Dear Hyde Heath resident,
We are pleased to provide an update of the latest news from Hyde Heath Village Society (HHVS). As many of you will already be aware, the purpose of the society is to address issues which affect Hyde Heath and its residents. This update outlines the latest opportunities for you to get involved, help and support the society with its work.
Ray Challinor
Unfortunately, we need to start with sad news. In February, our chairman Ray Challinor passed away.
Ray was very active on behalf of the village in many areas. He was the driving force behind the village shop and gave many years of service to the preschool. He will be greatly missed.
HHVS is purchasing a memorial bench for Ray. This will be located near the school, by the tree which has been planted to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. We hope you will agree that this will be a fitting tribute to Ray and his work.
Road safety
With the planned expansion of Aylesbury and the building of HS2, the A413 will become even more congested. As a result, it is likely that Hyde Heath Road and Weedon Hill will be used more and more as a rat run. In addition, you may have noticed that the land next to Jewson in Hyde End has been cleared. A transport company is hoping to have a warehouse complex built on this site, which is likely to mean more large vehicles coming through the village. In the context of these challenges, HHVS has been working with Little Missenden Parish Council and Transport for Bucks (TfB), on a speeding and parking plan to improve road safety in the village. We hope you have seen the Permanent Vehicle Activated Sign (PVAS) – speed sign - on the village green.
The sign is stage one in the speeding and parking plan, and we would like to thank outgoing HHVS committee member Walid Marzouk for his hard work, energy and dedication in getting us this far, (see personal note from Walid below). HHVS is now discussing with TfB the installation of another PVAS at the Amersham end of the village, along with better signs and road markings to protect the school children and the residents at Rayners. Whilst TfB has covered some of the cost for the first PVAS, we need to raise additional funds to progress to these next stages of the plan. Our ongoing fundraising will contribute towards this, but additional personal contributions would be very welcome.
If you would like to make an additional contribution towards our goal of making Hyde Heath safer, please email Stephen Burke at roads@hhvs.org.uk to make your pledge. We suggest that this would also be a very appropriate tribute to the memory of Ray. So far over £12,600 has been pledged towards the costs of these measures. Nearly £8875 further is needed to complete the planned works.
School car parking
In addition to the speed reduction measures and safety signs, there is also a requirement to improve the parking around the school - following a dangerous incident last year while a child was crossing the road.
To this end, the village society have discussed with the school the idea of installing green parking (e.g. Grasscrete) on the green space immediately outside the school. This would not be a permanent car park, simply a temporary parking space for people dropping off or collecting from school. The idea is to prevent irregular parking and better preserve the common land. It would also allow parents to park off the busy main road, and therefore avoid the need to cross with young children.
The design would be flexible, potentially taking the form of up to 15 spaces immediately outside the school. We are conscious that this is something many residents of Hyde Heath have requested for some time, but we would like to hear from anyone who might object to such an idea, in particular anyone who lives close to the school. We would also like to hear of alternative ideas to address this problem, or road safety in the village in general.
Fly tipping
HHVS monitors incidences of fly tipping around the village, and lobbies for measures to discourage it, such as CCTV warning signs. If you come across any fly tipping, please report it to Eric Clark at flytipping@hhvs.org.uk.
Dates for your diary
Monday 4th September: Open meeting of Little Missenden Parish Council at the Village Hall
Saturday 13th May: Village Fete
Saturday 22nd April: Village Litter Pick Meet at the flagpole at 10am. Bring strong gloves if you have them. Refreshments provided!
A personal note from Walid Marzouk
As many of you would know, a few months ago I become a Parish Councillor for Holmer Green, which meant that to avoid any potential conflict of interest I decided to resign from being a member of the HHVS executive committee. I also wanted to stay on long enough to see the Speeding and Parking project moving to a satisfactory situation to be handed over.
Road safety has started to improve with the first PVAS now installed on the Green and 50% funds have already been agreed by the Local Area Forum for flashing school 20 mph signs. With your generous donations, some of which were genuinely overwhelming, and another push by our Hyde Heath councillors at parish and county level, I am more than confident that they will deliver on our key promises soon.
Parking is much more complex however, after positive discussions and meetings with the council we now know what to do and how. The process requires the council to release common land which may need parliamentary consent. This is possible if we obtain a green light from the Open Space Society and full village support after transparent consultation.
Short term we have made some progress with direct involvement by our very sadly missed former Chairman Ray Challinor, holding discussions between Barnardo’s and the Chapel to revive a parking agreement which allows them to park at the Chapel rather than Weedon Hill. Also it is hoped that special white line measures will further restrict parking and calm traffic.
All this is very slow through the heavily bureaucratic council administration but it would have been impossible without strong efforts by Hyde Heath councillors Danny and Stephen, support from the local Thames Valley Police and Bucks County Council, so thank you to all of those. The last and biggest thanks goes to the villagers who helped at committees, actively participated at council and HHVS meetings making it clear that determination to fix the problem will not waver coupled with the generous donations of many, making it possible. Thank you.
