Quainton.blog

High Speed Rail Link - quick update

noreply@blogger.com (FOG) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:40:00 +0000

It was lovely to see the Village Hall packed for John Bercow's visit. There was no doubt about the strength of feeling against the route chosen for the link, and plenty of questions as to whether the link was required. Many people volunteered to join the working-party which will consider our response. A full summary of the meeting, written by Jeremy Quin, can be found on the Quainton.net website (which hosts online versions of the parish magazine). The shortcut to the relevant issue (April 2010) which contains the article is here.

I left the meeting convinced that Mr Bercow was on 'our' side but I suppose that is the mark of a politician and a good public-speaker. We will watch very carefully for proof that we have not been mistaken.

On a personal footnote I do have to admit to a ... slight ... hesitant thrill at the sense of history I felt that evening. Here was the Speaker of the House of Commons, "Mother of all Parliaments", come down to his constituency to speak to 350 of us in a crowded hall and to take our response back to London and continue the debate with assorted ministers and lords of the realm.

Perhaps it is too much to mention Mr Bercow in the same breath as Gladstone, Peel, Disraeli - and certainly Churchill! - but the tradition he followed that night is one that stretches back through our history and which does include those names. We may mock our politicians but it is good to remind them, as well as us, that the institutions and traditions they serve are the pillars that do still make our country a democracy. Fleetingly that night I did have the feeling that we do still have a say in the decisions that need to be made. It is up to us to maintain that feeling. Nobody else will fight for our democracy...

High Speed Rail Link - Public Meeting 20th March Quainton

noreply@blogger.com (FOG) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:27:00 +0000

I have reviewed the Department of Transport website to see the full details of the proposed high-speed link from London to Birmingham which will go through Quainton.

The details are there but at this stage everything is just a recommendation - the plan is for public consultation in the Autumn; Government decides yes or no in 2011; then they'll fine tune the route, consult again, get laws drafted etc and finally start work by about 2019 and potentially open in 2026.

The work will cost £17 billion (though remember that these are government figures and therefore probably hopelessly unreliable).

Here are the links:

Summary of route
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd/route/keyplan.pdf

The Waddesdon segment - showing where the track crosses the A41
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd/route/map11.pdf

The Quainton segment
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd/route/map12.pdf

Questions & Answers Leaflet
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/lontobhm/pdf/leaflet.pdf

John Bercow will address a public meeting at Quainton Village Hall at 6pm on Saturday 20th March. I expect him to be against the plans.

I am sure the meeting will be packed as this issue has really caught the imagination of many of us. I'm not sure that Mr Bercow can have any answers so don't expect any - however it will be possible to give him a very public demonstration of our feelings on the subject. See you there!

High speed rail line to come through Quainton...

noreply@blogger.com (FOG) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:01:00 +0000

...or at least that's what the current plans state...

I can't believe it at the moment - almost in a state of shock. This is the link to the BBC map showing the plans.

The Government/Department of Transport is suggesting that we need a 250mph rail link between Birmingham and London, and that it should come through the Chilterns, pass south of Aylesbury, and then follow a similar route to the current steam railway line - cutting between Waddesdon and Quainton. A new bridge will be built about 100m south of the existing Station Road bridge... as well as one over Snake Lane.

I just cannot believe that we will see trains of this speed hammering past our quiet village in the next few years. And that's without the massive destruction of the countryside for all the new infrastructure that will be required... I just hope that the new government has the sense to :
(1) realise the country cannot afford it
(2) come to the conclusion that it is unnecessary after all
and
(3) spend any spare taxpayers money on improving HIGH SPEED broadband access & convincing people that the best way to do business is on the internet!

Most business meetings and discussions, and even most day to day office-based work, can far more easily be done from home these days so it is ludicrous to spend this money ripping up the countryside and destroying peaceful communities. We can add this to the massive development at Berryfields that locals don't want but which is being forced on us.

I'm angry and will write about this again when I have digested the news properly.

Quainton House to Rent - 4 bed, quiet & secluded

noreply@blogger.com (FOG) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:11:00 +0000

Hi. Just wanted to let you know that a friend of ours will be renting out his house in Quainton from the beginning of May. It's a modern 4 bedroom detached house in a very quiet, secluded part of the village. There is no agent involved so ideally this would go to a local family.

As well as the 4 bedrooms there is a lounge, dining room, study, kitchen/breakfast room, conservatory & double garage. The garden is also very private! The monthly rent will be £1200. Call 01296 651886 for more details.

Pleae feel free to pass this information on to friends - we won't deal with agencies so will keep all contact private and confidential.

Cheers ;- )

Bin collection and email list

noreply@blogger.com (FOG) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:32:00 +0000

*Message from Quainton Parish Council*

Once again due to the bad weather our bin collection was cancelled on Wednesday 13th Jan. The next scheduled collection is next Tuesday (19th). This will be for household waste and recyclable plastic, cans and paper. In the meantime please ensure that your rubbish is not causing an obstruction on the public footpath.

Apologies if you are getting these messages more than once - Councillors are working from their personal email address books so there will obviously be duplications.

There was a very positive response to our efforts to inform the village of the situation by email following the first cancellation so at our meeting last night it was decided to set up a bank of email addresses for those residents who would like to receive emails of this kind in future. It will NOT be a database - the only information held will be your email address and the emails will be sent as 'blind copies'. Also, emails will only be sent for urgent information, it will not be used for general items which are published in Quainton News and on the web site.If you wish to receive these messages please send your email address to the Parish Council (quainton.pc49@btinternet.com).

Thank you

Sheila

Welcome to Quainton!

noreply@blogger.com (FOG) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:03:00 +0000

Welcome to the new Quainton blog! This will be an occasional update on news and views from Quainton and beyond.

Quainton is a wonderful village nestled in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Oxford University and the city of dreaming spires is to the west; shopping paradise and growing city Milton Keynes is to the north; and Waddesdon Manor, one of the jewels of the National Trust and the Rothschild family, is just 3 miles south.

For further information on the village and community of Quainton see our sister websites : http://www.quainton.net/ for social updates and http://www.quainton.biz/ for business news.

Do let us know if you have any questions for us, and, once again, welcome to Quainton.