Our roads this winter

Hopefully you will have seen that we have made significant progress with our rolling £110 million four-year investment programme in our roads, with many roads resurfaced and thousands of potholes filled. However, wet and cold weather can still lead to new potholes and other defects, particularly on older surfaces and those being damaged by heavy goods vehicles. Although our roads repair programme continues, our focus over winter switches to less weather dependent work and often we need to operate a ‘make safe’ approach to road repairs during winter weather, so as not to waste precious time and resources doing substantial repairs that simply won’t last or aren’t practical on wet or frozen surfaces.

This means we will carry out many more ‘temporary repairs’ to potholes during winter; these aren’t pretty and are just that – a temporary fix to make the road safe. We then carry out more permanent repairs and improvements during the spring and summer. Our road repair programme is designed using a combination of professional technical assessment, alongside local knowledge and priority from ward councillors on behalf of their residents. So if you feel there’s an area that needs attention, please raise this through your local councillor. During the winter months our teams will also focus on keeping the roads safe in colder and icier conditions, gritting where we need to and making safe any defects that open up as well as responding to severe weather and flooding. I am hoping that this winter will be drier than the last two when the heavy and continuous rain did so much damage to our roads. Fingers firmly crossed.

The Council ‘steps in’ with Pension Credit surgeries

Following the government’s surprise decision to withdraw the Winter Fuel Payment from nearly all Buckinghamshire pensioners we are doing everything in our power to support local residents of pensionable age who could now be struggling to pay bills and buy food. . As you may well be aware, this year’s Winter Fuel Payment will now only be made to pensioners on certain benefits and who are in receipt of Pension Credit. A significant concern with this is that it’s known that nationally some 900,000 people receiving the state pension who are eligible for this benefit are not currently claiming it. This means these people, who really do rely on their Winter Fuel Payment, will not get it.

It's critical that people of pensionable age do check whether they’re eligible for Pension Credit and make an application if so. As is often the case, the application form can appear somewhat complicated, so we have organised face to face ‘surgeries’ in many of our libraries and other council buildings where expert support will be on hand to help people fill out the required form, if they would like some help or guidance. This is all completely free and confidential. Anyone who needs this support is invited to click here for more information including times and locations.

It is so important that we do not forget the service and sacrifice of all who have served and those that still serve in our Armed Forces.

Christmas appeals

This is also the time of year where we turn our attention even more closely to people in need. Of course, protecting the vulnerable is a key, year-round priority of this council and this work continues 365 days a year through our various support and care services. I do however also want to let you know of some specific news about how we are supporting our residents who need it most this Christmas.

We have just launched our new ‘Christmas Angels’ campaign, highlighting five key local charities that we hope residents, if they are in a position to do so, can consider donating to this Christmas. One of these ‘Christmas Angels’ is ‘Inspire Bucks’, set up by local Buckinghamshire Councillor Paul Irwin. They run the annual Christmas Toy appeal for local children who otherwise might not get a gift this Christmas. Year after year, I am blown away by the sheer difference this campaign makes to our local children and I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of our communities – so I urge you once again, if you are able to do so, to give to this incredibly worthy appeal. You can click here to donate.

Alongside Inspire Bucks, our other ‘Christmas Angels’ also provide very significant support to local residents. They include ‘Heart of Bucks’ currently running their ‘Together Against Poverty’ appeal supporting local people facing hardship. The One Can Trust Foodbank is based in High Wycombe and provides free weekly emergency food parcels to anyone in High Wycombe and South Bucks who finds themselves in need.

Aylesbury Vineyard Storehouse and Chiltern Foodbank also provide similar support to people in those areas too. Together, our ‘Festive Five’ make a massive difference to local people who may be facing real challenges this Christmas.

I do want to be clear too that while we have highlighted these five charities, there are many other amazing local organisations doing great work in their communities and we also include these on our Christmas Angels webpage in case you want to see how you might help and support some of these other organisations too.

Enhanced online help for adults and carers

Continuing the theme of helping and supporting people who need it most, I want to draw attention to some significant work we’ve done alongside residents using our Adult Social Care services to introduce new resources for both these residents and carers. This aims to support their independence and personal management of their care needs.

We provide assistance to more than 5,000 adults with varying degrees of support. Our new measures focus on making it easier for them to get online information and advice about their adult social care needs. It also enhances the level of online support for the many carers supporting people who need additional help. Importantly, we’ve designed these new resources alongside the people we’re supporting, so that they directly reflect what service users tell us they need.

We’ve launched our new-look Care Advice Bucks website to include content that outlines how to go through the care assessment process, how individuals can arrange and pay for their care and guidance on what home support and equipment is available, as well as some helpful health and wellbeing advice.

Alongside this, the council has also improved the online resources available to carers in Buckinghamshire, joining up for the first time with ‘Mobilise’, providers of specialist support for people who are caring for others. ‘Mobilise’ offers Buckinghamshire carers free access to online support sessions, one to one support from a dedicated carers coach and access to a network of other carers to provide invaluable support and a listening ear.

We hope this enhanced support makes it easier for people to feel more in control of their own care and support needs and that it helps our valued local carers too.

Black Park Country Park – name our new café!

Lastly, during these shorter days it’s even more important to get out into the outdoors and fresh air, and what better place to do so than a visit to one of our Country Parks. We’ve invested in new facilities at Black Park Country Park in recent times, including installing a new Changing Places toilet and a new customer building is also under construction, which will house a new café with indoor and outside seating, a food hatch for takeaway snacks and drinks and new improved toilets facilities.

We’re inviting people to take part in a competition to name this new building! The winning suggestion will be chosen by a panel of judges and the winner will be given a year’s worth of free parking at Buckinghamshire Country Parks (worth £70) and VIP entry to the grand opening event.

Enter by sending your name suggestion, along with your full name and postal address, to countryparks@buckinghamshire.gov.uk You have until Sunday 5 January 2025 to enter and the winner will be announced on Monday 27^th January 2025.

Stay well and stay safe as the nights draw in,

Yours,

Martin Tett,

Leader, Buckinghamshire Council