Hilltop News August & September 2013 Summer, at last The cold spring relented just in time for the annual St Leonards Parish Hall Fete on the first day of June. For a pleasant change we enjoyed blue skies and sunshine, which helped bring in more visitors and raise record profits. ince then the Hilltops have been bathed in some proper warm summer Sweather, even a heat wave: something we’ve missed for the past couple of years. Let’s hope a fine summer continues into the autumn. Jim Hetherington has provided regular features on the wildlife in our villages since the very the beginning of Hilltop News. Small wonder, then, that new subject matter has become ever elusive. Jim is taking a break, but will still contribute to this magazine on a more occasional basis. In the meantime, Michelle Storm has contributed a timely feature on gardening for the benefit of wildlife. Matt Baker once again opens the annual Many of you have expressed concern St Leonards Parish Hall Fete. Report and about the tree thinning which has taken photos inside… place on our commons. Michelle explains, in another feature, why this work is necessary. Also in this issue… Graham Lincoln, editor • A tribute to Lilian Smith • George Humphries sets up a local Canicross club • Mike Wallis remembers a local character • A book of poems by Julia Yeardye Plus our regular features… Chris Brown visits one of our churchyards to Front cover inspire his nature notes. Wildflowers on Buckland Common. Planted Our Curvaceous Cook serves up a fishy just last year, they will, hopefully, provide recipe. a colourful display for the community to …plus all the news from our churches, enjoy over many years to come. school, pubs, clubs, councils and societies. Hilltop News 3 start to slip again. Details of dates, position possibility of privately funding an earlier unclassified roads when they present an THE PARISH COUNCIL of groups if found littering, schools they’ve upgrade within the parish. As BT has signed actual danger of flooding (every road in Government in this country tends to come from, even photos of the litter will all the contract with Connected Counties, this this parish is unclassified except Wigginton help our case. is not an option and, in any case, would be Road and Hawridge Hill/Hawridge wind down over the summer: from the prohibitively expensive. If we find we are in Common/Cholesbury Lane which are parliamentary break to the Parish Council’s High-speed rural broadband update the final 10% of rural premises who won’t C-roads). I already spend quite a bit of time lack of an August meeting. In our case, we Cllr Brown has been following this one for be covered by the contract, we will expect reporting blocked gullies, flooding and some time and told us in June that Bucks our County and District councillors to work other drainage problems (oh, and endless don’t quite down tools and go on extended Business First and Herts Enterprise, overseen with us to bring about a favourable change potholes, of course) but if you can help me holidays, but it’s as good a time as any to by the two County Councils and together to those areas included in the roll-out plans. to do this by either telling me or Transport take a break and concentrate on something known as Connected Counties, have signed for Bucks (e-mail to [email protected]) else for a while. a contract with BT which will provide 90% Delivery Development Plan Document when you see a problem I would be very of rural premises in the two counties with This unwieldy name has been given grateful. ur Annual Meeting of the Council in fibre broadband by 2016 at the latest, to Chiltern District Council’s latest May confirmed that there will be no with the first areas upgraded by mid-2014. supplementary document to its Core And finally - those wheelie bins Ochange in councillors this year and This project comes at no extra cost to Strategy, which was adopted in 2011 The smart new wheelie bins have been I am pleased to report that the Council’s householders or businesses (though it is, of and which frames Chiltern’s overall delivered and those of us who live on very finance and administration has been passed course, funded by our council tax) but it is planning policy for the next few years. narrow roads are having to make do with by the internal auditor as satisfactory for important to remember that – particularly The Government’s Planning Inspectorate coloured bags instead. There has inevitably 2012–13. We are well on the way to being in our area with our ancient telephone has instructed Councils to include certain been a settling-in process but hopefully in a officially approved by the external auditor. exchange – it isn’t just a case of flicking a policies within its existing Core Strategy, year or so Chiltern DC will be able to tell us Phew – the Clerk can breathe easy again! switch to enable faster broadband: the new as well as having produced the National categorically that they are, as a direct result fibre network has to be physically built. Planning Policy Framework in 2012, which of spending all this money on new bins Duke of Edinburgh groups Virgin Media has chosen Chesham as Chiltern DC must now take into account, and waste collection contracts, recycling Several issues have come up over the spring its pilot site and is installing a super-fast and the DDPD is the means of doing this. considerably more of our rubbish than and summer: not least the quantity of network now as part of its urban upgrades, You can read the Parish Council’s they used to. All comments to wasteteam@ litter produced by our seasonal walkers, and BT are doing the same in other Bucks response on www.cholesbury.com or you chiltern.gov.uk. the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme groups and Herts towns. The big companies are can ask me for a paper copy. There will be Susie Bell, Clerk to the Council sent by schools to roam our countryside far less interested in upgrading the rural a further period of consultation in early 758408 [email protected] clutching maps. This year seems to have broadband networks, as they present much 2014 on the revised document which this been particularly bad for litter and the more complicated, expensive problems Council will consider with equal care, even Chartridge & Bellingdon Parish Clerk, Liz while benefiting fewer households. though we are well protected by being in van Hullen, and I have been corresponding Connected Counties is working to redress the Green Belt. The DDPD will eventually with the DofE head office recently to try the balance by concentrating on rural replace any remaining parts of the Chiltern to stem the flow. As a result, the Chairman areas. A survey of areas to be upgraded District Local Plan and help deliver the of Braid Wood Activity Centre and a is happening this summer, but our local objectives of the Core Strategy. representative from the DofE’s South East Cholesbury exchange is one of the oldest Your councillors are: region joined the Chartridge Council in the area and may have to be totally Bucks County Council’s cost-cutting John Allen, Chairman: 758095 meeting. I went along to hear what they rebuilt before we can benefit from such an Bucks CC, while proud of being able to Nigel Blomfield, 758314 had to say and throw in Cholesbury’s views. upgrade. One possible alternative solution keep council tax at 2012–13 levels, has very Chris Brown, 758890 I must say that by mid-July the situation could be to extend a high-speed broadband quietly been making sweeping reductions seemed to have improved enormously – connection loop from Chesham, but this is in many areas to maintain these headlines. Philip Matthews, 758205 thanks, I like to think, to our persistence at guesswork at the moment and I’m afraid A couple which affect our parish directly John Minting, 758206 head office level – and I am hopeful that it we will have to wait and see. Cllr Brown are what used to be regular highways Francis Sanger, 758767 will stay that way. will keep an eye on progress and I hope services, such as grass-cutting and gulley- In the meantime, I would appreciate it if we will have an update in the next few clearing. Verges will now only be cut Liz van Hullen, 758800 everyone could keep an eye on paths they months. twice a year instead of three times, and walk regularly and let me know if things One resident has asked me about the gullies and drains will only be cleared on 4 Hilltop News Hilltop News 5 THE COUNTY COUNCIL who may be interested, I will happily put HAWRIDGE & CHOLESBURY C of E SCHOOL them in touch with Ernst & Young, who are he 2011 census advising BCC on these appointments. results reveal that Please join me in wishing all our young TBuckinghamshire people who have taken their GCSE’s and Summer term is always the busiest in The sleepover was something of a dress saw a 24% rise in over A levels this summer the best of luck with schools with so much to do before the rehearsal for the residential week away at the Isle of Wight in June. With the SATs 65’s in the decade to their results. What you may not know is holidays arrive.