WENDOVER LIBRARY/SM SCHOOL

Wendover Library Expansion

Buckinghamshire Libraries received approximately £500,000 funding to transform Wendover Community Library into an inclusive, multi-use community hub that offers a single point of contact for local services. £310,000 of funding came from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) via the Arts Council England Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF). In addition to the Arts Council England funding, Buckinghamshire Council has agreed £120,000 of investment. Together with several smaller grants and contributions – including from Wendover Parish Council and Wendover Community Library Trust.

The new library will provide:

•More flexible spaces by extending into the courtyard and having an additional meeting room.

•Visually aesthetic glass entrance to increase visibility and access •Art installation informed by the community

•Additional accessibility with a sensory children's library and a dementia-friendly design

•New self-service digital technology to increase access outside of core hours

•Sustainability in terms of energy efficiency and having a future-proofed model.

The new library will be a community hub facilitating a range of social, educational, health and cultural activities that promote community cohesion and wellbeing, meeting the needs of hard-to-reach groups. It will provide a service which drives equality, diversity and inclusion for current users and new users.

We want to hear from you, so please get involved and help shape the transformation of Wendover Library.

We will be running engagement days where you’ll be able to find out more, provide feedback on proposed designs and meet the project team with representatives from Buckinghamshire Libraries and Wendover Community Trust. These will be held at Wendover Library, High St, Wendover, Aylesbury HP22 6DU on:

•Thursday 15 September 2022, 9:30am5pm

•Saturday 22 October 2022, 10am-4pm

We are also seeking an artist(s) who will be able to use a distinctive aspect of Wendover’s identity or heritage to create an installation that complements the architecture of the library building. The artist brief will be released on 30 August 2022. This will be advertised on https://www.artsjobs.org.uk/ artsjobshome/.

To find out more contact library@ buckinghamshire.gov.uk and follow us on social media.

•Twitter: Bucks_Libraries

•Facebook: BucksLibraries

•Instagram: @Bucks_libraries

School competition breathes fresh air into smoke-free playground message

The pupils from Stoke Mandeville Combined School took part in a competition to design signs that discourage smoking and vaping near Buckinghamshire playgrounds.

The designs of four creative pupils were chosen by the judges as the top entries. Two were commended and two winners were chosen from more than 50 entries. The children will see their drawings converted into signs displayed initially at their local playground on Eskdale Road. The two runners-up will have their designs shared on social media to spread the important message thanking people for not smoking where children play. of the organisations who own the spaces, such as parish councils. The work has already started with the Smoke Free Sidelines campaign discouraging smoking near youth football games.

Angela Macpherson, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, who helped judge the competition, said: “We were thrilled with Stoke Mandeville Combined School’s response to our smoke-free design a sign competition and the standard was so high it made judging really difficult. We had entries from Reception through to Year 6 pupils.

The idea for smoke-free playgrounds follows an aspiration in Buckinghamshire Council’s Tobacco Control Strategy to achieve a smokefree generation, protecting children from the harmful effects of tobacco. The council is aiming to create smoke- and vape-free spaces all around Buckinghamshire, particularly where children play, like parks and playgrounds, with the support “A huge part of what we’re trying to do in Buckinghamshire is reduce the harm caused by smoking. Although the numbers of smokers have reduced, nearly 10% of Buckinghamshire adults still smoke. Children copy what they see, so making parks and playgrounds smokefree will take smoking and vaping out of sight of children and make it seem less of a normal activity, helping us achieve our ambition of a smoke-free generation.”

“With that in mind, it’s great that pupils have understood this message and helped us design powerful and thought-provoking signs, which we can now use at playgrounds across Buckinghamshire.”

The winners were presented with their prizes by Steve Bowles, Cabinet Member for Communities, (in photo above, with children and teachers from the school) and will see their designs transformed into signs or displayed on social media.

Wendover and Villages Community Board worked closely with Stoke Mandeville Combined School and Stoke Mandeville Parish Council to run the competition, and the signs have been funded by Buckinghamshire Council. It is hoped that the project in partnership with Community Boards will be rolled out to a number of playgrounds and parks in Buckinghamshire.