Finally!! We have a ramp (or steps on smooth incline)!

At long last, the Town Council has had the collective satisfaction in opening the new ramp at the entrance to Lace Hill. I did the honours this morning and cut the ribbon - ably held at one end by Cllr Mike Smith - and declared the pathway officially open. I won't bore you with the twists and turns that we have had to take to get us to this point. But having inspected the work in detail a few hours ago, I fail to see what the fuss was all about. This should have been done many, many moons ago! But hey, it is now all water under the bridge. My only sadness is that Mr Jim Jones, the older gentleman who loved to amble over to Tesco for a coffee, newspaper and a chat, did not live to see this ramp completed (which would have made his life a lot smoother). Cllr Robin Stuchbury brought a bottle of Jim Beam in his memory this morning, and many of us a small snifter. Joëlle Jones, his daughter-in-law said a few words in his memory and thanked the Town Council and the Town Clerk for the all efforts in getting this done.

Here are some pics taken by Robin with the speech I gave below as well.

Joëlle & I before she gave her speech

It gives me the greatest of pleasure to be part of this ceremony to officially open the new Cotton End Ramp or “steps on a smooth incline” as I think we ought to call this innovative entrance to Lace Hill. 

As we all know, Aylesbury Vale is proud to be the home of the Paralympics. The games began in Stoke Mandeville Hospital 70 years ago under the leadership of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann. Dr Guttman, a Jewish doctor, had fled Nazi Germany just before the start of the Second World War and made his home just down the road from here. The rest is history as they say.

One of the objectives of the Paralympic Games is “To act as catalyst that stimulates social development and leaves a positive long-term legacy that benefits communities in the host country and across the world.” 

So it is wonderful to see a visible manifestation of this objective in the shape of this set of steps on a smooth incline. Notably, this has been funded by the New Homes Bonus pot of money which is managed by Aylesbury Vale District Council. Thank you to them for the funding. 

Now, at last, people with all different kinds of transport and mobility will be able to easily access this wonderful housing estate here on Lace Hill. 

I say at last because this has been something of a ‘process’ to get to this point. The Town Council has been battling to get this matter resolved for many years - in particular by fellow Town Councillors Robin Stuchbury and Christine Strain-Clark. 

And we have been ably supported in all this by our Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Wayman. Chris is sadly leaving us very soon but we should all acknowledge that some of his sweat, blood and tears are woven into the very fabric of this structure.

And thank you to all who have been a part of this journey especially Mr Jim Jones, whose stoicism and politeness are qualities we will all always remember him for. 

Perhaps Cotton End should be renamed Cotton Beginning because these new steps on a smooth incline represent a new way of accessing Lace Hill.

So, let us all celebrate and open this darned cotton pickin’ ramp!!