October 2022

4 Buckden Roundabout October 2022 Buckden Parish Council Buckden Parish Council News... Council Website For more information, please visit the Buckden Parish Council (BPC) web site at www.buckdenpc.org.uk. To automatically find out what is going on subscribe to our Newsletter service using your email address. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Maj- esty the Queen. Buckden Parish Council would like to offer the Royal Family our heartfelt condolences. Flood Group We have now established an Advisory Group to develop a village Flood Plan. We are keen for one or two villagers partic- ularly those who have experienced flooding to join the group. If you are interested, please contact the Clerk How to Report Issues in the Village If you identify an issue in the village e.g., potholes, streetlights not working etc, it can be very confusing who to report it too. We have developed a table on page 12 which sets out who is responsible for what and how to report the issue. This infor- mation with more detail is also on our web site. Valley Lake BPC is pleased to report that over the summer it purchased an established floating island which has been installed in the Val- ley Lake to help mitigate the effects of the very hot weather which had caused the stream which feeds the lake to dry up and water quality in the lake to deteriorate. The roots of the plants on the floating island extend 1.5m into the water, providing shelter and sucking out pollutants. The island will provide cover for fish and a natural food larder for insects and invertebrates whilst also filtering water, removing excess nu- trients, phosphate and nitrates. The purchase was made in consultation with the Buckden Village Hall Trust (BVHT) which owns and manages the Valley and its lake as well as the playing fields. BPC supports the Trust ’ s efforts to raise further funding to protect the Valley Lake through its go - fund - me page. (see page 16) Fur- ther joint projects for extending rec- reational facilities on BVHT land will be considered over the coming months between BVHT and BPC. In 2022, BPC published its Biodiversity Strategy, and this pur- chase supports that as well as BPC ’ s Climate Mitigation pro- jects, and this purchase meets the objectives set out in both those areas of the work of Buckden Parish Council. The Valley ’ s 11 acres of land, 4 acres of which is naturalised, are Buckden ’ s largest open - air nature area in the village. The recent renovation of the Valley has greatly increased biodiver- sity in the area. BPC is working to address residents ’ desire to have more ac- tivities in the village for all age groups. The land in the Valley provides a unique opportunity to create a lasting legacy for residents, and we continue to work closely with the Buckden Village Hall Trust to realise that goal. Council Meetings The next Council meeting will be at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 11 th October. The meeting will include a 15 - minute open forum. If you want to speak at the meeting, please let us know what you want to say, by contacting the Parish Clerk. You will get a three - minute slot. The Council Planning Committee will also meet if required. Agendas for these meetings are posted on the Parish notice boards no later than the Saturday preceding the meeting. Office opening hours The Clerk is operating flexibly between the office and home. If you wish to meet with the Clerk, please call on 01480 819407. All of the papers and reports for Council Meetings are available on the Thursday before meetings on Council website www.buckdenpc.org.uk .This provides the opportunity to see the agenda, reports of work carried out by the Council as well as reports from our County and District Councillors. Any questions or comments on this report should be addressed to the Parish Clerk at: Buckden Parish Council, Buckden Village Hall, Burberry Rd, Buckden, PE19 5UY. Telephone 01480 819407 Email: clerk@buckdenpc.org.uk. hicle was blocking a pavement and was preventing a wheel- chair user from being able to use the pavement to leave her house. There was some delay due to a lack of clarity of who, in this case, had formal responsibility between the Police, Nation- al Highways and HDC to remove the vehicle. For clarification, any vehicle abandoned off any road (clearway or not) subject to a 50mph should be recovered using police powers – this is not only to facilitate a safe recovery, but as in the case above, pedestrians and wheelchair users need to be able to safety negotiate the obstruction without potentially stepping in the carriageway. It matters not that the carriage- way is not affected as legislation associated with obstruction is applied to the highway which of course includes a footway and verge. RPU officers are always happy to offer advice and assis- tance for these incident types – If in doubt they should arrange for a police recovery! Wishing you all well, Martin Hassall District Councillor for Buckden, Diddington and Southoe Executive Councillor for Corporate & Shared Services Phone: 07480 798 342 (Continued from page 5)