Lib Dems Catherine Bearder and Sharon Bowles elected as MEPs

Sharon Bowles was elected as an MEP for SE England on June 4th, 2009

Having been elected third to the Liberal Democrats list for the South-East European Elections in June 2004, Sharon became a member of the European Parliament in May 2005, replacing Chris Huhne who stood down following his election in Eastleigh in the 2005 General Election.

For more on Sharon, click here

Catherine Bearder writes:

I am delighted to have been elected as the second member of the European Parliament for the South East of England. I take over from Emma Nicholson who retires from 10 years in the Parliament.

The next few weeks will be busy as I learn the ropes and find my way around the parliament, the first job will be to sort our which committees I will be serving on. I take office on 14th July and I will continue to update this site with my progress.

I am looking forward to representing the South East region of England as your MEP as we have a culturally rich and diverse region and an important role to play in the European Union's future. We need a strong voice in the parliament to speak up for the South East and I intend to be that voice.

Very many thanks to all the supporters who have helped in the campaign and to everyone who has sent me good wishes over the last few weeks and months.
Click on Catherine's web site here

Take back power, say Lib Dems

Nick Clegg has taken a strong stand on cleaning up Parliament and leading the call for a complete overhaul of our political system.
Now even Brown’s own ministers are echoing Nick’s call and echoed in The Guardian this week (click here) which sets out a 100-day plan to reform government.
Along with this the Liberal Democrats have launched a brand new Party Election Broadcast recorded this week in which Nick deals with these issues - you can watch it online now. Here Nick makes the case to:

Give people the right to sack MPs
Stop all big party political donations
Elect the House of Lords
Make the voting system fair - so that governments can’t just get all that power and all that money with only a minority of you voting for them
Put an end to self serving politics and put you back in charge
But Nick can’t do it all on his own. He needs our help.

Mary Baldwin, the Liberal Democrat Leader at Bucks County Council said: “At long last there is a groundswell for real reform of our broken political system. If you want to see British politics changed in this way then you can visit our new campaign site www.TakeBackPower.org and sign Nick’s petition.”

Councillor Alan Sherwell, the Liberal Democrat Leader at Aylesbury Vale District Council called for the word to be spread and said “I’m sure we all know friends and family who have been appalled by the recent expenses scandal. Why not show them we are different? Email the www.TakeBackPower.org web address on to five other people and help Nick and the Liberal Democrats change politics for good.”

Speeding traffic in villages

David Vick takes on the widespread issue of speeding traffic in villages:

Ford Village Traffic Special

In 2008/9 Bucks County Council wrote to many areas with regards to traffic calming.

One of the initiatives has been through the use of Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) in
either permanent positions or mobile sites.

Recent installations in local villages have shown a marked improvement in the speed
of vehicles entering and leaving the villages.

Whilst many villages have a speeding problem I have never before seen speeds as
high as those recorded in Ford Village.

I was recently involved in the design and implementation of the VAS at Waddesdon.
Waddesdon suffered high entry speeds into the village from either end and on the
straight High Street section.

None of Waddesdon’s speed data even approaches that recorded in Ford Village.

Your own Ford Village Society has shown me some of the highest recorded 85th
percentile speeds in a 30mph zone.

The system of recording speed data is inherited from the Association of Chief
Police Officers (ACPO) guidelines in that it uses the 85th percentile speed weighting.
What does this mean? The 85th percentile speed is the speed which 85% of the
vehicles do not exceed.
Strangely this standard deletes the very motorists we are most concerned with.
The 85th percentile is a measure of whether the majority of road users are complying
with the posted speed limit.
It does not take into account the speed of the wild and dangerous few who make life in Ford village a misery.

Bucks County Council should do more.
Printed by David Vick. Promoted by Geoff Twiss on behalf of David Vick (Liberal Democrat), both at 6 Castle Street, Aylesbury, HP20 2RE. May 2009.

Involvement with CALM (Campaign Against Lorry Menace)

Avril has received a message from an anonymous correspondent accusing her of
being invisible during the CALM campaign.

Avril writes: “Such was my involvement from
instigating BCC’s monitoring action, advising and presenting the
petition, meeting the leaders, being part of the email discussion at
all times, representing CALM's campaign to officers, and making formal
representation to the County as local member, and making my support
clear in local newsletters, that the applicants brought in their
lawyers to silence me at the planning meeting. Too late.

1.

This is what happened at the Bucks County Council Development Control Committee
Friday 21st December 2007 10.00 am) – (source: click here
(www.buckscc.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=2952)
The Officer from Legal & Democratic Services brought to the attention of the Committee that there may be a suggestion that some members of the Committee may have pre-determined one or possibly two of the planning applications before the Committee today. The applications concerned are Items 4 and 5. which related to land at Marsworth Airfield.
The suggestion of pre-determination related to a ‘Focus’ special edition, produced by Avril Davies and Corry Cashman which bears a Liberal Democrat logo. The Officer asked, for clarity, if members of the Liberal Democratic group on the Committee would confirm their position firstly on the document in question and secondly with regard to the applications.
Mrs Mary Baldwin (Liberal Democrat Group Leader) confirmed that she had no previous knowledge of the ‘Focus’ special edition and had had no discussions with the Local Member Mrs Avril Davies, but that she had come to the Committee with an open mind, as she always did as a member of the Development Control Committee
Mrs Patricia Lindsley stated that she had been a member on the Planning Committee for Chiltern District Council for 12 years and, as with Mrs Baldwin, had no knowledge of the publication in question from Mrs Davies. Nor had she had any discussions with Mrs Davies prior to the Committee meeting, to which she had come with an open mind.

2.

County Councillor Avril Davies recently presented a petition to the council containing over one thousand signatures, and CALM! has held a protest meeting attended by approaching 200 people (see other News Item for more details on the protest meeting).
Source- http://www.cheddington.org.uk/news/2007/dec/calm_public_meeting
Published: 07 December 2007

3
Petitions : On 22 November, County Councillor Avril Davies presented a petition (objecting to these
applications) to BCC containing one thousand and seven signatures. This represents over 16% of
villagers aged over 16 years.
Source: Submission to
Development Control Committee
Buckinghamshire County Council ; On behalf of CALM
Campaign Against Lorry Menace,
www.buckscc.gov.uk/moderngov/mgConvert2PDF.asp?ID=3071

4.
Cheddington Parish Council -
Minutes Of Parish Assembly Meeting Held On 19th March 2008
(source: www.cheddington.org.uk/media/2/files/Parish%20Assembly%20Minutes%20March%202008.doc)

(9) Report from CCllr Avril Davies
• CCllr Davies firstly congratulated CALM (Campaign Against Lorry Menace) on their campaign, which was extremely well done and supported by the County Council.
• From the Community Leaders Fund, CCllr Davies has been able to give a grant to the Neighbourhood First Responder Scheme in Marsworth and Pitstone and will be donating £1k to Cheddington School for the Sensory Garden.
• CCllr Davies confirmed that the Cheddington Route for the proposed Wing By-Pass will definitely not be considered and neither the blue or pink routes can funded.
• CCllr Davies had opposed the waste site at College Farm, Aston Clinton, which is now going forward as a household waste recycling site. The Tring site is due to be closed, although there will be considerably opposition to the closure in Herts.
• CCllr Davies said that the Local Area Technician, Paul Foot, had done a good job repairing the lead on Cheddington High Street.

Printed by Avril Davies. Promoted by Geoff Twiss on behalf of Avril Davies (Liberal Democrat), both at 6 Castle Street, Aylesbury, HP20 2RE. May 2009.

Avril's blog

Avril has been blogging since 2005:

click on http://avrildavies.blogspot.com/

Printed by Avril Davies. Promoted by Geoff Twiss on behalf of Avril Davies (Liberal Democrat), both at 6 Castle Street, Aylesbury, HP20 2RE. May 2009.

News from Avril Davies, Lib Dem couincillor for Ivinghoe division, Bucks County Council

HGVs and all that

For some time I have been pursuing the County to take action on the new wave of vehicles using the B488 and A4146 to get on to the Stoke Hammond bypass. Many of these, but not all, are waste vehicles, avoiding hold ups on the M1 or Dunstable , as there is still no link between the M1 and the Leighton Buzzard bypass, nor likely to be for some time, causing a bottleneck from which we suffer.
Some, but not all vehicles using Cheddington airfield are managed by planning condition, but it is vehicles avoiding strategic routes which are now need to be tackled.

In April I spoke directly to the Cabinet member for Transportation at Bucks, Mrs Val Letheren, about the freight transport strategy and the Freight Quality Partnership policies which appeared in the Bucks County Council first Local transportation Plan in 2002, but which were taken out of the current plan in 2006. The third generation plan is now being written. She told me that reviving the freight strategy and setting up a Freight Quality Partnership for Buckinghamshire were now of the utmost priority!

I submitted a written question to the next County Council to get this confirmed.


Freight Quality Partnership

A Freight Quality Partnership involves County, District and Parish Councils, local people the freight transport industry, Police, and other interested parties such as the map and satellite navigation people, in advising drivers and their employers of suitable routes for HGVs, to mutual benefit.

A local resident met with me some weeks ago to talk about the problem particularly in Ivinghoe, and has started to find out about local campaigns elsewhere to prevent the inappropriate use of minor roads by HGVs, while I chase up the County on implementing their transport plans. There are a few local actions that can still be taken to improve the environment of our high street, but the solution lies in the long game.


Quarry 2 decision postponed

The decision on an amended application for ‘restoring’ Pitstone quarry 2, due to be heard at the Bucks County Council Development Control Committee on April 21st, has been postponed.

Two years ago this application was given in principle permission subject to legal agreement, as it enacandidate for bled the damage done by quarrying to be restored with a minimum of disruption. This may sound nonsense, but the principle of restoration of former mineral workings is a national priority, to prevent operators from walking away from the gashes they have made in the countryside when they are no longer commercially viable. In the case of Pitstone, the vehicle movements allowed were no more than those on the roads at the time, working at Ivinghoe Aston. The restoration principle was given higher priority than, or even because of, the AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) status of the site, even though there would be working and disruption for some years.

However the amended application proposed a completely different scenario, with the recycling plant – concrete crusher – being able to operate independently from the landfill. It is proposed that material could be brought here to be recycled, and exported again for re-use or landfill in Leighton Buzzard. As the landfill aspect of the quarry scheme has yet to gain a licence from the Environment Agency, and may not do so, it is possible the quarry will never be restored, but recycling of concrete etc could go on indefinitely.

Also, since the application was first determined, the Interim Development Orders, which were the very old planning conditions governing the site, have been rescinded, leaving no default scheme of restoration in place.

It is now thought that in order to gain a licence from the EA, the operators will have to line the quarry with clay. This would involve extending either the length of time taken to complete the operation, or increasing the daily vehicle movements.
I, as well as several local organisations and individuals, have written to Bucks County Council asking them to seriously reconsider their recommendations in the light of these changes.

Camiers retrospective application to move the Cairns recycling plant onto their site
The applicants say that they will not be handling any more waste than they are at present, but by using the larger equipment they will be able to recycle far more of the material brought to their site. Cheddington Parish Council has told me they have concern over adequate protection of adjacent properties from noise and dust, and are worried that the larger capacity of the plant will give rise to yet another application to increase traffic to the site. I have written in support of their position.

AVDC finally commits to reduce spending on energy- and improve the environment

I can’t resist commenting that it’s nine years since the Energy Saving Trust invited the 380 English Local Authorities to commit to managing their energy use; on March 24th this year AVDC was nearly one of the last to sign, with over 300 councils already signed up.

Pressure from escalating energy bills, and the Environment Scrutiny Committee, has finally persuaded the cabinet to set itself a target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 22 per cent over the next five years.

It is quite astonishing that the measures they are undertaking weren’t done years ago. Steps were taken in 1996 to achieve the National ISO 14000 Environmental Management Accreditation, which was the done thing in those days before the Nottingham Declaration, but this got left behind in the ‘too much bother’ tray when political control at the council changed.

The council’s bills for energy are high, around £2.5M a year, with not only gas and electricity for offices, community and leisure centres, but fuel costs for the council’s refuse collection vehicles and business transport, releasing 7,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide in to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions are a significant and preventable cause of climate change.

Ironically the first measures to be taken reflect the advice AVDC has been dishing out to private homeowners for years: replace inefficient heating boilers, cavity wall and loft insulation in the all the new offices. Better late than never.

Printed by Avril Davies. Promoted by Geoff Twiss on behalf of Avril Davies (Liberal Democrat), both at 6 Castle Street, Aylesbury, HP20 2RE. May 2009.

A Burning Issue

Ian Metherell, Lib Dem candidate for Grendon Underwood in the Bucks County Council elections on June 4th, writes:

Literally - the burning issue is the County Council’s impending decision whether to locate an incinerator in our rural Aylesbury Vale. They’ve postponed a decision several times, until after the elections on June 4th are over, probably realising the opposition that will be stirred up when they announce the go-ahead!

At the moment the prospect is that WRG, who run the Calvert Landfill facility, will be announced as the County’s preferred partner. If so they intend to build an Energy from Waste [EfW] incinerator at Lower Greatmoor Farm, between Grendon Underwood and Quainton.

The problems that would cause to the surrounding area are many and worrying:
First, there would considerable construction traffic while the incinerator was built (which would itself take around 3 years), affecting Edgcott, Grendon Underwood and Calvert Green residents most keenly;
Secondly, the 96 metre tall chimney would be an eyesore visible from miles around, including Steeple Claydon, Quainton and Hogshaw;
Thirdly, there would be at least 100 extra heavy goods vehicles per day bringing waste to the plant for processing – and so the whole road network including the A41 from Waddesdon - would be badly affected.
Finally, there is considerable concern among scientists about the safety of these incinerators, despite the claims of the manufacturers – especially the presence of minute particles and vapour in the gases expelled from the chimney to drift across the countryside; and in the ash that is created.

Whilst the incinerator technology may have advantages on cost grounds over other technologies, and might arguably create less environmental damage than land-fill, I am concerned about the environmental damage caused by the long distance disposal of waste transported in large lorries as envisaged by Bucks CC. They also recognise that these plants are not best sited on greenfield land.

Instead localised recycling close to source, supported by increased awareness and action about recycling, should be carried out to as great a degree as possible. Plus we should lobby to cut down on the amount of packaging, which will curb the problem at source. This will minimise both the transportation of waste and the volume and type of material disposed of. There should also be a proper investigation of the option of sharing facilities with neighbouring counties rather than purely seek to do our own thing in Bucks - which may then mean no new facilities need to be built anywhere in this county.

In the new recessionary climate it’s time to review the County’s pro-EfW stance. The economics of the whole exercise need to be re-examined before any decision is made. By the time the planning application is submitted it will be too late to affect the County Council’s decision, as their choice of partner will have already pre-determined the site.

A packed meeting of over 200 people took place at Grendon Underwood Village Hall on Thursday, organised by the Stop Aylesbury Vale Incinerator group. They heard evidence from Geoff Twiss, the Friends of the Earth local spokesman on the environment. He pointed out that there is a major gap between the County Council’s and WRG’s predictions of the tonnes of waste they expect to be processed. BCC forecasts 200,000 while WRG needs 300,000 tonnes a year for the incinerator to be profitable. So presumably the balance of 100,000 tonnes would be imported from outside the County, causing further traffic problems.


Ian Metherell
2 Forge Close
Marsh Gibbon
Printed by Aylesbury Liberal Democrats. Promoted by Geoff Twiss on behalf of Ian Metherell (Liberal Democrat) all at Reform House, 6 Castle St, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 2RE.

24.4.09