Matters Arising, May 2019

View from the Chair
Being the Chairman of the Parish Council (PC) can be quite satisfying. It can also be quite frustrating, particularly when you see something that could easily be fixed but which just drags on.

While the PC does solve many problems some, it appears, are intractable. Parking is one of those things. Where the PC directly controls off-road parking facilities it has improved and extended them. More spaces are planned for the Witchell soon. So, it is intensely frustrating that other authorities, the big ones that control on-road parking and the Library car park seem much less engaged.

The Clerk and PC Councillors recently attended a meeting with AVDC/BCC to talk about parking. It was exactly five years since the last meeting, at which action to reline the library car park to add more bays and other improvements were offered, and in that five years nothing has been done.

The Library car park is still scruffy and poorly marked. Casual commuter and school parking still clutters our streets, footpaths remain obstructed and it’s getting worse. It’s doubtful that the District and County Councils, with unitary transition on their minds, will even consider Wendover parking. I just wanted you to know that the PC is still pushing the issue with them.

At a time when concerns for the wellbeing and safety of our young people is very much in the news, it was interesting for me to attend the Wendover Youth Centre AGM. While some aspects of a Youth Club are still evident in what they offer, much of what they now do is about supporting and developing young people while teaching them to stay safe and to stay happy in a complex world. All young people in Wendover should know that there is somewhere safe and interesting for them to go to when they need it.
Tom Walsh
Chairman, Wendover Parish Council

Best Kept Village 2019
We have decided to defend our 2018 winning title of Buckinghamshire’s Best Kept Village Competition and enter again this year. We really need to come together as a Community to go above and beyond to be able to retain the winning title for another year. WPC has organised a Working Group who have drawn up an action plan for the office and grounds team staff. The judging criteria includes overall appearance, volume of litter and evidence of Community effort. So please do what you can in your own personal capacity by keeping gardens nice and tidy and avoid parking on grass verges. Judging will take place during June and the first week of July, let us remind the judges why we won last year and why we should win again!

APM & Grants Awarded
Thank you to everyone who attended our recent Annual Parish Meeting, on 10 April 2019. WPC received an update on the awards granted in 2018/2019 and were touched by the evident impact that the grants have on organisations who receive them, and consequently, all the good they do for the Wendover Community. This year the Grants Sub-Committee agreed to award the 2019/2020 grants to the Wendover Youth Centre, Carers Bucks and Lindengate. We are honoured to be able to help our community through grants and look forward to the future impact they will bring to Wendover.

A special thank you to Barbara McGillivray for giving a talk about recycling and plastic free advice. Congratulations to Jane Larkham and Wendover Celebrates, who were awarded the Community Champion Awards for 2018, Wendover appreciates all the good you do for our Community, . The Wendover Ladies Netball Club, otherwise known as Sparrowhawks, were awarded a cheque for £508.00, which was a donation from monies raised at the Wendover 2018 Christmas Event.