One of the primary concerns voiced by local residents in relation to the growth in Haddenham is how the infrastructure will cope with a rapid rise in the village population and the extra vehicles that will be associated with 1,000 new homes.
"Infrastructure before Development" defines the ideal scenario, of course.
Sadly, in the long-established and constrained village structure there is little scope for road widening or other traffic flow assists. It follows that the potential for traffic congestion and the risks of road traffic accidents are likely to increase significantly in the next few years – most particularly during the commute-to-work rush period and at school start and finish times.
Questions have also been raised about schooling and healthcare provision, even though (somewhat curiously) these are not factored into AVDC planning decisions – "these are not planning matters" apparently.
Bucks County Council has recently been issuing public statements about its focus on the need for additional infrastructure as housing growth occurs across the county. Your website editor therefore posed questions directly to Bucks CC, to ascertain the council's attitude to infrastructure within existing communities like Haddenham when faced with major and rapid development. Here is their response.
Bucks County Council – Comment on Infrastructure Development
Schools
The County Council is responsible for providing enough school places to meet local needs, and is currently expanding Haddenham St Mary's CE Infant School by one form of entry to accommodate the recent permissions at Haddenham Airfield site (233 homes) and Haddenham Glebe (280 homes). The draft Vale of Aylesbury Plan is proposing a further 315 homes on land adjacent to the Haddenham Airfield site. BCC will continue monitoring the population and if necessary expand provision in the planning area further.
Sustainable travel
The County Council looks to invest Section 106 developer contributions in improving cycling and walking facilities in the Haddenham area. Sustainable travel connectivity is being explored along the Haddenham to Thame corridor, where the County Council has asked Sustrans to look at potential routes for a cycleway, research land ownership, and report back. Meanwhile County Council officers are looking for potential funding sources, and engaging with local community groups and the parish council on feasibility study progress.
Health and Care
Plans are in place to join up health and care services across the NHS Aylesbury Vale CCG area, which will also involve primary care services in Haddenham.
The aim is to improve care for patients by designing services around people not organisations. Older people and those with long term conditions should benefit from more integrated support that keeps them well, independent and living at home for longer. And everyone should have a better experience of care and support through local services working more closely together.
The Haddenham area falls into the Aylesbury Vale South Locality; the most recent public health needs assessment for this area shows increasing percentages of patients aged over 65 but overall, the size and the health needs of the locality have not changed in much compared to the previous public health report.
The locality has continued to build on its 'Over-75s' project – this sees surgeries produce lists of patients aged over 75 who they have not seen in a year or more. These patients are then contacted and assessed to see if a care plan can be created for them to support them in staying independent, linking them in to other services which may be able to support them before they hit any potential crisis.
Patients can also be referred into the service by doctors and nurses and, in some cases, patients discharged from secondary care can be followed up on by members of the project team.
Aylesbury Vale CCG has also been working closely with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to shape a new community service, provided from the Thame hospital site. Although this is a very new service, the locality's vision is to develop a multi-disciplinary hub that provides proactive care to our severely frail population and there may be scope to encompass our over 75s team within this hub.
The locality has also successfully bid for winter resilience money, which was used to fund a specialist primary care paramedic to do acute home visiting on behalf of the locality practices over the winter months. The project has previously proved a great success in terms of easing pressure within general practice and treating housebound patients in a timely fashion; it has also had good feedback from patients who were cared for within the service.
Richard Wells
Bucks County Council
01296 382444
