Avril Davies

Ivinghoe Youth Hostel

Last November a small working group put forward proposals to the YHA to keep the hostel going, as a trust, while releasing the capital the YHA needed. In June I finally received a letter from them saying they were still proceeding with the sale in October.

The YHA were never prepared to talk to us, although they repeatedly assured us they would be making contact. We made our own arrangements to see the consultants they employed to produce a feasibility study for a YHA presence in the Chilterns, to ensure they understood the full potential of Ivinghoe. Thanks to the good offices of Steve Rodrick chief officer of the Chilterns Conservation Board who part funded the study, we discovered that although Ivinghoe was one of the three options put forward in the proposals, the consultants advised that the funding would be uncertain. At that stage a project plan hadn’t been put together for Ivinghoe , and no funders approached, so we will never know. But we did hear from Steve that if a local group such as ourselves tried to take our project forward, the YHA would have actively prevented us from approaching any funding partners they themselves would be approaching for their preferred options of Jordans or Halton. This makes me think our proposals weren’t so uncertain after all. The YHAs deadline of closing the hostel in October would have to be postponed for any alternative scheme to get off the ground, and I don’t think they will change this for anyone, especially us, who if we were to find funding for a project manager in that time, they would be very unlikely to do anything to help us keep a hostel which would eventually be competing with them.

Meanwhile there has been other interest in the hostel from a group of young people who want to live there as a group to show how by sharing resources a modern professional lifestyle can have a zero carbon footprint, including running the accommodation business to support the educational activities of the Chilterns Study Centre and College Lake. Originally conceived as a television reality show(!) the TV opportunity has now passed, but the intention to buy the hostel for the purpose still remains. I and Julie Lloyd Evans who owns and runs the study centre, will be offering this group as much support as we can give them. I understand they are actively seeking a mortgage in time for October. I hope the YHA don’t perceive them as a threat as well.

Traffic matters

On 6^th June clerks and councillors from all 6 parish councils in Ivinghoe division met with BCC to raise all the traffic issues of their parishioners. Tim Fowler, Group Manager Area maintenance North has ten follow up actions from the meeting, which he won’t be allowed to forget either by me or the individual Parishes.

Traffic Growth

Because of the M1 widening at Luton the A4148 at Northall has experienced an 8% growth this year, and a knock on effect in this area, which is hoped will reduce when the roadworks are complete.

I receive daily complaints about skip lorries and motorway maintenance vehicles from the airfield, which are duly passed on to the appropriate authorities to enforce planning and speeding restrictions. These are local businesses carrying out local journeys. Eddie Stobart on the other hand is not a local business carrying out a local journey. He is probably using sat nav to avoid the M1 roadworks.

Bucks is preparing an HGV strategy to restrict vehicles to preferred routes, but, to quote the ‘Ivinghoe Beacon’ I don’t hold my breath, as the Speed Limit review is currently running about 7 years behind schedule - public consultation now 2009, implementation 2010 - so what hope is there for an HGV strategy to be implemented?

Signage

A short term fix is to review the signs. There are too many anyway, but at the meeting It was suggested that Parish Councils could undertake to review local signage for improvements and consistency.

Weight Limits on bridges

There is currently a 17t limit at the White Lion Marsworth, and 8t and 6t axle weights at the other two bridges ( now out of date) There is no signed weight limit at the Brownlow bridge, which is being looked into – supposedly.

Community Speedwatch - what is this?

The villages of Cuddington and Swanbourne have recently completed a speedwatch trial, and it is hoped all villages will soon be able to do the same in conjunction with the police and neighbourhood action groups. Volunteers are trained to use radar speed checks, offending motorists are written to by the policeand Neighbourhood Action Group, and repeat offenders prosecuted in the usual way.

Grass cutting

I have formally submitted to the county consultation that grass verges within villages are all cut as if they are within the 30mph signs. For example, this would mean the footpath verge in Ivinghoe Aston, Watery Lane Marsworth, and Marsworth Road Pitstone between Westfield road and the roundabout would be cut more regularly.

Winter gritting

I also proposed that less weight was placed on traffic volume on rural roads which scored high on other factors in the the precautionary winter gritting assessment such as school bus routes, schools, bends and gradient, and that known accidents when the gritting had been withdrawn was also included in the assessment. This would apply to Ivinghoe Aston Hill, Slapton, Edlesborough High Street and Marsworth Vicarage Road.

Community Leaders Fund

As County Councillor I have access to about £2000 of funding for community projects. Please contact me if you would like to apply on behalf of an organisation. Over the years I have supported fundraising projects by scouts, playgroups, youth clubs, village halls, sports clubs, events, and parish councils.