Buckingham Town Council has a small team of green spaces workers who are responsible for the maintenance of Bourton Park and Chandos Park, town council buildings including Lace Hill Sports and Community Centre, Shopmobility, Cornwalls Meadow toilets, the Tourist Information Centre and certain street furniture.
The Town Council, Buckinghamshire Council and other agencies share responsibility for the maintenance of other facilities in the town, including grass cutting, trees and play equipment. Who is responsible depends on the exact location of the object or facility.
For more information about common enquiries click on the drop down tabs below.
Maintenance services
F
Most footpaths in Buckingham are maintained by Buckinghamshire Council. The easiest way to report road and footpath issues to Buckinghamshire is via Fix My Street.
However the Town Council does look after the footpaths in Bourton Park and Chandos Park and cut back the vegetation growing along some short paths around the town.
Usually, vegetation will be cut back on these paths twice a year.
G
Grass cutting across Buckingham green spaces is shared between:
Buckingham Town Council
Buckinghamshire Council (previously Aylesbury Vale District Council [AVDC] and Buckinghamshire County Council [BCC])
Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust (VAHT)
Private landowners, this includes housing developers and management companies on newly built housing developments.
In some parts of Buckingham, grass is deliberately being grown long to improve biodiversity, but at road junctions it should be kept short enough to ensure a clear view of the road.
If you have a question about grass being cut, it’s important to find out who is responsible for the grass in that area. To get an idea, you can use the Buckinghamshire Council grass cutting map. Please be aware that this map does not show every responsible party, but does clearly indicate where it is Buckinghamshire Council or Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust’s responsibility to cut the grass.
How to use the map:
Search for the address you are interested in. You can then use the ‘Legacy Aylesbury Vale land grass cutting’, ‘Legacy BCC land grass cutting’ and ‘VAHT grass cutting’ buttons to identify areas where the grass is cut by Buckinghamshire Council or VAHT.
If you still aren’t sure who the grass is maintained by, please call the Town Council and we will help if we can.
Anti-social behaviour
The Town Council works hard to reduce the impact of anti-social behaviour, including graffiti, littering and poor behaviour. During peak times we increase bin emptying and park clearance, however we do rely on park users to do their part and take their rubbish home if the bins are full. We also strongly request that anyone witnessing anti-social behaviour reports this to the police immediately.
Litter
When you’re dealing with someone else’s rubbish the best way to clear up litter is with litter pickers. Keeping the litter at a distance from your body can protect you from broken edges and any unwanted germs that might be lurking.
Community Litter Picks
Members of the public, local schools, community groups and businesses are welcome to borrow Buckingham Town Council’s Litter Pick Kits to help them remove litter from streets and parks in our local area.
The Litter Pick Kits are available to anyone within the parish of Buckingham who would like to participate in their own community litter pick. They include 30 x litter pickers, high vis jackets and bin bags. An arrangement can also be made for the Town Council to collect rubbish that has been picked. If you would like to borrow a Litter Pick Kit from Buckingham Town Council, click here to email us or call 01280 816426.
Graffiti
Unfortunately, we can’t clear up graffiti on private property. Please report any offensive graffiti and we can try to identify who is responsible for it’s removal.
H
Lots of homes and properties have hedges at their border, they’re great for wildlife and the natural environment, however hedges that are overgrown to the following extent may need to be cut back:
endanger or obstruct the passage of vehicles or pedestrians
obstruct or interfere with the view of drivers of vehicles
obstruct or interfere with light from a public lamp
potentially cause danger to the highway, road, or footpath
Buckinghamshire Council Highways Department, has responsibility for ensuring the footpaths/highways are kept clear for use by pedestrians and vehicles. If you are aware of a problem hedge, please take a photograph and report the issue on Photos – Google Photos (buckinghamshire.gov.uk)
P
Parks managed by Buckingham Town Council are safety checked weekly. Sometimes a piece of equipment may need repair or a replacement part, if so the equipment will be closed until the repair is possible. Any play area impacted by flooding will also be closed until it has been cleaned.
Not all the play areas are maintained by the Town Council, some are maintained by Buckinghamshire Council or by management companies. You can check who maintains your local play area.
If you are concerned about a piece of Buckingham Town Council play equipment, please do report this to the Council. Photographs and a clear description of the problem can be emailed to office@buckingham-tc.gov.uk
R
The River Great Ouse runs through Buckingham. Anyone who owns property up to the edge of a watercourse is a riparian owner. This means they are responsible for maintaining the river flow, ensuring that the water flows naturally up to the middle of the river alongside their property. This does not mean removing all obstructions, but does involve removing certain kinds of obstruction.
If a landowner fails to look after the watercourse they are responsible for the Environment Agency can get involved. The Town Council does not have enforcement powers if other local landowners are not maintaining their stretch of the river correctly.
The Town Council maintains the river along it’s property lines in a number of ways, including a twice yearly river rinse with Stowe Sub Aqua club and volunteers.
T
One of the key features of Buckingham is it’s many beautiful trees across the town and parks.
The maintenance of any tree is the responsibility of the landowner. As with grass, this could be Buckinghamshire Council, Aylesbury Vale Housing Trust, private landowners or the Town Council. You can check if Buckinghamshire Council owns the land the tree is on by using their grass cutting map.
The Town Council green spaces team survey the trees on our property regularly to identify problems, but necessary tree works would normally be done by a specialist.
Problems with trees that it would be helpful to let us know about could include: broken or dead branches that may fall dangerously and unusual looking dead patches of leaves or branches.
Falling leaves, branches overhanging gardens, shade from trees and sticky residue are not considered tree issues.
Trees and planning
Buckingham benefits from a number of beautiful green spaces, with considerable areas of woodland, parks and street trees. However, Members of the Planning Committee have grown concerned at the increasing number of fallen trees, despite tree protection orders being in place and being located in the town’s Conservation Area. Members review the number of fallen trees at each meeting of the Planning Committee and have agreed to publish their findings within the attached report.
