BROMHAM PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of Meeting of the Parish Council Virtual Meeting held 5 January 2021, 7.30pm PRESENT: Sian Woodfine Trevor Roff Mick Burgess Val Brinson Liz Luder Dylan Simmons Ben Piercy-Hughes Chris Arnaouti Stephen Unwin Jane Shields Councillor Roger Rigby Councillor Jon Gambold APOLOGIES: John Orchard, Anne Baker ABSENT:

This Parish Council meeting met virtually via Zoom because of the implications of COVID-19. Government advice was for people to socially distance themselves. Bromham Parish Council should not, therefore, be meeting formally or encouraging Councillors and members of the public to attend meetings. The Local Authorities (COVID-19) (Flexibility of Local Authority Meetings) () Regulations 2020 enables Parish Councils to hold their meetings remotely.

Action/Power PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

The Chair welcomed Gianluca Guerriero to the meeting, Mr Guerriero The Public Bodies joined to view the meeting with a view to applying for the vacancy of Parish (Admission to Councillor Vacancy. Meetings) Act 1960 as amended by John Bennett attended the meeting to ask the following questions: s100, LGA 1972

1. New Bottlebank – will there be a village consultation at the end of the 3-month trial? Mr Bennett said the access and safety of the new bottlebank was not ideal. Cllr Brinson answered that the Bottlebank was installed without the knowledge of Bromham Parish Council. Borough Council would trial the bottlebank located on Park Road, (at the entrance to the old railway walk Bromham to Stevington). There will be no public consultation, Bedford Borough Council will determine the future of the bottlebank at this site based on any comments/objections from the public and if there is any fly tipping. 2. Road Development, 390 dwellings - when will this application go to Bedford Borough Council Planning Department? BBC Highways have now confirmed no objection. The Clerk answered that the Parish Council were not aware of a date for 1 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… planning to consider the application for 390 dwellings at Stagsden Road.

Mrs S Simmons attended the meeting but did not wish to speak.

1/21 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

Councillors considered the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 1 LGA 1972, December 2020. Sch 12, para 41

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting, held on 1 December 2021 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

(Proposed by: Mick Burgess, Seconded by: Chris Arnaouti, All in favour)

2/21 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from John Orchard and Anne Baker. LGA 1972, Sch 12 para

3/21 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

As previously declared.

4/21 REPORTS

(a) Bedford Borough Councillor’s Report

Attached at Appendix A.

(b) Police & Crime Statistics

December 20 crime stats attached at Appendix B.

(c) BATPC

The National Assembly are still working with Robert Jenrick looking at funding of smaller Authorities. Funding not being passed on to smaller Authorities from Primary Authorities is a big problem for some members.

Cllr Luder has volunteered for the Task & Finish Group which will look at the future of working remotely in the sector.

Cllr Luder reported that the Good Councillor Guide to Community Business was available and could be useful for the Bromham Mill project.

2 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… (d) Bromham Village Hall

Because of The Great River Ouse flooding the Village Hall was set up as an emergency centre on Christmas Day 25 December 2020. The Hall was not needed for evacuees as Bedford Borough Council prioritised the Bedford Athletics Stadium and victims had been lower than first thought.

5/21 UPDATES ON CURRENT ISSUES

(a) Coronavirus

Due to Government advice the office is closed to the public. Staff would continue to work socially distanced in the office.

The Chair and the Clerk continue to attend The Mayor’s Coronavirus briefings to pass information on to residents.

The Volunteer network created in the first lockdown is available for anyone needing help with shopping etc.

Over Christmas there were approximately 25 residents offering Christmas Dinners for anyone in need. Bromham residents had been identified that were in need and enjoyed dinners from our volunteers. Thank you to these volunteers and everyone who offered help.

Councillors agreed that the volunteer scheme should be built on and starting a good neighbour scheme would be a good opportunity for the village.

(b) Vacancies

There were currently 2 vacancies for Parish Councillors. These continue to be advertised.

(c) Chairmanship

Cllr Woodfine told the meeting that, due to a change of circumstances, she would be willing to stand as Chair for a further term if elected. Councillors discussed future chairmanship of the Parish Council and agreed a final decision would be made at the Annual Meeting in May 2021.

(d) Bromham Mill

The Mayor had signed off the executive decision for the lease of Bromham Mill. The Heads of Terms had been agreed in August 2020 and had been passed to the Bedford Borough Council Legal Team.

3 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… No draft of the legal document had been received but it was currently envisaged that a lease that would realise the aspirations of the Parish Council and the Bromham Mill Trust would be agreed by 1 April 2021.

(e) Broadsheet

It was agreed that the March 2020 Broadsheet would not be delivered because of COVID and would be available online as previous. Councillors agreed that printed copies of the Broadsheet should be available for residents in village shops etc. Cllr Shields agreed to deliver copies to Brookside residents.

(f) Traffic Updates

Average Speed Cameras, Village Road

Roger Rigby confirmed that the Average Speed Cameras had been validated so it should be assumed the Cameras are operational. Cllr Rigby to ask if it would be possible to receive a copy of the statistics.

Loading Bay Stagsden Road

The Loading Bay at Steven Eagell, on Stagsden Road had been installed in December 2020.

(g) Christmas

Christmas Carols & Appeal

There had been a great response to the Parish Council appeal for Christmas gifts for children and teenagers. Residents donated numerous Christmas gifts for FACES Bedford. These were delivered on 14 December 2020.

£350.00 was donated as agreed also to FACES on 5 January 2021.

Christmas Lights

There were problems with the Christmas Lights this year.

Northampton Road Lights did not work, therefore replacement lights had to be purchased at a cost of £850.00.

Lights on The Green, stopped working just before Christmas, waiting for an update on what the problem was.

Amenities Amenities to consider Christmas Lighting. Committee

(h) Communications

1. Charity Donation to FACES 4 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… 2. Broadsheet information 3. Story on new Councillors: Jane Shields to inform residents of people on Parish Council

Committee Reports:

6/21 PLANNING COMMITTEE

(a) To Consider Planning Applications

20/02520/MAO, Land at Stagsden Road, Application for approval of Reserved Matters for 80 dwellings pursuant to Outline approval 17/02242/MAO, including appearance, landscaping, scale and layout with access agreed during outline application

RESOLVED

Parish Council will not comment on the application as it is a preferred site of the Neighbourhood Plan. However, the Neighbourhood Plan Group and the Planning Committee should confirm that the design features of the development are as agreed with the policies of the emerging Neighbourhood Plan.

(Proposed by: Mick Burgess, Seconded by: Trevor Roff, All in favour)

7/21 FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES

(a) Schedule of Receipts & Payments December 2020

The Parish Council received the schedule of receipts and payments made during December 2020 and these are summarised at Appendix C.

RESOLVED

That the schedule of receipts and payments made during December 2020, and as circulated, be approved.

(Proposed by: Sian Woodfine, Seconded by: Dylan Simmons, All in favour)

8/21 AMENITIES COMMITTEE

(a) Tree Planting Policy

To be reviewed by Amenities Committee January 2021.

9/21 SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

No business

5 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… 10/21 NEW MATTERS FROM COUNCILLORS FOR DISCUSSION AT NEXT MEETING

None.

11/21 CORRESPONDENCE

A summary of correspondence is attached at Appendix D.

1. Copy of letter to historic England re number 5 Molivers Lane. Proposal by new owners to tile roof instead of thatch.

12/21 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Next meeting will be held on 2 February 2021.

Meeting closed 8.34pm

MINUTES AGREED: ______Date: ______2021

6 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… APPENDIX A

Borough Council Report to Bromham Parish Council January 2021 COVID-19 update

The was placed into a National Lockdown yesterday. You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary. You may only leave the home if you have a reasonable excuse such as:

 Essential activities  Fulfilling legal obligations  Education and childcare  Meeting others and care  Exercise and recreation  Medical reasons, harm and compassionate visits  Communal worship and life events  Seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)  Attend education or childcare - for those eligible

You can exercise or visit a public outdoor place:

 by yourself  with the people you live with  with your support bubble  or, when on your own, with 1 person from another household

Colleges, primary (reception onwards) and secondary schools will remain open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. All other children will learn remotely until February half term.

You can find more information about the national lockdown regulations on: National lockdown: Stay at Home - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In Bedford there has been 5965 cases since the start of the Pandemic and there has been 1127 registered cases in Bedford in the last 7 days. This means there have been 650.3 people per 100,000 in Bedford (as of Dec 27) which has risen by 171.9 over the last 7 days which shows how rapidly the virus is currently spreading.

If you would like the latest COVID snapshot (as of Dec 30) please find it below:

https://bbcdevwebfiles.blob.core.windows.net/webfiles/Social%20Care%20Health%20and%20Communi ty/Covid19/covid19-weeky-statistics-30dec.pdf

More information available at: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/social-care-health-and-community/public- health/coronavirus/

COVID test centres in Bedford

There is continued tested in Bedford at Borough Hall and Prebend Street car parks as well as University of ’s Polhill Campus

Test results from these sites should come back with 24-72 hours.

The government has updated its advice on testing. If you have any of the symptoms of Coronavirus, you can ask for a test through the NHS website or phone 119.

There are two walk through testing centres in Bedford for residents showing symptoms of Coronavirus.

Drive-through testing is available 6 days/week at Gilbert Hitchcock House, Bedford Hospital and 5 days/week at Borough Hall. Both can be booked through the national testing website.

7 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… If you’re an essential worker (see full list) you can apply for priority testing through GOV.UK by following the guidance for essential workers on the government website.

You can also get tested through this route if you have symptoms of coronavirus and live with an essential worker.

If you are unable to get to a testing centre, you can order a home testing kit through the national testing website.

You can find further details on testing on the government webpages.

More information is available here: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/social-care-health-and- community/public-health/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/

Business Support Grants for Local Businesses

With the announcement that Bedford Borough entered Tier 4 from Saturday 19 December, businesses that are required to close will be receiving a business support grant.

These grants are set and funded by the Government at a national level and administered by Bedford Borough Council.

Businesses that received a grant from the Council due to the last national lockdown because their business was required to close, and businesses that were required to close again under the Tier 4 restrictions a further grant will be paid automatically. These businesses have already been contacted by the Council to let them know when to expect their grant.

The Council should have sent grants automatically by bank transfer on Monday 21 December, which means they should already have been received.

In addition, if a local business ratepayer believes they are eligible for this grant funding but did not receive a grant during the last lockdown they are asked to fill out the online form at www.bedford.gov.uk/bsg which will be available from Monday 21 December.

Any businesses who have not received the grant but believe they should have should contact Bedford Borough Council to discuss the matter and should there be problems they should contact their Ward Councillor.

PSPO to Tackle Street Drinking Comes Into Force

Following public consultation, Bedford Borough Council has approved a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle street drinking and related anti-social behaviour in the area of Bedford town centre. This replaces the old Alcohol Free Zones.

This PSPO is set to come into force from Wednesday 16 December and is set to remain in place for three years initially.

This PSPO would prohibit people consuming alcohol or having an open container of alcohol in the defined area, to prevent anti-social behaviour. It covers the town centre from the Embankment in the south, St Cuthbert’s Street in the east, Landsdowne Road, Roff Avenue and De Parys Avenue in the north, and Ashburnham Road in the west.

Once in place, the Order gives the Police and authorised officers’ powers to enforce against those breaking it. This enforcement can range from asking the person to surrender the alcohol, issuing a Community Protection Notice, a criminal behaviour order, to issuing a fixed penalty notice. The Council will continue to offer support for people where appropriate, such as referral to alcohol support services.

This PSPO proposal followed a wide-ranging consultation conducted by the Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership in 2019, where alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in the town centre came back as a key concern for people. 8 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) ……………………………………

In the consultation to introduce this Order, 90.7% of the over 500 respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal.

Public Reminded to Report Dead Wildfowl to DEFRA

Following confirmation of some bird flu cases in Bedford’s wild bird population, the Council is reminding people to contact DEFRA if they spot any dead swans, geese, ducks or any other wild birds.

Avian Influenza (bird flu) spreads from bird to bird by direct contact or through contaminated body fluids or faeces, or via contaminated feed, water or by dirty vehicles, clothing and footwear. It isn’t an airborne virus.

An ‘Avian Influenza Prevention Zone’ was declared across the whole of England in November, and from today all bird keepers in England are required to keep their birds indoors.

Public Health advises that the risk to public health from bird flu is very low. While some strains can pass to humans, it is very rare and requires very close contact between the human and infected birds.

Nevertheless, the public are reminded to not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds. If you find any dead wild birds such as swans, geese or ducks you should report them the DEFRA helpline on 03459 33 55 77. There will be notices going up along the Embankment with this information and further advice. Executive meeting on Wednesday 6 January 2021

Bedford Borough Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report is available here: http://www.councillorsupport.bedford.gov.uk/documents/s52805/Item%2006%20BBSCB%20Annual%2 0Report%202019%20-%202020%20covering%20report.pdf

Adoption of housing strategy to cover 2021-26. The Housing strategy is available here:

http://www.councillorsupport.bedford.gov.uk/documents/s52809/Item%2007%20Housing%20Strategy% 20Appendix%20B.pdf

Transfer of environmental agency control measures at Duckmill and Newnham Weir

http://www.councillorsupport.bedford.gov.uk/documents/s52810/Item%2008%20Transfer%20of%20Env ironment%20Agency%20public%20safety%20measures.pdf

9 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… Budget 2021/22

The level of Council Tax increase will be set out in the Budget Report on 20 January.

It is possible by borrowing they will try to cover some of the deficit but currently Bedford Borough is uncertain of how much support that they will get from the Government as part of COVID measures.

Village Medical Centre Great Denham

Bromham has a number of residents who use the medical centre at Great Denham. An inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in February 2020 put the practice into special measures. In addition many complaints were received by Great Denham Borough Councillor, Jim Weir and Roger Rigby who instigated meetings with the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) and the practice to discuss the findings of the report and the necessary improvements. Cllr Weir and Roger Rigby had a further meeting with the practice before Christmas, were shown the new performance plan that the practice had agreed with the BCCG and a new inspection by the CQC in November has taken them out of special measures but the practice still requires improvement.

The practice manager has offered to present to parish councils in the area the action plan going forward and the new staff that they are employing to further improve the standards of care that they provide.

If Bromham Parish Council would like the practise manager to attend their next meeting to give an update they are willing to do so. 10 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… APPENDIX B

Committed From Committed To Offence

16/12/2020 16/12/2020 Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) 07:30 07:40

28/12/2020 Assault without Injury - Common assault and 12:50 battery

29/12/2020 Assault without Injury - Common assault and 00:00 battery

22/12/2020 Assault without Injury - Common assault and 00:00 battery

18/12/2020 Assault without Injury - Common assault and 00:00 battery

08/11/2020 Burglary - Residential - Dwelling 00:00

01/12/2020 Having possession of a controlled drug - 00:00 Class B - Cannabis

16/12/2020 16/12/2020 Theft from a motor vehicle 00:45 00:50

01/12/2020 Theft from shops and stalls 17:45

11 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) …………………………………… APPENDIX C

Income & Expenditure December 2020

Payment Income Exp method From/To Details 698 44480.04 Donation from village Woodland walk repairs 22 44458.04 dd Nat West Charge 50 44408.04 Bacs AR Services Litter pick 50 44358.04 Bacs AR Services Litter pick 110.4 44468.44 Stagsden PC repay dog signage Councillor training: Jane 30 44438.44 Bacs BATPC Shields 228.35 44210.09 Bacs Bromham Village Hall Village playing fields grass 18 44192.09 dd Barclaycard BM card machine Bedford Borough 5769.1 38422.99 dd Council Payroll Dec 20 new lights for Northampton Rd 1019.06 37403.93 Bacs MK Illuminations Tree New Charles Arnold Baker 119.99 37283.94 Bacs Lexis Nexis Book 64.21 37219.73 dd One Com Tel/Internet 590 36629.73 Bacs MPL Tree Consultants Scan trees identified in report 22 36607.73 dd Nat West Bank Charges 840 35767.73 Bacs Roy Horner Hedge work etc 262 35505.73 Bacs SLCC membership Tree work Symonds Close + 360 35145.73 Bacs The Tree People G132 36 35109.73 dd CPRE Renewal 67.99 35177.72 Nat West bond mature interest 96.93 35274.65 Invesco Perpetual interest 973.32 9480.71

b/f 43782.04 income 973.32 expend 9480.71 35274.65

APPENDIX D

Date Type From Brief Details: Copy of complaint to Stagecoach re lack of capacity on 41 2.12.20 Email C Ross bus service 2.12.20 email T Hatton Replacement tree land adj to 15 Dovehouse Close 9.12.20 email BATPC Good Councillor guide to Community Business Request for wildflower planting, roundabout Trevor Drive 20.12.20 Email/Web L Wilmott Bromham 22.12.20 letter Mrs Corby re proposal for 5 Molivers Lane M Smith Insecure green metal cabinet side of 60 Leyside with 23.12.20 Email/Web exposed wires 34.12.20 Email/Web B Cooper Bromham Brook Inspections

12 PC Minutes Jan 21 Signed (Chairman) ……………………………………