Edlesborough Parish Council

New Pavilion

The planning application for the New Pavilion has now been submitted to AVDC. More information can be found at the website www.EdthePav.org or you can contact the Edlesborough Community Sports Club by email [email protected] or if you wish to talk to a member of the group please find their telephone numbers on the website.

Edlesborough Green

The Parish Council would like to clarify that Edlesborough Green is for all parishioners to enjoy and ask that everyone is considerate of other users.

The rules regarding dogs on the Green has come to the attention of the Council. The byelaws state that “Dogs must be under control”. When exercising your dogs on the Green please ensure that you:

• Pick up and dispose of any dog mess in the numerous red dog bins located around the edge of the Green.
• Do not allow your dog to enter the children’s play area.
• Encourage your dog to remain close to you and not rush up to other users of the Green.
• Keep your dog on a lead when organised activities such as the Carnival, Car Boot Sale, cricket or football are taking place on the Green to prevent them from interrupting events or play.

Noticeboards

Due to the high levels of commercial advertising being placed on the Parish Council noticeboards new locks have been installed. Any Parishioner wishing to place an item on the noticeboards should contact the Parish Clerk (details below).

District Cllr Chris Poll

During the February EPC meeting District Cllr Chris Poll shared the following information:

• Individually we commit 150.5kg of waste materials to landfill compared to the UK average of 240.8kg which equates to 54% of all our waste being recycled.
• A new service will see the return of bulky waste collection. This ‘charged for’ scheme will collect up to 3 items for a flat charge of £75. Additional items will incur an extra charge of £5 per item. More information can be found at http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/refuse-and-recycling/bulky-waste-collections
• AVDC will now charge a fee of £80 for recycling and waste containers to any new property. Additionally any lost or damaged bin will now cost £30 per wheeled bin or £10 per caddy. Each case for replacement will be reviewed by the refuse and recycling team before any charge is levied. If residents require an extra bin (for recyclables only) this will remain at no extra charge. Additional waste bins will not be supplied to existing residents.

Proposed McCann Development

DLP/McCann have forwarded a copy of their Exhibition Feedback Summary to the Parish Council. The document cited the same concerns as the Parish Council’s survey:

• The size of the development and overall number of houses proposed
• Lack of capacity at the local GP surgery
• Lack of capacity at the local school
• A worsening of the existing sewerage and drainage problems
• Additional traffic congestion/parking problems.

After the Public Exhibition DLP/McCann stated that they would commission an engineer to investigate the history of and current sewerage problems in Edlesborough. Cllr Wilkinson has met with this engineer and shared extensive information with him regarding the sewerage issues.

At the time of writing this report McCann Homes have yet to submit a formal planning application, but it is anticipated that they will shortly be making an outline application. Based on what they declared at the recent public consultation, it is expected to be for a mixed development of up to 75 houses with a single access from the High Street. If that application is successful, it would then be followed up at a later date by a full application, detailing the final layout of the estate including plans of the different types of houses proposed. The purpose of the outline application is merely to get the principle of developing the site approved. Any site layout details shown in that outline application will be purely indicative and not necessarily representative of the final scheme.

The Parish Council will be consulted by the Local Planning Authority (AVDC) each time an application is submitted. The analysis of the questionnaires completed by parishioners at the public consultation showed that a large majority were opposed to the proposal. The Parish Council will almost certainly reflect that view in their response to AVDC regarding the outline application.

Parishioners must understand however, that the Parish Council does not have a power of veto. Whilst AVDC will consider the Parish Council’s response, their decision will be determined by their interpretation of local and national planning policies, not ours. Recent experience with other similar applications, in particular the one in Cow Lane, suggests that it is more than likely that AVDC will allow the application. That is due to the fact that AVDC do not have an up to date local development plan and are currently unable to demonstrate an adequate 5 year housing supply. Even if we were successful in persuading AVDC to refuse the application, the probability is that the Developer would then appeal to the Planning Inspectorate and that appeal would be successful.

If McCann’s outline application is successful, it is the Parish Council’s intention to then work with the Developer to optimise the details of the final layout to be included in the full application that will follow. By doing that we would hope to maximise the benefits that the development can bring to the village and minimise the adverse consequences to existing residents.

Clearly any development of the site would bring far more negatives than positives to residents of the Parish. However the Parish Council hope that by working with McCann’s on the detail layout, if the project gets that far, we can at least mitigate some of our Parishioners concerns.

EDaN Beautification Team

The team are currently working on a proposal for planting more trees around the edge of Edlesborough Green and on the green area at the top of Cow Lane.

Friends of the Church on the Hill, Edlesborough

The documents for floodlighting the Church have been submitted to AVDC for planning permission and a notice has been forwarded to the Churches Conservation Trust.

The next project the team have on their plan is to open the tower to visitors. Approval will be sought from The CCT for this.

Traffic Calming – A4146

In response to of letters from MP John Bercow and County Councillor Avril Davis regarding the reclassification of the A4146, the Parish Council wholeheartedly agreed to support the downgrading of the A4146 to a B road with a weight restriction of 7.5ton. Currently Herts, Beds and Bucks are looking to work together in the hope of achieving this. The opening of the new M1 link road, the de trunking of the A5 and the application to make Totternhoe and Eaton Bray 7.5ton exclusion zones all mean that extra HGV traffic could otherwise be routed onto the A4146.

Car Parking In the Parish

Inconsiderate parking in the Parish continues to be an issue. White lines are painted at particular locations to ensure the safety of our parishioners. Bucks CC have always refused the Parish Council’s requests for yellow lines as the lack of traffic wardens in the villages means they cannot be enforced.

The white no parking lines are placed in strategic locations for the following reasons:

• To remind drivers that parking within 10m of a junction is illegal.
• To provide adequate spaces for vehicles to pass each other safely in congested areas, such as by the school and shops.
• To ensure pedestrians and drivers have adequate visibility when crossing or pulling out of a junction.

Please consider others when parking your vehicles and be mindful that inconsiderate parking causes unnecessary hazards particularly to pedestrians.

New Councillors

The Council currently has a vacancy for a new Councillor to represent Edlesborough. Any person wishing to know more about the role should contact the Clerk.

Edlesborough Parish Council Meetings

Edlesborough Parish Council’s Annual Parish Meeting will take place in Edlesborough Memorial Hall on Thursday 16th April 2015. There will be a review of the past year’s activities together with plans for the coming year. The meeting will commence at 7:30pm and be followed by an Ordinary Parish Council Meeting.

All Parishioners are welcome to attend and may ask questions, raise issues and give suggestions during the Open Forum.

Elections & New Councillors

These will take place on Thursday 7th May 2015. If anyone wishes to be considered for a position on the Parish Council please contact the Clerk before 7th April. Further information about elections has been displayed on the Parish Council noticeboards since 24th March 2015.