More about Chris Peeler

Who am I voting for?

Chris has lived in Wendover with his wife Mary since their arrival 36 years ago. He says that it is an ideal place to bring up a family and he wants to keep Wendover that way. He studied agriculture at university and worked for the National Farmers Union in London for 26 years.

Chris has been very active in the life of the village. He stood twice as a Liberal Democrat candidate in the local elections and was on the Parish Council for six years (until 2007).

Within the village, he has taken a particular interest in road safety and the encouragement of cycling. He played a strong part in the provision of the extension of the cycle route along the Aylesbury Road as well as the installation of cycle racks in the centre of the village, the extra step outside Stars (it is part of the Manor Waste and thus on parish land) and the improvement of the cycle path linking Lionel Avenue with Dobbins Lane.

Chris is also an active member of the Safer Routes to School group for Wendover Junior School, where he also was a governor. Another of his major interests is the “Get Wendover Cycling” group. He feels strongly that improving the facilities for cyclists. pedestrians and users of mobility scooters would be of immense benefit to Wendover and Halton villages that currently are suffering severely from traffic congestion and parking problems.

He is a member of the local Wildlife Trust and has a large garden with “wildlife corners”. The garden has been open to the public to raise funds for both the local wildlife trust and the Ian Rennie Hospice.

Chris is a keen bridge player and is the secretary of Wendover Bridge Club which meets at the cricket pavilion. The club provides substantial financial support to Wendover Cricket Club and contributes significantly to the social life of the village.

What is Chris’s position on the main issues facing Wendover and Halton today?

• Princess Mary Hospital Development Site – 400 units will put a severe strain on the local infrastructure. Good cycling routes to the centre of both Wendover and Halton villages and to the schools are essential. This will help to relieve potential congestion and the demand for parking.
• Wendover Junior school refurbishment and expansion – the plans for the works at the school were withdrawn at the last minute. Chris believes that the Princess Mary Gate development presents a case for urgent review of the improvements to the schools.
• Parish Council – Chris is a strong supporter of the Parish Council which has achieved a great deal for village – for example, the renovation of Hampden Pond, the flower meadow, the establishment of the monthly farmers’ market and the installation of cycle racks in the centre of the village.
• Land in Back Street – Chris has strongly supported the Parish Council throughout this dispute – the Parish Council has simply been doing its job in defending the interests of Wendover residents in a proper and legal manner. It is vital that the Parish Council and the Parish Clerk should receive the support that they deserve from all sections of the Wendover community.
• Aylesbury Growth consultation – the final decision on the increase in housing must be accompanied by a corresponding improvement in the infrastructure and by the provision of adequate local employment opportunities.
• Parking consultation this is long overdue. Our district and county councils have been “considering” the parking problem in Wendover for many years but without any tangible results. It is high time that effective action is taken not only to improve the parking situation in the village centre but to confront the problems elsewhere, for example, in residential areas near the schools and the railway station.
• Public Transport – Chris will be in favour of the project linking Aylesbury to Oxford and Milton Keynes by rail. However, he finds it more important that a frequent bus link will join Halton and Wendover to Aylesbury and the Wendover Train Station and the Tring train station.
• Halton Shooting Range – Chris supports the reasonable request of the residents of Halton to construct a noise muffling structure.

What will Chris aim to improve?

The current economic crunch has brought to the fore the issue of employment. However, our vale has been haemorrhaging jobs under the Conservative administration for more than a decade (yes, also in the years of plenty). This means more people must commute out of the county and our children will move to live where there is work. It is in the hands of the County Council to attract back employers through the clever setting of business taxes, allocation of business parks and fast tracking information technology infrastructure and encouraging High Tech companies to base their activities in the Vale.

If elected, a major goal for Chris would be the improvement of road safety within Wendover and the encouragement of alternative modes of transport to reduce traffic congestion and parking problems. Much still needs to be done to improve facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and users of mobility scooters (for example, a pelican crossing at Ashbrook recreation ground).

The pavement along part of the Ellesborough Road is disintegrating and a general resurfacing of Dobbins Lane is long overdue. The Conservative County Council, however, have no plans or intentions whatsoever to do anything about these problems. Chris would exert maximum pressure on the County Council to ensure that this and other necessary work is done without delay.

In continuation of Chris’ efforts to improve accessibility to facilities (e;g; the extra step and rail to Stars on the Manor Waste), he will investigate alternative ways of scrossing the rails at the Wendover train station. There are many who shun the trains due to the prospect of using the footbridge.

In the vicinity of the railway station, the schools and the village centre, car parking is causing severe problems to local residents. There is no easy answer to these problems but Chris would work closely with residents to devise parking schemes that provide the most acceptable solution. We have had these problems for many years but, so far, there have been no satisfactory proposals.

Chris has noticed that visible policing in Wendover has been on the decline. Last year the number of Community police officers was reduced from two to one (not to mention that ten years ago the Wendover Station housed more than a handful of officers). Clearly this is because our villages are considered a low crime zone. However, we have reached the critical point where the thinly spread police resources pose an invitation for criminals, trouble makers and vandals. Chris would work closely with the Parish Council in supporting our local police force.

Chris would strive hard to ensure that there is adequate funding for Wendover schools. In particular, he would press for the restoration of the funding for Wendover Junior School so that the necessary refurbishment and extension can be accomplished.

Chris values highly the historic centre of Wendover. He would support strongly any measures needed to preserve it. It is important that the present practice of keeping the street furniture black should be maintained and he would press for the replacement of the grey bollards in Pound Street with black ones.

Strategic Voting Information?
In the last county council elections the results were very close. Had people voted more “tactically”,away Chris might well have been elected. Chris is a local man, who has a clear grasp of local issues and has already shown that he can get things done. If you agree with Chris’s programme for action, please show your support for him at the ballot box.
The 2005 County elections results

How do I contact you?
Call Chris on 01296 624 089
Send a letter to the Liberal Democrats Freepost, 7 Barrie Close Aylesbury, HP19 8BR

Where may I find more information?
www.libdems.org.uk - find out more about the Lib Dems.
www.aylesburylibdems.co.uk - A brand new website for the local party
www.southcentrallibdems.org.uk - South Central Region Liberal Democrats
www.libdemblogs.co.uk shows you the huge number of personal blogs written by Liberal Democrats all over Britain.

This is not an official Lib Dem blog/publication. All that is written here is only my opinion. To be of the safe side: 'Published and promoted by Eli Kling who is a member of Aylesbury Liberal Democrats at Reform House, 6 Castle Street, Aylesbury Bucks, HP20 2RE'. Eli lives in 10 Manor Road, Wendover, HP22 6HQ.





Picture

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

How will the Clock Tower junction cope with the extra traffic from the Princess Mary Gate? It is time to start planning now and not be surprised when the new residents get their keys.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

Chris strongly supported the previous Parish Council, the current council and the Parish clerk over the “Back Street” issue. As county councillor, Chris would continue to give strong support and under his leadership this issue, which has been so damaging to village life, will be brought to a final and proper conclusion as speedily as possible.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

It took three years to get this step and rail. The next accessibility issue to be tackled is the crossing of the rails at the Wendover Train Station.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

The tarmacing of the green verges up to the trunks of the trees is nothing less than a disgrace. Chris would ensure that any future such work in Wendover is properly authorised and supervised. Rectification of this debacle is urgent but nothing so far has been done – neither have we been given any date for the work.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

Further shoddy work in Dobbins Lane. The quality of the patching after the installation of a pipe is very poor and endangers cyclists. Furthermore the County Council has no intention of rectifying this in the foreseeable future.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

In the conservation area, street furniture should be black. These Gray Bollards are yet another example of defective & insensitive work by the County Council.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

Small changes such as markings and a dropped kerb in the right place have greatly improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

There were an approved plan and a budget but the promised Toucan crossing was not installed. We were never given an adequate explanation of this and we are still waiting to hear when this work will be done.

From Chris Peeler - Amature Photos

Princess Mary Gate (or is it Wendover Hights): We never wanted this development in Wendover but our Conservative district and county councils were totally ineffective in preventing it.

2009 Bucks County Council Elections – It’s a Two Horse Race in Wendover & Halton

Yesterday the candidate list for the Buckinghamshire County Council Elections 2009 (4th of June) was closed with the following entrees for Wendover & Halton:

• Peeler Christopher Henry Liberal Democrat
• Clayton Marion Patricia The Conservative Party Candidate
• Lesingham William John UK Independence Party
• Pile Robert Leroy Cuthbert The Labour Party Candidate

I have no Idea who the UKIP and Labour candidates are. I’ll be happy if someone enlightened me as to their contribution to our village life. Mr. Pile stood four years ago and pulled 458 votes.

So are we back to square one? Same candidates, same results? Four years ago Chris would have been elected had people not wasted their vote on Labour and effectively electing the conservatives. Early indications suggest that the Tories cannot fool all of us all the time. Marion has been doing our work for us. The general mood is that she had her chance and she blew it big time. More over, people have been taking note of the things Chris has managed to do for the village through long, up hill campaigns.
It is clear the Conservatives are desperate. Take for example the amusing letter Marion published in the last Wendover news. Did you spot the spin? She is trying to take ownership for an issue that is a pure AVDC matter and her much more able colleagues are looking into. Remember their election pamphlets of previous years? I dug up one from four years ago where they said they will do something about the parking. Did they? And more importantly, originally the parking consultation was scheduled for January this year. Suddenly it is to be held after the elections. What nasty, unpalatable bitter pill are they planning to shove down our thought?


OK, you will not vote for Marion. What can I tell you about Chris? Chris has lived in Wendover with his wife Mary for 36 years and was a Parish Council for six years. He is a member of the local Wildlife Trust and has a large garden with “wildlife corners”. The garden has been open to the public to raise funds for both the local wildlife trust and the Ian Rennie Hospice. He is also a keen bridge player and is the secretary of Wendover Bridge Club which meets at the cricket pavilion and provides financial support to the cricket club. Chris is also an active member of the Safer Routes to School group for Wendover Junior School, where he also was a governor. Another of major interest is the “Get Wendover Cycling” group.

His latest achievements are the step and rail on the Manor Waste in the entrance to Stars, the cycle path along Aylesbury Road and cycle and pedestrian provisions at the corner between Dobbins Lane and Lionel Avenue. It is time for change! She who only can find excuses why things cannot be done should be replaced with Chris who has proved he can get things done.

Vote Chris Peeler, Liberal Democrats

New, Relocated Bicycle parking at the Wendover Train Station

Today the new Cycle shelter was installed. I watched the work with mixed feelings. On the positive note the new parking is sheltered and it is positioned in direct line of site of the guard. My joy is shadowed by the downsizing of the available parking space. The new shelter accommodates only 10 bicycles where the one it is replacing was almost double. This morning I counted 12 pairs parked haphazardly. My hope is that in the future we will manage to get another cycle shelter; maybe on the platform. For the time being, I suppose we might also use the new motorbike shelter. I also lament the loss of the green patch opposite the station to more tarmac – I hope they will find a way to bring back some colour to the station front. Hopefully not of the machine-washable kind.





12 bikes overflow








This was the old facility: 8 double stations

MS Centre at Princess Mary Gate – planning application revised

The AVDC planning website application now presents the revised application for the MS centre at the Princess Mary Gate development (09/00532/APP). The revision requests doubling the size of the original planed centre to accommodate for a Hydrotherapy pool and provide more space. If I read the planes correctly the location has been moved around so now the parking will not be in contention with neighbours. All in all it seems to be a much better solution than the original one. I wonder what other changes to the original plan are being considered?

Changes to Cycle Parking at Wendover Train Station

I just got a call from a distressed friend. She left her bicycle at the Wendover train station tied to the racks near the guard’s hut. When she returned form Aylesbury she found all the racks were uprooted and the bicycles leaning on the fence. Naturally I rushed over with a camera and had a chat with the Forman – Dave. According to him a sign informing of the planned work was hung last Friday. However, both my friend and the guard insist there was no sigh this morning. The half dozen bicycles I saw leaning on the fence attest to that. Moreover, the guard was clearly uninformed as he did not warn anybody not to secure their bicycle there. Most worrying is the fact that station staff are not sure what are the plans. Dave told me that there will be a new covered cycle rake installed by the southern fence (near the entrance to the car park, in full view of the guard). He believed it would be installed in a couple of weeks.

Questions:

• Wouldn’t it have been wiser to first install the new cycle racks before taking the old away, especially when the cycling season has begun?
• Why take away the old ones in the first place. They would be replaced by only one or two more car spaces where there is a constant shortage of cycle parking?
• How many new stands are there going to be?
  
• What other works are going to take place. Are we about to see the long campaigned-for improvement in accessibility? (i.e. lifts)
• What did our Parish Council have to say about these plans?
• What was the contribution of our AVDC and BCC councillors to the plans and making the public aware of their existence?

Is this where the new stands are going the be? How many?

Green Ducks in the Wendover Arm Canal

These foreigners appeared here about three weeks ago and have been welcomed by the local population of ducks. I personally think they should pay £50 towards the extra burden they are putting on the scarce resources.

By the Way, anybody know their scientific name?

Divide and Concor

I would like to doff my hat to the conservative local government for the brilliant Teflon distraction of public opinion. Who now remembers the complaints about their poor handling of the previous consultation? It is naive to believe that public opinion was the only reason the consultation was repeated at great expense. Our elected councilors did not do their homework and arrogantly thought they could wing the test.
When l read the second consultation paper I was angry: it was biased towards the eastern option; it did not include any real information to support their assertions; I did not understand why all alternative options were not properly examined; and I could not comprehend why the southern arc was included although it was rejected by the public and found faulty. Intentionally or not, the way the consultation was presented has divided the residents into sectarian geographical factions instead of being united in scrutinizing the conduct of a through and competent planning process. Thank you AVDC for the lesson in cynical diversion of attention from the mismanagement.

Direction of Housing Growth at Aylesbury December 2008

View Larger Map

Now that I have read the consultation document, listened to a presentation at the Local Area Forum and let it all sink in, I am clear on two points: 1. The major decisions have been made for us and we are only consulted on the trifles; 2. There is no real ambitious vision for the vale.

This consultation is a sham. It is more of a cover up for the previous ridiculous “consultation”. The fact that we have again the Southern Arc as an option despite it being rejected by the residents and found to be extremely lacking in a few important issues. The same major problems haunt all the “new” options ‘put’ in front of us: currently almost all schools are to the south of Aylesbury. Some schools to the north of the town will help elevate the Rut-Run Congestion. Moreover, writing a consultation a second time will not change the flood risks identified during the first round.

However, there are more important issues to consider. The job opportunities have been dwindling in our vale for the last decade. The wording of the consultation indicates the planners assume the new development will be mainly dormitory residence putting burden on the already over encumbers transportation to London and the Thames corridor. This development could have been used as an opportunity two fold: leveraging transport and job opportunities. Building in the north of Aylesbury would lend strength to the need for a train link to Oxford and Milton Keens. I find the assertion that just more people living here will generate more jobs ridicules. To really encourage local employment we need what I call “seeds of growth”. A centre of academic research such as a university concentrating on subjects that are relevant to high-tech or Start up ventures.

I believe the development is inevitable and that eventually all the options in the “Consultation”, and more, will be built up. Therefore, I would prefer a solution that will preserve as much of the green belt as possible. To my mind the best solution that will preserve the surrounding green and neighbouring villages is modern high rises with a narrow foot print. Alas, the experience of the 60ies and 70ies has left a lasting intolerance in peoples minds. However, Aylesbury must grow up into a proper city in order to preserve the character of its surrounding and ensure prosperity of its residence. Lets face it, Aylesbury is a characterless town. Adding more kennel-like houses will not help.

A desperate attempt to cloak the consultation is a pretence of ‘green’ considerations is the promise to “provide a minimum of 10% of the total energy requirements … renewable or low carbon energy”. There is even a wind turbine on one of the diagrams. Well it is just an intention that could be discarded as un practical later. I ask why just 10% and what are the other low carbon solutions? What are the guarantees that these ‘intentions’ would be enforced?

I wonder what is hiding behind the finding that for the Combined East and Southern Growth Arc “Transport modelling suggests that it may be the worst performing of the three options.” I think it refers to the fact it will be costly to construct both sets of trunk roads required for the Eastern and the southern construction. I cannot see how this would be worst congestion-wise; to my layman’s logic it is the other way round.

Last and not least the intention to allow for sustainable transport should be strengthened. I would like to see a clear promise to provide a wide network of dedicated cycle paths.

I am not going to respond to the questions in the consultation questionnaire as they insult my intelligence and do not focus at the real issues.

BNP List

It was not that hard to find the all talked about list of that dark party. There is an interesting map presenting the hotspots on spod.cx.

All I’ll say about the list is:

HP Area	Count of BNP Members
Amersham	2
Aylesbury	19
Beaconsfield	1
Chesham	4
Flackwell Heath	5
Great Missenden	1
Hazlemere	1
High Wycombe	11
Holmer Green	1
Oving	1
Wooburn Green	1
Berkhamstead	1
Hemel Hempstead	13
Tring	3
Wendover	0
Total HP area	65

DO NOT FORGET THAT THE NATZI PARTY FIRST GAINED POWER USING THE DEMOCRACY CINICLY!

AVDC Consultation on Growth - Mark II

At the last Wendover Parish Council, Councillor Richards pointed out that the direction of development in Aylesbury chosen will have implications on later plans for Wendover. He could not elaborate as he is on the AVDC planning committee. The consultation was presented at the last Wendover Local Area Forum (LAF) which gave the Parish Chair, Sue Toft Hunt a chance to ask a very good and direct question: Will it be a bad omen for Wendover if the Southern Arc Option is chosen as it would make it cheaper to continue it down to Wendover? The response she got is enlightening. It seems there is a planning golden rule discouraging joining up urban sprawls.

Wendover is marked for future tier 2 development. So if you do not want further massive development in our village (in the far future) then it might be wise to support the southern arc option. However, there are so many things wrong with it that were pointed out during the last round of consultation.

Personally I do not like none of the proposed options as they do not address sufficiently the question of where will people work. Over the last decade, “when the sun was shining”, Aylesbury lost about 7-8% of job places. We are now in economic dier straits and more jobs are expected to be struck out the books. Thus, most of the new residents will be commuting. I would have preferred a northern theme for the development where the new residents would be encouraged to commute to Oxford and Milton Keynes. This will also help promoting the rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes.