Agenda item

·         Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society

·         Conservation Board for the Chilterns AONB

·         Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust

·         Archaeological Officer – Buckinghamshire

·         Archaeological Officer – Milton Keynes

·         Heritage Officer- Buckinghamshire

·         Heritage Officer- Milton Keynes

·         Historic England

·         National Trust

·         Milton Keynes Heritage Association

·         Museums

·         Oxford Diocesan Advisory Committee

Members and partners provided verbal updates.

Doug Stuckey, Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society, a written update was appended to these minutes.

• The Open Day at North Marston was a useful and well attended event.
• The Autumn newsletter was available on the Bucks Archaeological Society website.
• The report from the archaeological dig at Great Linford, Milton Keynes was available with axe heads and bronze heads discovered.
• The Buckinghamshire Local History Network (BLHN) 2022 annual conference was held on Saturday 1^st October in The Oculus at The Gateway, Aylesbury. There was also a local history fair to increase the knowledge of the County’s heritage. There were two Bucks Archaeological Society prizes presented.
• The records of Buckinghamshire volume 62 had been published online with volume 63 available soon. 
• The society had 390 members, with lectures held online via zoom these enabled members who had moved away from the area continued to support the society.

Mike Woods, Bucks Conservation Trust.

• Maps and information on Quarrendon Leas was circulated to members of the forum. The site was 200 acres located in the North of Aylesbury.
• The Bucks Conservation Trust and Buckinghamshire Council 1.8km cycleway project was underway.
• The archaeological evaluation was completed.
• The footpath and permissive cycleway was subject to a ten-year agreement between the Council and Trust. Buckinghamshire Council were assisting with the acquisition of the land to the east of the site to enable the cycle paths to link from east to west.
• Work started on the site after the bank holiday with projects agreed with Historic England. The central area of the remains of St Peters would be levelled out to make the area easier to manage and reduce flood risk.
• The new cycleway and greenways were under consultation with other groups. The first route would link up with the national cycle route to Winslow.
• It was highlighted Quarrendon Leas was previously a hidden asset however, due to the new routes the area was being used by school children, cyclists and people with pushchairs.
• In 2017 a masterplan was produced to restore Aylesbury as a garden town by producing greenway around the town over a 30-year period.

Phil Markham, Senior Archaeology Officer, Buckinghamshire Council presented a report appended to these minutes.

• The team were busy with HS2 reports with often a short turnaround time. There were Schedule 17 applications which required approval. These were not planning applications but part of the HS2 Act which required the local authority planning team to feedback on road layout, designs and any heritage implications of construction work.
• There was one Schedule 17 application which had been approved with the decision appealed by HS2.
• The fieldwork was nearly complete with final areas to be complete by contractors. The final field arch would be completed by 2024. Due to difficulties the Grim’s Ditch fieldwork would likely be completed by 2026.
• The team were busy providing advice on multiple applications including solar farms, woodland surveys and residential queries. The team were assisting with enquires for the Historic Environment Record (HER), Countryside Stewardship Scheme and local heritage list.
• The team had undertaken a number of outreach and partnership activities including Buckinghamshire Council Archaeology Day and Bucks County Show.
• Buckinghamshire History Festival (organised by Buckinghamshire Archives) was taking place throughout November further information available at: https://histfestbucks.co.uk/

Robert Excel, Milton Keynes Heritage Association.

• The Heritage Open Day consisted of over 200 events across ten days. The events were very well attended with figures suggesting a better attendance than last year.
• The association had over 70 members however, it was noted the longer term effects of covid19 had resulted in a reluctance to participate in events particularly by the older generation.

Sam Mason, Discover Bucks Museum, Aylesbury.

• The Picasso exhibition in April was not as well attended as hoped however, visitor numbers to the museum were increasing steadily.
• The Summer Science exhibition held from July to September was very well attended and enjoyed particularly by school children.
• The Beautiful Bucks exhibition was currently on show and would run until 5^th November. The exhibition showcased paintings of Buckinghamshire from local artist Brian Bennett who sadly passed away recently.
•  The next exhibition running from November to next year would be Your Amazing Brain. This was currently on display at Banbury Museum with input from Oxford university neurology department.

Cllr Clive Harriss, Buckinghamshire Council highlighted discussions were ongoing with HS2 to try and mitigate the effects of construction work.

Cllr Rachael Matthews, Buckinghamshire Council advised she was the Deputy Cabinet Member for Town Centre Regeneration. Aylesbury had been identified for regeneration and improvement with the aim of driving more business into the town.