Great Missenden, Prestwood and Heath End Liberal Democrats Submission to Great Missenden Parish Revitalisation Group "Community Vision for HP16"

11.22.00am GMT Mon 18th Feb 2008

One size will not fit all - tailored actions are needed for the different communities that make up "HP16".

1/ Introduction

We welcomed the draft Community Vision document (see http://www.gmprg.org.uk/cv4hp16.html) as a well-researched and thorough contribution to the development of a community vision for HP16. The document is clearly the result of a great deal of hard work to date. It contains many very welcome initiatives and suggestions for local "quality of life" improvements.

2/ Key Themes

We agree in principle with the key themes and we suggest that in addition we would like to see the vision document commit to establish HP16 as the most sustainable community in Buckinghamshire. This would be an objective which flows particularly from the key themes of natural environment conservation, litter and recycling services, and sympathetic and affordable development.

Above all, we need to ensure that the needs of children and all of the community's most vulnerable residents are paramount when taking local decisions on future spending, especially on housing.

What is missing in the current draft, however, is an acceptance that the different communities that together make up "HP16" need appropriate actions which are also different depending on location. One size will not fit all.

3/ Social and Housing Needs

We would like to see far greater emphasis placed in the final document on the importance of addressing local social needs, and recognition that the health, employment and other social needs of Prestwood, as by far the largest local centre of population, will differ significantly from those of much smaller rural villages.

Chiltern District Council's 2006 analysis of the Government's Indices of Deprivation data concludes that "significant poverty can be found in Prestwood." Indeed, for older residents, Prestwood is second only to Chesham in Chiltern District for levels of "significant poverty."

As a "significant centre of population", Prestwood has particular needs in terms of social and affordable housing, transport infrastructure, policing, health and other services, leisure facilities for young people, and employment opportunities which differ from other parts of HP16, both in scale and the type of response needed.

While the draft vision does refer to the need for more "affordable" housing, which is welcome, it says little about the urgent need to improve existing social housing stock including as a minimum long overdue security and design improvements.

There is also a danger of complacency in the assertion that "the area is mainly dormitory and relatively affluent." This observation simply does not reflect the realities and challenges faced by many local residents.

4/ Institutional Changes

In terms of local institutions, we propose that the Parish council establishes urgently a separate Ward Committee for Prestwood, and that County Council "community leaders" funds are increased significantly to enable a wider range of local groups and causes to be funded.

As the document acknowledges, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime are both serious issues locally. We believe that a new police station needs to be sited in Prestwood. The current police office in Great Missenden is a welcome step forward locally, but cannot serve fully the needs of a community of over 8,000 people in Prestwood and Heath End.

5/ Transport

We must place the needs of local children and other vulnerable residents at the very heart of transport priorities for the area. School age children (aged 5-19) make up over 19% of the local population (in line with the Buckinghamshire average). Elderly residents make up over 23% (some 4% above the Buckinghamshire average).

For far too long, transport priorities locally have reflected the economic emphasis on ease of commuting and speed of commercial journeys across the county.

The legacy of that unsustainable approach can be seen in villages blighted by speeding traffic, parents wary of letting their children cycle or walk to school, increased noise pollution, and a deteriorating environment.

It will take far more than the piecemeal and snails pace delivery of the A4128 survey to put right fifty years of road safety neglect. As a minimum, all of the A4128 independent consultants' recommendations need to be implemented in full and urgently.

If we are truly serious about delivering a sustainable community, and one in which quality of life is enhanced, further radical solutions need to be considered including the complete or part pedestrianisation of Great Missenden High Street. A part pedestrianisation scheme for example would still allow for car parking on the High Street but prevent it from being used as a rat run as at present.

6/ Conclusion

The final vision document needs to reflect more accurately the very different life experiences of HP16's most affluent and least affluent residents.

It is very important to ensure therefore that the Vision process is informed not solely by the area's more "active" middle class residents , who are the more likely to respond to questionnaires.

We would like to see a limited door to door survey of residents carried out and would be willing to help with it.