Wycombe Liberal Democrats

Over the last week I have been receiving letters and calls from local residents in Ryemead who are raising concerns regarding the scrapstore
I am told their funding and premises is under threat from their landlord, Wycombe District Council as of next March.

When I hear of issues like this it concern me and makes me question the future of Wycombe’s voluntary sector in the current local economic and political climate.

Myself and our local community consultant Hilary Reed visited the scrapstore yesterday.

Our findings
1. The scrapstore we discovered is an Aladdin’s cave
2. Used by schools, groups churches, local artists –and more
3. Developing arts/ crafts experience in the community
4. Good for community cohesion
5. providing low cost materials
6. Opportunities to learn through art/ craft
7. Assisting recycling targets of council
8. Underpinning the local community voluntary and cost sectors

The issues
1. Funding for this project is being cut – Why ?– a venture of this scale needs supporting and additional funding
2. WDC are funding this project –BCC are not – believe BCC are benefiting from the centre and need to be making a contribution also
3. It’s probable by March 2008 the resource zone may have to close unless it can be funded by moving to the voluntary sector

Whilst we were there the unit was visited by over 30 people and groups from Ryemead ward (Local Church) ,Abbey Ward ( Local Church) and the other a group from Flackwell Heath (helping disabled)

Every one we saw in there had a smile on their face

WDC are in the process of working with a newly formed management committee to migrate the service to the voluntary sector. I wish them every success and will be monitoring progress.

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I READ with interest in the BFP the reasons for refusing the building of five homes in Hazlemere opposite the Cedars Residential Homes.
I am familiar with the area and the ongoing issues regarding development of the site, and sympathise with any councillor and ward faced with the dilemma of inappropriate developments.

However, I have to comment there is a need for the district to build mixed dwelling homes in our semi rural, rural villages and out-of-town brownfield sites to sustain the local communities and meet the expected new government housing targets. We can’t keep dumping development in the town.
I note with interest and with some irony the reasons for rejection of five homes.
Cllr McCarthy states: “I think we need to remind ourselves that this site is exceedingly busy, I think the quality of the local environment will be harmed and the development will have an unsatisfactory impact. I do think there would be excessive pressure on the outside area by this development.”
Since joining the council, I’ve noticed a marked difference in our councillors’ views on rural/semi rural(urban) areas v town areas. This puzzles me somewhat as I’m aware that the rural areas need to look towards building homes to be able to protect rural communities and community cohesion

Let me point out some stark facts. A situation exists where we have seen massive building programmes in the town wards for several years.
Many of the town councillors grapple with these problems on a daily basis but often the scale of the problem is multiplied by the sheer size of the developments we are seeing being dumped in our wards. We all appreciate the need for new homes but they need to be in a controlled way.

A ward close to my heart (Ryemead) in Wycombe I estimate had suffered with over 400 new homes in the last ten years. Over 150 more are in progress – plus another 480 are to be built in the next three years in the Marsh area alone. That’s without the incremental builds we now face from back garden and knockdown incremental rebuilds.
The local environment and community is being harmed and developments are having an unsatisfactory impact across all of the east end of High Wycombe town.
We have a situation where Ryemead has the “accolade” of being one of the wards with the highest density of homes per hectare and highest growth in new homes in the Wycombe area
There is excessive pressure and lack of foresight and understanding on the pressure this will place on local schools, transport, roads, community facilities and community cohesion.
The entire east end of the town is suffering with increase in traffic on the A40 and surrounding roads and increase in congestion.

I would like to believe next time I or another town councillor raises concerns or objections regarding excessive housing developments and the social impact, be it on allotments, high rise apartments, or large estates in the highly-populated town wards, I trust we can count on support of our rural and out of town councillors in opposing them with the same vigour as the five homes in Hazlemere?

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With the development of Eden what is going to happen to our local shops?

We are seeing small businesses being pushed out of business by the weight of the large retailers, Trevor Snaith and Ray Farmer are asking the council to invest in our local communities to support local shops for local people

The Friends of the Earthg have recently produced an advert you may find interesting

Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGoWKVA87ro

 The competition authorities are currently investigating supermarkets.

In January they published their interim report. In this report, they recognised several potential problems related to supermarket dominance.

The next stage of this inquiry is crucial. Tough action is urgently needed to control the power of the supermarkets.

We have the opportunity to ask the Competition Commission to make the grocery industry fairer for everyone.

We must urge them to investigate the things that really matter:

• Stronger planning policies
  Needed to protect smaller shops.
• Supermarket code of practice
  Needed to protect the interests of consumers, farmers, workers and the environment.

After all, who wants cheap food if it’s at the expense of people and the planet?

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Two of the leaflets for Sands are now online:

Sands2.pdf

Sands3C.pdf

Sands is going to be a very interesting ward, where our two outstanding candidates, Ian Morton and Reg Rundle are in a four way battle for control of the ward.

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by Richard Groom

• The legal requirement for the travel plan and meetings has expired but WWFC and Wasps have agreed to continue holding meetings. The next one is on 16^th November at 7.30. By then we should know Wasps’s plans for extension of the ground.

• Traffic signs will be changed from Causeway to Adams Park soon.

• On car sharing, Wycombe Wanderers promotes car sharing by charging for car parking according to the number of people travelling in the car. They also offer a discount for cars arriving before 12.30. Wasps supporters tend to car share already by coming to matches in groups.

• Park and Ride – Both teams are actively encouraging Park and Ride. WWFC run P+R buses from Cressex and Stokenchurch and are intending to increase the number of trips from Cressex. Wasps also support P+R. They use Booker Airfield and are intending to open a new site to the West of the town.

• Wasps said that they are close to presenting plans to increase the stadium capacity. They had been discussing with WWFC, the emergency services etc. Plans will then be put out for consultation. It’s important that Wasps extend the capacity in order to remain at Wycombe. Wasps are also actively pursuing the possibility of taking part in a scheme to process `returns’ from season ticket holders. This would effectively increase the capacity of the ground for all but the biggest games when all season ticket holders attend.

• Illegal and inconsiderate parking on public roads near the ground remains a problem. Unfortunately, the police could not be present at this meeting due to a problem elsewhere. The meeting participants were generally critical about the lack of policing at the ground. Roads around other grounds are coned-off during matches and parking restrictions introduced – but not Wycombe. In previous meetings the police had said that lack of policing was down to lack of resources. The problem seems to be that fines collected from illegal parking do not go to funding the policing operation.

• It is possible that the special parking area which WDC controls in the town centre could be extended to cover the area around the football ground. It would then be policed by the NCP parking attendants. However local residents would have to understand that the streets would be patrolled at all times – not just during matches.

• The clubs are concerned about unofficial car parks operated by businesses in the industrial estate. Some masquerade as official car parks and there is a tendency for operators to be present only to collect the money when the fans arrive. The clubs have no influence over these car parks and are particularly concerned about the lack of control over vehicles leaving after the matches. It is only a matter of time before there is an accident.

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