Last year, the village was given the Pushman Cup, after a break of six years, which was given to them by the Bucks Association of Local Councils for being the best kept village with a population of more than 3,000 people.
It is now going for the Tindall Cup, a trophy which can only be entered by towns and village who were competition winners last year, making the prize even harder to win.
Teri McAvoy, clerk to the parish council, is now appealing to shops, businesses and people in the village to make sure that Chalfont St Peter is kept looking at its best over the next month.
She said: "Our haywardens have a full schedule of works to keep our open spaces and public areas maintained and litter free, but we are inviting people to contribute to the achievement.
"Any effort made towards the overall appearance of the village will be noticed.
"It will really help to make a difference if the areas around shops and businesses were kept litter free, clean and tidy in the run up to the judging at the end of May."
The parish council is currently working with the village's Chamber of Commerce to make sure that Chalfont St Peter continues to have a good display of flags, hanging baskets and Christmas lights decorating the village on special occasions throughout the year.
The parish council has recently taken on responsibility for decorating the village, and is now keen for people in the village to help them with the task.
Mrs McAvoy said: "We are also keen to recruit more local people to help with the organisation of the village decorations since Oliver Sansum and John West disbanded the Village Association at the end of last year."
If you are interested in helping out, contact Mrs McAvoy by calling 01753 891582, or by visiting the council office, near to the community centre in Gravel Hill.
]]>James Newham (pictured), 19, of Bottrells Lane, Chalfont St Giles is aiming to raise as much money as possible for the Michael Sobell Hospice to mark the 10th anniversary of his father Steven's death.
]]> The hospice cared for Steven, who was 48, while he was ill, and James has decided to mark the occasion by taking on two long bike rides, a 10km run, a sky dive and a mini-triathlon between May 20 and June 24.His mother Linda said: "James felt he would like to do something significant, and something different to what other people do.
"So many people do charity walks, or charity bike rides, but James is planning to take on five fundraising events over five weeks.
"It will be a big challenge for him, but it will be a really good and a positive way to mark the occasion."
The first is a 24-mile bike ride on May 20. To give, go to http://www.justgiving.com/jamesnewham
]]>Jackie Edington and Robert Leschhorn of South Park Drive, Gerrards Cross are fighting to get a 19-acre patch of woodland between their homes and the A413 reclassified as woodland by Bucks County Council to stop potential developers building homes on it.
]]> The land runs adjacent to Lower Road, which links Chalfont St Peter with Gerrards Cross, and they have managed to secure the support of more than 200 people in the two villages for their campaign.Dr Edington said: "The woodland is a really attractive area, where people come to walk their dogs and to enjoy the outdoors.
"It isn't just used by people who live nearby, people from all over Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Peter come here.
"We are worried that the land could be attractive to developers at some point, so in order to stop it being built on, we are asking for it to be reclassified."
There are currently no plans to build on the land, but the campaigners' efforts would make it impossible for any development to take place there in the future.
The woodland is home to wildlife such as badgers, foxes and woodpeckers, as well as a chestnut tree which dates back more than 500 years.
Mr Leschhorn said: "We believe that land such as this should be protected so people can enjoy it.
"We want to get it reclassified now while we still can, rather than have a fight on our hands if developers put in an application to build houses there. Some of the trees in the wood are ancient and it would be a tragedy to see them bulldozed to make way for new houses or flats."
]]>The signal fire will be set alight on the evening of Monday, June 4 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.
]]> The celebration will be a link in a chain of more than 4,000 beacons spanning the length and breadth of the country, as well as the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and some Commonwealth countries.There are also planned to be a number of special events in Chalfont St Peter to mark the occasion, including a special celebration by the Scout group and some village schools.
The full plans for the beacon have not been revealed, and the time which it will be lit has not been confirmed. It is hoped that villagers will gather on the common to watch the ceremony.
Parish council vice-chairman Richard Allen said: "We haven't finished planning everything about this yet, but we hope that people will come along and make it a real community event.
"It could be really memorable and it is something that can bring the whole village together."
People living near to the common are pleased with the idea.
Martin Nicholls, 63, of Leachcroft, said: "It sounds like it could be a really good event.
"It will be a busy summer for Chalfont St Peter with the jubilee and the Feast Day coming up. It's good that there are so many community events for people to enjoy."
In Denham, the parish council has also arranged for a beacon to be part of the jubilee chain. Light up time is expected to be between 10pm and 10.30pm.
]]>Keith Wheeler, Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's road safety officer, said: "Try to avoid car journeys during the worst of the weather, and always check local traffic reports to see if the route is clear before you make the journey.
"In particular, take great care when driving at night in areas that you know have flooded on previous occasions."
Have you found the roads to be flooded in South Bucks? If so, email jackabell@trinitysouth.co.uk with any pictures or comments that you have.
]]>Amy Jack, 19, who is studying Law and Politics at Cardiff University, is set to take on the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this summer in a bid to raise cash for Childreach International.
]]> The former Chesham Grammar School student was offered the chance, along with other students at the university, to get involved in the expedition and jumped at the chance.Amy, who lives in Lansdown Road, Chalfont St Peter, said: "When I was offered the opportunity to do something amazing and have the experience of a lifetime, it was something I couldn't turn down.
"The first challenge is to try and raise the money to get there. I need to raise £1,950 by the end of May, which is a high but achievable amount.
"I have managed to raise almost a third so far by raising awareness of the charity to friends and family, selling donuts around Cardiff and taking part in bucket collections.
"There is still a lot of money to be raised in quite a short period of time, but I am determined to reach my deadline."
Mount Kilimanjaro is a popular location for people raising money for charity, but it is known to be an extremely challenging trek, and only around 40 per cent of those who attempt to climb it each year reach the peak.
The money that Amy manages to raise will go towards improving children's access to healthcare and education in devleloping countries all over the world.
Amy said: "It is clear that the work they do really does make a difference and I feel really privileged to be doing this for such a worthy cause.
"Balancing end of year exams, fundraising and the training to reach the top of Kilimanjaro is quite a task, but I know it will all be worth it in the end."
If you would like to donate money Amy's cause, go to www.mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/amyjack12.
]]>Chalfont St Peter Parish Council learned on Friday in a hearing at the High Court that it can pursue a judicial review against Chiltern District Council's decision in 2010 to allow hundreds of homes to be built on the site of the former Holy Cross Convent School.
]]> At two hearings held in March at the Royal Courts in London, representatives of the district council and the parish council put forward their arguments and last week, Mr Justice Ockelton gave his judgment that the issue should be examined by a higher court.So far, the parish council has spent around £40,000 on funding the judicial review, but the amount that it could potentially spend is unclear.
This is because it is seeking a Cost Protection Order, which would protect it from paying the full legal costs. Chiltern District Council is also seeking the same order to protect taxpayers from expensive legal costs.
John Hatton, chairman of Chalfont St Peter Parish Council, said: "All our costs so far have been accounted for and budgeted, but we cannot say how much could be spent until the Cost Protection Order is in place. As we expect to win, we do not expect to incur any significant additional cost."
The parish council believes the district council did not uphold its own policy to protect educational land in the village when they passed planning permission for 198 dwellings and a care home on the site.
Richard Allen, vice-chairman of the parish council, said: "Rather than just dump uniform development in one site, we'd like to see the educational use retained and incorporated into a well planned development that takes into account the present and long term future needs of the community."
In a statement, Chiltern District Council said: "The judge dismissed all the points made by the parish council with the exception of one.
"This was the claim that the district council had failed to properly apply its own local planning policy on the loss of community facilities.
"The costs are an unknown quantity as is usual in ongoing litigation."
]]>A survey is set to be carried out to discover where the main parking problems are in the village and how to put a permanent stop to them.
]]> Chalfont St Peter parish council will carry out the scheme during the next few months to identify problematic locations in the village.Problems with parking in recent years in Chalfont St Peter have been increased following the building of office blocks in the Chiltern Park development near Lower Road.
Richard Allen, of Chalfont St Peter parish council, said: "We want to find out the places in the village which are becoming congested with traffic and where people are seeing problems caused by inconsiderate parking.
"We know that this has been issue for some time, but we think that if we carry out a survey, we will be on the right track to put a stop to the problem."
The parish council is set to go to streets in the village where parking issues are known to exist to see how many cars are there at busy times of the day and then to come up with a solution for it.
It will also ask residents where they think the problems are and what experiences they have had with parking in the village.
Phillipa Yates, 60, who has lived in Lower Road for the past 12 years, backed the idea.
She said: "Since I have lived here, parking in this road has got worse and worse. It is quite a busy road as people use it as a way of getting from the village to the A413 and when there are cars all along the road it becomes incredibly congested.
"Sometimes, you can't get into your own house and have to sit in a queue to get to your drive, it's ridiculous and inconsiderate.
"I'm behind the idea, but I hope that it actually leads to something being done about this."
]]>Georgia Andrews, 12, who goes to Chesham Grammar School, tells the story of a young girl growing up in Tudor times who meets William Shakespeare on her journey to becoming an actress.
]]> Georgia, who lives in Chalfont St Giles, began writing the story over the summer last year but finished it around Christmas time, and has now managed to get the book published.She said: "It's a really exciting time for me. I'm going to be doing book signings and I'm really pleased that I've managed to get it published.
"I learned about the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare when I was school and I found the whole period really interesting, especially the language.
"I thought that it would be a good setting for a story so I had an idea for it and I wrote it last year."
Georgia is currently writing the sequel to the book, and says she is around two thirds of the way through.
She is then hoping that she will be able to secure publishing for that novel as well.
Her mother Jill said: "When she started writing the book I thought it was just a hobby but when I read the full story I was really impressed with it and I thought it was a really good story.
"It's fantastic for her that she has managed to get the book published, and hopefully this will be the first of many books she writes.
"Georgia wants to be an author but she's also really interested in acting, and I think that she has combined the two really well in her story."
Georgia will be signing copies of her book at Gerrards Cross Bookshop on Saturday, April 21 from 11am to 1pm.
]]>Gold Hill Common in Chalfont St Peter, which is run and maintained by the parish council, has suffered from the problem over the past week.
]]> Empty bottles, food wrappers, cigarette butts and plastic bags have been left on the common overnight several times since Thursday night last week.On Saturday morning, the rubbish there was so bad that Gold Hill Football Club were unable to use the pitch and players had to clean it up themselves, filling eight bin bags with rubbish.
It is thought the problem is caused by youngsters' end of term celebrations.
Jacqueline Penney, 45, who lives in nearby Layters Green Lane, said: "The state of the common on Saturday morning was appalling. It was the worst I have ever seen it.
"There were teenagers up there on Thursday and Friday nights and they left all the rubbish they had generated all over the place. I don't think they put any of it at all into bins.
"There are rubbish bins all around the common so it is just laziness and a lack of respect for others.
"It is good that the common is popular, but it is supposed to be enjoyed by everyone.
"The fact that the weather has been so good lately and the schools have just broken up means that more and more kids have been hanging around on the common and they have made a complete mess of it."
Footballers who play for Gold Hill Football Club took to Twitter after the clear-up to complain about the state of the pitch.
Andrew Gledhill, who helped to tidy up the common, said: "The state of Gold Hill common after the end of term antics. The things you do to play football on a Saturday afternoon."
l Do you know a litter hotspot which needs tidying? Email our letters page at bucksnews@trinitysouth.co.uk
]]>Last month, Bucks County Council carried out resurfacing work in the High Street in Chalfont St Giles.
]]> The road had long been blighted by potholes and an uneven surface, and business owners in the village feared that their shops were suffering, believing that shoppers were less likely to stop in the village because of the poor road surface and untidy look of the area.However, since the work took place at the end of March, they now say that the village has seen a big improvement.
Katinka Van Wyk, of the Businesses and Traders of Chalfont St Giles group, said: "I think it will certainly help.
"The road was in a bad condition and it is obvious that if somewhere looks clean and tidy it will be more likely to attract shoppers.
"We need as much help as possible at the moment, so things like this will make a difference."
The work was carried out as part of Bucks County Council's We're Working On It campaign, which has seen them repair roads all over the county which have been badly damaged in recent years.
John England, 73,
who lives in the Brow, said: "I've been very impressed with the work.
"It was done on time and without causing any problems or disruption to the village.
"It isn't often that these kinds of jobs are done on schedule or so efficiently, so I think credit is due for a job well done.
"I'm sure that it will be a boost for traders in the area, as well as drivers who won't have to try and avoid potholes as they drive through the village.
"It's good to see something done which is actually going to make a big difference
to people."
Dog walkers are being accused of failing to clear up after their pets if they leave waste behind on pavements near to popular dog walking areas, often in residential roads.
]]> Iris Dewer, 65, of Three Households, Chalfont St Giles, has complained about the problem several times over the past year.She said: "I have a dog which I walk around Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter. I am always disgusted by the amount of dogs' waste which I see on the pavements.
"There shouldn't be any at all. There are plenty of dog bins around and it is easy to pick it up if you have a plastic bag. It is just laziness and as far as I'm concerned it is anti-social behaviour."
She added: "Narcot Lane is particularly bad for the problem because lots of people walk along there on the way to the woods. Unfortunately, lots of pupils at the Chalfonts Community College also walk along there on their way to school, so they are likely to tread in it."
John Seward, 48, a street cleaner in Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St Giles, said: "It is a problem and it isn't fair to leave it to other people to clean up the mess. If people did the responsible thing it would make this area a lot tidier."
A maximum fine of £1,000 can be imposed for people failing to clear up.
Chiltern District Council is encouraging people to report the problem by calling 01494 732 058.
l Seer Green has also been blighted by the problem. Parish clerk Liz Bates said she continues to receive complaints.
Hotspots include Orchard Road, Howard Road, Howard Crescent, Wynnswick Road and Bottom Lane.
She said: "We continue to receive a number of complaints about dog owners allowing their pets to foul our village and I've seen an increase in complaints over the last few weeks."
l What do you think? Email our letters page at bucksnews@trinitysouth.co.uk
]]>Jacqueline McCarthy, principal of the Chalfont St Peter Montessori School, and deputy principal Debbie Lomax are heading to Bolgatanga in northern Ghana next year.
]]> The trip is being organised through the Afrikids charity and the two teachers are now set to spend two weeks living and working in some of Africa's most isolated communities.Mrs Lomax of Farnham Common, said: "We will be spending time working in a school as kindergarten and primary teachers, and we will be sharing the homes of the teachers and their families, living in mud hut compunds.
"We will also be teaching street children at nighttime in a foster home which looks after more than 50 children."
Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Lomax need to raise £4,000 for the trip, which includes a donation which will directly help the school in which they will be teaching.
They are set to organise a number of fund raising events over the coming months to get the money together for the trip, and have already held a pub quiz at the Village Hall pub in Chalfont St Peter which raised more than £1,200.
The pair will also volunteer to pack people's bags in Tesco, Gerrards Cross, and will babysit for parents to help raise the funds needed.
Mrs Lomax added: "We're both sure that it will be an amazing trip, and the important thing now is to make sure that we raise the money we need for us to go on the trip.
"It will be a great experience for us and hopefully we can make a real difference when we are out there."
If you would like to sponsor the pair, you can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/debbie-lomax.