Message to the Electors of Steeple Claydon Ward

It has been a great privilege to serve as your District Councillor for the last four years, and I would be very grateful for your vote to enable me to continue to do so in the forthcoming election on May 5th.

I care deeply about the quality of life for all the residents of the Claydons. If elected I will do everything I can to represent your interests. I have actively opposed both the proposed Energy From Waste incinerator at Calvert, and the High Speed Two plans (especially the proposals for a new infrastructure maintenance depot at Steeple Claydon), which threaten our rural way of life and the beauty of our countryside and villages.

I have lobbied hard to get our potholes fixed, our drains and pavements repaired, new salt bins installed, and our roads properly gritted in the winter. I have been closely involved in planning applications, to ensure that any new development is appropriate and sensitive to the area, and have supported plans to improve the amount of affordable housing available.

I have been happy to support successful grant applications for District Council funding to improve East and Botolph Claydon village hall, the planned new East and Botolph Claydon recreation ground and the Steeple Claydon skateboard park, and I am delighted that a popular local bakery was helped through the Council’s vital villages grant scheme.

It has been a great pleasure to be involved in so many events and activities in our villages over the last four years. The Big Society is active and thriving in the Claydons, with the local community taking over the running of its library with triumphant success, and with so many active village organisations including those caring for the elderly and providing activities for our young people. I have worked closely with our local PCSOs on issues such as illegal parking, vandalism, graffiti and anti social behaviour and feel that over this period there have been significant improvements.

As a member of the District Council I have had the honour for the past three years of
serving as Chairman of the Audit Committee, as well as on the Economy and Resources
scrutiny committees. I am proud of our many achievements, and that we have been able to freeze Council Tax this year despite severe budget pressures. In particular I have been involved closely in discussions on how we can best help the local economy through the recession, and support rural businesses and those who work from home.

We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the countryside. I grew up in Buckinghamshire and have lived in the area for the past twenty years. If elected I will do everything in my power to keep the Claydons a great place to live.

John Chilver

Bridge over troubled railway...

At a recent Local Area Forum it was confirmed by Transport for Bucks that the bridge over the railway on the road leading to Twyford and Charndon will be closed for at least 18 months for structural repairs. There is apparently some uncertainty over the ownership of the adjacent land. Meanwhile a lot of traffic has been diverted along the road from Steeple Claydon to Calvert (Pond Lane)and a road which was already in a bad state has got a whole lot worse.
I reported it on the Transport For Bucks new online 'report a problem' service recently. Currently this is inaccessible - like the roads themselves it is apparently in need of repair.

http://www.transportforbucks.net/Error/error.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/Roadworks-Centre/Report-a-problem.aspx

County Council reconfirms Calvert incinerator decision

Following the call in by our County Councillor John Cartwright, the decision to award the incinerator contract to WRG at Calvert was reconsidered by the County Council cabinet. On 28th Feb they decided to reconfirm the decision.

From the County Council website:

Energy from Waste - where we are now
On 28th February 2011, the County Council’s Cabinet decided that Energy from Waste was the best option to manage the county’s waste, as they reaffirmed their decision to award preferred bidder status to Waste Recycling Group (WRG) with their facility at Greatmoor, near Calvert, north Buckinghamshire.

This followed the Overview and Scrutiny Commissioning Committee’s recommendations for Cabinet to reconsider the decision to award preferred bidder status to WRG and to seek clarification on financial, legal and planning aspects of their bid. The project team prepared a detailed response to these recommendations, which were provided as part of the Cabinet papers.

WRG’s proposed facility at Greatmoor, near Calvert would supply 22MW of electricity to the national grid, enough to power up to 36,000 homes in the area. The Council expects the facility to be operating by 2014, subject to WRG gaining planning and permitting consents. The contract, once agreed, will be for a 30 year period.

The project team will now work with WRG to clarify and confirm commitments and undertake final due diligence. The final decision to award the contract will be considered by the County Council’s Cabinet in the autumn of this year.

The decision to award Preferred Bidder status to WRG has been a procurement decision, not a planning exercise. WRG’s planning application will be decided by the independent Development Control Committee.

This is disappointing but not unexpected. It was clear that the County Council had effectively made up its mind, despite the many valid objections raised. The focus of attention now shifts to the planning application, which is likely to be hotly contested.