Chalfont St Peter is facing some big changes in the coming months including new housing, shops and pavements. With these changes come many problems.

New pavements on Market Place in Chalfont St Peter have cause some disruption. This is because during the construction of the pavement on the other side of the road from the shop fronts the Parking Bays which are opposite were shut off from the 1st of August to the 15th of September. This caused a big reduction in footfall as less people are able to visit the village so the shops have been badly affected. As well as this there has been an increase in traffic due to the introduction of large trucks and construction vehicles. Although traffic disruption was predicted during these months the construction took longer than expected, causing these problems to continue. To combat the problem the shop keepers are facing, they have requested that the Parish Council lengthen the current one hour free parking in Church Lane Car Park, while this work is being done.

Despite these problems the village should be grateful as they have avoided further disruption. The planned pedestrian crossing opposite The Vale was objected to by the Parish Council due to safety reasons, although this plan is still under consideration.

The village has also now got a new Cooperative to replace the old Budgens which closed. This is now bringing more business to the village and is proving to be very successful. This is proof of how, despite new changes in the village and problems they may cause, the outcome is worth it as there were a couple of months between the Cooperative opening and Budgens closing that people went elsewhere for their food so there were less people coming to the village. But now this problem is in the past.  

The good news is that the village is getting a face lift and in the near future these improvements will draw more visitors to the village. Soon these bumps in the road will seem very insignificant in comparison to the benefits the village will see.

Name: Macy Owen     

School: Chalfonts Community College