Buckingham’s River Great Ouse is on the way to Recovery Thanks to Regular Monitoring

Posted on 29th July 2021 by admin

The river Great Ouse running through Buckingham’s town centre is showing very promising signs of recovery, thanks to regular river invertebrate (riverfly) monitoring, now taking place by local River Wardens!

The River Warden group (initially formed in late 2019), in response to the devastating pollution incident in 2018 with the support from Buckingham Town Council and the Environment Agency, have now been trained to take monthly samples of the river. The training occurred on 18^th July 2021, by an accredited Riverfly Training Instructor:

“It was brilliant to deliver a Riverfly Partnership Workshop in Chandos Park on Sunday and to be able to support the hugely valuable River warden scheme following your devastating pollution incident, the interest in the river and awareness of the park visitors was really inspiring.” - Ian Hawkins, East Anglian Riverfly Hub Coordinator

This training as part of the Anglers’ Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) which is hosted by the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA), allows these newly trained Riverfly Monitors to score the health of the river, based on the presence and abundance of specific riverfly target groups. This ultimately aims to improve existing river monitoring in the local area and help detect and deter future pollution incidents.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the Riverfly monitoring training session, after studying the theory it was lovely to put it into practice. The session involved taking samples from the river, identifying and separating the indicator species and finally counting them before returning them to the river." – Ruth Newell (River Warden)

Riverflies consist of caddisflies, stoneflies and mayflies which live most of their lives as larvae on the bed of rivers, emerging as short-lived adult flies. Acting as a biological indicators of river health, and being very sensitive or even intolerant of pollution, these invertebrates respond very quickly to pollution. Through this regular monitoring, trigger levels can be set, so that if they were to fall below the set threshold for this site, it would raise the alert of poor water quality.

During the training workshops, six of the eight indicator target groups were found in good numbers, demonstrating very promising river health and recovery. These included excellent numbers of olives (Baetidae), which are a family of small fast-swimming mayfly larvae, often called ‘agile darters’, along with abundant Gammarus (freshwater shrimp). There were decent numbers of larger burrowing mayflies (Ephemeridae) which are powerful 3-tailed swimmers that burrow into silt, good numbers of cased caddisfly larvae (Tricoptera), which make tube-like cases from stones, grains and plant material, along with the occasional caseless caddis.

Of greatest interest though were the several blue winged olives found (Ephemerellidae), which are particularly sensitive to pollution, demonstrating that the river health is surprisingly good. A stone loach fish was also recorded which was a species not re-stocked by the Environment Agency since the pollution event.

“This is certainly very encouraging news indeed, that given the chance, the river system can be quite resilient and is able to bounce back to its former health following such a catastrophic pollution incident just three years prior. Presence of all these invertebrates will not only provide food for fish, mammals, birds, and bats, but will also reassure the residents of Buckingham that their local river is healthy and safe.” - River Warden Coordinator, Ruth Coxon from The Conservation Volunteers (TCV).

The Buckingham & Gawcott Charitable Trust have made this training possible, by funding the riverfly training workshops and equipment needed for continued monitoring.

A public presentation of the cheque was made by Trust Chairman Councillor Robin Stuchbury during the morning training session on Sunday 18th July at Chandos Park, which turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year so far.

“It was great to see such interest from the public also enjoying the space at Chandos park with many passers-by, including young children, often showing an interest in the group’s activities, and asking what we were doing. Most were aware of the pollution incident 3 years ago and were pleased to hear that the river was recovering well.” - River Warden Coordinator, Ruth Coxon

Now trained up, the River Warden Group will be able to conduct monthly riverfly monitoring and input the results as publicly accessible data to the Riverfly Partnership’s online database. Monitoring efforts here will hopefully deter future acts of pollution and keep the river clean, healthy and thriving with wildlife for years to come.

“Riverfly sampling is an incredibly important tool in monitoring the river for water quality and in these days when the Environment Agency are under financial pressure with reduced ability to monitor water quality as they would have in the past. It is local volunteers who are needed to fill that space. If anyone is interested in joining I am sure that Ruth Coxon would welcome them and hopefully a number of further sampling sites can be created and monitored along the river to demonstrate the remarkable resilience and recovery of the river and to keep watch and report quickly any future incident of pollution.” Ian Hawkins, East Anglian Riverfly Hub Coordinator.

The River Warden group look forward to seeing how the health of the river improves. For more information about The Conservation Volunteers and the wide range of projects occurring nationally, please visit: https://www.tcv.org.uk.

Follow the Buckingham Otter Trail this Summer!

Posted on 28th July 2021 by admin

Image shows the Mayor and The University of Buckingham Student's Union member handing over a decorated otter sculpture

On Friday 23^rd July, residents of Buckingham woke up to a delightful sight as a new family of ten colourful otter sculptures appeared across the town. Organised by Buckingham Town Council, the Buckingham Otter Trail is a free, fun art sculpture event that features 3ft otter sculptures holidaying in shop windows and surrounding green spaces. The public is invited to take part in this family-friendly activity to find all the otters making the perfect day out this summer.

The trail is live now and will continue until Monday 31^st August. Buckingham Town Council hopes the art trail will attract both residents and visitors from far and wide to discover and re-discover the town and get Buckingham back to business after lockdown as well as making art accessible to all.

Councillor Margaret Gateley ‘One of my first opportunities as Mayor of Buckingham has been to meet many of the community groups and schools, who have lovingly painted one of the ten otter sculptures, which are part of the Otter Trail. It has been a delight to see their different artistic interpretations and to witness their enthusiasm for their work; this was especially evident when I was able to meet groups of schoolchildren with their own otter. I look forward to walking the trail myself’.

It is easy for people to take part, visitors can pick up a free trail map from the Tourist Information Centre inside the Buckingham Old Gaol, or you can print one yourselves on the link above. The trail is also available to follow on our community heritage exploration app Buxplore. Otter spotters will then be able to pinpoint which otters they want to see, in what order and where in the town they can be found. This also allows visitors to read more about the artists and sponsors behind the project.

Since April, the artists have been busy decorating the otters into beautiful pieces of art for your enjoyment. The funding for the project came from the underspend following events being cancelled during lockdown, and as part of the Town Centre and Event’s Committee’s work to support businesses and encourage more people to head into town. The project was also kindly supported by local businesses and charities who have sponsored an otter making the trail deeply rooted to Buckingham. Read on to hear from all the artists and sponsors behind this great initiative!

Canalotto is sponsored by the Buckingham Canal Society and painted by Zoe Day.

‘The Buckingham Canal Society are proud to be supporting the Buckingham Otter trail. Our aim is to fully restore the 10 miles of the Buckingham Arm of the Grand Union Canal, from Cosgrove right through to Buckingham. At Bourton Meadow, where our otter is located, you can see a restored ¼ mile stretch of the canal, which is a haven for many species of wildlife and flora, including kingfishers, reed warblers, herons, various butterflies, dragonflies and fish species, water voles, and even grass snakes, which love a swim on a warm day’!

‘We welcome new members and volunteers to join us; membership starts from just £4 per year - and our volunteers need no skills other than a desire to get involved, whether weekly or infrequently. We hold regular work parties at Bourton Meadow, Hyde Lane (2 miles from Buckingham) and Cosgrove, during the week and on weekends, or you can volunteer to help with admin, finance, marketing, grant applications - and much more. You can find out more at www.buckinghamcanal.org.uk’

‘We would like to give a special thank you to our amazing Otter Artist, Zoe Day, who is from Buckingham who painted the wonderful Canalotto’.

Zoë Day is a professional artist who has lived in and around Buckingham all of her life. Zoë studied art from a young age learning to paint wildlife with her grandmother. She went on to learn techniques and methods from some of the most prestigious art institutions including the Florence Academy, Oxford’s Ruskin School of Art and the Heatherley’s in Chelsea. Zoë set up her own Art School in 2010 and is still passionate about teaching the joy of painting in her weekly classes, while principally engaged in modern landscape painting and exhibition/commission work.

Zoë’s inspiration for this otter comes from her love of the Buckinghamshire landscape and countryside and is a celebration of this amazing project by the Canal Society to transform a disused waterway into a beautiful sanctuary for local wildlife. Try to see how many different creatures you can spot on her design!

Locki the otter is sponsored by MyFutureSelf Matters with support from local residents Charlotte and Justin who wanted to highlight the amazing work Carl was doing with local Buckingham School children. The young people chose the name ‘Locki’ as this is a reflection of the lock and key covering wallpaper and also reflecting MyFutureSelf’s ability to unlock potential in young people. They got their young people to come up with words that related to their lives and that tied in with emotional well-being, these words were then coloured in by some of the young people completing their mentoring programme.

MyFutureSelf is a mentoring service that supports young people in Buckinghamshire with their mental health, lifestyle and wellbeing. They offer 1:1 support in person or online, the age range MyFutureSelf work with is from 10 to 24 years old. MyFutureSelf aims to equip young people with tools and strategies to increase their emotional health, resilience and improve their overall wellbeing.

Patchy the otter is sponsored by Howes The Florist. They have been on Nelson Street in Buckingham for over 70 years, offering flowers for all of life's big occasions and here to celebrate the small joys too. Their hand delivery floral gifts are created by their wonderful team and are available 6 days a week, delivered locally.

‘The otter trail is a wonderful idea and having grown up in this beautiful market town we wanted to be part of raising the profile of our amazing local community. We are fortunate to be among the families benefitting from YC2 (Young Careers Buckingham), Our three children have attended village schools, as have my parents, Grandparents, Aunts and siblings. The pandemic has shown what an amazing community spirit we have in Buckingham and we are so proud to be part of this wonderful town.’

Patchy was decorated by Year 2 children at Maids Moreton C of E School. They chose an Elmer inspired patchwork design for their otter. The whole class took part, with each child designing and painting a section. The children wanted to make his fur appear realistic so opted for tones of brown. They thoroughly enjoyed the design process and were very proud of their finished product.

Prints of the Future is sponsored by Gawcott Fields Community Solar Project CIC who are a not for profit enterprise which owns a community solar array at Gawcott Fields Farm between Gawcott and Buckingham. The 4.17-megawatt solar array is made up of over 16,000 solar panels and is expected to generate over 4 million kWh of renewable electricity each year. That’s equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 1,000 homes. Surplus income generated by the solar array (after operating and financing costs) is used to support community projects in the local area.

Prints of the Future was painted by Roundwood Primary School. They wanted all the children to be part of the painting so they decided the best way to do that was by decorating the sculpture with fingerprints. They named their otter 'Prints of the Future' as one day, in the not-too-distant future, it will be the hands from these prints that serve our community. The children thoroughly enjoyed decorating with their fingerprints and watching as the number of prints grew with a visit to each year group. They really fell for their otter sculpture and were all sad when it had to be collected but they hope people will enjoy finding it as a part of the trail.

Monty the otter is sponsored by Bucks Radio. Bucks Radio is the new sound of Buckinghamshire, aiming to bring local radio back to the county. They have been overwhelmed by the support they’ve received so far, and are looking forward to becoming a part of Bucks life. Between them, their team have been working, and broadcasting, in the area for over 40 years, so they believe they understand what matters to you.

Right now they’re broadcasting online, via smart speakers and app, meaning you can take them with you wherever you go. They have the latest news, weather and travel, and loads of community information, including a free What's On Guide and features like Charity Friday.

They are supporting local businesses, and have a variety of advertising and sponsorship packages available, and are happy to talk about bespoke competitions and partnerships.

Monty was painted by children attending Bourton Meadow Academy. They were very excited to receive their otter and decisions turned to how it should be decorated. Many suggestions were submitted but they decided to settle on a doodle design in the style of Mr Doodle. They felt this would allow the children maximum range of creativity whilst have a theme running throughout all the designs. They liked the idea of lots of individual ideas being knitted together through the use of simple black lines.

The children were introduced to the work of Mr Doodle and asked to design their own doodle idea to be included on the otter. They wanted the children to be able to express their creativity so left the theme quite open.

Lacey the otter is sponsored by Barratt and David Wilson Homes.

“Our St Rumbold’s Fields development in Buckingham gave us the opportunity to sponsor the Buckingham Otter Trail this year and we are so proud to get behind such a fantastic community event. We want to encourage people to take part, support local businesses and see some brilliant art created by pupils at Lace Hill Academy. We look forward to the event and to continuing to support the Buckingham community.”

Lacey was decorated by reception children at Lace Hill Academy. They were really excited to be part of the community otter project. The first thing we did was to decide if it was a boy or a girl. We put boy and girl written on two pieces of paper and one was pulled out. The idea for the pattern was inspired by the history of the area around Lace Hill and Buckingham. Many of the street names have a lace or sewing source, Catchpin Street, Bobbins Way, Threads Lane and Linen Lane. The children painted the base colour of dark purple and cream for her tummy and then a ‘lacy’ pattern was stencilled on the top with a doily to break up the base colour. They worked in small groups throughout the week to stencil the patterns. The children then wanted to add some bright colours so they decided on yellows for the tummy and tail and pinks for the main body. The children were very proud of the finished result and were sad when Lacey left to get varnished.

Jeff the otter is sponsored by Heritage and Sons Buckingham. Heritage & Sons are proud to serve the wider community in Buckinghamshire and to support the fantastic Buckingham Otter Trail. They are part of CPJ Field, a leading family-run funeral service provider which operates funeral homes across South East England. At CPJ Field we understand that no two lives are the same, which is why every funeral we arrange is completely individual too. Whether you’re making the arrangements for a loved one or prudently planning your own, we’re here for you in every way.

Over the past three centuries, CPJ Field has been actively owned and managed by the Field family through ten generations. It is our solemn promise to help you to make your funeral experience as personal and individual as possible.

Jeff was decorated by Buckingham Primary School children with the help of local artist Clare Tebboth. Their design was inspired by the natural world around Buckingham and wanted it to reflect the animals, birds and insects they have seen on their many walks during lockdown. The design incorporates lots of ideas taken from the year 6 children and discussions they had around the theme. They liked the idea that you could find lots of different creatures hidden around the sculpture and hoped that it would appeal to both young and old, counting the insects, finding the toad or even the hedgehog!

Clare Tebboth is a primary school teacher at Buckingham Primary school specialising in art. When she is not at school she is an artist exhibiting work in galleries working in predominantly oils and watercolours. She also teaches adults art at Vitreus Art Gallery, Towcester and has been chair for many years of Buckingham Art for All - a popular local community art group.

Jimmy Fisher the otter was sponsored by Buckingham Town Council and lovingly painted by children who attend YC2 Buckingham & Winslow Young Carers with a little bit of help from local designer Kate Lowe.

YC2 enjoyed painting their sculpture at Otter HQ and decided to include their big red balloon logo and thistledown floating in the sky. Designer Kate took all 65 sets of initials of their current register and painted them on in the tiniest lettering meaning Jimmy Fisher will always have a record of each young carer who is a member of YC2 in 2020/21. Further inspiration came and Jimmy has a pretty daisy chain necklace and is holding a large fish that he has just caught and is about to enjoy!

Buckingham and Winslow Young Carers provide regular programmes of activities for children and young people aged 6-18 with significant personal caring responsibilities for one or more family members with physical, mental or learning disabilities an opportunity for rest bite.

Flo the otter was sponsored by Buckingham Town Council and decorated by nurses at Buckingham Community Hospital and water marbling artist Derryn Snowdon.

Derryn took the otter to Buckingham Hospital and the team on duty named her, whilst taking turns to try their hand at water marbling for the very first time which was a very therapeutic artistic day at work. Derryn taught them some of the practices and terms in traditional Turkish marbling and they took to it like ...well as an otter to water! Flo was named after Florence Nightingale, and echo’s the flow in water marbling design and the water where otters live. Flo represents a journey of exploration for us all. The non-marbled parts provide a neutral background to display the marbled parts. The smudges and incomplete patterns draw you in to complete the pattern in your mind.

Olive Otterson the otter is sponsored by The University of Buckingham and has been decorated by their Students’ Union.

‘The University is delighted to participate in the Otter Trail initiative. Positive relationships with our local community are really important to the university and we love seeing residents enjoying our campus facilities. The University has educated thousands of students from all over the world for almost fifty years and we employ many of our staff from within the community. We hope the Otter Trail and our University Otter will encourage families to make use of the University Bookshop and (if Covid guidelines allow) that you make a visit to the Vinson Building and experience the University Café. We very much look forward to welcoming you.'

For enquiries please contact Paul Hodson at Buckingham Town Council on 01280 816426, office@buckingham-tc.gov.uk.

Let There Be More Light?

Posted on 27th July 2021 by committeeclerk

Let There Be More Light?

At Environment Committee on the 14^th June 2021 Members agreed the following motion:

With regards to people, especially women, feeling safe in our parks and green spaces: to discuss the current provision of street lighting and decide whether to explore putting in extra illumination.

We are seeking feedback from residents to help identify areas in the town and parks that require more illumination. The map showing the location of Buckingham’s current street lights can be accessed via the Fix My Street website, select ‘Street lights’ from the left hand column and then ‘Street Light not working’:

https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/report/new?longitude=-0.972267&latitude=51.993913#subcategory

We would appreciate residents’ views on whether any additional street lighting is needed within the town and greenspaces and where those extra street lighting columns could be located. Any recommendations for additional LED lighting columns would be recommended to Buckinghamshire Council (Highways), who own the majority of street lighting columns across the town including through Bourton Park.

Please email committeeclerk@buckingham-tc.gov.uk with any suggestions on the location of additional LED lighting columns.

Please include a snapshot from the FixMyStreet Map or https://www.openstreetmap.org/
Photographs of the location would also help

Streetlighting

Transport for Buckinghamshire’s (TfB) Street Lighting Team looks after the 29,000 streetlights and 6,000 illuminated bollards we rely on across Buckinghamshire to

Street Lighting

illuminate our roads and pathways by night.

During 2018-19, the Street Lighting Team replaced 3,295 ‘old style’ lanterns with LED equipment. These old style lanterns have an orange light, whilst the new lanterns produce a white light. In addition to this, the team has also completely replaced 344 lanterns which were mounted on wooden electricity poles.

If you do spot a damaged or broken street light, please do report it using Fix My Street https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/

Use the search bar to find the road the street light is on, use the marker to pinpoint the area it is in and select the number of the street light that you are reporting. This should be used for faults that do not present an immediate risk, for example, street lights that aren’t working. In an emergency, please call 01296 382416 to report.

Whose light is it anyway?

Buckinghamshire Council are not the only ones who maintain lights within the town. Buckingham Town Council maintains eight LED streetlights within Chandos Park, updated from the old lantern style luminaire. The LED lights use far less electricity and direct the light down and along the path where required reducing light pollution as opposed to the old style lanterns.

Only County Council lights currently appear on the Fix My Street website – if there is no light option available on the map for the location that you are trying to report. Note however that you cannot report failed lights that are privately owned, for example in gardens, on driveways or lighting commercial premises. You’ll need to contact the landowner.

Fun Fact Friday: Brackley Road Cemetery

Posted on 23rd July 2021 by admin

Buckingham has two historic cemeteries. The later was designed by noted architect Samuel Fripp and opened in 1856. The cemetery is sited on Brackley Road, and has provided a burial place for the residents of Buckingham for over 150 years. In 2005 Buckingham Town Council took over responsibility for the management and maintenance of the Cemetery and since have been committed to improving the Cemetery and ensuring that it is a well-maintained and suitable resting place for loved ones.

There are strong associations between the cemetery and the history of the town. There are also connections with members of the community. The cemetery provides an important link with the past and a place for contemplation by the local community.

The Cemetery is located at Brackley Road, Buckingham MK18 1JA, near the edge of the town and opposite Pateman Close. The Cemetery is open to the public daily from dawn to dusk, with access through the main gates. However, the Council reserves the right to close the grounds and limit entry at any time.

There are two gothic chapels at the cemetery, which are the focal points of the original 1850s layout. They are sited towards the centre of their respective parts of the burial ground: the non-conformist side being in the smaller west half and the Anglican chapel in the east half.

A site dossier with information about the history of the site was prepared as part of The Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust (BGT) Research and Recording Project which began in 2014. Brackley Road Cemetery was identified as an important designed landscape by Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) in 1998 to retain evidence of historic interest, as part of the Historic Parks and Gardens Register Review project carried out for Historic England. The list is not definitive and further parks and gardens may be identified as research continues or further information comes to light.

Whilst visiting Brackley Road Cemetery please do:

Be aware that funerals may be taking place within the Cemetery
Treat other people in the Cemetery with the utmost respect
Treat the Cemetery, graves and memorials with respect

For more information on Brackley Road Cemetery, including the fees and burial forms, visit our Cemetery page.

Love Parks Week 23rd July – 1st August 2021

Posted on 20th July 2021 by committeeclerk

Join us in celebrating Love Parks Week from Friday 23 July – Sunday 1 August 2021!

Since the start of the pandemic, more and more people have come to see the benefits of visiting our parks and green spaces. During lockdown, all of Buckingham’s greenspaces remained open to the community for daily exercise, fresh air, peace and quiet and a safe place to meet friends and family under restrictions. For many, our parks and open spaces have become a vital lifeline.

Keep Britain Tidy will be running their annual campaign this summer. This year’s Love Parks Week provides a moment to send a rallying cry; to Love, Respect, and Protect our parks throughout the summer of 2021 and beyond. Be sure to keep up to date with the campaign on social media by following the hashtag #LoveParks

Events during Love Parks Week

Here are just some of the events taking place during the week, we will be adding more to the website soon so make sure to check back nearer the time!

Date & Time

Event and Location

Event Type

28^th July 2-3.30pm

Chandos Park

There will be a free Korfball session held at Chandos Park on Wednesday 28th July at 2-3:30pm for anyone aged between 8 and 14 years old. The session will be lead by Buckingham Royals and will take place on the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA).

If you’re interested, email royalkorfball@gmail.com for more information.

28-29^th July 10-1pm and dates throughout the summer

Action4Youth

Chandos Park

Those that attended our drop in Action4Youth session last year know that the team are excellent at bringing together fantastic activities that young people are keen to try.

This year’s offering includes cooking, sports, inflatable obstacle courses, skateboards, parkour, graffitti artists and more!

Young people are split into 11 – 14 and 15 – 18 age groups for sessions.

Events in Parks this Summer

We are celebrating beyond Love Parks Week in Buckingham’s parks and open spaces this summer! See attached link for a list of upcoming events

https://www.buckingham-tc.gov.uk/fringe-2021/?fbclid=IwAR33d42Uia1El70VXQjn8l0XYObQCIKTpK6fr2sCMeKmHsCD3ZCGya1kH2s

Litter Picking

We have a Volunteer Litter Picking scheme that is situated in Bourton Park and can be conducted across all of Buckingham’s greenspaces. If you would like to help us keep our parks and green spaces beautiful then please visit our Litter Picking page for more information.

https://www.buckingham-tc.gov.uk/quick-litter-pick/

Fun Fact Friday: Roles and Responsibilities of Buckingham Town Council

Posted on 8th July 2021 by admin

Buckinghamshire is made up of two tiers of local government, each with differing areas of responsibilities. For Buckingham, these are Buckingham Town Council and Buckinghamshire Council.

The Town Council is the most local tier of government. We are responsible for numerous areas including maintaining certain parks and green spaces, running the Tourist Information Centre and Lace Hill Sports and Community Centre, allotments and cemeteries. We also organise a range of events over the year such as music festivals, comedy nights, bonfire and fireworks.

Buckinghamshire Council is responsible for other services within Buckingham including some green spaces, parking, housing, planning, street cleaning, education, highways, libraries, rights of way and health and social care.

Regardless of whose responsibility it is to resolve an issue. The Town Council can help by directing you to the relevant place or advising you on how to fix the problem, if you aren’t able to report an issue yourself we can help you to do this. You can contact us on 01280 816 426 or view our Council Staff page to direct your request to the right person.

Our Town Councillors are also very willing to support you, all Town Councillors are available to contact by email.

Sometimes it might be helpful to contact your Buckinghamshire Councillor, you can check which Buckinghamshire Council ward you live in via an interactive map on Buckinghamshire’s Council website.

Celebrate Buckingham Day Postponed until 4th September

Posted on 7th July 2021 by office

Celebrate Buckingham has been postponed until 4^th September, following the delay in lifting Covid regulations until 19^th July. Buckingham Town Council has decided to postpone the event which was planned for this Saturday until Saturday 4^th September.

Celebrate Buckingham is being organised by Buckingham Town Council and the Buckingham Society to celebrate the range of voluntary organisations who are serving the town, enable local groups to raise funds and recruit volunteers, and to bring residents together.

The event will take place in Bourton Park where you will be able to see the robing of Buckingham’s Mayor Cllr Margaret Gateley. There will also been the presentation of civic awards and the Town Council awards which will be presented by The Buckingham Civic Society and Mayor Cllr Margaret Gateley. Two long serving councillors who retired in May will be made Honorary Freewomen of the town. Bouncy castles, food vans and entertainment will be provided.

Cllr Robin Stuchbury, Chairman of the Town Centre & Events Committee said: “I hope to see as many people in September as were intending to join us in July, so that we can all mark the personal achievements of groups and organisations as well as individuals together celebrating what’s best about Buckingham and its wonderful community.”

For further updates on the event, please check the Buckingham Town Council website www.buckingham-tc.gov.uk or follow the Council’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts using @buckinghamTC.