Bradwell Parish Council Minutes, 2014/15 Year. Page 5

Minutes of the Business Meeting of Bradwell Parish Council

held on Monday 7th April 2014 at 7:30 p m at

Summerfield School, Downley Avenue, Bradwell Common

Members present:

Councillor Brian King (chairman)

Councillor James Alexander

Councillor Marie Bradburn

Councillor Leon Gilpin

Councillor Caroline Godfrey (until 8:30)

Councillor John Newbury

Also attended: Harold Atkins, parish clerk/RFO and June Bryant, Administrative Assistant

1  Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were accepted from Councillors Rex Exon and Paul Lewin..

While not reported at the meeting, Councillor Fredua Asare had left a telephone message at the Parish Office before the meeting apologising for non-attendance.

2  Disclosures of Interest.

None disclosed.

3  Minutes

In the draft minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2014 the word “leave” was omitted from line 2 of item 12 which should have read “…had to leave the meeting due to ill health.” All members present approved the amended minutes which the chairman signed the above minutes as a true record.

RESOLVED: To approve the minutes of meeting held on 17th March 2014, as amended.

4  Chairman’s Announcements

a)  Heelands Meeting Place.The chairman reported that the cutlery at Heelands Meeting Place has been removed from the kitchen. He wishes to replace it by new catering cutlery which will be kept in a locked drawer which will only be unlocked by the caretaker on request by party bookers. The cost would be £88.50 (competitive quotes £119.85 and £169.90), Members agreed to the purchase, the cost of which is covered by the clerk’s delegated powers.

b)  Request for Revised Opening Hours for Street Trading from a van parked outside 2 Wandsworth Place, Bradwell. The street trader presently has permission to open for one hour a day, but is seeking to increase his hours from 15:30 to 22:30 daily. The chairman proposed and Cllr Caroline Godfrey seconded a motion to restrict the opening from 18:00 to 22:30 hours on the following grounds: children coming home from school, and the food being served is not of a kind considered desirable for children, road safety issues with parking, postal collection and a dangerous corner, and inadequate refuse disposal facilities. All members present agreed to request that the opening hours be confined to 1800 to 2230.

5  Public Open Forum. No members of the public were present.

6  Clerk’s Report

a)  Milton Keynes Council has instructed that it would only continue to authorise the parish office to continue supplying rolls of pink sacks if they were kept so that residents had to request a roll, and then only issue one roll at a time.

b)  Heather Baker of Milton Keynes Council is looking into the failure of the Council to complete our Community Parking Partnership application for 2013/14.

c)  It is confirmed that the 2014 Barbecue and Beacon Party will be held on Saturday 27th September.

d)  Bradwell Sports & Social Club request that their representative meets with the parish and Charmac Ltd to determine how ten marked parking bays can be accommodated in front of the club pavilion.

e)  More rapid charging points for electric vehicles are due to be installed in different parts of Milton Keynes.

f)  Michael Snell, chairman of Stantonbury Parish Council, had emailed requesting Bradwell Parish Council’s co-operation in the joint venture of three other local parishes to hold a commemorative “Lest We Forget” event in Bancroft Park on 30 August to mark the centenary of the start of World War I. Mr Snell did not attend the meeting, but Cllr Caroline Godfrey proposed that the matter be put on the agenda of the next meeting to authorise the Council to award a £500 donation to the joint event. This was agreed by all members present.

7  Milton Keynes Council Partnership Funds

7.1. Parish Partnership Fund 2014/15

Members considered two suggestions:

·  To improve the circular area on Common Lane redway in Heelands, east of the redway bridge.

·  To rejuvenate the area to the west of Bradwell Sports & Social Club into a community orchard or leisure area.

No final decision was made and the matter was deferred to the next meeting.

7.2. Play Area Improvement Fund 2014/15

Cllr Rex Exon (who was not present) had previously requested that the small play area on the redway parallel to Loughton Road, Bradwell, near the end of Atkins Close, be improved. The Council had already been advised that this play area was scheduled for closure, and this was confirmed by the current project manager, Phil Snell. Mr Snell requested that the nearby larger Craddocks Close play area be improved by replacing the present multiunit with a new one at a cost of about £10,000. Decision on this matter was deferred until the next meeting.

7.3. Community Parking Fund 2014/15

This item was deferred to the next meeting on 28 April.

8  To consider work performed by Milton Keynes Council

8.1. Milton Keynes Service Partnership

Cllr Andrew Geary, Leader of Milton Keynes council, sent a letter detailing the formation of Milton Keynes Service Partnership (MKSP), which is wholly owned but managed separately from MK Council. It is reported as having a wide range of public and private sector skills and can arrange to carry out work required by parishes, schools and voluntary organisations.

8.2. Community Safety Partnership 2013/14 - Lamp on footpath in Bradwell Common.

The Council had assumed that the installation of a lamp by a footpath junction in the wooded area of Bradwell Common Local Park would be carried out by MK Council and this Council’s share of the cost invoiced, as is the case with, for example, the Parking Partnership Fund. However, in the last few days of financial year 2013/14 MK Council remitted £1,500 into the Parish Council’s bank account in respect of this fund. So it is now for the Parish to arrange installation of the lamp and and the clerk would determine whether MKSP (see 8.1 above) could supply and install this lamp, and, if so, at what cost.

9  Report on the Parish Forum on 13 March 2014.

Cllr Leon Gilpin presented a report on the meeting of the Parishes held on 13 March 2014. The main point was a description of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which forms part of what developers pay as S106 planning obligations to cover site infrastructure with essential and desirable enhancements. When implemented, the CIL can be paid to parish councils as either 15% or 25% of the total but this is still to be finalised.

10  Matters to be brought up at the Annual Meeting on 19 May.

Members had already agreed to amend Standing Orders to form a Personnel Committee with delegated powers, but NALC had produced a new set of Standing Orders which include many aspects of the law governing parish councils. NALC has also produced new draft Financial Regulations, which also embody new rules authorising councils formally to adopt online banking and the restricted use of credit/debit cards. The clerk will obtain electronic copies of the new regulations from BALC, and Councillor Caroline Godfrey agreed to work through these to finalise Standing Orders and Financial Regulations to be presented for adoption at the Annual Meeting on 19 May.

11  Tree Policy

As only two quotations had been received, both over budget, and one of them raised serious questions as to exactly what was required, the matter was deferred until the next meeting. In the meantime other quotations would be requested.

12  Community Foundation Reserved Site land at Glovers Lane, Heelands.

The clerk had received information from Philip Stainsby of Hornbeam. The area of the land in question is 0.73 of an acre. A formal site value cannot be given until the applicant completes part 4 of the application process, but an estimated commercial value for 2013/14 was £1,000,000 per acre, valuing the site at £730,000 which with full Community Foundation 75% discount would reduce to £182,500. As the members most interested in this matter were not present at this point of the meeting it was agreed to defer discussion until the next meeting.

13  Payment of Accounts

Please see the appendix on page 5.

14  Planning Applications

To consider one new planning application

a) 14/00485/FUL – First floor extension above existing garage at 12 Brill Place, Bradwell

Common. No objection

b) 14/00488/FUL – Single storey side and rear extensions at 44 Walkhampton Avenue, Bradwell Common. No objection.

c) 14/00622/FUL – Subdivision of existing dwelling to form 3 x one bedroom flats, 1 x two bedroom flat and construction of a new two storey rear extension at 4 Rylstone Close, Heelands. Members agreed to object to this application which is somewhat similar to a HiMO application previously refused by Milton Keynes Council.

.

15  Environmental & Community Matters

a)  The chairman and clerk had a further meeting with Newtork rail and J Murphy, contractors, at Abbey Field. It was agreed that hydroseeding should take place to fill the used grassed area and verges satisfactorily.

b)  Reports of unauthorised picking of daffodils at Abbey Field seem to have been exaggerated.

c)  Re the parking of empty articulated foreign lorries in Deltic Drive, Rooksley, causing obstruction of the road, June Bryant has contacted the UK agent of Ulusoy, the Turkish haulier mostly involved, as well as Spectrum, the distribution arm of the Arcadia Group retail fashion chain, to try to allow the lorries on to the site and not to obstruct the road.

d)  June Bryant had also arranged a meeting with Sara Bailey, MK Council’s parking officer, to discuss parking in the area of Aldi in Bradwell Commonhe, and in the Boulevard in general.. The meeting would be held on 17th April at 14:30.

e)  No further action was taken by parish councillors over complaints received about Z&S buses on route 13 going the wrong way round the roundabout at the junction of Glovers Lane and Gibsons Green, although the MK Council public transport officer would refer the road layout to their Highways Department.

f)  June Bryant presented a list of her ideas for a summer newsletter, to which some amendments were suggested.

The business having been completed the chairman closed the meeting at 9.35pm.

Signed: ….….……………………chairman

Date ……………..……………………2014

5