Your regular update from Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council
Dear Resident,
This week, as you’ll already know, there has been updated advice from the government on the lockdown measures. People will be able to spend more time outside from tomorrow (Wednesday) which will be a relief for many, and those who are unable to work from home are encouraged to go to work if they can safely do so. More details have been released on how the changes allowed from tomorrow will work in practice and I urge you to take a look and make sure you are following the rules properly.
It’s really important that we all carry on the social distancing measures and keep 2m (6ft) away from anyone we don’t live with if we do choose to spend more time outside.
Country Parks
I’m really pleased to be able to tell you that following the Prime Minister’s announcement and in consultation with the Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Sport and Leisure, Clive Harriss, that the Council has decided to open country parks from tomorrow (Wednesday) for people to use as part of their daily exercise and to enjoy the fresh air, within the guidelines set out by the government.
The car parks will be open and parking charges will apply. In line with the current rules on social distancing, the cafés and playgrounds, plus GoApe in Black Park will still be closed. Some other areas will also remain closed for now until we’ve made arrangements to enable social distancing, including the Temple Gardens in Langley Park. The toilets will also be closed, and while we’re working on a longer-term solution, please bring your own hand sanitisers to keep yourself safe. It is essential that visitors keep their distance and stay 2m (6ft) away from anyone not from their own household, and do not gather in groups of more than two (excluding members of their own household).
Please can I also ask you to help keep our country parks tidy and take your litter home with you.
I do hope visitors safely enjoy being able to use the country parks again.
Please do also keep checking the Buckinghamshire Council website and our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) for all the latest information on our services.
VE Day celebrations
I just wanted to touch on how special the commemorations were here in Buckinghamshire. It was wonderful to see so many streets being decorated across the county and our social media channels were packed with wonderful stories, memories and pictures with lots of videos of the red arrows flying over the county too! We may not have marked the day as we had originally planned but we definitely did ourselves proud. You can still see lots of amazing and moving stories on the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies blog later this week.
Getting tested for coronavirus
Many people are now able to get tested for coronavirus if they are showing symptoms, including essential workers, people who cannot work from home, and anyone aged 65 or over.
Another mobile testing unit will be coming to Buckinghamshire tomorrow (Wednesday 13 May). It will be at the Swan Pool and Leisure Centre in London Road, Buckingham, MK18 1AE, and will be running for up to three days.
For more information and to book a test, please go to the government’s web pages on testing.
Household Recycling Centres
Since opening five of our household recycling centres last week, there have been large numbers of people visiting who needed to dispose of waste they couldn't store at home. I'd like to say a big thank you to visitors, who, despite queues, are being patient and considerate, bringing proof that they live in Buckinghamshire, and are sticking with the social distancing measures that we've introduced at the sites.
The sites at Buckingham, Aston Clinton, Amersham, Beaconsfield and High Heavens in Wycombe are all open 9am-6pm every day. Try and choose a time when queues are shorter – we update the pages on our website with the current waiting times.
Garden Waste
Just a quick reminder too that we have now started kerbside garden waste collections again – do check the Buckinghamshire Council website for up to date information about collections in your area.
Coronavirus grants for local businesses
I continue to urge all local businesses to check out the information on our website about small business grants they might be eligible for.
The money is for small businesses, mainly in retail, hospitality and leisure, who are suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Buckinghamshire Council is processing these grants, worth either £10,000 or £25,000, for local businesses. So far we have paid out more than £72 million in total in grants to local firms. There is more information on this on the Council’s website.
You can find out what support your business might be able to claim using the government’s business support finder.
Keeping children safe online
Staying at home has meant some children might be spending more time online, especially if they’re doing school work online or are keeping in touch with friends remotely while they can’t see them face to face.
It’s really important that parents and carers are aware of the risks children can face online such as finding inappropriate content or the potential for online grooming.
Keep having conversations with youngsters in your care about online safety and the dangers of sharing personal information or images. It’s important that you know what they’re doing online, who they’re talking to and how to report anything that worries you.
You can try the following websites for more help and advice about keeping kids safe online:
Internet Matters has a range of ‘how-to’ guides, including age specific advice to help you get the conversation started.
The NSPCC has a wealth of ‘Be share aware’ and other online safety advice.
Net Aware is another excellent resource with reviews on the apps, games and sites children are likely to be using, along with any potential risks.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection command (CEOP) is a law enforcement agency and helps keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online.
Thinkuknow has education materials for children, parents and carers to learn about online safety.
If you have any concerns about the safeguarding of a child, please report it either online or by emailing our Social Care Team at safe@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.
#ProudofBucks
The work you are all doing in your own communities is tremendous and we continue to try to acknowledge as many people, groups, schools, volunteers, organisations as possible. We have schools and businesses across the county making PPE and other vital cleaning and safety products. There are countless community groups providing food and support in their local area. Our heartfelt thanks goes to each and every one of you.
We try to single out as many individual #ProudofBucks stories as we can, especially via social media, so do keep checking our Twitter feed and Instagram and Facebook pages for these - and keep telling us your stories using the #ProudofBucks hashtag.
It’s people like Marie Biswell who we are applauding. She’s a British Sign Language interpreter who lives in Aylesbury and is posting signed stories on her YouTube channel. Keep up the great work Marie!
Our Adult Social Care team is checking in with all vulnerable residents we are aware of by making many regular phone calls and by supporting in other ways too. Please tell us if you know of someone who might need our help by calling the Adult Social Care team on 01296 383 204.
Please also carry on using our online community hub for details of local support and how to volunteer to help.
LOOK AFTER YOUR SLEEP
Good quality sleep makes a huge difference to how we feel, so it’s important to get enough. Try to maintain your regular sleeping pattern and stick to good sleep practices.
Here are some great tips to help if you are struggling.
Planning your life
Finally
I do hope you enjoy more time outside but can I just reiterate again how important it is to ‘Stay Alert’ and keep up with social distancing and the other measures to allow us our best chance of keeping the rate of infection under control.
You can also catch up on our daily video updates for more news on how Buckinghamshire Council is responding to the coronavirus crisis.
Stay safe and stay well,
Martin Tett
Leader of Buckinghamshire Council
This week, as you’ll already know, there has been updated advice from the government on the lockdown measures. People will be able to spend more time outside from tomorrow (Wednesday) which will be a relief for many, and those who are unable to work from home are encouraged to go to work if they can safely do so. More details have been released on how the changes allowed from tomorrow will work in practice and I urge you to take a look and make sure you are following the rules properly.
It’s really important that we all carry on the social distancing measures and keep 2m (6ft) away from anyone we don’t live with if we do choose to spend more time outside.
Country Parks
I’m really pleased to be able to tell you that following the Prime Minister’s announcement and in consultation with the Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Sport and Leisure, Clive Harriss, that the Council has decided to open country parks from tomorrow (Wednesday) for people to use as part of their daily exercise and to enjoy the fresh air, within the guidelines set out by the government.
The car parks will be open and parking charges will apply. In line with the current rules on social distancing, the cafés and playgrounds, plus GoApe in Black Park will still be closed. Some other areas will also remain closed for now until we’ve made arrangements to enable social distancing, including the Temple Gardens in Langley Park. The toilets will also be closed, and while we’re working on a longer-term solution, please bring your own hand sanitisers to keep yourself safe. It is essential that visitors keep their distance and stay 2m (6ft) away from anyone not from their own household, and do not gather in groups of more than two (excluding members of their own household).
Please can I also ask you to help keep our country parks tidy and take your litter home with you.
I do hope visitors safely enjoy being able to use the country parks again.
Please do also keep checking the Buckinghamshire Council website and our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) for all the latest information on our services.
VE Day celebrations
I just wanted to touch on how special the commemorations were here in Buckinghamshire. It was wonderful to see so many streets being decorated across the county and our social media channels were packed with wonderful stories, memories and pictures with lots of videos of the red arrows flying over the county too! We may not have marked the day as we had originally planned but we definitely did ourselves proud. You can still see lots of amazing and moving stories on the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies blog later this week.
Getting tested for coronavirus
Many people are now able to get tested for coronavirus if they are showing symptoms, including essential workers, people who cannot work from home, and anyone aged 65 or over.
Another mobile testing unit will be coming to Buckinghamshire tomorrow (Wednesday 13 May). It will be at the Swan Pool and Leisure Centre in London Road, Buckingham, MK18 1AE, and will be running for up to three days.
For more information and to book a test, please go to the government’s web pages on testing.
Household Recycling Centres
Since opening five of our household recycling centres last week, there have been large numbers of people visiting who needed to dispose of waste they couldn't store at home. I'd like to say a big thank you to visitors, who, despite queues, are being patient and considerate, bringing proof that they live in Buckinghamshire, and are sticking with the social distancing measures that we've introduced at the sites.
The sites at Buckingham, Aston Clinton, Amersham, Beaconsfield and High Heavens in Wycombe are all open 9am-6pm every day. Try and choose a time when queues are shorter – we update the pages on our website with the current waiting times.
Garden Waste
Just a quick reminder too that we have now started kerbside garden waste collections again – do check the Buckinghamshire Council website for up to date information about collections in your area.
Coronavirus grants for local businesses
I continue to urge all local businesses to check out the information on our website about small business grants they might be eligible for.
The money is for small businesses, mainly in retail, hospitality and leisure, who are suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Buckinghamshire Council is processing these grants, worth either £10,000 or £25,000, for local businesses. So far we have paid out more than £72 million in total in grants to local firms. There is more information on this on the Council’s website.
You can find out what support your business might be able to claim using the government’s business support finder.
Keeping children safe online
Staying at home has meant some children might be spending more time online, especially if they’re doing school work online or are keeping in touch with friends remotely while they can’t see them face to face.
It’s really important that parents and carers are aware of the risks children can face online such as finding inappropriate content or the potential for online grooming.
Keep having conversations with youngsters in your care about online safety and the dangers of sharing personal information or images. It’s important that you know what they’re doing online, who they’re talking to and how to report anything that worries you.
You can try the following websites for more help and advice about keeping kids safe online:
Internet Matters has a range of ‘how-to’ guides, including age specific advice to help you get the conversation started.
The NSPCC has a wealth of ‘Be share aware’ and other online safety advice.
Net Aware is another excellent resource with reviews on the apps, games and sites children are likely to be using, along with any potential risks.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection command (CEOP) is a law enforcement agency and helps keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online.
Thinkuknow has education materials for children, parents and carers to learn about online safety.
If you have any concerns about the safeguarding of a child, please report it either online or by emailing our Social Care Team at safe@buckinghamshire.gov.uk.
#ProudofBucks
The work you are all doing in your own communities is tremendous and we continue to try to acknowledge as many people, groups, schools, volunteers, organisations as possible. We have schools and businesses across the county making PPE and other vital cleaning and safety products. There are countless community groups providing food and support in their local area. Our heartfelt thanks goes to each and every one of you.
We try to single out as many individual #ProudofBucks stories as we can, especially via social media, so do keep checking our Twitter feed and Instagram and Facebook pages for these - and keep telling us your stories using the #ProudofBucks hashtag.
It’s people like Marie Biswell who we are applauding. She’s a British Sign Language interpreter who lives in Aylesbury and is posting signed stories on her YouTube channel. Keep up the great work Marie!
Our Adult Social Care team is checking in with all vulnerable residents we are aware of by making many regular phone calls and by supporting in other ways too. Please tell us if you know of someone who might need our help by calling the Adult Social Care team on 01296 383 204.
Please also carry on using our online community hub for details of local support and how to volunteer to help.
LOOK AFTER YOUR SLEEP
Good quality sleep makes a huge difference to how we feel, so it’s important to get enough. Try to maintain your regular sleeping pattern and stick to good sleep practices.
Here are some great tips to help if you are struggling.
Planning your life
Finally
I do hope you enjoy more time outside but can I just reiterate again how important it is to ‘Stay Alert’ and keep up with social distancing and the other measures to allow us our best chance of keeping the rate of infection under control.
You can also catch up on our daily video updates for more news on how Buckinghamshire Council is responding to the coronavirus crisis.
Stay safe and stay well,
Martin Tett
Leader of Buckinghamshire Council
