Chairman’s Update
07 April 2008
Coach trip to Standen – in the snow (06 April)
Would we go – but of course!
By 09.30am, the snow in Wendover was melting
By 11.00am in East Grinstead – well, they had better snow than us…
Quite a delightful and a very interesting NT property and the few staff that had managed to get to work really appreciated our visit
However, due to the weather conditions we were unable to travel any further, so Brighton awaits another coach trip, hopefully later this year
Our thanks to Judy Lewis for the organisation
Jazz Picnic – Halton House – 13 July
Please remember this date and await further information
President’s Prize
If you have any suggestions, may I urge you to email me soon as your Committee must make a decision shortly
As always, our thanks for your continued support
Carol Clark
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT TO AGM
22 FEBRUARY 2008
‘Quite’ a busy year then! And probably the most enjoyable of my ten years living in Wendover.
First of all, I must thank your Committee. We have got to know each other well and our Committee meetings are serious, considered and everyone has always done their homework. Enthusiasm and time are necessary requirements in any voluntary organisation and I am delighted that your existing Committee members all wish to stand again. Over the last year Derek Roxberry, Eileen McKechnie and Angus McKechnie regrettably tendered their resignation – on your behalf I would like to thank them for their support and the work they carried out.
I will now report on what, where, why and how we have been promoting The Society whilst continuing to preserve the character of Wendover.
Please bear with me as I read the bullet points before me.
Planning and our environment
The Princess Mary Hospital Site
With demolition scheduled to commence last May, we were able to persuade Consensus Planning, consultants to the developers and representatives from the developers themselves, to attend a public meeting, here in the Memorial Hall. They had previously shown us, by way of an exhibition, design codes to be commented on, but at the public meeting we were all able to express our concerns with regard to the impact on our village; topics included road traffic management, site security, Clock Tower junction congestion, and so on. Ten months further down the line, demolition has only just started and last month the Reserved Planning Application was finally submitted. During this time we have met with representatives from the Parish and District Councils and two weeks ago forwarded our own response. These are just a few of our continuing concerns : the plans have altered considerably, the MS Centre has been moved and not given adequate facilities, the play area is all wrong and we are trying to second guess where an estimated 720 cars will park in the village…..
Please be assured that all the hard work put in over many years by The Society continues to this day. In the meantime, we still communicate with Consensus Planning.
Aylesbury Vale’s Core Strategy
The preferred plan is to build 9,300 homes to the south of Aylesbury and to place Wendover is a 2nd tier category along with Buckingham, Haddenham and Winslow. We attended several meetings with Parish Councillors from Wendover and Halton and with our District and County Councillors. We are all united - this is a bad idea. So yet again, strong representation has been made by The Society to AVDC and many of you last Summer kindly wrote your own personal objections. This week we also met with the AVDC Planning Officer in charge of this project in order to ascertain the Council’s thoughts on enlarging Wendover. Needless to say, we were a little premature as the report from AVDC is running late. However, we were given the opportunity to put our views forward that enough is enough on the housing front in Wendover. We cannot have been that ‘nasty’ on Wednesday as we have been invited back as and when the definitive material is available. The official documents will be published in July and yet again we, and by that I mean your Committee and you, the Members, will have the Summer holidays to prepare our objections, assuming the result is an adverse one for Wendover.
Planned waste incinerator at Aston Clinton
A first class campaign was organised by ACRID and of course we also wrote to BCC with our objections; as Wendover would have been involved by way of lorries travelling to and from the site through our village.
The Pursell Path
We continue to have our twice-a-year working parties. The Path is maintained on a day-to-day basis by Ian Gosling from the Parish Council and we are very grateful for all his efforts. On previous occasions, under Ian’s guidance I have been allowed the long-handled choppers. Not so, last time; obviously being short of stature was a disadvantage, and as I am not known for my gardening expertise – Ian considered that rubbish / litter collection was more my ‘forte’.
Our Social events
Continuing what we believe to be a successful formula, we have planned much the same for the next 12 months. I must at this point thank on your behalf the sterling work put in by the Charlesworth ‘stroke’ Louis family and friends for their fantastic menus and actual ‘grub’ to eat. I know you are all eagerly awaiting your card with contact details and dates. You need not wait for the postman. Yes – The Society has a web site, launched officially tonight and there are cards on your tables with the appropriate information. Dave King who has been responsible for setting this up on our behalf is unable to come tonight, but I would request that our Secretary record our thanks to him. Please take advantage of what is called the forum as this is an opportunity for everyone to get involved in any issues affecting Wendover.
The Presidents Prize
We are now actively seeking nominations for this prestigious award which is for a significant contribution to the built or natural environment of the village. The actual ceremony will take place at our Harvest Supper evening on 10th October, here in the Memorial Hall. Please submit your ideas to any Committee member and the sooner, the better. Or why not use the web site.
Support for other associations
We are of course members of ANTAS, the Association of North Thames Amenity Societies. I have been to Potters Bar and then High Wycombe for the two meeting this last year, given a brief report on the how we are faring in Wendover and listened, sometimes in true amazement, to the many planning problems facing other towns and villages. You will recall that at our last ‘get-together’ we learned about the difficulties and solutions concerning our neighbours in Aylesbury town.
We are also, as a Society, members of the Wendover Arm Trust. I have put before you tonight their latest letter urgently requesting bodies to assist. Please see what you can do.
Correspondence
Every well-run business and in our case, The Wendover Society, needs a super-hero as a Secretary. Well, we have that in our very own David Whitaker. His letters, and believe me there have been ‘millions’, are masterpieces - subtle, direct, concise, always to the point and occasionally humorous. He is always kind enough to run them past me. Ladies and gentlemen, I could not function as your Chairman without such a Secretary, I would be grateful for your kind applause for David.
I apologise for reading from a prepared script but I have written this speech for not only those of you who are here tonight; and I thank you again for coming; but these words will now be posted on the web site as will a full report of our AGM.
Promoting The Society at every available opportunity has been a pleasure.
I have enjoyed a year of many opportunities, advantages and privileges
And yes, to follow-up from my pre-Christmas missive - that ‘speed-dating’ event?
I mentioned to colleagues at work that I was off to ‘speed-dating’. They thought the venue of the Library Room was possibly a little strange as this was a day-time appointment. So, not at all what I had been led to believe would happen, did indeed not happen. AVDC had got together a team to promote their services with a maximum of a 5 minute spiel by each department; very interesting, quite informative and much amusement back at the office later.
I cannot possibly cover tonight, every single aspect, response or initiative that your Committee has dealt with in the last twelve months. Our ‘bywords’ are ‘preserving the character of Wendover’; We have tried very hard to do just that.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you.
Carol Clark
Princess Mary’s Hospital Site
Bryan Smith & Elizabeth Richards
When the first application was made for the redevelopment of the Princess Mary’s Hospital site, the Wendover Society raised objections on several counts. Although we have always acknowledged that as a brown field site, it had to be re-used, our view is that it should be developed sympathetically and its impact on the infrastructure of Wendover properly assessed. We feel that this has not been achieved despite our joint representations with the Parish Council, which is thinking on similar lines.
However, after three applications, two public inquiries, endless meetings and numerous documents to examine, the application for 400 houses was granted subject to satisfactory legal agreements prepared by the local authorities.
DEFICIENCIES. We believe that there are still some deficiencies in the plans:
Car parking. The plans do not make provision for extra parking in central Wendover. We all know the pressures and although two official surveys acknowledge that car parks in central Wendover are full at peak times, the Aylesbury Vale District Council still have not insisted that the developers make a contribution to improving matters. This is in spite of knowing that a development of this size, distance and gradient from the town centre could bring in as many as 600 more cars. We feel that if Wendover is to remain viable for both residents and tourists, this issue must be addressed and not dismissed as it has been by AVDC.
Through traffic. The opening of the Wendover by-pass dramatically reduced north-south traffic, although it is now building up again, but worsened the east-west traffic situation. After pressure from ourselves, Bucks County Council did insist on an up to date assessment of the Clock Tower junction and their conclusion confirmed our belief that there is a problem at peak times. A developer funded solution has yet to be agreed.
Additionally, a safety audit should have been included for Tring Road up to the site entrance. We are concerned that the one access to this large site is near a school, garage, nursing home, veterinary surgery and the Chinese takeaway. Closer to Wendover, the new Tesco Express store already creates traffic hazards.
Lack of on-site employment. Aylesbury Vale District Local Plan proposed a small employment area within the site. This we supported because, in line with Government policy, it would have provided some jobs with homes close by thus reducing the need to travel. This proposal was overturned as it was thought to be unviable, although recent studies have shown that rural employment sites in the Vale are more successful than those in Aylesbury itself.
SUCCESSES. Through persuasion and determination we feel that we have achieved some success with:
Tring Road access to schools campus. In the interests of safety, accessibility and relieving congestion in Wharf Road, we pressed for pedestrian and cycle access to the rear of the schools’ site and this has now been agreed.
Halton Combined School. Most primary age children from the new site will attend Halton School. Whilst there is room to build new classrooms, there is a lack of outdoor space. Defence Estates have agreed to transfer the land in front of the church to Bucks County Council for play and sports purposes.
Bus route. It was always proposed to divert the 54 service into the site, but we considered this was not enough and that the diverted service should also serve the town centre and the station. This has now been offered by the developers, but only at peak times.
Community facilities. Initially nothing was offered to enhance community facilities, but we argued that new residents would want to make use of meeting places and sports facilities and that there should be a contribution from the developers to improve Wendover’s facilities. A sum of money has been agreed and the Parish Council will decide how best to use it.
Housing numbers. The original application was for 480 houses but after much argument permission was granted for 400.
The redevelopment of Princess Mary’s Hospital will have a huge impact on Wendover, perhaps the biggest in recent history, increasing the housing stock by 18% in a single move. The Society feels that although the site is elevated and on the edge of the town, it should become an integral part of Wendover, which is why we have worked so hard to influence the decisions. We saw it as an opportunity to enhance the town, and not see our present facilities overwhelmed. We feel that this has not been achieved, in spite of all our local councillors expressing their concerns. Time will tell!
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