The King’s Speech
This is the way that a government sets out its priority policies and the legislation it intends to bring forward to support them. This King’s Speech contained no less than 40 proposed new Acts of Parliament. These covered a wide range of different public policy areas that impact us all nationally, and many of which will have specific implications for Buckinghamshire too.
New Bills cover proposals from major policies on economic growth, planning reform and devolution to buses and schools. There are proposals to limit landlords’ ability to evict tenants. Given the large number of rented properties in Buckinghamshire, that will be significant. There is a Children’s Wellbeing Bill that provides for breakfast clubs in all schools. We will need to see how that will operate and who will pay for the additional costs involved. There will be a new schools’ curriculum which must be taught in all state schools. Well publicised during the election, there will be VAT levied on all independent schools. You can read the full detail of what is being put forward by going onto the Government’s website.
Planning Reform
I wanted to highlight the area of policy that I believe will have the greatest impact on our area, particularly where planning and development is concerned.
The speech included confirmation that the Government will bring forward a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
We don’t have all the detail yet but from what Ministers have said there appear to be two key aspects to this new Bill which will have major impacts on Buckinghamshire.
Firstly, the reimposition of ‘top down’ housing targets. This is for the number of houses actually built, not granted permission. Councils do not build houses, that is done by private house builders and some social housing providers. We do not know the actual size of these targets yet but, given the overall target of 1.5 million during the rest of this Parliament, we anticipate they will be very large. Councils will have to allocate enough land to allow for all this target, and more, to give scope for the rate at which the houses are actually built. The role of local councils and local people in deciding where these houses are built is also likely to be substantially reduced. Of course, the houses will require appropriate infrastructure such as roads, schools, doctors’ surgeries, energy, water and waste water, digital networks etc. However, it is unclear how all of these will be funded and built in the timescales. Also how does this fit with existing approved Local Plans?
The second key aspect is the move by government to have local councils reallocate much of the Green Belt, a so called ‘Grey Belt’. There is no definition of what constitutes ‘Grey Belt’. Currently about a third of Buckinghamshire is Green Belt and much of this is also in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). At present the law gives protected status to land designated as Green Belt. The Green Belt was designed to preserve in perpetuity the beauty and openness of the countryside and prevent towns and villages merging. Importantly the Green Belt is about ‘openness’, not about being parkland. It is current council policy to protect and maintain the Green Belt whenever possible, although we accept that there will always be exceptional circumstances where Green Belt can be released. It will have to be seen how Green Belt release will be required and what role will be given to councils in this process or whether developers will be able to take the initiative.
Economic growth
There is also a clear focus on economic growth through the new Bills being put forward which of course, we recognise is much needed on a national level and an important focus locally too in supporting and building our local economy and securing a bright future for Buckinghamshire and future generations here. We are currently refreshing our strong local growth plan that has been developed through the Buckinghamshire Growth Board. This outlines how our county can make a significant contribution to the UK economy as a whole through our local industries and local plans.
Devolution
We welcome further confirmation on the intent to progress the devolution agenda too. I was written to by the new Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner last week and look forward to further discussions about how devolved powers will work here after having a devolution deal for Buckinghamshire announced by the last government.
Tackling the litter louts
Onto other priority areas for our residents and I’m really pleased that I can now confirm we have adopted a bold new policy to tackle littering head on – including introducing much higher penalties, which are due to come into force this week.
We’re not shying away from this; we want people to sit up and take notice, so we are launching an attention grabbing new anti-littering campaign called ‘For Bucks Sake’. We will also be issuing penalties of £500 for people who are caught littering.
Like you, I am fed up and disappointed by the sheer amount of litter that I see blighting our beautiful county and disrupting nature, especially on roadside verges. It’s the same stuff – empty drink cans, cigarette and vape packets, fast food wrapping, plastic bottles and containers, and it’s getting worse and worse. I cannot believe that some people think it’s OK to chuck their rubbish from a vehicle, yet many people seem to be doing this – and think they can get away with it.
Not anymore.
We are among the first councils to use these new powers of higher fines – and a quicker route to catching and punishing the culprits. We are also using a powerful new weapon in our armoury – dashcam footage. We will be leading the way on this by directly appealing to people to send us any footage they might have of littering – captured in a way that is of course, safe and legal.
We are inviting people to upload footage and photos to our new webpage if their dashcam has captured someone in a vehicle chucking litter out of the window. With car registration details, this will provide us with the evidence we need to trace and fine the culprit. The new policy will also allow us in the coming months to prosecute through the civil process meaning it will be the vehicle owner who will be liable, whether they threw the litter or not – this should encourage drivers to ensure their passengers do the right thing, and hopefully encourage passengers not to risk the driver being given a penalty for littering!
I hope that the new approach and penalties will prove a powerful deterrent.
Have your say
I wanted to draw your attention to some important consultations we have at the moment that we want to invite you to comment on to ensure you are a part of shaping these policies. Of particular note, we are proposing some changes to our library service, including introducing longer opening hours, and extending some self-service aspects, whilst retaining face to face contacts during core hours. We are also currently consulting on our Housing Allocations Policy for social housing tenants and our draft Air Quality Action Plan.
These are really important council services and policies to many of you, so please do visit our ‘Your Voice Bucks’ webpage to comment and be involved in the decision-making process.
Summer break
We have reached the end of another school year and the start, for many, of the summer break. I’m sure many of you have holidays planned, whether at home or abroad, and I hope you can also make the most of the array of wonderful walks, events and attractions we have on our doorstep here in Buckinghamshire.
We have many low-cost and free activities and events on the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service website so I urge you to take a look if you want ideas on keeping children – and adults alike – entertained! There are also full details of how to access all aspects of family support and advice on these webpages if you need it.
I also wanted to affirm our continued support for local families over the summer too. We know juggling finances over the summer months can be tricky. We are running our Holiday Activities and Food programme across the summer for families who get benefits-related free school meals, so those children have access to free childcare and a healthy meal all provided within the scheme. We have also issued £50 food vouchers to eligible families too, to help with food costs over the summer. I remain very conscious that for many households the cost of living still presents a significant challenge and I hope this support makes a difference.
Well done to schools and students
I also want to thank all school staff and school leaders for their hard work over the last academic year and wish all the very best to students, particularly those awaiting exam results in the coming weeks. I’m really proud of the achievements of all of our schools that we celebrated in our recent School Awards. We have a higher level of children and young people attending good and outstanding schools than the national average and this is testament to everyone involved, families, students and the tireless efforts of teachers and all who work in schools. I hope you can enjoy a well-earned break in the coming weeks.
Proud of Bucks!
Last, but not least; nominations are now open for our annual ‘Proud of Bucks’ awards. Is there someone who you think is a community hero worthy of more recognition? These awards, being run through our sixteen Community Boards, aim to shine a light on the incredible contributions of the unsung heroes in our communities across the county so please take a look how to make a nomination if you have someone in mind!
I hope you have a great summer and that we can finally see the back of the rain!
Stay safe and well,
Ashford Borough Council
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