Wycombe District Council

click Councillors Wycombe District Council for list

click John & Jean Gabbitas or more about Jean Gabbitas.

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Wycombe District Council was formed in 1974, when Wycombe Rural District Council, Wycombe Borough Council and Marlow Urban Council were merged.

Buckinghamshire Council was formed in 2022, when the Distric and County Councils were merged.

Hallmark January 1988. Bus Passes. By County and District Councillor Geoffrey Spear

The dust has settled following our campaign to negotiate a more acceptable concessionary fare scheme, The original 4 day passes will now be valid for 6 days, enabling pensioners and the disabled to travel at half fare from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive. The cost will be £2.00 to each holder plus a contribution of £16.20 per pass from the District Council (as against £2 plus £13.50 for the original 4 day validity). Whilst we have now shaped Council policy to meet the objectives of our 81st Club, I am wondering if, in the long term, our senior citizens might not prefer to receive the £16.20 and pay for their own transport! Our local bus services, whilst attenuated as to frequency, are now more comprehensive than for some while (locking forward to the new service linking Lacey Green, Speen and Hampden for the first time).

The long term outlook is not good as the costs of Alder Valley are escalating in Wycombe and South Bucks at a faster rate than elsewhere, in fact, well ahead of the inflation rate in general. The County Council is now actively pursuing alternatives such as "dial-a-bus'' (Milton Keynes), "hospital visiting" (Aylesbury and North Bucks) "nostal buses" (Fawley and South Bucks), "minibus" (Bourne End), "market day coach" (Kimble and Longwick). Progress is difficult owing to the incredibly complex state of the law whereby alterations in services have to be given public hearing before the Traffic Commissioners. The County Council now has two of its members (of whom I am one) appointed Deputy Commissioners to safeguard the public interest. Oxfordshire County Council has taken a more radical step, they have almost discontinued direct subsidies to the national bus companies. Instead, they allocate funds to a number of parish transport groups who can then either negotiate services with the bus company or finance their own local minibus. Their publication "Local Transport in Oxfordshire" is invaluable reading for everyone concerned in the future of rural transport.

Although users grumble about the escalation in bus fares, in fact the County Council subsidy on many sparsely used rural routes is several times that of the fares paid by the travelling public, ratepayers might well save money by ceasing to underwrite the enormous cost of the present heavy duty buses and instead provide a taxi for the few passengers we see travelling on some routes!

Hallmark 1985 By Councillor Jean Gabbitas

Your editor very kindly allowed me to, in his own words, get my feet under the table! before he required a contribution from me for Hallmark. I am most grateful as the hard work of the election followed by the quick plunge into Council activities were quite enough. My reception on to the Council was fairly friendly in the circumstances - for I wasn't the candidate they expected to win. However most now accept me as a fellow councillor and are quite friendly and helpful.

I am pleased that most of you have taken on board the keyword 'co-operation'. I cannot do a really good job on my own, we all have a part to play, particularly in planning procedures, Planning applications are posted on various notice boards e.g. Post Offices and the public have 21 days in which to make their views known. It is at this stage that you must protest (or support) if you wish. Once the outline planning permission has been given it is almost always too late. I am quite sure that the letters you have written to the Planning Officer in the last two months have been very influential in securing the desired outcome.

Your Parish Councillors have also been most cooperative, providing me with a wealth of information. I too have been able to back up the initiative taken by their chairman with regard to the lorries travelling to Christmas Meats; The District Engineer has been approached concerning a sign directing lorries to approach the factory from the Wycombe Road in such a way as to avoid nuisance to Loosley Row residents, I was assured when I followed this up that the county had approved and even agreed to supply the sign.

I'm sure that most of you will be keeping your fingers crossed that eventually we shall be placed within the Green. Belt, until the Minister's final decision the Council are operating as if we already are, but I still need to be vigilant. Sometimes I feel like Mrs. No! After all, if you think about it, a councillor who succeeds in enforcing the Green Belt will have nothing to show for his/her work! Everything will look very much as it did when she/he began!

My chief failure has been to convince the authorities that we have a traffic problem, Sites which previously have been refused planning permission to village builders on the grounds of dangerous access have, as you know, been developed in the last two years and in a most macabre way - we shall see who was right I am undertaking research on this matter and I should be pleased in residents could provide me with dates and details of any road accident in the last ten years, but especially since 1980, (Just a little note through my door please).

I had not expected to have much to do with the Housing Department, however an eviction, a request for an ill grandchild to be moved from a damp flat and assistance with heating for an elderly in ill-health have all come my way and thankfully the Housing officials have been able to help in each case in fact when I made representations about the heating matter, aided by a story letter from a local Doctor their case was treated as a priority. I can also pass on good news to the tenants of the bungalows at Greenlands that they are scheduled for insulation and central heating work to be carried out during the year commencing 1st April 1986.

Hallmark May 1989. District Council – ‘Matters’. by Councillor Jean Gabbitas

Is the present refuse collection fiasco just a plot to make everyone welcome the strong, commodious wheelie-bins? Were it as simple as that.

The main problem, I am sure, stems from the fact that when the refuse collection went to public tender our dustmen in their desire to keep their jobs and raise their wages agreed to the redundancy of twenty men! I content that they were wrongly advised and we are now suffering.

This village was serviced by a really excellent team of men – apart from The Residents Association's questions about holiday arrangements I received only one complaint from Lacey Green in four years – now it's different!

The most satisfying activity carried out on your behalf has been taking part in the consultations regarding the development proposals for demolition and clearing of the site at 10 acres Christmas Meats, Loosley Row and the replacement by 22 houses.

Instead of an inappropriate development being fought off by local people, the Parish Council, immediate neighbours of the site and myself were all able to make an input and finally the plan was presented to the public at a special meeting of the Parish Council. I had hoped to know the result of this application by now but the planning officers who, in the past, have shown no reluctance to allow unsuitable houses to be squashed into our village are behaving with strange reluctance to rid the village of Loosley Row of what many of them consider to be a badly-sited user and have it replaced by an attractive development of mixed housing of rural character including, at the suggestion of myself, supported by the Parish Council in response to your Village Plan, a terrace of ten small cottages.

Sadly, there has been no similar contact between the village representatives and those who may put in an application for the Palmer & Harvey site. Apart from the meeting I initiated a few months after Palmer & Harvey closed down all enquiries have been greeted by a deafening silence.

Finally, I would like to mention a seminar on Rural Housing which I attended last year where the difficulty of providing affordable housing for the indigenous inhabitants was tackled. The most worthwhile speaker has now, due to so many enquiries, committed her advice to print – Developing Village Housing Schemes, NECC Guide. I commend this as reading to our Parish Council and all interested parties.

Hallmark December 1993. Report by District Councillor Jean Gabbitas

"But This Is A Rolls-Royce Village!" complained an angry man

Is this how you would describe Lacey Green?

A village to be proud of – yes indeed!

I felt myself swelling with pride on Village Day as I cheered the procession and I took in the events with my husband and son and in the afternoon continued to enjoy the programme with my god-daughter and her mother. I was full of admiration as I took my guests to concerts, exhibitions and displays; The reason why Lacey Green is so special is because so many of you are so generous with your time and talents not because you're elitist. I find Lacey Green 'rich' in the same way as my Christmas Pudding is rich; it contains a variety of good ingredients which together give the authentic flavour, we in Lacey Green are not just a collection of the rich and the privileged.

During recent years many have become unemployed, forced into early retirement or generally suffered from the recession and there has grown up a need for more – rented accommodation.

Buckinghamshire Housing Association already has five cottages in Speen and one in Loosley Row for rental and so I was delighted to learn that Elizabeth Betts had decided to sell her listed cottage to the Buckinghamshire Housing Association for the use of the village. (click Crown Cottage, Church Lane for more about this cottage)

Thank you Elizabeth – I call this a Rolls-Royce gesture from a vintage lady!

I have received strong criticism in your letter pages from some quarters for the line I have taken on certain housing developments. In this respect whilst I do not go out of my way to attract criticism, I accept that if I express my own views robustly, I cannot complain if others who disagree with me do likewise. Underlying this however is a serious point: what type of village do people of Lacey Green and Loosley Row want?

The view has been expressed that Lacey Green is a Rolls-Royce Village and should remain as such, whereas I have been working to the guide lines laid down in the Parish Council's Village Plan and the Residents Association's "Village Appraisal' which were undertaken some years ago which emphasized two matters of general concern:

Traffic. A subject which I and other village representatives continue to do battle.

Village Amenities. There was a clear concern that the composition of the villages should be such as to maintain support for the school, shop, post office and other amenities. I interpret this as a democratic expression of a wish as to how our two villages should develop in relation to housing development.

You will remember that only two sites were identified for housing development apart from the individual infill plots that occur, and therefore I have worked with your Parish Council to include some smaller cottage style dwellings so that young families might find it possible to come and live here.

Hallmark November 1994. Councillor Jean Gabbitas Reports

When I first became a councillor many villages had entertained fears that the adjoining fields would soon be developed however, thanks to the efforts of the Parish Council and the letters of many of you Lacey Green and Loosley Row became safely established in the Green Belt, this together with our designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty protected us from any large scale development. Later the District Council brought out its Rural Areas Plan and established conservation areas in many villages thus giving further re-assurance.

The Parish Council's Village Plan and the Residents Association's Village Appraisal both identified the Palmer and Harvey Site and the Christmas Meats Sites as Sites for housing development both with room have taken place so apart from the occasional infill sites or demolish and rebuild opportunities there only remains the need for us to consider the need for low cost rural housing and affordable housing: Although the need for this in Wycombe District is great the rules concerning Villages are particularly strict and involve full consultation with you all.

I have decided that the expressions of concern and interest which I have received would be best answered if I forward to the Editor the relevant sections of the policy and he can include or summarise according to the space available.

Reply by the Editor

Jean sets me the almost impossible task of summarising many thousands of words in local government jargon which must be read in conjunction with other minutes and appendix that are not in my possession.

At least its nice to know the District Council appear concerned about the shortfall of affordable houses, and have identified that shortfall to be 1,500 units for the period 1991/96.

"A demonstrable lack of affordable housing across a broad range of house type and location within the district has been identified. Subject to market and site conditions and other appropriate policies of this plan, a minimum of 20% of the bedspaces in housing schemes of 20 units or over will be sought, by a planning condition or legal agreement, to be provided in the form of units of affordable housing secured in cooperation with a housing association or other appropriate body. On a smaller site the provision of affordable housing will also be sought following consultation with an appropriate housing association or other social body."

Again its nice to know that the Council will try to negotiate with developers to include some affordable housing within their schemes, although | don't think we saw much evidence of that recently at Lacey Green and Loosley Row.

A local need should be identified by a house to house survey, possible best carried out by the Parish Council.

But as I see it that presents a bit of a problem because the Parish Council has already submitted a village plan that allows only development on the Palmer and Harvey and Christmas Meat sites and these have, or soon will be used up without any affordable houses.

It seems to me Jean, that as things stand this district council housing policy is going to be pretty irrelevant to our needs at Lacey Green and Loosley Row.

I may not have done justice to the lengthy document you sent me, which I think you will agree wasn't suitable for a small village magazine. I think the best I can do if there are people who would like to read it in full, is for me to display it in the Village Hall notice board.

Hallmark May 1996. Excerpt from report by Jean Gabbitas. SPEEDING. The Parish Council has continued to work very hard to reduce the speed on the Main Road and The Residents Association at their AGM demonstrated that they too have been beavering on. Furthermore residents of Loosley Row have discovered that 60 mph is approved in Little Lane, Loosley Row, therefore I have requested a petition which will require the SUPPORT OF YOU ALL. This well then be presented formally to the COUNTY COUNCIL. (Footnote to newcomers) Efforts have been made regularly for 20 years or more to improve this serious problem. Please become involved.