Bulletin - November 2024
Hi Folks, Steve here with a summary of what we’re up to on your Parish Council.
I’m sure most of us have seen the poor state of the rubber mulch in the kiddies’ play park including the mud and weeds. Subject to a vote at our budget meeting, we will be confirming that the work to repair this will go ahead. Unfortunately, the contractor has said the work needs to be done when the weather is a little better so it will be late Spring before it gets done. Sorry!
Apparently, a request has been made for the 30mph limit to start just before Brook End (coming from Newport Pagnell) with a 40mph buffer zone approx. 400m before it. It would seem a report of vehicles damaging property in that area sparked this off. The PC are not aware that this sort of problem had occurred. A public consultation will take place before a final decision is made on this. Many residents will remember that the 30mph limit used to start from Brook End years ago but was moved to its current location as the distance between Brook End and the start of the High St (where most pedestrians are) was sufficient that it dulled the impact of the speed limit. I guess we will all have our opportunity to participate in the debate once the consultation is underway.
We are still working on getting MKCC to clean up and reinstate Gog Lane and its verges. As you can imagine there are many villages requesting the same sort of help. We have enlisted the help of our Ward Councillor to try to get up the priority list. On the subject of flood impact we only know of two houses in the Parish that were flooded. Consequently, it doesn’t seem appropriate to set up a register of vulnerable properties. But we will produce an abbreviated plan to cope with events such as this as I explained in the last bulletin.
If you’re reading this via the November Facebook link there is still time to vote for this year’s Village Champion - if you’re reading it in SCAN we will be announcing the winner very soon!
It’s budget month for the PC and we will be considering a range of issues which all require funding. This year has been different to previous years in that we have had very low income from the cemetery which, for many years, has been the second key source of income for the PC after the precept. It will likely mean we will struggle to fund all the things we would like to do - just like most households - and we will need to prioritise. Our 1st meeting takes place in November and we need to finalise the budget at the January PC meeting (which, incidentally, is on 8th January 2025 as our normal date is not available in the Institute).
I attended the Rural Community Forum where Parishes can interact with the Thames Valley Police and our PCSO’s. Interestingly all villages represented there had major issues with speeding traffic - we are not alone!! We hope, at some stage, to trial a new “speed camera” called Sentinel which is not handheld but mounted on a tripod and only requires 2 operatives. This should reduce the concern residents have had about joining a Community Speed Watch (CSW) scheme where they previously used handheld devices and could easily be identified by any local drivers. We can only have a Sentinel if we have a CSW scheme - so, if you’re concerned about speeding through our Parish, please think about the idea of joining such a scheme when we come to advertise it.
As usual November sees the sale of Royal British Legion poppies and Remembrance Sunday which this year is on the 10th. The Parish Council laid a wreath at the ceremony which took place at the War Memorial at 4pm and was followed by a church service.
That’s it for this month - don’t forget that we’ll be singing Christmas Carols at the Waste Ground at 5.30 on Friday 20th December followed by mulled wine and mince pies with a brass band playing and, at 6.30, the Lights for a Loved One will be switched on. A lovely village Christmas event for all the family - see you there!!
PREVIOUS BULLETINS:
Archive
2020 |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
June |
July |
Sept |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |