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The Chairman's Note

Dear Residents,

The local elections held on the 6th May 2021, marked the end of what I feel must be a unique parish  council term of six years.  The normal four years was extended by a year so that parish elections could coincide with the Unitary elections and then a further year due to the pandemic.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Councillors, our colleagues in the office and our service partners for their excellent work to ensure that the residents received the highest level of service  possible. Our thanks too, go to all those Councillors who will not be returning, while it is wrong to single out any one councillor, I feel that Cllr Rick Gould’s departure after over 26 years service to the Council should not go unnoticed.

I would also so like to thank and offer my best wishes to both the Clerk, Shona Hadwen and the Deputy Clerk, Jill Armshaw who have moved on to new opportunities. Mel Woof joined the Council in July 2021 as the Clerk and in June we will welcome Helen Hogan as the Deputy Clerk.  Both come to us with a wealth of relevant experience.

The result of the May elections was that the following Councillors were appointed to Hughenden Parish Council.

Great Kingshill Ward – Cllr Paul Nicholls

Hughenden Valley Ward – Cllr Andrew Capey, Cllr Peter Gieler, Cllr Mary Hilder, Cllr Simon Kearey

Walters Ash and Naphill Ward – Cllr Paul Hardinge

Widmer End Ward – Cllr James Air, Cllr Carol Charlton, Cllr Linda Derrick.

These means we have vacancies in the Great Kingshill, Walters Ash and Naphill and Widmer End Wards.  The council may co-opt into these vacancies to ensure full representation should volunteers come forward.  Please contact the Clerk for further information.

There were a number of notable achievements last year, for example quick action being taken regarding Ash die back and the launch of the new Hughenden Parish Council website which is located at www.hughenden-pc.gov.uk.  Now that it is in place, we look forward to populating it with meaningful information for our residents on a regular basis.

There is a 100% allotment occupancy which has not be the case for many years, with the lifting of Covid restrictions  the  Annual Allotment competition is back on the calendar.  Judging taking place in week commencing 12 July.  Check the new website for further details.

The highlight to date for the new  Council, was its first outdoor meeting in it’s 125 year history, with 8 councillors, 7 members of the public and the Clerk, all braving the rain, wind and hail to hold the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.  This provides the structure for us to continue work and activities until social distancing can finally be lifted and we can meet properly again.  We were able to hear directly from Buckinghamshire Councillors and members of the public before determining our response to local planning issues.

The last Council’s broad strategic plan that underpins an improvement in services to the residents, rolls forward and the new Council will continue to  develop and those ambitions.

There is one traffic related concern that covers the whole of the Parish in addition to speeding, which is the ever increasing volume of heavy goods traffic.  We already have an ongoing problem at one end of the parish and now with the planning application by Wycombe Recycling, we anticipate the additional heavy traffic that it will bring  to the surrounding villages of Cryers Hill, Great Kingshill and Widmer End.

The Parish Council is working with  relevant parties to generate positive action. Great Kingshill Residents Association, local residents, Bucks Councillors, the Parish Council together with  the North West Community Board have co-operated so that a traffic survey and review has been instigated in a quick timeframe,  we are hoping that Bucks Council will be in a position to share their conclusions and proposals by the end of June.

Looking back across the year I would like to thank all those individuals, organisations that did so much to support the residents during a most difficult times during the Pandemic. Our thoughts are also with those who have lost loved ones and who may have suffered from Covid themselves.

Finally my best wishes to all residents for a pleasant and hopefully Covid free summer.

Cllr Paul Nicholls

Chairman – Hughenden Parish Council