First of all a very happy and healthy New Year to all and I trust that most of you enjoyed your Christmas and celebrated the New Year in style. I am sure that you have all made your New Year's resolutions which you have every intention of keeping!

The seniors Christmas dinner was held at the community centre and was, once again, a great success. More than 100 people attended and were wined and dined by a band of happy helpers. The Buntingford Community Choir once again provided the musical interlude and our thanks go to them. The Town Mayor and his wife were in attendance - suitably dressed to merit the festive occasion.

The Town sign is now back in its rightful place. This new sign was donated by the Civic Society and is made from a durable material that will last for many years. Our thanks go to Tim Cave of JKM scaffolding and Richard Hall for their time and effort in installing the new sign. You will see from the photo that it was not an easy task. Our Town Mayor Graham Waite was also one of the 'team'.

As you may have noticed the Town Pump has once again been hit and suffered yet more damage. We await a report and estimate from Between Time to see how much the repair will cost. I am speaking to Jill Jones, the Town Clerk, to see if we cannot install some sort of protection to avoid further instances of damage.

As many of you will be aware, the proposed development of 56 dwellings at Aspenden Bridge is back on the agenda. Planning permission for this was granted by the Inspector at appeal in May 2016 but the original developer pulled out and a new developer - Dandara - have taken over. They have submitted a request to increase the build to 65 dwellings. Over 70 local residents have already registered objections and the Civic Society, Buntingford Town Council and Aspenden Parish Council have also objected. It is interesting to note that The Environment Agency, Thames Water and Highways have all recommended refusal of this application. Watch this space!

Graham Bonner, Chairman, Buntingford Civic Society

If you have any queries about Buntingford Civic Society or issues you would like to raise, you can email the Chairman direct at chairman@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

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