Draft Minutes of Burton Green Residents’ Association Committee Meeting
March 23rd 2026 at 7.30pm
Present: Judi Hibberd, Janet Hickinbottom, Dianne Adams, Bron Putnam, Rona Taylor, Mary Webb, Hilary Cox, Helen Hehir, Faith Ward, Paddy Deeley..
Apologies: Rob Wright
In attendance: Deirdre Vernon and Cheryl Wall
Rona welcomed everyone and acknowledged that Andy Gibbs is moving from Burton Green but asked him to stay in touch and thanked him as the “voice of reason” for all his support over the years and for mowing the Coronation verge.
Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising
See Minutes of meeting January 2026
The minutes of the January 2026 meeting were approved.
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Matters Arising from the previous minutes:
Cllr Aizlewood to be invited to present his nature recovery plan at October Village Meeting. Ongoing.
Ongoing development of electronic Bugle -agenda item.
Continue negotiations with IndieGo bus – ongoing.
Submit funding application to the Parish Council – application submitted and accepted by the Parish Council.
Arrange cutting back of overhanging tree on Red Lane – completed.
Continue discussions with Sir Jeremy Wright regarding the Burton Green Portal and the concrete wall.Agenda item.
Further progress the planting of the commemorative oak tree – agenda item.
Source metal stake for tree plaque -in progress.
Ask Hickory’s if their play area could be open for community use -completed and agreed.
Arrange with Lions for Faith to attend the presentation evening -to be held in September.
Investigate flooding on the Greenway and report to HS2 – completed.
Offer support to St John’s for 2026 carol service in the Village Hall – awaiting installation of new vicar.
Deirdre Vernon attended the meeting to present the proposals for a pétanque pitch at the village hall. With the aid of a scale model, Deirdre explained what the area would look like and said that planning permission was being sought from Warwickshire County Council as there were currently no sports facilities in the village.
The plan comprised six pistes plus a storage area. It would be gated with disabled access. The proposal had been submitted after a local consultation. At the moment the proposal had received 9 objections and 32 messages of support.
If approved, a pétanque club will be established. Other people will be able to use the facilities at a small cost. A question was asked about the age range of players and Deirdre said there was a wide age range starting with children of 6 or 7.
Funding would be sought once planning permission was granted.
It was agreed that Rona would submit support from the Residents’ Association and individuals were encouraged to send in their own messages of support.
Action: Rona
Deirdre also reminded everyone of the Made in Burton Green event on June 27/28.
Thanks were given to Deirdre for her presentation.
Village Hall:
Cheryl said ten new fruit trees had been planted on site with funding from the Coronation Living Heritage Fund Community Orchard project. Some new outdoor furniture had been bought and a lot of maintenance of the hall had taken place recently. Finances were good and there was no need to keep fund raising. As a result, the cost of the next quiz night was to be reduced.
Consideration was to be given to overcoming some technical problems experienced particularly by speakers at the WI meetings. Paddy agreed to draw up some guidance notes.
Action: Paddy
Treasurer’s Report:
Current Account net balance: £6249.12
Deposit Account net balance: £1037.22
Total Funds: £7286.34
Major Expenditure Since Last Meeting
Tree cutting - £120
Service charges £12.75
Bugle delivery - £20
Income Since Last Meeting
Parish Council Contribution £4000
Monies for residents’ lunches £88
Outstanding Parish Funds to be used by 31 March 2026 - £890.94
As always, thanks were given to Dianne for her efficient handling of the accounts.
Residents’ views/concerns:
A query was raised about upkeep of footpaths, in particular the one that runs over the old sports ground on Cromwell Lane. Paddy said upkeep was the responsibility of the landowner but mention was also made of the Kenilworth Footpath Group and the County Council footpath officer. Rona agreed to investigate further, starting with contacting Chris Langton who had done a map of Burton Green footpaths a few years ago.
Action: Rona
Update on and discussion of Residents’ Association initiatives and issues:
HS2 issues. It was clarified that BBV will still be in Burton Green until the end of 2027. Rona reported that following the recent meeting with Sir Jeremy Wright MP, he had enlisted the help of Lord Hendy, Minister of State for Rail.
Rona is in possession of a document entitled “Aesthetic Challenges of Elements of HS2 Tunnel Design, Associated Structures and Landscaping in the Rural Village Landscape of Burton Green.” This outlines the problems identified and a variety of responses.
Oak tree update -this was all in hand and Mary was liaising with George at BBV. The planting, which commemorates the Platinum Jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II, will take place on Wednesday April 29th at 2:45pm. There will be refreshments after the planting and all are welcome.
Approval of the plans for the outdoor space – already covered above.
Bugle delivery Westwood Heath. Mary had carried out a survey and the results showed people still wanted a hard copy of the Bugle. A resident and his son were carrying out the delivery on Westwood Park and were rewarded with £20 which was considered cost effective.
Maintenance of mosaics – there was some fungal growth on the mosaics but it was agreed to leave the maintenance to Jo Edler who had created the artworks. It was noted that separate mosaics created by children from the school were in need of cleaning and weed clearance.
Peter Stanworth has a strong desire to hold a dinner in the tunnel once it is completed. The Residents’ Association will consider this but meanwhile, if anyone wants to support Peter they should liaise with him direct.
Parish Council Report
The Academic researcher Dr Ayton Alibaba had been in touch with the Parish Council as well as with he Residents’ Association. She was hoping to carry out research into the social impact of HS2.
The P.C. had highlighted that the bottom 3m of the portal building were planned in concrete rather than the wooden cladding of the original proposal.
The noticeboard on Westwood Park had been changed to show Westwood Park, Burton Green rather than Coventry. It was also hoped to place a defibrillator at the new Sainsbury’s store.
The Greenway Trust
Hilary reported that it had been agreed the Greenway Trust will hold regular meetings with BBV and HS2. HS2 had promised to keep the Trust informed of developments and they had introduced a local community artist who was considering how to use art installations along the Greenway. HS2 had also confirmed monitoring of flooding problems. Benches and noticeboards were kept in a container in Balsall Common and Paddy was still in possession of some wooden sculptures created for the Greenway some years ago.
Any Other Business:
Mary had contacted the Arts Centre to ask about discounted rates for Burton Green residents but had been told that CV8 residents make up their biggest client group and so discounts cannot be offered.
The problem of flooding on the bend at Red Lane was raised. It was explained that the pavement was constantly flooded and the problem had been raised with Severn Trent who said they could not locate the leak. Rona agreed to pursue the matter.
Action: Rona
Date of next Meetings in 2026:
Further meeting dates are booked as follows:
May 11
July 27
September 21
October 12 (AGM)
November 23
