and Fenny Stratford Town Council

Minutes of a meeting of the Finance Committee of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council held at Pavilion - NLP on Tuesday, 29th June, 2021 commencing at 7.30 pm

Present: Cllrs K Ely, R Haine, E Kelly-Wilson, M McDonald, E O'Rourke, T Stephens and M Wymer

Absent: Cllrs S Porter and D Ribton

Apologies: Cllr R Graham

In Councillor Gavin Bedford attendance: Delia Shephard (Clerk)

Min Ref

F21-22/1 Members' apologies for absence It was RESOLVED to note absences and the apologies for absence as listed above.

F21-22/2 Members' declarations of interest in matters on the agenda There were no declarations of interest.

F21-22/3 Minutes of the previous committee meeting It was RESOLVED that the draft minutes of the previous meeting on 9 March 2021 be approved as a correct record.

F21-22/4 Election of Chair of the Committee It was RESOLVED to re-elect Cllr Ely as Chair of the Committee.

F21-22/5 Public Speaking There were no representations from members of the public. Cllr Gavin Bedford (non- member of the Finance Committee) indicated his wish to make representations on the subject of reserve movements and the Committee Chair invited him to make his comments at the time when the appropriate agenda item was reached.

F21-22/6 Review of planning applications to be determined by Council

F21-22/6.i 21/01695/FUL - Asda, Bletcham Way V4 - V6 To V7 Milton Keynes MK1 1QB - New Pick and Collect Pod with Plant and New Click and Collect Canopy It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.ii 2000678FULMMA Appeal Notification Letter - Virtual Inquiry 6th July - Bletchley Landfill Site, Guernsey Road, Newton Leys, Milton Keynes MK3 5FR - Variation of conditions 2 (operational life), 3 (restoration sequence) and 5 (final restoration of the site) attached to planning application MK/806/95 to extend the operational life of the site by 15 years with final restoration of the whole site to be completed within a further 24 months. It was RESOLVED to note the correspondence.

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Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council

F21-22/6.iii 21/01702/PNHSE - 67 Oakwood Drive Bletchley Milton Keynes MK2 2JG - Prior application for a proposed single storey rear extension, measuring a maximum height of 3.2m, 2.5m to the eaves and extends beyond the rear elevation by 4m It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.iv 21/01708/FUL - 29 Shetland Meadows Newton Leys Milton Keynes MK3 5GJ - Two storey rear and side extension It was RESOLVED that the Council would defer commenting on this item pending clarification of aspects of the document. It was RESOLVED that thereafter the Clerk acting in consultation with the Chair of the Council be authorised to make suitable comment should the proposed extension appear to be encroaching on the parking space attached to the property and consequently adding to street parking otherwise there would be no comments.

F21-22/6.v 21/01722/NMA - Eaton Leys Land West of A4146 South of Bletchley Milton Keynes - Non-material amendment to planning application 19/01412/REM (updating the raised table road layouts on the Site Layout Plan as requested by MKC as part of the Highway Technical Audit, removal of car barn for Plots 419 & 420 and update elevations to Plot 89 (Alverton FOG). It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.vi 21/01728/FUL - 10 Birchfield Grove Bletchley Milton Keynes MK2 2RQ - Garage conversion including the replacement of the front elevation garage door with a small window and access door It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.vii 21/01752/FULTN - Telecommunication Mast Dawson Road Adjacent Saxon Street Bletchley MK1 1LH - The replacement of the existing 18m monopole with a new 25m tower, accommodating 18no. antennas and 2no. microwave dishes, the installation of ERS modules, the installation of 3no. ground-based equipment cabinets, along with ancillary works. It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.viii 21/01765/LBC - 59 Aylesbury Street Bletchley Milton Keynes MK2 2BH - Listed Building Consent for the erection of four flats on vacant land at the rear of 59 Aylesbury Street with the addition of a rear extension for extra floor space to flat four (re-submission of 20/01495/LBC) It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.ix 21/01768/NMA - Land To The Rear of 59 Aylesbury Street - Non material amendment to application reference 17/01024/FUL (Demolition of existing garages and erection of four flats (two with disabled access) on vacant land at the rear of 59 Aylesbury Street) for the changes to the size and positioning of 2

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doors and windows and new opening in wall for wheelchair access to flats 1 & 4 It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.x 21/01896/DISCON - Bletchley Flyover Buckingham Road Bletchley - Approval of details required by condition 2 (handrail detail) of permission ref. 19/03082/PANOTH It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/6.xi 21/01876/PNHSE - 43 Duncombe Street Bletchley Milton Keynes MK2 2LX - Prior Approval of single storey rear extension, with eaves of 3 metres and maximum height of 3.79 metres, extending 6.78 metres from the existing rear wall and 6.78 from the original rear wall (re-submission of 21/01226/PNHSE) It was RESOLVED that the Town Council would make no comments on the proposed development.

F21-22/7 Financial management information report showing income and expenditure against budget for the year to 31 May 2021 It was RESOLVED to note the report.

F21-22/8 Council's cash and investment reconciliations to 31 May 2021 It was RESOLVED to note the reconciliations.

F21-22/9 Balance sheet as at 31 May 2021 It was RESOLVED to note the balance sheet.

The Clerk informed the Committee that the Council’s Nationwide Account had been summarily closed by the Nationwide as it had determined to close this type of account. The funds were currently in a suspense account at the Nationwide to be returned to the Council for re-investment. The Clerk also advised that further action should be taken to spread the Town Council’s funds between different investment vehicles as the balances in the remaining investment accounts were already substantial.

F21-22/10 Recommendations on Reserve Movements following year end 2020-2021 Cllr Bedford addressed the Council proposing that an Earmarked Reserve (EMR) for well-being initiatives should be created using funds from either the underspend during the 2020/2021 financial year or from general reserves (where the underspend was currently sitting) or a combination thereof. This would go some way to supporting the long term continuing effects of the pandemic on the well-being of the community. A sum of £40,000 was proposed to permit an extra £24,300 to be available for additional counselling sessions to meet current demand for the rest of the year with a buffer of £15,700 being provided as a buffer in case of further demand for counselling and/or free swimming. The EMR would also provide funding for potential new wellbeing initiatives to be pursued.

The Chair of the Committee then introduced the agenda item which was to make recommendations for reserve movements to full Council and noted that there were already commitments made by the Town Council which should be reflected in the reserves movements eg a commitment of £15,000 over three years to the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, a sum of £60,000 ring fenced for Town Deal projects 3

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should suitable initiatives come forward and others. The Clerk noted that Cllr Bedford’s proposal involved a recommendation to change the current budget and that the Town Council was already committed to reviewing the counselling service at the end of the first quarter (June figures still not available) before deciding how to proceed with any cap or further extension to capacity of this service. Members were also reminded that the Council had a policy of evaluating impact on precept before adding to the revenue budget.

Extensive discussion followed. It was agreed that it would not be wise to make any recommendations to add to the Earmarked Reserves until a Council Plan/Strategy had been considered at full Council in August 2021 and a review of the Counselling Service had been undertaken.

It was RESOLVED to recommend to Full Council that i the Earmarked Reserves be reviewed again following the adoption of a strategic document setting out the Council’s main policy priorities ii the Counselling service should continue without a cap for up to a further 3 months so that a clearer picture of demand could be obtained and a review undertaken.

(Cllr Bedford left the meeting.)

F21-22/11 List of payments made or due to be made to 30 June 2021 It was RESOLVED to ratify the list of payments.

F21-22/12 Proposal to work towards a piece of public art in the Town Centre commemorating key personalities at Bletchley Park during Wrold War II Cllr Ely put forward a proposal to work towards erection of a piece of public art in Bletchley Town Centre commemorating key figures from amongst the Bletchley Park Codebreakers. Cllr Ely believed this could be funded from S106 public art contributions and could potentially be sited outside the Eastern entrance of Bletchley Railway Station (assuming this was developed).

The Clerk agreed to speak to MK Council’s Public Art officers on the subject.

F21-22/13 Proposal for encouraging additional tree planting in Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Cllr Ely proposed that additional tree planting in Bletchley and Fenny Stratford should be encouraged and invited the Town Council to apply for funding for more trees. In particular he wished to see additional tree planting in various locations such as: on the A5 between the McDonalds roundabout and Manor fields entrance forming a new avenue of trees, replacement trees and additional trees in Leon Recreation Ground, a new woodland area in the Blue Lagoon.

The Clerk advised that an application had already been made to the Local Authorities Treescapes Fund for grant funding for standard trees and associated supports by Milton Keynes Council with support from the Town Council. Milton Keynes Council had confirmed that use of the funds would be agreed with the Town Council when/if the application was successful.

F21-22/14 Land at Manor Road The Clerk reminded Members of the Town Council’s aspirations to create a garden/green space on the site of the former council storage building on Manor Road. Members had indicated their intention to apply for Community Infrastructure Funding 4

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for this project. But the earliest this funding would be available was April 2022 which would necessitate the land lying unattended for a potentially unacceptable length of time.

It was known that tenants at the nearby allotment site were parking on the site and officers had already made plans to deter this by the use of physical obstacles. It was RESOLVED that the area should be tidied and measures taken to deter vehicles from parking pending further decisions.

The Clerk noted that no other CIF projects had been put forward by Members. There was further discussion about the need for an agreed set of strategic priorities.

F21-22/15 Report on refurbishment of Fenny Stratford Community Centre and discussions of recommendations and quotations therein

It was RESOLVED to exclude members of the public from discussion of the remaining item of business because publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest as competing quotations were to be discussed in detail . The resolution was therefore made on the grounds of maintaining commercial confidentiality.

The report and associated alternative quotations were discussed in detail. The Clerk noted that no budget had been set for the continuing renovation of the building during the financial year 2021-2022 and agreed overspends had been met from reserves as Council had previously determined. A report showing total expenditure on refurbishment to date since current renovations began had been provided to Members. Total expenditure to date was £113,236.33.

i It was RESOLVED to recommend to full Council to undertake work to replace the Velux windows in the Bowden Room ceiling at a cost of £2,560.00 work to be undertaken by MK Roofing and Building costs to be taken from the FS Community Centre EMR.

ii It was RESOLVED to recommend to full Council that remedial works to the roof as laid out in the report provided by MK Roofing and Building be undertaken at a cost of £6,800.

iii It was RESOLVED to recommend to full council that furniture illustrated in the report be purchased to equip the building as follows:

Main Hall: 100 x stacking chair to be stored in stacks within the hall (non- cushioned) and 25 x folding table to be stored behind the main hall. Bowden Room: 30 x stacking chair (cushioned), 10 x folding table and 1 x appropriate storage trolley to be stored in the room.

The total cost would not exceed £12,545.00 (price prior to negotiation and discount for bulk etc) to be met from the FS Community Centre EMR. The supplier would be determined following negotiations.

iv It was RESOLVED to recommend additional decoration of the Main Hall and the room currently used for Snooker at a cost of £1,500 and £1,345 for each room respectively. This work would be undertaken by Edwards Painting.

The Clerk noted that there still remained further expenditure to replace the floor of the room currently used for snooker, a price had been agreed for this but the work had not 5

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been ordered as it depended on the use of the room which was to be determined following the current community consultation.

The meeting closed at 9.01 pm

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