Success on 3rd May

It's been a while since my last blog - I was too busy campaigning. I was out on the doorsteps for most of April - usually an hour in the evenings on my way home from work, and all day on Saturdays (Sunday as well in the week before the election). I visited every house in the Ward at least once, and had fantastic help from 5 supporters who helped to deliver leaflets - I could never have managed to cover the whole area without them. The farms particularly appreciated
a visit, even if my car suffered on some of the tracks. Generally speaking I had a very warm reception, and I have spoken to several people who said they heard about me from a neighbour who had been visited. So I really think the personal contact made all the difference, and it certainly helped me to learn what are the priorities in the area.

These are (in no particular order): the roads and pavements, getting streetlights fixed, providing something for teenagers to do , stopping petty crime and vandalism, flytipping (particularly tyres apparently), concern about losing the weekly rubbish collection, and
better public transport. Plenty for me to follow up on.

I was up all night on the 3rd May celebrating the nationwide Conservative successes, but
unfortunately I had to fly to Barcelona on 4th May for an Oxfam meeting (my employers)
which had been fixed a long time ago and could not be rescheduled, so I missed my own count.
My wife Angelina attended and said it was very exciting. I won with 379 votes, which was exactly the total of the two independent candidates, so if one of them had refrained from standing it would have been a much closer contest.

One issue which came up during the election was the planning application for a composting
(brown bin) recycling facility on the edge of the village. I could see some advantages (cheap compost for the local farms) but also some disadvantages (lorries on the minor roads), and felt
that if it happened at least the village should be able to benefit by introducing brown bin
collections there as well. Anyway, it now seems that it will not be located here after all.

Another issue which I have learnt about since the election is the application by an organisation called the Trail Riders Association to upgrade the bridleways through Romer Wood into a 'byway open to all traffic'. I have looked at the submissions to the County Council, which include
references to various maps dating back to the 18th Century in an attempt to establish whether there has ever been a road through the woods. The Bucks County Council have rejected the request, and it has now gone for appeal to the Secretary of State for the Environment.
I hope that he confirms the decision, as it would be a great shame for the woods to be disturbed
by motorbike trails which would be a hazard to pedestrians and horseriders.