Crowthorne Parish Council

CROWTHORNE PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON FRIDAY 16 MARCH 2017 AT THE MORGAN CENTRE, WELLINGTON ROAD, CROWTHORNE AT 7.30PM ______

Present: Cllr R H Wade – in the Chair Cllr J Bolton Cllr J G Finnie Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle Cllr N M Kilvert Cllr C G Robertson Cllr S E P Sever Mrs A Swadling – Clerk to the Council Mrs J Robertson – Assistant Clerk Mrs C Anderson – Accounts Assistant 30 members of the public 0 members of the press

Apologies: Cllr S Butterworth Cllr Mrs C M McKenzie-Boyle (attended in her capacity as Deputy Mayor) Cllr R M Price

1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 17 March 2016, as circulated, were taken as read, confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

2 CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT The Chairman welcomed the Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest, Cllr Mrs Tina McKenzie-Boyle, Mr John Allan and Mr Andrew Dicker from Legal and General and Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker.

The Chairman proceeded to give a brief outline of activities which had taken place during his past year as Chairman, as the attached report shows.

In addition to this Cllr Bolton briefly notified the audience of the 600th Anniversary of the Bannister Charity. The Charity consists of 9 Trustees; 3 from Crowthorne Parish Council, 3 from Sandhurst Town Council and 3 co-opted. Each year the Trustees approve the allocation of charity funds to local good causes. Historical information about the charity has been on display at Sandhurst Town Council offices.

Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle briefly spoke about the Social Value Act 2012 in relation to the redevelopment of the former TRL site. The Act requires all public authorities to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being in connection with awarding public services contracts. Leading local authorities, including CPC, are using the Act to encourage businesses to engage more actively within communities. Legal and General (L&G) is taking a very pro-active role in ensuring the development at the former TRL site fulfils the spirit of the Act. Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle introduced the 2 speakers from L&G.

Annual Parish Meeting 16.3.17 1 3 GUEST SPEAKERS:  John Allan and Andrew Dicker, Legal and General – TRL development John Allan and Andrew Dicker jointly spoke about the work currently taking place on the design of the forthcoming development. They reported that meetings were regularly being held with BFC to ensure that the design is right for Crowthorne. This development project is a first for L&G and therefore they are very keen to get it right and maintain the good reputation that L&G currently holds.

They informed that top of the list of new site names was Buckler Park, which makes reference to The Buckler Cars company founded by Derek Buckler. From 1947 until 1962 Buckler cars were made in Crowthorne and a plaque can be seen on the former factory site on Heath Hill Rd South.

They touched on the subject of the Social Value Portal, earlier mentioned by Cllr B McKenzie-Boyle, which each appointed contractor will be required to sign up to. They stressed that L&G is very keen to work with the local community and is looking at measures to reduce the impact the development will have on local residents. L&G is also liaising with Bewley Homes, who are building across the road to keep any disruption to a minimum. John and Andrew answered several questions from members of the public.

4 PRESENTATION OF GRANTS 2017 Cllr Sever, in conjunction with The Deputy Mayor Cllr Mrs Tina McKenzie-Boyle, presented grants to the following organisations present at the meeting:

1st Crowthorne Scouts, Age Concern Bracknell Forest, Berkshire MS Therapy Centre, Berkshire Vision, Bracknell & District Parkinson’s Branch, Bracknell Executive Job Club, Crowthorne Chimes Handbell Group, Crowthorne Community Minibus, Crowthorne Stroke & Disabled Club, Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra, Crowthorne Village Singers, Home-Start Bracknell Forest, Keep Mobile, South Hill Park, St John the Baptist Church, Wokingham Job Support Centre, Youthline. Crowthorne Musical Players and Cruse Bereavement Care also received grants but were unable to be present at the meeting.

Bracknell & District Citizen’s Advice Bureau, CATS, Crowthorne Hopezone, Crowthorne Summer Activities and South East Berks Gang Show failed to turn up to the meeting to collect their cheques.

A total of £13,900 was awarded in financial year 2016/2017.

The Deputy Mayor Cllr Mrs Tina McKenzie-Boyle thanked all the representatives of the various charities in attendance for their commitment and hard work in serving their charities and the local community.

5 GUEST SPEAKERS:  Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker – The Lexicon Bracknell Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker spoke about the progress of The Lexicon in Bracknell which is due to be formally opened on 7 September 2017. He showed photos of the various stages of development and informed the audience that 600 sq ft of new retail space was being created which will be occupied by a range of popular fashion brands including Topshop, Primark, Next, H&M and River Island to sit alongside Fenwick, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose, within the pedestrianised town centre. There will also be 600 new dwellings and 3,800 parking spaces, a new 12 screen cinema and 12

Annual Parish Meeting 16.3.17 2 new restaurants including the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Zizzi's and Carluccio's on Eagle Lane which will be The Lexicon’s main restaurant quarter.

A series of bespoke nature inspired artworks will be displayed throughout The Lexicon, created by local artist, Kerry Lemon. The art pieces reflect the array of flora and fauna that thrive in the area creating a floral nature trail through the town centre.

Cllr Brunel-Walker ended by informing the audience that there were 3,500 jobs to fill and encouraged the audience to look at the website: thelexiconbracknell.com.

Meeting closed at 9.00pm

Signed …………….……………….………….

Dated …………………….………..…………..

Annual Parish Meeting 16.3.17 3