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.