HOUGHTON CONQUEST PARISH COUNCIL

Annual Parish Meeting 12th March 2020 at 7pm

AT THE VILLAGE HALL, HIGH STREET, HOUGHTON CONQUEST

Present: PCllr L Lovell, PCllr S Beaumont, PCllr M Dobson, PCllr T Fry, PCllr H Quinn, PCllr P Bullock, Mrs G Wiggs (Clerk), 2 members of the public

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE PC Dagley, P/UCllr R Hares, PCllr J Lay, PCllr B Whittaker

2. CHAIRMANS REPORT PCllr Liz Lovell: There has some significant changes to the members of your Parish Council with an almost complete change of personnel and we currently have one vacancy which we need to fill so if anyone present would like to join just let Gill know and she will advise you as to the next steps. Your Parish Council has worked hard over the past year to try and address the issues and concerns raised by residents. In some areas we have succeeded but others continue to rumble on. Traffic and speeding continue to be the major concern in the village. The road closures and increased vehicle numbers as the new housing fills up has fed into this. Hopefully the reopening of the A6 will reduce the number of heavy vehicles coming through the village. Your Parish Council have ordered a speed indicator device which will be used not only to inform drivers of their speed but also to collect data on vehicle movements. A recent police traffic management data collection exercise on Bedford Road showed 93% compliance with speed limits and it was suggested that our current traffic calming measures were sufficient so it will be interesting to see what the new devices reveal. If the trial is a success, we will purchase more devices in the future. The direction of the Bedford Road chicane is an ongoing issue which UCllr Hares is working to resolve. The new play equipment was successfully installed and has been well used and much appreciated by the children in the village. The youth have benefitted from a new shelter on the playing field near to the skatepark. Unfortunately, the skatepark itself is still waiting for some extensive repairs due to damage caused by vandalism. This is ongoing with quotes being sought. The Pavilion is currently being refurbished and refreshed in a project worth several thousand pounds. The works are partly required due to vandalism and in view of this we are reconsidering the positioning of the proposed MUGA. Two new bus shelters have been installed with two more proposed. These have been funded and installed by Central Council using S106 monies paid by local property developers. In a first for the village Christmas lights were purchased and switched on in time for Christmas 2019. Monies have been set aside to expand them this year. We would like to thank Lisa Frangiamore for all her work to make this happen. Later this year, in May, we will be celebrating VE Day in the village at an event managed by our volunteer committee headed up by Rose Brooks and Emily Durdahl. Let’s hope we have an amazing turnout and make this an event we will remember for years to come. Your Parish Council are also looking at what can be done in response to the Climate Change Emergency and, in conjunction with Central Beds Council, hope to put forward a plan with guidance to help any resident who wishes to help reverse the process. We would like to thank all those members of the public who have raised issues over the past year and hope that we have gone someway to help resolve them. Thanks, are also due to George Maxted for continuing to litter pick and keep our noticeboards up to date. On a personal note I would like to thank Gill Wiggs for her outstanding support of the Parish Council and of her understanding and patience with what I am sure has at times been a very trying new set of Parish Councillors. I would also like to thank all of the volunteers who have been part of the Parish Council over the past year and I look forward to working with you all in the future.

3. REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES Village Hall The Village Hall continues to host many groups, societies and activities for the village and surrounding areas.

Regular groups include WI, Pioneers, Rainbows and Brownies, Whist, Carpet Bowls, Line Dancing, Baby Sensory, Quai Kwon Do, Garden Club, Art Society and others throughout the week.

1 These groups, with their rental of the hall go some way to meeting the running costs. However, the hall relies on more than just the regular meetings like these and weekend hirings for specific fundraising events, charity events and other social activities are a very important part of the funding.

The year ended last March (2019) with a small surplus, unlike the previous year. This was as a result of a number of successful bookings such as the “Raise the Roof” event, where whilst the ticket sales and proceeds from raffles etc went to the Church Roof Fund, the Village Hall bar did a roaring trade and the profits made a welcome addition to Hall funds. It is events like this that are needed several times a year in order to keep the Hall running and maintain and update the facilities available. In addition, there were other private functions - christenings, wedding anniversaries, parties and charity quizzes etc – that also helped towards the 2018_19 surplus and hopefully towards a 2019_20 surplus too. It was agreed at the last Village Hall AGM to re-focus meetings, hold them less frequently and concentrate them on the business of the meeting, rather than the activities of the various groups.

The current year has seen a successful Race Night – specifically for fundraising – a great New Year’s Eve party night, the annual Village Hall Quiz and a joint quiz held by the Care Group and the Garden Club. The Art Society held their “Big Paint” and the Whist Club have always been successful in contributing through their regular whist evenings and various raffles.

The surpluses made by the Village Hall, topped up by a number of grants, have seen a number of improvements made in recent times – notably the resurfaced car park and over the last 2 years, the resurfacing and subsequent repair of the Village Hall floor. New blinds have replaced old and worn curtains at all the smaller windows and plans are in place – grants permitting – for the replacement of the stage curtains and some refurbishment and equipment replacement in the kitchen and bar.

The Hall is run almost entirely by volunteers and as with any volunteer organisation, there is always a need for new blood, particularly as those involved begin to reach the wrong end of middle age.

Police First of all, please accept my apologies that I could not deliver this report personally. We cover the , & and the , and Marston Moretaine Policing Areas which includes the surrounding villages. We look after 30 Towns and Villages in the Area within the Community Policing function. We’re a Team of 2 Police Officers (PC Dagley & PC Jackson) based at Ampthill Community Fire Station, overseen by Inspector Masters & Sergeant Butler at Police Station. We also benefit from support within the Special Constabulary, from SPC Hayward and SPC Petch. We’re also supported by local volunteer Helen Armitage. Our wider team cover around 140 Towns and Villages in the Central Bedfordshire and Rural Bedford area between the Riseley Police Station and Biggleswade Police Station hubs.

It’s important to emphasise that your Community Policing Team are not the sole Police presence within your Community. The Response Policing and Crime Investigation Teams are frequently in your area responding to incidents, undertaking enquiries, proactively patrolling through intelligence-led policing or simply passing through every day. In Community Policing, primarily, we are Problem Solvers and look to resolve Long-Term issues where it’s likely that we’re going to have a positive impact with our Partners, such as Central Bedfordshire Council, Social Housing, Schools and other stakeholders in the Community. When we’re not doing that, we’re helping to reduce the impact of crime by offering Crime Prevention and Reassurance to those who are or are likely to become Victims of Crime. We will assist our Response and Crime Teams with responding to incidents and helping with lines of enquiry where it’s within our capacity to do so and support the gathering and developing of Intelligence.

We’re really keen to fuse traditional policing methods with new, modern policing methods and would encourage all residents to Like and Follow our Facebook page, where we will keep you up to date with what we’re doing, give you up to date crime information and crime prevention advice that is relevant to what it going on at the time. We can be found at @AmpthillCPT on Facebook where we’re most active, and @NorthBedsPolice on Twitter. We’d also like to keep you up to date with tailored emails about what’s going on in your area and give you alerts about urgent matters – you can sign up to receive these emails at www.bedsalert.co.uk.

In the village specifically, crime has increased although perhaps not as keenly felt within the village due to the nature of those offences being particularly personal.

This past year we have had different priorities as a local policing team. Through the summer our priority was Youth ASB where there was little impact felt within the village. Our Autumn and Winter priorities moved to Vehicle Crime, where a great amount of work has been undertaken which may be linked to the decrease in 2 Vehicle Offences within the village. Incidents of note that have had an effect on the village we would say were the deployment of firearms units to the area on the balance of threat, harm and risk and the impact on the local school. Then there was also the 3-Month Closure Order on the Kempston Hardwick Traveller Encampment and the Police presence in the area for an extended time.

There has been an increase in calls made to the where incidents have been generated, and an increase in incidents attended. Reports related to road traffic collisions, parking or speeding have reduced as has reports of Anti-Social Behaviour.

An increase in reports of crime can be considered that it was suitable for an immediate deployment in a call to service, instead of direct reporting to our Crime Bureau.

The overall increase in crime and reporting is to be expected as the size of the village increases, and as we promote the need to report incidents to support an analytical process of problem solving and the appropriate classification of crimes in line with ethical recording standards.

In Summary, Houghton Conquest is a safe and low-crime village for whom your local policing team has a brilliant relationship with. We look forward to more of the same!

Care Group – This group is 26 yours old & still active. The main aim of the group is to provide transport to doctors & hospitals etc for older residents. New volunteers are always welcomed.

Garden Club – It is a friendly group with over 20 members. There are talks & trips to take part in.

Houghton Pioneers – We have 24 members (and a waiting list). The aim of the group is to take part in a wide range of activities. Last year this included pond dipping, making bug holes & a trip to Gullivers Land.

4. QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

Sports Field Concern was raised about the proposed relocation of the MUGA. A resident expressed the opinion the Sports Field should be used for as many sporting activities as possible for the benefit of Houghton Conquest residents. In her opinion, the more people using the Sports Field on a regular basis, the less ASB there is likely to be. Having a MUGA on the Sports Field would encourage more sporting activities at this location. She is of the opinion that the proposed location on the Play Area will attract complaints from residents in that area, as it is close to houses.

In her experience with the Skate Park, although a consultation may take place, residents complain after the equipment has been installed, when the impact is felt. Going by experience, these complaints may well be upheld by CBC, which would result in the MUGA having to be moved to a location that is as far away from housing as possible, (this is what happened with the Skate Park).

It was explained that the siting of the MUGA has been a difficult issue. The Sports Field is isolated & out of sight. The existing equipment on the Sports Field has had a lot of vandalism, & it was felt that the MUGA would regretfully be vandalised very quickly at this isolated location. This is why an alternative is being considered. If a suitable alternative location cannot be found, we may potentially ask that the money be spent on something else, although we understand there are legal obstacles to this.

In light of the expenditure on the Pavilion, it was asked how the residents of Houghton Conquest will benefit from this. E.g. is football being regularly played & if so, does the team include many Houghton Conquest residents, as the team never seem to put anything in the newsletter or social media such as match reports, or encourage Houghton Conquest players/supporters.

If the Sports Field is not going to be used for regular sports activities by Houghton Conquest residents, maybe it would be better to sell the land, as at the moment it seems it is hardly used for its prime purpose.

It was explained that there is one team regularly playing. We have asked them to put articles in the magazine in the past, but they have not done so. We will ask them to try harder to engage with local residents as we would like to see as many residents involved as possible.

Planning Application at 42 Rectory Lane – A resident asked for an update. It was explained that an appeal against the removal of the caravans is currently in hand.

The Meeting Closed at 7.30pm

3 Approved…………………………… Date…………………………..

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