Buntingford Civic Society

For my Chairmans report this month I thought I would change the theme. Instead of commenting on the weather, gardens, holidays and planning, I would take the opportunity to explain about the Buntingford Civic Society membership of Civic Voice.

Civic Voice is a national charity that was formed in October 2009 following closure of the Civic Trust earlier that year. Thanks to one of our former Chairman, Derek Cooper, BCS is one of the founder members. The present national membership is in excess of 300 societies across England.

The formation of Civic Voice was the result of extensive consultation and discussion with hundreds of civic and amenity societies and their members and over 100 other interested organisations and partners about the future of the civic movement. This work was led by the Civic Society Initiative and funded by the National Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and civic societies with support from CPRE, the North of England Civic Trust, English Heritage and the RIBA among others.

It works to make the places where everyone lives more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. They speak up for civic societies and local communities across England, promote civic pride, are the national charity for the civic movement and have a strong local presence, want to build stronger, more active, and more engaged communities through their work and aspire to have a nation of active citizens.

It is a small light-footed organisation and as a national voice with a strong local presence, they endeavour to make a difference where it matters. They regularly lobby ministers in Whitehall and Westminster, campaign with local volunteers, speak out in the media, undertake research, building partnerships and promoting civic pride. They support local groups and help them work together, organise a national convention for the civic movement and give local groups a national voice and combine community action with sense of place for the benefit of everyone.

This above is only a brief synopsis of the work Civic Voice do, if you would like to find out more then please visit their website www. civicvoice.org.uk

Finally on a very sad note, some of you would have learnt about the passing of Brian Lemay via a flyer that went out to members with their copy of the journal delivered to their door. Brian passed away on Monday 27th May 2024. His funeral took place on Monday 17th June at Parndon Wood Crematorium, Harlow and was attended by family members and friends from the town.

Brian had been a member of the Civic Society for many years and a member of the Executive Committee for 9 years. He was a long-term resident of Buntingford and was passionate about its environment. His love of nature led to him being involved in many Environmental projects around the town. He was a member of the group that investigated and produced the Buntingford Community Area Neighbourhood Plan and was responsible for writing the Environmental policies which are still relevant and robust today.

He was an active member of the River Rib restoration project since its start. He was coopted to the town council in 2019 but decided not to stand for re-election in 2023. Although he was no longer a councillor, he was part of a Town Council and HMWT led initiative to carry out improvements to the river and its environs, on the section from the weir to Luynes Rise bridge, he will be greatly missed by the group.

We send our sincere and heart felt sympathies to his family at this sad time.

Rest in Peace Brian, your legacy will live on in our memories.

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.

The July issue of the Buntingford Journal will be available from the usual retailers from 28th June.

More information about the Buntingford Civic Society can be found here and membership forms can be found here.