Bolnhurst & Keysoe Parish Council http://bolnhurstkeysoe.bedsparishes.gov.uk MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD VIA ZOOM 15th March 2021 AT 19:30 HOURS PRESENT, PCllr M Gossage, PCllr M Perry, PCllr C Kew, PCllr J Stone, PCllr L Barry, PCllr J Browning, BCllr Wootton, Mrs G Wiggs (Parish Clerk), Police Sergeant John Killick and 26 members of the public. The Annual Parish Meeting is a statutory meeting of the parish electorate & must be held between March & June each year. It is usually an opportunity to review the previous year. All local electors are entitled to participate in the Annual Parish Meeting. It is not a Parish Council meeting. Any recommendations from this meeting can be taken forward for consideration by the Parish Council if appropriate to do so. 1. Parish Council Chairman’s Report - PCllr Martin Gossage, Chairman The Parish Council has operated with a full complement of Councillors for most of the year 2020/2021. I would start by thanking Simon Bates for his years of service to the Parish Council, both as a Parish Councillor as well as Chairman. As a result of his moving away from the Parish in December 2020 he tendered his resignation at the January 2021 Parish Council meeting and at the February Parish Council meeting I was elected by my colleague Parish Councillors to be Chairman – a position that I will endeavour to fulfil in the best interests of the Parish and Residents. I am most fortunate in having knowledgeable and supportive colleague Parish Councillors and am confident that we have a good understanding of the needs of the Parish and will work together to ensure that we meet the requirements put forward to the best of our ability. As Parish Councillors we are exceptionally fortunate in having Gill Wiggs as our Parish Clerk. Gill has worked with the Parish for somewhere around 10 years and her knowledge and expertise in all issues relating to Council matters – whether at Borough or Parish level – is unsurpassed. As your new Chairman I know that I can rely upon her for advice and support on all matters and at any time and for this I express my most sincere and grateful thanks. The Coronavirus Act 2020 presented challenges which we addressed with Parish Council meetings having to be held remotely using Zoom. I am sure that everyone will agree that these “on-line” meetings have been successful, and we await advice from The Government as regards how meetings will be held effective May 2021 at which time there is a possibility that we may be directed to resume “Face to Face meetings”. PCllr Laura Barry set up a Community Support scheme whereby vulnerable Parishioners were able to seek help and support from a list of persons who volunteered to help with matters such as collecting and delivering prescriptions and shopping. I express the thanks of the Parish Council to Laura for the time and effort that she has spent setting up and administering the scheme and to all volunteers who so generously gave up their time to help members of the Parish. PCllr Jacqui Stone has worked tirelessly with the Bedford Borough Council Rights of Way Officer addressing various issues that have been raised in respect of Footpaths and Bridleways in the Parish. The Parish Council implemented a bi-annual “Parish Community Recognition Award” to recognise the hard work and dedication of residents within the Parish of Bolnhurst & Keysoe who go above and beyond to make our Parish such a Friendly and Supportive place. The winner of the first award was a long-term resident of the Parish who was presented with a Certificate in January 2021. Thanks to the hard work in coordinating this event are due to PCllrs Jane Browning and Jacqui Stone. Bolnhurst & Keysoe Parish Council The Parish Council is most fortunate in having a highly effective and efficient “Parish Handy Person” who does much to keep the Parish looking in pristine condition – grateful thanks are due to Penny Heming for all that she does in this capacity. We now have a Bolnhurst & Keysoe Parish Council Facebook Group set up – currently 76 members and more Parishioners would be most welcome. Thanks to PCllrs Laura Barry and Chris Kew for all the work involved in battling the wonders of Facebook and getting it set up and successfully operational. There have been several issues that have affected that Parish during the year which have been addressed with varying degrees of success. Speeding continues to be of concern to Parishioners. At the end of 2020, the Parish Council purchased a Speed Indicator Device which will, when COVID-19 regulations permit, be located at various sites within the Parish at places approved by Bedford Borough Council. Since the installation of the device, we are seeing a variation in the speeds of vehicles that are recorded by the device with a small reduction in the number of vehicles travelling more than the speed limits – the highest speed recorded to date was at Top End, Bolnhurst at 110mph. The speed data is downloaded every 2 weeks and forwarded to Bedfordshire Police – it is hoped that once COVID-19 regulations are relaxed we will see the Police in the Parish with their “speed camera” in locations based upon information from our Speed Indicator Device. Monitoring of the data and upkeep of the device is vested in the most capable hands of PCllr Laura Barry – her ability in understanding the complex data that the device records is second to none and the spreadsheet data that she provides will, I am confident, support our efforts to see positive action by the Police as time progresses. An application has been made to Bedford Borough Council for the installation of Average Speed Cameras on the B660 and the Parish Council has set aside funds as a contribution once agreement is given by BBC. However, we are advised that we are “on the list” along with around 90 other sites, so it is unlikely that we will see any movement in this respect for at least 2 years. Bedford Borough Council Highways Department have been very supportive in addressing incidents of potholes when reported to them. The lights adjacent to the Pedestrian Crossing which had failed have been replaced with new LED bulbs which give better light and should last significantly longer and at lower cost than the old sodium lamps previously used. The significant rainfall towards the end of December caused major problems for Bedford Borough Council and parts of the Parish were affected by flooding. The Bedford Borough Council Highways Team responded to all requests for assistance and must be complimented for their general speed of support despite being “flooded” with requests for help. Anglian Water are addressing the problems of the number of water main bursts in the area that have resulted in either no water or a lack of water pressure in parts of the Parish are various times. Work is currently under-way in Pertenhall that will, when completed, hopefully eliminate the problems seen last summer. Local Plan Review - Bedford Borough Council is in the process of updating its Local Plan for development up to 2040. There has been a “Call for Sites” as part of this process. and several possibilities were put forward from within this Parish. There is still a Garden Village under consideration in North Bedfordshire, as well as developments in all parts of the Borough. We will know more in mid-2021 when we expect there will be a Public Consultation. We will continue to monitor progress and report this at our Parish Council meetings. A group of residents have expressed an interest in construction of a Skateboard Facility in the field behind the Village Hall. Fund raising is under-way by the residents concerned and the Parish Council has allocated a sum of money towards this venture should it go ahead. We have just been advised that our Borough Bolnhurst & Keysoe Parish Council Councillor - Tom Wootton - has allocated the sum of £1,000 from his Ward Fund to be used as part of this project and for this both the residents’ group as well as Parish Council are most appreciative. In December 2020 The College Equestrian Centre was sold with the facility being renamed Keysoe International Ltd. The CEO of the business is Sarah Stoute and it is understood that she has plans in hand which will, assuming all necessary approvals are secured, lead to significant changes and improvements made to the Centre. Sarah will, in due course, present her plans to The Parish. As previously stated, COVID-19 presents many challenges, and I am confident that your Parish Council will meet them “head on” and successfully navigate all that come our way. 2. Kymbrook Primary School Report - Sarah Moore Head Teacher School context • Kymbrook is federated with Thurleigh Primary School and share the same Head Teacher. • Number on roll is 79 children from 4 years to 11 years. • 55% of our children are within catchment (Bolnhurst, Keysoe & Little Staughton), and 45% choose to come to us from outside of catchment. • There are four classes – Reception/Year 1, Year 2, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6. • Summer 2019 was our first Year 6 cohort, after transitioning from a Lower School to a Primary School. Ofsted Inspection • The school was inspected in March 2019 and received a “Good” judgement in all 5 categories: Effectiveness of Leadership & Management Quality of Teaching & Learning Personal Development & Welfare Outcomes for Pupils Early Years provision • We were delighted with this outcome and it reflects the hard work & dedication of all staff at Kymbrook but also in our sister school at Thurleigh.