HAVING just returned form a touring holiday, during which my wife and I travelled over 1,500 miles, through no less than 15 counties including two in Scotland, we instinctively knew when we were back in Buckinghamshire.

Yes you've guessed, when the car started to rattle due to the state of the roads. However the good news is that I have it on very good authority from my friendly county councillor that money is now available and we shall soon see an improvement on both the road surfaces and the footways. Watch this space.

REGRETTABLY Inspector Roger Doe who was based at Gerrards Cross has moved on. Roger was extremely helpful with respect to local policing matters and we wish him every success. The good news is that his replacement Inspector Doug Procter is equally as keen to be helpful and involved. My impression is that we shall continue to enjoy a caring and helpful service.

SOME readers may be aware (although I doubt it) that a submission was put forward to the Government Boundaries Commission that Austenwood and Gold Hill be combined. This would have meant an enormous ward stretching from South Park in Gerrards Cross to beyond the leisure centre to the boundary with Chalfont St Giles... However I am pleased to advise that the Commission refused to accept such a proposal.

CHILTERN District Council has been forced by central government to adopt a completely new way of working. Rather than the Committee System whereby the various functions of the council were handled by four separate committees, the council now has a leader and a five-member executive. The old committees, viz: Environmental Services, Leisure Services, Planning & Development Control and Policy & Finance, would hitherto deal with their respective functions which would then be ratified by the whole council.

Under the new system most of these functions are now managed by the Executive with the remaining councillors acting as scrutineers. A bit like Parliament where the Prime Minister and his Cabinet make all the decisions and the members ask questions and scrutinise issues via select committees.

Planning (Development Control) and Licensing are unchanged and these matters are still under the Committee System reporting to the full council.

Chiltern did not adopt this system out of choice. The Government prescribed it, and all county, unitary and district councils throughout England, Wales (unless they were very small) had to change. Bucks County Council has the same system.