Jan Walmsley
I have lived in this village, in Mill Lane, since 2001. I really like it here. It’s a good place to live, and Lockdown brought home to me, and many others, how fortunate we are to have a safe, pleasant and friendly village, with plenty of green space to enjoy.
Since I’ve lived here I’ve done a few things which I hope have improved it. I have been part of the Traffic Group which has championed 20 mph. I encouraged the PC to work with Ramblers and Bucks Council to replace most (not all) stiles with gates, making the footpaths more accessible. I check the footpaths every year and report any issues to Bucks Council. I am a village representative on the MacIntyre School LAB (like a governing body). I organise the Weekday Walking Group which now meets fortnightly. I have joined the Community Forum set up by Bucks Council and this emboldened me and Hannah Price to propose the wildlife verge some of you may have seen on Mill Lane.
I’d like the village to be even better than it is as a place to live. If after a few years I step down this is what I’d like to have helped achieve.
- Slower traffic speeds so that pedestrians and cyclists can enjoy moving around safely. If every vehicle moved at 20 mph rather than 30 or more, that would be possible. We got a glimpse of this last spring during Lockdown 1. It was wonderful to see kids cycling on the roads, and that should be possible all the time, not just in exceptional times.
- A café on the rec to make it fun to socialise while the kids play on the wonderful new equipment
- More encouragement for wildlife – birds, wild flowers, insects, hedgehogs – by introducing more wildlife-friendly practices, not just in the village but (dare I say this) on our neighbouring farmland
- A cycle path next to the A418 from Wingrave crossroads to the new traffic lights on the edge of Bierton, a mere 3 miles which would enable people here to cycle or walk safely to Aylesbury, and give the residents of Aylesbury easy access to country lanes and paths
- Paving of part of the Aylesbury arm canal towpath so that leisure cyclists can use it to get into town (some is already paved – only two short stretches of mud remain)
- An improved footpath network, including all stiles replaced with gates
- Better bus service, and more people using it
- More housing suitable for older people
- More connections between MacIntyre School and the rest of the village.
In my spare time I am Professor of Learning Disability History at the Open University, an honorary position.
If you see me around, usually either on a bike or with our Welsh Border Collie, Teazle, please say hello and bend my ear about how you’d like the village to change for the better.