August 2021

18 Buckden Roundabout August 2021 The Parish Council—the 80s and 90s The Parish Council - Part 7 Many councils, even Parish Councils, have some sort of regalia, a Chairman ’ s chain for example. The issue was discussed in 1985 and rejected unanimously - the suggestion has never been raised again. Also in 1985 the council supported the for- mation of a village playgroup but opposed the suggestion that there should be a dispensing chemist in the village. It support- ed the view expressed by the doctor ’ s surgery that it would not be an advantage for the village. In 1986 the Council again re- jected the plan for a chemist but as we now know their deci- sion was overruled and the chemist was opened opposite the village green. The Council had always supported the provision of allotments which were then at the A1 end of Silver Street and in 1986 started the competition for the best allotment. The competi- tion is still held and the prize awarded at the annual Garden- ers ’ Club Exhibition in September. The following year, 1987, was the last year that a public ballot was held to elect a Parish Councillor. Since then there has been no need for a ballot be- cause the number of candidates has never exceeded the coun- cil places to be filled. When members have left between elec- tion dates it has always been necessary to co - opt new mem- bers. It would be good for democracy if more members of the public offered their time and skills. The late 1980s also saw the Council fight plans for the further extension of gravel workings in the Ouse valley adjacent to Buckden Mill. At the Public Inquiry the Council ’ s representa- tives convinced the presiding inspector that enough was enough and the diggings were restricted to their current limit to the south of the Anglia Water pumping station. The Council also successfully lobbied for ‘ low level ’ reclamation for the gravel pits to the south of Mill Road and east of Leadens Lane. Another battle fought by the council but this time with less success was to limit the development of the Marina Site. At that time flooding of the Ouse on the Buckden side of the Mill was a common occurrence and the road between Buckden and the Offords was often closed. Large areas of the Marina were also flooded. During the !990s better control of the river near- er to Bedford and Milton Keynes solved the problem. The 1980s closed with a Council decision to provide the Village Hall Trust with further funds to provide for repairs and refur- bishment of the hall. The final decade of the twentieth century proved a very busy one for the Council. The first major decision was the sale of the old Mayfield/Lucks Lane rubbish tip site to the village doctors, this enabled them to build the present surgery. The various ‘ vent ’ pipes around the building are evidence of the site ’ s for- mer use. The money received was reserved for future village developments. In the same year the Council successfully per- suaded Huntingdon District Council to build houses and bunga- lows behind Smiths Drive, as low cost and rented housing. At a stroke this emptied the Buckden waiting list for rented hous- ing. The council also successfully fought against proposals to extend the village boundaries. This was in the hope that the firm boundary would prevent wholesale housing development around the edges of the village. As we shall see when we reach the late 2010s this was to prove a vain hope. In 1991 the Coun- cil published the first definitive booklet on the footpaths in and around the village and in the same pioneering spirit followed it up in 1999 by publishing an environmental plan for the village. In the early 1990s the Village Hall Trust experienced problems in attracting trustees and had no chairman. The hall itself and the sports fields and valley area needed remedial work and there was some doubt as to whether the Trust could continue. In 1993 the Parish Council, acting a little beyond its powers and remit, called a meeting in the hall. Over 200 people attended and the Council Chairman explained that unless a Chairman and new trustees could be found the village would lose its vil- lage hall. A resident immediately offered to become chairman and new trustees were gained from village clubs. It was agreed that there would be a new working group to act as a liaison between the Trust and the Parish Council (more details will be covered in a separate article about the history of the Trust). Throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s the Parish Council meetings were held in a classroom in the Primary School with committee and working groups meeting in members ’ houses or in a room above the The Lion Hotel. Certain members of the Council would carry on discussions after meetings in the Falcon Pub just around the corner. In 1995 permission was obtained for ‘ Historic Buckden ’ signs to be erected on the A1 and in the same year an extension to the cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Huntingdon. The year was also marked by a public meeting to protest success- fully against the potential closure of Buckden ’ s branch of the County library. Perhaps one of the most far - reaching decisions made by the Council was taken in 1997, when it agreed with the VHT to embark on an ambitious plan to rebuild the village hall. The hall was now showing its age, needed urgent repairs and was unable to meet the needs of the village. A joint committee was set up and plans were prepared. A well attended public meeting supported the ideas and a village referendum backed both the plans and the method of funding. The total cost of over £700,000 was met by a Lottery Millennium Grant, grants from County and District Councils, WREN and generous dona- tions from individuals and village organisations. The Parish Council allocated the money raised from the sale of the May- field site (doctors ’ surgery) and the final £110,000 was bor- rowed by the Council to be repaid through the village precept over a period of ten years. The new building provided the much - needed facilities for village clubs and societies and an extension to the Village Club. In addition it also provided ac- commodation for a new County Council Library and the village Pre - school playgroup. At the same time as this joint venture was completed the VHT built the new sports pavilion. One final thought to round off the Millennium; in 1999 after many years of argument the council finally persuaded the County Council and The Highways Agency that there should be a properly constructed slip road from the Brampton Road to Silver Street. It was suggested (perhaps a little tongue in cheek) that it should be called Penny Lane. Not after the Beatles ’ song but after Cllr Penny who had long led the campaign for it. Next month I shall move into the new millennium starting with the opening of the new village hall. - Terry Hayward