Brill Parish Council Newsletter

November 2022 (issue 14)

“The water’s off again!”

The parish council shares Brill’s extreme irritation at the erratic state of our water supply. Apparently there are a number of technical reasons for the frequent outages, not least the aging pipe system and other infrastructure - but knowing this isn’t very helpful when you want to make a cup of tea, rinse the shampoo out of your hair, or run a business. If the water goes off and you have the internet, check this page on the Thames Water website to find out more by looking for the postcode HP18. It may also be worth reading this page of general advice. If you’re on Facebook, please share any useful information on the Brill Village Chat. More importantly, please tell any elderly neighbours who may not be online what is happening. We know a lot of you do this already but it’s better to repeat information than leave people in the dark!

People without access to the internet can call 0800 316 9800 to find out what is happening. Thames Water have assured us you will speak with a real person.

Did you know that Thames Water offer priority services for members of the community who may require extra help when the water goes off? This includes pensioners, those with mental or physical challenges, and families with very young children. Support includes prompt delivery of bottled water. Find out more on the Thames Water website.

Although the recent water outage was caused by a leak near Ashendon, most of the problems in Brill are related to power cuts. The PC has been speaking with Thames Water about ways this could be resolved.

Keeping warm this winter

We’re gathering information about all the regular events and opportunities to meet other people indoors that happen throughout the week in Brill. We’ll publish this information in the next week on the parish council website and on our noticeboards. Please let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed - or if there is any other information you would find useful.

Don’t forget the Bucks Helping Hand Team, an advisory hub for anyone facing hardship. A resident recently made contact and found the team incredibly helpful and proactive in their response to her needs. Go to the Cost of Living pages on the Bucks Council website to find out about:

• help for pensioners

• help with food

• help with fuel and household bills

• help with essential items for your home

If you don’t have the internet, please phone (01844 238662) or call into the parish council office to speak with Bobs Daverell, the clerk. He will happily help you access the Bucks Council website, in confidence.

The Helping Hand pages also suggest ways in which residents can themselves help others by donating time, food or money. Talking of which -

Christmas Foodbank Collection

It’s not too late to donate Christmassy food items, in particular stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, custard, mince pies, sponge puddings, Yule logs, sweets, luxury cheese biscuits and crisps. NEW toys and books are also needed, especially for older children and teenagers.

Alternatively, the usual items would be very gratefully received; tinned meat (meat balls, hot dogs, meat/chicken in sauce), tinned tuna, soup, pasta sauce and instant noodles, rice pudding and custard, biscuits, tinned tomatoes and tinned fruit, tea bags and small jars of coffee.

As most of you will know by now, the items are collected by the Bernwode Community Bus team and taken to the Aylesbury Vineyard Storehouse foodbank. Brill and the other villages have been incredibly generous this year, culminating last month in an amazing 1 tonne of food donations.

A Housing Needs Survey for Brill?

During our October meeting, two councillors presented a proposal to commission a Housing Needs Survey (HNS). Administered and analysed by a professional research body, an HNS (cost about £1800) would survey all residents to gather information about their actual and anticipated needs. The outcomes could then be used to inform and support local, community-led initiatives to develop small-scale new or refurbished housing; be it sheltered accommodation, rental properties, starter homes for low-waged families, something else - or nothing at all if no need is found.

A HNS would be the first crucial step in a very long, complex process. It would NOT be an attempt to identify sites for new houses (there’s not many options in Brill, we know) and it would NOT be a promise of action (the obstacles may turn out to be too great). Parish Councils have a duty of care to their communities; to listen and understand their needs. A HNS survey would be part of that listening and understanding.

At the meeting, councillors sensibly decided they needed more information to make an informed decision and so the topic was deferred until January. In the meantime, residents may like to read about the problems of rural housing and some of the community-led solutions being tried across the country. Click below to visit the community-led housing page on the PC website - and please do tell us what you think.

Non-bar-coded stamps

Royal Mail are adding bar-codes to their regular stamps (not Christmas or other Special Stamps). Non-bar-coded stamps, like the red one in the picture above, cannot be used after January 31st 2023. If you can’t use your non-bar-coded stamps by this date you can “swap out” them for the new stamps. Click the button below to find out how to do this.

Dog fouling on the playing fields (again)

Have you seen the colourful posters designed by pupils of Brill School around the playing fields? We were really impressed with the children’s ingenuity and artistic talent and found it very hard to pick out just 12 to enlarge and print. Thank you, Brill School! We will change the posters on display ever 2-3 weeks.

We’ve ordered a new dog poo bin to install beside the existing over-flowing one at the end of the Temple Street alleyway. You may wonder why we don’t just get one enormous bin. This is because the full bag would be simply to heavy to lift and carry. (The bins are emptied twice during summer months but Bucks don’t have the capacity to offer this service all year round.)

And, finally…

Please tell others about this e-newsletter. Lots of people aren’t on Facebook or comfortable with social media, and we want to reach all parishioners equally. We also value the opportunity to give something extra to subscribers - longer explanations or different perspectives - than is possible on the website.

Tell friends, family or neighbours to email hello@brillparishcouncil.co.uk or fill in the newsletter form on the Brill Parish Council website. Alternatively, if they’d like a regular paper copy, suggest they drop us a note or call in to the office. We’ll even deliver if need be! There will also be copies of the newsletter in the pouch on the office door, and on the welcome table in All Saints Church.

All good wishes
Brill Parish Council