Environment is the focus of latest High Wycombe Community Board meeting

Democracy and Local Affairs

From efforts to create a bee corridor across the area, to a project to help residents access discounted renewable energy, the High Wycombe Community Board has been working hard to make the environment one of its key focuses this year.

At the recent board meeting, Sarfaraz Raja and Penelope Tollitt, Chair and Vice-Chair of the board’s Environment and Climate Change action group gave an update on some of the projects the board is supporting:

  • The Solar Streets Wycombe project being carried out by the Wycombe Environment implementation group to raise awareness of the benefits of using solar panels and the discounts available to households.
  • Bee Squared, a project which distributed over 400 packets of wildflower seeds to residents to support pollinating insects and biodiversity and create a bee corridor across the area. Plans are in place to widen out the scheme to include other community board areas next year.
  • The Chiltern Rangers rewilding project at the Wycombe Almshouses which aims to create a wildlife friendly community area with the help of a group of committed volunteers.

John Shaw, Managing Director of Chiltern Rangers gave more detail on the project. He said: “Formal lawns are being turned into pollinator friendly corridors planted with a variety of different plants in order to boost the already diverse lawn for butterflies and bees.

“The project is also aimed at creating an ideal habitat for our iconic summer avian visitors swifts, who eat the invertebrates and nest boxes have been provided for them around the building. This is a great example of High Wycombe Community Board funding enhancing work for the local community and environment through a targeted conservation project.”

Councillor Paul Turner who is centre manager at the Almshouses gave further detail on the benefits of the project. He said: “Chiltern Rangers are creating a wildflower meadow in part of the gardens of the Almshouses, encouraging bio-diversity and for the benefit of wildlife. Included in the ongoing project is artwork created by Dan Wilson, assisted by students from Bucks UTC, which is now on display.”

He added: “The benefits extend further than the local wildlife, our residents enjoy a colourful display of native flowers including many orchids which have appeared on what was a sloping unusable part of the gardens, and local residents and passers-by can enjoy the equally colourful scene at the front of the Almshouses and are informed by the placement of an information board about the project.

“The residents of the Almhouses are particularly grateful to the community board for supporting this project which brings them pleasure every time they step outside.”

The environment is not the only thing the High Wycombe Community Board has been focusing on in its first year. At the meeting members reflected on some of the other ways the board has supported the local community, including funding over 39 local projects. These included providing support and funding to a range of community groups to deliver hot meals, food, medication and support to individuals and families during the pandemic. The board also promoted key health matters including mental health awareness and suicide prevention in partnership with the Samaritans and supported a multi service drop-in youth centre offering a range of planned sessions and activities all under one roof with Action4Youth.

Arif Hussain, Chairman of the High Wycombe Community Board said: “It’s been an extremely busy year during which time we have fully established ourselves in the local community and started to make a real impact. I’m proud of everything we have achieved and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with our partners and local people to make sure we can build on these strong foundations and achieve even more in the next 12 months.”

For the coming year the board will focus on:

  • Economic Recovery and Regeneration
  • Environment and Climate Change
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Local Infrastructure and Transport

If you are interested in getting more involved with the High Wycombe Community Board or have an idea for a project that you think would benefit the local community in line with the board’s key priorities, contact the coordinator on: hwcb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or visit the website.