PAVENHAM PARISH COUNCIL

NEWSLETTER NO. 66 – March 2019

Average Speed Camera scheme You will all have seen the signs recently erected by the Borough Council (BC) saying that speed cameras are to be erected in the summer. Parish Councillors met with the BC Highways officer appointed to design the scheme at the end of November. He promised to send his proposals to the Parish Council (PC) for its consideration but they were not received until this month and only then after chasing by the clerk. The BC’s proposal is for a 3-camera scheme with one camera at Pax Hill/The Retreat, another near the Bury Farm entrance, and a third near the Pony Paddock in Church Lane. The Parish Council is not satisfied with the locations of the first and third cameras because they omit long lengths of road within the 30 mph which would not be covered by the cameras. The PC is seeking an urgent meeting with the Highways officer to discuss the locations of the cameras.

Bulky Refuse Collection Dates The 2019 Bulky Refuse Collection dates for Pavenham are:

Saturday 6th April – 3.00pm at Close Road then 4.00pm (until 5.00pm) at The Bury Sunday 7th April – 1.00 pm at West End then 2.00 pm (until 3.00pm) at Weavers Lane

Please do not leave rubbish at the above sites if the collection lorry is not there.

The service is for domestic waste only – do not take hazardous materials such as asbestos, oils, batteries, tyres, toner cartridges, fridges or freezers. For guidance on how to dispose of these contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506. Oil, tyres and batteries can be disposed of at the BC tip in Barkers Lane and a Fridge/Freezer collection scheme (charges apply) is operated by the BC (telephone its Environmental Services Helpline on 01234 718060)

Borough Council customer satisfaction survey of its Country Parks The BC is conducting a customer satisfaction survey of its Priory and Harrold-Odell Country Parks. The survey ends on 30th April and the form for Harrold can be found on https://forms.bedford.gov.uk/hocp . The Priory Park form is on https://forms.bedford.gov.uk/pcp Hard copies available from libraries, the Customer Service Centre, Borough Hall, and at the cafes at both parks.

Extra Dog Waste Bins The PC has used Borough Councillor Pat Olney’s Ward Member’s funding to purchase two dog waste bins which are being erected at Pavenham Park and at the bottom of Mill Lane. Please ensure that you pick up your dog’s waste, bag it, and put in one of the waste bins around the village (or take it home and put it in your own black bin).

Pavenham Neighbourhood Plan & Borough Council Local Plan 2030 The Parish Council and Pavenham Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group have continued to work on the Neighbourhood Plan. Draft policies have now been approved by the Borough Council. The practical difficulty that has always been facing us, however, is that our Plan has to be in conformity with the Borough Council Plan – which is about to be replaced with a new Plan. As a consequence, and having discussed this issue with the Borough Council, we have agreed not to take our Plan to adoption until we know where we stand with the new Bedford Local Plan – otherwise we would have to repeat the exercise immediately after the new Local Plan is itself adopted. In addition, do not believe that the new town settlement proposals have gone away – they have not and we think it would be very unwise just to rush through our Plan.

The Bedford draft Local Plan has been submitted for Public Examination. The examination is due to start on 28th May. The life of the BC Local Plan has been shortened to 2030 (from 2035) in order that it then needs to provide sites for fewer dwellings than if it went to 2035. Although the Draft does not include any of the proposed new towns in north Beds at (Colworth), Twinwoods, and , the PC believes that the promotors of the Colworth and Twinwoods sites are still actively promoting their sites and will challenge the validity of the Local Plan at the Public Examination on the grounds that their sites have been unreasonably excluded. North Beds is therefore still under threat from a new settlement.

Planning issues: 1. New Build adjacent to The Retreat There is still no news on the planning application for the modern designed new dwelling in Linnells Orchard despite the application having been submitted at the end of 2017. 2. Pax Hill Storage The PC has considered a planning application to remove Condition 6 from the planning consent granted in April 2017 for storage at Pax Hill. That condition limited the consent to a period of 2 years. The PC decided not to object to the application on the grounds that it was in accordance with both local and national planning policies and the highways officer has indicated that the roads are suitable for the type of lorries accessing the site.

Mayoral, Borough and Parish Elections – 2nd May Three Elections for the posts of Mayor, Borough Councillor, and Parish Councillor are due to be held on 2nd May. The term of office for all the posts is four years.

The Mayoral position covers the whole Borough. The Borough Councillor for Pavenham also covers Oakley and , Parish Council - there are seven councillors on Pavenham Parish Council.

Anybody interested in standing for any of these positions needs to submit Nomination papers to the Borough Council by 4pm on April 3rd. Nomination packs are available from the Returning Officer, Room 328, Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AP, Tel: 01234 718078 or from the clerk.

This is an opportunity for you to get involved with your community, have a say about local issues, influence local service delivery, and decide how money is spent to improve your community.

Notices for all three elections are displayed in the usual places and give details of applications for postal votes and other voting information.

Borough Councillor Pat Olney After a long and distinguished period acting as the Independent Councillor representing Oakley and, since the boundaries reorganisation of 2011, also taking on the parishes of both Pavenham and Stevington, Pat Olney has decided to retire from local politics. It would be remiss of the Parish Council not to take this opportunity to express its sincere gratitude for all the hard work and dedication that she has undertaken on behalf of the village in her capacity as our councillor. Thank you Pat for everything. We hope that you enjoy your retirement and look forward to continuing to see you around the parish.

Next Parish Council Meeting and Annual Parish Meeting – both on Thursday 18th April – the PC meeting at 7.15 pm and the Annual Parish Meeting at 8.00pm

Your Parish Councillors and Clerk NAME TEL. NO. EMAIL

Jim Russell – Chairman 824572 [email protected]

Brian Greenwood–Vice-Chairman 822100 [email protected]

Dr Peter Sharpe - Parish Clerk 823423 [email protected]

Tony Roff Spinney & Tree Warden 822434 [email protected]

Mark Blakemore Highways 824304 [email protected]

Margaret Telfer Villager Bus 824083 [email protected]

Thomas Beazley Footpaths 824565 [email protected]

John Stamford Village Hall 823041 [email protected]

PC website: pavenhamparishcouncil.bedsparishesg.gov.uk Village Website www.pavenhamvillage.co.uk