Meeting documents

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transportation advised that over 150 emergency calls were received on 9 February 2020 in relation to blocked highways. Transport for Buckinghamshire (TFB) teams had worked throughout the day and night to respond to emergency calls and clear the roads.  Thanks were given to the team for all their hard work during this time. Mr Shaw highlighted the work carried out to clear old and diseased trees in the last year, which meant that the majority of the calls were from private properties as opposed to County Council land. The teams would continue to work until the roads were cleared.

Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Public Health highlighted the guidance from Public Health in relation to the corona virus outbreak.To date there had been 40,561 cases worldwide, 910 deaths and four cases in the UK. In terms of the national picture, Public Health England had taken a lead, liaising with the World Health Organisation and NHS organisations.  Public Health England would be updating their website daily at 2pm.  Public Health England Website

Members of the public were encouraged to act appropriately and proportionately in regards to the treatment of Asian and Chinese citizens residing in the UK.

Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment highlighted that all four Country Parks were closed on 9 February 2020 and would remain closed whilst assessments were carried out.  Updates regarding the ongoing closures were on the Country Parks Website.

Generally visitors had been complying with the closure notices.  As a result, there were no reported injuries from Storm Ciara, to staff or visitors. The current situation at the time of the meeting was that both Black Park and Langley Park had been surveyed.  One section of Black Park Lakeside would be closed to the public for the foreseeable future due to a fallen tree and infrastructure damage.  Diversions would be put in place and it was asked that members of the public to heed any diversions or advice from Rangers on site.  At Langley Park, Jubilee Play Area would remain closed whilst fallen branches were removed and the trees assessed in the coming days.  Once the two areas had been secured, the remaining areas of both Black Park and Langley Park would be reopened to the public. Denham Country Park and Thorney Country Park had yet to be assessed and would remain closed all morning.  It was hoped that the parks would re-open that afternoon.

There had been a significant amount of media interest in the 42 skeletons found in Buckingham in December 2019. Major media outlets had picked up the story and Mr Chapple had completed a number of interviews. The service was awaiting carbon data to pinpoint the dates which would take several months. Once the information was known it would be shared publicly. There had been speculation that the skeletons were from the Saxon era.

The Aylesbury Garden Town Master Plan was currently out for consultation and was due to close on Friday 14 February 2020.  Members of the public were encouraged to participate.