Archives: PPC News

Buckinghamshire Council have made us aware of the following: They recently wrote to the parents of all children eligible for home to school transport and issued the bus passes for the forthcoming year. The same letter also advised that full bus timetables and route information would be added to their website by 15 August. Hard copies will not be sent in the post. Link to the timetables available here: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/4517079/2021_timetables.pdf

It is important that parents do check the new bus times, numbers and stops, for the forthcoming year, as most services have changed.

Tring school parents please note that the bus services are now the MTRC910 and MTRC911. There are now only 2 buses instead of 3 (Cheddington children are now on a different route which doesn’t stop in Pitstone). Both collecting from Vicarage Road (by the Memorial Hall) at 8.13am. Buckinghamshire Council are aware that some children have been issued bus passes which don’t show a bus number, in which case your child can get on either bus service.

Cottesloe school parents please note that the bus service MCOT900 will be collecting from Vicarage Road (by the Memorial Hall) at 8.10am. This service no longer routes via Westfield Road.

Buckinghamshire Council’s policies allow for children to walk up to 1 mile to access the bus stop. The Vicarage Road location being the most central point in Pitstone.

Please check the Buckinghamshire Council website for full details : https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools-index/school-transport/

Should any parent have any queries, please contact the Buckinghamshire Council School Transport team on 01296 387439.

Residents may be aware that Nicholas King Homes PLC, the developers of the PDA Site (being marketed by them as their “Ravensmoor” development), have recently submitted a planning application for the two small remaining pieces of the overall site.

These are the land parcels which the Pitstone Neighbourhood Plan, adopted in 2016 following a referendum in which 97% of the votes cast were in favour of the Plan, requires to be made available (subject to viability) for community purposes such as a pub/restaurant and nursery.

The planning application which has been submitted is for residential housing.

You can view the application and supporting documents on the Buckinghamshire Council website, by clicking here.  The reference number of the application, which you will need to enter in order to find it, is 21/02999/APP.  You can also submit comments online (and will need to indicate whether you support or oppose the application, or are neutral about it).

The application will be considered at a specially-convened meeting of the Parish Council at 7.30pm on Thursday 19 August at Pitstone Pavilion.  Residents who would like to express any views about the application can email the Parish Council in advance, or attend the meeting, or indeed both.

The Parish Council has no power to decide this application.  It is simply being consulted by the Local Planning Authority (Buckinghamshire Council), as part of its overall consideration of the application. 

We would therefore encourage any residents with views about the application to submit them to Buckinghamshire Council online so that they can be taken into account.  The deadline for comments is Thursday 26 August.  If doing so, please send a copy to the Parish Council at the same time.

We would also encourage any potential operators of community facilities, that might be interested in purchasing either land parcel, to make themselves known to the Parish Council.  We can therefore put them in touch with the developers / its agents to initiate discussions about a potential purchase.

6 August 2020

Skate park

The long-awaited skate park will sit between the multi-use ball court and the new play space on the recreation ground, to enhance our facilities so that there are activities that all age groups and abilities can engage with and the whole family can spend recreation time together.  The tendering process has now been running for a while and the parish council appointed a suitably qualified contractor at the end of June, subject to a number of conditions.   Initial designs have been produced, based on the features specified by local users and these will be published shortly.   A further public consultation & design meeting, hosted by the contractor, has been held, where everyone was invited to come along and provide feedback on the initial design and discuss any different features or flows etc that they might like to be considered. Feedback is being reviewed by the contractor and we will provide an update in due course.

Youth Café

Youth café re-opened and has been operating from the new Pitstone Pavilion each Wednesday evening during term time.   We held introductory sessions for the Year 6 Brookmead pupils on 30 June, 7 July and 14 July during the first part of the café session.  Our regular users attended the second sessions on each of these nights.   Thank you to all the young people that have come back to café – it has been amazing to be able to see you all again.

Pitstone Pavilion

We were pleased that the covid regulations lifted enough to permit both outdoor sports, yoga and meetings to resume at the new pavilion site and look forward to even more activities taking place there as the restrictions lift further as time passes.

Westfield Road speed mitigation

At the top end of Westfield Road, BC’s proposed mitigation measures have started to be installed but the process has not run smoothly.  Firstly, the Buckinghamshire Council contractors installed the lamp posts in the wrong place, once that had been resolved, the Taylor Wimpey contractors then installed the signage incorrectly.   We understand new signage is on order and the contractors will return to fit and rectify the other errors.  Carriageway painting will follow later in the summer.  The parish council will continue to try to ensure that Buckinghamshire Council deliver their promised measures.

At the other end of Westfield Road, the 30mph signs have now been relocated to their correct position at the junction but 40mph signs for the backs of these posts have not yet been installed.  Again, we understand the Taylor Wimpey contractor is due to return and retrofit.

Multi Use Games Area and replacement car park

These items are being installed by Nicholas King Homes.  We are currently working with the developer to resolve a number of outstanding issues and queries.

Picnic Table

We’d like to express our thanks to the Morris family for their kind donation of funds for the purchase of a memorial picnic bench to be located in the Hever Close playground. The unit is currently being manufactured and will be installed once complete.

Due to a change in personal circumstances, we are seeking a new cleaner for Pitstone Pavilion.

Estimated 2-4 hours per week (exact hours paid from worksheets submitted).  We can often be flexible with the work windows but the candidate must be able to work weekends as well as evenings/early mornings if necessary (based around our bookings).  Must be flexible and able to adapt to meet the needs of our hirers (both those hiring the community room and those holding outdoor sporting events).

Duties will include:

• cleaning the pavilion including the community room, kitchen, toilets, corridors, walkways and changing village (depending on hirers usage),
• monitoring and refilling dispensers as necessary,
• litter picking the grounds,
• periodic deep cleaning (such as descaling shower heads),
• completion of accurate records of work undertaken.

The applicant must be reasonably fit (as the cleaning work after muddy footballers can sometimes be strenuous), self-motivated and trustworthy.   Must be happy to work alone on site.   Experience of cleaning similar premises an advantage, but training can be provided.

For full details, please see the attachment below.

If this is the role for you, please apply in writing to: Mrs Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone Parish Council at email: parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk or via mail at Pitstone Pavilion, Marsworth Road, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9AP, enclosing a curriculum vitae or providing brief written details about yourself, your experience and your suitability for the post.    

Deadline: 12 August 2021.

Tonight is the last youth cafe before the summer holidays. Please remember to book a space by calling Dave Rollins if you wish to attend 07977926596.

We wish you all a happy and healthy summer break.

We are seeking a Facilities Manager for the new Pitstone Pavilion. This will be a varied role encompassing everything to do with the pavilion including the maintenance, liaising with customers, promotional activities, policies, systems, overseeing contractors etc.

Estimated at around 5 hours per week, £12 per hour.  Must be able to work weekends and evenings, and able to attend at short notice if required.  Must be flexible and able to adapt to meet the needs of our hirers (both those hiring the community room and those holding outdoor sporting events).

The applicant must be reasonably fit, self-motivated and trustworthy.   Must be happy to work alone.   Must be IT literate.

Please find attached a full Job Description, Person Specification and Lone Working advice.

If this is the role for you, please apply in writing to: Mrs Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone Parish Council at email: parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk or via mail at Pitstone Pavilion, Marsworth Road, Pitstone, LU7 9AP, enclosing a curriculum vitae or providing written details about yourself, your experience and your suitability for the post.    

Deadline: 12 August 2021.

Come along to Pitstone Recreation Ground at 6.30pm on 28 July 2021 to meet the skatepark designers and have your say in the final design for the skatepark.

To view the proposed skatepark including the list of features & heights, please click here:

We are delighted that our Community Right to Bid application to Buckinghamshire Council to re-list the land to the south side of The Crescent as an Asset of Community Value has been successful, and the parcel of land has been re-entered onto the register (listings expire after 5 years).

Buckinghamshire Council’s decision notice is attached below.

Pitstone Parish Council would like to extend a warm welcome to two new councillors. Here they tell you a little about themselves:

“My family and I moved into the area in 2015, we feel lucky to have found such a wonderful community that is so warm and welcoming. I jumped at the chance to join the Parish Council so I could help add to it, as much as anything else, for my two young children and to give back to the community.  My father and I run a family business in haberdashery and I’m hoping to utilise some of my skills in sales and problem solving.  I have great passion for our village and will put my all into it.”

“I have lived in Tring, Berkhamsted or in one of the surrounding villages all of my life. I settled in Pitstone with my now family of four 8 years ago and we love where we live. I have always been keen aware of local community projects & local news and feel it is now the time to serve the local community as a parish councillor. I have attended Pitstone Parish Council meetings prior to submitting my interest in joining the parish council and hope I can add to the great work undertaken by the both current and previous parish councillors. I have always believed in working together with other local parish councils and look forward to supporting my local community.”

Spaces available at tonight’s Youth Cafe. Please call Dave on 07977926596, anytime before 6pm, to book your place.

Buckinghamshire Council has confirmed that no local election has been called and therefore the parish council will be co-opting 3 individuals to fill the current 3 vacancies for members of the parish council.

We thank everyone that has expressed an interest and/or submitted an application to date. Please do continue to reach out to us if you are interested in becoming a parish councillor. Initial information can be found in the web post link below, along with the associated links that explain who is eligible to stand and how much time might be required. We are happy to provide full information packs about Pitstone Parish Council specifically, so do give us a call.

Voting and appointments will take place at the next council meeting on 24 June 2021. Appointed members will then serve a 4-year term of office until the next election.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Buckinghamshire Council have today advised the following:

• Both Buckinghamshire Council and Taylor Wimpey visited the site yesterday and Taylor Wimpey’s contractors have been instructed to carry out the following remedial works:
• The badger and exclamation mark signs to be relocated next week (they did not have the correct size clips available yesterday).
• The duplicate derestriction signs on the gates to be removed.
• The old post that housed the badger signs to be removed.
• The 30mph signs to be re-ordered (as they are still too small) and to be fitted once available.
• At the other end of Westfield Road, the 30mph signs have now moved to the correct position by the junction but 40mph signs need to be added to the back.

We are aware that the BC/TW installers have made a number of errors when installing the new signage on Westfield Road today (9/6/21) which is incredibly frustrating.

The parish council is trying to liaise with Buckinghamshire Council and we will update residents as soon as we have any news.

Update: Taylor Wimpey are now due to visit site tomorrow (10/6/21) with a contractor to try and sort out the latest issues. If necessary, Buckinghamshire Council will come out later in the week. They are hopeful that the current issues will be sorted in the next couple of days.

Spaces available at tonight’s Youth Cafe. Please call Dave on 07977926596, anytime before 6pm, to book your place.

This week is Volunteers’ Week.

Today is an opportunity for us to say thank you to all our Street Light Champions. Thank you for helping to ensure all our lights are operational.

The parish council owns and maintains 120 street light lanterns within the original residential part of the village. The columns along Marsworth Road are maintained by Buckinghamshire Council. Those within Castlemead and along Westfield Road are maintained by Taylor Wimpey, those in the new development off Rushendon Furlong are still maintained by Croudace and those within the development off Vicarage Road are still maintained by Bellway. There are also a couple of columns around the village which are maintained by housing associations.

Each month a team of volunteer residents & councillors walk the road in which they live (or those they jog past) once at night to check that all the lanterns are illuminating, and once during the day to check that none of the lanterns are on when they shouldn’t be. If any issues are identified, they drop a quick email to the parish clerk who can then get the matter reported to the appropriate body so the remedial works can be carried out.

This volunteering opportunity takes up hardly any time and helps to ensure the lights in your road are maintained in a timely manner. The checks can be undertaken at any time to suit you, within a one week window. We simply send out a reminder at the beginning of the month & you only need to respond to us if there is anything that needs fixing.

If you would like to join this team please do get in touch with the parish clerk on 01296 767261 / parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk.

This week is Volunteers’ Week.

Today is an opportunity for us to say thank you to everyone involved in the production and distribution of Pitstone Parish Post. Everyone on this team is a volunteer – including the Editor, the Cover Designer, the Distribution Manager, the Advertising Manager and the small army of distributors that pop the magazine through your letterbox. We are most grateful to each and every one of you for the vital role that you play in helping to keep all residents informed of local affairs.

We are always open to expanding the content of our quarterly publication if we have willing helpers to produce it, so if you’d like to get involved with reporting on local events, taking photographs, writing articles, producing regular features etc then please do get in touch with Sue, our Editor, via email on pppeditor@pitstone.co.uk or phone 01296 661910.

If you have time once a quarter to pop some copies of PPP through letterboxes (the magazine is delivered to every home and business in Pitstone), then please contact Rachel, our Distribution Manager, on 07717 471584. Also reach out to Rachel if you would be willing to provide relief cover for those that might be unable to complete their round, as there are often a few routes that need covering if people are away on holiday etc.

If you would like to place an advert in the magazine, or have some time to help us contact potential advertisers to let them know about our magazine, please contact either Klaus, our Advertising Manager, on 01296 668911 or the parish clerk on 01296 767261 / parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk.

Volunteering as a PPP distributor is a more solitary role than some of the other volunteering opportunities with the parish council but takes hardly any time and gets you out in the fresh air once a quarter. The other roles can evolve around your available time & skill set.

Please do get in touch today, and start reaping the benefits of volunteering within your local community.

The parish council offers grants to local community groups and local charities that specifically benefit Pitstone residents.  Applications are considered quarterly.   The next opportunity for grants to be considered is coming up in July.

Our most recent recipients include Windmill Pre School for outdoor play equipment, Pitstone Memorial Hall Charity to fix their roof and South Central Ambulance for a further dedicated kit for our Community First Responders.

Please see the grant policy on this web site (http://pitstone.co.uk/ppcinfo/grant-policy/ ) for further information or contact the parish clerk.

Applications must be received at least 10 days ahead of the meeting date so that the information can be circulated to all members ahead of the meeting and your application can be advertised on our agenda.

This week is Volunteers’ Week.

Today is an opportunity for us to say thank you to all those that volunteer at the Pitstone Youth Cafe. The parish council employs one qualified youth worker and all the other adult helpers are volunteers, so without you our young residents wouldn’t be able to access youth support, participate in informal sports & games, nor have somewhere safe and dry to hang out with their friends that have gone to other senior schools.

More helpers are always needed as we need at least 4 on site each week. Sadly many of our volunteers are having to travel to us from Aylesbury and the villages surrounding Pitstone, as there have not been enough local helpers (despite most of the young people that attend coming from Pitstone). If you enjoy skateboarding, netball, basketball, badminton, frisbee, console games, board/card games or table tennis then this is the opportunity for you. Likewise if you can run craft, digital photography or music sessions with a group of young people then we’d love to hear from you too as this enables us to put together a varied program of activities for the young people to participate in (in the past the teenagers have helped to build go-carts, skate ramps and bird houses, made jewellery or light pictures using digital cameras). So if this is something that appeals to you, please do call Dave, our Cafe Manager, for an initial chat on 07977 926596 or email youth.cafe@me.com

You can find out more information about the youth cafe here: https://pitstone.co.uk/ppcinfo/youth-cafe/

Volunteering at the youth cafe (Wednesday evenings 6.30-8.15pm in term time) is a lot of fun – you get to meet lots of lovely new people, keep active and feel more connected to our local community. There is no age limit, many of our volunteers are retired and enjoy attending the cafe as much as the young people do. You don’t need to commit to coming each week, some volunteers just come once a month. The cafe operates in a covid secure manner.

Please do get in touch today, and help us to support more young people. They are the future of our village.

This week is Volunteers’ Week.

Today is an opportunity for us to say thank you to all those that volunteer to drive for the Pitstone Community Car Scheme. All drivers are volunteers, so without you our residents wouldn’t be able to reach their hospital, doctors and medical appointments – thank you very much.

More drivers are always needed as there are sadly sometimes people we can’t help, so if this is something that appeals to you, please do call our Community Car Coordinator, for an initial chat on Tel: 01296 767116 or email communitytransport@pitstone.co.uk

Driving for the car scheme is very rewarding – you get to feel good about helping someone, meet lots of lovely new people and feel more connected to our local community. There is no minimum or regular commitment required – you only accept a booking if it suits you (some volunteer a few times a year, some a few times a month, some people only need to get to the doctors surgery & safely back home so the time commitment isn’t huge). Petrol expenses are paid so you are not out-of-pocket. The scheme operates in a covid secure manner.

Please do get in touch today, and help us to help more people.

Still lots of spaces available at both youth cafe sessions tonight. Please call Dave on 07977926596 to book your place.

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR VILLAGE?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN PITSTONE PARISH COUNCIL? 

3 VACANCIES

We currently have 3 vacant seats on the parish council.  At the 6 May 2021 election 1 seat remained unappointed (for which we can co-opt).  2 candidates that were offered seats (Dr Frearson and Mrs Stoddart) have been unable to take up their posts due to unforeseen changes in personal circumstances (for which we can co-opt if 10 electors do not request a by-election within 14 working days, see attached notices).  Therefore, there are 3 remaining positions available on the parish council.

Each member will serve a four-year term of office with the parish council, until the next election.

The corporate body of the parish council also acts as Sole Trustee to two local charities.

Initial information about the role of parish councillors, and charity trustees, is available on our website www.pitstone.co.uk.

If you are interested in joining us, have plenty of spare time (an average of 3 hours per week) to volunteer (councillors receive no wages or allowances), and are passionate about the village we live in, please contact the parish council for a full information pack as soon as possible to ensure you have plenty of time to read through all the materials.

Applications for co-option should be submitted by email to parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk by close of:

THURSDAY 17 JUNE 2021

If no by-election has been called, the parish council will arrange interviews and seek to appoint 3 individuals to fill all 3 vacancies at the next full council meeting on Thursday 24 June 2021.

If a by-election has been called, the parish council will seek to appoint 1 individual to fill the initial seat at the next full council meeting on Thursday 24 June 2021 and the remaining 2 seats will be filled by local election (dates will be confirmed by Buckinghamshire Council in due course).

If you are interested in calling for a by-election, please see the information in the attached two notices and replicated below:

PITSTONE PARISH COUNCIL

Local Government Act 1972- Sections 87 and 89

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that due to the resignation of Councillors Dr Frearson and Mrs Stoddart (who were unable to take up their elected posts due to a change in personal circumstances) two casual vacancies have arisen in the Office of Parish Councillor for Pitstone Parish Council.

If by 14 June 2021 (within 14 days excluding Dies Non after the date of this notice) a request for an election to fill the vacancies is made in writing to the Returning Officer, Buckinghamshire Council, King George V House, King George V Road, Amersham, HP6 5AW or via email to elections@buckinghamshire.gov.uk* by TEN electors for the Parish, then an election will be held to fill the vacancies, otherwise the vacancies will be filled by co-option.

Dated: 24 May 2021

Signed: Laurie Eagling, Parish Clerk

Pitstone Parish Council, 9 Warwick Road, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9FE

** Residents of the parish who wish to request an election must include their names, addressses and a signature and if using the email address we recommend a scanned copy.

We received so many nominations for volunteer of the year this year, and it was such an exceptional year, that the parish council resolved to award ‘Volunteer of the Year’ to two people.  Both these people received numerous nominations each:

Geoff Bratt is our main local Community First Responder.  This means he volunteers for the ambulance service, and if Geoff happens to be on call when your 999 call is made, it is likely to be Geoff who is sent to provide immediate assistance until the ambulance can reach us.  Those extra minutes can make all the different in life-and-death situations.  Between October and December alone, Geoff undertook nearly 200 hours of voluntary service as a Community First Responder for our villages.   During the coronavirus pandemic, when most of us where avoiding close contact, Geoff was actively having to go into known covid infection areas to provide much needed assistance to our residents.

Many of you will already know Linda Howarth from the community events she organises at Halloween, for the Freecycle weekend and on behalf of Windmill Pre-School.  She has also been busy helping the pre-school to clear and prepare their new premises (they have been able to take over the adjoining old Children’s Centre to increase pre-school capacity) as well as volunteering at the pre-school on a regular basis.

The parish council would like to congratulate both our winners, each of whom received a framed certificate and £50 cheque at individual, socially distanced presentations at Pitstone Pavilion.   We also extend our sincere thanks to both individuals for all their hard work and support of our community.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in a nomination.  If your nominee wasn’t successful on this occasion, do consider nominating them for the 2022 Volunteer of the Year.  Nominations for anyone who has undertaken voluntary work that has made a real difference for the residents of Pitstone, can be submitted at any time between now and January 2022 by emailing parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk or writing to Pitstone Parish Council, Pitstone Pavilion, Marsworth Road, Pitstone, LU7 9AP.

Our plan is to re-open the youth café (for school years 7 and above) on Wednesday 19 May.  We have needed to put some changes into place to make sure it is covid secure, so please read on:

• Pitstone Youth Café will currently be operating from Pitstone Pavilion (not Brookmead School).  The Pavilion is located on Marsworth Road, opposite the junction with Westfield Road.  There is vehicular access for those children that need dropping off/collecting.  It is also connected to the footpath and cycle path networks (please be careful in the car park, as our football pitches may also be in operation on the same night, so there may be other vehicles etc at the site).  We have relocated most of our equipment down to this site.
• We can only have 15 young people per session, so anyone wishing to attend will have to book in advance.  We are very sorry, but if you have not booked, you will not be admitted. 
• Session times will also need to be reduced, so that we can operate one bubble of 15 young people from 6.30pm to 7.15pm, then break for a full clean of our space, followed by a second bubble of 15 young people from 7.30pm to 8.15pm.   
• The cost will be reduced to £1 to session, to reflect the shorter time.
• Activities will be mainly outdoors unless the weather is too poor so please make sure you come suitably dressed.  Our Café Manager has made 4 new skate ramps for the young people to try, so bring your helmets.
• There will be no tuck shop at present.

We appreciate that this may not be ideal, but the youth café would normally have had between 30 and 40 attendees per week, and to keep everyone safe we must operate within the government guidelines in place at the time.  As the covid restrictions ease, we will continue to review our operating processes and let you all know if there are any changes.

How do you book?

• Anyone who has already re-registered with the youth café should receive an email communication from the café manager.
• If you have not re-registered onto the new system, please register via this link:  http://youthcafe.pitstone.co.uk/register/
• If you want to find out more above the youth café, please click here: http://youthcafe.pitstone.co.uk/
• To book your session, please email youth.cafe@me.com with the date, session time, and  name of child
• Please try to stick to a regular session time, so that we can keep the children in each bubble consistent
• The café manager will contact anyone who has booked a session if any changes are required to follow guidance in place at the time, for instance if café has temporarily to cease.
• If you need to contact the Cafe Manager for any reason, you can call 07977 926596.

On the day:

• Please only come to the café session that you have booked.
• Please only come to café if your child has tested negative for covid on their twice weekly lateral flow test and is not displaying any symptoms of Coronavirus.  If your child is unwell, please do not come to café.  Anyone with a raised temperature will be sent home.
• Your child should also not attend if they have been in close contact with anyone with Covid symptoms, nor if they have been contacted by Track-and-Trace.
• Please make sure your child has a face mask and brings any food or drink they require.
• Please drop off and collect promptly, so that the bubbles do not mix.
• Please bring £1 in correct change to reduce the cross handling of coins.

Covid safety:

• Our volunteers and staff will be kept as consistent as possible and will only attend if they display no Covid symptoms.  We encourage all volunteers and staff to carry out twice weekly lateral flow tests.
• Hand sanitizer will be available and your child may have to apply sanitizer or wear gloves before/during an activity (depending on the activity).  Your child may need to wear a face covering indoors.
• Surfaces likely to have been touched will be cleaned at the end of each session eg door handles, taps etc.
• There will be no tuck shop at the moment.
• Just like when they are at school, your child should avoid sharing any items with other children.
• We will keep a register of those attending each session for track-and-trace purposes and may need to provide your information to the government for these purposes.

Keeping up to date:

• Please like our Facebook page(s) – Pitstone Parish Council and Pitstone Youth
• Follow our Twitter feed
• Register via the link above
• We’ll post updates to keep you informed of any changes in Government guidelines etc.

We look forward to seeing all the familiar faces back at café again, after such a long-enforced break, as well as welcoming new members.   Later in the summer term we’ll review if we have the capacity and ability to offer sessions to the year 6 leavers.

Cafe operates during term times only, so proposed dates for the remainder of the school year are:

• 19 & 26 May
• 9, 16, 23 & 30 June
• 7 & 14 July

Having seen the two new lamp posts installed and connected on Westfield Road, we were sad to find out yesterday (from a resident) that they were being removed and relocated.

Buckinghamshire Council (BC) has confirmed that unfortunately the columns were incorrectly installed by the contractor and they were aware that the re-work was required (although they didn’t know that it had been scheduled). The information from BC reads as follows:

1. “It is the contractor that is having to move the columns not BC (or TW).
2. The contractor did not adhere to the detail of the order they were given and installed the lamp columns too far apart.
3. The overall distance covered by the new columns was around 91 metres rather than 70 metres as agreed, so could not be accepted.
4. The costs of the new columns are being picked up by Taylor Wimpey and the changes are to be covered by the contractor, who owned up to having made the mistake. There is, therefore, no cost whatsoever to the taxpayer.”

It is frustrating that having been installed, the columns couldn’t remain in those locations (ie nearer the gate than anticipated) and just as frustrating that Buckinghamshire Council didn’t engage with the parish council and residents to let us know in advance what was happening.

Buckinghamshire Council confirms that their proposed installation plans have not changed and that they will be delivering to the previously advised specification.

Buckinghamshire Council advise that work has commenced on Westfield Road in preparation for installing the additional street light columns. These works are anticipated to take a few weeks to account for trenching, installation, cabling and connections.

We are advised that once installation is complete, Taylor Wimpey will move the existing speed limit signs whilst they await supply of the larger, with yellow backing, signs (which will follow once available).

Buckinghamshire Council advises that the remainder of the features, such as the 30 roundels and dragons teeth markings, will follow in the summer, when road marking works are generally carried out.

We continue to feed any comments received from residents through to Buckinghamshire Council.

Please click below to access the Notice of Uncontested Election for Election of Parish Councillors for Pitstone.

Elected members will take up their seats at the Annual Meeting of the Council on 20 May 2021.

10 seats have been filled, which leaves 1 seat vacant. The Parish Council will seek to fill this vacancy via co-option, details will be available in due course. Please do contact the parish clerk if you may be interested in joining the council.

There are often lots of little jobs that need undertaking at parish council property to ensure that everything remains safe for residents to use and in good condition.

This might be :

• minor electrical works such PAT testing our youth cafe and pavilion equipment
• undertaking playground equipment & bench repairs in any of our play spaces
• minor tree and/or shrub works
• repairing or replacing fences or gates
• repairing or installing litter and dog bins
• minor remedial works such as putting up signs or repairing equipment
• addressing minor ground works such as worn surfaces
• moving our mVAS equipment around the village, downloading the data and forwarding to the parish clerk
• etc

The parish council wishes to form a list of ‘approved contractors’ that are registered with us to undertake any of the above type of work, if and when the need arises. Your services may be required at short notice, for instance if a fault develops with an item of play equipment it will need to be addressed immediately.

Interested contractors will also need to possess £5m public liability insurance, be able to demonstrate their competence in their chosen field eg be accredited to the right trade organisations and be able to provide references that the parish council can follow up.

So if you are a local electrician, ground worker, builder, plumber etc and would like to be considered by the parish council when works arise, please do send your company details, proof of insurance/competence and reference information to parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk, along with details of any hourly rates (or day rates) that you charge for the work you undertake to assist our decision making process.

https://www.marketingforce.co.uk/buckinghamshire.html

A company called Marketing Force handle all the roundabout sponsorships for Buckinghamshire Council. Your company gets their name, logo and message on signage at each approach to the roundabout. In return, Marketing Force then take over the upkeep of the roundabout planting/grass from Transport for Bucks.

They are now offering the opportunity to sponsor the roundabout at the junction of Westfield Road/Northfield Road/Upper Icknield Way. This provides an opportunity for one local business to raise awareness of their services to traffic that passes the edge of the village.

Please click the above link to visit the Marketing Force website and find out more information.

The Buckinghamshire Council Wing & Ivinghoe Community Board have provided the parish council with 10 x canvas tote bags containing leaflets on ways to improve your wellbeing and exercises you can do from home, an Active at Home booklet, 10 Today short ten-minute DVD routines to get you stretching & moving and a 10 Today audio CD of short ten-minute routines.

The packs & exercises were developed to support older people and those that have been shielding to be more active and healthy at home.

If you, or someone you know in the village, would like to receive one of our 10 free packs please telephone the parish clerk on 01296 767261 (please don’t leave your home address on any social media posts).

We only have 10, so please contact us as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Thank you.

Reminder that anyone wishing to stand for the parish council election needs to hand deliver their completed nomination papers to Buckinghamshire Council before 4pm on Thursday (8 April 2021).

Please find below the extracts from the draft minutes (minutes do not record a full transcript of the discussions) of the parish council meeting held on 25-3-21 relating to Westfield Road. The full set of draft minutes will be published in due course once they are completed.

Please do continue to let us know your views about the intended Buckinghamshire Council solution, whether you are supportive of the decisions they have made (following the site visit by their road safety/highways/police team) or whether you have ongoing concerns. Whilst BC are not consulting with us on their proposals, we will continue to pass your feedback to them so that they are aware of the strength & perspectives of local opinion. You can comment via any of our social media channels or email parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk.

As BC are unable to move the signs from their current location until the lamp posts are installed we will concurrently continue to push them to get their stated proposed works undertaken as soon as possible.

See the notes below regarding mVAS monitoring of traffic at this location to help us get some comparative data.

• Recap on Westfield Road speed change: TW/BC have indicated their intention to install 2 additional lighting columns on Westfield Road to extend the illumination approximately half-way towards the gate, to relocate the 30/60mph point to align with the new columns (approximately in line with the existing badger sign), install bigger (legal 30mph) signs with yellow background, paint a 30mph roundel in carriageway and paint dragon’s teeth in carriageway approaching the 30mph limit.   The village gates to remain in current position and BC yet to confirm if TW will be repainting.   Once installed BC will provide rubber strip vehicle monitoring across the carriageway.  If monitoring shows an ongoing issue with traffic speeds, BC Community Board will set up a dedicated sub-group to explore further potential measures if required.
• BC have advised that the above lamp posts are now in stock and that orders have been placed for the works to be carried out however BC could not confirm implementation dates.
• BC (on 1/3/21) and TW (on 25/3/21) approved the temporary positioning of an mVAS to capture data from the Warwick Road junction.   This location does not meet the criteria for a permanently approved mVAS location and therefore can only be utilised in the short term.  It was noted that it was not permissible to have 2 flashing mVAS on one road and it was also noted that the mVAS could not be positioned so that data was collected from outside the 30mph zone.
• It was noted that the parish council has now obtained lamp post fixing brackets from Swarco (£38 + VAT) which will enable temporary location on a post, without the need for a fixed ground-screw socket (which would not be approved at this location).
• It was RESOLVED to temporarily relocate the other village mVAS to Westfield Road to capture data from the Warwick Road junction.  Flash to be deactivated.  Existing Westfield Road mVAS to remain in current location.   This will enable a comparison of vehicle behaviour at the Warwick Road junction and that further along Westfield Road, plus enable a comparison of current vehicle behaviour at the junction vs that displayed once the Buckinghamshire Council measures are installed.
• It was RESOLVED to collect an update of data from the existing Westfield Road mVAS and publish the report to the website.  Data can then be collected from both Westfield Road mVAS units for the same following period, and residents updated accordingly in due course.
• Members of the public were granted permission to speak relating to this issue.  A resident asked if the mVAS could be placed to monitor outgoing traffic as well.  It was explained that the current reported problems were focused on incoming traffic speeds, so this needed to be the initial priority.
• The resident advised that they had registered formal complaints with both Thames Valley Police and Buckinghamshire Council regarding their handling of the situation.
• The resident advised that some residents had ongoing concerns that the 30mph signs were not being relocated back as far as the gate and they did not accept the solution being implemented by Buckinghamshire Council.  They expressed concern that if vehicles crossed into the 30mph zone whilst still travelling at 60mph there may be insufficient braking distance prior to the junction.  They want BC to illuminate out to the gate and relocate the 30mph to this location. The concerns were noted.  
• PPC to continue to liaise with, and feed concerns through to BC.

The parish council has secured land and funding for a concrete skate park in Pitstone. The skate park will sit between the play space and the multi-use ball games court on the recreation ground off Vicarage Road.

Interested suppliers: Please find attached the Contract Notice with full details of the requirements. Please ensure your tender is submitted by 5pm on 13 May 2021.

Interested users: The Contract Notice includes a list of skate park features that users have previously identified as potentially being desirable in our local skate park. Suppliers will use this information when putting forward their designs based on the available space, ground conditions, budget, challenge, location, safe flow of users etc. Once initial designs are received, there will be a public consultation event so that all users have an opportunity to get involved in the design and selection of your skate park. Please make sure you look out for further updates on our website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and noticeboards.

The information issued by Buckinghamshire Council following their dedicated Westfield Road meeting is replicated below:

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for attending the meeting held on 23^rd February 2021 with regard to Westfield Road, and thank you also for your comments and for taking the time to feedback your concerns.

As promised, we have attached the presentation and answers to pre-submitted questions, along with answers for questions raised at the meeting. A full recording of the meeting will also be available in the next 48 hours.

To view please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/c/BuckinghamshireCouncil/videos  

We hope you found the meeting informative with regards to the work that the Council is undertaking to remedy the situation and address resident concerns in line with legislative and regulatory requirements.

Thank you again for raising issues important to your local community, and thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to resolve them.

Kind Regards,

Katrina Kelly

Community Board Co-Ordinator for the Wing and Ivinghoe board

Localities & Strategic Partnerships Service Directorate

Buckinghamshire Council

Extract from the Parish Council draft minutes of the meeting held on 25-2-2021:

Buckinghamshire Council held two public meetings on 4 and 23 February 2021 to discuss the changes at Westfield Road.

Cllr Nicholls provided a summary on the latest information from Buckinghamshire Council along with legal details obtained by the Parish Council:

• The Department for Transport provides guidance documents for councils to use when setting speed limits and installing signage. Although this is issued as guidance it carries a lot of legal weight and councils choosing to ignore it may face legal challenges and be made to defend their decisions in court.
• The speed of a road is determined by the street scene / built environment and the signage must be installed to reflect this.
• The signs had been incorrectly installed by TW many years ago.  Now that the Highways Authority have reviewed the road, they are legally obliged to remove any incorrect signage.  The parish council has checked this legal position and found it to be correct.
• The signage installed at present is legal.  The signs cannot be relocated back to the gates, as this would make it illegal.  See above point.
• Buckinghamshire Council has listened to the concerns raised by the Parish Council and residents and have agreed to install two additional lamp posts within the area of land where housing is set back (as part of the adoptions process).  This would mean this additional stretch (out to the approximate location of the badger sign) could be classified as a restricted road and therefore legally marked as 30mph.  This could be undertaken within the next 4-8 weeks (partly dependent upon connection lead times from UK Power Networks) and would also enable the signage to be relocated to this new point once the lights are in situ.
• The 30mph sign currently installed will be replaced with larger signage on yellow background.   The gates will remain in situ and will not be moved to the new 30mph location.
• Buckinghamshire Council has listened to the Parish Council’s request for additional measures as part of the adoptions process and agreed to install painted dragons’ teeth and 30mph roundels in the carriageway as countdown markers and to increase prominence. 
• The proposed solution will provide drivers with a series of visual cues as they enter the residential section of Westfield Road (dragons teeth, gate, roundel, signage & lamp posts) vs the previous single point of 30mph sign on the gate which residents had previously advised was ineffective at reducing speeds.
• Buckinghamshire Council has listened to the Parish Council’s request for them to prove whether their proposals are effective and agreed to install monitoring rubber strips across the carriageway once their proposed solution is installed.  This will provide accurate data about the speed of vehicles entering the residential zone.
• Buckinghamshire Council has listened to the Parish Council’s request for potential additional speed mitigation measures for Westfield Road and offered to create a dedicated Community Board Subgroup to investigate options, should the above solution prove not to be effective.   NB This will not form part of the adoptions process.
• A TRO (Traffic Regulation Order), if Buckinghamshire Council could be persuaded to apply for one, would take 12-18 months for formal consultation and holds no guarantees that the statutory consultees (e.g., Thames Valley Police and Road Haulage Association) would approve.
• Residents were granted permission to speak relating to this issue. Mr Phillips expressed his ongoing concerns that the 30mph signs were not being relocated back to the gate. No other residents wished to speak relating to this matter.
• It was RESOLVED to seek further clarification from Buckinghamshire Council on why further streetlights could not be installed right out to the gate and this will be passed to residents in due course.
• It was noted that Buckinghamshire Council will provide a recording of the public meeting held on 23 February 2021 and a document detailing all the questions raised with their corresponding answers.  These will also be made available to residents in due course.
• Three members of the public departed the meeting during the Westfield Road discussion.  One member of the public joined the meeting & then left again.

mVAS

• The mVAS report 18/1/21 to 22/2/21 was discussed.  85^th percentile = 34.8mph.  Average speed 29.6mph.  Following a request from a member of the public, it was RESOLVED to publish this report on the website.
• The Parish Council has already lodged enquiries with Buckinghamshire Council regarding the possibility of a temporary mVAS location closer to the Warwick Road junction, and whether they might be willing to waive the normal site visit and application fees.  Response awaited.

Update note: the response to the question about street lighting out to the gate has been responded to by Buckinghamshire Council within the attached document.

Buckinghamshire Council confirmed at their meeting on 23-2-21 that they had placed the orders for the required works.

Do you have approximately 3 hours + a week spare to volunteer as a parish councillor in Pitstone? (this is an unpaid role). To find out more about what powers are vested in parish councils (such as playgrounds, youth work and allotments), what sort of projects we liaise with Buckinghamshire or Hertfordshire Council on (where powers are vested in that tier of Government, such as highways or education) and the charities that the parish council is trustee of, please visit this link: https://pitstone.co.uk/ppcnews/calling-all-community-heroes-become-a-parish-councillor-elections-in-may-2021/

To express an interest in joining Pitstone Parish Council, please contact the parish clerk on parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk and we will provide a full information pack for you. We anticipate the Notice of Election being issued by Buckinghamshire Council on 22 March and candidates will need to submit their nominations to The Gatehouse in Aylesbury by 8 April 2021.

If you would like to find out more about the nomination & election process for candidates, Buckinghamshire Council are holding a Teams briefing for candidates on 10 March at 4pm, details below:

Following the Government’s postponement of last year’s May elections due to the COVID pandemic, the Government has now confirmed that elections will take place on 6 May 2021. Within Buckinghamshire, polls for the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Buckinghamshire Council and Town & Parish Councils will take place on 6 May. There will also be two Neighbourhood Planning Referendums taking place on that day also. One for Ickford and another for Great and Little Kimble-cum-Marsh.  

Briefings for candidates & agents have now been set up by the (Local) Returning Officer. To make these as accessible and COVID secure as possible the briefings will take place virtually via Teams. This is the same platform that the Council has successfully used for virtual Council meetings. The link to join the meeting as at the bottom of this email. A guide for joining a Teams meeting is available here.   These briefings will provide for a presentation on the election timetable, nominations process, current planned verification and count arrangements, and general rules that will apply to the election, and will also include key changes to this year’s elections necessary to ensure the election is carried out in a COVID secure way. This will also include changes recently announced by the Government on the nominations process. It is anticipated that this will take a maximum of one hour.  

The Council now has a single electoral registration team. Due to the scale of the 6 May elections in Buckinghamshire, and to facilitate the COVID secure delivery of elections, the elections will be administered via three election area offices. The Buckinghamshire Council Unitary wards and Town & Parish Councils within the former Wycombe area will be administered by the Wycombe area office (Queen Victoria Road). The Buckinghamshire Council Unitary wards and Town & Parish Councils within the former Aylesbury Vale area will be administered by the Aylesbury area office (The Gateway). The Buckinghamshire Council Unitary Wards and Town & Parish Councils within the former Chiltern & South Bucks area will be administered by the Amersham area office (King George V House).   To this end, candidate & agents briefings have been set up for each of the three areas and candidates & agents are asked to attend a briefing that relates to the Ward that they will be standing in. You only need to attend one briefing.  

The following Wards for the Buckinghamshire Council election will be administered within the Aylesbury Vale Area Election Office (The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury HP19 8FF):   Aston Clinton & Bierton Aylesbury East Aylesbury North Aylesbury North West Aylesbury South East Aylesbury South West Aylesbury West Bernwood Buckingham East Buckingham West Great Brickhill Grendon Underwood Ivinghoe Stone & Waddesdon Wendover Halton & Stoke Mandeville Wing Winslow   The Briefing for these Wards will take place on: Wednesday 10 March 4pm   Microsoft Teams meeting Join on your computer or mobile appClick here to join the meetingOr call in (audio only)+44 1296 794005,,14112299#   United Kingdom, Aylesbury Phone Conference ID: 141 122 99# Find a local number | Reset PIN   Should you have any questions or queries on these Wards or the Briefings, the electoral registration team can be contacted at: elections@buckinghamshire.gov.uk; or 01494 421180 / 01895 837236 / 01296 585701

At the February 2021 council meeting, the Parish Council was delighted to award a grant of £1,486 to Windmill Pre School, who have been able to take out a lease on the adjoining building (previously the Children’s Centre) and thus expand the pre school capacity and offering available for local families.

The funds will be utilised, alongside monies raised by the pre school fundraising initiatives, to purchase outdoor equipment to provide an outdoor classroom and sensory area, which will benefit all young attendees and is especially important for those with special needs.

The council was delighted to be able to support the pre school with this initiative and to hear that the old Children’s Centre will be re-utilised to expand the local early years provision.

If your local community group could benefit from a grant, please see our Grant Awarding Policy available here: https://pitstone.co.uk/ppcinfo/grant-policy/

For any residents that are interested in attending the Buckinghamshire Council meeting regarding Westfield Road, please find below details of the dedicated meeting that they have arranged and information about how you can take part.

At the Wing & Ivinghoe Transport Subgroup meeting on 4^th February a commitment was made to hold a further meeting on Westfield Road. Attached, for convenience is the previously circulated briefing provided by the Cabinet Member for Transport, setting out the Council’s position.  

The meeting will take place on Tuesday 23^rd February at 11am. If you would like to attend please follow this link to book your place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/westfield-road-pitstone-allocated-meeting-tickets-141837233985

Once registered, the ticket that you receive will have a link to the meeting attached. Do not click the link until the specified time of the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting will be:

1. Presentation on Westfield Road
2. Pre-submitted questions
3. Any other questions (subject to time)

Please could we request that any questions are submitted to: wingandivinghoecb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk  by 7pm on Thursday 18^th February. This will allow for officers to prepare responses accordingly.

Thank you again for raising issues important to your local community, and thank you for your patience while we work to resolve them.

Katrina Kelly

Community Board Co-Ordinator for the Wing and Ivinghoe board

Localities & Strategic Partnerships Service Directorate

Buckinghamshire Council

01296 383970

07917 210597

Katrina.Kelly@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

The attached document was first issued when the Community Boards were set up by Buckinghamshire Council last June, as some background info that could help shape the activity of the Health and Wellbeing subgroup. That subgroup is planning a ‘Fun, Food and Fitness Fair’ and working with groups like Active Bucks.

The parish council is working to address some of the issues raised via investment in play equipment, the skate park and multi-use ball games court to encourage freely available fitness & activity; we support the foodbank for those struggling with food deprivation; we host Active Bucks events (when Covid restrictions permit); will be setting up activities for the new community space at the pavilion; provide support for local football, cricket & netball; provide allotments to encourage self provision & active gardening and provide youth services (when Covid restrictions permit).

The community board subgroup still has funds available for relevant local projects. Residents are welcome to attend the Community Board meetings, so if there are other local initiatives that fall within the Health & Wellbeing remit, you are welcome to either attend the sub-group meetings in person or provide your feedback to the parish council so that we can take forward ideas on your behalf.

If you would be interested in any of the initiatives listed, or have other ideas, we would love to hear from you so do get in touch (email: parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk, tel: 01296 767261)

You can find out more information about the Community Boards here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/community-and-safety/improving-your-local-community/wing-ivinghoe-community-board/

The Community Board advertise their forthcoming meetings here: https://www.facebook.com/Wing-and-Ivinghoe-Community-Board-104964671378244

*Sent on behalf of Anne Wight, Chairman Wing & Ivinghoe Community Board*

Dear All,

I would like to thank you all very much for attending the Wing & Ivinghoe Transport Subgroup meeting on 4^th February, and especially for highlighting the issues and concerns regarding Westfield Road in Pitstone. I want to reassure you all that we are very much aware of how important this issue is for local residents.

I have attached for convenience the previously circulated briefing which addresses some of the issues raised, but fully accept that it will be helpful to explain and explore this issue in more detail.

I apologise for the fact that we had underestimated the amount of time it might take to deal with this issue in full, given that we had thought a brief presentation from the officers as to proposed solutions might be possible at the WICB Transport Subgroup meeting. I appreciate that in retrospect, it would have been better to have set up a separate meeting to make sure we were able to cover all questions and issues, and would therefore like to convene a dedicated meeting to clearly communicate what the Council is doing to remedy the situation and to address questions raised by councillors and residents with more time and in a more structured manner.

Since the meeting we have received a number of questions, views and suggestions. We would like to consider and answer these points fully, providing considered and comprehensive answers, ensuring these are in line with road safety requirements and the appropriate legislation. 

With that in mind, we are looking to convene a meeting on Westfield Road for the week commencing 22^nd February. We will circulate the time and date as soon as we have been able to confirm diary arrangements to ensure that officers of the appropriate seniority and with suitable technical knowledge are able to attend.

Thank you again for raising issues important to your local community. I would also like to thank you personally for your patience and understanding while we work to resolve them. We very much look forward to seeing you again soon, so that we might look at ways to take your concerns forward together and find workable solutions to the issues you raised.

Kind regards,

Councillor Anne Wight

Councillor for Ivinghoe Ward

Buckinghamshire Council

Anne.Wight@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

The sudden change in location of the speed limit signs was discussed at the parish council meeting on 28 January 2021, extract from the draft minutes below:

It was noted that as part of the adoptions process between Buckinghamshire Council and Taylor Wimpey that the 30/60mph commencement point had been moved from the white gates to the junction of Warwick Road.   It has been raised to both BC Highways Development Management (adoptions) and the Community Board as being unacceptable to double the speed limit, especially without consultation, and to locate the new point so close to the Warwick Road junction.

Having initially stated that no changes could be made, it was noted that Highways DM were now reviewing what measures they could put into place, that would be DfT compliant and that would enable the 30/60mph start point to move back closer to the gates.  The details of this, and the timescale, were as yet unknown as Highways DM continued to negotiate with Taylor Wimpey and explore options with contractors.

It was noted that the parish council had asked for additional speed mitigation measures to be considered as part of the review process, such as 30mph paint markings in the highway at the point of change in speed limit and countdown markers painted in the road on the approach to the gates.  To provide as many visual prompts for traffic to slow as were permitted.

It was also noted that the parish council had requested a full breakdown of potential speed mitigation measures for Westfield Road that may either be considered as part of the adoptions process or possibly able to be taken forward through the Community Board.  A brief response to this from Highways DM was shared at the meeting.  It was RESOLVED to seek permission to publish this information on the website, along with the anticipated statement from Highways DM on what remedial works they plan to reverse the 30/60mph relocation.

The 4 residents in attendance with an interest in this issue spoke about their concerns relating to the change in location and their desire for the signs to be returned to the original location whilst the remedial works were considered.   The parish council has been told on numerous occasions by Highways DM that TVP will not approve their relocation back to the original position, nor for them to be covered over in their current location.

Buckinghamshire Councillor Town confirmed that he was also opposed to the sudden change in location.

It was RESOLVED that the parish council would continue to push Highways DM for a resolution via the adoptions process.   It was RESOLVED to seek further information relating to a TRO.  It was also noted that the parish council had requested this be tabled on the Community Board Transport Subgroup meeting (supported by BC Derek Town and Co-ordinator Peter Brazier) and noted that Highways DM had been asked to attend that meeting next week.  Cllr Saintey is in attendance on behalf of Pitstone Parish Council.  Residents are welcome to attend.

Buckinghamshire Council (BC) and Thames Valley Police (TVP) have now conducted a thorough review of the speed changes that were implemented at end of Westfield Road. We are pleased that they have now put into place some remedial works which will see the 30/60mph zone moved a further 70m back towards the original position at the white gates and further away from the Warwick Road junction (now 80-85m from the junction). Full details are available in the transcript of the email issued by Buckinghamshire Council below. A copy of this communication will also be issued by BC direct to residents that wrote to Buckinghamshire Council.

Dear All,

Thank you for your emails concerning the above. I received a number of similar emails and I am providing you all with the same response, now that we have been able to establish the details of the background of this issue, and confirmation of the proposed action that was agreed by Thames Valley Police (TVP) and Buckinghamshire Council (BC) at a site meeting held at Westfield Road on 25th January.

Description of the issue;

The 30mph speed limit on Westfield Road was placed some 18-19 years ago and commenced at a point that coincided with the white village gates at the very edge of the development. The area outside of this being a National Speed Limit (60mph) past the Local Wildlife Site.

However, as part of the adoption process that Taylor Wimpey (TW) are going through, that will facilitate the adoption of Westfield Road (along with the remainder of the whole estate) by BC, it was noted that the absence of any street lighting in the vicinity of the gateway feature identified that the speed limit did not comply with regulations and was not compliant with current legislation and therefore, unenforceable.

To ensure compliance, the speed limit signs were moved, over the weekend of 16-17th January, to a point that coincided with the last street lamp positioned on Westfield Road. This places them 10 to 15 metres from the centreline of the Warwick Road junction. No consultation was required to effect this change, even though the speed limit was effectively ‘doubled on this stretch of road from 30mph to 60mph’, as the change was required to address the anomaly on what is currently an ‘unadopted’ road, albeit that the adoption Agreement with TW enables a speed limit to be applied to this road.

The distance from the current last column, which now has the 30/National Speed Limit signs affixed to it, to the ‘gateway’ feature is approximately 132 metres. There is also a ‘badger’ warning sign positioned around 75 metres from the current last column.

Considerations and agreed action;

An initial discussion concerning the issue took place between Taylor Wimpey (TW) and the Council (BC), where it was agreed to seek the views of TVP and the BC Road Safety Team – who have a significant input into the assessment of proposed speed limit changes in the County – which resulted in the following;

Notwithstanding the 30mph limit that is in place along the residential section of Westfield Road, national speed limit guidance suggests that; having no ‘frontage development’ (that has direct access on to Westfield Road), the limit that should be applied is 40mph, which would then allow the side roads to be signed as 30mph.

However, in the prevailing circumstances, it was agreed that the existing 30mph limit should remain in place, with the following amendment being applied to the signage at the southern end of the entrance to the village and the BC Street Lighting team, provided the following as a guide as to how the issue could be taken forward;

“Current guidance suggests that a road should be lit, 5 seconds of travelling time before a ‘hazard’ is encountered.

And that the distance travelled in 5 seconds at 30mph is 67m, with the maximum permitted column spacing in these conditions being 37m with a standard maintenance LED lantern”.

Therefore, from this (taking the Warwick Road junction as being the hazard), it was decided that the recommended course of action was that 2 new columns, at 35 metre spacing, should be installed, so enabling the start of the 30mph limit to be moved a distance of 70m from the current last existing column, giving an overall distance of approximately 80 to 85 metres from the start of the repositioned 30mph limit to the centreline of the Warwick Road junction.

This outcome has been discussed and agreed between BC and TVP and now all possible avenues are being explored that will allow the necessary works to take place in the earliest possible timescale.

A final point to note and in lieu of the decisions/ impending action being taken, is that the Parish Council (along with a number of residents) made a request for the currently relocated 30mph signs to either be removed or put back to their original position, until the above could be enacted, to which the answer given was ‘no’, because, as a result of comments made by TVP, whilst the development remained unadopted, the roads and footways forming the estate were open to use by the travelling public and therefore, the signs provided must comply with all legislative requirements.

We hope this information is useful and helps to provide an understanding of the situation and intended course of action.

Kind regards,

Nick

Cllr. Nick Naylor

Cabinet Member for Transport

Buckinghamshire Council

Whilst it is disappointing that the location has not been able to be moved back to the original location, highways must legally comply with the Department for Transport regulations.

As part of the review process, the parish council asked BC to consider what speed mitigation measures were permissible to ensure that vehicles did slow down to the 30mph, and remain at that speed for the duration of the residential section. BC has agreed to investigate the possibility of countdown markers in the carriageway on the approach to the gates and a 30mph painted sign in the road as part of the adoption process with Taylor Wimpey. Originally, there was just the single prompt of the gate/sign point to advise drivers to reduce from 60mph to 30mph. The new proposals would provide the countdown road markings, then gate, then 30mph road markings, then signs, so may be more effective at warning vehicles to slow to the appropriate speed.

BC have also provided initial information about a range of speed mitigation & safety measures that may/may not be appropriate for Westfield Road in the longer term, not as part of the adoptions process, but which might be able to be raised through the Community Board Transport Sub-Group. Previously it has not been possible to consider any of these options, as the highway was not adopted, so the legal adoption as a public highway will enable a range of options to be considered as necessary. It should be noted that any changes to the public highway have to go through a lengthy process with Buckinghamshire Council / Transport for Bucks and will require local funding for any measures that are approved. This document was initially shared at the parish council meeting and is available here:

The above document includes a number of measures that were suggested by residents in their correspondence to Buckinghamshire Council, so we hope that this information will be of interest.

Ensuring vehicles remain at the designated 30mph until they pass the derestriction sign, as they travel towards Tring, will remain a challenge.

In addition, we have made enquiries about a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). A TRO can take 12-18 months to put into place and includes an extensive consultation with statutory bodies, one of which is TVP. As TVP have been fully involved in the recent review exercise, we are advised that they are unlikely to support a TRO application for the short remaining section (approximately 60m) of Westfield Road where the change in speed limit now applies. However it may be possible, in due course, to apply for a TRO to provide a 40mph buffer zone between the 60mph and the 30mph, if the initial measures do not prove effective.

The next Buckinghamshire Council Wing and Ivinghoe Community Board Transport Sub-Group meeting is taking place on Thursday 4 February 2021 18.30-19.30 and Westfield Road is on the agenda. Members of the parish council, along with Buckinghamshire Councillor Derek Town, will be in attendance. BC Highways Development Management has been asked to attend and supply information. Members of the public are welcome to attend. Information about the meeting and how you can register to attend can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2501876303441962/

We will post an update following the meeting to keep residents informed.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents that took the time to write to Buckinghamshire Council about this issue, as it has helped the parish council to demonstrate the strength of local concern regarding the initial changes and helped to secure the proposed amendments.

Following the Community Board meeting, once we are in full receipt of information from Buckinghamshire Council, the parish council will be able to review what next steps we can take. Westfield Road will appear on the next full parish council agenda for 25 February 2021 and we will keep residents advised of any further information we receive in the meantime.

We are seeking a replacement asset checker.

The asset inspector will need to check our playground equipment, gates, benches, trees and other assets around the parish are sound. You’ll need to attend training sessions for basic playground equipment inspection and basic tree inspection.

You’ll need to be happy to work outside in all weathers and work on your own. Work patterns can be flexible, to be discussed at interview.

For full details of this role, please see the attachment below.

If this is the role(s) for you, please apply in writing to: Mrs Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone Parish Council at email: parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk or via mail at 9 Warwick Road, Pitstone, LU7 9FE, providing brief written details about yourself, your experience and your suitability for the post, or a cv if you have one. Please remember to include your contact details.

Deadline: Friday 19 February 2020.

We are delighted that the construction work at the pavilion is now complete, with just the re-laying of the car park to follow in the spring.  Football matches briefly re-started, before the covid restrictions were tightened further, allowing teams to take advantage of the new changing village facilities including home & away changing rooms, 2 officials rooms and medical room.

Once the lockdown eases and covid regulations allow, the youth cafe will be re-located to this site for the time being (as Brookmead is currently unavailable to us), the parish office is located here and council meetings & drop-in surgeries will take place at this venue once we are able to meet in person again.  We have an exercise class for the elderly due to start as soon as restrictions are lifted and we look forward to welcoming more classes and groups as 2021 progresses.  We are also exploring options to use the facility to further support our community during lockdown.  Our community facilities (lovely light meeting room, kitchen and toilet facilities) are available for hire by community groups and individuals, within the permitted Coronavirus guidelines at the time (so sorry – we are not able to accept bookings for parties etc at present).  We have parking for 42 vehicles and 8 bicycles in our illuminated car park.  For your safety and security, both the building and grounds are protected with CCTV and alarms. 

Please look out for more forthcoming events at the site which will be publicised on our website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.  Please visit this weblink for more information: https://pitstone.co.uk/ppcinfo/sport-and-recreation/

This is an amazing facility for our community which we know you will be proud off for years to come.  We’d like to thank all our grant funders including:

• £540,000 from the Section 106 Sports and Leisure Contributions held by Buckinghamshire Council for Pitstone.
• £370,000 from AVDC (now Buckinghamshire Council) New Homes Bonus.  If you would like more information about the AVDC grant funding available, please contact the grants officer, helen.white@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• Approximately £32,000 from the Football Foundation Football Stadia Improvement Fund.  Funded with £6.5m each year from the Premier League, the FSIF – the sister organisation of the Football Foundation – is the country’s largest provider of grants towards projects that help improve the comfort and safety of lower league football grounds in both the professional and amateur game. These improvements range from new football stands and turnstiles to floodlighting and improved provision for disabled supporters.
• £10,000 funding from the  Thriving Communities Fund, a grants scheme for community projects run by Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust.  If you would like more information about the grants available, please call the Grants Officer, on 01296 732600.
• £4,000 from P&IUFC
• £1,500 from P&IJFC
• As well as approximately £14k of capital funds accrued by Pitstone Parish Council over a number of recent years.

We’d also like to thank our professional team for their support and assistance, in particular PEP Ltd, Civil and Structural Engineers, who provided all of their expertise and time free-of-charge to support their local community.

The old pavilion was only really a changing block and toilets suitable for use by the football teams.  It didn’t even have kitchen facilities.  We now look forward to a greater number of our residents being able to benefit from the newly expanded facilities and to welcoming you all to the pavilion very soon.

I hope you were able to find some pleasure and relaxation during an unusual and difficult Christmas/New Year, and that a brighter future awaits.

In my last report I talked about the issue of increasing litter in the village and mentioned residents who were taking it upon themselves to supplement the Parish Council’s litter picking to deal with the issue.

Sadly, the litter problem hasn’t gone away but the council is heartened to note that even more people have joined the litter picking ranks. We thank everyone who is helping with the problem but their efforts should not be required. Please put your litter in the bin or take it home, and make sure that your family members do the same.

Looking back at my report from this time last year it’s clear that, in a difficult year, the council had some successes.

We managed to complete two of our three major projects, the new play equipment on the Rec, and the Pavilion, but we are still working on the Skate Park.

Skate park tender documents should have gone out during last year, but delays in getting the play equipment installed and other lockdown restrictions halted the progress. The skate park will be located in the space between the new play equipment and the end of the hall car park (soon to be the site of the new Multi-use games area). That space needed to be available for site visits from suppliers So they can measure and plan. Now that it is we are able to restart the process.

Provision of the skate park has been on the councils agenda for over 20 years. With many council projects raising the money is the most difficult part, for the skate park this wasn’t the case. We have had money available the whole time, the issue has always been finding a site.

Thankfully we are now at the end of the long process required to obtain and free up the space. Most of the young people who helped us with designs in the past are now adults, with some probably having children of their own. I believe that this year will be the one where the village finally gets this much anticipated facility.

Also in my previous January report mentioned that we had elections coming up. They also didn’t happen but, at this point, we expect them to go ahead in May. If you are interested in becoming a councillor please speak to the clerk, or any councillor, to find out more. Details of our meetings are posted on the website and are a great way to get to know more about how we work.

Les Graves retired from the Parish Council after many years of service both as an asset inspector and litter picker.  We wish Les well.  Our thanks to David Witherden for expanding his previous litter picking duties to encompass Les’s previous routes. We also extend a warm welcome to Iwona Lipa, who joins the council team as a cleaner at the new pavilion.   Please do make everyone feel very welcome when you see them out and about.

‘Keep clear’ markings are put there for very good reasons.  They signify to you, as a driver, that access is required and that you shouldn’t park there.  Sadly, some people think that the rules don’t apply to them, or don’t apply if they are only going to be gone from their vehicle for 10-15 minutes while they pop into the shop or collect their child from school.  Orchard Way in particular, opposite Brookmead school, has a number of elderly residents who frequently need ambulance services and their access is often blocked at school pick up and drop off times.  This is not a car park or layby – it is the only vehicular access for this cul-de-sac.  You wouldn’t park right across the junction of Rushendon Furlong & shouldn’t park across this junction either.  Just think how frustrating it would be if your grandparents needed an ambulance and unknown people had completely blocked off the access to your road with parked cars.  Those extra wasted minutes trying to get through could be fatal.  Please be considerate, leave home a few minutes earlier and park a little further away. 

We also receive complaints about vehicles blocking dropped curbs, parking on footpaths and cycle paths, causing obstructions in residential roads and blocking visibility at junctions.  You can report nuisance parking issues to Buckinghamshire Councils Traffic Wardens.  You can report illegal parking and abandoned vehicles, to Thames Valley Police.  Further information on both can be found on their websites. 

Thank you.

We are aware that the dog bin by The Crescent suffered a post failure and has been removed. A replacement bin is on order and will be installed as soon as possible. In the meantime, please visit an alternative dog bin or take your bags home with you.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

https://pitstone.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Pitstone-A5-flyer.pdf

Due to our expanding population, the number of seats on the parish council will be increasing from 10 to 11 at the next election in May.  At election time, the term of office for all current councillors terminates, and a new council is elected.  Existing members may choose to stand for re-election or may choose to stand down.  Other residents may also choose to stand for election. All members are volunteers and receive no renumeration or financial allowances for their work.

If you are passionate about helping our community, and have plenty of spare time to volunteer, please do consider standing for election.

You are welcome to talk to the clerk or any serving councillor to get more information and members of the public are welcome to attend all our council and committee meetings where you would gain an understanding of all the current affairs being managed.  You may also like to read the documents below, which provide a little more information about what is involved and who is qualified to stand:

about council booklet

Become a councillor

You can also find out lots of information, whether you are eligible to stand and download forms at https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/

The corporate body of the parish council also acts as Sole Trustee to two local charities, so you may also like to read:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-essential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3

The Parish Council was pleased to support the Pitstone Memorial Hall Charity with a grant of £6,000 (accrued over 2 years) towards the necessary repairs to fix the hall roof.

For those of you that may be unaware, the Memorial Hall is owned and managed by a local charity (not the parish council). The Hall is a fantastic asset for the Village and is well used by old and young alike. Following their AGM in November, the Charity’s trustees are now on the lookout for more trustees to join their team. The Trustees generally meet between 4 and 6 times a year with regular email communication in between. We are looking for people who can spare the odd evening to attend meetings and who are interested in keeping the hall running as a valuable asset. Whilst no special qualifications are required, we do need someone to fill the role of treasurer and also anyone who would enjoy managing social media for the charity.

If you are interested, please contact hallmanager@pitstone.co.uk for further details.

All your nominations for the Pitstone Volunteer of the Year 2021 need to be sent to the parish council by Friday 15 January 2021, so if you know of someone that is giving up their time and making a difference to the lives of the people in Pitstone, then please let us know.

A huge army of volunteers make our village special.  Did you know that volunteers manage the Memorial Hall; the Pitstone Heritage Park/museum; staff the Pitstone Windmill open days; are parish councillors; form the governing body of Brookmead school; deliver and edit Pitstone Parish Post; operate Pitstone Youth Café; form the management committee for Windmill pre-school; drive for the Community Car scheme; run mums & toddlers; run Brownies/Rainbows/Cubs/Scouts; are trustees for The Williamson Trust and Pitstone Town Lands Charity; run sporting groups such as I&PUCC, P&IUFC and P&IJFC; check street lights; provide ground-keeping on the cricket square; manage our allotment site; help at the Beacon Villages Community Library; organise community events and form the Friends of St Mary’s church in Pitstone, manning open days and organising events. Just think what our village would be like without all these facilities!

As well as being an opportunity for you, and the parish council, to thank our Volunteer of the Year in public, the winner receives £50.00 and a framed certificate.

Previous winners include: Gill Arney, Rob Spiller, Margaret Cole, Klaus Ginda, Dave Clifford, Mary Saintey, Joe Marling, Michelle Lee, David Hawkins, John Groom and Elaine Thorogood.

Please email or write to the parish clerk on: parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk or at

9 Warwick Road, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9FE

providing the full name of the person you wish to nominate and the reasons why you think they deserve to win.

If you have some spare time and would like join this volunteer army and start enjoying the benefits that volunteering brings, please do get in touch.

We are pleased to say that the two new sets of swings (flat seat swings and cradle seat swings) have passed their post installation inspection and the playground has been reopened this afternoon.

We hope that you enjoy the new equipment.