CARLTON AND CHELLINGTON

PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD AT CARLTON VILLAGE HALL ON THURSDAY 25th APRIL 2013

Present: Chairman S Owen, Vice Chairman J Julyan, Parish Councillors D Jenkins, D Neil, R Simpson and M Stocker. Borough Councillor A Field- Foster Clerk M Wilson 4 Members of the public 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received and accepted from Councillors Geerts, Green and Tusting

2. TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING of 16th APRIL 2012 IT WAS RESOLVED that the Minutes were an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.

3. TO RECEIVE CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – As presented

Welcome ladies and gentlemen and thank you for coming to our Annual Parish meeting. I am Susan Owen and this is my first year as Chairman. The Parish Council comprises of Cllrs David Jenkins, Jane Tusting & Anne Geerts, who also make up the Finance Committee, Cllrs Martin Stocker, Doug Neal, Jason Julyan and also Richard Simpson, who looks after Highways and Cllr Barry Green who takes care of footpaths and bridleways. My Vice-Chairman is Jason Julyan. In addition to the 9 of us we also have our local Borough Councillor, Alison Field-Foster who never misses a meeting and is a source of invaluable advice. I would like to extend my thanks to all my fellow councillors for their work on behalf of the village. If you have a concern in the village you are welcome to either discuss it with our clerk or one of the councillors who will then bring the concern to the table for further discussion. The contact details are available on the website.

I am sorry to have to say that our clerk Hilary Hawkes has decided to step down to spend more time with her family. Hilary has done a wonderful job over the past two years and I know she and the rest of the councillors will want me to also thank Iris Allsop who once again stepped into the breach and was of unstinting help to Hilary. Iris we are once again indebted to you. Hilary, we will miss you but wish you all the very best for the future. On that note I would like to introduce our new clerk Mandy Wilson, who has been taking over from Hilary over the past few weeks. Mandy lives in Sharnbrook but is very familiar with our village and I know she will do all she can to help with your concerns in the future. The council has now purchased (thanks to our Borough Councillor) a notice board which is situated at the end of The Gannick.

We continue to do all the things that are important to the village. We run the street lighting, keep an eye on the state of the highways and byways and report anything that needs to be done. We liaise with the Playing Field Committee and continue to support their work, indeed hopefully you will have noticed the new Jubilee Swing that has recently been installed thanks to their hard work and the dedication of their Chairman, Emma Simpson. We also maintain the Grace Baptist Chapel Graveyard. We recently entered the CPRE competition and won a commended nomination for our efforts. We have also recently been negotiating to have the hedge trimmed on Deejaks Field, at which point the lovely view will then be able to be enjoyed by the whole village.

We continue to negotiate also with the police regarding the speeding problem we seem to have in the village. Myself and Cllr Geerts have attended Community Forum meetings recently and do know that the police have at least on two occasions set up speed traps in the village. We are working with highways to look at putting in white lines in Pavenham Road, which should help to calm the traffic. We will continue to look at options for The Causeway.

We will continue to oppose the wind farm developments in our area and our speaker today is Colin Arnold from BLOT. We have also supported other councils with regard to the proposed traveller sites in their areas.

Cllr Jenkins reported last year that we hoped to see the end of the shabby and dangerous railings alongside the road to Harrold Bridge, which as you will have seen has been finally sorted and thanks must go to our Borough Councillor Alison Field-Foster for her help in helping us to see this work completed.

We review all planning applications for the village and although we actually have no formal power we work closely with the Bedford Borough Planning Committee.

The council is now looking into forming a committee to produce a neighbourhood plan and David Jenkins will talk about this later on.

Sadly last year saw the death of Jim Brandon, who served the PC and wider Borough for 50 years and the plaque celebrating his work is now in the village hall. I know that many in the village are grateful for his years of service to the village.

4. TO RECEIVE FINANCIAL REPORT – as presented by the Clerk Financial Report for the Year April 2012 to end of March 2013. The Precept was again maintained at £14,892, as it has been since 2008/09 and the Parish Council has requested the same Precept for 2013/14. The Grass Cutting grant from Bedford Borough Council, of £704.62, was the same as last year. We received £2000 from the Borough Councillor’s Ward Fund to put towards the purchase of a basket swing for the playing field. We would like to thank Alison for that. The Parish Council contributed £500 and the Playing Field Committee made up the balance of £1,500. The swing has been purchased for the village to mark the Queen’s Jubilee. The rent from the Stone Barn of £1,668 is used towards the grass-cutting and insurance etc for the Playing Field. Fencing was replaced in the Gannick near the Stone barn and hedging planted at a total cost of £1,613.53. The Village Hall needed some new doors (£785) and a new Noticeboard (£374.21)

The total income was £24294.54 (including funds transferred from restricted reserve accounts) and total expenditure was £23917.59

The Clerk/RFO salary was £4,434.79 which was slightly over budget due to the fact that two officers were employed simultaneously for a longer period than had been anticipated. Street light energy charges remained the same as last year. Equipment and repairs were only £190 this year as nothing of any great expense was required. S137 payments are donations the Parish Council are allowed to make, based on the number of electors in the parish. This year donations included The Villager Bus, The Bridge Magazine and contribution to costs for the WI Village Jubilee fete.

This year it was resolved to transfer £2,000 to Reserved Funds for Traffic Calming and £1,000 for the Playing Field.

Finally as at 31st March the current account stood at £8,142.67 and the Capital Reserve at £18,214.47. of which £11,576.38 are reserved funds made up as follows:

Village hall 1747.76 The Gannick 386.47 Street Lights 2094.11 Grace Baptist 2402.71 Playing Field 945.33 Traffic Calm 4000.00

5. TO RECEIVE THE PLAYING FIELD REPORT - Presented by the Cllr Neil in the absence of the Playing Field Chairman It has been a busy year for the committee, with positive outcomes on several on-going projects. For the Queens’ Diamond Jubilee year we wanted to install a new piece of play equipment to mark the occasion. Fundraising events throughout the year, along with generous donations from both the Parish Council and Alison Foster (borough councillor), allowed us to proceed with the purchase of a new basket swing. This inclusive piece of equipment was installed at the start of the year, just before the snow descended!

We would also like to mention thanks to the other village organisations that donated their fete proceeds towards the swing fund. It truly became a community venture.

In celebration of the swings’ arrival we held a well-attended tea event in February. An enjoyable afternoon was had by all from babies to grandparents and it is hoped that this will become an annual event.

The other major project of the year was the improvement of the Gannick perimeter of the playing field. With the services of the Bedford branch of The Conservation Volunteers (BCTV)*, the hedge running along the Gannick was transformed with a new fence and chicane. A lot of undergrowth was removed and the area generally tidied and the hedge laid where suitable growth permitted. The area has dramatically improved in appearance and we feel, creates a welcoming approach to the playing field.

Other maintenance during the year included the removal of a dead tree and the pruning of some over hanging branches of perimeter trees. Warners have continued as the preferred grass cutters and the village handyman has ensured the bins are emptied regularly.

The finances for the year 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013 are as follows;

Income £684.87 Expenditure £213.19

The committees balances as of 31st March 2013 Community account £1532.34 Business saver account £1190.58 Petty cash £5.82 Total: £2728.74

The committee continue to strive to make the facility an asset to the village for all to enjoy. All we need now is some sun!

Emma Simpson (chair)

Any questions/queries that cannot be answered can be directed to me on 720832 or sent to me at [email protected]

* BCTV is a national charity that engages communities in practical environmental action to protect and enhance the local environment.

6. GUEST SPEAKER FROM BLOT Brian Skittrall from BLOT spoke about the latest updates on the Nun Wood application.

On 15th April the High Court ruled that local authorities can set exclusion zones to protect local people from inappropriate development. Milton Keynes Council had produced a Wind Turbine Supplementary Planning Document(SPD) detailing such zones. Npower had objected to the Nun Wood distances defined in Milton Keynes SPD and has sought a judicial review on 4 grounds. The Judge upheld 1 ground, namely that Milton Keynes had already defined in its local plan in 2002 a specific turbine buffer zone of 350m and the Judge ruled that the amended separate distances in the SPD conflict with the buffer zones in the local plan. The other 3 grounds were not upheld. Milton Keynes Council are now likely to review their SPD with a view to starting again.

The Localism Act gives a bit more weight to local views, and the National Planning Framework, which has replaced Planning Polices has a number of items which are also useful. National targets have now been met. Bedford Borough Council also has the Three Shires Way as a natural asset which will also help at appeal. It is felt that the chances at appeal are better this time, as we start afresh bit with more to help us

The appeal is to be heard in Bedford starting the 11th June, and it would be helpful if the Parish Council could send a representative, or give its written views, and it would be useful for residents to attend, even if its just popping in, or to speak. You will need to give your name and address when you go in, and this is likely to give an idea to the inspector of numbers. The Inspector has suggested one evening session and dates will be notified on the BLOT website

7. PLANNING APPLICATIONS Councillor Julyan Councillor Julyan advised that the Settlement Policy Area (SPA) defines the area where you can and cannot build. In the case of Carlton the area is the border of the edge of the back gardens of the house in The Moor, The Marsh, The Causeway, Bridge End , Pavenham Road and the High Street. At the moment is it Council policy to automatically object to building outside the SPA. Councillor Julyan has a question to the village- namely should the Council continue to automatically object to building on the grounds that it is outside the SPA, or should we look at each application on a case by case basis with a possible view to saying yes to building outside the SPA. Councillor Julyan will continue to sound people out.

8. NEIGBOURHOOD PLAN Councillor Jenkins- as presented

I have been a member of Carlton and Chellington Parish Council for the past ten years. In that time I have come to realise that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that so agitates people in a village as planning issues. Time after time people come to the Parish Council to object to a plan that may affect them. This may range from an objection to a dormer window being installed that overlooks their garden to an objection to the various wind farms that have been proposed in the area. The truth of the matter is that up to now this has often been a bit of a waste of time. This is because up to now Parish Councils have had no power to do anything. We can object on behalf of the parishioner or parishioners and on several occasions have done so. Although for instance with regard to Wind Farms we have objected but I know from talking to people in the village that some are in favour of them being built. The end result of these objections has usually been that nothing much has happened. The Borough Council’s Planning Committee do what they want and usually do what their officers tell them to do.

So the issue is that we want people to be able to influence decisions about new and modified buildings and facilities in the village. I believe that people have a right to get involved in development decisions that affect them although in practice they have often found it difficult in the past to have a meaningful say.

The Government has recognised this and has taken action to give people more control over the development of their local area.

 Bedford’s Planning Authority has to draw up clear, up-to-date Local Plans that conforms with the National Planning Policy Framework, meets local development needs and reflects local people’s views of how they wish their area to develop.  As a community we now have the power to set the priorities for local development through neighbourhood planning.  The Localism Act 2011 introduced new powers for people to make neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood planning orders, with reduced interference from central government.

The Local Plan for an area sets the rules for how the area will develop over time. The Local Plan, along with any neighbourhood plans, forms the overall development plan for the local area. Planning decisions must normally be taken in accordance with the development plan. The National Planning Policy Framework states that every local planning authority in England should have a clear, up to date Local Plan, which conforms to the framework, meets local development needs, and reflects local people’s views of how they wish their community to develop.

The National Planning Policy Framework provides a framework in which local people and their local councils can produce their own distinctive plans, reflecting their own priorities. The National Planning Policy Framework says Local Plans should:

 be based on the objectively assessed needs of the local area  set out opportunities for development and clear policies on what will or won’t be permitted and where  plan positively for the development and infrastructure required in the area to meet the objectives, principles and policies of the National Planning Policy Framework  reflect a collective vision for the sustainable development of the area  cover an appropriate time scale (preferably 15 years) and be kept up to date  be based on co-operation with neighbouring authorities, public, voluntary and private sector organisations  allocate sites to encourage development and the flexible use of land, identifying new land where necessary  contain a clear strategy for enhancing the natural, built and historic environment and supporting Nature Improvement Areas where they have been identified

The rules say that neighbourhood planning will be led by the local parish or town council. In areas without a parish or town council, new neighbourhood forums will take the lead.

Neighbourhood planning gives communities the power to:

 agree a neighbourhood development plan  make a neighbourhood development order  make a Community Right to Build order

A neighbourhood development plan can establish general planning policies for the development and use of land in a neighbourhood, like:

 where new homes and offices should be built  what they should look like

The plan can be detailed or general, depending what local people want.

Neighbourhood plans allow us to get the right type of development for our village, but the plans must still meet the needs of the wider area. This means our neighbourhood plan will have to take into account Bedford’s assessment of housing and other development needs in the area.

A neighbourhood development order allows the community to grant planning permission for development that complies with the order. This removes the need for a planning application to be submitted to the local authority.

A Community Right to Build order gives permission for small-scale, site-specific developments by a community group.

Bedford must provide support to help us develop our neighbourhood plan. For example, it should organise the independent examination of the neighbourhood development plan, neighbourhood development order or Community Right to Build order. This is to check that the plan or order meets certain minimum conditions.

Bedford should pay for and run a neighbourhood planning referendum. The referendum ensures that all the villagers have a say on whether our neighbourhood development plan, neighbourhood development order or a Community Right to Build order comes into force in their area. Support for communities using neighbourhood planning

There are several sources of advice and support for communities who are interested in doing neighbourhood planning

 The government has awarded a contract to Locality, in partnership with the Royal Town Planning Institute, Planning Aid England and partners, to deliver a £9.5 million, 2-year programme to support communities to progress their Neighbourhood Development Plans and Neighbourhood Development Orders. The programme will offer hands-on, practical support and grants of up to £7,000 per neighbourhood area. Communities can submit applications from 1 May 2013.  Bedford is under a duty to support and obliged by law to help us draw up our neighbourhood plan.  Developers, parish and town councils, landowners and local businesses may all be interested in sponsoring and taking a leading role in neighbourhood planning. In fact, in many areas, local businesses are working alongside local residents, local government and others with an interest in the neighbourhood’s future development and growth.

I think that we should draw up a neighbourhood plan and put it to a referendum of the village. It would give the Parish Council the power to grant planning permission in a limited number of cases. It would give us a community right to build and right to buy. For instance I would like to consider buying the Royal Oak and transforming it into a community centre. We have had a sub committee of the Parish Council to look into this for several months and as yet that Sub Committee has not managed to meet. I would like to propose that we set up an Advisory Committee. According to the rules an advisory committee does not have to have any Parish Councillors at all although I would like to serve on such a committee.

I think the Advisory Committee should take on the job of consulting with villagers and the Parish Council and drawing up a neighbourhood development plan. If someone from such a committee reported back to the Parish Council on their progress at each monthly meeting then the Parish Council would be able to endorse the final plan which could then go to a local referendum.

9. BOROUGH COUNCILLOR UPDATE- Borough Councillor Alison Field Foster Mast -A new mast had been proposed in Bozeat, at 80m to monitor wind turbines. The Royal Oak- This has gone a little flat now, partly due to Bedford Borough Councils policy on affordable housing. The developer had wanted to build 4 cottages in the grounds, and sell the pub building on. The Borough Council insisted that one cottage be affordable housing and this would make it unviable for theDeveloper. It is now on the market again. However if a Developer wanted to develop the garden and he could show that the proposition is unviable for affordable housing there is the possibility this rule could be overturned. Gypsies and Travellers- There has been no appeal to the Felmersham Road site so the application is considered dead, however the owner can put in another application at any time. The Borough Council is working very slowly at developing the Meadow Lane site, and is coming up with a number of reasons not to develop, the last one being cost. Now they have put in an application for 14 pitches at Fairhill. This is part of Harpur Ward and they are encouraging people to object. The North Beds Residents Association has been formed to fight against speculative traveller sites on the edges of villages and they support the Fairhill site as the Borough Council is not fulfilling its pitches obligations ( 20 pitches to be provided between now and 2012, with 6 already found at Kempston Hardwick and Meadows Lane/Fairhill being the other 14), and there is concern applications may be granted in villages. The North Beds Residents association are also pushing for the Meadow Lane site as are Harpur Ward. Floods- This has been the worst year since 1998 and the road outside the Country Park has flooded, due to damaged pipes outside the park as well as pipes at the Odell Road turn. These have been replaced, along with new gullies outside the Park. The Podington to Wymington road has also had pipes replaced to stop flooding Railings- The railings on the Carlton side of the bridge have been replaced, there have been some comments about the concrete posts not being replaced, but it does now match the other side of the road and looks much better than before it was repaired Riverside North- The plans have been approved last month and there will be a cinema complex, Hotel and square. There will be a loss of car parking as Riverside car park closes and a challenge has been mounted by a residents group to the application

10. GENERAL VILLAGE MATTERS A question was raised about the leak at the Crossroads and when will be it sorted. The Clerk advised she is aware that AWA are to undertake some work, and as yet have not applied to the Borough Council for the 4 way traffic lights they would require. The Clerk is to speak to AWA to ascertain if they have a date yet A question was raised about the potholes in School Lane and if they have been filled in yet. The Chair advised she was unsure, but every year the Borough Council asks for a list of priorities from the Parish Council and School Lane is at the top. It was agreed that the Clerk will chase the matter. A question was asked about the Rural Bulky waste and when they would be attending- confirmed 11th and 12th May and notices can only go up 5 days before. These will be placed on the Parish Noticeboard and in the Shop

The meeting closed at 8.50pm.