Parish Council reports from 2020
From Lacey Green History
click Parish Council for earlier reports
Hallmark June 2025. Report by Cathryn Davies. Our Unitary Councillors were re-elected again this year and we look forward to working with them and your Parish Councillors remain with the same apart from one stand down and one retiree
We now have a vacancy for a councillor for the Loosley Row ward of our parish, and we would welcome any residents from Loosley Row to come forward and be co-opted onto the council
This is not an arduous task, we really are a friendly council and would make you feel most welcome
Councillor Jean Roberts from Lacey Green has taken up the position of Vice Chairman following the retirement of our Speen Councillor, Roger Craft
Roger Craft has been on the council for over 20 years and most of that time, he has served as Vice Chairman and was always a loyal councillor for the residents of Speen
He will be missed by both the residents and the council, as his input was invaluable
The council is still able to award grants for village activities and wellbeing
We awarded the Lacey Green & Loosley Row Sports Club some funding for their new Defibrillator and to the Friends of St Johns Church for the celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Church
It has been noted by several residents now, that the verges are in need of some attention
We would encourage residents to report any verges that effect the visibility of the road to
‘Fix My Street’ on the Buckinghamshire Council Website, where the local area technician will drive around and have a look and arrange for verges to be cut if necessary, whilst at the same time the Parish Council will be notified and we chase up if necessary
We have recently had a request from a resident about the footpath that runs from either side of Church Lane between The Church and Hambye Close. We did visit the site and took some photos and put them on ‘Fix My Street’ and Buckinghamshire Council have been out and had a look and have agreed that the surface is too uneven and are going to rectifiy – one win !!
Thank you all for your support and we look forward to seeing you at any of our meetings should you have any concerns or wish to raise any issues
Cathryn Davies
Chair Lacey Green Parish Council
Our Unitary Councillors were re-elected again this year and we look forward to working with them and your Parish Councillors remain with the same apart from one stand down and one retiree.
Hallmark March 2025. Planning Applications.
You may be aware that all planning applications are published on the Buckinghamshire Council Planning Portal, for the public to view. Residents can go to https://publicaccess.wycombe.gov.uk/idoxpa-web/ and look in more detail at the plans and comment if they wish.
Two examples of current applications are:-
1. Erection of a pair of semi-detached dwellings on land to the rear of Windmill Cottages, Main Road Lacey Green Buckinghamshire. Ref. No: 24/08022/FUL
Received: Mon 16 Dec 2024,,Validated: Mon 16 Dec 2024. Status: Awaiting decision
2. Construction of 3 x 3-bed and 1 x 5-bed dwellings, creation of dropped kerb from Main Road, garaging, hard/soft landscaping and associated works at
Erith Cottages Main Road Lacey Green Buckinghamshire. Ref. No: 24/07369/FUL. Received: Wed 02 Oct 2024. Validated: Mon 18 Nov 2024. Status: Awaiting decision
All of the above have been copy and pasted from the website. We cannot be responsible for any errors or omissions..
Hallmark March 2025. By Grainne Suter – Chair SHH
Would You Like To Help Keep Lacey Green & Loosley Row Nice Places To Live – Care What Happens To Them?
If so, we are looking for people willing to serve on the Parish Council. The Parish Council is responsible amongst other things for: recruiting and overseeing contractors for the installation and on-going maintenance of the children’s playground; the benches/seats around the Parish; bus shelters and notice boards; the Parish Garden of Remembrance and Cemetery; grass areas around the Parish that require mowing and to be kept tidy.
In liaison with the Unitary Council and the Police, the Parish Council has initiated schemes to keep local roads safe – especially for children – and all residents. We will continue to do so by constantly monitoring the situation to help protect pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and vehicle drivers as they move in and around Lacey Green, Loosley Row and Speen.
The Parish Council also keeps a watching brief over the general appearance of the local environment and surroundings, liaising with the Unitary authority and other interested parties to ensure that our local surroundings can be enjoyed by all residents, their visitors and, indeed, all other visitors to the area.
With growing pressures for building development on Green and Grey Belts, another important function is for the Parish Council, in liaison with Unitary Council, to review planning proposals. This, ensures plans for development are sympathetic to adjacent properties and do not conflict with design of surrounding dwellings and the rural nature of our locality.
All proposals are reviewed realistically and in terms of practicality. We do not act with “nimbyism”, but with objective of considering what is appropriate for our villages and their residents.
We are an apolitical Parish Council and looking for new Council members who care and are willing to contribute to enhancing and preserving the areas of Lacey Green and Loosley Row as nice places to live for all residents young and old. The Parish Council meets once monthly (with exception of August) and we assure all applicants that the work is not too arduous but very interesting.
If you would like some more information, please contact the Parish Clerk on clerk@laceygreen-pc.org.uk
We look forward to hearing from you.
SHH held a series of very successful fundraising events in 2024 for the four hospices the group supports.
Now for 2025 we are once again organising a series of events and wherever possible these are held in different local Chiltern villages.
Although the group was established back in 20071 in Speen, we are looking for a lot more input from the local villages like Naphill, Lacey Green, Loosely Row, Great Hampden Prestwood, Bryants Bottom and Hughenden.
We would welcome interest from ladies from these areas who might want to get involved and help us to promote events in your locality.
We are also looking for individuals to help with the fundraising. We were most fortunate to have the support of a member of High Wycombe Rotary Club who raised £1,500 in the autumn by a charity abseil down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. You too, might be thinking of taking part in a marathon, half marathon or fun run this year and if you are, would you consider running on behalf of SHH or what about organising a Golf Challenge with some inter village rivalry!
If you are interested in raising money by taking part in an event or finding out more about becoming part of our fundraising group at SHH, please contact me events@shh-shop.org or 07778803260.
Our second fundraising event of 2025 takes place on Friday 28th March at Lacey Green Village Hall from 7.00pm – A Ladies Wellbeing and Pamper Night
For further information about all our events check out our website www.shh-shop.org
Hallmark November 2024. Christmas is knocking on our doors and the Parish Council is formalising our annual precept for next year’s expenditure. If any clubs, societies or groups withing our village, have any projects they would like some financial help with, please get in touch, our contract details are at the back of Hallmark or on our website https://www.laceygreen-pc.org.uk where application forms can be downloaded
The Parish Council accepted with reluctance the resignation of Councillor Tim Macgillivray. Tim is moving with his family and dog to pastures new in The West Country during the late summer. Tim has been and active and much appreciated member of the council since late 2018
Tim has been the co-ordinator of our MVAS units, arranging the rota for placing them around the villages and liaising with members of the village in downloading the information for consolidation with speeds from the Speed Watch Team and the occasional Trevello Strips
(All these statics are necessary for us to try and get the speed reduced on the ‘National Speed Limit’ zone between Lacey Green and Walters Ash)
Tim’s other claim to fame, was his ability in involve the villages in the annual ‘Litter Pick’ this has proved very successful over the past few years, and long may it continue after all the hard work that he put in organizing it. These are just a few of many projects that Tim involved himself in and he will be very much missed by the council
We have welcomed a new councillor from the Loosley Row ward – thank you Steve Coats for stepping up
Steve has already taken up the mantle of the MVAS units co-ordinator and become and is proving to be a pro-active member of the council
We look forward to working with Steve and thank him for joining our council, whilst we say a fond farewell to Tim and his family
Thank you Tim, and Welcome Steve, and a big Thankyou, to all our existing Councillors for all your hardwork and commitment
Cathryn Davies. Chair, Lacey Green Parish Council
Hallmark June 2024. Village Spring Litter Clean. Report by Tim Macgillivray
Just a note to thank the ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls who took the time to come on the litter pick on 16th March.
We had approximately 40 bags full of waste!! All the usual stuff plus a dumped car battery, duvet and single bed foam mattress!
My thanks go also to the unsung people like the Eades and Gordon Donkin for example, who spend their time collecting litter all year round.
But my special thanks go to Liz Patient whose help has been so invaluable in arranging this event over the last few years. Liz it wouldn’t happen without you. Thanks so much!
Thanks to St John’s School for hosting the event and also to the Village Hall for allowing us to leave the bags for collection there.
Let’s keep the place tidy for the year. I know it is not the residents who make the mess in the first place – but without their goodwill and readiness to lend a hand the village would be a less happy place!
Hallmark February 2024. Report by Tim MacGillivray. Traffic, The Parish council has ongoing engagement with Bucks Council about reducing the speed limit between Walters Ash and Lacey Green from 60 mph to mph. In our view the reduction would mean that drivers observing the speed limit approaching the bend just before the school would not have to reduce their speeds so dramatically.
As part of this process, we have sought joint funding from the community board to collect speed data for traffic using this stretch of road. This data will be used with the data collected for traffic approaching Main Road which we hope will reinforce our argument to make these changes.
In addition, we have also made a case for changing the turn options on the junction of Lower Road and Woodway. We have seen a few occasions now where larger vans coming down the hill from the Whip try to turn left into Lower Road and getting stuck between the corner of the turn and the flint wall opposite, blocking the road completely until help arrives.
In addition, turning right out of Lower Road is not an easy or in my view a safe manoeuvre and can result in a two- or three-point turn into the wrong side of the road. Again, we are in discussion to seek funding for this project as the parish council does not have the funds to pay for this ourselves.
Making any significant changes like these takes time to process and there are lots of other pressures on funding to contend with – not least is the need to repair potholes which are a national issue now. Please remember, if you see a damaging or dangerous pothole and you have time to help, please bring this to the attention of Bucks Council through the online facility fixmystreet.buckinghamshire.gov.uk.
Wide and Slow! Continuing the road safety theme, I was advised recently of potentially fatal incident in Lower Road – opposite North Spratt – where a driver made actual contact with a horse rider there, resulting in the rider being thrown from the frightened horse. Fortunately, the rider and horse had no significant injury other than bruising and the mental scarring this event caused. I'm sad to say the driver did not stop.
We ask that all drivers be especially careful when passing a horse and rider – wide and slow is the mantra here and if there is not room to pass the horse in this manner then wait until there is room to do this. However late one might be there really is no excuse for endangering lives – let common sense prevail!
Spring clean! On a lighter (or should I say litter) note, we are looking forward to another spring litter pick this year, scheduled for 16th March at 11am.
The venue for collecting pickers is St Johns School Hall. It’s much needed in our roads, especially the quieter lanes which seem to suffer most from thoughtless littering!
Allotments available. Lastly, we are happy to advise that there are gardening allotments to be available at the top of Lily Bottom Lane (near the Pink and Lily pub). This land is shaded in blue in the diagram below
It belongs to the Princes Risborough Charity and if anyone wishes to rent one of these allotments then they should contact, Sue Coombs, secretary of the Princes Risborough Charity: Tel 01844 344791 or email suecoombs@outlook.com.
Hallmark November 2023. Parish Council. Report by Cllr Cathryn Davies
We are working with Buckinghamshire Council, Northwest Chilterns Community Board and the local Community Speedwatch Team and the volunteers manning, moving and downloading the information from the MVAS unit to try and make life easier for the parents of the children attending St John’s village school.
There are a lot of talks going on behind the scenes, lots of ideas and a lot of people are giving up their time freely to do this.
One of the issues that has arisen, is the many overgrown trees, hedges and footways. The overhanging trees are hiding the speed signs and MVAS units.
The hedges are causing those wishing to walk to school, to walk closer to the road than may be necessary.
Although Buckinghamshire Council has the responsibility to cut verges, these are usually those adjoining the road and we are trying to convince them that they need to be trimmed more often along the stretch between RAF Space Command and Lacey Green – we are trying!
We have a meeting scheduled to see what can be done about the overgrown footway between the RAF Base and Lacey Green, If it can be widened it would make life easier for parents with pushchairs and small children on scooters, and the runners and walkers.
Could we ask those residents who have hedges and trees fronting Main Road/New Road to ensure that they are cut back – now is the acceptable time to cut/trim hedges according to DEFRA – walking would certainly be a more pleasant experience if these hedges were cut back.
Thank you in anticipation of your co-operation.
Hallmark August 2023. Report by Cathryn Davies
We have our MVAS speed indicator signs up again. Thankfully, none have been vandalised so far! We will have some data available for the next issue of Hallmark.
The Parish Council was instrumental in liaising with Buckinghamshire Council in putting down the double yellow lines through the village over the driveways of the residents along Main Road and around corners of some of the village roads.
lt would appear from the driving through the village at school drop off and collect times that the parents of children attending school do not think that these double yellow lines or the zig zag lines directly outside the school refer to the them.
Comments on the village FaceBook page, and I communications from the village speedwatch group show that this disregard is widespread. They block driveways and entrances to farmers fields, making it impossible for emergency services to attend, should the need arise.
You probably do not know just how much work went into this project, by the Parish Councillors, Buckinghamshire Councillors and Buckinghamshire Council, and the total disregard by some drivers is very disappointing. Buckinghamshire Councillors and Buckinghamshire Council both monitor for effectiveness, the works that they have carried out. It would not surprise us, if one day, an enforcement officer was despatched to our village to ticket all the incorrectly parked vehicles.
You have been warned – up to you to decide if you want to chance paying a fine.
Hallmark August 2023. Resting Time. Report by Councillor Tim MacGillivra
What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare. It’s a small ray of sunlight in the grand scheme of things, but in this time of rush, rush, rush.. I thought I'd share with you the fact that we now have a second view point in Loosley Row from which to sit and enjoy the views across the Vale.
You may have already noticed it – It’s positioned on Little Lane, on the grassy bank on the left just before where the lane veers to the left as you approach Loosley Row from the A4010.
There is also another nice bench situated further up in a good spot on the right, but it's hoped that over time the new bench will prove to be slightly more accessible for parishioners and visitors alike to take the weight off their feet before they tackle the ascent up Loosley Hill to Lacey Green.
Or even, perhaps, for those who work at home, this offers a change of view – an interlude to enjoy the natural beauty that we have here in the Chilterns.
I know from my own experience that taking time to take in the views to Bledlow Ridge, Lodge Hill, Princes Risborough and beyond can be quite therapeutic – even uplifting.
With many thanks to the community board for donating the bench to us, in recognition of the great work the NHS did over the Covid period.
We hope that you have an opportunity, or the time, at some point to sit and stare!
Defibrillator. I hope that most of you know that there is a defibrillator attached to the village hall, that any resident has access to, in an emergency, The 999 operator has the code to allow access. This is a portable unit that can be take away to the person needing attention.
We are arranging with the help of the landowner, to install one in Loosley Row, more details of this unit will be in the next Hallmark. Details will also be put on the Parish Council website, if you wish to check on its progress every now and then.
The Parish Council is a group of elected residents that work on your behalf, if there is anyone with a local problem, we would be happy to see if we can help
Hallmark May 2023. Report by Keith Bowler
Together, the Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet and your Parish Council worked very hard to re-open the Bledlow Ridge Household Recycling Centre for the use of residents of Lacey Green, Loosley Row, Speen and surrounding areas. This site has now been up and running again since January. Its opening times are as follows: 9.00am – 4.00pm Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday – closed Wednesday & Thursday. You only need either a Driving Licence, Utility Bill or Council Tax Statement to use the facility.
lt has been found that the personnel working there are very helpful and only too willing to be of assistance should it be required, for example, when lifting heavy items out of your car.
By using the Bledlow Ridge facility, one not only helps save the environment by using less mileage and fuel in your vehicle but also helps you too in saving 1 your time by not having to travel to the recycling site near Booker.
We worked very hard to re-open the Bledlow Ridge site, so let us now keep it open in the future. Use it or lose it!
Dog Mess. Dog fouling of pavements and local footpaths has been an increasing problem over the last few months. Despite many pleas by the Parish Council for some residents exercising their dogs to be more thoughtful and considerate to other residents – using pavements and local public footpaths when disposing of their dog’s waste, it’s a great. shame that this problem is getting worse.
Therefore, the Parish Council have decided to engage a Dog Warden to improve and eradicate this situation. The Dog Warden has full powers to monitor this situation and to issue and enforce fines for offending owners.
Dog owners are reminded that dog waste can be disposed of in the waste bins located around the Lacey Green, Loosley Row and Speen areas. It is now accepted as general waste by Buckinghamshire Council in your household waste and can be put in your own black bins at home if a public bin is not on your route home.
It is not acceptable to hang waste in bags from trees and hedges, nor throw the waste bags into the hedgerows.
Bag it and bin it.
Hallmark November 2022. Report by Tim Macgillivray. Please Bag it and Bin it!
Since lockdown we have noticed an increase in the numbers of our canine friends living amongst us in our lovely villages. Personally I’m all for this as I understand how much joy and colour they add to our lives
Being a dog owner of course comes with a few responsibilities. Parking most of them aside for a moment, I’d just like to focus on the slightly less fragrant element – that of disposing of our pooch’s poo!
Largely most people use poo bags and either put them in the nearest public bin, which is acceptable practice, or take them home and dispose of them in their own bins for collection by the waste team – which again is acceptable practice.
However, we are still experiencing some less than savoury instances where dogs foul in the middle of lanes or on public footpaths which have no lighting – leaving people to unwittingly tread in it.
Another practice which defies logic is to hang full dog poo bags on branches of bushes, or simply dropped by the side a foot path. This is worse than leaving unbagged poo as the bag stays in the environment for much longer and is very difficult to clear up.
I get it that we sometimes absentmindedly do things like this and all | would like to do is ask you to remember other walkers and consider their enjoyment of a walk too.
For those instances when a poo bag is not available and a “download” has been left on a path, please consider the stick and flick method to clear it off the path.
The council will look at strategically placing a few reminder signs near to footpath gates in order to remind owners of their responsibilities and in order to make our villages as clean and pleasant as possible to walk through.