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Wendover Parish Council
Wendover Parish Council will represent the community of Wendover by providing leadership and opportunities so that Wendover will be a vibrant and inspirational place in which to live, work or visit.
Wendover Parish Council
A transcript of the Chairman’s speech at the Annual Parish Council Meeting for 2011 and a couple of supporting documents as referred to on the land issues, can be found on our website
HS2 Grant
Wendover HS2 Action Group has requested a grant from the Parish Council to help fund a judicial review on the process followed by the Government in coming to its decision to proceed with HS2. As this is the first application we have had from a campaign group we would like your opinion, please let us know whether you are for or against by emailing the Clock Tower: details below.
View from the Chair
Firstly a great big thank you to all those people in Wendover who responded to our recent questionnaire. It gave much more gravitas to our response to AVDC which was guided by the views and opinions expressed. There were a few hiccoughs which was not surprising - it being the first consultation exercise that this Parish Council has undertaken.
Difficulties relating to distribution will have been sorted out by the next consultation. As localism takes more of a hold there will be further consultations and invitations for comment on matters ranging from HS2 to celebrations of the Queen's Jubilee.
Bucks Healthcare have issued a consultation which I would urge you to participate in, as Health is a subject that very much affects us all - www.buckinghamshire.nhs.uk/bhib/
By the time this article is published, I will have met with the Schools' Youth Council and hopefully persuaded two Youth Councillors to be seconded to the Parish Council.
We say thanks, goodbye and good luck to Katie Ryan, who has been helping out over the last few months in the Clock Tower. Katie has been involved with the modernisation of the Wendover Parish Council website which by the time you read this should have gone live. It is early days and we would appreciate any helpful comments, including pointing out any errors you may find! It is completely different, more comprehensive and informative. We hope you like it .
Karen Saunders has been elected to the chair of staffing - a challenging role which I’m sure Karen will be more than equal to. Additionally, other groups are looking at compliance and communication which are all equally important.
Early warning of our Annual Parish meeting on Wednesday 18 April to be held in the Memorial Hall, by which time a year of the current Parish Council will have passed. How time flies!
Bob Duggan, Chairman
February’s Council meeting saw the introduction of a couple of changes with the Chairman announcing that for the first time the meeting was being recorded to ensure clarity of minutes. The Council’s seating layout had also been changed to a square formation but in a break with tradition (if not convention), the new arrangement saw the Chairman and Clerks facing away from the ‘public gallery’ rather than towards it.
Public Participation
Antony Chapman, Treasurer of the Wendover HS2 Action Group, informed the meeting that a judicial review was being sought into what was seen as a flawed decision to go ahead with the project in the light of environmental and habitat directives. Several groups were contributing towards the cost of the action and the Parish Council was asked to consider making a donation of £15,000. However, Eli Kling suggested to the Council that it might be better to spend money on mitigation measures such as noise barriers rather than on lawyers.
Police report
PCSO Mandy Aplin informed the meeting that there had recently been an increase in burglaries in the area (N.B. anyone wishing to have belongings security marked should contact Gillian Franklin at Wendover Police Station between 9am and 1pm, Mon-Fri). Gillian.Franklin@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
Following complaints about the large amount of broken glass on roads and pavements in the vicinity of the Clock Tower after the New Year’s Eve celebrations, pubs have been asked to consider using plastic ‘glasses’ on the night in future. Furthermore, the police will not allow the road to be closed for what has become an annual, but unofficial, firework display. That being the case, the recent clock tower display may have been the last.
Finance
Several requests for funding including:
Churchyard Care – The Council agreed to make a further grant of £2,500 towards St Mary’s churchyard care whilst seeking further advice regarding a new formal agreement.
Youth Club – In response to a request from Dr Riley for continuing Parish Council support for the youth club, the Council agreed to donate £5,250 towards club facilities.
Wendover Celebrates – Having agreed to contribute £2,500 towards the event at the December meeting, a request for a further £5,000 resulted in concerns being expressed by some Councillors with Cllr Walsh commenting that he was “a little disappointed getting asked again at this stage.” Support was expressed on the grounds that it was a ‘celebratory event’ and the option of a loan was also suggested, but by a majority vote it was decided to defer a decision pending further advice from the National Association of Local Councils.
HS2 – In discussing the request from the Wendover HS2 Action Group for £15,000 towards the cost of pursuing a judicial review, the question of legality was raised and concerns again expressed regarding the sum involved. Cllr Lewis cautioned that the Council needed to be “careful with taxpayers money” and further concerns were expressed as to whether support for such an action might jeopardise the Councils negotiating position should it wish to pursue additional mitigation measures such as a longer tunnel. However, with Cllr Gregory describing HS2 as “the most horrendous thing to happen to Wendover,” it was again agreed to defer a decision until the next meeting pending further advice.
Strategic Planning - Vale of Aylesbury Plan
Following the recent Community Consultation, Wendover Parish Council has now submitted its conclusions and comments to AVDC:
- Scope for further housing and employment sites is strictly limited due to environmental and planning constraints.
- A figure of less than thirty new houses (including in-fill and windfall sites) is all that might be expected over the next twenty years.
- Opposition to any proposals to reduce existing recreational spaces within the built area.
- An extension to the library car park to meet present needs and ensure the viability of the town is an urgent wish.
- Road access to the schools campus is inadequate and so is on site parking. A new access from Tring Road with additional parking is considered an ‘infrastructure improvement imperative.’
- Wendover’s role as a significant tourist destination to be furthered through the provision of adequate car parking and enhancement of the rights of way network.
- Concerns remain regarding the potential impact of HS2 in spite of recent mitigation proposals.
Richard Gridley
