Jonathan Bartley, Co-Leader of the Green Party, visited Haddenham on Wednesday 7th November and was escorted on a cycling tour of the village by Parish Councillor David Lyons.
Jonathan had the opportunity to see for himself the considerable pressure for housing development in the village and to hear about transport issues – notably the continuing lack of tangible progress on a cycle path to the station from Thame.
His village tour took in Church End and the splendid community orchard, off Townsend Green.
He also enjoyed cycling along the newly widened and surfaced Greenway bridleway, from opposite the Post Office on Churchway to the point it meets the A418 – a facility made possible thanks to the efforts of Haddenham Safe Walking & Cycling (Haswac) and others in the village committed to more sustainable forms of transport.
In his evening address, to a well attended public meeting in Stone village hall, Jonathan spoke passionately about the housing and environmental crises (global warming and the huge loss of animal and plant species) and argued in favour of more radical action to bring about the necessary economic and social change.
He made the point that we have the resources and the expertise to address these major issues, but that a much more equitable distribution of resources both in the U.K. and worldwide was required.
