December 2021

15 Buckden Roundabout December 2021 Village News Bookings Update We are gradually welcoming back more of our regular hirers which is great. We also have another Blood Donor Session which takes place on 31 st December. The Valley – The Final Update Our comprehensive renovation of the Valley is finally com- plete, with Ebsford Environmental, our contractors, formally handing the site back to us in mid - November. It has been a long and challenging 11 months, from the initial CIL bid ap- plication in December 2020, to preparing budgets and con- ducting £48,000 of regulatory surveys for water quality, nesting birds, bats, newts and other wildlife before we could even begin work. Then finally, in late August, moving onto site with a tight nine week build schedule before the weath- er closed in. The initial surveys showed that the Valley and its lake had very low biodiversity due to the brambles and scrub vegetation taking over and choking out all other wildlife and blocking light to the floor of the wood. The first task was to undertake much needed land management to allow the strong healthy trees to flourish and increase biodiversity on the floor of the wooded areas. We have planted over 5,000 spring bulbs in this area which will slowly naturalise over the next few years. The banks of the lake have been planted with a wide variety of marsh plants that by next summer will bloom and cover the banks. Surveys and testing showed that the lake was slowly dying and had very low oxygen levels. We re - established the feed from the stream that had become blocked by silt, roots and bulrushes which helped the water levels in the lake to rise by a healthy amount, adding much needed oxygen and mi- croorganisms. The two weirs in the stream and at the far end of the Valley were both refurbished and, in the stream, the weir was completely relocated and the stream mean- dered to improve water flow. One of the conditions of our grant from Huntingdonshire District Council was that we improve access for everyone. We ripped up all the old paths around the Valley and the playing fields and replaced them with new tarmac, widening the paths to accommodate wheelchairs, mobility scooters and prams. The path down the weir was a particular chal- lenge as it was very steep and rutted. We raised the ground levels with soil and reduced the slope. The path was then laid in a Z - pattern with landing stages for extra safety. The challenge for the Trust will be to preserve this work to create a lasting legacy for Buckden residents. It will take dedication, regular fund- raising and a clear vision by the Board of Trustees. We welcome volunteers to join our trustee board to keep the Village Hall prosperous and well managed. 2021 has been an exciting but also challenging year for us at Buckden Village Hall. Thank you to everyone who has used us in the past year and to all of you who will use us in the future. Have a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022 Jo Harvey, Hall Manager Email: admin@buckdenvillagehall.co.uk Tel: 01480 811101 Please call or email to arrange any face - to - face appoint- ments. Office hours: 9am – 2pm Burberry Road, Buckden, Cambridgeshire, PE19 5UY Tel: 01480 811101 www. buckdenvillagehall.co.uk email: admin@buckdenvillagehall.co.uk Grafham Water Community First Responder Scheme We would like to make you aware of an impending initiative to establish a Community (Ambulance) First Response scheme in this area. Once fully established, we hope the scheme will benefit five Parish Council areas, which cover the General Practitioner Surgery areas of Great Staughton and Buckden. The Grafham Water Community First Responder Scheme will be made up of volunteers who, within the community in which they live or work, have been trained to attend emergency calls received by the East of England Ambulance NHS Trust and pro- vide ‘ first aid ’ until an emergency ambulance arrives. They will be tasked and deployed through the Ambulance Ser- vice Emergency Operations Centre. The idea behind the scheme is a simple one; local people with the appropriate training and equipment can get to local emer- gencies quickly because they are just around the corner. Time in responding is a very important factor and ambulances can ’ t be everywhere at once. If you are interested in volunteering to be a Community First Responder and live (or work) in either Great Staughton, Dil- lington, Perry, Buckden, Grafham, Ellington Thorpe or Elling- ton, please contact Richard or Phillipa Winser via E Mail: king- fisher.10@btinternet.com