Minutes of a Meeting of Colmworth Parish Council Held on Thursday 7Th March 2019 at 7.00Pm in the Village Hall at Colmworth
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Minutes of a Meeting of Colmworth Parish Council held on Thursday 7th March 2019 at 7.00pm in the Village Hall at Colmworth Present: Cllr. E. Pegler, Cllr. L. Knight, Cllr. P. Ball, Cllr. T. Frew, Cllr. G. Palmer, Cllr. B. Brightman (arrived at 7.30pm), L. Crawford (Clerk), Mayor Dave Hodgson (for the Open Forum), Borough Cllr. Tom Wootton (from 8pm) and two members of the public. 2019/016. Apologies None 2019/017. Declarations of Interest and Confirmation of Changes to Registers of Interest None. 2019/018. Approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting on 10th January 2019 Having been previously circulated the minutes were approved as an accurate record of the meeting. Proposed by Cllr. E. Pegler and seconded by Cllr. P. Ball. 2019/019. Public Open Forum Mayor Dave Hodgson confirmed that average speed cameras will be installed in Colmworth in 2019. He explained that these cameras measure the average speed over a length of road, rather than measuring it at a fixed point. This means they have a greater long-term effect on how fast people choose to drive rather than just slowing down for a speed camera. They also help drivers choose a more appropriate lower speed across the road network. The Borough Council does not make money from the cameras, with the fines being retained by Central Government but the Mayor is campaigning for the fines to be retained by the Council for road safety improvements. He thanked the Parish Council for their offer of a £10,000 contribution and explained that in Milton Ernest the average speed had reduced from 39mph to 29mph after similar cameras were introduced. Parish Councillors thanked the Mayor and expressed their delight at the news. The editor of the Chronicle (John Douglas) offered to distribute some fliers to publicise the news about the speed cameras with the newsletter. The Mayor also explained that he supported route D for the East West rail route (which goes through the rural villages to the north of Bedford. This is because it would provide a station in Bedford town and it would not take up valuable building land to the south of Bedford. 2019/020. Average Speed Cameras (ASCs) • Cllr. L. Knight explained that Bedford Borough Council Highways Department had agreed to install data recorders before and after installation to measure the difference the cameras make. She reported that Bedford Borough Council Highways Department would conduct a full road survey of the village to establish the best 1 March 2019 locations for the cameras. She then expects them to advise the Parish Council of the location of the ASC’s after the survey is completed. • The Clerk will contact Bedford Borough Council to see whether some of the pledges can be paid direct to the Borough so that the Parish Council turnover does not exceed £25,000 which would necessitate changing our accounting system and would incur external audit fees. • It was agreed that the Clerk should publicise the news on the website, PC Facebook, the Trumpet and in the Chronicle. 2019/021. Events • Litter pick Saturday 9th March 10am meeting at the Triangle. 20 sets of equipment will be delivered to Cllr. T. Frew. 2019/022. Ward Report • Borough Cllr. Tom Wootton’s report Black Cat Upgrade Following a public consultation which received over 4000 responses, Highways England has announced the preferred option to upgrade the Black Cat roundabout and the selected route for a new bypass between the junction and Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire. The roundabout is to be reconfigured as per the below diagram taken from the Highways England website. The junction will become three-tier, with the A1 passing beneath the junction and the A421 over it. The preferred route for the bypass is provided below. Highways England is of the view that it will remove traffic from the A428 to Cambridge and reduce rat running on local roads. The estimated cost of the project is £810m - £1.4bn. For more information see https://highwaysengland.co.uk/projects/a428-black-cat-to-caxton-gibbet/ 2 March 2019 Bromham Road Bridge It has been confirmed by Network Rail that it will begin demolishing and reconstructing the railway bridge over Bromham Road in the town centre on the 4th March. This work is being undertaken to enable the electrification of the Midland Main Line. Pedestrian access will still be allowed, but the road will be partially closed, meaning that drivers will need to follow a diversion via Clapham Road. It is likely that these works will cause disruption across the town. Council Website You may have seen that the Council has a new website as of December 2018. A feature of the new site is the inclusion of ‘customer journeys’ which aim to make it easier to report or discuss certain issues. For example, residents can now report potholes, graffiti and noise nuisance using the website. New customer journeys are undergoing testing and are being added to the site incrementally. See www.bedford.gov.uk Green Bins The Council is reminding residents that green waste collections resumed on the 1st March. Collections days can be found at http://apps.bedford.gov.uk/bcs/search.aspx Voter Registration Borough residents have until the 12th April to register should they wish to vote in the local elections on the 2nd May. Details of how to register can be found at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote The election on the 2nd May will be for the Mayor, Borough Councillors and Parish Councillors. 3 March 2019 Advice for Families The Borough Council has a website which provides advice on a range of services designed to support families including child behaviour support, early years and childcare and youth clubs. For more details see https://earlyhelp.bedford.gov.uk/home.aspx Power Cut Support for Vulnerable People UK Power Networks (UKPN), the organisation responsible for maintaining electricity lines and cables, is raising awareness of a scheme to assist vulnerable people in the event of a power cut. Pensioners, families with young children and people with disabilities, health conditions or special needs can be provided with accommodation, meals and home visits if necessary. Applications to join UKPN’s Priority Services Register can be submitted via www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/priority, 08001699970 or [email protected]. Cllr Tom Wootton: 07771575227 / [email protected] • Ward Fund o Cllr. T. Frew proposed that the remaining funds for the planter on the Triangle (£230.72) be set aside in an earmarked reserve to be used by the Gardening Club to create a “Green Man” sculpture and to purchase bulbs. Seconded by Cllr. L. Knight. The motion was passed. o Village Hall projector. £374.99 has been received from the Ward Fund and the purchase was approved with the other receipts and payments. o Cllr. L. Knight explained that the church would want to consider changing the gates to the churchyard and wondered if it might be a suitable use of Ward Funding in 2019. Cllr. T. Frew suggested that the gates needed a maintenance regime. Councillors agreed that the church should apply for Ward Funding directly rather than through the Parish Council. • Ward Forum. Cllr. L. Knight o Police. Cllr. L. Knight reported that the police officers attending was not aware of the proposal by Katherine Holloway for Parish Councils to fund PCSO’s for £31,200 per year but they said that they would find out more about it. PC Kerry Jones suggested that more special constables would be helpful in the villages of north Bedfordshire. Borough Cllr. Tom Wootton reported that some parishes in other parts of the country had funded PCSO’s and found that they saw very little of them as they were drawn into policing other areas. Bolnhurst and Keysoe are investigating the possibility of engaging a private security firm to reduce burglaries. o Speeding. There was some discussion about average speed cameras and how to get them along with mobile speed indicators and what to do with the data. o Infrastructure. Roxton are holding discussions with Highways England about noise abatement and landscaping of the Black Cat roundabout. Wilden were concerned about the proposed northern routes for East West rail which appeared to go through / close to their village. 2019/023. Planning • The Clerk reported that Little Staughton Solar Farm is due to commence construction in May. 4 March 2019 2019/024. Highways, Rail and Rights of Way • Preferred option announcement for A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet scheme. This was reported under 2019/022: Ward Report. • Consultation on East West Rail. Cllr. L. Knight proposed that the Parish Council support Route B for the reasons given by the Council for the Protection of Rural England (available on the parish website https://colmworthparishcouncil.bedsparishes.gov.uk/assets/documents/cpre-briefing- east-west-rail). Cllr. E. Pegler seconded this proposal and Councillors voted unanimously in favour. Cllr. G. Palmer agreed to respond to the consultation on behalf of the Parish Council. • Church path. Cllr. E. Pegler and Cllr. L. Knight met with Kate Abrahams (Church Warden) before the Parish Council meeting. She explained that the letter which suggested that the Parish Council should share responsibility for the church path (dated 2009) was outdated and that she would arrange for a new letter to be written to supersede it to explain that the Parish Council do not have any responsibility for maintaining the path. She will present this to the Parochial Church Council for St Denys for their approval. • Apparatus licence for planter on the Triangle. Bedford Borough Council provided a licence for permission to position the wooden planter on the highway verge.