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Elections for Hughenden Parish Council – 6th May

The Parish consists of eight villages and hamlets – Naphill, Walter’s Ash, North Dean, Bryants Bottom, Hughenden Valley, Cryers Hill, Great Kingshill and Widmer End. In some cases, villages and hamlets may be served by more than one Parish Council.

Hughenden Parish Council consists of 15 Councillors, who serve approximately 3,500 households, a population of approximately 9,000 people. The posts of Councillor on the Parish Council are due for re-election on May 6th.

For details please see: HPC Election Notice

Spotted in the Valley

After months of requesting the road drains to be jetted and cleaned, something seems to be happening. A team from TfB was spotted mid-week cleaning in Valley Road.

We hope the work continues because a recent audit by a DIG team found that roughly 70 of the 100 or so road drains from Church Farm up to the end of Warrendene were partially or totally blocked.

Covid – a reminder from Bucks Council

Everyone’s hard work means the Government’s ‘roadmap’ is progressing but it’s essential that while so many people have yet to be vaccinated, we all keep going by fully sticking to the new rules. When meeting others socially, this must take place outside, either in a park, another open space or in private gardens. 

Please also remember to keep a distance from anyone you don’t live with. We still can’t mix with other households indoors (unless in a support bubble or for childcare purposes) and it’s critical to stick to this rule as you can catch COVID-19 far more easily inside than outside

We can now meet in groups of up to 6 people including children and babies, or groups of a larger size where it’s just two households getting together.

For more information about what the current rules are please check the government’s website.

Census 2021

From Bucks Council on 1st April:

Census work continues

Reminder letters have been sent and census officers are making follow-up visits to households that haven’t completed their census. If you’re contacted by a parishioner, here is some helpful information to reassure them:

  • The officers are there to help them.
  • Householders should ask to see their ID badge.
  • They will never ask to enter a property and will never ask for personal information or ask for a payment.
  • The officers are following government guidelines with PPE and are all being tested for Covid-19 every few days.

Please do also let people know that if they need help to complete the census they can call our trained library and adult learning staff on 0300 131 6000. There is also a national support line 0800 141 2021 and the Census 2021 website.

April Update

Audit of Drains

A small group of 4 within the DIG spent a busy couple of days in March carrying out an audit of the road drains from Church Farm right up through the village to the end of Warrendene Road. The result was that some 70 drains were blocked or partially blocked out of 100 or so. These were reported (individually) via the FixMyStreet website to TfB, and to their credit, the tops of all of them have been brushed since then. Actual cleaning/jetting may take a little longer – it’s only been a year so far.

DIG Website

The DIG website has been rebuilt and is now accessible from within the HVRA website, and adopts the same look and feel as the HVRA website. Take a look – it’s at www.hughendenresidents.org/dig although for the meanwhile the old website is still there at www.hvdig.org .

Status of Sewers

I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief in that the levels in our inspection pits have dropped and the risk of sewage escapes appear to be receding.

There have been two instances of the sewer junction at the corner of the pumping station leaking sewage, causing much consternation in the village. The DIG has written to Thames Water and requested for the inspection hatch to be replaced with a sealed lid. We wait to see if we get a positive answer.

Trees Road

We requested via FixMyStreet that the broken up road surface at the foot of Trees Rd be repaired as it was hazardous and leaving a semi-permanent pool of water there. This area has been quickly repaired, but it remains to be seen if the repair will prevent the pooling of water there – it’s meant to be able to run down the road to the nearest drain. We also need to speak with the water engineer to see if deeper soakaways are feasible there, as one of the soakaways completely overflowed in the last downpour.

Ditches & Culverts Group

We have set up a small group of volunteers for the ditches & stream area near the pumping station, as that is rather prone to accumulating rubbish. The first clean is planned for Saturday 10th April

We know also that for some years just one person has been looking after the ditch area opposite the Harrow, which is also prone to blocking up. It would be good to gather a few others to help out occasionally with that.

Agencies Update

Bucks Council have been successful in their bid regarding the Chilterns & Berkshire Downs Groundwater Resilience project. This means they will receive Defra funding for groundwater monitoring systems, which will include covering Hughenden Valley. A workshop will follow.

Thames Water has advised us that they are introducing a new planning system to replace their existing Drainage Strategy plans. (See the Little Marlow Drainage Strategy on the Documents page of the DIG website). The new planning system is referred to as a Groundwater Impacted System Management Plan (GISMP).

The GISMP’s focus is upon groundwater monitoring and the infiltration of groundwater into the sewage network. Where risk zones are identified it is planned to conduct fixes and improvement interventions within the normal maintenance cycle – presumably this means in the relative short term. Larger interventions will require budget and hence a longer cycle to resolve.

Bucks Council Covid update 17th March

“It’s really positive to have all Buckinghamshire children back in their classrooms and we’re continuing to see COVID-19 infection rates fall across Buckinghamshire too. Whilst the lockdown has been a big factor in declining infection rates, we are also seeing a rapid fall in the rates for the over 65 year olds, which is most likely due to the roll out of the vaccine. Nearly 210,000 vaccine doses have now been given in Buckinghamshire, a fantastic achievement in this short space of time. Nevertheless, there is about half the adult population of the county still to be vaccinated. Therefore, we need to remain vigilant as restrictions ease to prevent a ‘third spike’ later in the summer or early winter.”

The press release is continued here