HOUGHTON CONQUEST Village Newsletter October 2020 All the latest news, events and reports for our Village inside……. HOUGHTON CONQUEST PARISH COUNCIL Members PCllr Sue Beaumont PCllr Brian Blackall PCllr Peter Bullock (Vice Chair) PCllr Mark Dobson PCllr Tracey Fry PCllr Bec Hares (UCllr) PCllr Liz Lovell (Chair) PCllr Bryn Whitaker Committees, Working Parties and Appointed Representatives Highways PCllr Fry Planning Sub-Committee PCllrs Beaumont, Blackall Bullock,Dobson & Whittaker Village Hall PCllrs Bullock Play Area PCllrs Dobson Sports Field PCllrs Blackall Allotments PCllr Lovell School Liaison E Thompson Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 2 Police Liaison PCllr Beaumont Tree Warden Vacancy Newsletter PCllrs Bullock & Fry Community Facebook PCllr Fry Website Parish Clerk United Charities PCllr S Beaumont Covanta/BACI/Millbrook Power P Rolfe Climate Change Champion R Blevins Parish Council Clerk – Gill Wiggs Tel: 01234 270016 [email protected] All correspondence should be forwarded to the Clerk to the Parish Council: Gill Wiggs, 10 Parklands, Bedford MK41 9LZ The Parish Council usually meets on the second Thursday of the month except August & December, in the Village Hall committee room at 7.30pm. Parishioners are invited to attend the meetings and time is allocated for them to address the council. Central Bedfordshire Councillor: Bec Hares T: 01234 742542 E: [email protected] If you have a matter you wish to draw to the attention of the Parish Council, you can contact any Councillor, write to the Clerk, or attend a meeting. If you wish to speak to the Council please notify the clerk or the chairman before the meeting, so that you can speak during the time allotted. Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 3 Please note that the closing date for insertion of copy into the December 2020 issue of The Houghton Conquest Village Newsletter is 21st November 2020 You may send copy c/o Clerk to the Parish Council: Gill Wiggs, 10 Parklands, Bedford MK41 9LZ or send it by email to: [email protected] with ‘Village Newsletter’ as the subject All contributions are welcome but are subject to Place your advertisement here For a reasonable payment to Houghton Conquest Parish Council you can reach the entire Village every two months. Copy may be emailed to [email protected] or posted to Gill Wiggs, Clerk to the Parish Council, 10 Parklands, Bedford MK41 9LZ Payments to Houghton Conquest Parish Council please Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 4 Parish Council Updates Chair’s Report Hi Everyone, As we head into Autumn leaving the Summer sunshine behind we continue to adjust to our new normal. I am sure that parents are relieved and happy that the children have returned to school. No-one can be sure of what the future holds and with the threat of a return to stricter restrictions we all need to be flexible and look out for others in our community. Your Parish Council is continuing to meet via Zoom and as ever you are all welcome to join us. The Zoom codes are published on the agenda on the noticeboard outside the Village shop and on the Houghton Conquest Parish Council website. Since my last update two Parish Councillors have resigned leaving two spaces to be filled. We would like to thank Hayley Quinn and Jason Lay for their hard work whilst they were on the Council and for their kind offers of further help in the future. All expressions of interest should be sent to Gill Wiggs. [email protected] or 10 Park Lands, Bedford, MK41 9LZ. Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 5 Hayley was heading up the project for the Town Well restoration. Most of the villagers who expressed an opinion on the well felt that it should simply be repaired as is and not rebuilt in a style unsuited to the Village. It was therefore agreed that it would be made good in keeping with the design agreed by the original Parish Council decision made many years ago. This is work is due to commence in the near future. Jason was our sports field representative and he has handed this daunting task over to PCllr Blackall who has made an enthusiastic start and has some interesting ideas for how we can increase use of the field. Unfortunately the refurbishment of the Pavilion has again been hit by vandalism which has resulted in another bill for repairs which must be paid out of the money every villager pays towards Parish Council finances. He is also engaged with the ongoing struggle to keep the area litter free and safe for people using the facilities. We are also looking to increase the level of maintenance on the field and surrounding hedges. Any ideas for ways to increase the use of the field would be gratefully received. PCllr Fry continues to monitor our highways and chase repairs on your behalf. Any issues just let us know. You will have noticed that our new Speed Indicator Device has been installed and is rewarding you all with a smiley face. Thank you for the mainly positive comments we have received. We have ordered a further two devices which we will be installing in due course. Hopefully this wider coverage will provide more comprehensive data on patterns of speeding in the Village. Looking to the future – After the success of last year the siting of the additional Christmas lights has been agreed. There will be an extra 27 street column lights which includes 3 at How End. Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 6 Christmas seems a long time away but as the days get shorter and we move towards Winter it would be nice to think that we are still looking out for the vulnerable, elderly or lonely members of our community. The Village pulled together during lock down and I would like to think that we can maintain that in these difficult times. If you need help over the coming months feel free to contact our volunteers on [email protected] or call Houghton Conquest Care on 07969 982 970 Stay Safe Warm regards Liz Upcoming Parish Council Meetings The next few council meetings may or may not be held in person and we will be reliant on using Zoom and email in order to conduct Parish Council business. Should you wish to raise anything with the Council, please direct your question to the The Clerk, Gill Wiggs via email [email protected] or by post c/o 10 Parklands, Bedford MK41 9LZ The Chair’s newsletter is intended to provide a general update. Agendas and approved minutes can be viewed on the Parish Council website www.houghtonconquest-pc.gov.uk Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 7 POLICE LIAISON REPORT September 2020 After several months with little to discuss, it is unfortunate that this report reflects a rise in criminal and anti-social behaviour, linked, it would appear, to the easing of the lockdown. Over the past month, there have This Photo by Unknown Author been a number of reported burglaries, involving outhouses etc. The police reiterate their advice to secure all outbuildings with locks/alarms etc and remove all valuables for cars and sheds etc. Locking cars and garages makes a difference! Recently, the Sports Pavilion was broken into, with the kitchen door being damaged. There was a strong smell of cannabis inside. There have been reports of both cannabis use and dealing in the vicinity of the Village Hall. Where the location used to be behind the V Hall, it now appears that dealing is occurring around the footway in Victoria Drive. I urge all residents, who observe such behaviour, to report it to the police. The more reports received, the better the police are able to log patterns of behaviour. Two more concerning reports have, I believe, surfaced on Facebook. One involved a search for a young boy, allegedly, carrying a knife. The other was about camping and barbecues in Kings Wood. Fortunately, the search for the young boy was negative, with no grounds for concern and there was some question about whether this knife was, in fact, a toy. Re: the second matter, camping is, of course, not allowed in Kings Wood and barbecues/lighting of fires prohibited. The thought of an out of control fire occurring in the woods, during a particularly dry season, is horrifying. It is vital, therefore, that any concerns are reported immediately. Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 8 In the event of a further lockdown or ‘circuit breaker’ it will behove us all to be good neighbours and act considerately to others. The Met Police publish sound advice on antisocial behaviour, covering personal antisocial behaviour, nuisance antisocial behaviour and environmental antisocial behaviour. Bedfordshire Police continue to advise that all such behaviour to be reported, either on line or by 101. https-//www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/asb/ asb/antisocial-behaviour/what-is-antisocial-behaviour/ www.bedfordshire.police.uk/report Let’s work to restore Houghton Conquest to the village it was a few months ago. PCllr Sue Beaumont Highways Issues To report any highways matter to Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC), log in to the following website http:// centralbedfordshire.gov.uk and follow the instructions Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 9 All Saints Church Rector: The Rev'd Stephen Toze 01234 740423 Assistant Minister: The Rev'd Roger White Reader: Mr. Robert Heley 01234 740927 Wardens: Margaret Tyler – 01234 740964 Pearl Tompkins – 01234 741958 Services: Sunday Eucharist - 9:30a.m. Family Service - First Sunday of the month at 9:30am (With effect from Sunday, 16th August, regulations permitting) Church Social/ Fundraising committee Margaret Tyler 740964 Brenda Hartley 740482 Houghton Conquest Newsletter - October 2020 10 Church Roof and other Issues Hello again everyone, I hope a good few of you have been able to keep up with any information on the church via the Church and Houghton Online facebook pages.