Since the local elections in May, I have been busy visiting many of the parishes in the division and catching up on a variety of local issues including chasing up pot hole repairs and agreeing the investment in road resurfacing for the coming year. I have also been asked to re-join the cabinet, but now holding the Children’s Services portfolio.
I have been pleased to be able to attend a number of community events over the last month or two, including the Civic Day organised by the Buckingham Society, including the awarding of Citizen of the Year by the Rotary to two well deserving residents. We had a very successful Dementia Awareness Day in Buckingham Library in May, where the county council was joined by a number of charities to help raise awareness and offer assistance.
Earlier this month I attended the Destination Buckingham meeting and the Silverstone Community Liaison meeting, both very useful in the development of our North Bucks economy; especially in jobs and tourism. Planning permission for the next phase of the Enterprise Zone area has been recently approved, and the application for additional facilities at Silverstone Circuit are currently out for comment.
Traffic speeding remains a concern in many of the villages and in Buckingham itself, and I was pleased to relaunch Community Speedwatch a few years ago. In addition to supporting flashing speed signs in various locations, we now have improved speed detection equipment courtesy of the county council’s Local Area Forum. A number of volunteers have joined in the Speedwatch sessions over the last few months and thank you to everyone who takes part. If you are interested in volunteering at future sessions, please do contact me or your local parish council.