Hambleden Parish Council responds to your concerns

Hambleden Parish Council (HPC) is always keen to follow up on concerns raised by residents. Following results highlighted in the Biodiversity Survey and various conversations, representations and emails, we know how much you value the unique natural habitats within the Chilterns and their associated wildlife, and also how concerned many of you are about speeding and road safety within the parish.

Having already pursued some of these matters with Buckinghamshire Council (BC), we decided we would also take these further and invite our MP, Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State, to visit us. So, on Friday 5th June 2026, Emma and her team came to Frieth to find out from residents, school children and volunteers from some of our key organisations, why these issues are so important.

Here’s how the afternoon went

Cllrs Hussey and Hopkins standing in the Frieth wildflower meadow

Councillors Charles Hussey and Amanda Hopkins met Emma’s team at Frieth Nature Reserve to set the scene for the visit. They are part of the small team that planned the occasion, together with Lynda Brown, Judith Charlton and Lorna Coldwell, Clerk, who together form The Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss Working Group.

Charles began with a brief history of the reserve including its purchase by the parish, the voluntary recording of species by Frieth Natural History Society, and its adoption for maintenance by Frieth Village Society (FVS). Usefully, he brought along a map to show its position in relations to the two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Frieth – Frieth Meadows and Moor Common – demonstrating how it could form part of an ambitious plan to create a wildlife corridor running through the Hambleden Valley and beyond.

The map also shows how much of our parish is part of the Natural Environment Partnership’s (NEP) Biodiversity Opportunity Area, which is part of nationwide group of NEPs, promoting joined up nature corridors to help encourage more wildlife.

Amanda related how Frieth Village Society currently manage the field to encourage wildlife and explained how, being in the centre of the village and next to the playground, it has huge potential to involve the wider community in appreciating and enhancing our natural habitats, protecting them for future generations.

Walking up the hill to the village hall

Amanda and Emma’s team walked up Frieth hill, to provide context for residents’ concerns about road safety. She pointed out the difficulty of walkers having to share the same space as cars of all sizes, HGVs and more on a narrow road with no pavements and parked cars; the difficulty for residents, whose properties open straight on to the carriageway, and the fact that property and vehicles have been damaged. She also spoke of how much we have done as a community:

Involving BC Highways
Involving BC Road Safety Officer
FVS adoption of Community Speedwatch
HPC purchase of mobile activated speed sign machines (MVAS)
HPC joining the campaign ‘20 is plenty where people are’.
School children designing ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ 20mph posters for use around the parish
Use of green 20mph advisory posters

And finally, Amanda emphasised how we need support in encouraging BC (responsible for Highways) to do more to make our villages in the Hambleden Valley safer for the people that live here and visit, at the minimum, by adopting a statutory 20mph speed limit.

Child design 20 mph poster

In the village hall

Emma was greeted at the door by Amanda and welcomed inside by Councillors Sammy Webb and Charles Hussey, who introduced her to residents representing concerns about speeding and social activities; children from Frieth CEC School; and volunteers from Frieth Natural History Society, the Butterfly Conservation Trust, Lady Ryder Memorial Gardens, and Frieth Village Society.

Tea, cakes and homemade biscuits, catering for all tastes, made a mouthwatering display; posters, news reports, creatures, foliage, activities and more were on show, whetting the appetite for a sociable, informative and enjoyable afternoon.

Slow down please!

Becky:

“When it's winter … when we finish work it's dark and I nearly got hit by a van ... I know we can't have lights, but we need something to stop cars speeding.”

Meg:

“Something desperately needs to change as there is a tragic accident waiting to happen … It takes me on average 5 minutes to walk 200 yards to collect my daughter from school, whilst weaving in and out of parked cars creating single lane traffic … meaning we are forced into the middle of the road … Wales have adopted a 20mph legal limit on school roads and the statistics on this change are fantastic—I would like to see us caring about our roads and people like that.”

Thomas:

“I am Thomas; I am 13 years old and I have lived in the village all my life … when I was younger I went to the school up the hill … I have lots of memories of going between cars and trying to squeeze through … It’s just not very good …”

Sam:

“She was really interested in what we are doing and what she could do to help. The best thing she said was she can ask the police to come and do a real speedwatch and therefore the speeders will get a fine … A great 10-minute conversation.”

Concerned residents and members of Community Speedwatch (CSW) shared their worries and experiences with Emma

School children voicing their concerns

After the visit, some of the children and Mr Gosling explained:

Poppy aged 10:

“It’s important for the environment to be clean so animals don’t get caught in rubbish and their habitats damaged.”

Eliza also aged 10:

“We shouldn’t litter as it has an effect on biodiversity which mean every little micro- organism to a massive eco systems can be damaged.”

Mr Gosling:

“I couldn’t be prouder of our Eco Council. Their enthusiasm and leadership reminds us that caring for our planet starts with the small choices we make every day. Protecting the environment isn’t just important for the future but something we all have a responsibility to act on right now.”

Lynda Brown worked with the children on these the campaigns. Through her persistence, anti-litter posters have been on display in some of our beauty spots; our villages and hamlets have access to the speeding posters; and the children took the anti-plastic waste campaign to Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Head Office in Uxbridge.

Children from Frieth CEC School, accompanied by Headteacher Martin Gosling, discussed their stop litter, speeding and plastic campaigns.

Getting together…

As most of us know, within Hambleden Parish there are a number of groups that enrich our lives, help and support others and make a difference. Sadly, with only an hour scheduled for the visit, it wasn’t possible to invite everyone, but here is a flavour from those who came:

Yew Tree Lunches and Parmoor Teas

Judy Hunt gave a lively description of both of these and how valuable they are for helping residents to keep in touch - ajh.claypit1@btinternet.com

Judy:

“Emma was friendly and easy to talk to, as planned, I introduced myself as verger of the village church and explained that we organised two events; a weekly afternoon get together for some of the older residents (myself included!) where we have game of cards, quiz, film, sometimes a speaker or an outing always followed by tea and cakes. Secondly the lunch club: a monthly visit to the Yew Tree. She seemed especially interested to learn about the pub and the closure of the Prince Albert.”

Lady Ryder Memorial Garden

Shelagh:

“It was a great privilege to meet Emma Reynolds MP and her team this week. We were able to show the work that we undertake at The Lady Ryder Memorial Garden with groups of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) children and adults.”

Emma hearing about how the volunteers won the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, their educational work, and how they grow and sell seasonal produce to the local community on Wednesdays, 11am-2pm.

Frieth Village Society (FVS)

Emma chatted with Penny from Frieth Village Society about the wide range of popular social events they organise, including their annual quiz night and village fete.

Penny:

“…it was a very useful visit both for our MP to understand what it's like to live in Frieth and to see the commitment of people living in the community to ensure the village thrives. On a personal note I found Emma to be very approachable and keen to be informed about village issues so having now met her I would have no hesitation about approaching her if I had any concerns I felt she could address for us.”

Wild at heart

Championing residents' love of nature and determination to protect biodiversity and help it thrive.

Frieth Natural History Society (FNHS)

Andy:

“…we were extremely impressed with Emma and her team. They were lovely and prepared to give time and listen while being genuinely interested in the concerns of the villagers and the effort locals are putting in to caring for the village.”

“We explained that FNHS encourages ongoing protection of the local flora and fauna, and would value help in encouraging Natural England to follow up on contacting the owners of SSSI Frieth Meadows, to create an agreed management plan with the owners in the knowledge that local volunteers where possible could also help in reclaiming the land. The aim would be to return it into a haven for the threatened Green-winged Orchid and for other flora and fauna to thrive – somewhere Frieth could once again be proud of.”

Butterfly Conservation Trust

Emma learning about the importance of nettles, and playing the butterfly quiz, seeing how many she could identify.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/

Sarah:

“Please be more tolerant of nettles. Not a single nettle necessarily, but a patch of nettles the size of a car in a sunny location equates to a perfect spot for female Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma

and Red Admiral butterflies to lay eggs on. The first two species use nothing other than nettles because their caterpillars won’t eat anything other than nettles. The second two use a couple of other options but overall seem to prefer nettles. These four iconic UK butterflies would thrive once again if more people could accommodate a nettle patch in their gardens. It’s not just about pollen and nectar rich flowers to sustain our butterflies, it is as important to provide them with their caterpillar food plant too.”

Hambleden Parish Council

Charles:

“I talked about Pheasants Hill and the issue of lack of ownership being an obstacle to tackling the lack of regeneration caused by deer and squirrel damage.”

“I explained about Local Wildlife Sites; a non-statutory designation. These are quite numerous (there are 11 in the parish) but landowners may not be aware that there may be one on their property. There are defined criteria that new sites have to meet, and the designation is decided by a panel, under the auspices of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre.”

“I also mentioned that the UK is unique in having a long history of work by amateur naturalists. Even now, there are numerous societies contributing records of different groups of animals, plants and fungi. Species observation records are collated by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN).The NBN Atlas is an online resource containing 335 million species records. No other country can match this level of knowledge about its fauna and flora.”

Councillor Charles Hussey spoke about the challenges involved in trying to protect and enhance our natural habitats

And finally…

Emma and her team stayed far longer than the allocated hour because they were so impressed by the commitment, knowledge and passion of the volunteers and the variety of what is on offer in such a small part of the constituency. They left with promises to support our case with BC for better road safety and to follow up with some of the nature issues raised. We all left feeling that Emma and her team had listened, understood and would help where they could.

We were delighted to see our event covered in Bucks Free Press. You can also read more in the August issues of both Hambleden Valley Magazine and Frieth Village Newsletter. Here are the links:

Newsflash!

In response to her visit Emma and her team have already been hard at work on our behalf. To date, they have sent the following letters:

• to Buckinghamshire Council supporting 20 mph (see the letter below)

• to the Department for Transport about HGVS and verges

• to the Department of Transport requesting support on changing Buckinghamshire Council’s attitude to road safety

• to Natural England about the SSSI

• to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about consulting parish councils on planning reform

Emma’s team have also kindly put the Lady Ryder Memorial Garden in touch with local organisations for people with learning difficulties.

Emma wrote the following letter to Bucks Council before she had been informed that HPC have now received the Traffic Concerns Report referred to. We reprint it here with her permission.

Dear Buckinghamshire Council,
I have been contacted once again by Hambleden Parish Council on the subject of road safety.
On 5 June 2026, I attended an event organised by the Parish Council, in which I met road safety campaigners, including children from Frieth School and volunteers from Community Speed Watch. The campaigners shared that Frieth is used as a ‘rat run’ from Henley to Marlow. The children have made road safety posters which are displayed in local gardens, but they are not effective; recently, an elderly man was knocked off his bike by a delivery driver.
Hambleden Parish Council and Frieth Village Society support a 20mph limit for their village roads because there are narrow roads with few pavements, little street lighting and properties opening directly on to the carriageway. They argue that the fast traffic restricts village life and discourages walking and cycling. Parents are reluctant to allow children to travel to school independently. The attached video by a 13-year-old student, Thomas, shows the difficulties faced by pedestrians in the village. Walkers are forced to share the carriage way with heavy and fast traffic.
Hambleden Parish Council have raised these concerns multiple times with Buckinghamshire Council. A Traffic Concerns Report for Frieth was completed in October 2024 by Network Safety Team Leader Neil O’Leary (see attached letter), but despite multiple requests it has not been shared with the parish council. Could this request be actioned quickly, please?
I am urging Buckinghamshire Council to take a more proactive approach to keeping vulnerable road users safe, with low speeds as a core principle. Active Travel England is awarding more than £9 million in 2026-2030 to Buckinghamshire Council to support the development of safe walking and cycling facilities. The 2026 UK Road Safety Strategy aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on roads by 65% by 2035, with a 70% reduction target for children under 16. The strategy recognises that a person is six times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads than on motorways and that some of the most high-risk roads in the country are rural single carriageways, with high speeds and limited infrastructure. The government will publish a new edition of the best practice guidance ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’ and update separate guidance on the use of speed and red-light cameras. I expect that this guidance will help Hambleden Parish Council in its campaign for a 20mph speed limit.
I hope that all these developments will prompt Buckinghamshire Council to modernise its approach to keeping vulnerable road users safe.
Yours faithfully, Emma Reynolds