New bins are on their way

Refuse collection
The quest to improve recycling in Aylesbury Vale is set to begin with the start of the roll out of new recycling bins.

Aylesbury Vale District Council will be delivering the new bins over a six to eight week period starting on 10 July. All households will receive them, except those who live in flats or those whose home is not suitable for bins.

The new bins will be accompanied by an information pack explaining a new, improved kerbside collection service that goes live from Tuesday 4 September.

Residents will receive letters this week, advising them that their new bins are about to be delivered.

Each household will receive a large 240-litre recycling wheeled bin (with a blue hinged lid) for all paper, glass, cardboard, plastics, cans and tins, which will be mixed together. This means residents will only have to store a single bin for all these materials and won’t have to separate them.

By providing a bigger bin and collecting cardboard for the first time, this will increase the volume of recycling collected. AVDC is aiming to increase recycling amounts from around 21 per cent in 2012 to over 50 per cent in 2014. Recycling collections will continue to be made every fortnight.

Food waste will be collected separately, every week. Each household will receive a small bin, with a handle to lock the lid, which will stop any smells escaping, and prevent insects and vermin getting in. The contents will be collected weekly and go to an anaerobic digestion plant, where methane gas will generate electricity.

Households will also be supplied with a kitchen caddy, to collect food scraps in. Local residents have helped the council choose what type of bins will work best for them.

As part of the changes, the rounds will be reorganised over four days (Tuesday to Friday), rather than five. The main advantage for customers is that whenever there are bank holidays on a Monday, there will be no disruption to the collection service. This means that the only collection dates that will change will be at Christmas and New Year, and after Good Friday.

The residual household waste (non-recyclable materials) will be collected in the existing green refuse bins. These collections will be made on alternate weeks, fitting in between the recycling collections. Households of five or more people may request a larger green refuse bin.

Since April, a new paid-for garden waste collection service has been available in some parts of the Vale. From September 2012, the service will be available for the remainder.

Households will receive a large 240-litre brown bin, emptied every fortnight between February and November. The cost is £36 a year, paid annually by direct debit.

This new scheme will replace the free brown bin service currently operating in Winslow and Buckingham when the four-day week collections start in September. The last free brown bin collection will be on 29 August.

People who live in properties that are not suitable for bins and who currently use black sacks will receive new sacks: purple for general waste and transparent blue for the new mix of recycling materials. They will also receive the new food waste bin and kitchen caddies, which will be delivered between 2 and 13 July.

Councillor Sir Beville Stanier, Cabinet Member for Environment and Health, said: “The delivery of the new bins marks the first visible change to our recycling and waste collection scheme. We ask that residents continue to use their existing bins, baskets or bags until the end of August. We can’t empty the new bins until we start the new collection service in September. Everyone needs to keep hold of their new collection calendars as these hold the collection dates for the next year.”

For more information about the new collection service or how to reduce your waste, visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/newbins or call 01296 585510.

Keeping in touch with local residents

I am proud of the fact that AVDC has maintained high quality local services despite budget challenges, and in particular that it has managed to freeze Council Tax two years running.




We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful area as the Claydons and as your District Councillor I have been actively engaged in protecting our villages from threatened new developments.




One is the new Energy from Waste Incinerator at Calvert. I have opposed the proposal to build the incinerator before the new access road from the A41 was completed, and I shall continue to fight on your behalf to minimise its impact on our villages if it does go ahead.




Another is the High Speed Two railway, the proposed route of which passes near Steeple Claydon. As well as the railway itself, there is an Infrastructure Maintenance Depot planned along the north side of the East-West line, to be used for the construction of the line. I am very concerned about the effects of this, and I have been involved in setting up a Steeple Claydon HS2 Action Group, in order to ensure that our residents are informed and able to make their voices heard. We have already been able to raise our concerns with High Speed Two Ltd at the first Community Forum held in Steeple Claydon.




I have also taken a close concern in the more everyday issues which affect our daily lives, such as the state of our roads and pavements, the provision of salt bins and dog bins, the number of HGVs going through our villages, the problem of speeding vehicles and the impact of planning applications.



Some new developments are welcome. I am glad that there are some new building projects underway to provide more affordable housing in our villages, so that our local residents who are looking to own their own homes have the chance of staying in their home surroundings. I welcome AVDC’s support for better broadband in the villages and its support for small businesses through its grants programmes and the Enterprise and Innovation Centre. I am also in full support of the plans for a new Free Secondary School in Winslow to increase the choice for parents in north Bucks.



It has been a great pleasure to be involved in many social activities around the Claydons, and I am so impressed by the number of residents who are prepared to give their time and energies to community activities and organisations. In this Jubilee
and Olympic Year we have much to celebrate together.

Have your say on local health issues

‘Health Matters’ to the Aylesbury Vale Clinical Commissioning Group.

Aylesbury Vale Commissioning Group (AVCCG) is holding a public event on 21st June to talk about local health issues with members of the public.

The introduction of clinical commissioning means that GPs will work together with the public, other partners and health professionals to plan and design healthcare.
AVCCG, a group of local clinicians which is taking on new decision-making and budgetary powers, is keen to listen and work together with patients and local groups to look at local health issues and to understand what is important to local people.
The North Locality represents patients from all of the GP surgeries in Buckingham, Winslow, Steeple Claydon, Whitchurch and Wing.

Dr Rebecca Pryse, who has been a GP at North End Surgery in Buckingham for 12 years and is the North Locality Clinical lead said:

“We have been working with some members of our surgery patient participation groups over the past year. Since January some patients have started attending our meetings but we would like to broaden our engagement with our patients and explain what Clinical Commissioning and the changes to the NHS are about at a local level.”

“We really want to know what people think about improving health in Buckinghamshire. These meetings will help to shape the way healthcare is delivered. We aim to ensure that the planning of healthcare by GPs and other health professionals reflects local views and needs. This means we need to work more closely with local people and the groups that represent them. The events we are holding in north Buckinghamshire are a great opportunity to kick-start this process.”.

The North Locality event will take place on:
Thursday 21st June 7-9pm
The Winslow Centre, Park Road, Winslow MK18 3RB

For more information contact 08456 590 706
or email feedback.AVCCG@buckinghamshire.nhs.uk
Come along and have your say.