Update on affordable housing from AVDC

AVDC has published a new guide to affordable housing, which is available on the AVDC website at:
http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/news/2012/apr/looking-housing/
From AVDC's website:
'The council is pursuing initiatives to maintain a balanced housing market and boost the supply of affordable, sustainable, homes for local people. This complements our work to maintain the quality of the district's existing housing stock.
While the district council does not develop housing itself, we do work closely with a wide range of partners to enable the provision of new homes. Especially, we work with our local communities and in partnership with housing associations and others.
Current affordable housing developments
There are a number of new residential developments under construction, which will result in the completion of hundreds of new affordable homes. The sites which are currently under construction or planned for the district can be found in the Affordable Home Ownership in Aylesbury Vale document (link on website).
How do I get an affordable home?
You need to register with the council. Call 01296 585168 or 585197 for advice about how to register and who is eligible or see our website: www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/housingadvice'
The list of current developments includes one of 98 homes in Calvert by the Guinness Trust. There are at least 2 planned developments in Steeple Claydon village currently in the pipeline as well.
This is good news for local residents who want to remain in our communities but would like to get on the first rung of the housing ladder.

Follow up of first Steeple Claydon High Speed 2 local forum

The first local consultation forum held by High Speed 2 to canvass the views of local residents was held in Steeple Claydon Village Hall on 11th April.
The forum covers the villages of Twyford, Chetwode, Calvert Green and Barton Hartshorn as well as Steeple Claydon. The village was represented by 3 Parish Council members as well as myself representing AVDC.
We were able to ensure that concerns over the Infrastructure Maintenance Depot and the impact on the local community of the line construction period were tabled for more detailed discussion at future meetings.
Following this forum, the Parish Council has written to Alison Munro, Chief Executive HS2 regarding concerns it has about HS2 and in particular the proposed Infrastructure Maintenance Depot adjacent to Steeple Claydon.
It has asked for a response to the following issues raised and propsals for mitigation:
Mitigation points regarding IMD construction requested of HS2 Ltd:
· 1) Steeple Claydon Parish Council (SCPC) strongly requests that a separate community forum meeting/s with HS2 take place because of the unique negative impact IMD brings to SC during the construction and operational phases of it and the railway itself.
· 2) SCPC would like the site of IMD reconsidered.
· 2.1) If it ultimately goes ahead however the following points are required of HS2 Ltd:
· 3) No construction traffic through SC.
· 4) All traffic routes to be published.
· 5) SCPC wish for no extra land take over and above the current red lined plan whatsoever during construction.
· 6) To be clear SCPC does not want any construction camp locally or at the IMD site itself. Therefore what plans are in place for the duty of care regarding their contractors ? i.e. Their accommodation/their health/their rest periods.
· 7) SCPC want confirmation that all materials are to be freighted by rail during construction. (via EWR?).
· 8) What is the mitigation plan for surface run off towards SC because of the IMD ‘s concrete foundations being built on an area of wet land.
· 9) With reference to (8) above what mitigation measures will be in place against pollution. E.g. oil etc leaking into the stream that crosses the IMD site and ends up crossing at West Street SC.
· 10) Conciliatory measures in construction. Please advise what they may be.
Mitigation points regarding IMD when operational requested of HS2 Ltd:
· 1 Mitigation of visual impact to area. Please advise HS2's proposal.
· 2 Mitigation of light pollution. Please advise HS2's proposal.
· 3 Mitigation of vibration. Please advise HS2's proposal.
· 4 Mitigation of noise by an earth bund around IMD. Please show a plan.
· 5 Limited frequency of the helicopter pad under normal circumstances. Please advice what maybe expected.
The forum will continue to meet every 6 - 8 weeks over the next 18 months.
A Steeple Claydon High Speed 2 action group has recently been formed to co-ordinate the village's input to the forums and response to the proposals, in close co-ordination with other local action groups and concerned individuals. Please contact me or a member of the Parish Council if you would like to be involved. Now is the time for action to make sure we get our voice heard.

New Garden waste service being rolled out by AVDC

New garden waste service set for roll out in Aylesbury Vale

Hundreds of households in Aylesbury Vale will soon be able to start using the district council’s new garden waste collection service.
The first collections will take place in April and information leaflets and bin hangers explaining the charged for service have been sent to residents in the first two trial areas to inform them of the new brown bin collections.

More than 800 residents have signed up to the scheme, which is £36 a year for a fortnightly collection between February and November.
Anyone who wants to subscribe will receive a 240-litre brown bin with a lid for grass cuttings, twigs and small branches, weeds and hedge trimmings.

The council aims to offer the service in all locations of the Vale later in the year.
With the introduction of the garden waste service, AVDC will no longer be collecting garden sacks from households from September.

The garden waste scheme is part of a range of improvements to the council’s waste and recycling service, which will start to be rolled out from September. These improvements aim to reduce the amount of waste the district sends to landfill and the rising costs of doing this.
Councillor Sir Beville Stanier, Cabinet Member for Environment and Health, said: “The garden waste service is critical in helping us to reduce the amount of rubbish that is sent to landfill. Use of landfill is not only bad for the environment but increasingly costly for councils so the more waste we can compost or recycle the better.”
Residents who want to subscribe to the kerbside garden waste collection service can still do so.

County Council delays Calvert incinerator decision

The County Council's Development Control Committee today decided to delay a decision on the proposed incinerator at Calvert until after their new Minerals and Waste Core Strategy has come into force.

There will be no decision on the proposed waste incinerator in Aylesbury Vale until later this year.

The proposed incinerator would occupy a 255 hectare site at Lower Greatmoor Farm, have a 95 metre tall chimney, have the capacity to burn 300 thousand tonnes of rubbish every year and include a pit for hazardous waste.

Below is a summary of the representation I made to the committee on behalf of
Steeple Claydon Parish Council:

1. Does Bucks need a 300,000 tonne incinerator ? No.

- maximum annual residual municipal waste is 110,000 - 150,000 tonnes
- disincentive to better recycling
- why should Bucks become a dumping ground for waste from other counties ?
- case for a single incinerator on this scale has not been made
- against policies 10,11 and 17 of the Bucks Minerals and Waste Local Plan

2. Is Calvert the right location for an incinerator ? No

- area of quiet unspoilt rural landscape
- surrounded by SSSIs and local wildlife sites of national importance (Sheephouse Wood, Grendon and Doddershall Woods), Finemere Wood, Decoypond Wood, Romer Wood, Greatsea Wood)
- wildlife includes rare protected species such as the Black Hairstreak butterfly and Bechstein bat.
- part of the ancient Bernwood Forest
- nearby National Trust properties Claydon House and Waddesdon Manor
- would affect 2 listed buildings (Finemere Hill House and Lower Greatmoor Farm)
- inadequate local road network
- although the site is next to a railway line there are no plans in the application to transport any waste by train
- against policies 19 and 24 of the Bucks Minerals and Waste Local Plan

3. Was the option of a single facility at Calvert with the waste all being transported by road approved by the County Council’s preferred options report in 2008 ? No

- the report in Feb 2008 concluded that this option (Option 1A) was ‘unacceptable’ in terms of transport assessment, and ‘unlikely to be deliverable’.
- this option scored the lowest (together with 1 other) out of 34 different options
- the transport assessment stated that this option was one with ‘the highest associated mileage and thus the most associated negative impacts’
- environmental impact of over 100 HGV movements a day

4. Does the proposal agree with the proximity principle ? No

- two thirds of Bucks waste is generated in the south of the county
- most is generated along the M40 corridor
- the best location for an incinerator would be somewhere along the M40
- against policy 30 of the Bucks Minerals and Waste Local Plan, which states:
‘proposals that do not comply with the proximity principle will not normally be permitted’.

AVDC freezes council tax again

Council tax to be frozen for second year running

Aylesbury Vale District Council has voted to freeze council tax for the second year running. The freeze has been made possible by a one-off grant from the government, which is being offered to all local authorities that do not increase their council tax in 2012/13.
It will mean the district council element of residents’ total council tax bill will remain at £131.07 for an average Band D property – which is the equivalent of just £2.52 a week. This helps pay for a wide range of services including housing support, planning, refuse and recycling services and street cleaning.
In developing a budget for the 2012/13 financial year, the council has had to find £2.6 million in savings from its £18 million revenue budget due to reduced government funding and pressures such as the increased cost of utilities (fuel and electricity). This saving is needed on top of the £1.2 million savings delivered to balance the 2011/12 budget. In 2013/14, the council will need to save at least another £1 million to balance the books.
An array of saving solutions have been approved by councillors to allow the council to have a balanced budget position for the next financial year.

Calvert Incinerator planning application

The Calvert Incinerator planning application is due to be considered by Bucks County Council's Development Control Committee at Stoke Mandeville Stadium on 14th Feb 2012.
Unfortunately it was decided that local District Councillors would have no specific right to speak at this meeting, so I have registered to attend and speak as a member of the public.

An excellent summary of the arguments against the application were submitted to the County Council by AVDC last year:


1. That the proposal conflicts with policies 10, 11 and 17 of the Buckinghamshire
Minerals and Waste Local Plan in that the need for a single energy from waste
plant, of the scale being proposed, to serve Buckinghamshire has not been
established and that proposals for the recycling of waste have not been fully
evaluated and incorporated into the scheme. Further the proposal does not
conform with the proximity principle nor has it adequately addressed the waste
hierarchy principles set out in PPS 10.


2. That the proposal conflicts with policy 19 of the Buckinghamshire Minerals and
Waste Local Plan and PPS 10 in that it would be visually harmful and fail to
ensure the long term restoration of the Calvert Landfill Site.


3. That the proposed plant would constitute an urban and visually intrusive feature in an area of quiet rural landscape harming views across in conflict with advice in
PPS7.


4. That the proposed plant would harm the settings of the Grade II Listed Lower
Greatmoor Farmhouse and Finmerehill House in conflict with advice in PPS5.


5. That the proposed access road to the site would cause serious harm to the
populations of Black Hairstreak butterflies, Bechstein Bats and other protected
species that currently populate the disused railway line between the A41 and the
site; that inadequate surveys have been carried out to fully assess the impact of the
development on biodiversity, in conflict with advice in PPS9.


6. That the proposed access road and noise and general disturbance engendered by its
use by heavy goods vehicles would conflict with policy GP8 of the Aylesbury
Vale Local Plan and would reduce the level of residential amenities to nearby
dwellings to a level below that which they could reasonably expect to enjoy.

It is hard to think of a more unsuitable location for an incinerator than one surrounded by sites of special scientific interest of national importance, at the other end of the county from where most of the waste is produced, with no suitable or adequate access roads, and less than 15 miles from another 300,000 tonne incinerator which has just been given planning permission. To add insult to injury, although it is located right next to a railway line there are no plans under the current contract to bring in any of the waste by rail.

East West Rail video

A video to set out the benefits of the East West Rail project has been added to the website and can be seen at the following link:

http://eastwestrail.org.uk/video/