Editorial
It’s been a very quiet six months with no major developments either to support or to fight, as the case may be. Loads of applications for conservatories, extensions and tree surgery and although some were worth looking at in detail – like the Feathers external refurbishment and that awful new sign. There is case for concern in the Riviera Hotel's application for a change to their Entertainment Licence since this could add significantly to the general noise and nuisance levels for the residents of the North end of River Road. One obvious reason for the quiet must be the recession having seriously affected the building industry so causing them to draw in their horns, or even go under. So it's been a period of comparative relaxation and this is reflected in the range of topics in the current newsletter. Members of your committee attended a planning session of the Chiltern Society at which a local government planning expert outlined what has been happening in the planning field since the election: the first steps have been taken to dismantle the top-heavy and over-complicated planning system. The massive South-East Plan has been revoked and some authorities are abandoning their still uncompleted Core Strategy. South Bucks are continuing with the final stages of our Core Strategy and your Society has been invited to make representations to a formal meeting of the South Bucks District Council to examine it. Your Chairman, Euan Felton, will be representing us with as many as possible of your committee supporting him on the 17th November. One of the key issues within the Core Strategy affecting us is SBDC's encouraging stance on the Mill Lane site. There are rumours that the site has been purchased by a big national builder, so we can expect the next six months to see new activity on the Mill Lane site. Interesting times will lie ahead so we need always to be poised to respond.
Euan has been unstinting in giving his time and invaluable experience as your chairman for the past four years and cannot be reasonably expected to continue in that role, particularly since the rules technically only allow a chairman to serve three years, so he will be stepping down at the AGM with our heartfelt thanks.
Fred Russell
Not-the-Editor (Mark II)
