As you will have read over the past few months in PPP, Bucks County Council has decided to pass Ivinghoe Library over to community management. A group of dedicated individuals formed the Friends of Ivinghoe Library, drew up a business plan, engaged volunteers and renamed the service “The Beacon Villages Community Library”. Approximately 250 of Pitstone’s 3,500 residents are members at present and they equal 44% of all library users. The library management committee has approached the parish council and asked for £3,750 funding during 2012/13 as a proportionate contribution towards their costs.

Whilst the parish council is supportive of the library and the service it provides to residents, especially those less mobile, it is also conscious of the financial implications that such support would have for each and every home in Pitstone, so we would like to hear your views.

A contribution of £3,750 will mean that the parish is paying a £15 charge for each of the 250 registered residents to use the library. This will mean that every home (not just those with residents that use the library) will have £3.25 added to their annual council tax bill in order to support the library. Would you be happy to pay this charge?

Alternatively, the council could offer a lower contribution of perhaps £1,200 which would add £1 per household to next year’s council tax (the equivalent of paying £4.80 for each of our 250 users to go to the library). Would you be happy to pay this charge?

The final alternative is to make no contribution at all as the library physically sits outside the parish of Pitstone and hope that the running costs can be met in alternative ways. However, there is a strong possibility that if all parish councils with residents that use the library take this stance, that the library will not be able to support itself and will close, removing this valuable facility for the residents that do take advantage of the service.

Option 1 I would support adding £3.25 to every council tax bill
Option 2 I would support adding £1 to every council tax bill
Option 3 I wouldn’t support adding any charge to the council tax bill to support the library

This is your library and your council tax, so please let us know your views before 22 November 2011. The parish council can then take the views of the electorate into account when setting their budget at the
24 November council meeting. You can make your vote anonymously.

Text your vote: text "PITSTONE LIBRARY 1" to 60300 if you are happy to add £3.25 to the bill, text "PITSTONE LIBRARY 2" to 60300 if you are happy to add £1 per house to the bill OR text "PITSTONE LIBRARY 3" to 60300 if you don't think the parish council should increase the council tax at all to support the library in Ivinghoe. Do not include anything else in your text.

Vote in our online poll

Email your preference to: parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk

Leave your preference on the answerphone at: 01296 660791

Tell any Pitstone parish councillor your preference or

post your preference to: 9 Warwick Road, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9FE

The parish council would like to supply a free bone china commemorative mug for the Queens Diamond Jubilee next June to all the children in the parish. There will also be a quantity of mugs available to purchase, if you want extra mugs or would like these fabulous souvenirs for adults.

So that we can order the correct number, please register your child for their souvenir mug now, by:

1. Completing the form that will appear in the next edition of PPP and popping it through the letterbox of any parish councillor or the clerk
2. Leave your details on the answerphone at 01296 660791
3. Email your requirements to parishclerk@pitstone.co.uk

Thank you.

Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone parish council

Winter is almost upon us again and soon the roads will become icy. Bucks County Council start their winter weather watch in October and will be ready to spring into action with their gritting schedule as soon as necessary. The grit lorry will lay salt in a ring around the village – along Marsworth Road, around the windmill field and back down Westfield Road – so you should only have a short distance to travel before you reach a more capable road surface. We are grateful to Bucks County Council for their commitment to grit Westfield Road, despite it not yet being adopted, as Taylor Wimpey will no longer treat this important highway with salt.

You will also find a grit bin located at the junction of Vicarage Road/Upper Icknield Way as this has been particularly troublesome to motorists in the past. If you plan to use this junction, you are welcome to use the grit/salt on this section of highway.

The parish council is aware that many of the cul-de-sacs within Castlemead have particular problems during the winter as these roads are built on the hill. We have therefore gained the agreement of Bucks County Council to locate two grit bins along Westfield Road, near either end of Windsor Road, and the parish council will be paying £100 per bin per fill for the salt at these locations. Residents are welcome to use this salt on any affected highway junctions near their property.

Please note that salt is often in short supply nationally and is only provided for use on the public highway. Use of the salt on private drives is prohibited and will be treated as theft. Home owners are able to use normal table salt or purchase specialist salt from hardware stores and garden centres for use on their property.

Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone parish council

This is a Community Message from Insp Emma Garside, the rural Neighbourhood Inspector for Aylesbury Vale, on Tuesday 4 October.

At approximately 01.50hrs on Sunday 2 October Police were notified of a "rave" occurring at Ivinghoe Beacon. Officers from Thames Valley and Bedfordshire Forces deployed to the location. On arrival officers found between 600-800 persons attending the rave many of whom had travelled to the location by vehicle. Attempts were made by Police to block access routes and legislation was used to direct persons to leave the site. By 15.00hrs on 2 October the location was clear. An investigation is underway to identify and prosecute the event organisers for holding an unlicensed event of this kind and bring to justice those responsible for causing damage. CCTV footage from the Police helicopter will assist the investigation. I recognise the disruption that this event caused many local people with loud music being heard across a number of surrounding villages.The Police will be working closely with the National Trust to review this incident and consider future options to deter people from using this particular location in this way.

Why did the Police not stop the event straight away? The Police did not have any prior knowledge that this event was due to take place. Officers were deployed as soon as we were informed but on our arrival officers discovered that the event was already well under way with in excess of 600 persons already at the location. The poor visibility due to time of night, the geography of the area and the ratio of police officer to party goer numbers did not allow for an immediate dispersal of persons to take place.

Is anyone being prosecuted? There were a number of different organisers involved in this event. An investigation is under way to identify these persons and put them before the Courts. Sound equipment and vehicles were seized from some people on the night as part of this ongoing investigation.

Do the Police need my help? A number of people phoned us on the night reporting loud music and traffic congestion. If you have information which you think may be relevant to assist our investigation please phone 08458 505505 and quote reference number 227 2/10/11.

The library committee has been meeting every fortnight since forming in March, and plans are now moving at pace. Now we need your support!

Our draft business plan has been approved by Bucks CC, and we hope to take the library into community management before Christmas.

Please join us at a community meeting from 19.30 on 21 September in the upstairs room at Ivinghoe Town Hall to hear about the next steps and what you can do (however small!) to support our library into the future.

Topics will include volunteering opportunities, fundraising, getting local schools involved, engaging with local clubs and groups, how the service can be improved in future, and more!

Everyone is welcome - even if you need to arrive late or leave early. The session won’t involve too much sitting and listening so there should be enough to occupy older children. We are keen to hear your thoughts. Refreshments will be provided.

In the meantime:
- The poster on the website below promotes the meeting – please feel free to put it up on your nearest notice board to help spread the word
- Our Top Reads survey asks for your favourite authors and seeks your views about the library. Please take a few moments to answer and encourage friends and neighbours too!

We look forward to seeing you on the 21st.

http://ivinghoelibrary.wordpress.com/

The Rose and Crown Ivinghoe has made it back into the Good Beer Guide.

This is a treendous achievement, just over two years after the pub reopened.

Now in its 39th year, the Good Beer Guide carries details of more than 4,500 pubs across the country serving the best real ale.

"From country inns to urban style bars and backstreet boozers, all selected and reviewed by over 125,000 CAMRA members, this is your definitive guide to finding the perfect pint" notes the Independent newspaper.

Good Beer Guide 2012
Edited by Roger Protz

Published on 15 September 2011

Top Reads
What is your favourite book or author? Is Pitstone fond of murder mysteries? Does Marwsorth have a soft spot for sci-fi? Does Ivinghoe prefer biographies?

If you live in the Beacon Villages, the Friends of Ivinghoe Library want to know!

Friends of Ivinghoe Library are running a short online survey to collect suggestions from children and adults living in Ivinghoe, Pitstone, Marsworth, Edlesborough, Cheddington and the surrounding area. It will only take a few minutes and is for a good cause.

Please click on http://ivinghoelibrary.wordpress.com/topreads/ to TAKE PART now. Or paste to your http:// field on your screen.

The Friends will reveal the full list in the autumn. It will be a bit of fun, but they will also use the list to help gain publicity as the library continues its journey to become a community-run service, and your choices can be used to help make sure we are stocking the types of books you love most.

Please spare a few moments to take part now, or if you’re in a rush, bookmark the page for later.

Aylesbury Vale District Council will be providing a range of free sports sessions on Pitstone Recreation Ground between 2 and 4pm on Tuesday 2 August.

No need to book. Just turn up and join in the variety of sporting activities.

Laurie Eagling, Clerk to Pitstone parish council

Bucks TV has posted a brief highlight of the concert on Wednesday - see it here:
http://www.buckstv.co.uk/buckstv/schools/farewell_concert_brookmead_school.html

There are details on the site on how to buy the DVD.

We are delighted to announce that Pitstone has been voted runner-up in the county wide Best Kept Village competition.

There were over 50 entries this year.

A huge thank you to our litter pickers and grass/hedge cutter, and also to all the residents who help to keep our village tidy and well cared for.

Laurie Eagling
Clerk to Pitstone parish council