4
Launch of our Village Plan
The Annual Parish Meeting, which took place on 17
th
June 2014, saw the formal launch of the Village Plan for
Buckden and Stirtloe. The Village Plan has been the work of the independent Village Plan Steering Group and
was formally adopted by the Parish Council at our March meeting. The action plan section of the Village Plan will
be invaluable to the Parish Council and, we hope, to other organisations when making decisions in the future. We
would like to thank all members of the Village Plan Steering Group for their hard work and tenacity in producing
such a useful document.
You may access the Village Plan on either the Parish Council or Roundabout websites at:
www.buckdenparishcouncil.org.uk
or
www.buckdenroundabout.info
For residents who prefer a paper copy, these are available from the Parish Clerk at the Village Hall or from the
library.
Offord Railway Crossing
At the Parish Council meeting on 8
th
July, we received a presentation from the consultants who are carrying out a
feasibility study for Network Rail on the future of the level crossing at Offord. By the time that you read this article,
you may well have visited the exhibition at The Offords that gave more specific detail than the representative was
able to give at the PC meeting. However, for those who did not attend the Offord exhibition, we are able to report
the following information given on 8
th
July:
The consultants are carrying out a feasibility study and will report back to Network Rail. The study will ex-
amine all the level crossings between King’s Cross and Doncaster with a view to closing as many as possi-
ble. The rationale behind the closures is to maximise the efficiency of new rolling stock and up-graded sig-
nalling that will be in place by 2019-20.
If Network Rail decide to go ahead with the closure of the existing crossing, the issue will almost certainly
be taken to a public enquiry.
A road crossing will remain open between The Offords and Buckden.
The plan is to build a bridge that
will cross the railway line only (i.e. not the river as well) just north of The Offords, swinging back to link with
the existing road over the bridges.
Pedestrians and cyclists will be catered for, possibly with a second bridge.
There will be consultation with local councils.
Buckden Parish Council will keep residents up-dated as more information becomes available.
Allotments
Do you fancy growing your own vegetables and fruit? Would you like to get some tangible return for exercising in
the fresh air? Why not think about taking on an allotment?
Our waiting list is now very small and we are accepting new names, anticipating that allotments might be available
in the near future. If you would like to put your name down, please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council, details
below.
Any questions or comments on this report can be addressed to the Parish Clerk John Chase, Clerk to Buckden
Parish Council, Buckden Village Hall, Burberry Road, Buckden PE19 5UY, Telephone (01480) 819407, Email
clerk@buckdenparishcouncil.org.uk
Do not forget our website at
www.buckdenparishcouncil.org.uk
The Parish Council will not meet in August.
If required, the
Parish Council’s Planning Committee
will meet on
Tuesday 12th and Tuesday 26th August
starting 7pm. Agendas for the meetings are posted on the Parish Council notice boards not later than the Satur-
day preceding the meeting.
