Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at Kensworth Village Hall on Thursday 13th September 2018

Present: Chairman P Mitchell, Parish Councillors I Lowery, G Blackburn & P Woods, Clerk Maxine Whiting, Ward Cllr Collins, 1 member of public

1. APOLOGIES Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Parish Cllrs J Bradley, J Murray, C Browne & Ward Cllr Stay.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declaration of interests.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held 12th July 2018 were a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

4. PROGRESS UPDATE FROM LAST MEETING Andy Jones, CBC tree officer advised he has no budget or remit to replace trees removed by Highways in Maple Way. Clerk to contact Woodlands Trust to see if any are available & if so, request permission from CBC to reinstate in a similar position. HM Land Registry have amended contact detail to Clerk address for land registered under Kensworth Parish Council.

5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Overgrown hedge at 1 Maple Way – Clerk and resident to report direct to CBC highways Traffic Management in place at roadworks in Clayhall Road, but no activity – Clerk to report to highways

6. POLICE Clerk circulated Police crime data spreadsheets link to Cllrs. 18 offences reported in August. Offence Number Theft of a motor vehicle 3 Burglary - Residential - Dwelling 2 Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) 2 Theft if not classified elsewhere 2 Interference with a motor vehicle 1 Sexual 1 Other criminal damage, other (Under £5,000) 1 Burglary - Business And Community 1 Theft from the person of another 1 Exposure 1 Other criminal damage to a vehicle (Under £5,000) 1 Making off without payment 1 Other criminal damage to a dwelling (Under £5,000) 1 Grand Total 18 Police Crime Commissioners Annual Parish Conference this evening. th Ward Cllr Collins advised of a priority setting meeting Friday 14 September – Cllr Mitchell to attend.

7. COUNCIL Cllr Lowery asked why HGV learners are exempt to weight ban? Ward Cllr Collins has discussed with CBC highways Paul Salmon. Paul agreed to install survey strips in village to gather data and give up to date statistics on HGV’s and restart conversation to discuss current learner exemptions in place. Cllr Mitchell attended CBC scrutiny committee today. Parking was discussed and unable to understand why it’s difficult to implement TRO’s in villages? Ward Cllr Collins replied in some villages it is necessary for vehicles to park on footpaths due to narrow roads, however Kensworth may be an exemption to this and will raise with the portfolio holder and Paul Salmon.

1 Signed by Presiding Chairman ------11th October 2018 Minutes of the Kensworth Parish Council Meeting held at Kensworth Village Hall on Thursday 13th September 2018

Ward Cllr Collins reported that CBC had sent a robust response to the recent Luton Airport consultation which he will forward. Cllr Mitchell is aware a resident has requested MP Selous to seek a night time ban which Heathrow have voluntarily taken between 11:30pm and 5am. Emsrayne Renewable Energy Limited is proposing to develop Lea Bank Energy Park at a green field site off Lower Harpenden Road (B653) at near . They have requested a scoping report from CBC. CBC wrote to all statutory consultees to ask what details they wish to see on the planning application and what technical issues to address. CBC are now awaiting an outline proposal. Assured the Environmental Agency would be involved too and address concerns and monitor throughout. CB/18/00680/FULL Manor Farm, Watling Street planning application for Retrospective change of use from agriculture to temporary use as storage area for 5 years, with ancillary landscaping works and formation of hardstanding area using road plantings has been withdrawn. CBC planning enforcement officer Mike Bailey has been in discussion with Beeches and shortly expects a planning application to discharge conditions granted on appeal. CBC have a budget for 2 more enforcement officers, however lack of CBC enforcement has also been due to hold up with legal department not issuing notices. CBC Highways are investigating ownership of land where the memorial has been erected on Watling Street. Ward Collins will follow up situation with hard standing installed on Watling Street verge.

8. PLANNING CB/18/02617/FULL Manor Farm, Watling Street, Kensworth, LU6 3QU Change of use from agricultural to commercial storage. No comment.

CB/18/02726/FULL Unit J, Kensworth Ind. Estate, Common Road, Kensworth, LU6 2PN Erection of a ground and first floor extension No objection however car parking must be adequately provided for as on a shared access and nearby residents have complained previously about congestion in road.

CB/18/03167/OUT Bisley House, Isle Of Wight Lane, Kensworth, , LU6 2PP To erect 4x chalet-bungalows OBJECT on grounds that it will have an adverse impact on Green Belt & AONB, over development, inappropriate design and not sympathetic to surroundings. Ward Cllr Stay advised by email that he has ‘called in’ application.

9. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST Clerk advised Ian Hanton, CBC Development and Commissioning Manager, that the new National Planning Policy Framework details on page 15, paragraph 52 that communities can use Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders to grant planning permission? It states that 'local planning authorities should take a proactive and positive approach to such proposals, working collaboratively with community organisations', & suggested it may be a route the parish council and CBC could investigate jointly for developing parish council owned land perhaps? Ian Hanton, CBC Development and Commissioning Manager, is awaiting a response from Peter Vosper, Principal Planning Officer for the south of the county & will flag this up with Peter for his guidance and refer back to us.

10. COMMUNITY PLAN Parish Council Chair had contacted Cllr Pat Mitchell regarding a community plan. Cllr Mitchell awaiting further details and information.

11. PLAY AREA IMPROVEMENTS Cllr Murray met with HAGS & still awaiting a revised quote. Cllr Murray meeting with Kompan this Monday to discuss plans and providing an additional quote.

12. ALLOTMENTS It was AGREED to freeze the price for 2018-9 at £24 for a full plot.

2 Signed by Presiding Chairman ------11th October 2018 Minutes of the Kensworth Parish Council Meeting held at Kensworth Village Hall on Thursday 13th September 2018

A draft Allotment Tenants Privacy Notice from GDPR Data Protection Officer LCPAS (Local Council Public Advisory Service) was circulated. It was AGREED to adopt the Allotment Tenants Privacy Notice. Cllr Bradley to issue each tenant a copy and advise also available on website.

13. EB LIONS FOOTBALL AGREEMENT EB Lions wish to renew their agreement and use of the recreation ground. Adrian Bush advise they are low on Kensworth players at the moment, around 7-10 players. Have been including the school when sending flyers out so not sure why we not getting the interest. They pay on average £100-200 on pitches. Edlesborough Green is more as have 4 pitches in use. It was AGREED to renew EB Lions Football Club licence agreement for the use of the recreation ground at Common Road. The club wish to only have 1 x 11 a side pitch which will continue to be played on by their U15 girls on Saturday and in addition their U15 boys team on Sunday mornings. The initial price of £75 per pitch agreed in 2015 was to assist EB Lions to establish a team and interest in Kensworth. Since the initial agreement three years ago, the parish council have kept the same price and also provided use of more facilities at the hall including toilets, changing area and storage. The parish council therefore feel it would be reasonable to increase the price per pitch to £125pa. It was AGREED to increase the price per pitch to £125 per annum. Clerk to forward contract and invoice and obtain copy of insurance policy.

14. CCTV The parish council currently pay BT £24.60 + VAT per month to supply a landline and internet to CCTV camera. As the footage isn’t monitored live and records onto a hard disk, internet isn’t required and would save the parish council £295.20pa if cancelled. It was AGREED to cancel Direct Debit to BT for the phone and internet. A draft CCTV policy from GDPR Data Protection Officer LCPAS (Local Council Public Advisory Service) was circulated. The policy was prepared after taking due account of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018 and Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and disclosure (PoFA). It was AGREED to adopt CCTV policy and make available from website.

15. WEBSITE The www.kensworthparishcouncil.gov.uk website was created many years ago using joomla and has no support. The domain name is hosted by Acception who charge £95 per annum & advised joomla software is now out of date and vulnerable to hacking. Clerk asked Acception about providing email addresses for Councillors via the domain & told there could be problems. If one or more councillors don't pick up their emails for a while, the space fills up and then the website and everybody else's email stops working. This means there would have to be a lot more space available, which will cost more. They suggested to move over to using Office 365 for email, which has extra features like the ability to put on a global disclaimer at the foot of every email & shared calendars are available too. There are however significant costs to move to Microsoft. Alternatively if Councillors set up their own separate Councillor email addresses via any free email provider, there will be no costs involved & appears to be the most straightforward & cheapest solution. It was AGREED parish councillors will set up their own individual gmail address (the same as Clerk) for parish council business only in order to comply with GDPR. Emails will be in the format of [email protected] CBC provided bedsparishes websites for free to all town & parish councils a few years ago. Clerk has gained access and passwords for the Kensworth site and started updating and adding Kensworth information to it https://kensworth.bedsparishes.gov.uk/ It was AGREED to not to renew domain name www.kensworthparishcouncil.gov.uk & use only the free beds parishes website address www.kensworth.bedsparishes.gov.uk.

16. 2017/18 ANNUAL RETURN COMPLETED CERTIFICATE FROM MAZARS EXTERNAL AUDITORS The completed 2017/18 Annual Return and certificate from Mazars External Auditors was approved and accepted. There were no issues identified and no significant matters arising from the audit. The External Auditor Report, Certificate and Notice of conclusion of audit and Statement of accounts have been published on the notice board and website and is available to the public.

3 Signed by Presiding Chairman ------11th October 2018 Minutes of the Kensworth Parish Council Meeting held at Kensworth Village Hall on Thursday 13th September 2018

17. CHAIRMAN REPORT I wish to announce the death of our former clerk Brian Farrelly while on holiday in Spain. Robin Radford, previous PC Chair, advised me of the sad news and I immediately wrote a card of sympathy to his widow Linda. Robin advised me of the funeral but I was unfortunately away and unable to attend, but Gerry Blackburn was able to represent the PC. I was in discussion with Ken France about a suitable article in the Parish Link from all three parishes as Brian was for a short time clerk to , but served Whipsnade and Kensworth from 2004 until 2015. It has been a quiet summer with very few issues reported to me. I received communications from two tenants of CBC housing properties asking for help in resolving a dispute and advised both parties that this was not something that the PC could be involved with and must be handled through CBC Housing department. Speedwatch sessions are continuing and the trained volunteers are recording the details of lorries travelling through the village as well as details of speeding motorists. Unfortunately we are not logging foreign registrations as there is no recourse to obtain personal details for the DVLA or Police. One session was marred by the abuse from one driver caught speeding. This was reported to the Police. In memory of the centenary of the end of the first world there are several events taking place to commemorate a 100 years since the end of WW1. have two black silhouettes on the side of the village signs of a soldier kneeling with a gun and a sign commemorating the 100 years. These are available from the Royal British Legion at a cost of £100. Gerry and I have both been looking for other suitable silhouettes or very large poppies that could be displayed in the village for the remembrance service. I have found the clear plastic silhouettes of heads to place on church pews at a cost of £42 and I will use my Chair Allowance to purchase two of these to be placed in Kensworth Church and 1 RBL Soldier Silhouette. I would also like to advise the council that I have been part of a Gypsy & Traveller Focus Group for the last 2 years, representing over 20 parish councils in S W Bedfordshire, and based in the /Stanbridge/Billington area where we have been trying to get involved with CBC in understanding their lack of enforcement when G&T sites expand without planning permission. Although we do not have any G&T sites in Kensworth Parish we are affected by them on the A5183 – Watling Street, which are based in Parish. The Focus Group feel that the settled communities views are never considered when granting planning applications for extensions to G&T sites, with conditions which are never enforced, allowing these sites to grow without control, whereas if a member of the settled community did not adhere to planning controls, enforcement would be very strictly followed. The Focus Group are asking CBC and the Government for 'Fairness, balance, & equitable planning for ALL’. Our Local MP Andrew Selous raised the issue of illegal traveller sites in Parliament on Monday, supported by many MPs. - Calls for Action over Illegal Traveller Sites - The government should be "hanging their heads in shame" over its efforts to tackle illegal gypsy and traveller sites, MPs have warned. Ministers are being urged to change their policy and "make deliberate trespass a criminal offence". The article can be found on the BBC news website.

18. GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION CCTV policy & Allotment Tenants Privacy Notice adopted this evening will be added to website. Parish Councillors to set up separate email addresses for parish council and to complete, sign and return to Clerk ‘Awareness checklist for Councillors’ Clerk needs to carry out an IT security assessment, including encrypt laptop and phone, up to date anti-virus and firewalls Toddington Parish Council have recently conducted an assessment and recommended Steve Jones to assist. It was AGREED Clerk to contact Steve Jones for assistance. Clerk also needs to purchase a lockable filing cabinet in order to safe keep hard copy data.

19. CORRESPONDENCE th Beds Police Annual Parish Conference invite 13 Sept – 6/9 email fwd th CBC Remembrance Day/Battles Over 11 Nov – 29/8 email fwd th Friends of Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire Day 28 Nov – 28/8 email fwd Beds Bugle Sept 2018 – 28/8 email fwd rd CBC Common Road closure for resurfacing 19-23 Nov – 11/9 email fwd & on website

20. AUTHORISATION OF PAYMENTS It was RESOLVED by full council to authorise the following accounts for payment and two authorised signatories were instructed to sign the below cheques:

4 Signed by Presiding Chairman ------11th October 2018 Minutes of the Kensworth Parish Council Meeting held at Kensworth Village Hall on Thursday 13th September 2018

01/09/2018 SO Maxine Whiting Clerk salary & expenses £ 720.00 01/09/2018 DD BT Parish Hall CCTV £ 29.52 13/09/2018 102119 Maxine Whiting Clerk balance salary & expenses £ 103.02 13/09/2018 102120 Bedfordshire Pension Fund Pension contributions £ 276.47 13/09/2018 102121 HMRC PAYE & NI £ 171.33 13/09/2018 102122 Village Garden Services Invoice maintenance & recreation £ 713.30 13/09/2018 102123 Anthony Bishun Litter picking 15.5 hours/month £ 121.36 13/09/2018 102124 Mazars 2017-18 External Audit fee £ 240.00 13/09/2018 102125 Royal British Legion WW1 Silent Soldier Silhouette £ 100.00

21. ITEMS FOR INCLUSION IN “THE PARISH LINK” New website address, RBL silhouettes for WW1 centenary, Parish Councillors setting up new email addresses in compliance with GDPR, Allotment price & renewals, EB Lions continuing, Next meeting date.

Meeting closed at 9:45pm.

5 Signed by Presiding Chairman ------11th October 2018