In this unprecedented situation with coronavirus we are having to look at prioritising some of our services. We do not make these decisions lightly. Collections of refuse, clinical waste and food will remain a priority throughout and therefore until further notice we regret we will be stopping the garden and bulky waste collection services.

Please be reassured that these materials are not hazardous if left for longer than two weeks and if you wish you will still be able to take this waste to your nearest Household Recycling Centre. Whilst we appreciate that not all residents can travel to an HRC, any that do will help reduce the backlog and allow us to resume normal service more quickly afterwards.

Any residents who are self-isolating, have COVID-19 symptoms or are in an ‘at risk’ category should not visit Household Recycling Centres.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this will cause and once we know when the service can be resumed, for customers receiving the garden waste service, we will be in touch regarding how we plan to compensate you for any loss of service.

Please find below a link to the Public Health Act 1925 Section 18 Naming of Streets notification issued by AVDC.  The notice includes a map of the site with the two new roads highlighted.

Combined 20-16-NEWDEV Section 18 notice

• The main road, from the Lower Icknield Way to Vicarage Road, will be named “Poultons Meadow” to commemorate the previous name by which the meadow was known, which this site now occupies.
• The smaller road facing the Recreation Ground, will be known as “Icknield Gardens” to commemorate the fact that it sits upon the site of the old Allotment Gardens and is adjacent to the Lower Icknield Way.

If anyone is aggrieved by the intended order, you may appeal to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of 12 March 2020.  Contact details are provided in the link.

This information will also be displayed on a notice at the site.

Work is starting on Tuesday (10-3-2020) to clear the trees and vegetation to the side of Cooks Wharf canal bridge. Once this work is complete (hopefully by Wednesday 11-3-2020) BCC TfB will be able to see what sort of excavator can squeeze in there to get the ditch cleared.

The ditch clearance will not follow immediately after but should take place within the next 2 weeks. Once the ditch is cleared the back-up of water should flow out the system and the flood should recede.

More road closed signage has been erected to help prevent vehicles turning round in the drive of properties before the bridge.

Works had been delayed as high priority works were required on the A413 Buckingham Road, Weedon where severe flooding was causing vehicles to aquaplane off the carriageway, which we are sure residents will understand needed to be remedied as the priority.

We understand that parents of children moving up to secondary school in September will now have received their offer letters.

If you have any questions regarding your school offer, how the waiting list system works, whether you need to remain on the waiting list to receive free transport, whether you are entitled to free transport, or whether you need to register for paid-transport until free transport can be confirmed, please call the Bucks County Council Schools Team on  01296 395000.

Bucks County Council have also answered some of the questions from local parents surrounding the change to policy in their updated Frequently Asked Questions document which is available via this link: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/education/school-transport/check-if-youre-eligible-for-free-school-transport/

We understand that some of the wording within the BCC home to school transport policy for the Pitstone area may have been amended recently, to clarify the actions that need to be taken (or not taken) to qualify for free transport.  Therefore it is very important that you keep up to date.

If parents have any ongoing concerns that the helpline can’t assist you with, please copy the Parish Council (parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk) and the County Councillor (awight@buckscc.gov.uk) on any correspondence to the school transport team so that we are aware of any local issues.

The next Community Forum will be held at 7:30pm on Thursday 12^th March in the Small Hall in Wing Village Hall. You are all welcome to attend to receive Crime Updates and discuss issues throughout the area.

As Thames Valley Police no longer hold quarterly Neighbourhood Action Group meetings in Pitstone and will not be attending the annual assembly this year, the Community Forums are now the only way for residents to speak direct to TVP.  Therefore please do attend if you have any policing concerns or queries.

Your council is changing

On 1 April your council will change. The new Buckinghamshire Council will replace all five of the district and county councils in Buckinghamshire, and over the coming weeks and months you’ll start to see some changes as you come across the new look council.

What does the new council mean for me?

• The same services, better together. For most people there will be no change to the day-to-day services you use. This includes bin collections, looking after our elderly and young people, libraries and parking. The focus for the future will be on improving these services as a new council together.
• One council. Getting in touch with the council will be simpler because you’ll only need to contact one council for all the services currently provided by the county and district councils.
• Face-to-face advice, support and information from your council through a network of 17 local Council Access Points based at the heart of your local community – in current council offices and libraries across the county. The five council offices in Aylesbury (Walton Street and The Gateway), High Wycombe, Amersham and Denham will be ‘access plus’ points, geared up to handle more complex enquiries.
• Stronger links with local communities. Buckinghamshire Council councillors will work closely with local people and community organisations to understand and respond to the key issues affecting their local area through 16 Community Boards.

Who will be my local councillor on the new council?

There will be 147 councillors elected to Buckinghamshire Council. Elections for the new council will take place on 7 May 2020. Until these newly elected councillors take up their posts, your current elected members from the five existing councils will continue to serve your communities.

How can I find out more?

For regular news and updates, follow @BucksCouncil on Twitter and Facebook or find out more at www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

1. Handwashing – The most important thing that everyone can do as an individual is follow NHS advice on handwashing. This means washing your hands more frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This video shows the best way to wash your hands.

1. New poster – please see the poster below

Coronavirus A4 Poster

1. NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need medical help and advise you what to do.

Use this service if:

• you think you might have coronavirus;
• in the last 14 days you’ve been to a country or area with a high risk of coronavirus;
• you’ve been in close contact with someone with coronavirus.

      Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Contact 111 if you need to speak to someone

1. Travel risk – The latest information about Coronovirus symptoms and areas of travel risk can be found on nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

5    General advice  – Like the common cold, coronavirus infection usually occurs through close contact with an infected  person via cough, sneeze or hand contact. You can also catch the virus by touching contaminated surfaces if you do not wash your hands afterwards.

Everyone is being reminded to follow Public Health England advice to:

• Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Freight Strategy Update

The Freight Strategy Public Engagement is now running from 19 February until 14 March, 2020.

Attached is a link to the latest news regarding the repair plans for the Brownlow Bridge in Ivinghoe, along with a link to the Freight Strategy survey itself.

Please encourage all residents and stakeholders to participate in this informal consultation as we are hoping for a robust response.

There is a display in Ivinghoe Hub and we have a few hard copies and proposal plans available at the Beacons Community Library for residents who may not have access to the internet.

Link to news article:

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/news/lorry-restriction-proposals-for-ivinghoe-freight-zone/

Freight Strategy public consultation link: 

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/transport-and-roads/transport-plans-and-policies/freight-strategy/ivinghoe-area-freight-engagement/   

Coronavirus Update

Just to remind residents concerned about Coronavirus, the current advice for anyone who has travelled to the UK from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau in the last 14 days and is experiencing cough or fever or shortness of breath, to stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if symptoms are mild.

The government is carrying out enhanced monitoring of direct flights from these areas. Passengers will be told how to report any symptoms they develop during the flight, at the time of arrival, or after leaving the airport.

These areas have been identified because of the volume of air travel from affected areas, understanding of other travel routes and number of reported cases. This list will be kept under review.

If you have returned from these specific areas since 19 February, you should call NHS 111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if you do not have symptoms:

Iran

specific lockdown areas in northern Italy as designated by the Government of Italy

‘special care zones’ in South Korea as designated by the Government of the Republic of South Korea

Hubei province (returned in the past 14 days)

If you have returned from these areas since 19 February and develop symptoms, however mild, you should stay indoors at home and avoid contact with other people immediately and call NHS 111. You do not need to follow this advice if you have no symptoms.

northern Italy (anywhere north of Pisa, Florence and Rimini)

Vietnam

Cambodia

Laos

Myanmar

However, as the advice may change as the situation develops, please consult the link below for the latest advice, which is updated frequently.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public

Transport for Bucks —-Extreme Rainfall and Flooding

As several residents have contacted me with issues regarding local gullies and surface water flooding, I appreciate their patience since we are experiencing the worst flooding in 100 years nationally.  While our teams are trying to resolve the most urgent issues first—-particularly with fallen trees across roads as well as local flooding from recent storms—-unfortunately they are currently unable to prioritise some of the maintenance and repair works as a result.

Looking longer term, however, I am can say that strategic improvements are already under way and so I thought it might be a good time to update residents on those.

As some of you may know, Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) Network Improvement Team had a busy year in 2019, particularly in one of its key areas of work – drainage improvement schemes.  In all, 29 schemes were included in the countywide programme for 2019 – 20 with the team on target to complete this programme in this financial year.

The TfB team work very closely with the Buckinghamshire County Council Strategic Flooding Team on all schemes, aiming to increase capacity and efficiency of drainage.

Ironically the drainage programme was hampered by extreme periods of heavy rainfall that can be attributed to climate change. Scientists say that as the world has warmed by 0.7C, with the atmosphere able to hold 4% more moisture, which means more potential rain. The persistent wet weather started in mid-August and continued throughout the latter part of 2019, with a series of downpours in late November bringing one of the wettest weeks in the last 50 years, causing major disruption.

Over the past few years and with the threat of increasing heavy rainfall, the TfB team developed a matrix to prioritise proposed drainage schemes.  The flood management team also advised on flood risk areas in order to include schemes to tackle flooding before they become an issue to residents.

The matrix is completed to score each proposed scheme against a set of criteria which includes road safety, property damage, local reports and time weighting. From this matrix a rolling programme of works is developed with approximately 30 schemes prioritised for delivery each year.

What else has TfB been doing to tackle the wet weather and flooding?

As well as the 29 drainage schemes the highway maintenance teams carry out a range of activities including routine gully clearing to keep the drainage flowing.

Over the last few months of extreme rainfall, it has been a challenge to keep on top of the significant additional reactive work of clearing sites where flooding or standing surface water has been identified. Often, problems lie within underground drainage pipes, or more recently the issue of a lot of water trying to enter the drainage at once, overwhelming the system.

Even if sufficient capacity exists,  gullies and pipes can also become blocked with debris, especially during autumn leaf fall.  An additional machine was brought in by TfB for a twelve week period in order to supplement the efforts of the three full time teams in the depots in the North and South of the County. Additionally, new gully machines have been purchased to upgrade existing ones, operating from the depots at Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Amersham. This will double the number of gully emptiers active on the network between April and June, combatting the effects of the winter period and preparing the network for the autumn and winter weather of 2020/21.

A new asset management software system (GullySMART) is now in use to manage over 79,000 gullies in Buckinghamshire.  The system combines mobile technology with mapping data, available on a hand held device and building a forward looking profile of required maintenance based upon historical knowledge of attendance and condition. This innovative technology will enable TfB to build a picture of the condition of the gully data, which will ultimately lead to a more focussed ‘needs based’ approach to the gully-clearing programme, concentrating on those gullies that need more frequent cleansing.

Mark Shaw Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transportation keeps a keen eye on all work in progress to manage flooding and said: “I am satisfied that this two pronged approach to gully clearing plus major schemes to address the more problem areas of highway flooding will have a significant impact however, we can’t get complacent. I am pleased that we will also be adding an additional £1 million to the routine gully clearing programme from April 2020.  We will have an extra 3 gully machines on the network between April and June giving us 6 machines to get ahead of ourselves this year, should we experience another wet autumn.”

Hopefully that will help to resolve some of the issues we are experiencing in Ivinghoe Division with flooding and surface water going forward.

Many Thanks!

As this is my last report in my capacity as your county councillor for Buckinghamshire County Council, I wanted to say what a privilege it has been for me to serve our local community.  While it is a somewhat poignant and moving time for those of us in Buckinghamshire County Council and undoubtedly also for my colleagues in Aylesbury Vale District Council and the other district councils across Buckinghamshire, I hope that the new unitary Buckinghamshire Council will be welcomed by residents and parish councils alike, and will go from strength to strength.

I would like to remind residents that the new Buckinghamshire Council comes into effect on 1^st April, 2020 and that councillor elections will take place on 7^th May, 2020.  I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all candidates good luck in those elections.

Residents have been asking the parish council when the post box on the junction of Marsworth Road and Glebe Close will be re-instated, as it was sealed up following a traffic accident.

Royal Mail advise that the repair has been requested and the box should be reinstated shortly.

The box was damaged in such a way that there is a danger of the door falling off and as the door weighs around 200 pounds Royal Mail have had to seal the box for the safety of operatives and public.

In the meantime, you can hand your letters to the post master at the Post Office in Ivinghoe or you can utilise the boxes by The Crescent, Vicarage Road or Windsor Road.

We’re inviting you to give your feedback about how safe you feel in Buckinghamshire. Your views on crime, anti-social behaviour, drugs and alcohol, will help us shape the priorities for the new Safer Buckinghamshire Community Safety Partnership and how they will work together over the next year to make Buckinghamshire a safer place to be.

The new Safer Buckinghamshire Community Safety Partnership will come into effect in April 2020 (in line with the creation of the new Buckinghamshire Council). The partners include Thames Valley Police, Bucks Fire & Rescue, the health service and probation service in Buckinghamshire and the new Buckinghamshire Council. They will work together to help reduce crime and disorder across the county.

This short survey (click the link) will only take a few minutes to complete. We want to hear from people who live or work in Buckinghamshire, your views are important to us and will help us plan our work for the future.

The survey closes on 23 February 2020.

About the Family Support Service

County Council Update

from County Cllr Anne Wight

February 2020

Freight Strategy Update

I am happy to be able to provide an update from our Freight Strategy officer with regard to the forthcoming Freight Strategy Public Consultation:

“We are at last moving toward being able to start engaging with residents and businesses on the proposal for managing freight and heavy good vehicle movements in the area known as the Ivinghoe Division. Work has started on putting together display materials, leaflets and posters along with an online survey to capture important comment from the area, feedback we can use to shape the formal consultation process. We are hoping to get the public engagement process underway in February.

In the meantime, we have reached out to affected County Councillors to inform them and gain their support. Now we are looking at meeting Parish Councillors to bring them up to speed, answer any questions they may have and to, hopefully obtain their help and support promoting what is believed to be a best available balanced solution for the communities and businesses. The first of these meetings is taking place on Tuesday 4^th of February with representatives from four Parish Councils. The second meeting for the remaining Parish Councils is being worked on to find a venue and date that works. It is important we engage with the elected bodies in the area prior to the wider public engagements. We are hopeful to get this completed before the public engagement gets underway.”

Reporting Unauthorised Encampments

An unauthorised encampment is a group of people with vehicles who are entering and staying on land without the landowner’s consent.

As you may know, the County Council’s enforcement team works closely with the district councils and Thames Valley Police to assist communities in resolving issues with encampments when they arise. However, people often have unrealistic expectations of the powers of the local authority and police to take immediate enforcement action when an encampment takes place.

In order to better explain the legal situation and processes involved, our colleagues at Thames Valley Police have produced a couple of short films which explain the law and practice in this area in a way which is both concise and easy to understand.

These films are an excellent resource for summarising the law in this area so that if an encampment occurs, there is greater awareness of the process of eviction and the limitations on police and local authority action.

The links for the films appear below.

Thames Valley Police encampments video part 1: https://youtu.be/yWQGy3DNdEE

Thames Valley Police encampments video part 2: https://youtu.be/Z-Feh6mP2VE

For further information, or to report an unauthorised encampment, please go to the County Council website for more detail.

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/environment/report-an-unauthorised-encampment

Fairer funding plea to look after Buckinghamshire’s roads

Buckinghamshire is supporting calls to the Government for a fairer slice of funding for roads, following national research that shows London has the money to invest three times the amount compared to counties.  And other major cities aren’t far behind.

Figures, produced by the County Councils Network (CCN) this week, showed the 36 shire counties in the analysis were able to spend an average £20,885 per mile on road repairs, pothole filling, and building new junctions and roads last year.  By contrast, London councils were able to spend an average £62,350 per mile.

Mark Shaw, Buckinghamshire County Council Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member, said that while the authority was investing more than £20 million in roads in the current financial year, including halving the number of potholes needing repair last year*, it was still well below what he would like to see invested to bring all the county’s roads up to scratch.

“Our road teams work tirelessly to keep our 2,000 miles of roads safe and resilient, and that includes a tremendous achievement in repairing road defects like potholes, but our budget is always under intense pressure,” said Mark.

“It’s a fact that our roads are some of the busiest in the country and without adequate funding from Government, we’ll always be playing catch-up, particularly when you think of the damage done during the three months of rain we’ve just had.”

Mark welcomed CCN lobbying on behalf of county councils to ensure a fair distribution of the new Government’s promised £2 billion for repairing potholes in the coming four years. An announcement on allocations of the first £500 million for 2020-21 is expected in the coming weeks. 
 
“The CCN analysis shows a big difference between the two sides of Buckinghamshire’s south eastern boundary;  that our county’s motorists are the poor relation to drivers in London and other cities, when it comes to spending on mending potholes and improving local roads,” said Mark.

“What’s needed is a more equitable allocation of Government funds across different council types, and a longer-term settlement for roads funding, rather than the current ad-hoc fund pots we have to bid for,” he said. “I welcome the CCN’s drive to influence the Government to correct this disparity.”

Buckinghamshire’s Family Support Service – how we can help you

Do you sometimes struggle to relate to your teen? Are you a young parent who sometimes feels isolated? Maybe you’re having difficulties with your primary school child’s behaviour.

Anyone and everyone struggles with parenting from time to time and it can be tough being a kid too! Buckinghamshire’s Family Support Service is here to help.

We have a network of 16 family centres across Buckinghamshire and new timetables for all of them have just been released. The new spring timetables run from Monday 6 January right through until Easter and there are different types of sessions at each centre.

Here are some of the courses and sessions on offer:

• “Incredible Years” parenting courses – for parents of children aged 4-10 years

• “Your Space” drop in sessions – for children in school years 7-13

• “Teen Triple P” sessions – a positive parenting programme for parents of teenagers

• “Strengthening Families” course for parents and children aged 10-14

• “Marlow Feel Good Group” for adults who’ve experienced mental health issues

• Many ‘universal’ ‘playgroup’ type drop in sessions for parents with babies and pre-school aged children

• Sessions for parents of children with disabilities or special educational needs

There are lots of other types of sessions available too – check out the Family Centre timetables at www.bucksfamilyinfo.org/familysupport. Some of the courses start later on in the term and some are bookable so take a look at all the details.

Warren Whyte is Buckinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services. He said:

“It’s great to see our new Family Centres offering such a wide range of support for local families. As people will see, we still offer lots of open sessions for parents and carers with babies and young children. But now we cater for families with children of all ages and our new timetables reflect this.

We are continuing to develop what’s on offer at all of our Family Centres and are exploring the needs of all local children and families. We welcome feedback and we aim to carry on introducing new courses depending on what local people want and need.”

• Buckinghamshire’s new Family Support Service launched by the county council in September 2019
• It aims to help local families who might be facing challenges so they can solve their problems before they reach crisis point
• The Family Support Service helps local families who are facing issues such as money problems, poor family relationships, mental health problems and problems with drugs or alcohol
• To find out more and to find out how to contact the service go to  www.bucksfamilyinfo.org/familysupport

Please be advised that BCC TfB need to carry out more extensive works this year in order to alleviate the flooding under the railway bridge on Cheddington Road.   The parish council has received the following update from BCC TfB:

“The drainage system outfalls into a ditch next to the canal bridge. This ditch needs clearing to allow the water which has backed up to flow into the ditch and canal.

It sounds simple however I need to arrange for a lot of vegetation clearance to be done to gain access to the ditch. Once this initial work has been carried out I will be sending in a contractor with a large excavator to clear the ditch. When the water can freely flow out the headwall pipe and into the ditch there should (in theory) be no further issues.

I will also arrange for the drainage system including the road gullies between the bridge and junction to be cleared.

I will be meeting our tree surgeon contractor on site next week to show him the extent of work required to clear the area. Following this meeting he should be able to undertake the work fairly quickly and then I will arrange for the ditch to be cleared.”

We are aware that a number of residents have been raising queries regarding this flood.  We are also aware that there are currently a number of flood site across the county, some of which are of a more serious nature and have required urgent attention from BCC TfB.  Please be assured that the Highways Authority is aware of the situation and does have steps in place to rectify the issue as soon as possible.  In the meantime, please take extra care in this area.

B489 Marsworth Road, Pitstone, Buckinghamshire

30 January — 03 February

Delays likely – Traffic control (Stop/Go boards)

Works location: BETWEEN PITSTONE VILLAGE ENTRY AND ROUNDABOUT AT CHEDDINGTON ROAD

Works description: DRAINAGE CLEARANCE / INVESTIGATION: EMPTY ALL GULLIES, KERB WEIRS AND FLIP TOP GULLIES ALONG LENGTH OF ROAD ON BOTH SIDES OF CARRIAGEWAY BETWEEN PITSTONE VILLAGE ENTRY AND ROUNDABOUT. JET ALL CONNECTING PIPES TO DITCH / MAIN CARRIER PIPE.

Responsibility for works: Buckinghamshire

Current status: Planned work about to start

Works reference: BH0025124225

Vicarage Road, Pitstone, Buckinghamshire

30 January — 03 February

Delays possible – Traffic control (Stop/Go boards)

Works location: BETWEEN THE PIGHTLE JUNCTION AND NO.14 VICARAGE ROAD

Works description: DRAINAGE CLEARANCE / INVESTIGATION: EMPTY ALL GULLIES AND KERB WEIRS ALONG LENGTH OF VICARAGE ROAD BETWEEN NO.14 AND THE PIGHTLE JUNCTION. JET ALL CONNECTING PIPES TO MAIN CARRIER PIPE. EMPTY ALL CATCH PITS AND JET MAIN CARRIER PIPE BETWEEN CATCH PITS IF REQUIRED.

Responsibility for works: Buckinghamshire

Current status: Planned work about to start

Works reference: BH0025124228

Vacancy for Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

Aldbury is a rural parish in the West of Hertfordshire encompassing the village of Aldbury and the neighbouring hamlet of Tring Station.  It is a thriving and friendly community, situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The council has 8 members and an annual precept (2019/20) of £20,066.  The successful applicant will be responsible for the day to day management of the parish council’s business and will also be the Responsible Financial Officer. In the execution of these duties the successful applicant will be expected to be competent in the use of appropriate computer word processing and financial packages.

In support of the general administrative aspects of the role, the successful applicant will be expected to have or to develop a strong awareness of the obligations and opportunities of the Parish Council within the local government structure of the UK and to constructively assist the Parish Council in both meeting the obligations and in representing the views of its constituents.

The position is for 8-16 hours per week and involves working from home and being prepared to store relevant Parish Council records.  The successful applicant will be expected to attend meetings of the Parish Council which typically take place on the first Monday of each month, as well as the occasional ad-hoc daytime/evening meeting when the Parish Council requires the Clerk to attend.  The successful applicant will also be expected to develop and maintain good relations within the Parish and with appropriate representatives of the Borough, County and neighbouring Parish and Town Councils.  An hourly rate in accordance with nationally agreed conditions is payable and will depend on ability and experience.

For further details please contact

Rob McCarthy (Chairman)

Tel: 01442 825534

Email: rob.mcarthy@aldburyparish.org.uk

Or               Peter Moore (Vice Chairman)

Tel: 01442 851337 or 07973 752744

Email: peter.moore@aldburyparish.org.uk

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 25 February 2020.

Ivinghoe and Pitstone

Veg & Flower Show 2020 –

Craft challenges to get

working on this winter,  ready

 for Autumn Show 2020!

1 Design and arrange ribbons to form a ‘wearable’ bouquet.

2 Sew, Crochet something practical that becomes an art object too. 20cms cube max.

3 Cross stitch a framed addition to any Nursery.        A4 max.

4 Knit a wearable necklace – free choice of materials to knit with.

5 Cut, fix and build up a pop-up Card to delight someone. A4 max

6 Make a fascinator to wear – out of beads, wire and feathers.

7 Photograph an unusual portrait of a living being & frame it. A4 max.

8 ‘Skyward looking’ – any size & medium, unframed.

Belated ‘HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020’ to you all out there in our community, and following on from our very delightful pre-Christmas Wintry Marketing sparkly evening last November – thankyou to all those who came to buy your original Christmas presents and through this support our Community Hub, saved by we ordinary villagers to support the wider community. May we all have many happy 2020 gatherings together throughout the colder first months; Spring Market and Easter egg Hunts, then on through the basking summer to follow with its own Summery Market on the Cafes Birthday in mid-June; and then on into the Autumn with its inevitable harvests celebrating its Hub and Town Hall Veggie Show on our Autumn Market day, showing off all your own Flowers, Veggies, Crafts and Produce; then later preparing for Midwinter again.
We the volunteer trustees are hoping that your own New Year’s resolutions include supporting all the community run offerings in the neighbourhood which depend on that support and were created for your own and everyone’s wellbeing whilst living in this rural community. Your own positive support is the key ingredient otherwise we all disappear, sadly!
Our Hub hall bookings welcome your use for parties, wakes, meetings, teaching and learning spaces in a variety of subjects like Crafts and Music and fitness translated into several exercising classes throughout the week. The rental for this whole Hub hall space at £12 first hour, then £10 for each hour after or for a screened off half Hub Hall space its £9 for the first hour and £7 each following hour.
This rental fee pays for all our replacement furniture, Computer and Café Kitchen equipment, structural replacements, re-decoration and volunteer DIY, whilst the Café tenants rent pays our utilities. Volunteers are always welcome to offer their own donated time, to work alongside the Trustee voluntary crew in undertaking this DIY on your behalf. We are looking to find community volunteers to work alongside us to make our lovely independent Community Hub sustainable well into the future so please contact us if you are active and generous with a wee bit of spare time!
To start the year 2020 Quizzes in the Café are planned we hear, and we the Hub Volunteer trustee back room crew plan, a lively pancake flipping Shrove Tuesday and a loving Valentine Day whereat love for our neighbours, friends, family, pets and each other is celebrated all day 14th February. By the end of February the expensive replacement of all our original 1867 ancient and now battered and shredded well used and loved floorboards will have been replaced by strong but suitably matching aged boards all paid for by a Grant which we had won! Please come down and fill the Hub with love and laughter, living up to what we as a community saved the building for!
ivinghoeoldschoolcommunityhub@btconnect.cm
Ivinghoe Old School Hub Facebook page;
Website Ivinghoe Old School.com
Thanks Carol Tarrant Chair of Hub.

As we move toward the coldest months of the year Aylesbury Vale District Council is working in partnership with the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust to extend our current severe weather emergency provision (SWEP) accommodation for the entire months of January and February this year.

If you are sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough on the streets of Aylesbury Vale  please  contact a member of the Housing Team on 01296 585168  or visit our offices at The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury Bucks, HP19 8FF during office hours to access accommodation or contact our out of hours number 0800 999 7677.

If you see anyone sleeping rough you can also contact StreetLink via http://streetlink.org.uk or phone 0300 500 0914, who will notify our outreach teams so that assistance can be provided. If you are worried about the welfare of an individual please call the police on 999.

Please see the following information from the AVDC Licencing team.

At present we are trying to track down all schools, doctors surgeries, parish councils and village organisations to make sure they are not in need of registering for a Small Society License. Small Society Lotteries are often referred to as raffles or draws and can be a good way to raise funds for charitable purposes as well as your society, organisation or as a PTA. If money is paid for the chance to win a prize where no skill, judgement or knowledge affects the outcome, this is known as a lottery. There is an exemption to this and that is if all of the tickets are sold on the same day as the draw, for example at a fête or dance, this wouldn’t need registering.

The application fee for initial registration is £40. Once registered the society needs to pay an annual fee of £20, this fee needs to be paid before each anniversary of the date of registration. You’ll also need to send us a return form no later than three months after you have carried out your draw. To register with us you here or if you would like further information on small society lotteries you can visit our website here or visit the gambling commission website bellow.

For further information you can contact the licensing team with the following details; 01296 585605 or Licensing@aylesburryvaledc.gov.uk

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/for-the-public/Fundraising-and-promotions/Fundraising/Small-society-lotteries.aspx

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/news/repair-plans-for-ivinghoe-canal-bridge/

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year, and I sincerely hope that the coming year may be one of peace and prosperity for all the residents of Ivinghoe Division.  I would also like to welcome you to the final edition of my newsletter as your county councillor for Buckinghamshire County Council. With  the new unitary Buckinghamshire Council starting  on the 1^st of April, it won’t be long now until the brand new council comes into effect.

I would also like to thank all the residents and local businesses who kindly donated presents to our Christmas Present Appeal for children in care across  Buckinghamshire.  The gifts meant so much to the growing number of looked after children in our care for whom Christmas can be a very difficult time.   Thanks very much on behalf of Buckinghamshire County Council to everyone who took the time to remember our looked after children this Christmas.

New ‘Council Access Points’

One of the key features of the new unitary Council  will include improving the way that local residents can get  on the spot access to council services. This will be through a network of new local bases called Council Access Points, supporting the new unitary council to be closer to its communities and making it simpler for people to get the information and support they need and nearer to where they live and work.

The Council Access Points (CAPs) will be based at the heart of local community life in existing buildings throughout Buckinghamshire Staff will be on hand to help, people, and support them with online services.

Five ‘Access Plus’ centres, located in the current council offices in the county’s main towns, will offer extra services from Monday to Friday for residents who have more complex enquiries.

Other Council Access Points will operate from existing buildings, such as libraries, spread across the county stretching from Buckingham in the north to Burnham in the south. The locations of these will be confirmed and promoted as part of the launch preparations for Buckinghamshire Council which will go live in April 2020.

Once the Council Access Points are up and running, Buckinghamshire Council will start work on the next phase. The ambition is to evolve the access points to create wider one-stop community hubs based in multi-purpose buildings at the heart of community life.

Residents will  also be able to get support from different services such as the police, town and parish councils, visitor services and community groups all in one place. We will ask residents and communities to help co-design these facilities to meet local needs.

Cllr Martin Tett, Leader of the Shadow Executive said: “Whilst we’re seeing a lot more people access our services online, we know that sometimes our residents need to speak to someone face to face. Having access points dotted across the county will mean that people will be able to speak to someone to get the help and advice they need, close to where they live.  It’s really important that the new council doesn’t become distant from its communities so it makes absolute sense to use existing places like council offices and libraries that people are used to visiting, to provide local support and advice for those who need it.”

We are also in the process of setting up the Community Boards, which will replace the current Local Area Forums.  The results from the recent consultation will be analysed to ensure resident input while the format of the Community Boards is finalized, so thank you very much if you were able to help us out with that consultation.

For those who may not know, the Community Boards are a way of bringing together Buckinghamshire Council councillors with local communities to help solve local issues and to provide a vital link between the council, elected councillors and communities. These local issues could include improving facilities for young people, tackling social isolation of older people or helping to set up a community bus.  It is hoped that they will enable Buckinghamshire Council councillors to take decisions on local issues, alongside key partners including other community representatives, and allow Buckinghamshire Council councillors to work with communities to influence service design and delivery on local issues.

We want Community Boards to involve everyone in the local area who wants to make a difference and work with the new council to do this.  We’re proposing that Buckinghamshire Council councillors from the local area would sit on their local board. To be effective, community boards would also need to include people and organisations from the local community such as fire services, police and health, residents, parish and town councils and young people.

Hopefully, Community Boards will give residents greater influence on how services are run locally as well as contact with elected members and key stakeholders.

Transport for Bucks Update

I met with the Capital Maintenance Programme team in November and was able to prioritise the remainder of Cheddington High Street for resurfacing works in Spring 2020.   The resurfacing will be done from  the tennis courts through the rest of the High Street, and Mentmore Road down to the mini double roundabout on Station Road.  The preliminary patching for this work started before Christmas, and hopefully the smoother surface will improve some of the vibration and noise disturbance from traffic for residents along Mentmore Road.

On another note, Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) was recently announced as the overall winner of the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Global Award – “Improving Customer Service through Collaboration” at the Institute of Asset Management awards on 27 November 2019.

TfB was successful in winning by making a step change in improved customer service. This was achieved by focusing and engaging elected County Councillors and executive management on asset management principles, ongoing Member meetings and increased stakeholder engagement. The result is a far better customer journey as well as genuine improvements in the highways asset.

In attendance at the awards ceremony were Rob Smith, Director of Growth, Strategy and Highways Services at Buckinghamshire County Council, Andy Denman Operations Director for Ringway Jacobs and BCC political leaders along with the Transport for Buckinghamshire Asset team and Jacobs’ colleagues, who have been instrumental in achieving this success, once more demonstrating this successful and collaborative partnership.

The IAM received a huge number of entries for their annual awards this year, with excellent entries from around the globe covering a wide range of sectors. Their judges felt that the quality of the nominations was exceptional, highlighting pioneering achievements, outstanding international practice and great leadership in asset management.

TfB was very pleased for the hard work and collaborative approach from both Officers and Members to be recognised by such a well-respected, professional body, particularly given the strength of competition, globally, and across all sectors. The award builds upon the recognition the Asset Management approach had through the achievement of ISO 55001 Accreditation and the very real benefits of achieving Band 3 DfT Incentive funding.

It’s encouraging to see the service improvements for residents that TfB have made and hopefully will continue to make going forward.

Health and Wellbeing

I thought it might be useful to remind everyone of the Bucks Health and Wellbeing website initiatives which can be found on the main website below.

One thing worth pointing out on the overall page is the link to the Heads Up website which relates specifically to men’s emotional and mental health and wellbeing.

Heads Up exists to help men stay happy. They have a toolbox that can help men overcome common issues like having trouble with sleeping, feeling low and money worries and even an online check-up to help you assess your wellbeing, as well as information on different ways to get support.

If you know a man that might be feeling a bit down or blue, have a look at our Support a Man page.  Contacts are also available for men who might want to discuss some of the issues they are facing or anything which they are struggling with.

Do please check out the services on offer below, as well as ideas and tips on how we can all live healthier lives in 2020.

http://www.healthandwellbeingbucks.org/home

http://www.thisisheadsup.org/s4s/WhereILive/Council?pageId=3717

In closing, as this is my final submission as your county councillor for Buckinghamshire County Council, I would just like to say that I have felt very privileged to have been elected to serve the Ivinghoe Division throughout the past three years.  It has been really lovely to have met so many of you at various local events or through my work at BCC, and it has been a very enriching experience for me to have had a chance to help serve the local community.  Going forward, I am certain that the new Buckinghamshire Council will benefit from all the support and goodwill which Ivinghoe Division residents and parish councils can provide, and I am sure that the new council working with our communities will go from strength to strength.

ttro-application-form-mk-new-115751373-3198181 ched high st

Please find above a copy of the road closure information for Cheddington High Street to enable urgent carriageway repairs.

The diversion will go past Cooks Wharf, onto Marsworth Road and up through Ivinghoe.  Please therefore be especially vigilant at the junction past the sports pavilion & railway bridge on Marsworth Road, as there may be an increased level of traffic trying to turn left out of this difficult junction, or traffic stationary on Marsworth Road as they wait to turn into it.

Are you keeping it real this Christmas?

If so, Buckinghamshire Recycling Centres can compost your tree after Christmas for free!
Just bring it to any of our nine household recycling centres and we’ll do the rest.
(We can only compost the real ones though, no baubles or tinsel either)

Tree too big to take to the recycling centre?  Not enough time? Want to help local charity?

1st Ivinghoe & Pitstone Scout Group will be collecting Christmas Trees to raise funds for a new scout hut on the following weekends: Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 January, plus Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 January 2020.  If you would like to donate £5 and have your tree collected, please contact Natalie on 07956 197777 or message them through their Facebook page “Friends of 1st Ivinghoe and Pitstone Scout Group”.

Subscribe to the Brown Bin Garden Waste service?

Residents who have subscribed to AVDC’s garden waste service can put natural Christmas trees, wreaths, holly and mistletoe in their brown garden waste bin. Trees should be cut into small pieces before placing in the brown bin and all decorations and metal should be removed first. Garden waste collections will recommence in February.

Please don’t fly-tip your Christmas trees, wreaths and plant displays into the woodland or fields around our village.  Fly-tipping is a criminal offence.

Top tips for keeping healthy this winter:

https://mybucks.buckscc.gov.uk/november-2019/latest-news/these-are-our-top-tips-for-keeping-well-this-winter

Winter Driving Module from Bucks CC helps to refresh your memory and provide some top tips for driving over the coming months:

http://buckinghamshire.edrivingsolutions.com/ModuleList.aspx

B489 Marsworth Road, Pitstone, Buckinghamshire

27 November — 29 November

Delays likely – Traffic control (two-way signals)

Works location: BETWEEN CHEDDINGTON RD / VICARAGE RD ROUNDABOUT AND WESTFIELD ROD JUNCTION

Works description: MINOR WORKS – DITCH CLEARANCE: CLEAR FULL LENGTH OF DITCH LINE BETWEEN HEAD WALL LOCATED APPROX 100M NORTH EAST OF WESTFIELD ROAD JUNCTION UP TO HEAD WALL LOCATED NEAR BUS STOP JUST BACK FROM ROUNDABOUT. ALL SPOIL TO BE REMOVED FROM SITE. ENSURE DITCH IS EXCAVATED TO A DEPTH BELOW INLET LEVELS OF KERB WEIR OUTFALL PIPES. APPROX 190M OF DITCH TO CLEAR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: 2 WAY TRAFFIC LIGHTS (Drainage – blocked)

Responsibility for works: Buckinghamshire

Current status: Planned work about to start

Works reference: BH0025124245

Annual Christmas Present appeal

The County Council has launched its annual Christmas present appeal to help Buckinghamshire’s vulnerable children and young people.

The annual appeal, now in its fifth year, sees County Council employees and county councillors donate Christmas presents throughout November and December for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people across the county. The presents will be handed over to children and young people by members of the council’s Children’s Services teams in time for Christmas.

Tolis Vouyioukas, Executive Director for Children’s Services, said: “Our employees are fantastic, caring people and for the last few years they’ve really committed to supporting our appeal by donating many hundreds, if not thousands, of presents.

“We are thrilled to be running the collection again this year as we know how much all our staff want to help make Christmas that little bit better for children who otherwise might not receive much. I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to every member of staff who brings in a present; it will make a real and tangible difference to the disadvantaged families we work with.

“Supporting us with the appeal again this year are a number of local residents, community organisations and businesses who together provide a lot of support, for which we are very grateful.”

If any residents wish to donate gifts, these are always very much appreciated by the children, and can be dropped off at county hall reception in Aylesbury.

Donation guidelines:

We would welcome gifts for children aged from babies to 19 years old, male or female

There are more disadvantaged children in the 10 – 16 age range than any other – so we do need most gifts for that age range

We ask that you leave the gift unwrapped so that we know what gender and age the present is for

London Luton Airport Expansion Consultation and information

Luton Airport’s Statutory consultation for the proposed expansion from 18 to 32 million passengers per year will continue to run until 16th December.

Residents might wish to review expansion proposals and reports on the Future Luton website below in order to fully understand the key issues under discussion during the consultation.

https://futureluton.llal.org.uk

https://futureluton.llal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/LLAL-consultation-dates.pdf

Help test the new Website

In April 2020, the five councils in Buckinghamshire will be replaced by a new unitary authority called Buckinghamshire Council. As part of this transition, we are creating a new website.

We are looking for local people to give us feedback on the design and usability of the new site. If you live in Buckinghamshire and you’re willing to help us, please sign up to help.

What does this involve?

Over the next year we will be moving all the information on the current five council websites to the new website for Buckinghamshire Council.

If you sign up, we will send you regular (no more than monthly) emails asking you to complete testing online or inviting you to take part in face-to-face sessions.

Online testing will involve short 5-10 min tasks.

Face-to-face sessions will be held in the current five council buildings. They will last approximately 30-40 mins and involve testing the website and a short interview. £25 of shopping vouchers will be offered for your time and travel for the face to face sessions.

You can sign up or opt out at any time by going to the Shadow Authority website and accessing the link below or by going to the homepage and clicking on the “News” heading in the top frame.

https://shadow.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/help-us-test-our-new-website/

Freight Strategy Officer Update

I am pleased to be able to provide a progress update from our Freight Strategy officer, Graham Hillary:

“I must thank all the residents and businesses in the Ivinghoe Division for their patience and consideration during the Brownlow Bridge restriction period. It has been clear that some places have seen reduced Heavy Goods Vehicle flows whilst others have seen increased numbers. I appreciate the inconvenience experienced along with concerns about listed buildings, roads and the schools in the area.

The restriction was introduced as a result of a Canals and Rivers Trust survey that raised concerns about the weight bearing capacity of the bridge. For safety reasons it was critical to restrict use of the bridge by large goods vehicles while we worked on how to proceed. In order to protect the structure from further deterioration and to support the local businesses that employ hundreds of residents, approval was given to repair the bridge and maintain its role as part of the highway infrastructure.

The role of the Brownlow Bridge moving forward will be as part of a wider area approach focused on delivering the adopted freight strategy. The strategy has clear objectives to:

• ensure HGV traffic stays off unsuitable roads, minimising the negative impact on residents and the environment;
• promote the use of preferred routes for HGVs; and
• Offer support for business to deliver the county’s aspirations for growth.

The proposal is being finalised for internal Bucks County Council approval, after which it is expected to be subject to public consultation. It is important that the approach is presented in the right forum to help gather constructive comment to help shape the final proposal. I look forward to the consultation and the opportunity to position what I believe is a good proposal, I welcome the chance to meet with many residents and work together to improve things in the area.”

New contact points for new Buckinghamshire Council

People in Buckinghamshire will be able to visit an expanded range of  locations for face to face information and advice on services of the new Buckinghamshire Council from April next year.

The Shadow Executive for the new council looked at how residents will be able to get on the spot access to council services through a network of local bases called Council Access Points, supporting the new unitary council to be close to its communities and making it simpler for people to get the information and support they need.

When the new Buckinghamshire Council comes into being on 1 April 2020, Buckinghamshire residents will be able to access information, advice and support on a range of topics near where they live or work.  The Council Access Points (CAPs) will be based at the heart of local community life in existing buildings throughout Buckinghamshire.

Residents will be able to get face to face help on the spot from staff in locations they currently use to access council services. Staff will be on hand to guide people, signpost them to help, support them with online services and in some locations discuss more complex issues.

Five ‘Access Plus’ centres, located in the current council offices in the county’s main towns, will offer extra services from Monday to Friday for residents who have more complex enquiries.

Other Council Access Points will operate from  existing buildings, such as libraries, spread across the county stretching from Buckingham in the north to Burnham in the south. The locations of these will be confirmed and promoted as part of the launch preparations for Buckinghamshire Council which will go live in April 2020.

Once the Council Access Points are up and running, Buckinghamshire Council will start work on the next phase. The ambition is to evolve the access points to create wider one-stop community hubs based in multi-purpose buildings at the heart of community life.

Residents will ideally be able to access information about a wide range of topics, enjoy a social space and get support from different services such as the police, town and parish councils, visitor services and community groups all in one place. We will ask residents and communities to help co-design these facilities to meet local needs.

Whilst services will easily be accessible online, sometimes residents need to speak to someone face to face. Having access points dotted across the county will mean that people will be able to speak to someone to get the help and advice they need, close to where they live.  More information on the Council Access Points will be forthcoming over the next few months, so I will be keeping everyone informed as to further developments.

Christmas Tree Collection

In aid of 1st Ivinghoe and Pitstone Scout Group

We will be collecting Christmas Trees to raise funds for our new hut on the following weekends.   If you would like to donate £5 and have your tree collected, please contact Natalie on 07956 197777 or message through our Facebook group “Friends of 1st Ivinghoe and Pitstone Scout Group”.

Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 January 2020.

Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 January 2020.

College Lake Artists are busy throwing clay, painting canvases, printmaking, fusing glass and soldering silver and jewels all in preparation for our end of year Festive Fair.

As always we would be delighted to see you so please save the dates in your diary and come on over.

College Lake Nature Reserve, Tring

The Scout Christmas Post is back for 2019.

This Christmas why not support your local Scouts and save yourself some time posting Christmas cards around the villages by using the Scout Christmas post instead?

You can buy the special Scout stamps from St Marys Christmas Market on 16 November and then from local retailers.  Stick them on your cards and post them in one of our many special post boxes dotted around the villages.

The Scouts will ensure that all cards posted by the ‘last post’ will be delivered before Christmas.

Look out for the posters, check their facebook page (1st Ivinghoe & Pitstone Scout Group) and village web sites for more information.

Our Winter Driving campaign is now live!

If you’re an avid listener of Mix 96, you may have heard our Winter Driving campaign! Throughout November and December, Mix 96 will be playing our Winter Driving tips throughout the day! Some of our advice includes:

• Remember, gritted roads may still be icy!
• Check your tyres, lights and screenwash before travelling
• Before driving, check weather and travel reports
• In bad weather, allow more time for your journey

In addition to tips shared on the radio, we also have a banner on the Mix 96 website, promoting our award winning Winter Driving Module. If you are yet to take the module, you can do so right here: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/transport-and-roads/road-safety/winter-driving/winter-driving-online-module/

Now that we are properly into the swing of winter season at TfB, we will also be promoting these messages across the Travel Safe Bucks social media (@travelsafebucks on Twitter and Travel Safe Bucks on Facebook) as well as on TfB social media.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Yes, the festive period is fast approaching! There will be staff do’s and parties, gatherings with friends and families and loved ones… all of which have the potential to include alcohol. As well as discussing safe Winter driving, we will also be taking time over the next couple of months to promote information about drink driving – or rather, not drink driving! We will be sharing information about the Morning After app, running an email campaign with local businesses (including Arla) to share among their staff and spreading the message far and wide about the importance of knowing when you’re over the limit, the affect alcohol can have on you the morning after and organising a lift/taxi home after a party! Look out for all of this across our social media channels and on the Portal so you can stay up to date with everything.

Other interesting road safety news…

• Texting drivers brought to a “dead halt”… http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/texting-drivers-brought-to-a-dead-halt/
• New campaign highlights the consequences of drink driving http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/campaign-highlights-the-consequences-of-drink-driving/
• Government to tighten up mobile phone laws http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/government-to-tighten-up-mobile-phone-laws/

We hope you have found this email useful, and as always, please feel free to share any of the information inside with residents of your Parish in whichever way is appropriate.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/travelsafebucks) and like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TravelSafeBucks) to stay up to date with all that we’re up to in between updates!

Santa needs your help!

Santa is desperately short of helpers this year, to accompany his float and collect door-to-door.

The dates that he hopes to come to Pitstone (if enough helpers come forward) are :

Mon 16 Dec – Castlemead Area (starts Westfield & Corfe Road)

Tues 17 Dec  – Pitstone Village (starts Cheddington Road / Marsworth Rd)

No need to dress up as an elf, though a Christmas hat would be festive if you have one.

This is a lovely event for the local children and a very important fundraising event for the local hospice, so please support it if you can.

If you would like to volunteer to walk along the route with the float and collect door to door (they are also looking for a Santa for 17 December)  please email volunteer@renniegrove.org .  They are hoping that lots of you lovely people come forward as presently, volunteer numbers are really low so the float won’t be able to attend.

From April 2020, the new Buckinghamshire Council will be responsible for providing all current county and district council services for all 546,000 residents of Buckinghamshire. This includes waste and recycling collections, roads and transport, education and learning, health and social care, planning where new housing goes or making use of our many parks, libraries and leisure centres.

It is really important that all residents across Buckinghamshire are able to have their say on what they think is important for the future of the new council and our county.

You can complete the short online survey until 25 November, which will take less than 10 minutes. You can also drop into one of the main council offices or our main libraries to take part – these are Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough.

Winter Warmth ad A5

Heart of Bucks Winter Warmth Campaign information

We are currently seeking the support of concerned community groups to help us in our campaign to develop our Winter Warmth fund. This is an emergency fund which provides much needed support to vulnerable people who are struggling with adverse weather conditions, whether through excessive fuel bills or lack of warm winter clothing or bedding.

One of the main focusses for our campaign is to encourage those who are entitled to Winter Fuel payments, but are not personally in need of the payment, to donate it to help those worse off than themselves. The benefit of donating such a payment to a charity is that, if donors are taxpayers, they can gift aid their donation and instantly increase the value by 25%.

See the above poster for contact information etc.

Home to School Transport

As a few families have contacted me regarding the recent changes for some students towards the commercial bus services, I thought it might be useful to summarise some of the key points here.

Last week the County Council announced the roll-out of over 1400 commercially-run school bus places. These places will convert from the current arrangement of being commissioned by the Council to be provided by external, commercial operators from Monday 4 November.

We have set up some commercial routes Q&A webpages to help parents and carers understand these changes and address any questions or concerns they may have about how the new commercial routes will work.

How will the transfer to commercial routes work?

Parents of children who are moving to commercial routes from 4 November have been informed that they will need to make contact with the new operators by early December to confirm and pay for their transport arrangements for the term starting in January 2020.

We have written to all parents moving to commercial routes with detailed information on the changes and what they need to do. This letter also reassures parents that they do not need to take any action immediately because their transport is already confirmed on the new commercial route from 4 November to end December.

For those parents who have already paid the County Council in full for an annual school transport bus pass, we are arranging refunds for the remainder of the school year from January 2020. The refunds will be processed during November so that parents have cleared funds returned to them before the end of November, before needing to pay anything further direct to the new operator in early December. We are also making transfer arrangements for those who currently pay by direct debit.

All temporary bus passes currently in use will remain valid for this term until end of December, when families will receive an updated pass from the operator for the January term, after having confirmed their travel with the new operator.

Commercial route timetables:

Some of these commercial services will run on a different timetable. For the passengers the timetable changes apply to, we have contacted families in advance to make sure they understand the changes to their particular service and are prepared for when the changes come into operation on 4 November. A small number of journeys are lengthened by 20 or 25 minutes, but the majority of journeys (55.6%) will stay the same with no changes, with 21.5% having a shorter journey time overall.

Commercial routes open to the public to use:

A number of the commercial routes will be open for the wider public to use and therefore will not be dedicated for school children. We have been successfully placing children onto public routes for some time as part of our standard practice and many other councils across the UK operate on the same basis. In practice, we find the majority of passengers using public school routes are school students.

We have ensured there is a commitment from the commercial route operators that they will deliver to the standard we would expect from our commissioned routes. This includes a commitment to ensuring appropriate safeguarding of children whilst travelling, and assurances that operators will not make major changes to route timings or prices part-way through the year.

There are a number of benefits to the use of commercial bus services for school age passengers; ticket prices are often cheaper for all users of the bus services and the services are more sustainable in the longer-term. Importantly, these services also provide additional travel options for the wider community including those residents who only have access to public transport.

More information on this can be accessed on the BCC webpage at the links below:

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/news/over-1400-commercially-run-school-bus-places-to-be-created-for-students/

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/education/school-transport/commercially-run-school-routes/

London Luton Airport Expansion Consultation and information

Luton Airport’s Statutory consultation for the proposed expansion from 18 to 32 million passengers per year will run from 16th October until 16th December.

Residents might wish to review expansion proposals and reports on the Future Luton website below in order to fully understand the key issues under discussion during the consultation.

https://futureluton.llal.org.uk

I was happy to see so many residents in attendance and engaging the Luton airport representatives at the Dagnall Village Hall consultation event on 29^th October.  The informative displays provoked a fair few questions from residents regarding the expansion and new plans for improved surface access, air quality issues and many other aspects of the expansion.

Do please come along to these for the chance to ask your questions directly to the airport representatives and to learn more about the consultation process.

In our area these are as follows, although the complete list can be accessed via the link below.

Friday 1^st November – Pitstone Memorial Hall 2 – 8 pm

Thursday 14 November – Aylesbury The Gateway, Gatehouse Road 4 – 8 pm

Wednesday 4 December – Tring, Nora Grace Hall, Faversham Close 2 – 8 pm

https://futureluton.llal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/LLAL-consultation-dates.pdf

Street Lighting fault reporting

As we have now set the clocks back, we are all facing the return of darker shorter days and longer nights. In preparation for this, Transport for Bucks has been working on improving street lighting through two distinct areas of work, which have been taking place alongside the normal maintenance operations:

• LED street lighting replacement and
• Lamp column replacement programme.

As some residents have asked me specifically about BCC’s programme to put LED lighting in place, I am pleased to say that BCC successfully bid for ‘SALIX’ funding to enable the installation of even more energy saving lighting LED lighting across the County. This will see the replacement of 2443 lanterns in residential areas. Work commenced in late July and will be completed by the end of October.

Over the previous 2 years, 14,000 lanterns were replaced with LEDs – an energy saving of 1.4M kW/h, which helps to counter increasing energy prices, as well as reducing carbon emissions. The additional replacements will give a further 650,000kW/h of energy savings.

By the end of the 2019/20 financial year, a massive 66% of the lighting stock will be LEDs, with an additional project taking place in early 2020 to replace a further 2500 lanterns.

TfB teams have also been working tirelessly to replace age expired lamp columns. By the end of November, over 400, which have been identified upon inspection as age expired, will have been replaced.

Where columns are inspected and are found to have significant damage, it may be necessary to cut the column down to a stump for safety reasons. If this is the case, TfB will make every effort to replace these units as swiftly as possible. In addition to columns on the annual replacement programme, a constant rolling programme is in place to install new columns where they have been damaged, for example, in road traffic collisions. So far in 2019/20 over 140 such lighting columns have been replaced. An additional 40 are also due for replacement.

When the problem lies with the electricity supplier

Sometimes members of the public report failed lights to us that have stopped working due to an underground electrical supply fault. When this is the case, TfB is not able to repair the fault, because the cables are owned and maintained by the electricity companies for the area and only they are allowed to carry out repairs.  However, TfB works closely with all three electricity companies who have equipment within the County to try and get these repaired as quickly as possible, but these repairs can be complex in nature and take some time to fix. This is why, occasionally, a reported street light could be out of service for some time. When this occurs, new temporary signs will be fixed to the lighting column to alert the public that TfB is aware of the problem but that they are waiting for the electricity company to address the issue. This will reduce the need for the public to repeat reporting such faults.

How to report a fault

Residents can report street lighting faults using the link below:

fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk

TfB does not maintain every streetlight in the County, however when trying to report a street lighting fault via fix my street, this will be made clear. It may be the responsibility of the Town or Parish Council in which case a link, which directs you to find owner is provided.

New Buckinghamshire Council Budget Priorities Consultation running until 25 November, 2019

The major services that our councils provide in Buckinghamshire play a part in all of our lives in some way on a daily basis. Whether that’s through waste and recycling collections, roads and transport, education and learning, health and social care, planning where new housing goes or making use of our many parks, libraries and leisure centres.

As we plan for the new Buckinghamshire Council, which will replace the county and district councils from April next year, it’s important that we take a look at our priorities and focus on the needs of all the people of Buckinghamshire and the future challenges we face as a county.

As one council, there will be many opportunities for us to bring services together better and improve the lives of our residents, businesses and communities.

We continue to face some very big challenges across the county:

• Our population is growing rapidly, which means more young children needing school places and more people needing our services .
• People are living longer, which means more elderly people needing help or care and the type of services that people need from us is getting more complex.
• The number of houses in the county is growing, which means more people who need every day services like waste and recycling collections, as well as the additional pressure on us to provide new roads, schools and other infrastructure to serve these new and growing communities.
• The lack of affordable housing means some people are struggling to afford to own or rent a home privately, which leads to an increase in people needing social housing.
• We are amongst the increasing number of councils who no longer receive any central government funding for day to day services.

As one council, there will be many opportunities to improve services, making it simpler and easier for you to get the services you need. In keeping the new council local, you will also be able to access information and advice about services from places close to where you live across the county.

There is no doubt that having one organisation across the council will reduce costs and duplication, but this will take time. We expect that over the next 4-5 years we will begin to see the fruits of coming together as one organisation, reducing costs by £18m by working smarter together.

But for now, we still have a job to do in balancing the books next year.

We have statutory responsibilities – things we that we must legally do, like safeguarding vulnerable children and adults, and providing schools and education. These are our biggest and growing areas of spending.

It is also important to note that the day to day money for running of our schools is not set or controlled by the council; this goes directly to schools from government.

We are now working to set the priorities and budget for the new Buckinghamshire Council for the next financial year, 2020/21 and beyond. In doing this we will need to make some difficult decisions about the level of spending across the board – making changes in how we provide some services by working smarter together, improving and ensuring a consistent level of service for residents across the whole county . We will also be investing in working closely with the community and local partners to ensure they are involved in decision-making and can influence the direction of the new council through new Community Boards.

We want to hear from you to help shape the new Buckinghamshire Council, tell us what you think we should be focusing on across all the services that you receive.

You can complete the online survey using the link below (open until 25 November) which will take less than 10 minutes. You can also drop into one of the main council offices or our main libraries to take part – these are Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough.

We are ready and waiting to hear your views.

https://shadow.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/consultations/budget2020/

For more information on building the budget, residents can also look at the link below:

https://shadow.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/consultations/budget2020/building-the-budget/

Winter is here! Are you clued up about Winter Driving?

14^th October marked the start of the ‘winter season’ here – we’re now ready and waiting to start gritting when the temperature drops!

With lower temperatures and winter weather, it means there are more risks to consider when driving or using the roads. Last year, we launched our award-winning Winter Driver Module, to help people out with driving in winter weather conditions. This module aims to inform people about driving during the winter period, as well as advising them how to prepare for the worst (do you know what you should have in the boot of your car in case you get stuck in the snow? Take the module to find out…)

It is crucial that we issue reminders, information and safety advice about winter driving every year, so please feel free to take our Winter Driving Module if you haven’t already (or if you have, take it again to remind yourself of everything included!) and please also feel free to share the link across your Parish social media channels, email lists etc. The more people who take the module, the better prepared drivers can be during the winter period!

You can find the module here: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/transport-and-roads/road-safety/winter-driving/winter-driving-online-module/

In addition to re-promoting the module, we also have a winter driving radio campaign going live from 1^st November 2019 on Mix 96. This campaign will run throughout the whole of November and December with plenty of winter driving tips and information being shared every day across the station and on their website too. Make sure you tune in to have a listen!

As always, we will be sharing plenty of info across our social media channels and blogs – make sure you follow us on Twitter (@travelsafebucks) and like us on Facebook (Travel Safe Bucks) so you can stay up to date with everything.

Remember to make use of the Morning After Calculator!

The festive season is fast approaching – we have Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year. From here on in, a lot of people spend a large portion of this final segment of the year making rather merry with their family, friends and work colleagues!

We want everybody to have a good time, enjoying staff Christmas do’s and family get togethers. If alcohol is involved, please make sure that you arrange for a taxi or lift home and don’t get behind the wheel.

It’s also important to consider whether or not you should be getting behind the wheel the next day. People don’t always realise how long it takes for alcohol to pass through the body, and that they might still be over the drink-drive limit the morning after. A handy tool you can use is the brilliant Morning After app. This app has been produced to help people calculate roughly when it will be safe to drive the morning after drinking alcohol. It can also help people to calculate when they need to stop drinking alcohol if they need to drive the following morning.

The app is available to download free of charge, or can be used online at http://morning-after.org.uk

We will be hosting an event at Arla for all Arla employees in a few weeks’ time to educate them about how long alcohol stays in the system and to help them to stay safe over the festive period. We will also be serving them some of our unique mocktails as a festive treat from us to them! This will be in conjunction with a three part email campaign that will launch at the start of December. More to come on this closer to the time!

Safe Drive, Stay Alive 2019

Once again, we will be working local emergency service teams to deliver the successful Safe Drive, Stay Alive shows to thousands of pupils across Buckinghamshire at the Wycombe Swan Theatre in just two weeks’ time. The shows are always impactful and hard hitting and leave students with a very important message about the importance of being a responsible driver, passenger and all round road user. With appearances from a victim of a serious car accident, the mother of someone who lost her son to a car accident, paramedics, doctors, police officers and firemen, the stories shared are very emotional, and very real.

If you’ve booked to come and see one of the shows this year, we look forward to seeing you there J

Interesting Road Safety News…

• 80mph motorway speed limit – the wrong message, or time for change? http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/80mph-motorway-speed-limit-the-wrong-message-or-time-for-change/
• Speeding has become ‘socially acceptable’ – TfL http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/speeding-has-become-socially-acceptable-tfl/
• Film aims to turn the tide against road danger http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/film-aims-to-turn-the-tide-against-road-danger/

St Mary’s Church (Ivinghoe) Christmas Market needs your donations of good quality toys and puzzles, books, wine, tombola prizes, unwanted gifts, baskets or paper gift bags, raffle prizes, chocolates, cakes and mince pies.

Please leave all donations inside the main church on the pews to the left as you go in.   The church is open every day.

Thank you.

The parish council is pleased to advise that it has now been able to install our 4th pre-approved mVAS ground-screw.  This location is situated along Westfield Road, opposite Bolebec End, and our mVAS (flashing speed sign) will move to this new location shortly.

This Westfield Road location will join the existing 3 locations which our mVAS rotates around, the others being located in Cheddington Road, Vicarage Road and Marsworth Road.

We thank Taylor Wimpey for granting approval for the installation of the ground-screw.

The unit allows the council to collect & monitor data about traffic volumes and speeds, as well as reminding motorists that the maximum speed limit along our roads is 30mph.

An illustration of their preferred option layout can be found via the link below:

https://futureluton.llal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Preferred_Option_Final.pdf

The original temporary traffic regulation order on the bridge was introduced on the 09th May and is in place for 12 months. We are working hard on finding the solution for the bridge and HGV in the wider communities and are hopeful to be able to bring these to public consultation at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime we are grateful for the continued goodwill and patience of the residents, communities and local businesses.

Older Driver Awareness Month

1st October was National Older Person’s Day, and Travel Safe Bucks marked the occasion by heading down to St Michael’s Church in Amersham to promote their Older Driver Assessments and brand new Older Driver module.

The number of over 70’s holding a driving licence exceeded five million for the first time in 2018 and there are now over 200 centenarian still driving! Driving is an important part of life for many residents of Buckinghamshire, enabling independence, especially for those living in rural areas. However, as we age, driving can become more stressful. It is for this reason that Travel Safe Bucks is spending the month of October promoting Older Driver awareness month.

To support mature drivers and their families, we have developed an online e-learning module, similar to our award-winning Winter Driving module. The Older Driver module contains all the information you need to retain independence and drive safely for as long as possible. It covers fitness to drive, ability, medication, improving your skills, vehicle, licencing and driving assessments.

You can access the module, and book an older driver assessment, here: www.buckscc.gov.uk/olderdrivers

If you want to find out more about our Older Driver module or Assessments, why not pop along and visit us at Flowerland Garden Centre, Bourne End, as part of the Older Drivers Forum on the 10^th October? For more info, visit www.olderdriversforum.com

Remember to use the Morning After Calculator!

Travel Safe Bucks is advising rugby fans to be mindful of driving the morning after drinking alcohol during the Rugby World Cup tournament, which runs until 2^nd November. As with all major sporting events, the tournament will be enjoyed and celebrated by millions, with alcohol potentially playing a part. But people don’t always realise how long it takes for alcohol to pass through the body, and that they might still be over the drink-drive limit the morning after.

The penalties for drink driving include a minimum 12-month driving ban, a criminal record, a hefty fine, up to six months in prison and an endorsement on your license for 11 years.

To assist fans, Travel Safe Bucks is taking the opportunity to once again promote the fantastic Morning After app. The app has been produced to help people calculate roughly when it will be safe to drive the morning after drinking alcohol. It can also help you calculate when you need to stop drinking alcohol if you need to drive the following morning.

The app is available to download free of charge, or can be used online, at http://morning-after.org.uk

The focus on drink driving won’t end with the Rugby World Cup, though. Through the festive season, covering Christmas and New Year right up until the end of December, Travel Safe Bucks will be promoting the Morning After app and launching a brand new Drink Drive campaign with local businesses across Bucks. We will even be hosting an event at Arla, with the aim of educating people on drink driving and how long alcohol can stay in the system. More info to come on this nearer to the time…

Upcoming campaign alert: Speed Awareness campaign #MakeThePledge

January 2020 will see the launch of our brand new Speed Awareness campaign, #MakeThePledge. We will be looking to get local businesses involved in this campaign about making the pledge to stop speeding, as well as launching a new speed e-learning module! More to come on that soon!

Interesting Road Safety News…

• Highways England has launched a new motorcycle safety campaign, aimed at those most likely to be killed or seriously injured http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/bikes-repair-easier-than-bikers-highways-england/
• An initiative which sees road safety and enforcement resources focussed on areas where there are high rate of collisions and casualties has launched in south east Wales http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/surround-the-town-launches-in-wales/
• Using the strapline “look who’s talking”, Tyre Safety Month 2019 encourages drivers to get into the routine of checking their tyres at least once a month http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/drivers-encouraged-to-check-for-lumps-bumps-and-cracks/

Make sure you follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/travelsafebucks) and like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TravelSafeBucks) to stay up to date with all that we’re up to in between updates!

Kind Regards,

The Road Safety Team

Electoral Canvass staff will be out and about over the next few weeks, visiting properties that have yet to respond to the Electoral Canvass. All properties in Aylesbury Vale received a ‘Household Enquiry Form’ during the summer and a reminder in September, but around 9,500 responses remain outstanding. 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. People who have moved address recently are particularly encouraged to respond. Across Great Britain, only 40% of people who have lived at an address for less than one year will be registered, compared to 94% of people who have been at their property for
more than sixteen years.

Jo Hart, AVDC Electoral Services Manager, commented:

“Although the Electoral Canvass response rate to date has been encouraging, nearly 12% of homes in the Vale have yet to respond. We have to take a number of prescribed steps to follow up on non responding properties, and those households that have not responded have to be personally visited.  This is an expensive exercise, and we’re therefore urging residents to help us save money by responding ASAP.”

Residents can respond quickly and easily online using a unique two-part security code which is 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, or request a postal application.

For further information, visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/canvass or call 01296 585701

 County Council Update

from County Cllr Anne Wight

September 2019

Home to School Transport

I am very much aware of the recent issues this term with Home to School Transport, and of all the difficulties currently being experienced by families and students.  BCC officers are currently actively engaged in helping to sort those out.  If you are affected, please do keep checking the links below for more information over the coming weeks.  You can also access the School Transport green box section on the top of the BCC homepage for more updates.  Many thanks for your patience as officers work to handle all enquiries.

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/news/update-on-home-to-school-transport/

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/education/school-transport/find-a-school-bus-stop/

National Recycle Week

The theme of this year’s Recycle Week, taking place between 23 and 29 September, is to encourage local people to take recycling into their own hands and do whatever they can to protect the environment.

Fully supported by Buckinghamshire County Council, next week’s national campaign aims to build on the growing awareness and importance of protecting our fragile environment by encouraging people to recycle more than ever before.

Latest figures show that around two-thirds of UK households are recycling more that they were a year ago. And across Buckinghamshire, that extra effort has meant the County Council now has the second best recycling figure across all county councils nationally at 56.6%.

This means we are all getting better at recycling things like plastic bottles and containers, glass and metal tins and also learning more about what can and cannot go into our recycling bins.

Buckinghamshire County Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment, Bill Chapple OBE said his message was one of congratulations for the efforts local people are putting in.

“I’m so pleased Buckinghamshire is right up there with its recycling rates, but we can’t rest on our laurels quite yet. There’s over 43% still to go and that means everyone showing their commitment and playing their part.

“The more we can recycle, the better for our environment and next week’s campaign just helps as a reminder that recycling is everyone’s responsibility.”

Many people are still unsure what can be recycled and how. Across Buckinghamshire, the Waste Wizard can help. Simply by entering your postcode, you can make sure your items are dealt with in the most environmentally friendly way possible. The Wizard tool can be accessed at:  www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/waste-and-recycling/what-to-recycle-where/

Bill continued: “It’s absolutely fantastic that more and more of us are recycling. Our next step now is to make sure we get things recycling in the best possible way. So, let’s all keep up the great work and get Buckinghamshire’s figures even higher next time round.

Bill added: “Across all its services, the County Council remains absolutely committed to reducing its impact on the environment. Only recently, I reported that the Council had achieved a 41% reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide it produces, significantly better  than the 30% national voluntary reduction target set by Government.

“And, next Thursday (September 26) during Recycling Week, the Council will be debating a special notice of motion on what more it can do to reduce the impact of climate change. This debate will be available to watch live on webcast via our website.

For more details on Recycle Week, please visit www.recyclenow.org.uk

World Mental Health Day is 10 October 2019

World Mental Health Day is an opportunity for all of us to raise awareness of mental health issues and advocate against social stigma.

The day provides an opportunity for you and your organisation to add to the wider conversation that will be occurring on social media, television and elsewhere. Highlight the fantastic work you’re already doing to address mental health stigma in the workplace, and introduce new and targeted activities anchored to the event.

The theme of this year’s event is suicide and suicide prevention.

Every year close to 800,000 people globally take their own life and there are many more people who attempt suicide. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. It’s the leading cause of death among young people aged 20-34 years in the UK and is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds globally

This World Mental Health Day, we encourage you all to consider how you can create learning opportunities for all your staff, raise their overall level of understanding of mental health, and specifically address the stigma around suicide so as to support those who might most need help.

More information on World Mental Health Day can be found on the Time to Change website below:

https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/get-your-workplace-involved/resources/mental-health-calendar/wmhd#toc-1

London Luton Airport Expansion Consultation and information

Luton Airport’s Statutory consultation for the proposed expansion from 18 to 32 million passengers per year will run from Wednesday 16th October until Wednesday 11th December.

Residents might wish to review expansion proposals and reports on the Future Luton website below in order to fully understand the key issues under discussion during the consultation.

https://futureluton.llal.org.uk

Please click the link for more details and an interactive map: https://www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest.html

Please click here for the leaflet:

walking festival Autumn2019_programme