JANUARY 2019

The Government has given Central Bedfordshire

Council £1,976,000 extra cash to fix potholes

CHAIRMAN’S LETTER

Although CBC had promised to start repairing the High St in Autumn so far there is no action taking place and I intend to go back to the CBC for an explanation.

It seems there are plans afoot to develop the site behind The Golden Bell and plans have been drawn up for presentation to CBC for planning permission.

John Hartley, our previous Secretary and then Chairman passed away in the New Year after a battle with cancer, I vis- ited him regularly in his last months. He will be a great lose to The Society.

I shall not be around for 1 month from 3rd January 2019 and John Sharp will Chair the meeting 24th January 2019. So I hope as many members as possible will attend to listen to Dr Brierley on Climate Change.

Best wishes for a good New Year.

Maurice Crowe

Chairman

The photo shows members watching Maurice present our petition to the Full Central Beds Council at their July meeting, at the start of our October Meeting. Andrew Selous at our November meeting stated that he is still on the case and apparently the gas board plans to dig up parts of The High Street is the hold up.

2 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL We hope you have enjoyed the variety of presentations. Membership renewals are now due for those members who do not have a standing order, please let Mike know if you would like to pay by Standing Order.

Have you considered paying annually by standing or- der? It means you never miss out on your membership and can cancel your standing order at anytime. Our subscriptions are: Individual £10 Concessions £8 and Family £ 16 Cheques payable to Leighton Buzzard Society and to be sent to The Membership Secretary, Mike Shepherd, 3 Cetus Cres- cent, LU7 3NL or at our January meeting (cash or cheque). We hope you will continue to support the work of the Society and look forward to meeting you at our social events.

Have you seen this sign any- where in town?

3 Footbridge over the West Coast Line, Linslade

The current position of the closed footbridge immediately south of Leighton Buzzard station that carries a public right of way ( Leighton Buzzard No 68) is that have stated that the footbridge is in a dangerous condition. Exact- ly what is meant by that is not clear, possibly there is corro- sion on the underside of the steel decking or maybe there is corrosion at some points on the supporting columns which appear to me to made of cast iron. Although a step is miss- ing from the top of the staircase shown on the left. Anyway, whatever corrosion there is, Network Rail are concerned that parts of the structure may become detached & fall on to the railway tracks & overhead electric power lines, so they, Net- work Rail, took action via CBC to close the bridge to the public. http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/Images/notice-lb- footpath-68_tcm3-30152.pdf http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/Images/map-lb- footpath-68_tcm3-30153.pdf

The deterioration was first noted by Network Rail in July 2018. They contacted CBC & as a result, CBC as the highway authority closed the footpath route over the bridge. CBC in the light of this closure, advertised an alternative route pro- 4 vided by Network Rail which uses the existing footbridge within the station. Notices giving full details were posted by CBC adjacent to the closed off stairways on each side of the suspect footbridge. Network Rail said that the closure would last six months during which time they would investigate the condition of the bridge further. Six months will be up by 31 January 2019. Otherwise If the works are not completed within six months the Order may be extended for a longer period with the consent of the Secretary of State for Transport.

A member of the Society alerted our Chairman, Maurice about the closure. Suspecting possible inaction from Network Rail in the matter as there is an acceptable albeit convoluted alternative route, I raised the matter with Andrew Selous MP in October regarding the inconvenience of closure of a long standing pedestrian route within Linslade. I took photographs of the legal notices to assist him. Properly he approached CBC who in turn have raised the matter with Network Rail. At least we got via Andrew a reply from CBC, 31 October 2018, Dear Mr Selous I have been asked to send you a holding response regarding the above, on behalf of Mark MacDonald, Custodian for Area 2. Mark has advised that Network Rail have closed this as it is unsafe. We have requested further information from Network Rail and will update you further when we have their com- ments. In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Julie Welsted, PA to Marcel Coiffait, Director of Community Services So considering in the words of Network Rail ‘Leighton Buzzard - one of the busiest stations on the ’ (Source— https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/ 5 uploads/2016/11/Leighton-Buzzard-benefits-of-HS2.pdf) they appear to have forgotten about our historic footbridge, seen here on this 1925 Map Numerous photos of the footbridge over the years can be found on this website http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/ leighton_buzzard/

John Sharp, Transport Officer

Buses The other day when in MK, at the Arriva enquiry “cube” build- ing, I picked up a copy of the latest, November 2018, issue of the timetable book containing all the bus services emanating from MK & which is published by MK Council. This includes the longer distance services between & , & to Northampton, Leicester & . All these longer dis- tance services are legally stage carriage bus services on which ENCTS bus passes are valid. I’ve mentioned this pub- lication before: it really is an excellent example of a local au- thority striving to do things properly. Each time this docu- ment is published there is a warning to say that in future it might be issued in an alternative format. However so far it continues to appear as a hard print book. I commend it our members. I know several people use the X7 service to North- ampton & Leicester. It is a very scenic route. Although From 6 7 January, service X7 will have a revised route and timeta- ble which can be found https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/highways-and-transport -hub/bus-and-taxi/bus-timetables-maps-and-travel- updates John Sharp, Transport Officer

Oxford to Cambridge Expressway

I recently returned from Paris on the Eurostar, the woman sat next to me lives in Cambridge, we had an interesting conver- sation on the issues with the East-West Railway around Cam- bridge, their guided busway and its success plus the Ox-Cam Expressway. She use to live near to and catch the train to school, she was now retired so was talking about the Varsity Line, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varsity_Line Without being a member of The Society I would not have had the depth and range of knowledge to discuss these issues. At present the 's Economic Heartland's Strategic Transport Forum is to write to the Secretary of State for Transport setting out is concerns over the 'western section' of the Oxford to Cambridge expressway. Concerns centre around the disappointing level of engage- ment by Highways England with EEH and a lack of transpar- ency around how the section from the west of Oxford to Mil- ton Keynes is taking into account other planned major infra- structure such as . "So when it comes to investing in our road network we need to ensure that it complements – rather than competes with – our investment in rail and digital connectivity."

For further reading and to sign up for emails visit http://www.englandseconomicheartland.com

Or follow them on Twitter https://twitter.com/EconomicHeart https://twitter.com/ewrconsortium

Sue James

7 Plastic Free LB During the Autumn there has been 3 talks on Climate Change, resulting in a small group being formed to rid the town of un- necessary plastics. A member of Chester Friends of Earth gave a very interesting talk on how Chester became plastic free starting with straws. If you are interested in joining this group which ranges from age 17 upwards, the next meeting is on the 22nd January, 7.30pm at The Friends Meeting House in North Street, enter via the left hand door. The next talk on Climate Change is on Thursday 10th January at 7.30pm, also at The Friends Meeting House. The speaker is Paul Brown lives in Linslade and used to be the environ- ment correspondent for The Guardian newspaper. The photo above was taken at Leighton Buzzard Rugby Club, well done to them for having paper straws. Can we convince other bars, cafes etc. to do them same?

Taxis are still an issue in the town, there were 9 taxis parked random- ly around the High Street on a Friday at 11am.

8 October Meeting

Due to The Police Commissioner having to can- cel at the last minute, (after Maurice chased her secretary to confirm her attendance) but he has booked her for March 2019 as our speaker. We welcomed back Evan Williamson from the auction world who started with comedy and a lady’s spending with her husband's credit card at an auction, she won every lot.

Evan explained how people described the goods they wished to sell by gestures, long clock it is this high, chest of drawers this high and this wide. Lots of arm waving was demonstrat- ed.

He demonstrated the magic teapot, you pour the liquid into the base and carefully turn it round the right way. The liquid stays in and there are no drips when poured.

Evan recounted the only time the police have only been called once during a clearance, Evan describe his experience at Mr Stiffs garage. Yes, a true story and the name correct for the deceased per- son.

We learnt that spoons are hollow wear, knives and forks are flat wear. A selection of silver spoons were handed round and we were asked to guess the price they would sell at auction.

Evan gave out points for guesses of what items would sell for, I achieved 20 points and won a bottle of wine. Sue James 9 Presidents Evening in November

Andrew spoke briefly on Brexit, the 500 page document having only just landing on his reading pile. He praised the turn out of the town at the two Remembrance services he attended, speaking about the bridging of the ages from school children to our own Wally, who was present and has become a TV star this year. He even appeared on Breakfast TV. With regards to The High Street repairs, CBC were all set up to start work and the gas board decided they were going to dig up sections so it is on hold. With regards to the A5 through Hockliffe and the number of deaths on this section of road, Highways England are push- ing for a 30 mile an hour restriction and then 40 miles. He describe Bedfordshire as a ‘polo’ when it came to polic- ing, everything going to Luton, the hole in the middle. He

10 said that a town of 42,000 and growing should have more than a community hub. The present police funding treats Bedfordshire as a rural county which it is not, hence a lost of funding which equates to 95 officers. With regards to Travellers, Andrew had only that week spoke in Parliament and his speech can be viewed online https:// www.andrewselous.org.uk/news/south-west-bedfordshire-mp -andrew-selouss-ten-minute-rule-bill-speech With regards to health, he is on The Health Select Committee and two of his children are at medical school, he will be en- couraging them to become GP’s locally. He is campaigning for better mobile reception in the area, especially villages. Andrew is keeping an eye on the Oxford-Cambridge Express- way proposals.

Obituary

It with great sadness we have to announce the death of one of our 'local' regularly members, Ludovic McRae. Vic as he was known was evacuated to the town with William Ellis School and enjoyed his life in the town so much he returned regularly throughout his life, although he lived in North London. Vic was often seen rushing out of The Gables Hall at he end of a meeting to catch the train to Euston and bus onward to his home in Crouch End. Vic always had his camera with him, which was not digital, he had two set of photos printed, sending our Editor copies of images relating to The Society's meetings, which she then scan and added to our news- letters. When asked if he would eventually purchase a digital camera, his reply was not whilst I can still purchase film.

11 CURRENT PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Land North Of Leighton Road (a4146) Soulbury 17/03956/ AOP opposite Valley Farm Consultation Outline Planning Application with access to be considered and all other matters reserved for residential development (C3) comprising 50 Dwellings (50% Open Market/50% Af- fordable), Associated Roads, Drainage, Car Parking, Servic- ing, Footpaths, Cycleways, Public Open Space / Informal Open Space and Landscaping CB/17/03813/FULL Former Quarry Works, Mentmore Road, Linslade Approved Change of Use of Land to Boat Yard, Change of use of Ad- ministration Building to Dwelling CB/17/05466/FULL 25 Baker Street, LU7 1BL right of 21- 25 & carpark Refused Proposed new construction of mixed tenure housing com- prising of 2 no 3 bedroom dwellings; 2 No 2 bedroom apart- ments; 4 No 1 bedroom apartments; 1 no studio apartment CB/17/05681/OUT Land at Station Approach, Station Road, Linslade, LU7 2LY incl T/C building Consultation Approximately 25 Dwellings, up to three storeys in height with basement car parking CB/17/05971/OUT Land at Northern Chamberlains Barn (to the south of Shenley Hill Rd) Consultation Residential development of up to 253 dwellings CB/17/06062/FULL Land at Northern Chamberlain's Barn (between Shenley Hill Rd and Heath Rd) Consultation Creation of new link road CB/18/00943/FULL Land to the rear of no's. 11B - 29 Wing Road, Linslade Consultation Proposed residential scheme of 34 x 1 and 2 bedroom apart- ments CB/18/01275/RM Chamberlains Barn Quarry, Heath Road Granted Reserved matters in relation to planning permission 12 CB/11/01937/OUT on phase 1 for 298 dwellings and associ- ated works including, layout, scale, appearance and land- scape CB/18/02059/RM Clipstone Park Land from Vandyke Road to Stanbridge Road East of Leighton Buzzard Granted Application for Approval of Reserved Matters - pursuant to the outline application CB/11/02827/OUT CB/18/02379/OUT Land at Spinney Park and Spinney Pool, Billington Road, LU7 9HH Granted Proposed erection of not more than 150 dwellings, together with connecting access to Billington Road, all internal access roads, parking provision, turning areas, incidental open space and site landscaping CB/18/02427/FULL Corbetts Hill Farm, Taylors RideLU7 3JN Consultation Redevelopment of farm buildings and pool house to create six dwellings with associated works CB/18/02615/RM Clipstone Park Land South of Vandyke Road and North of Stanbridge Road Consultation Application for Approval of Reserved Matters - pursuant to the outline application CB/11/02827/OUT dated 28/08/2015 for the Strategic Landscape, open spaces and play areas CB/18/02649/OUT Clipstone Park Leighton Rd Consultation Hybrid Planning Application for the development of the site to provide employment floor-space of up to 48,313 sq m (GIA) within uses B1c/B2/B8 with ancillary offices and areas for service yards, car parking, landscape and associated activi- ties, comprising a detailed application for 13no units up to 5,313 sq m (GIA) and an outline application for the remain- ing 43,000 sq m (GIA) reserving all matters except access CB/18/02600/FULL Leedon Service Station, Hockliffe Road, LU7 3JU Consultation The construction of two blocks containing 10 No. flats, to- gether with associated parking and landscaping

13 CB/18/02852/FULL Land adjacent to former Royal Air Force Site Swales Drive, LU7 4Q withdrawn Erection of 3 new detached 4-bedroom properties CB/18/04137/FULL Aldi Foodstore Ltd, Vimy Road, Linslade, LU7 1ER Consultation Extension to existing food-store, including external altera- tions to the store building, and alterations to car park layout

Tony Birch, Planning Officer

Chamberlain Barns from Heath Road at the new junction with traffic lights.

The Big Plan

Having answered someone's comment on a local Facebook page after they posted images of the first Big Plan book, I was challenged to say what had been achieved.

The Green Wheel, Access to All Saints Meadows, The Linslade Western Bypass opened in 2007, it was hoped to reduce the no of vehicles using the town roads by 20% but with all the new housing that probably has not been achieved. The east- ern road is today still on the table CB/17/06062/FULL Land at Northern Chamberlain's Barn (between Shenley Hill Rd and Heath Rd) in Consultation, Creation of new link road and has been for some time.

We have the 20 miles an hour zone in the town centre, weight ban on lorries in the town, new bus shelters and real- time display boards at some stops. Lifts to all platforms at the station, we lost and regain our ambulance, land is being re- leased for business.

14 The Town Council is now run the market, we have feature lighting around Market Cross, have the Splash and Play, have additional foot pitches at Astral Park, Canoe club have a new clubhouse and storage facilities, the Skills and Enterprise Centre has been built, achieved a children centre, extended nursery provision at schools, more tourist info boards around the town, improved signage for drive, cyclist and walker, Borrower's trail which is the Children's Trail has been in- stalled, plastic/recycling bin collections, all supermarkets charge for plastic bags, mausoleum has been constructed and opened, cycle routes (although some need repainting such as between Vimy Road and St Christopher's Garage), That is my quick flick through 42 pages.

His next comment was so you’re happy with the progress?

Mike Bishop supported my response with much of the Big Plan depended on action by other agencies outside the con- trol of the Town Council. Development of retail on the South side of the High Street is a prime example where CBC seem to have dragged their feet. The NHS has also failed to take up the opportunity for a community hospital or local health facility.

The person we were communicating with now lives in South New Wales, Australia but his parents still live in the town.

There is an online copy of Big Plan II if you wish to refresh your memory. https://www.leightonlinslade-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2014/12/The-big-Plan-II.pdf

The first Big Plan took two years of public involvement and consultation involving over 2,500 people was adopted by the Town Council in early 2007. To ensure that the Big Plan re- mained relevant and accurately reflected the wishes of those that live and work within the Parish, the Town Council revisit- ed this forward plan and reissued it in April 2011 as Big Plan II.

Sue James 15 Development Proposals

Companies often hold a consultation before submitting an application to the local authority, it is good PR for them. As you all know the land behind the Post Office in Church Square has been vacant for many years, the Town Council has plans but CBC have not implemented this.

London Green Belt Council

Did you know

• The number of Green Belt sites identified as being under threat from development more than doubled between July 2016 and July 2017, from 203 to 443 (the total number of houses proposed increased from 123,528 to 159,304). This trend is continuing.

• In 2017 the three Local Planning Authorities with the greatest number of threats were Central Bedford- shire (17,100), East Hertfordshire (16, 950) and Basil- don (13,035).

• An All-Party Parliamentary Group for London’s Green Belt has been established to advocate Green Belt-friendly plan- ning policies and to contribute to the debate on how best to achieve sustainable development that protects London’s Green Belt for the benefit of future generations. The Group was formed in October 2017.

The London Greenbelt AGM took place in November @ Port- cullis House, Westminster. Victoria Harvey our representative went along and her report will be in the next newsletter. 16 Strong case for existing operator to provide initial East West Rail services

There is a strong case for services on East West Rail's 'western section' to initially be provided by an existing opera- tor rather than Government seeking to let a franchise, ac- cording to England's Economic Heartland (EEH) who is work- ing with the Government and partners to deliver East West Rail and an Oxford to Cambridge expressway. With the section between Oxford and Bedford and and , due to open in the early 2020s, EEH be- lieves there is a pressing need for clarity over how services will be operated. Mayor Dave Hodgson, Chair of England's Economic Heart- land's Strategic Transport Forum, said: "East West Rail is an incredibly important project for the Heartland, playing a fun- damental role in realising our economic potential and achiev- ing net gain for our environment. "It is important that its benefits are realised from the get-go, but that any operator isn't bound to a flawed franchise speci- fication which fails to maximise longer-term strategic oppor- tunities. "This is why using an existing operator in the shorter-term would enable the framework for any future franchise to be based on a real-world understanding of travel patterns and demand, rather than forecasts which can so often – with the benefit of hindsight – prove to be far removed from reality. "It would also enable a future franchise to take into account work on the future of the West Coast Mainline post HS2's opening – in particular enabling a new north-south corridor between Northampton and Old Oak Common. At its meeting on December 7, the Forum resolved to invite and Great Western to its January meeting in order to hear their views on the process. http://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/latest-news/ Pages/strong-case-for-existing-operator-to-provide-initial- east-west-rail-services.aspx

17

VACANT

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Committee

375217 375217 756874 373728 07815 817108

Chairman Treasurer Planning Committee Membership Secretary Transport NewsletterEdi- tor/Facebook Committee member London Green- belt Rep member Secretary

Maurice Crowe Anthony Fraser Tony Birch Josh Walker Mike Shepherd John Sharp Sue James Carole Perham VictoriaHarvey

Follow us Twitter @LeightonBuzzSoc Facebook Leighton Buzzard Society Website leightonbuzzardsociety.com 18 POtHOles Continuing with the good news on the front cover, you will be pleased to know that if there are still potholes in our roads the citizens of Leighton-Linslade will be able to for the pricy sum of £35000 to £50000 purchase an X-ray Range Rover https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily- mail/20181124/282724817980671 The latest Range Rover has the technology to allow drivers to ‘see through’ the bonnet and spot ground level hazards just in front of the vehicle, including potholes and kerbs. For those who do not have that sort of money please keep reporting them online www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/ transport/report/highways-fault.aspx If you don’t no one else will. Sue James

Future Events All meetings to be held at The Gables, 132 Wing Road, Linslade, LU7 2NN 7pm for 7.30pm unless otherwise specified

January 24th Speaker Dr Chris Brierley on Climate Change Lecturer at UCL, Department of Geography

February 21st

Alan Gomersall on Bird Watching,

19 March 28th Katherine Holloway, Police Commissioner for Beds Police

April 25th AGM with guest speaker , Town Mayor

May 30th Mark Thomas, Genetics Professor of Evolutionary Genetics www.ucl.ac.uk/mace-lab/people/mark

June 27th Phil Irving, Greensand Trust

July 25th Anna Conti, Stained Glass

October 24th Gennaro Borrelli, LB First

Non members are welcome, entry £2 The Gables is on the 150 bus route on Wing Road, a short walk from the Railway Station, where the F70, F77 and D1 buses stop. The Gables has a large car park with lighting and disabled ac- cess into the building via a ramp.

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