David Lidington MP

Stoke Mandeville Parish Council Letter

davidlidington — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:51:12 +0000

I recently received a letter from Stoke Mandeville Parish Council concerning a meeting they recently held with UKNP and I have enclosed a copy of its body below. Constituents may be interested to read the letter I wrote to Mr Scarsella referred to below in my blog post of 14 December and his response in my blog post of 5 January.

The Parish Council met with Ian Rudd Area Manager and Mary Preece Customer Relations Manager UK Power Networks on 4th January to discuss the number of power cuts suffered in the village during the past two years. This is the second meeting after many months of correspondence. We were handed a copy of their letter to yourself from Basil Scarsella Chief Executive Officer and thank you for your intervention.

Our meeting was successful and work commenced on 9th January to install a new power circuit across the railway bridge, using existing ducts within the footpath.

The problem evidently has been that Stoke Mandeville village is between two power supply stations which stop and start at the railway bridge but for those roads from the railway bridge towards the church and beyond, there has been only a single supply system with no possibility of a switch over to a standby supply when a failure occurred. An additional power circuit to this area has now been provided and should avoid power failures from this source in the future. UKPN emphasised to us however that it is tree clearance which will make the most difference as most of our power lines are above ground and in rural areas. A new contractor has been brought in to clear trees around power lines with ongoing maintenance and line patrols to inspect on a regular basis. It was also noted that problems could still exist due to unexpected underground cable faults, illegal tampering with the distributing network and theft of equipment but this is more widespread than the area with which we have been concerned.

The Parish Council feels reassured that something more positive and constructive is being done than had been our past experience.

HS2 Map Links

davidlidington — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:21:52 +0000

Several constituents have contacted me recently asking for the location online of the maps of the proposed route for HS2. Therefore, I have included links to these below. Constituents may also be interested to view large scale versions of the maps which are available at my constituency office, for further details please see my blog post of 25 January entitled HS2 maps.

For the route around Wendover Dean please click here.

For the route around Wendover please click here.

For the route around Stoke Mandeville and Aylesbury please click here.

For the route around Aylesbury and Waddesdon please click here.

Information from Buckinghamshire County Council Regarding Aylesbury Vale Bus Network

davidlidington — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:23:45 +0000

I recently received information regarding revisions to the bus network in Aylesbury Vale from Buckinghamshire County Council and I have included this below.

“From February 5th, there are going to be small changes to timetables designed to improve reliability. The alterations are based on information on actual running times from the Real Time Information System and include a new higher frequency of services on Arriva’s Line 300 to cope with demand.

Peter Hardy, Buckinghamshire County Council Cabinet member for Planning and Transport said “These changes will help to further improve bus reliability and I am pleased that Transport for Buckinghamshire will continue to work in partnership with bus companies to help improve punctuality and attract more people to travel by bus”.

Line 300, is one of Buckinghamshire’s most popular routes and services will now run up to every fifteen minutes on weekdays. Between Aylesbury to Princes Risborough, most journeys will now run direct along the A4010 via Little Kimble. Passengers from Butlers Cross will be able to catch the revised 321 route, but with some peak journeys available on Line 300.

In Aylesbury town there will be some revisions to the Rainbow Routes network. Most affected is Greenroute 4 which currently runs between The Coppice, the town centre and Walton Court. This will be extended to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and, together with Redroute 9, will provide a ten minute frequency from the town centre and Walton Court to the Hospital.

Paul Adcock, Area MD for Arriva said “The changes we are introducing are to improve reliability for our services. We are also pleased to announce more buses to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and more frequent buses on our 300 service between Aylesbury, Princes Risborough and High Wycombe. These improvements show our commitment to offering a good network of services for Aylesbury and the surrounding area. The bus now offers a real alternative to the car for days out, nights out, travelling to work and going to appointments, with no parking fees or the hassle of finding space as well as the savings made on fuel, it really is time to give the bus a try.”

Other significant changes include new timetables on routes 16 and 18 following the consultation on the future of routes in Steeple Claydon, Marsh Gibbon and Waddesdon. The consultation had a huge response and the most common requests have been incorporated within the revised timetables.

To see a complete list of the changes and view the new timetables please go to the Buses and Trains pages at www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport alternatively you can call Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 (calls cost 10p per minute).”

A Letter to Alison Munro Concerning Tunnelling in the Chilterns

davidlidington — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:07:36 +0000

I have received several correspondence from constituents enquiring about the possibility of the entire proposed route for HS2 in the Chilterns being in a bore tunnel. Therefore, I have written to Alison Munro, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, in order to raise this issue.

I have enclosed a copy of my letter below and once I receive a reply I will post it here.

Hs2 Maps

davidlidington — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:09:16 +0000

As I indicated in my blog post of (11 January- Meeting with HS2 Engineers) I requested from HS2 large scale maps of the proposed route for HS2 when it passes through my constituency. These have now arrived and are available to view by appointment only at my constituency office. Anyone wishing to view these maps should contact my constituency office on 01296 482102.

101 National Police Non-Emergency Number

davidlidington — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:39:04 +0000

I recently received a letter from Nick Herbert, Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, concerning a new telephone number that constituents can use to contact the police in non emergency cases. I have enclosed a copy of Mr Herbert’s letter below.

Holocaust Memorial Day Book of Commitment

davidlidington — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:15:00 +0000

This week I signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons. Friday January 27th will mark the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history – and in the weeks running up to the day, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, giving MPs the chance to honour those who were persecuted and killed during their Holocaust and encouraging constituents to actively speak out against prejudice and bigotry today.

Holocaust Memorial Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau – and is an important opportunity to remember the victims of genocide. I encourage all constituents to mark the day and to commit to ‘speaking up and speaking out’ against prejudice.

A Letter to Justine Greening concerning HS2

davidlidington — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:30:52 +0000

I was recently contacted by a constituent concerned that banks and building societies are not loaning money for home improvements to residents close to the proposed line for HS2. Therefore, I have written to Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Transport; in ask what action her department proposes to take on this issue. I have included a copy of my letter to the Secretary of State below and will post a copy of any reply that I receive.

A Report on HS2 Alternatives

davidlidington — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:19:39 +0000

A report (The Atkins Report) was recently released by the Department for Transport concerning alternatives to HS2. Anyone wishing to view the report can do so by clicking here.

Letters Concerning Aylesbury Youth Offenders Institute

davidlidington — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:53:27 +0000

I wrote to Crispin Blunt, the Prisons Minister, concerning Aylesbury Youth Offenders Institute after a report was published following a follow up inspection of the institute. I have now received a reply from Mr Blunt and have enclosed a copy of my letter and his reply below.