevention Advice:

• Avoid communication with only email or mobile phone, request to see the property owner and ask for valid ID. You can also check ownership of the property using the Land Registry.
• The landlord will carry out their own due diligence and should request all of your details, references and proof that you will be able to afford to rent the property. Make sure that these checks are completed prior to paying a deposit / rent.
• Always view the property and the tenancy agreement before paying any upfront costs.

If you, or anyone you know, have been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

Please find below the link to the Thames Valley Police August newsletter for our area:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/pub-pg-nh-upds-N416?id=317995

Ivinghoe Conservation Area

I am elated and extremely relieved that the revised Ivinghoe conservation area policy has passed all the hurdles, and been agreed at Aylesbury Vale District Council. This is an excellent piece of work and well worth investing in a copy if you are interested in the history of the village. Ivinghoe was one of the first villages in Aylesbury Vale to be designated a conservation area because of its outstanding merits, but being an early prototype, did not benefit from the scholarship, architectural expertise and planning policies that informed later conservation areas. The revision was long overdue and thanks are due to Karen Groom, chairman of Ivinghoe Parish Council, who left nothing to chance, and attended the final decision making cabinet meeting to leave the Councillors in no doubt of the importance and value of the conservation area to residents.

Roads

On Wednesday July 8th I gave the new cabinet member for transportation at Bucks County Council a personal guided tour of the Ivinghoe Division. Not only had I pleaded with him at Council, only half in jest, for the whole of the £3M released from council reserves for highway maintenance, to be spent in Ivinghoe Division, but also as a new broom his interest had been sparked by his  meeting with Edlesborough Northall and Dagnall campaign group to downgrade the A4146 to a B road, who raised all the HGV routing issues that beset this corner of the County.
The downgrade is being pursued by Hertfordshire county council, but the officers at Bucks, although sympathetic, are adamant that such a step must not divert traffic on to other roads, particularly the B488. There would be an opportunity, with the opening of the A505 link from Leighton Buzzard to the M1 - the Dunstable North bypass - but it would need co-ordinate signage and changing the designation of the Stoke Hammond Bypass from the A4146 to the A505. The three counties involved are working on this to see how this could be implemented.

Preventing Child Sexual Exploitation.

I am participating by special invitation from the chair of the Education, Skills and Children's Services Select Committee review of this hot topic. R U Safe?and RUWise2it? are not services or campaign slogans operating in a vacuum. The police have told us that two children out of three from pre school onwards are vulnerable to this through the use of social media and on line games. The job of the select committee is to see if the Council is taking every action it can to make people aware, and protect children and young people by whatever means appropriate. There are many opportunities on offer to learn about internet safety, so take them if you can. The recent Old Bailey trial of several men from the Aylesbury Area only shows how hard it is to bring perpetrators to justice. I know personally that the County Council and Thames Valley Police have been taking preventative action and working to get robust enough evidence to bring people to court since at least 2005 when I requested a meeting about this because of some information I had been given.

Bucks County Council Annual Debate

The debate, postponed from May when the Parliamentary Select Committee was visiting the route of HS2 in Bucks, hosted on July 16th by Professor Tony Travers speaking on the theme of challenges and opportunities facing local government, followed by a debate on the Bucks Strategic Plan. As leader of the opposition I decided to respond to the leader from a presentation I made on behalf of Bucks CC at the Local Government Association Conference, on the findings of the national scrutiny development project in which Buckinghamshire participated, looking at the challenges for transparency and accountability in a council that commissions services from external providers, and the high risks councils need to manage where local government has been taking and continues to take nearly three quarters of government spending cuts, along with a five year and ongoing freeze in council tax.



Beacon Villages Community Library

Everyone involved in the library was very sorry but quite understanding that Emma Huxley decided to stand down as chair after more years than she had bargained for setting the library on a successful course for the future. Emma has done an amazing job with competence and charm, but with a two year old and a full time job in London there are limits! Thank you for everything Emma, and don't forget us. Meanwhile  I have taken over the reins as chair, and new members have joined the management committee. My next challenge is to remember to put all the news and activity on the Facebook and Twitter accounts - or better still find someone else to.

The library plays a central role in our villages. As well as books don't forget you can use expensive software free of charge such as ancestry.com for family history, the driving test theory practice, and Which? The VE fun day garden party was a lovely addition to our events calendar, the Library Lunches (in Cheddington) are a regular feature, and BeaconLit literary festival day had an amazing third year at Brookmead school, with participants still tweeting and blogging about it.





Avril Davies,
County Councillor,
Ivinghoe Division,
Bucks County Council.

Lindengate can help to improve your mental health by providing gardening activities in a tranquil and rural setting.

If you’re finding it difficult to cope, we offer a welcoming environment where you can regain your mental strength and start to flourish.

You will never be judged.  Many of us have experienced mental health issues and believe that you can start your journey to recovery through gardening.

Based on a 4 acre site on the outskirts of Wendover, next to Worlds End garden centre.

To find out more:

• visit www.lindengate.org.uk
• telephone 02081444291
• email info@lindengate.org.uk
• on twitter: @lindengate
• on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindengategardening

Befriending in Buckinghamshire

Could you volunteer for our Buckinghamshire Befriending Service to help support people with dementia?

Alzheimer’s Society provides support to people affected by dementia in Buckinghamshire. Sadly however, we know that a number of people in the local community do not receive any support, simply because they do not realise that there is specialist help available to them.

We already have some wonderful volunteers who support people with dementia by helping at our Activity Cafés in Aylesbury and Chesham, our Dementia Cafes in Buckingham and Iver and Singing for the Brain® groups in Aylesbury, Beaconsfield and Buckingham. We are now looking for more people to volunteer their time and get involved in our befriending service.

Our trained befrienders provide companionship and are matched with people depending on their personality and common interests. With the support of befrienders people with dementia are able to continue to do things they love.

Volunteer Befrienders can help a person with dementia in various ways. A Group Befriender may take part in a walking group, gardening, bowling, visiting a garden centre or other activity. A Telephone Befriender may call someone for a chat on a weekly basis or a Befriender may prefer to visit someone in their home for a chat and a cup of tea.

If you would like to know more about the role of befriending volunteer please contact the Befriending Manager Buckinghamshire on 01296 331722 or bucksbefriending@alzheimers.org.uk

You can also visit their Facebook page on: https://www.facebook.com/AlzheimersSocietyCentralWest?fref=ts

‘Let’s get ready for School!’

                Booking Essential

A session for children aged 3-4 years. These sessions will support your child in their transition to school.

Children will have the opportunity to join in with a routine, develop their social and emotional skills and practice circle time activities and group play.

                When?

   Every Tuesday for 4 weeks

   Starting on 4^th August 2015

             10:30-12

              Where?

              Ivinghoe and Pitstone Children’s Centre

Behind Brookmead School

High Street

Ivinghoe

LU7 9EX

Parents are required to stay.

For more information contact:

Ivinghoe and Pitstone Children’s Centre 01296 662363

The Connected Counties program advise that another cabinet in the Pitstone ward has now been enabled for Superfast broadband.   They now cover all the postcodes listed at the foot of this message.

Some other cabinets (eg Cabinet 9 serving many parts of Castlemead) fall under the responsibility of the BT commercial rollout program, and not the Connected Counties program.

You can check availability for the Connected Counties program via this link:

http://www.connectedcounties.org/check-availability?tabId=13281

You can check the BT availability via this link:

https://www.dslchecker.bt.com/

A scam email is currently being sent to victims fraudulently claiming to be from British Gas or The Ministry of Justice. The attached document or link leads to the TorrentLocker ransomware.

This malware encrypts files on the victim’s system and requests a ransom be paid in order for the files to be decrypted; one reported amount has been £330 worth of Bitcoins.

It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened.

Protect yourself

• If you receive an email that you are suspicious of do not follow any links or open attachments until you can verify that the email is genuine. To do this contact the organisation that the email has come from by sourcing the number independently from the email received.
• If you believe the email to be fake, report it to your email provider as spam.
• Ensure your anti-virus software is up to date this will help to mitigate the potential for virus to be downloaded. It should be noted that anti-virus software is constantly being updated and may not stop all viruses especially if they are new or been adapted.  It has been reported that some anti-virus vendors are detecting this and stopping the pages and or documents from being opened.
• If you have opened an attachment or followed a link which you believe to be suspicious it is recommended that you run your anti-virus and/or take your machine to a reputable company to have it cleaned.
• In cases where files have been encrypted it can be very difficult to retrieve them, and in most cases they will be lost. It is recommended that you always back up all files on a separate device or cloud storage to ensure they are not lost. Please remember that if a device is attached to the infected machine the files on this could also be encrypted with the virus so ensure they are kept separate.

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone 0300 123 2040

Notification received of Anglian Water road works in Queen Street 9-13 July.  No delays expected.

If you would like to receive an email from Bucks County Council when roadworks and closures are scheduled, please follow the link below and select ‘alerts’ where you can enter your email address:

http://www.transportforbucks.net/Roadworks-Centre/Roadworks.aspx

Please find below the link to the Thames Valley Police July newsletter for our area:

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/pub-pg-nh-upds-N416?id=316164

THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

(MARSWORTH ROAD, PITSTONE & LOWER ICKNIELD WAY, MARSWORTH)

         (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF THROUGH TRAFFIC) ORDER, 2015

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has made an Order, which will temporarily prohibit any vehicle from proceeding, except for access, in that length of Marsworth Road, Pitstone & Lower Icknield Way, Marsworth, which commences at its junction with College farm, Marsworth and continues to its junction with Vicarage Road, Pitstone.

The alternative route for vehicles affected by the closure will be via Vicarage Road (Pitstone), Upper Icknield Way, Bulborn Road, Tring Ford Road, Lower Icknield Way and vice versa.

The closure is required whilst carriageway works take place and it is anticipated that the works will commence on 22 July 2015 and will take approximately 6 weeks to complete.

The Order will come into operation on 22 July 2015 when the appropriate signs are lawfully displayed.

Penalties for not observing these restrictions will be as prescribed by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Road Traffic Act 1991.

Dated 22 July 2015.

Pitstone Memorial Hall Charity are seeking a secretary to attend the bi-monthly meetings, take minutes and provide general secretarial services to the charity committee.

The role is not onerous, and probably only requires an hour or so each week.

If you have the skills required, please get in touch and we would be happy to supply a Job Description and further information.

The committee has recently recruited several new members, and is a strong, proactive and friendly team who look forward to meeting you.  The Memorial Hall is ideally situated in the centre of Pitstone and looks forward to growing and evolving to deliver even better services to the local community.

Telephone: 01296 660791
Email: memorialhall@pitstone.co.uk