Parish Council

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Parish Council Minutes November 1934. The clerk reported that he had been asked by the Princes Risborough Council to bring the matter of the present arrangments regarding Postal Services to the notice of Lacey Green Parish Council with a view to them supporting a protest which had been sent to the Post-Master General against the adding of 'Aylesbury' to the postal address of Princes Risborough and the Upper Hamlets.

After due consideration it was proposed by Councilor Parslow, seconded by Councillor Wood that a letter of protest be sent to the Postmaster General against the adding of 'Aylesbury' to the Postal Address of the hamlets, pointing out that the delivery was consideraby longer than under the previous arrangements. With regard to Loosley Row,this could easily be confused as indicating a street in Aylesbury, and the Council is strongly of an opinion that of instead of adding 'Aylesbury', they should revert back to Princes Risborough in connecton wih the Postal address of the hamlets

Research note. Aylesbury was added to the postal address of Princes Risborough, including Lacey Green, Loosley Row and Speen for many years. It was later replaced with a Postcode.

Hallmark October1983. Can't Slow Down. A request from the Parish Council to reduce the Lacey Green Main Road speed limit from 40 m.p.h. to 30 m.p.h. and extend the limit to the Loosley Row boundary on "Woodway" has been turned down by the Bucks County Council Highways Dept., on the grounds that the accident rate is too low. The Council are to ask for an explanation of the criteria of why the speed limit is to be extended on the Walters Ash end of the Parish but not on the Loosley Row end of the same road. It was also pointed out at a recent Parish Councl Meeting that the 'increased vision' work being carried out at the 'Crooked Chimney', while welcome, will increase speed.

Hallmark February 1986 Reporting Parish Pump Politics. By Councillor Ray Gosling. (click Ray & Jill Gosling for more about Ray)

I'm starting my report with some good news, the Parish Council rate is being reduced by 25%! Unfortunately, this is a mere drop in the ocean when compared with the possibility of a 30% increase in the county rate. Our reduction only represents 0.2p in the pound. Nevertheless every little helps.

Road safety is still causing concern. With large lorries, speeding traffic, cars obstructing pavements and the dangers associated with parking outside the school, we seem to have more than our fair share of traffic problems for a village as small as ours. The feeling of the Parish Council is. that action has to be taken before another serious accident occurs. Hence we have made requests to the police to monitor the speed of traffic through the village and take action against those who insist on parking on pavements, it would be a shame if these measures produced prosecutions against village residents, so be warned.

Planning is once again in the local limelight. As I hope many of you already know the modified South Bucks Structural Plan was at last released by the Department of the Environment and as we all hoped the whole of Lacey Green and Loosley Row is to be brought into The Green Belt. All seemed well until Wycombe District Council objected, wishing our villages to stay as they are and to be held in reserve for possible future development. As a result there.is to.be. another public. enquiry. The Parish Council along with many local residents have written in support of the proposals and although we feel confident, vigilance must still be maintained.

On routine planning matters we are continuing to see "in-fill" where new houses are built in the grounds of larger, older properties, I think most people would agree with me that the mere recent developments stand out from the older properties like a sore thumb, So if you are considering developing your garden or even an extension, please try to make the building in keeping with its surroundings. It is a great pity that in our "Chiltern Villages" brick and flint the traditional local building material is now in a minority.

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Hallmark December 1986. Parish Pump Politics By Councillor Ray Gosling (Ray & Jill Gosling)

With the coming of winter the traffic situation in Lacey Green and Loosley Row has markedly deteriorated.

Added problems for parking. Along with the well-known problems of parking outside the school, speeding and obstruction of pavements, we now have to add the sheer volume of through traffic and dangerous parking outside Hickman's Stores.

The cause of the former, we believe to be the expansion of Strike Command and of more concern is that people are finding our villages a quicker and more convenient route into and beyond Wycombe. The question of parking outside the shop is quite a different matter. We are pleased that Mr. and Mrs. Norris and family have taken over and revitalised Hickman's Store and we would in no way wish to damage trade, but the irresponsible parking on some of the approaches to the bend and even by parking on the opposite side of the road defies belief. During the rush hours particularly vehicles negotiating ''the bend" take their lives in their hands; all it is going to take is one speeding car, at the wrong time, and we could well have another fatality.

The Parish Council has thought long and hard on what we can do to alleviate these problems. The answer unfortunately is very little but we have decided to carry out an extensive campaign to try and prompt action by the District and County Councils. As part of this, we have already had a meeting with the Thames Valley Police who have agreed to work with us and carry out the following package:

1. A speed check is to be carried out somewhere in the parish in the near future – be warned.

2. Support for the Council is extending footpaths up past The Black Horse and from the Village Hall to Roundlands.

3. Fixed penalty fines for "bad" parking throughout the village i.e. obstruction of footpaths, parking on bends etc.

4. Work with the council in encouraging customers of the shop to use the Village Hall car park – no matter how short the stay.

In addition, we are actively pursuing the possibility of an entrance into Strike Command from A4010. This, of course, will require National Trust agreement, which may not be possible under their charter, but think of the benefit to Bradenham (a N.T. village) as well as ourselves if we succeed! Lastly, we hope to persuade the County Council to bring forward the improvement of the A4010 (scheduled for 1990) and hence make the main route into Wycombe a more attractive proposition than the winding roads of our villages.

Hallmark January 1988. Parish Pump Politics. By Councillor Ray Gosling. (Ray & Jill Gosling)

I start with a brief thank you to all of the many people who either attended one of the two public meetings or made comment on the proposals for the Parish Plan. The Council feel the whole exercise was a great success. One concern that has been expressed was that we did not allow for sufficient growth with only two major building sites designated within the plan. However, since the Public Meetings we have received planning applications for no less than seven new ‘infill’ dwellings. If half this rate were maintained and approved we would see a major increase in population within the planned period.

Following the hurricane, despite us having got off lightly, the Council is to embark on a tree planting scheme. If you have any ideas as to where the Parish could benefit from such an event, be it a single tree or a small copse, please let me know.

Gas: following our attempt at getting gas laid into the village, it has been privatised. The Council has, therefore, written to British Gas who have agreed to 're-cost' the project. If you are interested please let me know and I will keep you in touch with events as they develop.

Street Lighting: Do we want it in Lacey Green and Loosley Row? This 1s a subject that tends to polarise the community. The Council is to discuss it in an open meeting at the Annual Parish Meeting in the Village Hall on Tuesday 12 April.

This is your chance not only to have a say as to whether or not we should consider such a lighting scheme, but also to take up any other matter with the Council - so make a date in your diary.

The Council would like to make their Minutes of Meetings available easily for public inspection. They are now prepared in a slightly different form including planning committee comments and a copy will be displayed in the Post Office as soon as our Clerk can make the arrangements.

Finally, there is a requirement on the P.C. to appoint an Emergency Co-ordinator. The post is voluntary, the person selected will be responsible for the initial contact and direction of the rescue services in the event of a local disaster. If you are interested or wish to know more please contact our clerk.

Hallmark 1989. report by Randall Evans. (click Randall & Peggy Evans for more about Randall)

After 2 months in the Antipodes it was delightful to find oneself reinvolved in an English country parish.

I would like to encourage more of you to attend the Council meetings. It's the best way to get to know; 50% boring perhaps but at least 20% interesting. Is that worse than day to day life?

The planning application for housing, on the Christmas Meats site, was presented by the architect to a Council meeting in April. This produced an audience of at least 40 residents of Loosley Row. Beautifully presented, it was well received and unanimously approved. Now we need one for the Palmer & Harvey site!

Last week was the Annual Meeting of the Council (in Speen Village Hall with no public attendance). Don White was re-elected Chairman and Ray Gosling his deputy. This will be Councillor White's 5th year in the chair. Should we be looking for a change in 1990? No offence, Don!

The “litterblitz" in Lacey Green and Loosley Row run by the Council and the Residents Association together was a great success. Our thanks to all those who took part, especially the Cubs. It is gratifying to know that the quantity of rubbish gets less and less each year.

We are informed that British Gas will complete a supply to the whole village "by next winter". This is a great achievement brought about by the Council's constant nagging.

By July we have to send our tree planting requirements for next winter to the County. Ideas on where and what would be welcomed by any Councillor.

A "bottle bank" in the village has been suggested by a correspondent. He also suggested the Village Hall car park as a site. How does that grab you?

This parish is covered by a network of footpaths and these were well utilised in "Beating the Bounds" on 13 May. Probably the first time this has been done in the 55 years life of the civil parish. Councillors were delighted to be joined by over 90 people in tracing the perimeter of our 2592 acre parish.One Hambye visitor, after very little sleep, a good crowd of children and five quarrelsome bitches joined 5 Councillors (out of 7, one is unwell and one drove the ‘chuck wagon'). A lovely spring day with the Chiltern countryside looking its best made even more enjoyable the "discovery" of "new" vistas and paths in the parish.

The Parish Council would like to thank local landowners and Speen Baptist Church for their kind co-operation in allowing the walkers to cross private land. Many thanks too to all those who took part – it's a must for next year.

Hallmark September 1995. report by Parish Councillor Dennis Claydon

Two New Councillors have recently been co-opted to serve the Lacey Green and Loosley Row Ward of the Parish Council. Councillor PB Dr T Shreeve and Councillor Mrs Cc Davis replace Mr B Panter and Mr J Grafton respectively, both of whom have resigned due to business commitments.

The long awaited outcome of the Gate Cottage site on Loosley ROW was finally resolved in July. Wycombe District Council have granted permission for demolition of the existing cottage, flat, garages and outbuildings and the erection of two detached cottages, garages and the formation of a new access. A lengthy list of conditions, in the interests of visual amenities, highway safety and the privacy of the occupiers of adjacent properties, has been imposed. The width of the highway adjacent to the site will remain the same, but an increased vision splay is to be provided.

Over the last three years, the Parish Council, on behalf of the County Council, has been involved in "Pathwatch", a twice-yearly inspection of the public rights of way within the Parish. We are extremely fortunate in that our paths generally are in reasonable condition. The farmers and landowners of the Parish are to be congratulated in this respect. The odd stiles showing signs of age, or the annual growth of summer vegetation, are usually the only problems encountered.

As a continuation of this scheme the Parish Council has been invited to join the Parish Paths Partnership, Known as P3. The aim of P3 is to enable the Parish Council, with the permission of landowners, to undertake Maintenance of improvements to public rights of way. This would be carried out in conjunction with the County Council. Contractors or volunteers may be employed for this work, contractors' fees being reimbursed to the Parish Council by the County Council. The cooperation of landowners would be needed to implement the scheme. They will be kept informed of any forthcoming proposals. The possibility of the production of a free leaflet promoting our parish paths would also be available. P3 could be of considerable benefit to farmers and all those who use and enjoy our paths and bridleways.

One of the more unusual planning applications to be considered is for the stationing of "gate guards” at Strike Command. These would take the form of two static aircraft, placed at the main entrance to the site in New Road.

The County Council is asking everyone to aid the environment by leaving their cars at home and to walk or cycle wherever possible. Strike Command is actively discouraging the use of cars by staff for work. The RAF are therefore requesting provision of cycle paths to the main site. Part of the proposal, which affects out Parish, is for a shared pavement/cycle path along the western edge of New Road at its southern end. Whilst the Parish Council agree in principle to the proposal, some doubts regarding safety were expressed. In particular, a section of approximately 200 metres without a cycle path, where cyclists would be forced to join the highway. Other points of concern were cyclists emerging from an access road at New Road/Bradenham Wood Lane junction and the use of a public footpath as a cyclepath. Both of the latter are outside out Parish. It was generally agreed a safer cycle route could devised through MOD property, thus eliminating almost entirely the use of New Road.

Hallmark May 1999. Lacey Green Parish Council. By Linda Moorcroft

One very cold Saturday morning in early March, a full turn-out of the Parish Council (plus other interested parties) could be seen marching up and down the pavements near the Pink Road /Loosley Hill crossroads, peering into hedgerows and examining the width of the pavements and verges.

As it started to snow and our fingers and toes turned numb, I did ask myself why I had ever become a Parish Councillor! I am very much the “new girl” of the Council and joined when a vacancy came up last year. .I have no particular axe to grind (politically or otherwise), so my only motivation for applying was (and is) the fact that, since our family moved here some five and a half years ago, we have come to value the quality of life we enjoy in Lacey Green, and, for me, this is an opportunity to. do a “little something” to contribute to the well-being of our villages.

On this particular (cold) occasion, we were doing something that has been discussed at every single meeting of the Council since I arrived last July - considering another possible traffic calming scheme which would not detract from the rural feel of the Village. Following advice from the police that gates at each end of the Village might draw attention to the speed limit and to the fact that drivers are entering a residential area, it is likely that the Parish Council will adopt the suggestion, provided that it is practicable to do so (although this is proving a problem at the northern end of the Village because of lack of space) and depending on cost. More work is yet to be done before a final decision is reached - so watch this space.

With so many children and elderly people in the Village it is an issue that I believe is worth endlessly pursuing if it leads to even the smallest improvement in the safety of the roads through the Village. We are keeping a close eye on the scheme in neighbouring counties where 30 mph limits are being introduced in all residential areas including villages previously with higher limits.

Many of the agenda items for the Parish Council are, well...parochial! However there is some money available for the Council to spend as it sees fit, and the best way to make sure that funds are spent wisely and where the need is greatest, is to get involved in the decision-making process! If you do not feel able to do that, then come along to the meeting anyway where you can see and hear what goes on and, at the Chairman’s discretion, speak either before or after the meeting.

Thanks to Mike Robbins’ superb work, there are plans afoot to post the Council minutes on the Internet so that the increasing number of villagers “on-line” can easily find out what is going on. Otherwise, the minutes are available to read in Princes Risborough library (And talking of libraries, we had a very interesting talk at the beginning of our last meeting on the mobile library service - something about which I knew very little indeed.) What do you think about the service? If you are at home during the day, do you use it? Why or why not?

My teenage daughters constantly complain to me about the quality of the bus service through the Village (particularly in the evenings). They have been left standing at bus stops for enormous lengths of time, when one bus after another has failed to turn up at one end of the journey or the other. As their story has recently been confirmed by others, the Parish Council would be interested to hear the views of regular bus users, and is willing to take action if the bus company is not delivering a reliable service.

For those without cars it is essential that the service is reliable and increasingly so whilst we are all being encouraged to use public transport (something with which I have great sympathy, but not if it is going to line bus companies’ pockets by charging extortionate amounts for relatively short journeys - perhaps it is time for them to “get real”). What are your views? Have you had good or bad experience of local bus services? Please let any Councillor know, or write to the Clerk to the Council, Mr. G. Crombie, “Blackwells”, Great Hampden, Great Missenden, HP16 9RJ.

Don’t be backward in coming forward. Your Parish Council is there to represent you and needs to know your views. It may have limited power to change things, but some power is better than none! After all, who won.. David or Goliath?

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