Chiltern Ridges

10/06/2026

When councils are well run, residents benefit. Thanks to Buckinghamshire Conservatives taking difficult decisions, focusing on value for money when delivering services, Buckinghamshire Council has delivered a strong, positive financial end of year budget position so we can continue to invest in:

🎓 Supporting children and young people with SEND
🚧 Investing in roads and transport
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Helping families through early support services
❤️ Protecting vulnerable residents

Strong financial management. Better local services. A stronger Buckinghamshire.

02/06/2026

An OurChesham follower wrote…Chesham Town Council put charges up 27% this year and apparently reduced the grass cutting by 27% too. At this rate, we’ll soon be advertising luxury meadow views instead of verges! 🌱

Well... they didn’t just reduce the grass cutting they cancelled it when the Lib Dem town councillors voted to scrap the devolved services contract. Bucks Council has a huge landscape to manage and aim to cut the main highways verges twice a year. Under the Conservative leadership at the town hall we hired a progressive parks manager who increased the cutting regime everywhere across Chesham to 7 times a year. He created local jobs, actively managed numerous wildflower verges to enhance nature spots across Chesham and won contracts with other parishes that funded the team, their work and new projects. Now we have utter chaos, no ambition, huge council tax increases and no pride of place in our town under the Lib Dems!!! 😥😥

01/06/2026

Today marks the start of Volunteers' Week. Thousands of individuals and groups make an invaluable contribution to our communities right across Buckinghamshire. Volunteering not only benefits those who receive support, it is also incredibly rewarding to those who volunteer. It can help them to build new friendships, increase confidence, develop skills, and give them a strong sense of purpose and achievement. For many people, volunteering is also a wonderful way to stay active, connected, and engaged with the community. Thank you to everyone who volunteers!!

27/05/2026

14/05/2026

Pednor Valley Enforcement Update

Bucks Councils enforcement team have been told that the Pednor valley landowner wishes to continue with their appeal against enforcement action. The judge has now set a court date in October. Whilst it feels like some time away we are at the mercy of the justice system.

This land is in the heart of green belt and the protected Chiltern national landscape (previously called AONB). Planning applications have been submitted for years for inappropriate development, all of which have been refused. I believe one family member may now be serving at His Majesty’s pleasure… The landowners have ignored legal covenants and land designations, ripped out trees and habitats, and erected unapproved and inappropriate fencing and structures.

I’m glad this is proceeding within the court system. I hope the court supports the 5-year long community and council battle to protect this special space. And I wholeheartedly thank Bucks Council officers and cabinet member Cllr Peter Strachan for the commitment to dealing with issue!!!

21/04/2026

Good! More value for taxpayer money and coordination across the entire county. 🎉

12/04/2026

Good to see Greg Smith MP out in the hilltop villages chatting with residents and addressing any issues they have.

01/03/2026

I can’t emphasise enough how important it is that residents sign up to the Www.brownnotgreen.com site, read the advice and respond.

Just a few weeks ago we lost vital agricultural land because of a solar farm application in nearby Pudds Cross. In spite of a report from a senior and very experienced planning officer the planning team at Dacorum Borough Council pushed it through. Cllrs in Bovingdon tried to fight it but their local colleagues overruled them after ignoring a report from Bucks Council that highlighted green belt, national landscape and material harm reasons for rejecting the application. Our Chesham county Cllr’s did NOTHING to stop inappropriate development in our area.

If we don’t all respond and supply compelling evidence as part of this engagement exercise we will see this happen again and again!!

URGENT: CHESHAM RESIDENTS – YOUR GREEN BELT NEEDS YOU

The Buckinghamshire Local Plan public survey closes on 16 March

Farmland around our town - including land at Lye Green (NE Chesham) and other agricultural land in East Chesham — is now being assessed for housing development in the emerging Local Plan.

Some of this land is already being described in planning documents as “Grey Belt” — a classification that could make it much easier for development to be approved, especially in
towns like Chesham with a Tube station. Thousands of homes are being proposed in our town when we all know the roads are already congested and the topography of the area make
infrastructure improvements unlikely at best.

Parts of “Chesham East” alone could potentially accommodate up to 1,400 homes on what is currently open good quality agricultural land. Once this land is built on, it’s gone forever. National food security is further compromised

If you care about:
• Loss of Green Belt and agricultural land
• Pressure on roads, schools and healthcare
• Building on productive farmland
• Protecting the character of Chesham and its local wildlife

Please respond to the survey before the deadline of 16 March
- Use your own words (don’t copy and paste)
- Share this post to spread the word

Here is the survey link: https://yourvoicebucks.citizenspace.com/planning/2aa4b313/

The Local Plan will shape Chesham for decades to come so make sure our community has its say. Published documents from Buckinghamshire Council confirm multiple sites around Chesham
are still under consideration — but public responses can influence the outcome.

We are putting information on how to respond to the survey on the BnG website: www.brownnotgreen.com The deadline for response is 16 March.

27/02/2026

On Wednesday evening the Conservative led Buckinghamshire Council approved its balanced budget by a clear majority (61 votes to 27). This protects continued investment in our roads, schools, housing and waste services in spite of the Labour government removing £44.5 million and the imposition of a vicious 95,500 unit housing target.

Protecting the services residents rely on while keeping the council on a sound financial footing remains a priority for the Cabinet and supportive Cllr’s.