AVDC funding fair 12th Feb

Funding information is being made available to community groups, charities and voluntary organisations across Buckinghamshire.

The Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Lloyds TSB Foundation are among the scores of organisations attending a county funding fair in Aylesbury next month.

The free event, organised by Aylesbury Vale District Council, is being held at the Gateway Conference Centre, Gatehouse Road, on 12 February between 1pm and 6pm.

There will also be an opportunity to participate in active workshop sessions about funding, talk directly to grant makers and organisations offering advice, and understand more about how to apply for funding.

Information stalls will be available on a drop in basis all afternoon. Groups are advised that places are limited for the workshops, which have previously proved very popular.

Lynne Maddocks, AVDC Community Engagement Officer, said: “The funding fair provides a fantastic opportunity to obtain funding for voluntary and community projects. Last year’s fair generated a total of about £40,000 of grant funding for five organisations from contacts made on the day.

“As with previous years, the event will have a wide range of information stalls and workshops to attend and enjoy. It’s important that people can have a good time participating in the event whilst also getting the essential information they need.”

New Joint Delivery Board formed for East West Rail

From the East West Rail website:   12th October 2012


Senior representatives from the East West Rail Consortium, Network Rail and the Department for Transport have formed a Joint Delivery Board to oversee and facilitate the development of a new, electric railway line between Bedford and Oxford with train services due to start operating in December 2017.

They met today at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre together with Iain Stewart MP the Chairman of the East West Rail All Party Parliamentary Group and other representatives of the group, stakeholders and strategic partners.
The board has been formed as a result of the recent announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport of the Government’s support for the western section of the East West Rail scheme that also included a commitment to electrify part of the route.
The East West Railway re-opens ten miles of closed railway to create a new electric railway between Oxford and Bedford. It upgrades almost nine miles of railway to link in the diesel lines from Aylesbury to enable new diesel and electric train services.

The Board, chaired by Cllr Peter Hardy (Buckinghamshire County Council), met to agree the roles of the respective organisations who will work together with the joint goal of having the service operational by December 2017.
Guests had the opportunity to view a section of the route that is currently either mothballed or used only by freight trains, but which will become an important route for passenger services within the region and as part of the National Strategic Rail Network.

Councillor Hardy said:
Local authorities along this route formed The East West Rail Consortium in 1995, with a shared aim to introduce high quality train services to link centres of economic activity and to support economic development in the region. We are therefore delighted that this scheme is now going ahead. The economic, social and environmental benefits of this railway are considerable. It will enable more journeys by rail – that are fast, clean and efficient – and provide a real alternative to journeys on our congested roads. This in turn will make the region more attractive to existing and prospective businesses and we anticipate some additional 12,000 jobs will be created within the area as well as new housing developments. Businesses will have access to a wider and more mobile workforce, which is good news for businesses and workers alike.
“The Consortium’s attention is now focused on delivering the economic benefits presented by the opportunity this railway brings. To do this, we will work closely with the business and local communities and will keep people informed as plans progress.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said:
This is an excellent project of strategic importance. As part of the ‘Electric Spine’ from the South Coast through Reading, Oxford, Bedford and via the Midland Main Line to the East Midlands and South Yorkshire it will offer faster journey times, new route possibilities and low carbon reliable electric train services to cater for growing demand.

Graham Botham, Principal Strategic Planner at Network Rail, said:
We welcome the opportunity to provide the capability for rail services to run between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Bedford and to electrify sections of the track to provide faster, cleaner and quieter passenger and freight services. This is a fantastic example of how targeted investment in rail can support and help drive economic growth, connecting people with jobs and providing new transport links between the region’s towns and cities. Our role is to design, build and fully integrate East-West Rail into the national rail network and we are fully committed to working with the East-West Consortium to ensure that the social, economic and environmental benefits of this scheme are maximised.

Guide to Local Services

The County Council has published a handy new guide to local services. All residents should be receiving a copy by post, and you can also view in on the website via the link below:



http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/assets/content/bcc/docs/about_your_council/a-z-directory.pdf

Dementia Awareness Week

Winslow Library: Buckingham and Winslow Dementia Awareness Week - Coffee Morning

Wednesday 26 September 2012

10am - 1pm

Winslow Centre,

Park Road , Winslow, MK18 3DN

Come along and enjoy a free cup of coffee while chatting to representatives from local services including:

• Bucks Alzheimers Society
• PCSO
• Adults & Family Wellbeing

Suitable for: Adults

Cost: Free

No booking required, just turn up on the day

All children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Hearing loop available.
Wheelchair access.
Parking nearby.

For more information please call 0845 2303232 or email: lib-wis@buckscc.gov.uk

Information Fair on Services for Older People

AVDC have arranged an information fair on services for older people.
It will be on Thursday 20th Sept from 2pm – 3pm in the village hall in Steeple Claydon.


All sorts of organisations will send staff along who will be there to answer questions and provide information about the many ways older people can be supported.

All are welcome and free cakes and drinks will be available.

Do please share this information with anyone who may be interested in attending

Have you got your new bins yet ?

It seems as if most households in the Claydons have received their new bins.

The following information for those who are still waiting has been circulated by AVDC:

Our contractors have been working hard to get the new bins to households in time for the start of the new recycling and waste collection service, but some areas are still waiting.




Deliveries have been slightly delayed in some areas, and the council apologises if you have not had your new bins yet, but is hopeful that the vast majority of households should have them in time for their first collection this week.



If you don't have your new bins by now, please:



Put your food waste in your green waste bin, as normal

If your first collection is for waste, the service is as normal, though your collection day may have changed.

If your first collection this week is for recycling, please put your recycling materials in open carrier bags, and leave for collection. If the carrier bags are closed, we won't be able to collect them as we can't see what's in them. Alternatively, you can

Collect a supply of AVDC blue recycling bags from our Customer Service Centres in Aylesbury, Winslow (Library) and the Buckingham Centre, who will have stocks that residents can use in the interim should their bins not arrive in time.

The new service starts on Tuesday 4th Sept. Households will have received a letter from AVDC explaining about the new recycling and waste collection service. The letter confirms what collection day households will have and what materials will be collected when.



The key features of the new collection service are:

• Collections will take place during Tuesday to Friday, so for some the usual collection day may change.

• Households will receive a new ‘all-in-one’ recycling bin for all paper, glass, cardboard, plastics, cartons, cans and tins, mixed together, you don’t have to separate them. Recycling collections will continue to be made every fortnight.

• Households will get a new small outdoor food waste bin and a kitchen caddy. The food waste bin will be collected every week.

• All other waste will go in the existing green waste bin. This will be collected every two weeks, alternating with the blue lidded recycling bin.



Councillor Sir Beville Stanier, Cabinet Member for Environment and Health, said: “Changing the waste and recycling services for the entire district is a mammoth undertaking and we want to firstly thank residents for their patience over the past few weeks. There have been minor issues along the way, such as some residents experiencing a few delays with bin deliveries, which we would obviously like to have avoided. If you have not received your new recycling and food waste bins yet, please accept our apologies and be assured that we will deliver your bins as soon as possible.”



If you haven't received your bins yet, please check to see if your neighbours have theirs first. If they have, and you haven't, please contact us by email to newbins@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk with your name address, postcode and a daytime phone number.

Chips with everything

I hope that  you will all have received your new recycling bins with the blue lids.
There has been some concern about the electronic chip in each bin, and the following
information has been circulated by AVDC:

Statement by:

Councillor Sir Beville Stanier, Cabinet Member for Environment and Health

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in recycling bins



Each large blue-lidded recycling bin that the council provides to residents contains a RFID (radio frequency identification) tag, fitted at the point of manufacture. These are not bugging or tracking devices, but simply an electronic reference number identifying each bin.

Incorporating the RFID tags is a measure designed to provide the council with flexibility to introduce new recycling reward initiatives in the future. For example, residents living in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead are already trialling an incentive scheme, with RFID tags used to help monitor the amount of recycling they put out for collection. The keenest recycling households are rewarded with vouchers for high-street retailers, such as M&S.

If we decided to offer such a scheme and our recycling bins did not contain RFID tags, then fitting the tags retroactively would be logistically challenging and would also cost much more financially. Purchasing them fitted at the point of manufacture, therefore, is more cost effective in the long run.

All the RFID tags can do is provide a reference number for each bin. The purpose of this is to provide each of our bins with a unique identity, a bit like a bar code, sticker or painting a reference number onto each bin. If the tags were ever used (and currently they are not) the tag itself would not be able to monitor the type or weight of rubbish being thrown away. All it would do is allow a vehicle fitted with a receiver device to identify which bin is being emptied into the vehicle at that time.

There are many misleading reports that seem to lead people to believe that the tags have mystical powers when, in reality, they really are no different to the identification chips people put in their cat or dog, or if the council had simply painted an identification number onto the side of the bin.