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Wednesday 23 November 2016

Senior Citizens Christmas Meal

BURTON GREEN VILLAGE HALL

SENIOR CITIZENS CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Friday 2nd December 2016

3 course meal with drinks and entertainment

Tickets £15


Jill:        024 7646 2070 / davidline@onetel.com

Diane:   024 7646 6750 / swindellsdiane@hotmail.com

Deirdre: 0247646 4188 / didvernon@me.com

Friday 18 November 2016

Burton Green Family History

A new series of the BBC program Who Do You Think You Are begins on Thursday 24th November.

Are you interested in your Family History? Do you have an ancestor who served in World War I? Do you know their story?

Our local group Cakes, Coffee and Computers will be holding a Family History session on Tuesday 22nd November, at 3pm in the Village Hall. This will include an introduction to Family History, and will demonstrate how the internet can used for Family History research.

Whether you know nothing about the subject and would like to find out about it, or are an experienced Family History researcher who would like to share their experience, please come along.

Details of websites discussed at the meeting can be found here:
http://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/p/family-history.html

For queries about Family History, email: family.history@burtongreen.com

Coffee, Cakes and Computers meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month in the Village Hall 3-5pm. A small charge of £3 covers the cost of the hall and refreshments.

People are encouraged to bring their own laptop or tablet computer to the meetings, but it doesn't matter if you don't have one.


Minutes of Residents' Association Committee November 15th 2016

Present
Judi Hibberd; Janet Hickinbottom; Bron Putnam; Rona Taylor, Mary Webb, Dianne Adams, Trish Hancock Faith Ward, Hillary Cox

In attendance: Cllr Caryll Green

Dianne was welcomed to her first meeting as treasurer.

1. Apologies

Apologies had been received from Diane Swindells.

Summary of actions following the meetingResponsible
Approach PC for full costs of Bugle printingRona
Article on walking group for BugleCllr Green
Cromwell Lane car parked on pavement to beraised at police surgeryBron and Rona
Next AGM to ask for new committee membersJudi
Arrange distribution of 30mph stickers with the BugleMary


Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising

The minutes of the previous meeting of September 13th 2016 were approved.

Matters Arising from the previous minutes:It had been established that fly tipping on the Greenway was a matter for Warwick District Council.

Rona was yet to approach the Parish Council regarding funding for the Bugle.Action: Rona

Mary would pursue sponsorship from Hickory’s Smokehouse at a later stage.Cllr. Green agreed to write an article for the Bugle to ascertain interest in a walking group.Action: Cllr Green

The cable litter from BT was no longer considered a problem but would be monitored.

All other matters arising had been covered or were to be agenda items.


2. Treasurer's Report   

A report had been circulated. There was very little to comment upon. Contributions had been received from Warwick District Council for Speedwatch and for dining equipment.


3. Residents' views/concerns

A car was persistently parked on the pavement in Cromwell Lane and this had been reported to the police who had agreed to put a warning notice on it. As this had not yethappened, the matter would be raised again at the forthcoming police surgery.

Rona had received two complaints about inconsiderate parking on the night of the fireworks display at Hickory's Smokehouse. Rona had conveyed the complaints to the management who had responded, saying they had tried very hard to manage this first community event and would take note of the complaints to rectify the situation in future. Cones would be placed along one side of the road and marshalls would be needed further along the road.

On the whole it was felt the management had acted very responsibly and had created an excellent and well managed event.

Thanks for the work of the Residents' Association committee had been received from a Cromwell Lane resident.


4. Update on and discussion of Residents' Association initiatives and issues

  • October 28th retired of Burton Green lunch. Thanks were extended to Mary, Diane and the team. Diane would not be available for the next lunch and so Mary and Hilary were making contingency plans for February. A grant of £266 had been received for 4 dozen sets of cutlery and the Village Hall committee were to purchase 6 dozen sets.
  • Collection of £3 subscription. Thanks were given to Hilary and Mary for tackling Red Lane in the dark. A resident had asked when collections take place.  It was established that each collection should fall within the Association's financial year (up to August 31st). Although collecting started earlier in the year, it was a lengthy task and sometimes took longer than anticipated to complete.
  • Children in Need ramble. Mary and Hilary organised this and had raised £65.
  • Chatsworth visit November 23rd. This had been cancelled because of lack of support.
  • Christmas: Father Christmas and Christmas Tree. Thanks were given to Joy and Rob Barnes for once again agreeing to donate the Christmas tree. Thanks would also be given to Laura Schlotel, Barry Putnam and Darren for their involvement. Mary and Rona had attended two meetings with Balsall Common Lions to agree the process for extending the route of their Father Christmas sleigh to cover most of Burton Green. A route had been agreed and a co-ordinated approach decided with Balsall Commons Lions supported by Burton Green Residents' Association. The hall would open at 5pm on Friday December 16th and collectors would be briefed. Collections would take place for The Myton Hospice and collecting tins were to be placed at Hickory's Smokehouse and the school would also be asked if a tin could be placed there for parents to contribute.The Lions would issue their Christmas card as usual and Rona and Mary had asked Faith to organise with the school for designs to be submitted for a Residents' Association card. The entries were shortlisted at the meeting and Hilary and Trish agreed to make the final selection.


5. AGM  Review of new format and follow up on issues  

Rona had received a lot of positive feedback. It was felt the new format worked well. Rona had been unwilling to cut short any presentations because of the amount of time speakers contributed to the community and because different people had different amounts of information to impart. It was felt the guidance of three minutes was sufficient and that no-one had needed to exceed this unnecessarily.

A comment had been received that when members of the committee had stood down and been re-elected there had been no opportunity for people to volunteer to join. This was acknowledged and would be acted upon next time. Action: Judi

The provision of bite size nibbles had been well received and Residents had made donations for the refreshments.


6. Village Hall

No-one was available from the Village Hall committee but a full report had been provided at the AGM. Rona and Janet had attended the Village Hall AGM the previous week.


7. HS2 Opposition Group

Andy had not been available. The northern route had been announced and inevitably was not popular with all.


8. Parish Councillor's Report

Cllr Green reported that the Council was in limbo in terms of the Local Plan which was still with the inspector. The Parish Council was making various submissions. Cllr Green commended the chairman of the Parish Council who had spent many hours on this and attended so many meetings. It would be necessary to progress to a Neighbourhood Plan once the inspector had submitted a report. This would need a committee of residents outside the Parish Council and should be followed by a formal referendum in the village.

The chair of the Parish Council had also been involved in discussions regarding the Hodgetts Lane/ Nailcote Lane junction and copies of the Parish Council response were circulated.

The Parish Council had considered small planning matters but also considered was an application from Two Oaks Nursey which was planning to rebuild the nursery separate from the house and to increase its capacity to 70 children. Two further houses were planned on the site. Cllr Green said the County Council was unlikely to oppose the plans because of the need to supply additional nursery places.

Cllr Green explained that objections to small plans usually had to be placed within three weeks and so to facilitate this, a sub committee of three councillors had been tasked with making decisions on behalf of the Parish Council.

Two councillors had resigned recently but two new members had volunteered to be co-opted.

BT wanted to close the phone box at the top of Red Lane. Some local residents had proposed using it as a Village Library.

Cllr Green asked for the history of the ivy-clad bus shelter in Red Lane. Rona replied that it started life as a shelter for air raid wardens during the war. There was uncertainty regarding its ownership. Local residents felt the ivy needed cutting back but who was responsible for its maintenance?

Thanks were given to Cllr Green.


9.  Any Other Business

An idea had been put forward of using 30mph stickers on rubbish bins and that these could be left facing the road on bin collection days. Stickers were to be issued with the next edition of the Bugle. Action: Mary

Stickers about Doorstep callers would also be available on request.

A question was asked about how to use the defibrillator. Mary explained that a phone number was provided on the casing and that the caller would then be given a code to access the equipment. The step by step instructions were provided and were easy to follow.

Signs explaining the location of the defibrillator were placed at the school and on the Greenway.


10. Date, time and venue of Next Meeting

Judi would contact Vic Stuthridge to book similar dates to the current year. It was anticipated the next meeting would take place on January 17th 2017.

Post meeting note: Judi had proposed the following dates which had been agreed by Vic Stuthridge on behalf of the Village Hall:January 17th, March 7th, May 9th, July 11th, September 12th, November 14th, The AGM: October 30th

Friday 4 November 2016

Minutes of Residents' Association AGM 31st October 2016

Rona welcomed everyone, in particular parish councilors and said some county councillors hoped to join later after an earlier meeting.

She explained her aim was to make presentations as brief as possible allowing time for discussion of issues of importance. The District and County councilors reported to Parish Council meetings so there was no longer a need to incorporate these reports into the Residents’ Association AGM.

1. Apologies

Apologies had been received from Peter and Lesley Tacon, Cllr.John Whitehouse, Cllr.David Skinner and Sue Patterson.

2. Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising

The minutes of the last Annual General Meeting of October 5th 2015 were accepted.  Proposed: Faith Ward; Seconded: Mary Webb; Unanimously accepted.

3. Matters Arising

All matters arising were to be covered by agenda points

4. Chair’s Report

Copies of the Chair’s Report had been made available. Rona presented her report as follows:

The Burton Green Residents’ Association has had a busy year organising community events, responding proactively to issues of concern raised by residents and keeping residents as fully informed as possible through the Bugle , which is published four times a year, and “Paddy’s Loop”.

Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th Birthday was celebrated in style with a well supported Community Fun Day in June. We are grateful to the School for hosting the event and to all our generous sponsors. Yet again the Jubilee Group did us proud and we look forward to their next summer extravaganza on Saturday June 10th, 2017, when Henry’s R and B Band will be entertaining us at Long Meadow Farm.

Lunches for “The Retired of Burton Green” have remained popular and the September meal was a special Royal Birthday buffet, with an amazing cake made by Vicki Aizlewood.

We continue to be vigilant in reporting potholes, fly tipping and overgrown hedges and trees which obstruct pavements and roads. A particular issue of concern recently has been the Hodgetts Lane junction with Nailcote Lane and Waste Lane where there have been 3 accidents since July. Together with the Parish Council, we are working with Bruce Broom, of Solihull Metropolitan Borough, who set up a meeting with hissafety officer to which we also invited representatives of Balsall Common and Berkswell Parish Councils. We will be pressing for a reduction in the speed limit in Nailcote Lane and Waste Lane on both sides of the junction and would like a traffic island to be considered. In the meantime, we will keep a close eye on the cutting back of hedges on all corners of this dangerous junction.

Speeding remains a key issue of concern to residents, so we are very grateful to our Speedwatch team for continuing to maintain a regular presence on Cromwell Lane and Red Lane.

Severn Trent have fixed the leak at the end of Red Lane and, after receiving a report from the Residents’ Association on problems with water pressure, they are investigating this issue again, liaising individually with residents who identified problems.

The flower tubs at the entrance to the village have been a lovely splash of colour and a clean up in the Spring improved the appearance of the Greenway. The Christmas tree with festive lights has become an annual attraction on the Jubilee Verge and this year we are working with the Balsall Common Lions to ensure the Santa Sleigh visits Hob Lane and Red Lane as well as the usual route along Hodgetts and Cromwell Lanes. So look out for Santa after 5.30 pm on Friday Dec 16th! We will be doing a door collection in aid of The Myton Hospices and the Village Hall will be open from 5.30pm until about 8.30 if you would like to pop in for a tea/ coffee and donate.

We were very pleased to host a welcome meeting for new residents in the summer and we have compiled a welcome pack of information about Burton Green. We have represented Burton Green at the Kenilworth Forum meetings and are pleased to have received grants for recalibrating our Speed watch gun and purchasing new cutlery forour residents’ lunches. We are delighted that at the last two Forums, PC Cain Pickering  announced that Burton Green voters had secured police priority status for monitoring traffic on Red Lane and running a police clinic in the village.

Our charity activities this year have included a coffee morning to support people affected by disaster in Nepal and a food bank.

The First Response course, teaching emergency first aid, was well attended and we hope to make this an annual event to keep residents’ skills updated.

The interesting and varied activities done under the umbrella of the Residents’ Association are a credit to  the community reflecting the community spirit which makes Burton Green such a special place to live.

5. Treasurer’s Report

The Income & Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet are attached separately.

Terry introduced the Income & Expenditure account for the year. He said it had been alow key year with income and expenditure just over £3000. There were unattributed assets of £3200 to face any emergencies.

BGRA occasionally gave donations to worthwhile causes but particular fund raising activities were carried out for such a purpose. This year some donations had been made to First Response team and Made in Burton Green.

The summer event celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday had been funded through sponsorship. A donation of £200 went to the school.

There were no questions.

Terry was standing down as treasurer after 4 years. Thanks were given to him.

6. Election of Independent Examiner 

Terry thanked Peter Tacon for inspecting the accounts Peter had again agreed to act as Independent Examiner. Proposed:  Deirdre Vernon; Seconded: Jerry Marshall; Unanimously agreed

7. 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, Janet Hickinbottom and Judi Hibberd) were re-elected. As already reported, Terry Heyes was standing down. Proposed: Andy Gibbs Seconded: Betty Woodward Unanimously agreed.

Three committee members (Hilary Cox, Faith Ward and Bron Putnam) also stood down and agreed to be re-elected: Proposed: Eileen Nisbet; Seconded: Caryll Green; Unanimously agreed.

A nomination had been received for Dianne Adams to act as treasurer. Proposed: Mary Webb; Seconded: Janet Stanworth; Unanimously agreed

8. Discussion of key Burton Green issues:

District Cllr. Rowena Hill was welcomed to the meeting.

HS2 

Andy Gibbs explained that HS2 was currently being discussed by the Select Committee in the House of Lords. It was expected that the hearing would be completed by Christmas and a report would then be made. Then there would be a finalvote and royal assent was likely to be granted early in 2017. Some preparatory work was happening currently with the agreement of landowners.

Outer compensation bands would be established and compensation would start to be paid after the Royal Assent.

Residents with any HS2 related problems should contact Jonathan Lord, HS2’s SeniorArea Engagement Manager. In January the community was to have a noise demonstration

A resident asked for further details of compensation schemes. Andy said residents were now entitled to choose a local independent valuer (instead of from a pool of appointed valuers) alongside one chosen by HS2.  The Home Owner Protection Zone (formerly the Safeguarding Zone) was the area up to 60m from the proposed line. In this zone residents could choose to sell their house to HS2 and would also receive costs. At some point in the future, residents in the Rural Support Zone (120m) would be able to get 10 per cent of their home’s value if the residents chose to stay. Otherwise they could sell to HS2.Three further bands would have compensation at a lower level.

All of this would be triggered by the Royal Assent.

Q. What if a resident needs to sell? The resident must try to sell on the open market and see if they are offered within 85% of the asking price. The reasons for needing to sell included divorce, moving job, change in health, downsizing.

Cllr.Taylor said the HS2 Action Alliance was looking at the need to sell scheme. This was being more generous around Heathrow.

Q. A resident asked about the timescale for any demolition.  The date of 2018 had been given.

Q. Could pressure be brought to bear on HS2 as a landlord with regard to matters of maintenance such as cutting hedges? Yes. Contact details would be circulated in the next edition of the Bugle. Action: Mary

Housing

Cllr Taylor said the Parish Council as an elected body had statutory responsibilities including with reference to issues of planning.He said the village was surrounded by problems. There were 240 houses proposed near Tile Hill Station in Cromwell Lane. Solihull council was opposed to the development. There was to be a final meeting on the following Wednesday and the inspector would look at local sites. Cllr.Taylor had been impressed with the research and knowledge of local people.

Cllr. Taylor made reference to a road which had long been rumoured to connect with the A429 and might easily run from Westwood Heath Road/Cromwell Lane junction.

Berkswell and Balsall Common were to receive a maximum of 1600 houses and Solihull MBC was to produce a draft plan with preferred sites which might impact on Windmill Lane, Waste Lane and Hob Lane and increase traffic. In the Warwick District Revised Plan, 425 houses were sited at the top of Westwood Heath Road with a health centre, shop and some community facilities. It appeared to Cllr. Taylor that there would be little affordable housing.

The Burrows Hill Nursery site which was supported by the Parish Council had been changed to accommodate 90 homes rather than 60 and the Parish Council opposed this increase.

Burton Green was likely to double in size and with the possibility of boundary changes Coventry might absorb the village.

Q. What was the timing on the Burrows Hill decision? The inspector would be commenting in two weeks’ time.700 homes were proposed at a later stage further down Westwood Heath Road.

Cllr. George Illingworth had joined the meeting. He said the inspector would report early in 2017 and then planning applications would need to be submitted so there would be several months’ delay.

He asked how many people had raised objection to housing and recommended residents should register to attend the meeting and speak. He said the inspector would provide a fair hearing.

Q. A resident asked about an earlier proposal to build 25-39 houses by the pub. Planning for this had not been submitted.

Q. Another question was raised about a possible development on the former electricityboard site. Cllr. Taylor said this site had in the past been accepted as a necessary greenspace and that it was not part of current plans. However, the planners had said that building in Cromwell Lane had compromised the Green Belt. The situation was uncertain.

Speedwatch

Terry Heyes reported as the Speedwatch Team Leader, Pat Hehir, was away. He explained that the number of volunteers has dwindled from 11 to 5. Volunteers were trained and supervised by the police but there had to be sufficient numbers of volunteers to trigger training/ PC Cain Pickering had volunteered to do some basic training for those who would not be able to use the speed gun but could assist the team

Q. How effective was Speedwatch? Terry felt its effectiveness had obviously decreased because a lack of volunteers meant it could not operate so frequently. Their purpose was to persuade, not enforce which was the role of the police. A letter might be sent by the police to persistent offenders. Speeds along Cromwell and Hob Lane had reduced partly because of a reduction in the speed limit.

Q. Questions were asked about the chosen locations for the operation of the team. Residents could suggest new locations and these would be assessed by the Speedwatch Road Protection Unit. Police Matters PC Pickering introduced himself and explained he was based in Kenilworth with two PCSOs.

He felt the Speedwatch team do a tremendous job. Thanks were given to the team.

He went on to say Burton Green had a very low crime rate even compared to Beehive Hill and Clinton Lane. He warned, though, that residents should be extra vigilant as the dark nights were a cover for burglars and high performance cars were a particular target. At the Community Forum it had been voted on to establish foot patrols in the village and to hold surgeries for local people. The dates of these would be circulated via Paddy’s loop and the Bugle.

Village Hall 

Cheryl Ward, Chair of the Village Hall Committee said it had been another successful year as the hall had been well used. The committee wanted to respond to the needs of the community. The new Coffee, cakes and computers club twice a month was starting to prove popular. A range of different groups and activities used the hall.

It was important to promote the hall as income had dropped from regular hirers. The committee planned to use Facebook more.

With reference to the proposed replacement Village Hall, plans had been presented to HS2 in April with a justification paper. Originally it was planned that the new hall would be ready to use at the end of October 2019 but the committee had heard very little since April. Earlier that day they had heard that the independent evaluator felt the new hall was too big, even though the Select Committee had told HS2 to be generous.It was felt the hall needed to increase its capacity by at least 30% to accommodate a growing population.

Deirdre Vernon explained that some students from Warwickshire College were to carry out a paper exercise to design possible outside space.

Q. When will the hall’s final design be available?  That all depended on HS2. The committee was also dealing with the issue of trying to get main sewerage access for the new hall.

Q. Was there a Plan B if the hall design was turned down? It had been suggested that the help of the local MP should be sought. The community fund which had to be raised by developers was another avenue worth exploring. Cllr. Illingworth said the latter was certainly worth investigating and he recommended talking further to WDC’s planners.

Another reason to keep pressure on HS2 was that the new hall had to be ready for occupation before the old one was demolished.

Cheryl closed by inviting residents to the Village Hall AGM on November 11th.School,

Sue Patterson, the Head teacher, had sent her apologies. Sue Marshall, one of the school governors, said the good news was that the school was full with 105 pupils. The school had a new website www.burtongreenschool-warwickshire.org.uk

The successful Green Leek 10k run was mentioned and this would take place again in 2017. Anyone could get involved either by taking part or by acting as a marshal.

9. Any Other Business

An ongoing issue concerned Severn Trent water pressure Nick Hogue had gathered responses from residents about low water pressure and had collated these to send to Severn Trent.

A response had been received which, although it indicated Severn Trent felt they wereproviding an above average service, they were willing to monitor the areas of specific concern and indeed the individual properties.  They promised to see if they could identify the problems being experienced with a view to solving the issues. Anyone with outstanding problems should contact Nick in the first instance. Thanks were extended to Nick.

Q. Was there any news on broadband speeds? It depended where residents lived.  Box 22 covering some of Cromwell and Hodgetts Lanes had been upgraded. There was a separate phase for rest of Red Lane. Coventry and Warwickshire broadband website explained the plans.

Was pavement parking improving? Yes but some builders for example were not cooperative.

It was felt Hickory’s Smokehouse should make some reference to the pub’s former name of the Peeping Tom. Forty people voted to have this put to the owners of Hickory’s Smokehouse.Action: Rona

Rona updated residents on concerns about the dangerous crossroads at Hodgetts Lane and Waste Lane. Berkswell Parish Council had looked into this but it was feared that there were not enough accidents to warrant any action. Residents were asked to ensureany incidents at the crossroads should be reported. Burton Green Parish Council and Burton Green Residents’ Association were making a joint submission to Solihull MBC pressing for action regarding this dangerous junction.

Mary asked that any residents who had not paid their £3 subscription still had the opportunity to do so.  A further collection was to take place in Red Lane on Wednesday.

Volunteers were also asked to contact Mary if they were willing to help Balsall Common Lions who had agreed to take their Santa’s Sleigh all round the village rather than just Hodgetts and Cromwell Lanes.  Help was needed with the collecting of donations.

The speed of traffic in Bockendon Road and Crackley Lane was raised and this would be brought up with Cllr. Skinner. Action: Cllr. Taylor

Q. Was anything being discussed about the dangerous Westwood Heath and CromwellLane junction? Rona would raise this with Cllr.Skinner. The junction was likely to be affected when new housing built in the vicinity.Action: Rona.

10. Date of Next Annual General Meeting

The next Annual General Meeting would be held on Monday October 30th 2017 at theVillage Hall.

Thanks were given to all for their support,



Wednesday 2 November 2016

Police Surgery

There will be a Police Surgery, at the village hall, Friday 4th November, 10am-11.30am.


WDC Hearing - Proposed Housing at Westwood Heath

Warwick District Council's hearing into the proposed housing development at Westwood Heath will take place from 9.30am on Tuesday 8th November at Leamington Spa Town Hall.

This is the agenda...