Buckden - a Huntingdonshire Village

THE PARISH COUNCIL: A HISTORY OF THE GOVERNANCE OF BUCKDEN VILLAGE 165 the A1, the dangers of the crossings in the centre reservation, and the risk of accidents at the Brampton Road and Perry Road junctions on the A1. The year 1979 saw the first employment of a village handyman; up until then jobs had been completed by volunteers or contractors. The council agreed to support the newly formed drama group and the proposed new parish magazine, The Buckden Roundabout , whose first issue appeared in September 1979. In 1981 the council opposed plans to move Buckden out of Huntingdonshire. As one councillor put it ‘From the tenth century when King Athelstan formed the shires of Mercia, Buckden has been part of the Shire of Huntingdon ...’. In spite of the council’s opposition and a petition signed by over 1000 villagers, Buckden was moved for electoral purposes into the new parliamentary constituency of South West Cambridgeshire. The constituency was abolished in 1997 and Buckden resumed its place in Huntingdonshire. The problems of satisfying the needs of the young people of the village, especially teenagers, had often been discussed at council meetings and at the 1984 Parish Assembly the discussion topic was ‘Isn’t it Time that Youngsters had their Own Place?’ Twelve young people attended the meeting and the names of seventy-five of the village’s three hundred teenagers between eleven and eighteen had been gathered. It was agreed that money should be set aside and the VHT co-opted to work with the young people. The best intentions gae oft astray, and in spite of various abortive attempts by the council, the VHT and individuals the problem still exists. Many councils have some form of regalia, a chairman’s chain for example. This was discussed in 1985— and rejected. Also in that year the council supported the formation of a village playgroup and opposed the suggestion that there should be a dispensing chemist in the village. In 1986 the council again rejected the idea of a chemist, and started the competition for a cup for the best allotment. The following year was the last to date in which a ballot was held to elect a parish councillor. Since that date there has been no need for a ballot, because the number of candidates has never exceeded the council places available. The late 1980s also saw the council fight plans for the further extension of gravel workings in the Ouse Valley adjacent to Buckden Mill. At a Public Inquiry the council’s representatives convinced the presiding Inspector that enough was enough and the diggings were restricted to their current size. The council also successfully lobbied for ‘low level’ reclamation for the gravel pits to the south of Mill Road. Another battle fought by the council but this time with less success was to limit the development of the Marina site. The 1980s closed with a council decision to provide the VHT with further funds to provide for repairs and refurbishment to the hall. The final decade of the twentieth century proved a busy one for the council. Throughout the period it had the same chairman, which provided continuity and stability—although it also led to the decision in 2001 that chairmen should serve for a maximum period of three years! The first major decision was the sale of the old Mayfield/Lucks Lane rubbish tip site to the village doctors, which enabled them to build the present magnificent surgery. The money received was reserved for future village developments. In the same year the council successfully persuaded Huntingdonshire District Council to build houses and bungalows behind Smiths Drive, as low-cost and rented housing. At a stroke this emptied the Buckden waiting list for rented housing. The council successfully fought against proposals to extend the village boundaries. In 1991 the council published the first definitive booklet on the footpaths in and around Buckden, and in the same pioneering spirit followed it up in 1999 by publishing an environmental plan for the village. More renovation work was carried out in the Valley, and swans nested on the lake for the first time. After many years of argument and persuasion the council finally persuaded Cambridgeshire County Council that there should be a properly constructed slip road from the Brampton Road to Silver Street. In 1995 permission was obtained for ‘Historic Buckden’ signs to be erected on the A1 and in the same year an extension to the cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Huntingdon. The year was also marked by a public meeting to protest successfully against the potential closure of Buckden’s branch of the County Library. Perhaps one of the most far-reaching decisions made by the council was taken in 1997, when it agreed with the VHT to embark on an ambitious plan to rebuild the village hall, which was now showing its age, needed urgent repairs and was unable to meet the needs of the village. A joint committee was set up and plans were prepared. A well-attended public meeting supported the ideas and a village referendum backed both the plans and method of funding. The total cost of over £700,000 was met by a Lottery Millennium Grant, grants from the county and district councils, WREN 1 , and generous donations from individuals and 1 Waste Recycling Environmental Limited, a not-for-profit business that helps benefit the lives of people who live close to landfill sites by awarding grants for environmental, heritage and community projects.