The verified minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 15th March 2004 were; 1. PRESENT
Cllr. Mrs Gear (Chairman), Cllr. Mrs Browning, Cllr. Izzard, Cllrs. Mrs Landmann, Mrs Pope, Mrs Whitmore, Cllr. Worth, Borough Cllr. Ian Clifton, Mr Beverly on behalf of Village Voice and one member of the public. The Clerk, Mrs Maddison was in attendance. 2. APOLOGIES
None 3. MINUTES
The minutes from the previous meeting of the 16th February 2004 were signed as correct. 4. OPEN PUBLIC SESSION
There were no items. 5. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr. Mrs Gear declared an interest in Agenda item no. 7 Myers Hill Farm. 6. MATTERS TO REPORT FROM PREVIOUS MEETING OF 16TH FEBRUARY 2004:
Vehicle Activated Signs: The Clerk had spoken to the County Council once again and although the signs could be purchased by the Parish Council, they would still have to meet the criteria as set by the Council. If there is a suitable power supply in place, the costs for these signs would be in the region of £5000.00 to £8000.00 each. 7. PLANNING
Mrs Gear left the room and Cllr. Worth took the chair 02/02110/COU College Eq. Centre Use of Agricultural land for agricultural and commercial equestrian activities for more than 29 days per annum and not exceeding 60 days per annum Permission Refused.
APP/W0205/C/03/1135602 Appeal by Mr Bates for the above date set at 19.05.04
04/00362/OUT Myers Hill Farm, Bolnhurst erection of detached dwelling. Cllr. Worth had attended the Planning Meeting earlier this evening and was given the chance to put the Parish Councils view to the committee; however planning permission was still refused, although several Councillors individually said that Mr and Mrs Banks should appeal against the decision. Cllr. Worth reported that there were a couple of issues he would like to raise. Firstly, the letter recommending refusal the Council had written was written before the period of time for the Parish Councils comments had lapsed. Also the Council was in receipt of a letter stating that Cllr. Mrs Gear had an interest in the application and also that Cllr. Worth was a friend of the family. This should not have been taken into account as the Clerk had e-mailed Mr Caffrey to confirm that Cllr. Mrs Gear had not been present at the Planning Meeting held by the Parish Council. A copy of the unsigned minutes was also attached. These minutes were put on public display and as they were unsigned Cllr. Worth feels they should not have been displayed. Borough Councillor Ian Clifton was asked his opinion of this and also asked if the Parish Council should complain. He agreed that the Parish Council should complain. Cllr. Izzard reported that this is a serious complaint as there had been suggestion that the Parish Council had not acted professionally in this matter. He wanted it recording that the Parish Council has total confidence in the Chairman and that she had acted in total impartiality and had withdrawn from every discussion regarding this. This was seconded by Cllr. Mrs Pope. It was agreed that a complaint to David Bailey (Head of Planning Services Bedford Borough Council) would be prepared for the next meeting. Cllr. Mrs Gear rejoined the meeting and took over the chair. 04/00560/LDE Shortcroft, Church Road, Keysoe Unrestricted occupancy of dwelling in breach of condition 1 of planning permission BRDC/67/281 (Agricultural occupancy restriction) It was agreed that this decision was a legal decision to be made by the Planning Dept. Cllr. Worth proposed that the Parish Council does not comment on this occasion. This was seconded by Cllr. Mrs Whitmore. This was agreed. 8. FINANCE
The Affiliation Fee is due for the Beds Assoc. of Town and Parish councils. This is £101.00. It was agreed unanimously that this be renewed. It was proposed by Cllr. Mrs Browning, Seconded by Cllr. Izzard that the following account be paid:
Old School Bolnhurst £200.00,
Village Voice £200.00,
Village Show at Keysoe £50.00, and
Clerks Account £242.80 9. LAND BEHIND VILLAGE HALL
Cllrs. Mrs Gear and Mr Worth had attended a meeting with Mr Ward with a view to purchasing a piece of land for use of the people of the parish to use to play on. Mr Ward offered approximately one acre directly behind the Village Hall for a sum of £5000.00 plus expenses. (This was thought be in the region of £1000.00 to £2000.00). Some of the land beyond the boundary line of this play area would then be offered to Jephson Housing for the erection of 3 affordable houses subject to planning permission. Mr Ward would retain ownership of the remaining land. Mr Ward had offered to sow the field with grass and mow for the first 2 to 3 times to establish an area suitable for playing on. Mr Ward suggested the Parish Council used the same agents as he uses in order to keep costs to a minimum. Mr Ward requested that a covenant be put on the sale of the land for the playing area that should the land be sold off for developments in the future, his descendants would benefit from the sale. Cllr. Izzard reported that he believed Mr Ward was offering the whole field and not just an acre and that was the consideration being used when first discussing a suitable site. Cllr. Worth proposed that the Parish Council accepts Mr Wards kind offer, this was seconded by Cllr. Mrs Landmann and was put to vote. With 5 in favour and 2 abstentions the proposal was carried. The Clerk will write to Mr Ward and accept his kind offer. The Clerk will write to the householders in Elm Tree Grove to inform them of these intentions and to invite them along to the next Parish Council Meeting if they have any opinions on it. It was agreed that the Clerk ask Mr Stanbridge to check with the Highways dept. if they had any objections to the access to the proposed new houses. 10. HIGHWAYS
Cllr. Mrs Whitmore reported the following: The White Lines and Cats Eyes on the roads in the parish will be renewed after the 1st May 2004. Thurleigh Road was reported to have a major dip in the road; this will be repaired after 1st April 2004. Another paving slab will be put in place at the post box in Keysoe Row West, The drain cover outside of the properties Pegasus and Fox and Hounds in Bolnhurst will be repaired although this is not classified as priority. The replacement of the road signs previously reported have been allocated job numbers and the stench pipe in Bolnhurst has been removed. 11. REPORT FROM MEETING WITH ALISTAIR BURT AND THE CHIEF CONSTABLE
This was attended by Cllr. Worth and he reported the following: The Chief Constable, followed by the Chief Superintendent commented on five main issues of concern. Despite local perceptions, north beds is a very low crime area and there are three officers patrolling north beds. Response times to emergency calls were good and usually within 2 minutes however, the trained staff do prioritise the calls. Car crime is reducing but speeding is still a problem. More officers are being trained to use speed guns. Vandalism is a real problem; however this is not only down to the Police. Schools, Parents and the Parish and Borough Councils must play an active part. Rural Police stations such as Riseley will play a more important roll in rural life and a new Sergeant has been appointed at Riseley. After the meeting it was agreed with Chief Superintendent Battle that the Clerk would write to him with a view to arranging a visit by the Police three or four times a year to address the Parish Council. 12. CLERKS INCREASE IN HOURS
An additional 2 meetings a year plus additional planning and committee meetings means that the Clerk works on average 37 hours a month. Currently the pay is for 27 hours per month. It was proposed by Cllr. Worth, seconded by Cllr. Izzard that 40 hours be paid. With all in favour, this was carried. 13. CORRESPONDANCE - Beds Police Authority Annual Police Report Questionnaire results received and read out.
- Bedford Borough Council Rural Affairs Committee Minutes from 12.02.04 received.
- Bedford Borough Council Rural Grants The Friends of Kymbrook applied for a grant to purchase a digital camera this was declined as it was considered to be more appropriate to be funded by the County Council as the Education Authority
- Bedford Borough Council Rural Bulky Waste The dates for Bolnhurst and Keysoe are 19.06.04 and 30.10.04 (these have been given to the Village Voice for publication)
- ODPM Draft Guidance to Monitoring Officers by the Standards Board for England on local investigation of allegations on misconduct received.
- Bedford Partnership Board Community Plan 2004-2010 draft plan received.
- Beds County Council North East Beds Community Liaison Forum minutes from 12.01.04 received.
- Bedford Borough Council Environmental Health A letter regarding digital recording equipment at the Equestrian Centre was received and read out.
- Luton Borough Council Bedfordshire Sub Regional Housing Strategy Consultation Event of stakeholders at Shuttleworth on 26th March 2004 at 10.00 am. Cllr. Worth may attend this.
- Planning Briefing No. 97 received. passed to Cllr. Worth
- Beds Assoc. Town and Parish Councils - Local Council Review one copy is sent to the Clerk, would you like to order more copies? 1-3 copies £12.50. It was decided against.
- Standards Committee minutes of 3.3.04 received.
14. ANY OTHER ITEMS TO REPORT
Cllr. Mrs Pope reported that in snowy and icy conditions, parts of the parish did not get salted and this was a hazard. Is there a possibility of having some gritting bins installed in the parish in some strategic places? The Clerk will look into this. Borough Councillor Ian Clifton reported that he is on the Rural Affairs Committee and that it was there to offer help if it was needed. There being no other business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 22:35 hours. | 
