MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MOGGERHANGER PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 20TH MARCH 2019 IN THE VILLAGE HALL. Present: Councillors Williams, Simmons, Aldridge, Brun, Schofield, Smith (Chairman) Central Beds Councillor Firth, 4 members of the public and the Clerk. 1)Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Carter. 2)Declaration of Interest. 3) Minutes of the meeting held on 16th January 2019. Questions were made on items that had not been included regarding the comments made by councillors on planning applications, the cable ties on lamp posts, clarification on which gates the slabs had been put down in the entrance. The minutes were then discussed further, with them being agreed and signed by the Chairman. 4)Parishioners questions. Request for a Litter Pick. Clerk to contact Mrs Bashford for information. Request for re sighting of the lamp-post outside the village hall. Mrs Williams held details regarding Andersons , a site visit was being arranged. Councillors updated his contact with DUSA. 5)Planning and Highway reports. Moggerhanger House , the planners were addressing comments received . The following applications had been considered by the councillors and no objections were expressed. 47Blunham Road …single storey rear extension. Moggerhanger School…single storey extension to accommodate an accessible WC And changing area. 3 Crescent View…part single storey rear extension. Asterby, Chalcroft Nursery…replacement dwelling. Appeal had been allowed with conditions for the erection of a detached Barn style conversion at Chalton Stables. A letter had been received from Arrow Planning wishing to meet with the Parish Council to get their comments on a proposed development at Park Road/Bedford Road. The members requested that the Clerk write to the developers suggesting that they hold a public meeting in the Village, the council had been advised not to hold meetings with developers. Highway. The Clerk had met with the CBC Highways representative , two councillors also had a meeting later. The clerk had discussed the decimation of the verges on Blunham Road at Chalton by lorries visiting Andersons. She queried why Park Road had not been improved when work had been carried out on St John’s Road, this will be looked into . The councillors had also asked about dirty road signs and who was responsible for the cycle track, the responsibility was confirmed as the CBC. The manhole on the south side of the A603 was still very noisy. There was tarmac missing near The Guinea. A question was raised with Councillor Firth whether the planners consulted with the highways before determining an application , Mr Firth stated both parties did consult . The Clerk and the Chairman had attended a meeting with the East West Rail representatives to explain the 5 route options, they were looking at in conjunction with the A428 Expressway. It was difficult to see if Moggerhanger would be involved. The proposals included the line going into a new station at Wixams or into Midland Road station in Bedford in the west and discussion on a Station for Sandy. The Clerk gave some details of the route for the road from Caxton Gibbet to the Black Cat on the A1. The orange route had ben chosen with the road going via Eltisley , south of Little Barford Power facility, Tempsford and into the Black Cat. A letter will be delivered to houses in Blunham Road requesting the removal of all vehicles on 8th April early in the morning as CBC were due to sweep the road and clear the grips and drains. 6) Playing field report. Mr Smith stated grass cutting had started for the season for the field and the verges. Once again checks had been made in the play area with the bin not only being used for dog poo bag disposal but nappies had also been put in the bin. This was unpleasant and unhygienic for Mr Smith to empty, a liner is in the bin. The main bin for the field gets removed. The plaque will be placed on the seat next week. Leylandi cuttings had been deposited in the field Mrs Cross had kindly arranged for them to be removed and burnt. A large dog had been seen leaving deposits in the field even by the bin. The Chairman requested residents to take photos and pass them onto him to seek prosecution of the owner. The notice boards are now kept locked as there is no room for notices other than those required in law by the Parish Council. The ROSPA annual play inspection will be carried out in May. The Chairman made a request for volunteers to assist with monitoring the street furniture. Councillor Simmons agreed to check the seats around the village. 7)Central Beds Council report. Councilor Firth advised there had been a new inspector for the Local Plan the public hearings are due to start in May. He touched on the growth of Luton Airport. Fly tipping continues to be a problem , contact should be made to Waste services at CBC who will arrange removal of items normally in 48 hours. CBC had set the council tax for the next financial year with an increase of 1% giving an extra 29p for an average household to pay. The Police Commissioner increase precept was 13.48% Fire and Rescue at 2.99%,the average Parish Council at 2.79%.Cbc will invest 1.05 million in foot and cycle paths to encourage residents to reduce car journeys. He also reported on the Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet Improvement and East Rail proposals. The down grading of the A603 was requested , the Clerk suggested that as Willington is also on the A603 a meeting should be arranged if possible for a joint meeting to be held in the Autumn to discuss the concerns of both villages. 8) Finance. Payments. BATPC subs £134.00 Andy Muskett Ltd Light Maint. £161.38 Stephens Paper towels etc. £27.48 E ON Power £ 194.43 £ 200.15 Clerk sal/exps/admin £911.49 HMRC tax £180.26 Mrs Schofield proposed the payments be made this was seconded by Mr Brun and agreed. The clerk gave details of the quotes for the upgrading of street lights in the village and the numbers of lights that required being changed to LED. There were lights in St John’s Road, Park Road and Blunham Road. After discussion Mrs Schofield proposed to have 5 lights in Blunham Road changed to LED this was seconded by Mr Aldridge and agreed . Andy Muskett Ltd had submitted a quote for the maintenance of the street lights around the village for £528.80 plus VAT for the year this quote could be for a 3 year contract The quote was accepted. A quote had been received from Mark Zwetsloot for the grasscutting this had been accepted prior to the meeting. The clerk requested permission to purchase a laptop with the grant under the Transparency requirements. Councillor Simmons proposed the request seconded by Councillor Williams and agreed. 9) Correspondence and information. The Police had sent a questionnaire to be completed by ticking the items that the councillors felt were the most important. These included burglary, car entry/theft and crime prevention/visible policing. Information of the Greensand Country Landscape Partnership. The Chairman had sent a Welcome letter to the new residents in the development to the rear of The Guinea. The Clerk had written an article for the village magazine explaining what the Parish Council is responsible for in the village and how to become a councilor. A number of notices are on the notice boards inviting residents to consider applying to become a councilor on the Parish Council and or CBC. Additional notices are on the boards about the elections on 2nd MAY for both councils.

The meeting closed. The next meeting will be the Annual Open Parish Meeting followed by the Annual General Meeting of Moggerhanger Parish Council On 15th May 2019 at 7PM in the Village Hall.