A LONG-SERVING councillor has been named in the New Year’s Honours List for her services to the West Wycombe community.

Councillor Vicki Smith, who has lived in the village for over 50 years, chairs the parish council and has worked at the wider district and county council level.

In over 40 years of service in helping the village, Mrs Smith is part of the West Wycombe Community Association, which has helped preserved the much used village hall.

Following the news, Cllr Smith has dedicated her British Empire Medal (BEM) award to those who have ‘worked so hard in West Wycombe’ alongside her.

She said: “I am absolutely amazed to be given this honour. I had no idea I had been put forward for it.

“I first heard through Sharon Henson our parish clerk, because obviously these days you can’t meet or anything like that so she sent me an email.

“She was delighted to tell me, so I was incredibly shocked and surprised to say the least.

“I’m proud of everything I’ve done for West Wycombe. West Wycombe deserves to have all these things done.

“I feel this for all the people that work so hard in West Wycombe that make it a really great place to live.”

Cllr Smith’s work has delivered allotments, a burial ground, a children’s play area, traffic improvements, which includes new highway lighting, new footway lighting, road crossing expansions, a school crossing patroller and new pathways across within the village.

Nominees are still unsure how they will receive the awards with social distancing and tier restrictions, but the hope is they will be handed out later next year.

Cllr Smith continued: “I’m not sure at the moment because things are up in the air we don’t really know when it will happen.

“I believe it is going to be probably much later in the year when they’ve decided how to do them.”

Working alongside other local parish and town councils, Mrs Smith has also represented West Wycombe community by sitting on the HS2 A4010 Committee.

The work has resulted in a legal agreement to prevent construction traffic travelling through the most historical part of the parish.

A statement from West Wycombe Parish Council said: “Vicki’s enthusiasm, initiative and love of West Wycombe and its residents has led to the development, under her chairmanship, of a parish council which is forward thinking and is highly respected at both district and county level.

“By representing the community at every opportunity, she has ensured the needs of our residents are fully understood and delivered.

“By her enthusiasm, hard work and wonderful sense of humour she has encouraged people to stand as parish councillors; consequently, we now have a group of people committed to looking after this parish and its residents for many years to come.”