A Fresh Look at Local Life
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Issue No. 35 Spring 2014 Northby NorthEast News from your Parish Council www.great-linford.gov.uk Redhouse Park Giffard Park Great Blakelands Linford Bolbeck Tongwell Park Willen Pennyland Park Neath Hill Downhead Park Downs Barn Conniburrow A fresh look at local life BLAKELANDS | BOLBECK PARK | CONNIBURROW | DOWNHEAD PARK DOWNS BARN | GIFFARD PARK | GREAT LINFORD | NEATH HILL PENNYLAND | REDHOUSE PARK | TONGWELL | WILLEN PARK feature contacts magine life without a park on the doorstep. Where would we go Below is a list of GLPC for walks with the dog, enjoying nature or kicking a ball about parish councillors, the wards they I with friends? Thankfully the founders of Milton Keynes created represent and their contact details. a superb network of parks so that everyone lives within easy reach spring2014 of fresh air. Eirwen Tagg, GLPC Parish Manager, says “In our own Conniburrow district we have a surprisingly rich variety with everything from lakeside to woodlands to big open spaces. It’s a wonderful resource. Claudius Munangati 07581 445089 As more people are interested in healthy exercise, Forest Schools [email protected] and so on, it’s really important to keep our local parks up to scratch.” Downhead Park & Willen Park The Parks Trust looks after most of MK’s parkland but GLPC is Ken Croucher 01908 235750 also active locally, especially in the area of recreation for adults and [email protected] councillor comment children. While the parks at Downs Barn, Pennyland and Downhead Park have seen a lot of improvements in recent years others are Simon Teesdale 07904 017255 showing their age. This includes the large District Park off Marsh [email protected] New powers for Parish Councils Drive and Dragon Park, a small park in Great Linford village. Downs Barn Just four years ago when I joined the Parish Council its work was quite modest. We managed the allotments, Kathy Windle [email protected] commented on planning applications and worked at a very local level. In a remarkably short time all that has changed. Austerity measures Giffard Park & Blakelands mean that this year alone MK Council has had to find nearly £15m of savings. Allan Calverley 07720 467334 Key departments such as education, transport, planning and adult health and [email protected] social care have had their budgets cut. Every resident is likely to see the impact FRESH START as services are curtailed. For example, neighbourhood wardens, with powers Keith Panes 07921 240447 [email protected] to fine people for offences such as dog fouling, will disappear from our streets. This is why the Government is looking for Parish Councils and the voluntary Peter Widdowson 01908 617078 [email protected] sector to step in and take on more responsibility. for parish parks Nevertheless, we are still a group of volunteers and although GLPC is non Great Linford party-political, and our Councillors bring a wide range of experience to their Sam Crooks 07803 036656 work, we must be more careful than ever to represent the needs of our 20,000 l New changing rooms and a café little ones but teenagers had other ideas!” [email protected] Marsh Drive District Park residents. l A new green for bowls or croquet GLPC has already started work with MK Ian Foskett 01908 606613 Tennis, football and cricket are well l Climbing area or outdoor gym Parish Council resources are limited and no significant additional funding has Council’s leisure department on plans for [email protected] established at the core of Marsh Drive l Nature trail through Millennium Wood been made available. Therefore, given our limited resources, we have to make three distinctive play areas. One area offers Jackie Spalding 01908 662755 District Park, but the park is designed a good case for taking on any new project. Certainly, we will try to find new “It was enlightening to meet different ‘Traditional’ play. Another theme is ‘Wild [email protected] for a wide catchment area, including the ways to deliver services by teaming up with other parish councils or voluntary growing population of Redhouse Park. groups with similar aspirations, and Play’ centred on the magical woodland organisations. However the best way to reduce the impact of budget cuts is for comforting to know that the Parish and pond. The third is for ‘Urban Action’ Neath Hill GLPC held a recent workshop inviting you, the local community, to tell us what matters most. Please take part in the local groups to look at the big picture. Council want to ‘add value’ to this local games, around the football area, with new David Stabler 01908 672599 upcoming consultations on the Neighbourhood Plan (see page 7) and later resource,” says Harry Catherall, of Great embankments for BMX bikes, skateboards [email protected] on in the year for the next GLPC strategic plan. As well as shaping the future Fresh ideas for improving the park include: Linford Football Club (GLFC). These and Parkour. proposals do not involve any ideas the of your local area, your feedback is vital as we start setting priorities for GLPC “With budget cuts biting we cannot Parks Trust may have for their own land in Pennyland & Bolbeck Park over the next five years. expect MK Council to fund all these the area. GLPC leases the Marsh Ray Yeates 07525 759815 improvements,” says Eirwen, “so we’re KEY To MAP: Drive grounds from MK Council [email protected] Keith Panes OBE finding new partners and looking to local Parks Trust GLPC MK Council (see map) and is looking to people to get more involved. Volunteers Chair of Great Linford Parish Council purchase the freehold to secure Redhouse Park from the Green Gym have already started its future as a community asset. Cathy Goodman 01908 606613 a clean-up operation to bring wildlife back [email protected] Dragon Park to the pond, and GLPC has just applied for a national grant. If we succeed, we “Last summer residents hope to completely refresh this much- came to us complaining loved park.” about vandalism, anti-social www.great-linford.gov.uk behaviour and rusty equipment in Dragon Park,” says Eirwen. ABoVE: Precious local parkland. Parish Manager “We invited everyone to a Photo by Tony Bedford. Eirwen Tagg [email protected] Front Cover: brainstorming session and had Left: Map of the Marsh Drive District Park a fantastic response. Traditional Parish Council Office Parish map showing approximate boundaries for GLPC- swings and roundabouts proved managed areas, MKC landholdings and PT 10 Tower Crescent, Neath Hill Local Centre, Neath Hill MK14 6JY by Robert Rusin surprisingly popular with the landholdings. Tel: 01908 606613 Reporter: Linda Inoki 2 NorthbyNorthEast SPRING SPRING NorthbyNorthEast 3 information feature TaXING TIMES By Councillor David Stabler with van and equipment, all managed increase parish grants for community by Eirwen Tagg, our dedicated Parish projects and prepare for the possible ocal taxes reflect changing times Manager. acquisition of community assets. and your Parish Council has certainly changed in recent years! Ten years ago the precept for each What about this year? After careful L household was just £14.34 a year. Most of consideration, the Parish Council’s net Ten years ago we employed just one clerk, this was spent on maintaining the High expenditure will be £292,169, up £12,734 who worked from home. Although we Street, Marsh Drive and Downs Barn on last year. Due to Government cuts the had sports grounds and four underused sports grounds. Last year it was £34.04 Local Authority grant of £26,374 is likely allotments to look after, we managed but, considering the services we now need to be the last we get from MK Council, so to get by. Council meetings were held to provide, a rise of £20 in ten years is not we have added £23,100 to reserves to help in the cricket pavilion and we had just excessive! with shortfalls in future years. Ranger’s started producing a small black and white newsletter for residents. Then there is the impact of government We hope you will now understand why we cuts. Last year we used £58,500 from have had to increase the precept to £45.78 Fast forward a decade and we have a busy reserve funds to keep the precept lower for a Band “D” property, which equates to office and meeting room at Neath Hill, six and still managed the budget to employ £3.82 a month. popular allotment sites, a Parish Ranger, a Ranger, start up a Neighbourhood Plan, REPORT website and colour magazine. We hold a five week Summer of GLPC Precept Chart 2014/15 Fun activity programme SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR see more residents join in attended by hundreds of 2013/14 2014/15 happily planting bulbs this year. It’s also a good way children, and throughout Expenditure Income Expenditure Income to get to know each other. We managed to tidy up in the year we are out Operating Costs ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR and about cleaning up Office, salaries, Ranger, NbyNE and website 118,203 144,643 Blakelands, Bolbeck Park, mindless vandalism Downs Barn, Great Linford, graffiti, litter, overgrown Residents’ Facilities Costs and Pennyland. paths and street Allotments, sports grounds, dog bins, ith MK Council and the Parks Trust signs. We encourage community events and street care. 54,771 80,960 undertaking major coppicing works over I lost count of how many responsible disposal of Income from hire of halls and pitches 22,528 20,334 W winter, I have been venturing where few bollards I painted last year but dog waste by providing Project Costs people have trodden for many years.