THERE’S a significant easing of the current coronavirus lockdown rules from Monday, 17 May but not everything is returning to normal. Here’s how it affects things in our area…
Pubs
All our local pubs, the Old Queen’s Head, the Horse and Jockey, the Crown in Penn, the Mayflower, the Squirrel, the Hit or Miss, the Three Horseshoes, the Potter’s Arms, the Crown in Hazlemere, the Royal Standard of England in Forty Green and the Lion of Beaconsfield in Knotty Green, are opening indoors and out from Monday.
The Red Lion in Penn is opening from Wednesday.
Pubs still have social distancing restrictions and the numbers are limited to a maximum group of six, or two households, indoors. Most are operating a full menu. Many have taken the opportunity to refurbish during their closed period.
Sports and community centres
Tylers Green Village Hall is resuming indoor events from Monday. Some groups, such as the WI and the embroidery group, have chosen to wait until September before resuming because the rule of six still applies, while some activity groups have changed their time slots. Call the manager, Emma Byrne on 819990 to check. There’s an events list on the hall’s website www.tylersgreenvillagehall.co.uk
The Penn and Tylers Green Sports and Social Club is open Monday to Friday 3pm to 10pm; Saturday noon to 10pm; and Sunday 11.30am to 7pm.
Hazlemere Community Centre is resuming all its activities from Monday. The first indoor bingo is on 21 May. Rule of six applies in the social club bar.
Hazlemere Golf Club is recruiting extra staff and holding recruitment days on Monday and Tuesday (see its Facebook page for details).
Theatres, cinemas and entertainment
Wycombe Swan and Windsor Theatre Royal are not reopening until 21 June. Aylesbury Waterside reopens on 26 June.
The Elgiva in Chesham is reopening on Monday with an art exhibition on Old Chesham.
Cineworld in Wycombe’s Eden Centre opens next Wednesday, 18 May. The Empire Cinema complex at Handy Cross, Wycombe opens on 26 May.
The Hollywood Bowl in Wycombe’s Eden Centre reopens on Monday.
River Thames cruises are continuing but with limited numbers of passengers. Masks to be worn. Ashes scattering ceremonies also permitted.
National Trust properties:
Hughenden Manor – Gardens, cafe and shop open without pre-booking on weekdays. Pre booking required at week-ends.
Cliveden – Grounds, cafe and shop open. Pre booking required.
West Wycombe Park – Pre-booking required on Sunday. Not required Monday to Saturday.
Museums
The Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden reopens on 30 May for visitors with outstanding tickets from 2020 and early 2021. It is anticipating opening to all visitors without social distancing from 21 June.
Wycombe Museum opens on Tuesday, as does the Bucks County Museum. The county museum’s Roald Dahl gallery for children opens next Saturday, 22 May.
Chilterns Crematorium
More than 30 people can attend funerals from Monday where the size of funeral venues permit. At our local Chilterns Crematorium the larger Milton Chapel can take a maximum of 60 people. The smaller Hampden Chapel can take a maximum 37 mourners – 25 on the ground floor and 12 upstairs. Singing and music involving wind instruments is still not permitted and all mourners must wear masks.
Travel
Arriva Buses is maintaining its reduced no 31 Penn to High Wycombe service at least until early August. Restrictions on bus capacity also remains.
Chiltern Railways is introducing a new timetable from Sunday until early September. Extra services are being introduced on some routes.
Hotels
The Premier Inn at Loudwater is opening for leisure visitors from Monday and serving breakfasts from Tuesday. It has been open only for business visitors during the lockdown.
House builders Taylor Wimpey confirmed as the new owners of the Gomm Valley
FINANCE company Aviva confirmed yesterday it had sold the Gomm Valley, between Hammersley Lane and Cock Lane, Tylers Green to house-buildersTaylor Wimpey (see this blog for 8, 5 and 1 May).
In a statement the company said: “In the middle of last year we carried out a detailed review of the project (the existing Gomm Valley housing development scheme), a key part of which involved financial analysis to reflect revised construction costs – including updating for Brexit and Covid 19 – the lack of planning permission,and the expected timeframe of the development. We also instructed a third party to obtain a site valuation.
“Subsequently, we determined that the fund (Aviva Investors) was no longer in a position to support the development – a conclusion made in the best interests of our customers who have been saving through the fund.
“We received a number of offers and, alongside price, considered other factors, including the certainty of the transaction completing.
“It is worth noting that any plans the new owner may have for development of the site will still be the subject to local authority planning processes and public scrutiny.
“While we understand not everyone will welcome the decision, it was made in good faith and after careful and thorough consideration of all factors which, in this case, included the interests of our customers saving for their retirement.”
Aviva did not say how much Taylor Wimpey has paid for the 70 hectare site but said it would only consider selling to a “responsible and reputable” new owner.
The deal is a considerable coup for Taylor Wimpey, who already own a small, overgrown field in the bottom corner of Gomm Valley.
Top Downing Street advisor loses bid to be Penn’s next MP
THE Chesham and Amersham constituency, which includes Penn, is, of course, a safe seat as far as the Conservatives are concerned.
So it was hardly surprising three potential high flyers were shortlisted for the seat at the forthcoming by-election caused by the death of Dame Cheryl Gillan, who had a 16,000 plus majority.
There were the usual rumblings from local Tory members that they weren’t allowed to choose their own shortlist and had to pick one of three chosen by Central Office, but that’s par for the course these days.
As it happens, members of the Chesham and Amersham Conservative Association were fairly unanimous in their choice, with Peter Fleet gaining more than 50 per cent of the votes in the first round of voting and therefore winning outright. He’s a well known figure in the motor industry as chairman of the Retail Automotive Alliance and a former president of Ford Asia Pacific.
He beat one of Boris Johnson’s closest advisors at Number 10. Nikki Da Costa is Downing Street’s director of legal affairs and was the driving force behind the Prime Minister’s attempt to suspend Parliament in the bid to pass the Brexit deal in 2019 – a move sensationally ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. That may not have helped her cause.
He also beat Olivia Seccombe, a leading agricultural lobbyist and head of external affairs at the National Farmers Union. She has previously worked in Theresa May’s office. That may not have helped her cause either.
Parliament began the formal process for holding the by-election this week. It is expected to be on 17 June, but that has yet to be confirmed.
Under the ground; under the radar
IT WAS only a few months ago the HS2 publicity people were getting very excited over plans to start tunnelling under the Chilterns; planning a full bells and whistles launch with perhaps Boris in a hard hat pushing the button, or maybe even a Royal.
But when the first of the giant tunnel boring machines began its three year, ten mile grind through the Chilterns chalk on Wednesday it was the lowest of low-key events. So low, in fact, that HS2 kept the first day’s drilling a secret and didn’t announce they had started until yesterday.
HS2 was supposed to be a grand project, showing off the best in British engineering and flair (and, in engineering terms, it is). But it has become so embroiled in legal challenges, environmental protest and an horrendous financial over-run it has become something of a political embarrassment.
*Meanwhile the Environment Agency, who gave permission for HS2 to start the drilling, shrugged off concerns from Buckinghamshire Council, the Chilterns Conservation Board and the Chiltern Society, that drilling through the unstable chalk of the Chilterns may damage rare chalk streams, alter long-established water courses and disrupt the public water supply. The Agency said it was confident any such risk was low. Some geologists though, beg to differ.
Briefly…
Off-road vandal – Penn Parish council is trying to identify a bright yellow off-road vehicle which was filmed by a nearby security camera driving across common land at Potters Cross crossroads on Monday night causing what the council say was considerable damage.
Runaways nabbed – Two suspected illegal immigrants who jumped out of the back of a lorry and made a run for it at Beaconsfield Service Station on Tuesday were chased and caught by two off-duty British Transport police officers who had stopped at the service station for a bite to eat. It was the lorry’s first stop since entering Britain at Dover. The men are being questioned by immigration officials.
Slough’s broke – Slough Council is having to take urgent action after an emergency audit found this week it was heavily in debt and has virtually used up all its reserves. The audit was ordered by the Government after the council applied for permission to sell off some of its assets.
Favourite dies – Henry, a shire horse who was a popular attraction at local country shows for many years, died peacefully in his sleep at his Cookham Dean stable this week, aged 20.
