Roads & Transport

Introduction.

The Parish Councils’ prime role for Roads and Transport is as a statutory consultee for documents issued by Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC), Central Government, and Chiltern District Council (CDC). The Parish Councils’ only direct responsibility is for all street lighting in the Parish, except for those lights on the A416, which BCC provided and maintain.
The Parish Council try to represent the views of residents about Roads and Transport matters to BCC, and others. We do this by having regular meetings with BCC officers, keeping our County Councillors aware of the problems and needs of the Parish. We also participate in special meetings and workshops organised by BCC, respond to all consultations, and request BCC to repair defects to the roads and undertake routine maintenance.

Responsibilities.

Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) are responsible for all the roads and footpaths in Chesham Bois, (and surrounding areas), except where signs designate them as private roads or paths. BCC’s responsibilities include providing new facilities, maintaining roads and footpaths, and co-ordinating the activities of all the organisations that dig holes in our roads and footpaths.

BCC now manage all “on street parking” and employ the parking enforcement attendants.
BCC also have significant responsibilities for the provision and coordination of all Bus Services in the area, including Schools Transport.
BCC discharge all their Roads and Transport responsibilities through a joint company with the private sector called Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB).
BCC and TfB have a joint, and extensive website, www.transportforbucks.net which includes a lot of useful information about current and future work, policies, bus timetables, and systems for reporting defects to roads and footpaths. This is best starting point to find out what is happening about Roads and Transport in Chesham Bois and the surrounding area.

Chiltern District Council (CDC) are responsible for providing, and managing the “off street” car parks in the District, and for the cleaning and sweeping of all the roads and footpaths in the Parish.

Road Conditions in Chesham Bois

The Parish Council, and many residents, is concerned about the poor condition of some of the roads in the Parish, and elsewhere in the County. In 2011/12, and for future years, Bucks CC has increased the sum of money allocated for road maintenance. All of North Road and Copperkins Lane are scheduled to be resurfaced in 2012 as a result of these additional funds being made available. The Parish Council will be pressing the County for more of our roads to be repaired in the coming years.

There are many complaints about the number of Potholes in our area. The only potholes that Bucks CC will repair, quickly, are those that they classify as Category 1 (40mm deep). It is therefore important that residents alert the County to such defects.

Rights of Way (ROW) - Footpaths and Bridleways

The map below shows that there the extensive network of footpaths and bridleway in parish of Chesham Bois. Many of these are well used, and we urge residents and visitors alike to make full use of these excellent amenities.

Click here for the Rights of Way Map Click here for a Description of each ROW

Street Lighting

As already explained the Parish Council provides and operates all the street lighting in the Parish, except for the lighting on the A416, which is the responsibility of BCC. A significant part of the “rates” (Community Charge) paid by residents to the Parish Council is spent on street lighting. In round terms electricity and maintenance of the lights each cost approximately £2,000 every year. The electricity charge has, not surprisingly, increased considerably in recently. The Parish Council have therefore been pushing manufacturers hard to develop suitable LED lamps, which, if successful, will reduce electricity consumption by around 75%. We now have two such lights operational in Holloway Lane (one opposite the northern end of St. Leonard’s Road and the other at the end of Runrig Hill). The second of these was only installed in February 2012. We are now evaluating their performance, and your views on them would be much appreciated. If the LED lights are successful the Parish Council is intending to develop a plan to replace all, or most of the lights in the Parish with LED lamps. We anticipate we will change the lamps to LED’s in batches, when the current lights need replacing. We are also investigating if grants are available for such a projects. Please let us know if you are aware of any sources of funding.

Your Views

The Parish Council are keen to hear your views on Roads and Transport issues, and in particular areas where you consider maintenance is required. Such information will enable us to put forward stronger arguments for work to BCC and our County Councillors. Please e-mail, or telephone the Parish Clerk, or leave a message on the Parish website. Problems and defects with Roads and Footpaths can be reported direct to BCC. This is best done, via the Road Works Centre on the BCC/TfB website, since the information goes directly to TfB.

Making a Difference

You will see that the Parish Council’s primary role in Roads and Transport is to press the case for improvements in our Parish, usually to BCC. Successes are hard won. A recent example of where lobbying and pressure by the Parish Council had a significant effect is the completion of the new pedestrian crossing in Bois Lane. This is a huge benefit to the children who attend Elangeni, Chestnut Lane and the Village Schools, as well as to residents. This demonstrates that working together we can make a difference. Please contact us if there are any small improvement projects you would like to see undertaken in the Parish.