Buckden - a Huntingdonshire Village

THE PARISH COUNCIL: A HISTORY OF THE GOVERNANCE OF BUCKDEN VILLAGE 164 guidance issued to local authorities the year before, instructing them to start ARP planning—but not to spend more than the bare minimum of ratepayers' money on it. One of Buckden’s parish councillors, Surgeon Commander Arthur Bell, would no doubt have grumbled about such a cheeseparing attitude: he was already hard at work as the county’s chief ARP officer, and in 1938 and 1939 was Hon. Sec of a national body, the Association of Air Raid Precaution Officers. There is no mention in the council minutes of the Second World War until February 1941, when fire- watchers were appointed and a list of other civil defence duties was recorded. There were also complaints about damage caused by a ‘small refugee’. In August, a Buckden and Diddington Parish Invasion Committee was formed to co-ordinate all aspects of civil defence in case of an enemy invasion. The minutes record that exercises were carried out ‘to be a solemn test of the invasion arrangements’. Reserve food supplies were delivered and stored in the village, with councillors organising delivery plans. In 1943 there was a large and heated public meeting, which aired obvious disquiet about the number of people (especially male) who were not making enough effort towards the war. The minutes record a concern about ‘moral laxity’ especially among the young people. As at the end of the First World War, discussions started on how to provide suitable housing for returning servicemen. By 1948, thirty houses had been built in Lincoln Close. Notwithstanding the war, the council still found time to complain about the inadequate bus service with Huntingdon and the poor mail delivery. As a footnote to war preparations, it is interesting to note that in 1951 the council was still discussing the need for civil defence and plans for the accommodation of evacuees—this time, of course, in the context of the Cold War, which was going through one of its hotting up phases, the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. In January 1952, the council called a special public meeting to discuss ‘Londoners for Huntingdonshire’. This was a London County Council suggestion that Londoners should be re-housed in Huntingdonshire over a period of twenty years. The plan was not approved. The meeting concluded that it would not be good to put city dwellers into a rural county and that ‘Foreigners in London should be repatriated and emigration to the colonies should be considered.’ Throughout the 1950s there were recorded complaints about speed of traffic through the village and parking on the Great North Road (of which the village High Street was then still part). Rumours of a proposed Buckden bypass were rife. At a public meeting in 1957 the council unanimously agreed to appeal against a plan to build the bypass close to the village, its current course, because the accident black spots to the north and south of the village would still exist and it would cut the village in two. The council proposed a route from Diddington Hill to just south of Brampton Hut thus avoiding the village completely. In the event the Minister responsible decided that there was no point in holding an enquiry because seven councillors and thirty-nine villagers had written to him in favour of the route close to the village. At the next meeting of the parish council the chairman reminded councillors of their corporate responsibility and resigned! Villagers had always been welcome to attend council meetings as observers and were on occasions allowed to speak. There had also long been the opportunity for the council chairman or a group of electors to call a parish assembly to discuss matters of concern to the community, but it was not until the early 1960s that it was decided that one should be convened annually, at which the council and village charities reported their activities and the public had the opportunity to question, complain and suggest ideas for the future of the village. There had also always been the opportunity for women to be elected on to parish councils, but again it was not until the 1960s that Buckden elected its first female councillor. In 1956 the council initiated discussion about the War Memorial Playing Fields and the possible purchase of the Great Vineyards. In 1960 the deeds of the Memorial Playing Fields were handed over to the parish council as Custodian Trustees. In May 1967 a public meeting agreed that a new village hall should be built to replace the rifle range hall in Church Street. At the 1971 Parish Assembly, which was attended by over 200 people, the council agreed to give £10,000 towards the building of the new hall. This came into use in January 1975, under the management of the Village Hall Trust (VHT); a club was also opened to all members of the village for an annual subscription of 50p. At the preceding annual meeting of the VHT the only people present were the committee. The council and the VHT agreed to work closely together and it was decided to re-establish Feast Week. The council also instigated work on the clearance of the Valley area. During this period the council also made grants to the tennis and bowls clubs to enable them to build their own facilities. In 1975 the council first discussed the possible provision of an office for the clerk, an ambition not realised until 2006. Throughout the 1970s there were constant fears expressed about the speed of traffic on