More local news

...continued from previous page with immense potential.”

Local chalk-streams under threat

Our local chalk streams are under severe threat. Extraction of water from the River Misbourne aquifer by the borehole supplying Wendover nearly led to the complete disappearance of that river just south of us: see also www.misbourneriveraction.org. Elsewhere, too, in this very rare habitat, river authorities are improving local chalk streams, as happened on 12 July at the Stadhampton Fish Bypass Channel giving access to wild fish populations to Chalgrove Brook. Nearer to home the River Chess Association is always hard at work improving that chalk stream, too, see also www.riverchessassociation. co.uk

Discover Bucks Museum, Aylesbury

Discover Bucks Museum in Aylesbury is hosting a wonderfully humorous, handson exhibition combining art, science and engineering which will delight visitors of all ages.

Mechanics Alive! celebrates the fascinating world of automata (hand-crafted mechanical sculptures) and displays them alongside hands-on science exhibits that show how they work. Press a button and marvel as these mini masterpieces come to life. The automata are from the famous collection of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. The exhibits now tour the world and have been seen by over 10 million people worldwide.

Rotary fund raising dinner

Rotary in Wendover and District thanks everyone who supported its Fund Raising Dinner on Thursday 29 June at China Water in Aston Clinton. It was a delightful evening with entertainment by the Gillybillies, www. gillybillies.com/. About £500 was raised which will be increased by a grant from the local Rotary District to buy wheelchair friendly furniture for the Gutmann Stadium Garden in Stoke Mandeville. Watch out for the next Fund Raising Dinner – you could be there!

Wendover Scarecrow trail.

Wendover Scarecrow Trail happened from Saturday 1 to Friday 14 July. Families, friends and individuals of all ages enjoyed making their robust displays which had to survive some inclement weather. Lots of people enjoyed the thrill of walking around parts of Wendover they don’t often visit and this year discovering more about countries

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The winning scarecrow was chosen by the people who returned their forms to the Rennie Grove Shop. Prizes were also given to those who guessed correctly. A small ceremony took take place at the Manor Waste on 22 July at 11 am. The winners and more detail will be given in the September edition of Wendover News.

Wendover Singers entertain at St Mary’s for the second year

The Wendover singers held their second pair of concerts at St Mary’s church on Saturday 15 June, attracting audiences of about 200 for the afternoon session and more than 220 for the evening. For a modest fee the audience was treated to about two hours of a diverse repertoire of songs, ranging from classical to rock, pop folk and Broadway hits.

The community choir has only been fully running for two years and already has 73 adult members, and about 13 children aged seven to 11 in their own section.

“We are not a choral society, we are a community that enjoys singing,” says cofounder Carol Crocket. “All sorts of people have joined from all walks of society. The fees are low as we want to be affordable for everybody. To do this we’re holding fund

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Jill was appointed musical director, with Penny Wilkes as pianist. Rebecca Izzard is also involved as a pianist – she was the music director of the Military Wives Choir, Halton and is the resident accompanist for Chess Valley Male Voice Choir. Pippa Beckford handles musical arrangements and also the piano – she is a professional music teacher who also records in her home studio.

Wendover Singers still have room for new recruits. Go to: www.wendoversingers.com.

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Rehearsals are held on Mondays during the school terms, with the children’s section in late afternoons and the adults in the evening.

Carol originally set up the choir together with her friend Sue Thornton in early 2019, originally as a one-off fund-raising event for Wendover & District Rotary Club. The idea was for professional musical director Jill Neenan to help a “scratch choir” to rehearse in an afternoon and perform the same evening. This worked so well that it was decided to form a regular community choir. Initial funding for a keyboard was provided by the Lionel Abel Smith Trust, while Wendover Parish Council helped to

Novel climate change modelling being carried out using Wendover Woods

Local scientist Lewis Savin is carrying out research into mapping of trails and paths at risk of climate change, for a joint project between Natural England and University of Nottingham The project is looking into developing a national interactive map showing the vulnerabilities of paths and trails and how to adapt them to climate change.

As part of his MSc thesis, Lewis is asking local walkers to participate in a survey which will provide data for what could eventually become a national resource. To participate, access this link before mid-15 August: https://forms.gle/SX58As34kXQ4CSSVA.

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Nash Lee Lane road safety

The diversion of Nash Lee Lane came into use in June, and two serious accidents occurred within a fortnight resulting in damage to residents’ property. We pointed out our concerns about the width of the road and a sharp bend to the Council in April, and were assured that the design met the appropriate Highways standards. HS2 are now implementing a 15 point improvement plan which should be completed by the end of August. Meanwhile a temporary crash barrier has been installed to protect local residents. See also front cover story.

A413 Small Dean closures

There were closures of the A413 in June as part of the complex plan to build the Small Dean Viaduct, and HS2 has published an online animation of what’s planned over the next three years at www.tinyurl.com/sdv2023video

One of the first steps was to divert an underground water main, so that the road can be realigned round the viaduct piers. Piling the foundations for the piers is currently progressing west of the railway line, and in the autumn the road will be closed again to allow the carriageways to be temporarily shifted eastwards to allow works between the A413 and the railway line.

Saving Wendover’s waterways

Along with the Parish Council, we are getting increasingly concerned about the lack of information about how HS2 is going to ensure that the Weston Turville Reservoir SSSI is going to continue be fed with water from the Coombe Hill aquifer. The Green Tunnel cutting intercepts groundwater flows, and the Small Dean Embankment stops surface water getting to Hamden Pond. HS2’s plans to tunnel a 1.6km culvert alongside the bypass seems like an expensive way of increasing the flood risk in Aylesbury by diverting water away from the reservoir. Further details are available on our website at www.whs2.org/water.htm. Meanwhile (at the time of writing) excavation of the cutting has not started as the Environment Agency have still not approved HS2’s plans, and we’re asking for the details. Meanwhile the Parish Council is working on maintaining Hampden Pond as a local amenity for future generations (see back page).

Ellesborough Road issues

More weeks of closures of Ellesborough Road are expected to create the diversion over the temporary bridge, including rerouting of various underground utility services impacted by the cutting works needed to build the Green Tunnel. HS2 are still hoping that the new road will open in September, but we are concerned about the safety of the sharp bend immediately after the bridge of over the bypass. HS2 tells us that the design has been approved by Bucks Highways, but we will monitor progress in the light of the Nash Lee experience.

Issues with HS2?

If you’re affected by the construction activity, please contact the HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 (which is available 24 hours a day) or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk to get your issues resolved. It helps if you have photographic evidence and please get a complaint reference number so that we can follow up issues as needed.

Need our help?

If you need further help, want to join us, or have ideas and suggestions that would mitigate the community impact, then get in touch at enquiries@whs2.org.

Doing what’s right for Wendover

See www.whs2.org