Town Council Elections: May 7th 2020

Posted on 4th February 2020 by office

When are they taking place?

The Town & Parish Council elections will take place on 7 May 2020, between 7am – 10pm.

What other elections are taking place on this date?

The Unitary elections for the new Buckinghamshire Council and the Police & Crime Commissioner elections will also be taking place on 7 May 2020, at the same hours.

Ballot papers

As there are three elections on the same day, the ballot papers for each election will be a different colour.

Notice of Election

The Notice of Election will be published on 31 March 2020. The period for nominations will then commence, and the deadline for nominations for the election will be 4pm on 8 April 2020. Nomination forms can be delivered by parish clerks, collectively and individually, but cannot be sent in the post or electronically. Original signed forms must be provided.

Following the deadline, a complete statement of persons nominated will be published.

Candidates/Agents Briefings

The Returning Officer will be holding briefings across Buckinghamshire for all candidates and agents, which will provide information on the process for nominations and all confirmed arrangements for the Counts.

Nomination Forms/Information

These will be available from the Town Council Office after the Notice of Election is published.

Council’s response to Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan modifications

Posted on 23rd January 2020 by office

Buckingham Town Council submitted the following response to Aylesbury Vale’s District Council’s consultation on the proposed main modifications to the proposed Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan.

The key points made by the Council are:

Removal of BUC051 – which is reserve site M in BNDP – the new modelling of traffic congestion is highly selective and does not consider whether similar unacceptable congestion would be created by other allocated sites that remain. This does not justify the removal of this site alone from VALP;
Western Relief Road which is part of the Buckingham Transport Strategy [BTS] has not been included in VALP, despite BTS remaining part of the evidence base for VALP.
Affordable Homes percentage may be retained in existing BNDP but not any future NDPs, even if there was sufficient evidence to support. Suggestion that future NDPs be included in this policy with the proviso that such a figure would need to be supported with robust evidence.
Request that additional evidence on (3), which was not heard at Public Hearings in July 2018, now be included in support.

Twinning with Neukirchen-Vluyn

Posted on 10th January 2020 by office

Buckingham Twinning Association and Buckingham Town Council are pleased to announce that the German town of Neukirchen-Vluyn have agreed to a formal twinning arrangement with Buckingham. It was over 7 years ago when an informal friendship agreement was made between the Mayors of Buckingham and Neukirchen-Vluyn, when signed an agreement in the Council Chamber in Buckingham. Harald Lenssen was Burgermeister of Neukirchen-Vluyn and Ruth Newell was then Mayor of Buckingham. Members of the Twinning Associations of the two towns have been meeting up over many years, as both towns are already twinned with Mouvaux in France. In recent years there have been more joint activities with Neukirchen-Vluyn and after checking with both twinning associations that they would like to move to a formal twinning, Ruth Newell proposed and Howard Mordue seconded the motion to progress to a formal twinning agreement, which was agreed by the Town Council. This then needed to be agreed at 2 different meetings at Neukirchen-Vluyn, so Buckingham are delighted that it has been agreed.

The next step will be that the formal agreements will be signed by the two Mayors at ceremonies both in Buckingham and Neukirchen-Vluyn during 2020. Buckingham Mayor Councillor Mark Cole JP has recently written to Burgermeister Harald to say how pleased he was to hear that it had been agreed and that he will be honoured to come to Neukirchen-Vluyn to sign the agreement in February 2020 and that the twinning is a positive move to ensure that our relationships with our European friends continue far into the future.

In the meantime, activities continue between the two towns, and Sue Watkins, who has been an active participant and host to our visitors from Germany, is proud to be Chair of the Twinning Association at this important time.

The Association organises reciprocal small group visits and often have a stall selling English products at one of the markets in Neukirchen-Vluyn. Here in Buckingham they have coffee, croissants and German cake in February each year which is always a very popular event. Another event not to be missed is the annual Buckingham Boules Tournament in July.

Do please join the Twinning Association if you would like to be an active participant, and attend the many events on offer.

The Association has a website and Facebook page, and the Membership Secretary Sue Watkins can provide more details via membership@buckinghamtwinning.org.uk.

Comedy Night: Angela Barnes tickets now on sale!

Posted on 11th December 2019 by office

Looking for a fantastic experience to gift this Christmas? Book tickets now for the 1st February 2020 Comedy Night!

Fantastic comedian Angela Barnes will be back in Buckingham for a headline gig on the 1st February 2020, Charlie Baker will MC and a mystery third support act is yet to be announced.

Angela is a regular guest on panel shows Mock the Week and Russell Howard’s Good News, and gave a hilarious performance on Live at the Apollo. Radio 4 listeners will recognise Angela from The News Quiz.

“She’s just a gloriously down-to-earth, straight talking and extremely funny comic.” The Guardian

Tickets are for over 18s only and a paid bar will be available on site at the Royal Latin School. Doors open 7.30pm with the show starting at 8pm.

Book your tickets today!

Money for Buckingham app project from the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Posted on 14th November 2019 by office

The Buckingham Community Heritage App Project

Buckingham Town Council has received a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a Community Heritage App based in Buckingham. This exciting project has been developed with input from children and residents in the town and will be a fun interactive way to explore Buckingham and learn more about the town’s history.

Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players the project will enable residents and visitors to learn more about common landmarks like the Old Gaol and Chantry Chapel; as well as the hidden history of Buckingham and the Royal Family, Doctor De’ath, leather boots for circus elephants and duck races. To unlock historic photographs and earn points users will have to race around the town, visiting real locations and spotting the evidence of Buckingham’s historic past.

Buckingham Town Council has developed this project via its Economic Development Working Group which aims to support and develop the long term economic health of the town through town planning and increasing public pride and knowledge of the town. The app will encourage users to walk or cycle around the town, improving knowledge of paths and promoting visiting the historic Town Centre, riverside parks and other heritage locations further afield.

Councillor Mike Smith, Chair of the Economic Development Working Group said "This is great news for Buckingham, and thanks to the National Lottery we shall be able to introduce a completely modern approach to displaying and steering local residents and our many visitors around our numerous heritage sites. We are very grateful for the support of the National Lottery in this project, and look forward to welcoming some of its many players once the App has been developed."

Thanks to this National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, Buckingham Town Council and the work of local developer Mark Vanstone, from TechnoVisual, young people at both The Buckingham School and the Royal Latin School will be able to take part in the creation of their very own app from market research, coding and testing to launch, a fantastic learning opportunity – all while engaging with their Buckingham heritage.

“It’s nice to be involved in a project as big as big as this, I’d like to have a future career in cyber security.” Faye, from the Royal Latin School

“I thought it was a good opportunity to try something new and stretch my boundaries, which I’ve been doing more at secondary school.” “Kids often use things that are fun, and if you use this app you aren’t just having fun you’re learning about history too. Kids are on their phones all the time and this way they’re doing something educational too.” William and Chloe-Isabell, from The Buckingham School

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.

9th November: new date for Buckingham Bonfire and Fireworks!

Posted on 4th November 2019 by office

Bonfire and Fireworks poster 9th November 2019 Buckingham Town Council was forced to make the difficult decision to cancel the Buckingham Bonfire and Fireworks event at 9am on Saturday morning. The decision was made due to the extremely boggy conditions at the Bourton Park paddock where the event is held; which experienced staff members judged as too wet for the vehicles moving into the field for the event, and potentially hazardous to those coming to watch the fireworks.

This assessment was made early on the Saturday morning and all parties notified as quickly as possible in order to avoid cancellation fees – this means that the funds used to pay for the event are still available and with some minor changes it has been possible to reschedule the Bonfire and Fireworks this Saturday 9th November.

We are delighted to confirm that Titanium Fireworks will be lighting up the sky with a colour popping display, the event starts from 6pm with music and tasty hot food and drinks, including donuts.

In line with our environmental policies Titanium have told us that they are committed to carbon offsetting, and have already offset 80 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Chair of the Town Centre & Events Committee Councillor Andy Mahi said: “We’re delighted to be able to reschedule the Bonfire and Fireworks as we know how popular it is with residents – we hope to see everyone there on Saturday 9^th November at 6pm!”

Buckingham pavement potholes filled in

Posted on 11th September 2019 by office

Repair of long term pavement defects on Church Street, funded by the scheme

Buckingham Town Council has been working with Buckinghamshire County Council to cut down on wait times for road and footpath repairs in Buckingham.

Under a new devolved pilot scheme, Buckingham was chosen as one of five town and parish councils who have been given permission and funding to tackle issues such as potholes on minor roads directly. Under the agreement, Buckingham Town Council had enough funding to repair 140 defects in local roads and paths in Buckingham with a speed limit of 30mph or less. Following a review of complaints and a survey by Town Councillors, each defect was identified as one that could be significantly improved with small repairs. This has included 136 potholes, relaying slabs and creating new footpath drain channels.

While some roads could not be worked on as they are in need of total resurfacing, these small repairs are important to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe and protect vehicles from pothole damage.

The works would not have taken place without this scheme, so the Town Council has been able to provide improvements in partnership with the County Council for the first time.

Cllr. Ruth Newell

Buckingham Town Councillor Ruth Newell, chair of the Environment Committee that agreed the work said Buckingham Town Councillor Ruth Newell, chair of the Environment Committee that agreed the work said “I am so glad that we were able to take part in this scheme, that I fully supported as we were able to focus the repairs on the defective roads and paths that were important to Buckingham people …”

Mark Shaw, Buckinghamshire County Council Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member said: “Town and parish councils have their feet firmly on the ground and can react quickly to local highways needs, which makes the partnership between Buckingham Town Council and the County Council of enormous benefit to residents and businesses in the town.”

Grants for 2020/21 are now open!

Posted on 10th September 2019 by office

Do you think Buckingham needs a community fridge? Does your sports club need new equipment? A support group for a health condition? Is there an environmental project your group would love to run?

Buckingham Town Council’s grant process is now open for the financial year 2020/2021. The process to apply is simple – complete a form for Buckingham Town

Council to consider, along with information about the group that is applying for funding and get it back to us by 12 noon on Friday 1st November.

A few rules apply:

Grants will only be considered for projects and activities beneficial to the people of Buckingham.
Grant recipients must be based in Buckingham or provide evidence of the percentage of the work that is conducted in or on behalf of Buckingham residents.
No commercial organisation will be considered for a grant.

More information and copies of the forms are available on the Grant Applications page.

Audio version of the Summer 2019 newsletter.

Posted on 27th August 2019 by office

The audio version of the summer 2019 Buckingham Town Matters newsletter is now online. If you would like any more information about anything you have heard or read about in the newsletter, please get in touch with the Town Council Office.

To find a PDF version of this newsletter, and previous editions of the Buckingham Town Matters newsletters since 2010, visit our publications page.