Being the Chairman of the Parish Council (PC) can be quite satisfying. It can also be quite frustrating, particularly when you see something that could easily be fixed but which just drags on.
While the PC does solve many problems some it appears are intractable. Parking is one of those things. Where the PC directly controls off-road parking facilities it has improved and extended them. More spaces are planned for the Witchell soon. So, it is intensely frustrating that other authorities, the big ones that control on-road parking and the Library car park seem much less engaged.
The Clerk and PC Councillors recently attended a meeting with AVDC/BCC to talk about parking. It was exactly five years since the last meeting, at which action to reline the library car park to add more bays and other improvements were offered, and in that five years nothing has been done.
The Library car park is still scruffy and poorly marked, casual commuter and school parking still clutters our streets, footpaths remain obstructed and it’s getting worse. It’s doubtful that the District and County Councils, with unitary transition on their minds, will even consider Wendover parking. I just wanted you to know that the PC is still pushing the issue with them.
At a time when concerns for the wellbeing and safety of our young people is very much in the news, it was interesting for me to attend the Wendover Youth Centre AGM. While some aspects of a Youth Club are still evident in what they offer, much of what they now do is about supporting and developing young people while teaching them to stay safe and to stay happy in a complex world. All young people in Wendover should know that there is somewhere safe and interesting for them to go to when they need it.
Tom Walsh, Chairman