Calvert Incinerator decision 14th September

The decision on the location of the new Energy from Waste incinerator will be made by Bucks County Council cabinet on 14th September.
Last week Steeple Claydon Parish Council passed a motion opposing its location in the site at Edgcott near the existing Calvert landfill site.
I have signed the online petition against the incinerator which has been organised by SAVI - Stop Aylesbury Vale Incineration.

Latest news from our excellent local PCSO Wendy Taylor

Speeding

Due to the holiday season not a lot of enforcement work has been carried out in
Buckingham South. However, work using Speedwatch continues, thanks to dedicated
members of your communities being out there, supporting your concerns and doing something about them. The more who help the easier it becomes so please offer to help them.

Countryside Crime

We do encourage any farmers whose sheep are being mauled/killed to report it. We cannot do anything to help if we do not know about it. Incidents have been raised at
the NAG meeting which has highlighted the fact that such incidents are not being reported.

Flytipping

We would also like to know whether you have been on the receiving end of flytipping. The NAG is looking at this element of Countryside Crime. Please continue deal with it
in the usual way but please call PCSO Wendy Taylor as well so we can establish the extent of the problem.

Local crime analysis

The crime figures for Winslow year on year to August 2009 make good reading.
Total crime for July-Aug 2009 against July-Aug 2008 is down 29%. Public Order, Burglary/Theft, and Criminal Damage are all down but sadly Vehicle Crime is up slightly. This category includes theft of, from and damage to vehicles. However, when I put the actual numbers against the percentages for total crime, the incidents for the two months in 2008 amounted to 49 and for the same period in 2009 was 35.
Buckingham South therefore continues to be a low crime area.

Contact details

If you need support from TVP regardingany aspect of security, ring 0845 8
505505 and ask for anyone in your neighbourhood team.

New Winslow Police Office

There will be a Winslow Police Office! The dotted line has been signed and there
will be a police office in the centre of Winslow. All things being equal we hope to
move into the premises in October 2009. This co-incides with the news that the
Dispersal Order will not be extended.
However, with the Neighbourhood Policing Team now resident in the town we are
confident that we will be able to sort out anti-social issues very quickly.

More Good News

Newton Longville has finally got its own dedicated PCSO. Lucy Andrews commenced work in the area on 17 August 2009 and is currently working with PCSO Wendy Taylor to
understand their issues. 50% of her time will be spent in Newton Longville and Gt Horwood, Little Horwood, Nash and Whaddon will share the rest of her time.

Engagement with young people

The Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) are establishing a Youth NAG to run
alongside the main NAG. This is to help us really understand what it is the young
people of the area really want and have a method by which ideas can be put into
actions. The Bucks South NAG are working with Extended Services, Community and
Young Engagement Services, and Connexions to ensure we reach all young people.
PCSO Wendy Taylor is working with Christian Fellowship, Extended Services and
AVYFC to start a Youth Café in Winslow. It is envisaged that this will be free to
all young people and will provide a weekly place to meet. Watch this space for
details.

Congratulations to Wendy and all her hard working team of PCSOs.

Decision on Incinerator in September

The County Council have stated on their website that the decision between the 2 tenders for the new Energy from Waste facility - and thus the decision on whether it will be located near Calvert - will be made in September

Another successful Village Fair

This year's theme for the Steeple Claydon village fair in the Recreation Ground was 'Toytown' The sports pavilion was transformed into a toy fort complete with soldiers on guard, and a lot of work went into other decorations and costumes to complete the theme. A great afternoon and the weather stayed warm and dry. And I even won a prize in the raffle ! (free tickets to the Leighton Buzzard steam railway). Congratulations and thanks to all who worked so hard to make it a success.

35th Anniversary of the Centre for Policy Studies

It is 35 years since the Centre for Policy Studies was founded by Sir Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher to promote timeless Conservative principles of freedom and individual responsibility.
To celebrate this anniversary, Lord Saatchi has restated some of its key principles as follows:


A rising tide lifts all ships.
A bigger cake means a bigger slice for everyone. But first you have to create the wealth to make the cake bigger.
Caring that works costs cash – the Good Samaritan shows that first you need to money in order to do the good works.
Lower tax is good – for moral reasons, because it means more freedom and choice for individuals; and for economic reasons, because lower tax rates can mean higher tax revenues and more wealth creation.
A smaller state is required; the Government is already far too big.
A man or woman has a right to spend what he or she earns, to own property, to have the State as servant and not as master; that these are the essence of a free country and on that freedom all our other freedoms depend.
People are not numbers in a State computer; they should be seen as individuals.
Everyone has the right to be unequal. No one, thank heaven, is quite like anyone else.
The spirit of envy can destroy; it can never build.
The essence of mankind is the power of choice; the glory and dignity of man is that it is he who chooses, and is not chosen for.
Human dignity resides in independence, individuality, self-determination.
The greatest restriction on the liberty of the citizen is a complete absence of money.
It is wrong that the majority of people in Britain are financially beholden to the State. This makes the State the master; the complicated tax and benefit system the chief instrument of its power.
A paternalist government, based on the benevolence of a ruler who treats his subjects as dependent children, is the greatest conceivable despotism and destroys all freedom.
When a man or a woman stands up for an ideal or strikes out against injustice, people are filled with hope; which is why idealism is more satisfying than pragmatism.
People have been tortured and died for these principles which, so at any rate they believed, were universal and binding on all men; part of the human essence in virtue of which men were rightly called men.
We cannot break these principles, without feeling that we had forfeited all rights to human respect. We could not betray them and face ourselves or others.

See:www.cps.org.uk.

Amen to all the above.

John Bercow - Speaker of the House

Many congratulations to our MP John Bercow on being elected as Speaker of the House of Commons. John will continue as MP for Buckingham as well as being Speaker, and will continue to represent us at Westminster. Traditionally, Speakers have been unopposed in General Elections.

Roald Dahl Festival in Aylesbury 4th July

Aylesbury town centre is set to come to a standstill on Saturday 4 July when the town celebrates the work of legendary children’s author Roald Dahl.

This year’s Roald Dahl Festival is themed around Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and promises to be a spectacular event with a colourful parade of children in costume, and life-sized characters made by local schools with help from professional artists.

The annual event, organised by Aylesbury Vale District Council, starts with a colourful street parade – a culmination of weeks of work by local children who have created costumes and giant animated puppets based on characters and themes from the book.

The parade starts at 11am from the bottom of Market Square and snakes around the town centre accompanied by music and dancers, finishing at the Civic Centre.

Spectators can become even more involved in the parade with character hats and masks available in six designs for £4 from the Civic Centre and the County Museum.

After the parade, there are lots of other Roald Dahl-themed activities to take part in at Aylesbury Library, The King’s Head, Kingsbury, St Mary’s Church and Buckinghamshire County Museum.

The County Museum in Church Street will be hosting a family fun day from 11am to 4pm with free activities and reduced entry to the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery where visitors can explore the magical world of James’ Giant Peach or be whisked away in the Great Glass Elevator.

There will be a fun-filled day for all the family in Aylesbury Library, starting with a special Bounce and Rhyme session for younger children at 10am. The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden will have representatives in the library all day, telling stories and providing craft activities.

Kingsbury will be a thriving area of music, street theatre and children’s art and craft activities led by the council’s play services together with the Queens Park Arts Centre. An information stand will also be available to help you to make the most of your day.

The King’s Head will be running children’s story readings, activities and competitions throughout the day, along with a lucky dip, tombola and raffle. There will also be a free activity day at St Mary’s Church between 11am and 3pm.

Councillor David Thompson, Cabinet Member for Leisure, said: “Roald Dahl’s books continue to delight and inspire people of all ages. It’s nice for Aylesbury Vale residents to be able to come together each year and remember Dahl and share the magic he created.”

Born in Wales in 1916, of Norwegian parents, Dahl was one of the great children’s authors. He wrote classic books including James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG.

Nineteen years after his death, aged 74 (his grave is in Great Missenden’s St Peter & St Paul’s parish churchyard), Dahl is more popular than ever. His books still sell around a million copies every year and there is even a day of celebration in his honour.

For more information about the festival, visit the council’s website at www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/dahl or call 01296 585210 .