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Tuesday 30 December 2014

HS2 Burton Green Exhibition Pack

HS2 have produced and distributed a set of detailed plans regarding Burton Green, if the scheme ever goes ahead. There are 50 documents in the set. They include numerous maps and some spreadsheets.

The documents are, basically:
  • Introductory letter
  • Petitioners locations map
  • Construction timeframe
  • Construction traffic flows (construction traffic would not use Cromwell Lane)
  • Property demolition map
  • Tunnel proposals and portal maps
  • Electricity feeder station details
  • Village hall relocation map
  • Greenway changes
  • Cromwell Lane bridge
  • Ancient woodland and woodland compensation maps
  • Noise summary (though meaningless, as explained below)
  • Property compensation zone maps
The complete set of documents can be downloaded from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2dsUUIxiPxDMmNyZUJ5SUtOejQ/view?usp=sharing

Below are some typical documents. These are probably the most significant documents in the pack...


Activity Timeline

This chart shows approximate earliest dates for various activities, as far as 2026 (which is HS2's optimistic date). You can click on this image, and enlarge to full-screen size...


You can also enlarge this plan to full-screen size...




Tunnel Profile

Click to enlarge to full-screen size...




Plan for New Electricity Feeder Station



The Greenway

These 3 plans immediately below, combined on one diagram, show the current Greenway, a proposed diversion during construction, and the final Greenway. Click to enlarge...



Properties to be Demolished



Proposed Relocation of Village Hall



Cromwell Lane Bridge

"There will be a temporary off-line diversion constructed prior to the closure of the existing road. The temporary diversion will then be in use for approximately two years during tunnel construction."


Anticipated Noise Levels, by day and night

This chart seems to be provided without explanation. The chart includes a column labelled Assessment Location ID, which presumably refers to a range of dwellings. The number in the cells might be decibels. It is not clear what this means...


The complete set of 50 documents can be downloaded from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2dsUUIxiPxDMmNyZUJ5SUtOejQ/view?usp=sharing

Click on the link just above, and then click on the download icon which will appear. This will copy the complete set of files onto your computer, as one 'zip' file...



Having downloaded the zip file, double-click on the file on your computer, and you will see the 50 constituent documents. It is not possible to download individual documents; you need to download the complete zip file, You will then be able to view the individual documents.

Sunday 28 December 2014

Missing Dog - Greenway

Reward Is Being Offered 



Chocolate Tri Colour Male Beagle (Adult). Missing from Berkswell Greenway near Berkswell train station, CV7, on Saturday, 27th December 2014. Could be trying to get back to Leamington Spa. 

Doglost is a free service run by volunteers www.doglost.co.uk

Sunday 21 December 2014

Proposed Parish Boundary Changes

Warwick County Council is considering changes to the Burton Green Parish boundary.

There are two changes involved:

1) To move the present University ward from Ashow and Stoneleigh Parish Council to become a ward of Burton Green Parish. The justification for this proposal is based on co-terminosity, as the Parish Council and District Council elections are held on the same day every 4 years. It will avoid confusion for the electorate by having the same ward boundaries. This affects 1705 electors.

2) To realign southern boundary of Burton Green Parish. The justification for this proposal is to tidy up an original boundary. This affects two electors.

More complete (and hopefully accurate) details may be found on the Parish Council website, here:
http://www.burtongreenpc.org.uk/boundary-review-update/

I have attempted to reproduce my interpretation of these changes on the map just below. The thick black boundary denotes the existing parish boundary. The area coloured red denotes the new parish. The areas shown in dark red are the new areas to be incorporated. The area coloured blue denotes the area which will leave Burton Green...




Thursday 11 December 2014

Proposed New Housing Estate Off Cromwell Lane

This is not a new post, just a reminder.

You may have seen reports in the Coventry Telegraph concerning plans to build housing in 169 areas around the City. The article listed some sites in Cromwell Lane. That article is here:
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/revealed-169-coventry-sites-shortlisted-7749607

More complete details are on the Coventry City Council website. One of the proposed sites along Cromwell Lane includes all of the farmland surrounding Westwood Farm.

That map comes from here:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory_record/20260/land_west_of_cromwell_lane

The same plan also refers to building on the sports fields opposite Westwood Heath Church:

That map is here:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory_record/20259/sports_field_north_of_westwood_heath_road

Residents in the Coventry area are being encouraged to comment to the Council, by contacting the Planning Policy team on 024 7683 4295, or E-mailing: localplan@coventry.gov.uk




Tuesday 9 December 2014

Bugle December 2014

The December 2014 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 text of the Chair's Report has also been added to the Residents' Association page,

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

Friday 5 December 2014

BBC News Interview With Local Residents

Jerry Marshall and Chris Langton have been interviewed by BBC News, about the HS2 compensation scheme.

Their interviews were televised on 4th December, and can be viewed on the BBC's website here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30325184

Click on the image to run the video.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Minutes of Residents' Association Committee Meeting 14th November 2014

Present:
Terry Heyes; Judi Hibberd; Janet Hickinbottom; Bron Putnam; Rona Taylor ; Faith Ward.

In attendance:
Vaughan Owen representing the Parish Council.

1. Apologies   

Apologies had been received from Hilary Cox, Alice Hawkins, Diane Swindells and Mary Webb.


Summary of actions following the meetingResponsible
Speak to owner of overgrown hedge in Red LaneFaith
Arrange more subscription collectionsMary
Grant request from Parish Council for SpeedwatchJudi
Advice from John Whitehouse on Speedwatch fundingTerry
Bugle article requesting Speedwatch volunteersMary
Vigilance re an appeal by Green EnergyAll
Request to clerk of Select committee for Burton Green PC, RA, School, VH & Greenway Trust petitions to be heard on same dayRona
Ask Chris Langton about status of his audit of homesJanet
Nov 21st quizEileen, Faith, Rona and Mary
Christmas treeRona and Diane
Carol sheets from Barbara GardenerRona
Draft of new residents’ informationJudi
BGRA to have page on PC websiteVaughan
Contact Greenway group about cyclist behaviourJudi
Agenda item re infrastructure requirementsJudi
Change PC clerk to Vaughan on contact listJudi
Traffic control during site deliveries at Broadwells WoodVaughan
Broadband mattersAllan


Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Matters Arising from the previous minutes. Overgrown footpath in Red Lane: this was still a problem.  Faith agreed to speak to the owner of the hedge before any further action was considered.
Action: Faith

All other matters arising had been dealt with or were in progress.

2. Treasurer's Report

A report was circulated. Terry reported that the accounts remained fairly healthy.  Expenditure was as planned. In future the Village Hall would issue bills more regularly. At £712, subscriptions were still £200 down on last year but there were still some areas which had not been visited for collection. Mary was sorting this out.
 Action: Mary

The Mine Opposition Group refund had not yet been finalised because of the illness of Peter Lee who was a signatory.

The WW1 commemoration event had been well received. Terry was waiting for the final cake invoice and he would then close off that account.

There remained £136 left in the Speedwatch fund but this would be insufficient for the required speed gun calibration which last time cost £240. It was suggested that the Parish Council should be asked for financial support of £100 and Vaughan recommended completing a grant form on the Parish Council website.
Action: Judi

It was also suggested that John Whitehouse should be approached for advice on funding for this purpose.
Action: Terry

Terry reported on Speedwatch and said there was a need for more volunteers as only four people were regularly involved. This was to be added to the next edition of the Bugle.
Action: Rona

4. Residents' views/concerns

Horse manure on the pavements was mentioned as a problem particularly for residents in wheelchairs or with children in buggies.

There was nothing additional apart from ongoing issues.

5. Solar Farm

Thanks were extended to the solar panel group especially Terry as the application from Green Energy had now been refused. Green Energy had presented a shoddy case.  A good team effort had been shown by a combined team comprising members of the Parish Council and BGRA plus individuals.

Vigilance must continue as an appeal to the planning inspectorate could be lodged.
Action: all

6. HS2 Petitioning - what we do next

At the Select Committee visit, all village groups had worked together and shown a joint approach.

Starting the following week, HS2 representatives were coming to the Village Hall to meet various groups Andy and Rona would be meeting them on Monday to discuss issues before the petitioning hearings. It was not anticipated that the meetings would achieve much. The main priority of a deep bored tunnel would not be easily solved.

The clerk of the Select Committee ran briefings for petitioners and Rona had attended in October and found it useful. Chris Langton had also attended a session.  The overriding message was the need to coordinate and reinforce rather than repeat points.

Petitions were to be heard from the Village Hall committee, BGRA, plus Parish Council, the school and the Greenway Trust.

The order in which petitions will be heard was announced recently. Rona was to contact the clerk to ask if all these organisations could present on the same day.
Action: Rona

It was emphasised that groups needed to be explicit about what was wanted and that this was the village's last chance.

Chris had done an interesting audit of properties in the village vacated, sold to HS2, since let etc. Chris was to be asked if this document was confidential or could be circulated with the minutes.
Action: Janet
Post meeting note: information in the public domain and copy available.

Vaughan said it was important to check if any students rented out houses because there were different regulations for student lets.

Forty individuals had petitioned. Archie had summarised the points in all these petitions. Chris Langton was analysing the topics. It was queried whether there would be support for individual petitioners. The Select Committee liked people to be there in person but those with the same issue could be heard on the same day. The first petitioner could put the case and if necessary, others could just concur. They were still counted as petitioners even if they didn't speak themselves. Groups should be working together to present a compelling, clear case and support individual petitioners. Rona felt the Staffordshire petitioning session she had observed was quite nurturing and not intimidating. Any further information was to be sent two days in advance together with any PowerPoint presentation which would be used.

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


28th September WW1 tea: this had been discussed under treasurer’s report. Thanks were recorded to Judi's mum for washing up.

Oct 31st lunch: This had been successful. Each attendee had paid £5 for fish and chips and apple pie. The only complaint was that the portions of chips were too large!

Nov 21st quiz for 10-13 year olds: Faith and Eileen were preparing this. Various pupils in the village had been approached to disseminate information on the school buses. The Hall was booked and pizza would be served. Mary and Rona were organising the food.

Christmas tree. Rona would see if Diane thought it appropriate to ask the Barnes family if they could donate a tree again. Lights were in stock and the hall booked for Dec 16th
Action: Rona

Carols round the tree, mulled wine and mince pies. This event had been arranged for Dec 16th at 7:30 by the tree. All residents were welcome and individual members of the choir particularly to support the singing. The Village Hall was to be available from 8pm and Peter Stanworth had agreed to make mulled wine. Carol sheets were to be borrowed from Barbara Gardener.
Action: Rona

Welcome pack. Judi suggested the original sheet could be much briefer with links to all relevant bodies. Once completed, it could be made available to new residents along with a copy of the Parish Plan.
Action: Judi

Website. 18 months ago a decision had been made that BGRA would investigate the possibility of having its own website once funds became available. On reconsideration, the committee unanimously agreed another website would be superfluous as it could not match the comprehensive information provided by John Webb on his excellent website.  It must be acknowledged that this was the site belonging to a private individual but always included community information.  It was agreed that BGRA could look at also having a page on the Parish Council website with contact details, information about the Bugle etc. Vaughan would consider this at an appropriate time as he envisaged changes to the Parish Council website in the near future.
Action: Vaughan


8. Parish Plan - actions we need to take

A number of actions were being pursued including Broadband, student empowerment, transport to hospitals and GPs for the elderly, buses etc. Rona summarised the actions taking place and highlighted that some further developments were dependant on the Neighbourhood Plan which was on hold until the spring. Parish Councillors were also considering their responsibilities with regard to the Plan.

Judi agreed to contact the Greenway group to express concern about cyclist behaviour. The "Share with care" approach was not followed by many cyclists. It was recommended John Whitehouse should be asked about the role of rangers.
Action: Judi

It was agreed that the new benches on the Greenway were much appreciated.

 Vaughan asked if there were any ongoing maintenance/infrastructure matters in the village. This would be discussed at next meeting as Vaughan implied he might be able to access more funding.
 Action Judi

9. Village Hall

There was no representative. Cheryl, the Chair of the Village Hall committe, would be meeting HS2 Ltd on Wednesday next. The Village Hall committee was looking at 10 sites to be considered for a new village hall. Andy reminded everyone that, in theory, HS2 could compulsorily purchase any site for the hall.

10.  HS2 opposition Group

There was nothing more to report. The next stage of compensation was supposed to be ready in Deceminer with proposals as already suggested. There was likely to be another tranche of people likely to leave the village at that point. A total of 60 people were directly affected but not all would choose to leave.

HS2 action group was still working hard on our behalf and thanks were given to them.

11. Parish Councillor's Report

Vaughan reported that the Parish Clerk had resigned and temporarily he should be stated as the contact point.
 Action: Judi

A letter about the gypsies and travellers preferred options consultation was circulated by Rona. This did not directly affect Burton Green.

Red Lane play area was still being negotiated.

Broadwells Wood site. Enforcement notices were being issued regarding hedges and land removal as the developers did not have permission to carry out much of the work. The legal position was being considered. Some residents were concerned by the bright lights on the site.

Terry asked about deliveries causing danger when park homes were stationary on Red Lane and waiting for entry. There had been no traffic control. Vaughan was asked to raise the issue of traffic control. This was likely to be an ongoing problem as more were delivered.
 Action: Vaughan

David Wilson homes had expressed interested in developing on the former Electricity Sports Field. The Parish Council had turned down their offer to present at a meeting. Encroachment from Coventry was a problem and all needed to be vigilant.

12.  Any Other Business

Broadband

Allan Hawkins attended. He said that until recently Burton Green had not been earmarked for Superfast broadband. Now it was considered that areas where if less than 100 per cent coverage was available, Superfast broadband should be implemented. Allan said the BT exchange was digital ready but our area was not considered essential. Fibre optic cable had to be installed and connected to the roadside box. Our box was at the junction at the top of Red Lane. Allan said residents could petition BT to say residents were willing to sign up. Costs would be in the region of  £25-30 per month. Cllr Hickinbottom had spoken to an engineer working on the Red Lane box and had been told Burton Green would be connected in April 2015. Allan agreed to follow this up to see if this date had been established.
 Action: Allan

Broadband connection to the Village Hall was also queried and Allan again agreed to make enquiries and information could be passed on to the Village Hall committee.
Action: Allan

Allan was thanked for agreeing to be our advocate in this matter.

A letter of thanks had been received from John and Eileen Nisbet regarding work carried out by the BGRA to oppose the solar farm proposal.

The 30mph limit was likely to be implemented by the end of January 2015.

The roadworks at the university were impacting on traffic through the village.


13. Date, time and venue of Next Meeting

The next committee meeting would take place on Jnuary 20th at 7.30p.m.at the Village Hall.

Future dates would be: March 10, May 5, July 14, Sept 15, Nov 3.

Thanks were expressed to all for attending.

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Solar Farm - Planning Permission Refused

The official decision of Solihull Council has been posted on their website. The decision is at the bottom of this page:
http://ww2.solihull.gov.uk/planning_new/dc/ViewAppdetail.asp?Y=2014&R=1212

The reasons for the decision are:
  • The proposed solar park development represents inappropriate development within the Green Belt. The proposal causes harm both by definition and by demonstrable visual impact to the openness of the Green Belt, the purposes of including land within the Green Belt and the character, appearance and openness of the locality. The very special circumstances case advanced to support the development does not clearly outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm. The proposal would therefore be contrary to guidance within National Planning Policy guidance relating to the provision of renewable energy and Policies P15 and P17 of the adopted Solihull Local Plan 2013.
  • The proposed solar farm would, by virtue of the appearance of the panels, sub frames, security fencing, buildings, roads and other associated development, have a considerable adverse impact upon the setting of designated and undesignated heritage assets and would produce less than substantial harm to their significance that would not be outweighed by any public benefits of the proposal. The proposal would therefore be contrary to Policy P16 of the adopted Solihull Local Plan 2013.

The plan had been opposed by Burton Green Parish Council. The Parish Council's 7-page document, detailing their objections to the plan is here:
Burton Green Parish Council Response to Solar Farm Application


Previous Related Posts

Proposed Solar Farm (30th March)
Nailcote Solar Farm (13th August)
CPRE Threat from Solar Farms (23rd August)

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Winter Bulb Planting along the Greenway - Saturday 1st Nov

Many thanks to those who recently attended the recent Autumn tidy up at Crackley Bridge.

A good time was had by all those taking part, as these pictures show.

There is another opportunity to help leave a lasting legacy this coming Saturday.

A kind donation of 1000 native bulbs has been made by Jerry Beresford of Tudor Environmental and these will be planted this Saturday predominantly around the entrances onto the Greenway.

Jerry already has a team of 6 to undertake the majority of the planting.  If you are interested in assisting, then you are invited to meet up at 10am, Saturday 1st November, at the Cromwell Lane Bridge over the Greenway in Burton Green.

Sunday 26 October 2014

New Kenilworth Station

A  new rail station is to be built on Priory Road in Kenilworth. 
 
 
Warwickshire County Council is holding a public exhibition to provide you with further information and to enable you to choose the design concept of your new station. We would like to hear your views and have your input on the design concepts. We look forward to seeing you at the exhibition.

Dates and times:

Thursday 23rd Oct 10am – 8pm
Friday 24th Oct 10am – 4pm
Saturday 25th Oct 10am – 12:30pm

Venue:

Kenilworth Library
Smalley Place
Kenilworth
CV8 AQG
You can contact us in the following ways:
Telephone: 01926 41225
Your views are welcomed and a Feedback Form is available for you to make your choice regarding the design concept of Kenilworth Station and to submit any further comments.
Ways of completing the Feedback Form:
The closing date for your responses is Sunday 9th November 2014

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Select Committee Visit - 7 October 2014

This is a summary from Cllr Marcus Stewart of last week’s Select Committee visit.
On Tuesday 7 October four members of the Select Committee visited Burton Green.
Ahead of the visit, the Parish Council, Residents’ Association, Action Group, Greenway Trust and Primary School worked together to ensure Burton Green presented itself with one voice and stressed the serious impact HS2 will have on the parish.
These local groups were also supported by Warwickshire County Council, Warwick District Council and Jeremy Wright MP.
The committee visited the school, the Greenway and the top of Red lane.
They then moved on to the Village Hall where they were met by Chair of the Parish Council, Vaughan Owen. The main messages were seven years of construction problems, residents already leaving the village, the HGV route passing the school, construction noise, spoil being imported into the village, the number of compounds in the village, houses lost and many residents affected, loss of local ancient woodland, the route going right through the middle of the village, houses encircled by HS2 workings, the siting of the ATFS near to homes, and the noise at the tunnel entrance and exit.
Committee members heard an overview from Andy Gibbs of the Action Group, listened to Rona Taylor of the Residents’ Association explain the permanent impacts HS2 will have, Councillor Stewart covered the construction issues, then Andy Gibbs talked about mitigation and compensation.
The feedback from the select committee was that these messages were heard loud and clear on the impacts of the parish. The HS2 team in attendance were very quiet and did not challenge any of the points made. The day was good preparation for appearances in front of the Select Committee.
Claire Turner

Burton Green Parish Council Clerk

Sunday 12 October 2014

WI Coffee Morning Saturday 18th October

                        WI         
Please Support
HODGETTS LANE WI
(Womens Institute – Burton Green)
           


SATURDAY 18TH OCTOBER
10.30am – 12.30pm

at

BURTON GREEN VILLAGE HALL
HODGETTS LANE

Monies raised for
The Leamington Brain Injury Appeal

COFFEE – TEA – HOME MADE CAKES

Tombola                    Crafts


Friday 10 October 2014

Minutes of Residents' Association AGM October 6th 2014

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Burton Green Residents’ Association held on October 6th 2014 at the Village Hall.


Rona welcomed everyone, in particular Cllrs. Ann Blacklock, George Illingworth,  John Whitehouse, Ian Cox, Adrian Hickinbottom and Vaughan Owen.

She explained her aim was to make presentations  as brief as possible allowing time for discussion of issues of importance.

  1. Apologies:   
Apologies had been received from Cllr. Michael Coker, Sylvia Clifford, Carol Green, Nick & Sue Hogue, Bron Putnam, Derek Silk and Mary Webb.

  1. Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising:   
The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting of October 7th 2013 were accepted.  
Proposed: Deirdre Vernon
Seconded: Judi Hibberd

  1. Matters arising:
Inconsiderate parking had been a key issue and it had been suggested the police talked to a disabled resident who had been experiencing difficulties.  This had been actioned. A notice had been suggested at the Village Hall asking users to park with consideration.

Parish council notices now went round the village email system

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

  1. Chair’s Report:

A report had been circulated in advance and Rona highlighted the key events during 2014:

It has been a very busy year, with the Residents’ Association responding to key issues for Burton Green as well as organising a number of interesting social events.

Working with our Parish Council, we have taken a very professional approach to opposing plans for a solar farm at Nailcote Farm. We insisted that Green Energy Ltd consulted Burton Green, something they had omitted to do before announcing their plans; a consultation event followed by a presentation to the Parish Council was arranged for February 24th.  A small sub group researched the issue and after Green Energy Ltd formally submitted their proposal, we produced an excellent submission to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, which was outlined to residents in a public meeting on August 15th. There were 360 signatures to our petition and 80 written objections, including letters from Jeremy Wright, MP and Caroline Spelman MP.  Although the Planning Department at Solihull Council recommended Green Energy’s proposal should be rejected, the Planning Committee deferred a decision at their meeting on Oct. 1st.We are continuing to press Burton Green’s case.
Working with the Burton Green HS2 Opposition Group, we have continued to maintain a high profile in opposing HS2, responding to consultations and submitting a petition to Parliament. The Select Committee will be visiting Burton Green on Oct 7th and they will hear the Residents’ Association’s and the Parish Council’s petitions later this year.

Social events have added to the vibrancy and cohesion of our community. Lunches for the retired of Burton Green continue to be well supported; the next one is on October 31st.Our Christmas tree on the Jubilee verge was a lovely focus; this year carols round the tree on December 16th will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Village Hall. The Jubilee Group’s Jazz Evening in June was a resounding success; our thanks are due to Peter and Janet Stanworth who hosted this event and have also agreed to host an event next June. The World War 1 commemorative afternoon tea was a very special event with an outstanding display of photos, articles and artefacts.

The Residents’ Association is working on a number of tasks identified by the Parish Plan. One initiative has been the Youth Forum in September, when we consulted our children and young people about what they would like for Burton Green.  A quiz night is planned for November and we hope to have the Warwick County Council mobile youth club bus visit Burton Green on a regular basis.
The Speed Watch Team, led by Pat Hehir, have been out on a weekly basis and they are always looking for new recruits to share the load. We look forward to the planned reduction of the speed limit.

We value our close relationship with Warwickshire Police. The community wished PC Pete King all the best on his emigration to Perth, Australia and we welcome PC Trent Mc Murray as our new community PC.

We have continued to be proactive in liaising with Warwick District Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to ensure potholes are reported, the Jubilee Verge and Village Hall verge are mowed and Red Lane pavements kept clear.
The Bugle, published four times a year, continues to be an invaluable communication channel and its human interest articles are particularly popular. The Editor is always looking for new contributions.

It is clear we continue to be a proactive community, with residents giving very freely of their time. Thanks to everyone for their support.


  1. Treasurer’s Report
The Income & Expenditure Account was introduced by Terry. He thanked Peter Tacon for inspecting the accounts.

He explained it had been a quieter year than the previous one with just over £5k income.  Summertime Jazz had been less expensive than Oddsocks but made a small profit of just over £500 which had been transferred into generaI BGRA funds.

The Highgrove visit had resulted in 86p profit!

Unattributed assets stood at £2374 and BGRA committee was considering how to use this.

Thanks were expressed to Terry.

  1. Election of Independent Examiner
Peter Tacon had again agreed to act as Independent Examiner.
Proposed:  Eileen Nisbet
Seconded: Sue Marshall
Unanimously agreed.

  1. 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: Liz Saxon
Seconded: Jerry Marshall
Unanimously agreed.

Bron, Alice and Faith were prepared to stand again as a committee member.
Proposed: Shirley Howes
Seconded: Betty Woodward
Unanimously agreed.

Others remaining on the committee were Hilary Cox, Andy Gibbs and Diane Swindells.

  1. HS2 Update:

Andy Gibbs said the Select Committee would be visiting Burton Green the following day. It was hoped to show them what a good place Burton Green is and to give clear messages about the changes we want to mitigate the impact of HS2 on Burton Green.

Later this year those who had petitioned were likely to be asked to attend the committee.  Training would be arranged for those involved. Rona Taylor would be presenting for BGRA together with Andy Gibbs.  Marcus Stewart would be representing the Parish Council and John Whitehouse the Greenway Trust.

The response to the compensation consultation has gone in.

Andy said the general message was that HS2 was likely to happen but not certain. Residents could now only wait and see and fight for a better deal for Burton Green.

By Christmas there should be no further consultations. Save NHS and scrap HS2!

Thanks were given to Andy and the HS2 opposition group which has been working so hard on our behalf for more than four and a half years.  Burton Green was proud that it always acted professionally and submittedresult written consultation responses thanks to Andy.

  1. Village Hall Report:

Cheryl Ward, Chair of the Village Hall committee said the hall remained very popular and was overbooked. If HS2 went ahead, the Hall would be demolished and HS2 had agreed to replace it like for like.  A location would have to be established and the committee felt it would want a hall around 30 per cent larger.  A survey had been carried out in the village and residents had said the Hall must fit the environment, should have green space and there were many ideas for its use. The committee had already drawn up some principles and were visiting other halls for inspiration and ideas. Discussions were ongoing with the Parish Council. Once matters were clearer, a public meeting would be held.

Residents would be welcome to the Village Hall AGM on November 28th

10. Made in Burton Green:
Deirdre thanked everyone who took part in the Made in Burton Green weekend of yarn bombing. Residents were recommended to see the video on John Webb's website. 200 people had visited the hall and £60 had been donated to Macmillan. Over 400 people had visited the yarn bombing during its installation. There had been input from Canley cubs and Beavers, Berkswell Beavers and Burton green School.

Thanks were given to the Parish Council and BGRA for their financial support and National Grid for permission to use the land and Warwickshire County Council Parks Department for allowing the scarecrows alongthe Greenway.  It was hoped to arrange a similar project in 2016.

Thanks were expressed to Deirdre and her team.

  1. Police Matters and Neighbourhood Watch:

PC Trent McMurray had recently taken over from Pete King as our Community Police Officer. He explained he had held this role on Warwick for four years and so had experience in community policing.

With regard to incidents since April, he said there had been no burglaries, vehicle crime, serious incidents etc in Burton Green and that crime was down generally.
There had been a theft on September 28th at the former Le Van site; and on September 19th a safe had been found in Hob Lane.

There had been damage to a vehicle in Hodgetts Lane and 16 incidents in Leamington and Kenilworth and 51 in Tile Hill had been carried out by someone with an air rifle or similar. Residents were asked to ensure they reported these or similar incidents. The number to ring for non emergencies was 101.

Community speedwatch volunteers were always needed as was a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator.  The latter role just involved taking messages and relaying them and Rona suggested Paddy might be willing to do this as part of her running of the community email system.  She would enquire.
Action: Rona.

There was concern that HS2 had bought 14 properties in the village and and 6 were still empty.

Rona said PC Mc Murray was very welcome and thanked him for his contribution.

  1. Councillors’ Report:

County Council:
Cllr Whitehouse said he was also representing the Greenway Trust and the Kenilworth Centre.

He apologised because of unreasonable delays regarding new speed limit implementation.  There was still no firm timescale and the 20mph limit outside the school would be even further delayed because of obtaining equipment.

There were new operational arrangements regarding Warwickshire Fire and Rescue service. Response time differences between urban and rural  areas had been changed by the adoption of equal standards. In rural areas the first engine was to arrive within 10 minutes within 75 per cent of the time and a second engine within 15 mins for 90 per cent of the time. This was to be achieved by changes to shift patterns.

The building of Kenilworth Station was on track with a completion target of December 2016.

The Schools Sufficiency Strategy was out for consultation. This was looking at the likely future demand for school places throughout the county and was part of a broader need to think through infrastructure needs over the next few years.  An overall strategy was to be devised to respond to Local and individual plans.

School admissions had been a big issue recently.  The County would not acknowledge an all party recommendation to accept siblings.

The two Children's centres in Kenilworth were now managed by Barnardos services. They were going through a consultation process and hoped to produce economies of scale.

Burton Green had benefitted from current electoral arrangements.  The County now had a divisional boundary review by the Local Government Boundaries Commission.  Proposals would fundamentally change Burton Green which would become part of a very diverse rural area made up of a number of parishes. This was out for consultation.


District Council:
Cllr Ann Blacklock said the District Council had been very busy with not much to show as a result. The production of a Local Plan was still in progress and the hope was it would be submitted to the government inspector in the winter for acceptance or rejection. It was vital to have a Plan in place. If accepted, it would be implemented in 2015/16.

Cllr Blacklock attended parish council meetings to assist. She enjoyed supporting BGRA events too and the Made in Burton Green weekend.  She was also on the committee of the Greenway Trust and said the Greenway was highly valued by Burton Green residents.

With regard to HS2, Debbie Prince was the officer responsible for liaison with HS2 Ltd and she was very sympathetic to the village's situation.

Cllr Blaclock was working regarding the relocation of the Hall and playground and saw these as positive outcomes of the situation.

BGRA was to be commended on its positive outlook and excellent well attended events.

Cllr George Illingworth said he was also Chair of Kenilworth British Legion and remarked that the Chair of Burton Green Parish Council had  laid a wreath last year and would do so again on November 9th on Remembrance Sunday.

He said it had been suggested that the District Council boundary be extended to  include the university. This was yet to be decided.

He remarked that without a Local plan no housing could be built in the village but obviously, there was a need for some form of housing development.

Le Van ( now called Broadwells) was a prominent issue and involved several departments of the District Council. Everyone was frustrated by an inability to control development because of the loss of a legal argument and so it was a permitted development.

One resident remarked that a number of deliveries had been a problem for someone in Red Lane who had been receiving deliveries which were intended for the site.  The delivery of a skip to this wrong address had only just been avoided.

Solihull professional planners had recommended refusal of the solar park application. Many objections had been lodged by individuals and by two MPs. Residents were urged to stand firm and keep up their opposition.

Parish Council:
Cllr Vaughan Owen said the Parish Council had been looking at the Le Van site over a long period.be oints and District councillors had been very helpful regarding planning issues.

He said the Parish council wanted to work with all village organisations as he accepted villages felt under siege. He too could not understand Solihull's stance on the solar farm proposal and said cross border discussions were always difficult.

The Parish Council had petitioned the govt about HS2 and was working to resolve the issue of the playground. Councillors were interacting with the Village Hall committee and Cllr Owen had arranged a visit to  Wolston Village Hall. The attendees had found out how that hall was  funded and the challenges faced during building.

The Neighbourhood Plan had been put on hold till more government funds were available.

Thanks were given to all councillors who had worked on behalf of residents over the past year.

  1. Any Other Business

There was no other business.

Thanks were extended to all who had initiated or supported events.

  1. Date of Next Annual General Meeting:

The next Annual General Meeting would be held on Monday October 5th 2015 at the Village Hall.