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Thursday 19 December 2013

Job Advert for a Clerk to the Parish Council

Burton Green Parish Council


VACANCY
Parish Council Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer
Home based - part-time : 38 hours per month
Salary scale NJC : £8.428per hour to £11.296 per hour
The Parish Council is seeking an enthusiastic and motivated Clerk, who has an interest in supporting the Parish Council shape the future of the local community and effectively deliver local services.  The residential area of Burton Green is surrounded by farmland, and has an active local community, village hall, school and local pub.   
The successful applicant will be required to provide professional support and guidance in respect of all aspects of the Council’s work including acting as the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer.  This will involve ensuring that the Parish Council adhere to all statutory provisions, as well as adopted policies and best practice.
Ideally the successful applicant will an experienced CiLCA qualified Clerk, although consideration will be given to unqualified Clerks who are willing to become qualified.  
Applicants need to have excellent communication skills and organisational skills, be able to take minutes of meetings, undertake administrative duties and manage the Council’s finances.  A confident IT user, the candidate should have experience of using Microsoft office and be capable of using a content-managed website.    
The post is home-based for 38  hours per month, but will require attendance at evening meetings.
The successful candidate will be employed under nationally agreed NJC terms and conditions of employment, benefits of which include a Local Government Pension Scheme and annual salary review.  The appointment will be made within salary scale LC1 (pts 15-25) £16215-£21734 pro rata (£8.428 per hour to £11.296 per hour), depending on relevant experience and qualifications. Mileage and financial allowance for the use of home as office are also payable, along with a laptop/printer which will be provided by the Parish Council.
For Job Description, Person Specification and Application Form, please contact
Louise Baudet – Clerk to Burton Green Parish Council
47 St Pauls Crescent
Coleshill
Birmingham B46 1BB
Email : burtongreen@hotmail.co.uk
Telephone : 07503 002948 (please leave name, address and email)

Closing Date : 10th January 2014     Interviews : 17th January 2014 (evening)

Thursday 12 December 2013

Housing Development Meeting - Dec 13th

Ian Cox, Chairman of Burton Green Parish Council, will set forth proposals for potential housing development in Burton Green, in a national and local government perspective, at a meeting in the village hall on Friday 13th December at 7.0pm.

Sunday 8 December 2013

Bugle - December 2013

The December 2013 edition of the Bugle has been published.

Just below are thumbnails of the page images. To enlarge any page image, click on the thumbnail below. Once you have the individual page, you may also need to click on the magnifying glass in your browser, where you can view the page at its original size...











The archive of back issues of the Bugle is here: Bugle Archive.

Monday 25 November 2013

Minutes of Residents' Association Committe Meeting November 19th 2013

Present  
Hilary Cox; Andy Gibbs; Alice Hawkins; Terry Heyes; Judi Hibberd; Janet Hickinbottom; Bron Putnam; Diane Swindells; Rona Taylor; Mary Webb

In attendance: Kathryn Stewart; Cllr Taylor

Rona welcomed everyone and in particular the two new committee members Alice and Diane.

1. Apologies
   
Apologies had been received from Faith Ward.

Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising

The minutes of the last meeting of September 17th 2013 were accepted.

Parking on footpaths

This problem had been further highlighted at the Annual General Meeting where a resident’s letter was read out, explaining the difficulties and dangers of pushing a wheelchair along pavements blocked by parked cars.

Marlene had sent a response to the September minutes and mentioned yellow lines which had been discussed at the parish meeting but Cllr Blacklock had said would not be possible.  At the October Parish Council meeting, councillors had considered putting notices on cars which were parking on pavements. Community Support Officers could now issue penalty notices.  It was acknowledged that the problem still existed but progress was being made.

Parish Plan

25 people in the survey said they didn’t know how to contact the Residents’ Association.  It was agreed that contact details for the Chair and Secretaries would be included in all future editions of the Bugle.
    Action: Mary

The Parish Plan survey had been carried out with children.

Bugle

There had been no further offers of advertisements for the Bugle.

AOB

Flanders poppies - Hilary now had seeds for the poppies which were to be sown on a strip of the Jubilee verge.

Broadband – Paul Thornton is leading on this.

All other matters arising were to be covered by the agenda.

2. Update on and discussion of Residents’ Association initiatives and issues

Website and how to move forward.


It was agreed this item was on hold.  Although the development of a website had been agreed in principle, funding needed to be raised. Feedback from the Parish Plan might also help with this.

This item was to be discussed at the next meeting.
                         Action: Rona and Judi

Speedwatch

Terry said he was still operating as part of the team.  One problem was capturing sufficient information about cars exceeding allowable parameters. Reports were generally followed up by the police but there were problems doing so with fleet cars. Thanks were to be conveyed to the Speedwatch team.

John Whitehouse had reported that the new 30mph speed limit for parts of the village and 20mph outside the school was to be implemented next year.  At that point, the priority situation on Cromwell Lane bridge would be reversed.

Red Lane - flower tubs

These had been replanted on the Jubilee verge.  It was agreed to purchase two new tubs, compost and bulbs at a cost of £60 to be placed by the Burton Green sign on Red Lane.

Proposal for evening get together for Burton Green young people

A proposal was presented for an evening get together for Burton Green young people who had been involved in the parish plan survey.  However, before further detailed plans were made, it was decided to investigate the need for DBS clearance for someone taking charge of the evening and the position regarding licensing for the showing of a film.

Bus service to Kenilworth

This was an ongoing problem. Although a 28 seater had been provided, it was often late and its unreliability meant it was not being used so much.  Rona and Cllr. Whitehouse were continuing to work on the problem.

Christmas tree

This had been agreed at the last meeting. An outdoor electricity point had been offered by a resident whose land adjoined the Jubilee verge. Mary felt a tree in that position would not restrict the view of drivers turning out of Red Lane. Hilary had asked WDC about being allowed to tap into a street lamp and she was told this was possible at a cost of £300 as a permanent fixture.  The electricity cost was estimated at £1.50 for 2 weeks.  A licence would be needed too. It was agreed this item should be considered for fund raising for Christmas 2014.

The Parish Council could be approached to purchase lights for the tree.
Action: Rona

Diane would speak to Rob Barnes about the cost of a tree.
Action: Diane

Tuesday December 17th was agreed for carol singing around the tree.  Members of the choir would join in as part of the communal singing.  The availability of the Village Hall would be checked for the serving of mince pies and mulled wine afterwards. Donations would be requested to cover costs.
Action: Rona


A police meeting had been held recently with a community safety ambassador. PC Pete King issued safety messages. The Parish Council would invite them again to the Parish Meeting in the spring so that not all meetings were in the daytime.

3. Jubilee committee subgroup report back
The Jubilee Committee subgroup had met once and members were still researching the idea of a Jazz Evening to be held on June 14th at the Stanworths’. Further information would be brought to the next meeting of the BGRA committee.

4. Parish Plan Update

Kathryn said that the feedback to the plan was still being analysed.  The ongoing task was the production of an attractive, easy-to-read report which captured all the valuable comments. It was hoped that this would be available within the following two weeks. Thanks were expressed to Kathryn and the group.

5. Le Van

 Cllr Cox had spoken to WDC planning department and it was felt that the outline plans for the park homes was not in accordance with current planning permission. In light of other developments in the area (to be discussed later in the meeting), the site would have to be in keeping.

6. Village Hall

Kathryn reminded everyone of the Village Hall AGM to take place on Friday November 22nd at 7p.m. All were welcome and cheese and wine would be served.

A craft fayre was to take place at the hall on Sunday November 24th 11-4 with 18 stalls. A cafe would operate as usual.
Local band “Off the Cuff” would be performing at a supper evening on Nov 30th for anti HS2 funds.

The Village Hall committee was aware of parking issues in Hodgett’s Lane.  The constitution and the hirers’ agreements were currently being rewritten and the committee was looking at signage for the car park about being courteous to neighbours and consulting with the planning officer about the location of signs.

The Village Hall outside light was not working and measures were taking place to resolve this.

The Village Hall committee was always looking for new members.   A suggestion was made about a group of “Friends” or volunteers who would not wish to join a committee and be expected to attend every event, but would probably be happy to be called upon to put out tables and help set up events etc on an occasional basis.

Mention was made of the original village hall plaque and whether it could be re-installed.
                                Action: Kathryn
Thanks were given to the Village Hall committee.

7. HS2

Andy reported that the hybrid bill was likely to be published the following week, hence introducing a new phase.

Petitions would be able to be submitted the following spring by “affected parties”, although it was not clear what the definition of this term was. It was suggested that joint petitioning by interest groups would be a good approach e.g. by those involved in proposing tunnels; by those concerned with access and income protection e.g. the school. Further guidance was needed from WDC.  Much more would be known after the publication of the hybrid bill. It was felt that the Parish Council should lead on this and that a working party should be formed.

The Judicial Review was still outstanding and due any day.

The compensation consultation would close on December 4th.  Rona and Mary were still to co-ordinate the Residents’ Association response.
Action: Rona and Mary.

The mitigation proposal had received no response and the local MP had written to HS2 on behalf of all the action groups and Alison Munro had agreed to respond.

The next Action Group meeting was scheduled for December 8th.

8. Parish Councillor’s Report

A new clerk had not yet been appointed.

At a Parish Council meeting on the previous evening, a presentation had been given by Cala homes to build houses on the site of Burrow Hill nursery.  This site had been chosen by WDC as the best potential site for development in Burton Green.

Initial plans and visuals were circulated. Further information about WDC Local Plan can be found at http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/WDC/Planning/Planning+policy/Local+Development+Framework/New+Local+Plan.htm

The Local Plan encouraged the building of up to 90 houses and Cala were confident they could build on this site within two years. The houses would be of 2-3 bedrooms and 40% would be affordable housing targeting people from the local parish.

The site would also accommodate a playing field available for use by the school, parking, a new village hall and almshouses. The current owners of the site had made a proviso that a playing field and village hall should be incorporated into the scheme.

The Parish Council had been disappointed to find WDC and Cala homes had been working on this proposal which they felt had been presented to them as a fait accompli.

There had to be a 6 week consultation period with WDC and it was agreed that residents should be made aware of the situation as soon as possible so that they could feed back their views. A meeting should be called with Cala present to present their plans. Was this something the Parish Council should lead on?

It was suggested a display of the plan and artist’s impressions should be made available at the Village Hall and that a meeting should be called as soon as possible.  December 13th was suggested subject to availability of the Hall.
                                Action: Rona

10. Treasurer’s Report
Terry presented the following report:

BGRA Accounts as at    19 / 11 / 2013
Current Account net balance: 1274.49                                                  Deposit Account net balance: 1500.96
Total Funds (A): 2775.45

Ring Fenced Funds (Balance remaining of monies donated/allocated for specific purposes but not yet spent):-
Parish Plan Survey: 102.28                                                           Defibrillator: 470.86
Speed watch: 375.01                                                                                         

Total Ring Fenced Funds (B):  948.15                                                          
Freely available/unallocated Funds (A – B):   1827.30

The above funds include the following monies:-
2013 – 14 residents’ subscriptions collected to date:   920.29  

   
Terry went through the report explaining that the only recent major expenditure had been on the printing of the Bugle and the AGM agenda.

A number of items of expenditure were covered by income but he advised on caution with regard to spending as the cost of many small items soon mounted up. Additional fund raising would be necessary for some items such as a website.

It was also suggested that cash flow might be helped if other village organisations could consider upfront costs which would be repaid (as in the case of the Oddsocks event.)

The Residents’ Association needed to have a “cushion” of funds but at the same time, residents quite rightly wanted to see what their money (in the form of annual subscriptions) was spent on.

Mary agreed to create an inventory of the catering equipment now owned by the Residents’ Association.
                                Action: Mary

The following items of expenditure were agreed:
Christmas tree (to be negotiated with Rob Barnes)        Action: Diane
Christmas tree lights                        Action: Mary
Evening for village young people                Action: Mary and Rona
Flower tubs for Red Lane                    Action: Mary

Rona reminded everyone that the owners of the Water Tower had offered to have an open day when the building work was completed and perhaps donations could be requested to provide further funds.

11. Dates to be agreed for 2014 meetings

Meetings would be arranged in 2014 on January 7th, March 18th, May 6th July 8th September 16th and November 18th.

12. Any Other Business

A damaged lamp post in Red Lane was being repaired.

The Parish Council had applied to join 51M, the group of councils opposed to HS2.

The Local Authority was discussing boundary changes. There was some uncertainty over which Parish Council the University would belong to in the future.

Editions of the Bugle would be produced in February/June/September/December 2014.

A fund raising event for the Philippines disaster was to be held at lunchtime on Saturday November 30th in the Village Hall from 10-2.

Kathryn pointed out the success of a regular cafe held at Shilton Village Hall.

The Parish Council was taking up the issue of mud on the road.

13. Date, time and venue of Next Meeting

The next committee meeting would take place on January 7th 2014 at 7.30p.m.at the Village Hall.

Sunday 17 November 2013

Burton Green Philippines Disaster Fund Appeal

Burton Green Philippines Disaster Fund Appeal
Saturday 30th November
Village Hall
Coffee, cakes, breakfast sandwiches 10.00 – 12.00
Lunches 12.00 – 2.00

Stalls: - Jams and pickles, Books, Bric-a-brac
RAFFLE/AUCTION
Please come along and support this event.
If you would like to donate to a stall please let us know. We are happy to collect –call any of the following:-
76 470693.  76 471607.  76 471669.  07791745063.

Saturday 16 November 2013

Village Hall AGM

The Village Hall Committee warmly welcomes you to join us for cheese and wine at our AGM to be held on Friday 22nd November at 7pm at the Hall.

This is a chance for you to hear about all the activities that have taken place over the past year, meet the committee and have your say about the running of the hall. We would particularly like to hear from anyone interested in getting involved and joining our committee. This involves attending a short monthly meeting, help in planning and running events and other duties as required. We would particularly like to hear from anyone with new ideas for engaging with younger people and families to help us to continue to grow and provide great services to the community. Please contact me for more information or come along on the evening.

Kathryn Stewart

Tuesday 12 November 2013

HS2 Lobby Day in London, Monday November 25th

On Monday, November 25th, there will be a demonstration outside Parliament, and a lobby of peers and MPs.

A group from Burton Green will go by bus, perhaps at a cost of £10, and may join up with other local groups. 

The bus will leave around 8am, and depart from London around 5pm. These details are approximate at the moment.

Burton Green enjoys considerable respect, both along the Phase 1 and Phase 2 parts of the proposed route, and it is hoped that as many people as possible can go.

Lobby room space is limited. It is probable that many of the campaigners will be free to sample the delights of London after 12.30. There are many attractions nearby.

If you are able to go, please phone Archie, 02476 463844.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Christmas Craft and Gift Fayre


CHRISTMAS CRAFT AND GIFT FAYRE
AT BURTON GREEN VILLAGE HALL, HODGETTS LANE

SUNDAY 24TH November
Time 11.00 am – 4.00pm

Come along and do your Christmas shopping in the warmth of the Village Hall.
A large variety of different crafts including jewellery, wood turned items, silk scarves,
woodcarving, cakes, handmade cards, various handmade craft items,
paintings and decorated mirrors plus much much more. 

Christmas wreaths and candle table decorations (take away on the day, or orders will be taken and delivered in time for Christmas),

Also your support for two charity stalls for Myton Hospice and Cancer Research would be appreciated 

Or if you don’t wish to shop, come and have lunch in The Green Room Café
or sit and relax and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee and home made cake

Burton Green Village Hall Committee look forwarding to meeting you all

For more information contact Jill 024 7646 2070 or email davidline@onetel.com

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Senior Citizens Christmas Lunch

The committee of
BURTON GREEN VILLAGE HALL
Hodgetts Lane


Invite the Senior Citizens of Burton Green
to a Christmas Lunch
on Friday 6th December 2013
12.30pm for 1.00pm


A 3 course Christmas lunch will be served
Entertainment to follow by Burton Green Village School


Price £10
If you are interested please reply 
by Friday 29th November 2013
to Jill on 024 7646 2070, email davidline@onetel.com
or Kathryn on 01926 511743, email kandmstewart@yahoo.co.uk

Monday 28 October 2013

Remembrance Sunday 10th November

Burton Green as a Parish did not exist in its present form in either the first or second world wars. Many of the local men living in our area and who joined up came from Westwood Heath, Cromwell Lane, Red Lane, Hob Lane and Crackley, Hurst area. Most would have joined the Warwickshire Regiment. There exists a plaque in honour of those who lost their lives.

Burton Green had its own experiences of war visited our Parish during the second world war, but thankfully no residents were killed when a couple of bombs were dropped.

On Sunday 10 November 2013 at 11am Burton Green Parish Council will lay a remembrance wreath on behalf of the Parish for those who lost their lives.This will take place at the Kenilworth War Memorial.

For those of you who would wish to attend and pay your respects we would love to see you. Thank you.

Sunday 20 October 2013

Minutes of Residents' Association AGM Octber 7th 2013

Rona welcomed everyone, in particular Sue Patterson the new Head of Burton Green School. Sue said she was passionate about communities and small schools and was working hard to establish the relationship between Burton Green and All Saints, Leek Wootton, of which she had been head for many years.  She looked forward to getting to know people in Burton Green.

Rona also welcomed Cllrs. Ann Blacklock, John Whitehouse, Ian Cox, Adrian Hickinbottom and Ian de Worringham as well as PC Peter King.

Apologies
   
Apologies had been received from Cllrs. George Illingworth and Archie Taylor. (Cllr. Taylor joined at the end of the meeting.)

Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising:   
The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting of October 1st 2012 were accepted. 
Proposed: Andy Gibbs
Seconded: Mary Webb

Matters arising
All matters arising were to be covered by agenda points.

Chair’s Report


A report had been circulated in advance via the Bugle so that time could be made available for questions.

The Chair, Rona Taylor, explained the focal points for 2013 had been as follows:

Initiatives

Installation of the defibrillator. Thanks were extended to Mary Webb and the team trained to use the equipment.
Lunches for the retired. These had been a huge success, were amazing value and an important addition to the social life of the retired residents.
Oddsocks. Thanks were again given to Mary Webb and the Jubilee Group for organising this excellent event.  As a result, £750 ad been donated to the Vilage Hall and the same amount to the Greenway Trust.

Responses to concerns

Pavements, verges and road matters were ongoing. Jean Thompson had submitted a letter regarding the problems of pushing a wheelchair round cars parked on the pavements. Rona said there was a need to be aware as a community and that residents should have the courage to speak to those parking on the pavements and explain the predicament.

Bus services to Kenilworth had been less successful. The Monday bus caused no problems but the Thursday bus had capacity issues. John Whitehouse had helped with this so a flexible bus was now to be added. This was a very important service, especially for people of Red Lane.

HS2. The Residents’ Association had worked closely with the Burton Green HS2 Opposition Group. Rona had represented BGRA at HS2 fora and at a meeting with HS2 Ltd organised by Jeremy Wright. She had particularly emphasised the devastating effect HS2 would have on community sustainability in Burton Green.

Treasurer’s Report

The Income & Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet are attached separately and Terry went through the figures.

Terry thanked Peter and Lesley Tacon for helping with insurance matters and Peter in particular for inspecting the accounts.

A question was asked about how many residents paid the subscription and the conclusion was a large proportion. Mary explained that the collection team called at houses several times but sometimes failed to make contact. The significant funds raised were a tribute to the collectors, it was agreed.

Thanks were expressed to Terry.

Election of Independent Examiner

Peter Tacon again agreed to act as Independent Examiner.
Proposed:  John Levett
Seconded: Jerry Marshall
Unanimously agreed.

Election of Committee members

Janet Hickinbottom, as Joint Secretary, conducted this agenda item.

The constitution required that the officers and three committee members should stand down.  All the officers Rona Taylor, Mary Webb, Terry Heyes, Janet Hickinbottom and Judi Hibberd, were re-elected.
Proposed: Barbara Noronha
Seconded: Deirdre Vernon
Unanimously agreed.

Faith Ward was prepared to stand again as a committee member.
Proposed: Eileen Nisbet
Seconded: Peter Tacon
Unanimously agreed.

John Nisbet and Marlene Hills would be leaving the committee.  They were thanked for their valued contribution.
Others remaining on the committee were Hilary Cox, Andy Gibbs, Bron Putnam, and Faith Ward.

Alice Hawkins had agreed to join the committee.
Proposed: Bron Putnam
Seconded: Shirley Howes

Diane Swindells was also nominated.
Proposed: Faith Ward
Seconded: Judi Hibberd

Update from Police

PC Pete King thanked Rona for sharing Jean Thompson's letter about parking on the pavement.  This was something the police needed to re-evaluate. PC King would speak to Jean.
                            Action: PC King

Residents pointed out the problem also occurred in Red Lane and especially in Hodgett’s Lane when events took place in the Village Hall.

It was suggested that a sign was erected at the Village Hall asking users to park sensibly.
Action: Village Hall committee

PC King said the new alliance with West Mercia meant PCSOs had increased powers including the issuing of tickets.

PC King thanked Tery for his help and support with parking at the Oddsocks event.

One resident asked about noise problems at a party and reported that the police could not come out. PC King was surprised but said it must have been a resource issue on the night. Another resident said Environmental Health Officers would be of assistance if it was a regular problem.

PC King reminded everyone of the Kenilworth Update done in conjunction with Crown Watch (a well established NHW group in Kenilworth).  Residents would receive an electronic copy if they signed up for community alerts.  A hard copy was also to be left at the Village Hall.

The last reported burglary in Burton Green was on January 13th so PC King said Burton Green was one of the safest places in the area. He still warned about leaving valuables on view in vehicles.

One resident expressed concern about cars passing cyclists e.g. on the bend in Red Lane. It was asked if more signs could be made available but John Whitehouse said he felt they would not be read. Again, behaviour of drivers was down to personal responsibility. There were still issues regarding the Cromwell Lane Bridge and people not giving way.

Rona wondered if it would be appropriate to invite anyone from the County Council to speak about highways. Cllr. Whitehouse said the potential change of speed limits might help. Do the white lines need repainting?

PC King mentioned The Police Surgeries in the Village Hall were not well attended. It was suggested that their frequency shold be reduced.  Residents were reminded that if they had a specific issue to discuss the police were available everyThursday at the clock tower in Kenilworth during market opening hours.  Mary would add this information to the Bugle.
Action: Mary

Rona thanked PC King for providing a friendly, visible face of policing in the village.

The Village Hall

Kathryn Stewart thanked everyone for supporting the Hall in the last twelve months at events including a murder mystery night, a curry evening, the produce show and BBQ. The number of regular hirers was stable and income had done well.

A meeting with HS2 Ltd had revealed an intention to replace the Village Hall but there was no detail and nothing in writing.  A further meeting was to be held shortly to discuss the Hall's future and the continued provision of this vital community resource.

Peter added the Village Hall accounts showed what an incredible span of ages and interests the Hall served.

The Village Hall AGM was to be held on November 22nd. A craft fayre was scheduled for November 24th and on December 6th there would be a lunch for older residents.

Thanks were given to the Village Hall committee for all their hard work.

Neighbourhood Watch
John Levett said residents still needed to be vigilant.  Mainly in Kenilworth car keys were often stolen from porches or hallways. There were now only 2 PCSOs operating so residents' help was appreciated. John reminded everyone of the 101 non emergency number.

Information distributed by the police that was relevant to the village was circulated on the village email list.  Requests to receive this information should be made to John and could be sent directly rather than by email if required.

Household security items were still available at Town & Country Furniture in Kenilworth.

Trading standards information, particularly concerning internet fraudsters, was also circulated on the village list. Residents were warned never to divulge their PIN number.

Occasionally pedlars were selling door to door and PC King said they were not lawful without pedlars' certificates. The police station had signs saying "We don't buy from door to door salesman."

Terry mentioned You cash vouchers and a scam going around regarding PPI claims. Similarly Western Union scams took place because transfers of cash in this way were not traceable.

Thanks were given to John.

Burton Green Councillors’ Report

Cllr.George Illingworth was unable to attend but had sent a report as follows:

During the year I was given increased responsibilities at the District council regarding HS2.  This involves both outright objection as an attendee at the joint local government 51m opposition meetings and also discussing mitigation at a more local level.  I have made sure that the Officers of the Council are increasingly involved in the latter so that should the scheme go ahead we do not suffer more than is necessary.  I even managed to attend one afternoon in the High Court to hear the appeal to the judicial review when I happened to be in London.  Sadly that saga continues to the Supreme Court.  Let us hope we receive justice there.

Involvement in the wider picture confirms my view that Burton Green is one of the hardest hit communities on the route.  I am pleased that in the meeting with Jeremy Wright MP HS2 at last conceded that the Village Hall could not continue to function during any potential construction phase.  We are all aware, and have the evidence to show, that the Hall is crucial to the vibrancy of your community.  Should that dreadful day arrive a new one must be built before the current one is abandoned.

Of course any new location for the Hall depends on the future structure of the village which will be influenced by the Local Plan.   We will all watch with interest and no doubt some concern as that develops, but the opportunity is there for the community to help shape the future.

Finally, during my year as Mayor of Kenilworth I had the privilege of twice being invited officially to functions in Burton Green.  I greatly appreciated that honour and Joanna and I thank you all for your welcome and hospitality.

Cllr. John Whitehouse had a submitted report the highlights of which he went through:
In May I was delighted and honoured to be re-elected as your county councillor for a third term. I am very grateful for the support I received from across the Burton Green community.

Warwickshire County Council

The political make-up of the Council changed considerably in the May elections, and WCC is now a ‘hung’ council, with a minority Conservative administration. This means that at least two of the political groups on the Council need to reach agreement on major policy decisions, especially the budget. WCC needs to make £92 million p.a. savings over the next 4 years, a budget 26% reduction. Having already made £66 million p.a. savings over the last 3 years, these future cuts will involve very difficult choices, and inevitably loss of services and facilities. The Council will set its 4-year budget in Feb 2014.

HS2

WCC reaffirmed its total opposition to HS2 at the last Full Council meeting in September. It is continuing to give financial support to the 51M judicial review appeal to the Supreme Court, which is scheduled for 15th/16th October. The impact of HS2 on WCC is substantial and growing, with a dedicated team of officers and a £400,000 p.a. budget to ensure the best possible outcome for Warwickshire residents if the project goes ahead.

Speed Limits

Residents will recall two previous village consultations on reducing speed limits, both of which failed because of resistance to the traffic calming measures identified as necessary at the time. However, policies have now changed, and WCC will shortly be launching a formal consultation on proposals to reduce speed limits to 30 mph in both Cromwell Lane and Hodgetts Lane, without the imposition of traffic calming measures.
In Hob Lane, extra funding has been secured to establish a ‘school zone’ 20 mph speed limit in the vicinity of the school, with warning flashing lights similar to those at manned school crossings. The initiative has the support of both WCC and Warwickshire Police, and will be the first rural installation of such a scheme in the county.

Community Speedwatch

I was pleased to be able to help the new Community Speedwatch team to get established, working closely with Terry Heyes and then Patrick Hehir. The enthusiasm of the team is exemplary, while the numbers of volunteers involved is in marked contrast to the much larger community of Kenilworth, where the Speedwatch team has been struggling to find new recruits.

The Greenway

With the completion of the University section of the route, the work of the Connect2 Kenilworth Steering Group came to an end earlier this year, although I continue to work with the Greenway Trust, Solihull MBC, WCC and Sustrans on pursuing options for cycling and equestrian access at the Berkswell end of the Greenway.

Thursday bus service to Kenilworth
I continue to work hard with Rona Taylor to secure a reliable Thursday bus service to/from Kenilworth, one which Burton Green residents can have confidence in again. After months of pressure we finally got agreement to a larger vehicle being used on the route, but Burton Green residents are still being left stranded at the bus stop, which is unacceptable. The bus operator has agree to write a letter of apology to affected residents, but I shall not stop pressing until the service is providing sufficient capacity for all those wishing to use it from Burton Green.

Cllr. Ann Blacklock of WDC reported on a very busy year.  WDC continued to fight HS2. WDC had also been working on the Local Plan which would come out soon. It needed validating and then would hopefully come into effect in 2015.  (The previous Local Plan had more or less expired.) Cllr Illingworth was part of the group reviewing the policies going into the plan.

Cllr. Blacklock said the "bedroom tax" was withdrawing the subsidy from those in receipt of housing benefit if they had more bedrooms than they needed.  Some disabled people were affected by this change even though they needed extra space. Councils had some funds to offset this but these were quickly running out.

Sexual entertainment venues had become a controversial issue in Leamington.

Ann concluded by listing the wide variety of committees to which she belonged.

Thanks were expressed to Ann.

Cllr Ian Cox, Chair of the Parish Council also reported a busy year.The Parish Council had been active in responding to HS2 consultations.  He thanked Cllrs. Marlene Hills and Marcus Stewart for their work. The Council was now working on the new consultation on compensation. A new notice board in Red Lane was to be installed.

The Neighbourhood Plan was placing emphasis on shaping the vision for the future of the village and its infrastructure.  Where should development take place? How would areas be protected? How should buildings be designed? Problems arose because there was no knowledge of what the village would look like after HS2. HS2 had said they would help with this.  In the near future the community would be ale to make their views known.

The Parish Council would add weight to concerns about parking, road markings etc.

One resident said there were difficulties in reading notices posted within the board on Cromwell Lane. Cllr. Cox replied that this would be addressed.  He also agreed to facilitate Parish Council agendas and minutes being circulated on the village email system.
                 Action: Cllr. Cox

Cllr. Cox and the Parish Council were thanked for their work.

The Bugle

Mary Webb explained how the Bugle was funded and said she was always looking for articles.  Residents were requested to submit these.
Rona thanked Mary who was an invaluable member of the community.

Parish Plan

Kathryn Stewart reported that the Parish Plan survey had produced fantastic results: there had been 374 returns. This was a massive effort by everyone. The responses had been collated and the report was now available. The small steering group had been allocated parts of the resultant activity involving a summary of each section and key action points. The group wanted to make sure all views were captured.

Kathryn asked if residents would be interested in an evening event at which to present results and the response was affirmative. Some residents requested circulation of the results on the email system prior to any meeting.
Action: Kathryn

Faith said Rona and Mary had been to visit local secondary schools to capture the views of younger people and she and Eileen Nisbet were to consult pupils in Burton Green to include their views.

HS2 News

Andy Gibbs spoke of the consultations, raising of money, meetings, forums, and a meeting with Jeremy Wright. He highlighted the Safeguarding directive for those living within 60m of the proposed line.  These residents could serve a blight notice so they could bring forward the purchase of their property at the full market price plus expenses.

The consultation on compensation was to close on December 4th. It was proposed to set up a Rural Protection Zone instead of the VPZ and maybe introduce a property bond. Residents were requested to respond to the consultation.

Going forward, there were to be Judicial Reviews on 15th and 16th October.  This might result in going to the European court.

The government was still saying it would deposit the hybrid bill by the end of January 2014.  The final environmental statement would be included.  150 changes had been made along the route but residents were unaware what they would be.  There would be 56 days to petition against the bill if residents could prove they were affected.

Community forums had now finished for the Birmingham to London section.

Andy felt the politics of HS2 were moving in the right direction, towards being a vote loser. However, HS2 was still supported by all three parties and so would still happen if the situation remained as at present.

Further donations were still needed to fight the plans.

A compensation roadshow was to be held in Kenilworth on November 1st.

Rona thanked Andy

Speedwatch
Pat Hehir explained that the Speedwatch initiative had been running for about a year. Eleven volunteers had been trained and started monitoring speeds in April. Terry had now handed over responsibility to Pat who had been very grateful for Terry’s excellent co-ordination with comprehensive notes.  A speedgun calibration point had also been established at Terry’s home.

Pat gave an outline of the number of sessions held and said that in total 15 vehicles had been exceeding the speed limit. Speedwatch was acting as a deterrent on a regular basis.

The volunteers would like to continue to be out on a weekly basis and when the speed limit reduced their activity would be even more important. They might also look at doing some early morning sessions.

Thanks were extended to all volunteers and to John Whitehouse and Pete King for their support.

A query was raised about whether speeders were prosecuted and the response was that they received a letter from the police reminding them of the speed limit.

AOB

Rona thanked Janet for her tireless work taking the minutes.

She also thanked everyone for coming and to contributing during the evening and ended by saying what a special community Burton Green is.

Deirdre announcded an "Octobash" event on October 10th in aid of the air ambulance.

Faith thanked Rona for all her work.


Date of Next Annual General Meeting

The next Annual General Meeting would be held on Monday October 6th 2014 at the Village Hall.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Jewellery Course

From Amanda Warner:

I'm running the next jewellery workshop at Burton Green Village Hall
on Tuesday 22nd October at 7pm in the Green Room.

I offer a choice of different designs that you can make, including
beaded earrings, bracelets and necklaces, Christmas earrings and
pandora style bracelets.

All the tools needed to create your jewellery will be provided and no
previous experience is required.

Further details about the workshop and the jewellery you can make are
available on my website www.CharacterCrafts.co.uk

Or you can contact me at sales@charactercrafts.co.uk or call 07790 652869

I also run regular workshops at Curiositea, a cafe at the University
of Warwick and at Hobbycraft at Central Six in Coventry, upcoming
dates are listed on my website.

Many thanks

Amanda

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Coffee Morning in Support of Air Ambulance

Please come and support your Air Ambulance

Saturday 19th October

Burton Green Viilage Hall
 CV8 1PJ

10 a.m. onwards Coffee and cakes

Cake donations welcome

12-2 p.m. Jacket potato Lunches

Bring and Buy book stall
Local Honey, Jams & Pickles

Saturday 28 September 2013

Minutes of Residents’ Association Committee September 17th 2013

Minutes of Burton Green Residents’ Association Committee Meeting September 17th 2013

Present
   
Terry Heyes; Janet Hickinbottom; Rona Taylor; Mary Webb; and Faith Ward. Andy Gibbs joined the meeting at 8:15p.m. In attendance: Cllr Ann Blacklock; Cllr Archie Taylor

1. Apologies.
   
Apologies had been received from Judi Hibberd and Kathryn Stewart.
John Nisbet had tendered his resignation because of other commitments. Rona would write to thank him for his participation.
                            Action: Rona

Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising
   
The minutes of the last meeting of July 9th 2013 were accepted.

Matters Arising

Treasurer's Report

Terry had held an amicable meeting with John Nisbet when all the figures had been discussed.  Copies of all documents had been passed to John.

Money from the very successful Oddsocks performance had been divided between the Greenway Trust and the Village Hall. Each had received £779. Letters of thanks had been received. The Jubilee committee had chosen not to make a donation to the Residents’ Association.

The issue of parking on footpaths was to be raised by Rona with John Whitehouse.
                            Action: Rona

The footpath survey had been completed and outlined to the Parish Council.  All paths were now in good order. Only one footpath was in dispute and this was being handled by Cllr Vaughan Owen.

The bid to WDC for funding to assist with the Parish plan had been successful.

The Jubilee committee status had been discussed at the last meeting and it had been suggested it should be perceived as a sub group of BGRA. The Jubilee committee had accepted this.

2. Update on and discussion of Residents’ Association initiatives and issues

Residents' Association Website and how to move forward

All paperwork had been circulated with agenda to remind committee members what had been discussed and agreed so far.

The main concern remained funds available.  Terry said BGRA had £1901.40 freely available. As it had been agreed to spend £1000 on the website, there was concern about spending the majority of the funds and it was felt a healthy reserve should be held.  Terry explained that just under £11,000 had gone through the books this year.  It was felt BGRA should explore other funding sources for the website as it was agreed there was no rush.  Kenilworth Forum and WDC Small Grants were suggested as potential sources.

Cllr Taylor felt future events should possibly restore some funds to BGRA. Some funds from events next year could be requested from the Jubilee committee

The decision was taken to wait until further funding. It was agreed to discuss this further in February when it might be clearer what funding could be sought.
                            Action: Rona

Speedwatch

Pat Hehir was now running Speedwatch. Terry said pressure was still being put on the police for more spots to site Speedwatch other than the current locations. This was likely to be affected by the speed limit changes which were at the consultation stage.  John Whitehouse would be to reporting on this at the AGM.

Thanks were given to Terry in getting it all running and it was noted that Burton Green had more Speedwatch volunteers than Kenilworth.

Footpath survey

This had been covered under Matters Arising.

Red Lane - flower tubs

A resident of Red Lane had requested flower tubs which could be placed by the new Parish notice board once a location had been agreed by the Parish Council.  It was agreed that once this was established, BGRA would spend £25 for two tubs plus the cost of some compost and bulbs (approximately £20)
                            Action: Mary

Retired of BG Harvest Lunch

The lunch was planned for September 27th and, as agreed at earlier meetings, the cost would be £7 per person with restrictions as agreed on wine available.
             Action: Mary

3. Jubilee committee subgroup report back

The Jubilee committee had held one meeting and were considering a Jazz Evening to be held at the Stanworths’ on June 14th 2014.  Further details would be brought to the next meeting.
                            Action: Mary

4. AGM-re-elections of committee members

The constitution required all officers and three committee members to stand down at the AGM, even if they were prepared to stand for re-election.

All officers were happy to stand for re-election unless others wished to take up their positions. Both John Nisbet and Marlene Hills would stand down and not seek re-election.  Faith Ward also agreed to stand down but to seek re-election.

The Chair’s Report had been included in the Bugle to avoid a long report at the meeting. All reports would be limited to three minutes in duration. Rona wished to encourage greater participation in the proceedings.

Rona and Mary agreed to arrange the refreshments (wine and cheese) and it was decided donations should be requested.

5. Parish Plan update

The Parish Plan group meeting would be meeting later in the week to decide on an action plan. 374 surveys had been returned from 387 households which was an excellent return (the highest in Warwickshire). Burton Green was revealed as a mature and stable community with 42% of respondents resident here for over 21 years and 150 people in the age bracket 61-80. Why had people moved here? 258 cited the rural nature and 278 chose to call it a pleasant location. Significantly, 164 would leave only because of HS2. Use of the Village Hall was frequent or very frequent by 125 residents and 237 see the Hall as important or very important to the village.  218 people use the Greenway frequently or very frequently and 304 respondents view it as important.

75 % of residents know how to contact BGRA.  There were diverse comments about the Association but no one particular issue. Rona would make reference to this in her AGM remarks.
                            Action: Rona

High speed broadband needed actioning. It was important to find out where funding is available and what the timetable would be.
                            Action: Rona

Once a Parish Plan Action Plan had been drawn up there would be a community meeting with funding from WDC. Faith Ward and Eileen Nisbet were working with Burton Green School to ensure young people’s views were included. Rona and Mary were similarly working with Heart of England School. Committee members felt Kenilworth students should be included.
                            Action: Faith

6. Le Van

An email from WDC planning department had explained that Le Van had withdrawn its appeal as WDC lawyers had established that the number of vans could legally be increased and so a certificate of lawfulness had been granted.

Le van has now sold to a property investor who has been involved along the way. The investor had attended a meeting of the parish council and wished to work with the community. The plan was to have 20 extra mobile homes for over 55s. These would not be classed as dwelling houses so could not contribute to the new housing requirements.

Issues of drainage and traffic wouldn't need planning permission. They would be environmental health matters.

7. Village Hall

Kathryn had reported that the Hall was running well and new classes were starting in September. Bookings were full most days and evenings,

The Produce Show had been very successful with more entries and new people involved from the village and the school. However, it was felt those attending to view rather than exhibit was lower than in previous years. Appreciation for the organisation of the Produce Show was expressed by the committee.

8. HS2

The compensation consultation was open till Dec 4th. Andy explained the situation was as before with the property bond added. This was only for properties that would be in VPZ 120 zone. It would allow for property to be sold and if HS2 happened that can be then sold to the Government. Andy felt this was unlikely to be effective.

Properties over tunnels were to be ignored as it was claimed they would not be affected.

BGRA needed to do a response. Action: Rona.

HS2 action group would hold a consultation response form session on Wednesday 9th October.

Andy went on to explain that a presence would still be made at party conferences. The KPMG Report about costing £15billion a year was generally being disregarded as it did not make sense. Causality had been ignored and the link between connectivity and GDP was made.  The government was now trying to distance HS2 from the economic argument and moving to capacity issues.

A consultation road show was to be held in Kenilworth on November 1st.

Andy, Kathryn, Rona and Thea were to meet with Jeremy Wright MP and then with HS2 to present current views from Burton Green.


9. Parish Councillor’s Report

Cllr Taylor said the work on the Neighbourhood Plan was continuing.

A Birmingham airport presenter had attended the Parish Council meeting where she mentioned the airport vision linking with HS2 concept. No changes to current flight paths were envisaged in the near future.

10. Treasurer’s Report and subscription collection

Terry presented the attached accounts which were to be independently inspected prior to the AGM.

Thanks were expressed to Terry for such an efficient job.

11. Bugle

The most recent edition was being distributed by the team.  Additional assistance was requested to cover areas of those on holiday.

Mary would be grateful for leads for additional advertising.
                            Action: All

The next edition was scheduled for the second week in December. Many thanks were again given to Mary.

12. Any Other Business

The Thursday bus capacity problem had temporarily been solved by the provision of an additional minibus. It was hoped a more permanent solution would be reached.

The next police clinic was to be held on Thursday 24th September at 7p.m.

A dog waste bin was being installed near Cromwell Lane bridge later in the week and it was hoped this would alleviate the dog waste problem.

Mary said the Royal British Legion was planning to plant Flanders poppies to commemorate the First World War and she wondered if some could be sown on “the Jubilee verge.” Matters of funding and mowing regimes would need to be investigated.
                            Action: Mary

Berkswell Trust was to be approached again regarding the siting of a Christmas tree on land adjoining the almshouses. Another alternative site would be “the Jubilee verge.” A better form of lighting also needed to be sourced and safety matters considered.
Action: Rona and Mary.

Thanks were expressed to Janet for her efficient work as Minutes Secretary.

Ann Blacklock reported that Martyn Stacey was moving to Warwick, to be replaced by Jo Ball.  The committee recorded their thanks to Martyn.

Ann Also said the number of mobile library vans was being cut from five to three but it was hoped not to impact on current services.

Stephen Hey was working on the Local Plan including Green Belt changes. Specific proposals would be available for consultation in November.

Thanks were given to Ann for her attendance.

13. Date, time and venue of Next Meeting

The next committee meeting would take place on Tuesday November 19th at 7.30p.m.at the Village Hall. The AGM was scheduled for October 7th at 7p.m.

Thursday 19 September 2013

Bugle - September 2013

The September 2013 edition of the Bugle has been published.

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The archive of back issues of the Bugle is here: Bugle Archive.