We are delighted that the new bus service to Tring Station came into effect on 2 September 2024. Our sincere thanks to everyone that took the time to complete the original Bus to Tring Station survey and to all the employees at Safran who completed the more recent workplace survey about potential bus usage, both of which have helped to provide evidence to Buckinghamshire Council and Red Eagle to support the introduction of the route.
Most of the Number 61 bus services will operate the Tring station route. There are currently a number of buses in both directions each day. The online timetable can be found here https://pitstone.co.uk/newbustimetable and Bucks Council should keep the ones at the bus stops updated.
The service currently being offered by Red Eagle is being used to assess demand. Once they have some data on actual uptake, they will then look to make any definitive timetable changes they feel are necessary. At the moment, Bucks Council and Red Eagle hope that the service will be a permanent change, but if there is insufficient demand or they receive complaints about the new routes / timetables then the times/services may be reviewed. It is possible that they may receive negative feedback from users of the previous route at the diverted times, who now find that their preferred bus is no longer available.
Buckinghamshire Council has also said that they are not promoting the current new service, as the timetable is yet to be refined. To ensure that demand can be accurately assessed, people need to know about it. The Parish Council has put information on the website, Facebook , X and our noticeboards, as well as in this magazine which will reach every home and business in the parish. If you know people that use Tring station that may find the service useful, please do make sure they are aware of it (especially as the car park charges at the station have just increased).
How can you help ensure the service continues?
· Use it! Please use the service as much as possible to ensure that Red Eagle has accurate data from which to assess the level of demand.
· If there are particular timed buses that you find of the most benefit, you’d like to provide some general positive feedback about the new route, or you have suggestions about specific timings to coincide with train times etc please take a moment to email both Passenger Transport at Buckinghamshire Council on email: passtrans@buckinghamshire.gov.uk and Red Eagle on email: enquiries@redeagle.org.uk (please copy parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk) so that they have evidence of how useful everyone finds the service.
· Do pass the information to friends / neighbours / colleagues that may also find the service of interest.
There has been a reluctance from service providers/Bucks over the years to offer this service, as it has been perceived as unsustainable and of negative impact to those on the prior route. So our thanks also go to the current staff at Red Eagle and Buckinghamshire Council who have been willing to work with us this time around to implement the service—but this does mean it’s even more important to show that the revised service is worthwhile.
Please use the new service to prove there is a demand for it and provide feedback to Buckinghamshire Council and Red Eagle to show your support for the service. Thank you.
Bus Shelters for Westfield Road
Another long-awaited project is coming to fruition. Whilst they owned the land over which Westfield Road runs, Taylor Wimpey had denied permission for bus shelters to be erected. Now the land has transferred to Buckinghamshire Council we have finally been granted permission. Bucks have approved the proposals submitted by our preferred supplier for three shelters – two on the residential side and one outside Safran. The works will include minor amendments to the bases where required, removal of the existing poles and inclusion of the timetables & flags within the new shelters.
The Parish Council has sufficient budget to install both shelters on the residential side of the road, accrued over several years. Our sincere thanks to Safran Electrical and Power who have provided the funding for the shelter outside their premises, benefitting both their employees and our parishioners.
The final bus stop on the business park side of the road up by Warwick Road seems to get a lot of people alighting at that point, but fewer people waiting to board a bus there. If you wait for a bus at this stop, we would love to hear from you, so that we can assess the demand for a fourth shelter at this location and therefore enable us to budget towards the associated costs.
Installation works are currently proposed for 28 to 30 October 2024 (one day per stop) between 09.30 and 15.00.
Bin Stickers and Posters to tackleSpeeding in Residential Roads
We continue to receive reports of excessive speeding in some residential roads. We will be distributing anti-speeding wheelie bin stickers (approx. 18” x 12”) to properties in some of the worst affected roads including in Yardley Avenue, Windsor Road, Cheddington Road, Vicarage Road and Marsworth Road. If you live in another road, but would be
interested in receiving some stickers, please email us on parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk so we can gauge the level of interest before placing any additional orders.
We are also hoping to work with Thames Valley Police and local children on a poster campaign that we will be able to utilize on our lamp posts etc. We’ll let you know more details once they are finalized.
Street lighting in Chilterns Edgedevelopment
Croudace, the developer, has now completed the Section 38 highways works enabling the estate highway and path (excluding those areas to be private roads) to be adopted by Buckinghamshire Council, and this also triggers the ability of the Parish Council to adopt the 17 street light columns that are situated within the public highway. The rest, and the bollards, remain the responsibility of Croudace’s management company.
Tun Furlong play space
Bellway are in the process of completing the outstanding remedials in the children’s playground in Tun Furlong, and this will enable the Parish Council to adopt the area inside the playground fencing. All open space areas outside the playground fence will remain with the management company appointed by Bellway.
Both the above initiatives should be completed within the next couple of months.
Thank you to all our volunteers
Approximately 100 residents provide voluntary services to the Parish Council – some help at youth café or sit on the Allotment or Sports & Leisure Committees, some drive for our car scheme, help to deliver the Parish Post or act as street light champions. We’d like to express a huge thank you to each and every one of you. Your help, support and dedication to the village is very much appreciated by both the council and all those that benefit from the services you provide.
The council is particularly looking for more volunteers to help at the Youth Café or to drive residents to their medical appointments (see adverts in this edition of the magazine).
If you don’t currently volunteer but you’d like to give-back to the area in which you live, we have a number of opportunities listed in the volunteer database which can be found here: https://pitstone.co.uk/ppcinfo/vacancies-and-employment/ We look forward to hearing from you. You might even become the next winner of …
Volunteer of the Year
The Parish Council runs the Volunteer of the Year scheme to celebrate the unsung heroes within our community. If you know someone who goes that extra mile and provides an outstanding voluntary service to the residents of Pitstone, please submit your nominations to the Parish Clerk (parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk) so that they can be taken into consideration for the 2025 award.
Vacancies
Our thanks to those people that have expressed an interest in becoming a member of the Parish Council, to serve the remaining term of office until the elections in May 2025. If you’d also like to join us, please do get in touch via parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk.
Thinking of Standing for Election?
If you are interested in standing for election in May, the Local Government Association are hosting a free Democracy in Action workshop in November. It will provide a valuable opportunity to learn about the work and role of local councillors in your community and answer your questions about standing for election. More information can be found here:
Interest in a footpath along the UpperIcknield Way to College Lake
Thank you to the 461 people that responded to the survey to gauge interest in a footpath along the Upper Icknield Way. Most of the responses were in support with some of the main reasons expressed including safety concerns due to the busy road, when both walking and running. There were many comments that a footpath would allow for safe and enjoyable circular walks, access to local amenities, and connections to other footpaths and routes in the area. Many respondents said that a footpath would encourage more walking, reduce the need for driving, and provide safer access to key destinations such as College Lake, the Grand Junction Arms pub, and the garden centre.
Part of the route is within Hertfordshire and part would fall within Buckinghamshire. It is not an easy terrain, with many ditches, items of street furniture, traffic lights, rail safety barriers, private residences and uneven surfaces within the roadside space that any path would need to occupy, to say nothing of a long thin railway bridge. Both councils estimate the cost would exceed £2m.
We’ve provided both councils with the data and asked that they include the route within their Cycling and Walking Infrastructure plans, which would enable them to request contributory funds if there is residential development in local areas and enable them to apply for central government funding if some becomes available. It will be up to Bucks and Herts to assess the route further and determine if they are willing to include the path proposals within those plans.
Conclusion of Audit for the Year Ending 31-3-2024
The Parish Council goes through three levels of audit each year. The first is carried out by members of the council. The second called an ‘Internal Audit’ and is carried out by an independent expert whom the Parish Council appoints. The third level is called the ‘External Audit’ and is carried out by independent experts who are appointed to the Parish Council – in our case PKF Littlejohn LLP. The accounts for the year to 31 March 2024 have now concluded passing through all tiers of audit with no matters of concern raised by either IAC Ltd or PKF Littlejohn. All audit documents are available on our website.
Lithium Batteries
The council was pleased to support the campaign to improve the safety of lithium batteries (used in e-bikes and e-scooters) and their disposal. Lithium battery fires are on the increase – there have been over 1000 in the past few years, nearly 200 injuries and a dozen fatalities. Homes have been destroyed. The cost to the UK runs into £billions.
Lord Foster and Electrical Safety First are promoting a Bill to ensure greater safety in the use and disposal of lithium batteries and are aiming to get it into law as soon as possible. The campaign is supported by the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Royal Society for Public Health. In addition 2 coroners have called for the law to be tightened to ensure greater safety.
Please check the Buckinghamshire Council Waste Wizard for details of where you can safely dispose of any batteries and never put them in your general waste bin, as they can cause fires in the collection lorries.
On a much sadder note:
Gillian Arney
It was with great sadness that we announced that Gillian Arney passed away in September. Gill was a previous long serving Parish Councillor, a much loved and respected colleague. She volunteered with many community groups over the years and was still active with the Friends of St Mary’s Church in Pitstone including the Arts & Crafts Festival, and the Beacon Villages Community Library in Ivinghoe. She has touched the lives of very many of our residents and we are sure that you will join us in sending heartfelt condolences to her family.
Theft of mVAS battery
Along with many other units in other villages and towns across Herts, Beds and Bucks, thieves stole the battery from one of our flashing mobile vehicle activated signs. Both units were then removed from rotation whilst we wait for the current spate of thefts to subside and for the replacement batteries to arrive. The theft was reported to Thames Valley Police. All our equipment is security marked. We are also exploring potential opportunities to increase the security of the units to deter further thefts.
Inconsiderate parking and criminal damage at the Local Wildlife Site
Two signs have been erected on the maintenance access gate to the Local Wildlife Site asking people not to block the access, or to park on the footpath/cyclepath. Disappointingly, someone who would prefer to continue to park inconsiderately removed the first sign, defaced the second sign with black graffiti paint (which we managed to clean) and then removed the second sign (which required power tools). On each occasion this happened within 48 hours of the sign being erected/cleaned. All instances of criminal damage have been reported to Thames Valley Police. Another sign will go up in due course.
We recognise that for many years people parked unofficially around the entrance to the site. However, now that Westfield Road has been adopted by the local highways authority, different standards apply and it is the Parish Council’s duty to implement and oversee these.
It is also recognised that many of the vehicles that park there may not be from Pitstone, so we have continued (and will continue) to put polite advisory notes on vehicles we see parked there, advising that Thames Valley Police now patrol the area and highlighting some of the difficulties these vehicles cause. Whilst some drivers have recognised that there are more appropriate, legal and safe places to park and changed their habits accordingly, there would appear to be a small minority of individuals who think it is acceptable to undertake criminal damage, to verbally abuse our staff, and for local residents to incur extra cost to rectify the damage they cause to the property and the verge.
The new government are currently proposing huge uplifts in the level of residential housing required in Buckinghamshire, which puts all towns and villages that fall outside the existing Neighbourhood Plans at greater risk of speculative housing developments. Bucks Council are strongly opposing the level of uplift.
Finally, looking forward over the next couple of months:
Remembrance Day
We have made plans for the silent soldiers to be re-erected and wreaths to be laid at both the Memorial Hall and St Mary’s Church in Ivinghoe in remembrance of the fallen of the parish.
Christmas
The festive lighting will be returning to the Recreation Ground and Pavilion in December. We wish all our residents seasons greetings and best wishes for a peaceful and healthy 2025.
