Author: John Cadman

While having a new bench in this location is great, the closure of this project brings far more to celebrate. This seemingly simple initiative took the best part of four years to complete. How could that be?

The initiative was born through a collaboration between the GMPRG and the Prestwood Co-op at the end of 2019 to replace the Prestwood notice board and provide a bench. However, just as the project started, COVID stopped it.

As we began to emerge from isolation, the Notice Board shown below was installed but Buckinghamshire Council was considering various locations for EV charging points, Prestwood car park being one of them. The concern was that if chosen, the cabling for the project might need to run under the proposed bench location and no one wanted to install it only to have it ripped up again.

However, a few months ago, Buckinghamshire Council gave the go ahead to install the bench. The Parish Council helped the GMPRG team meet the licensing requirements, ALIGN offered to cover the cost of installation and the resin foundation, and Chesham Town Council Works team completed the job.

While this project took way longer than anticipated, it is testament to the resilience of the teams and their capacity to work together that it’s finally complete. As our learning increases, projects like this become easier and the sense of community grows. If you are interested in exploring how you could be part of a project like this, feel free to contact us at secretary@gmprg.org.uk. We would love to hear from you.

Overall, the proposed objectives look very good. However, without seeing details of how
Buckinghamshire Council intends to achieve them it is too early to comment extensively.

All Great Missenden & Prestwood Revitalisation Group (GMPRG) can do at this stage is provide local surveys and opinion, which it is hoped will be helpful to Buckinghamshire Council in understanding the needs of this area for the new Buckinghamshire Local Plan as it progresses.

Please access the file below for full details of our representation

Over the past four months local schools have been designing a bee and bug friendly garden for their school as part of a competition funded by the Missendens Community Board and led by the Great Missenden and Prestwood Revitalisation Group. Students from EYFS / KS1 to KS4 have been working hard to think about how best to promote biodiversity and support the life cycle of pollinators right in their own local school grounds. 

Early in the year, local botanist and educator Karen van Oostrum (Prestwood Nature) visited each of the schools and engaged over 1300 students about how they might best think about their design entries. Teachers from participating schools then got to work with their students, aiming for meeting the design submission deadline by 31 March. The design entries came in on time for each of the three streams of the competition [EYFS/KS1, KS2 and KS3/KS4]. 

During April the judges, Karen van Oostrum, Helen Matthews (Missenden Walled Garden), Keith Pounder (The Plant Specialist in Great Missenden) and Christopher Black (GMPRG) reviewed all the designs carefully and selected the winners. We are excited to announce that they are:

EYFS / KS1      Hyde Heath Infant School

KS2                  Great Missenden CE Combined School

KS3 / KS4         Chiltern Way Academy

Prizes totalling £1,500 were distributed to the three winning schools before the end of the summer term and a buddleia bush was given to all participating schools.  As some funding is still available, it has been agreed to try and continue working with schools on further biodiversity teaching.

To all schools, all teachers, all children involved, please know that this has been a remarkable experience. We were truly impressed with each design and hope that you might find ways to make them a reality in your schools. Thank you for taking part.

This is GMPRG’s further response, dated August 22 2022, to the revised plans for the station. Please refer to our earlier response, dated December 20 2021, included on our News and Projects page.


Dear Ms Showan

Application Number: PL/21/0534/FA Land at Great Missenden Railway Station Station Approach Great Missenden Buckinghamshire HP16 9AZ

The GMPRG are in favour of redevelopment on this site but still have concerns with regard to the designs submitted.

Further to the revised plans posted 9^th August 2022 and Bucks Highways Development Management letter dated 13th July, GMPRG would like to make the following comments:

• The reduction in the number of apartments from 37 to 33 helps to reduce the pressure on parking and the bulk of the buildings.
• The increase in the number of parking spaces by 8 spaces to 35 spaces is a step in the right direction.
• However as set out the Countywide Optimum for Zone A is 33 + 10 spaces = 43 spaces, thus there is still a shortfall of 8 spaces to meet the minimum standard.
• Great Missenden already has a parking problem
• The changes to materials, particularly the roof tiles is another step to the buildings integrating better into the location.
• Block B, although somewhat reduced,  being further up the hill is still overbearing and thus out of keeping with the Conservation Area.

The other issue is that Entran Ltd talk about 45% of all households living in flats in this ward have no vehicle. This ignores the fact that there is a lot of sheltered housing in Great Missenden. The likelihood of retired people wishing to live by the railway is very low. Further, while the railway provides a good link to London and Aylesbury, the bus services east and west are inadequate. To be able to enjoy living in the Chilterns, the vast majority of people need a car to access the countryside.

Bearing in mind that there are 20 2 bedroom and 1 3 bedroom flat, there is likely to be a need for at least 43 parking spaces, ignoring visitor parking. We agree that Mr Higgs is right to be concerned about the low level of parking provision and that minimum of 43 should be provided.

One opportunity which could be explored is for further parking to be made available in the Station Carpark. Even before the Covid pandemic, the station car park was rarely full. Finding 8 to 15 spaces should not be impossible.

For and on behalf of Great Missenden and Prestwood Revitalisation Group

GMPRG has submitted a response to the above, based on the community feedback received in 2018 from the Community Vision update. The GMPRG representation is available below.

In the withdrawn Chiltern and South Bucks Local Plan 2036 there were no site allocations proposed for the Parish of Great Missenden. The Great Missenden and Prestwood Revitalisation Group (GMPRG) questions how will the emerging Buckinghamshire Local Plan identify local needs so that they are met?

Click below to download the document in full.

In 2016, Ben Hamilton-Baillie presented his proposals for a ‘place making’ scheme at the corner of the A4128 at the junction of Wycombe Road, Honor End Lane, Chequers Lane and the High Street. Below is a link to the original item and some of the before and after photographs.

Revitalisation of Prestwood Village

Before

After

GMPRG gave a vote of thanks to Carole Eaden for her hard work over the years as Chair of the Group, at its AGM on 5 October 2021. Follow that link to read Carole’s report at the AGM.

The meeting welcomed Christopher Black as the new chairman, echoed by Mimi Harker in her most welcome article. Follow the link to Mimi Harker – Girls about town. to read it.