Annual Town Meeting – the future of Buckingham

This year’s meeting focused on ‘the future of Buckingham’; it was great to see so many residents attending to have their say on what is important to them.

Town and County Councillors were present, alongside the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of each Committee and Town Council Officers.

There were several topic based tables. Here are some key points that were raised at the Meeting:

• Planning and transport: Suggestions for town centre improvements including cycle racks, bollards, and signage to interesting aspects of Buckingham
• Buckingham Neighbourhood Development Plan: Points were made about infrastructure, facilities, green spaces, and affordable housing.
• Eco matters: Residents would like to see more community gardening and praised the volunteer groups such as river and tree wardens.
• Accessibility and diversity: Residents said that some parts of the town are not accessible to wheelchair and pushchair users due to layout and pavement defect.
• Shopping and tourism: People felt that a bit more could be done to entice people into town and would like to see a wider variety of shops.
• River and green spaces: Residents love the green spaces in the town but would like to see improvements to the river.

There were excellent information stalls from Waste Busters, the Repair Café and the Climate Café showing residents how they can reuse, repair, and recycle. The Old Gaol Museum brought along some wonderful and interesting artefacts and the Shopmobility stall gave information about hiring wheelchairs and free scooters.

If you attended the Annual Town Meeting, we would value your feedback: [email protected].

The Mayor of Buckingham, Cllr. Anja Schaefer said “The Annual Town Meeting is an important opportunity for the people of Buckingham to contribute their ideas about the future of our town.

"It was a pleasure to see so many people there, who were all clearly full of ideas and enthusiasm and also seemed to enjoy the event. Many thanks also to the stall holders, who provided further opportunity for everyone to engage with initiatives in Buckingham”.