Draft Minutes of Burton Green Residents’ Association Committee Meeting
May 12th at 7.30pm
Present: Judi Hibberd, Janet Hickinbottom, Rona Taylor, Mary Webb, Dianne Adams, Faith Ward, Bron Putnam, Paddy Deeley, Helen Hehir and Rob Wright
Apologies: Andy Gibbs
In attendance: Cllrs Warwick Webster and Archie Taylor.
Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising
See Minutes of meeting March 24th
Matters Arising from the previous minutes:
Contact WCC re extending IndieGo bus service: Rob was in contact with Warwickshire County Council and although progress was slow, he had been advised that there was no reason why the bus route could not be extended into Cromwell Lane. He would continue to follow this up.
Action: Rob
Check with Delance if received Rona’s letter. There had been no response from Delonce and so the matter would not be pursued further.
Check with Paul Spence regarding Food Hygiene certificate Mary said she had spoken to Paul but would double check that he has a Food Hygiene certificate.
Action: Mary
Quote for replacement soldier and poppies for the VE Day display: Mary has obtained 4 more soldier outlines and black paint. When next erected they will need supports on the back.
Item on litter picking in future Bugle. This is in hand.
The minutes of the March 2025 meeting were approved.
Village Hall: Cheryl, the Chair of the Village Hall trustees, had spoken to Rona about the possibility of combining the Residents’ Association AGM and the Village Hall Annual Meeting. Paddy suggested that the Parish Council Annual Meeting could be added. This was agreed in principle but no further action would be taken until the matter had been raised with the Parish Council.
Treasurer’s Report:
Current Account net balance: £5447.53
Deposit Account net balance: £1031.07
Total Funds: £6478.60
Major Expenditure Since Last Meeting
Bugle Printing - £540
Insurance for VE Day Event - £76.36
Gift for printing of logo on aprons £7.00
Income Since Last Meeting
Profit from Residents lunches on 4 April 2025 - £299.28
Profit from VE Day celebration £61.36
Raffle funds for Help for Heroes - £129
Outstanding Parish Funds to be used by 31 March 2026 - £3,437.89
As always, thanks were given to Dianne for her efficient handling of the accounts.
Residents’ views/concerns:
Presentation by Cllr Warwick Webster – wall of concrete!
Warwick began by explaining that there are three parcels of land currently belonging to HS2 which need responsible bodies to take them over.:
The site of the old Village Hall
An area which will be available on top of the tunnel
A piece of land adjoining the new Village Hall which had originally been talked about as a suitable site for a community orchard.
The issues attached to these areas include:
The government has not yet decided on its disposal policy for HS2 lands
What will be the initial cost?
What will ongoing costs be for maintenance?
How will these areas be affected by boundaries?
Warwick recommended that bodies, such as the Residents’ Association, if interested, could apply to HS2 for legacy funding. A public consultation should be held to reveal residents’ ideas about potential use of the sites.
Warwick suggested there was some urgency in reaching a decision as HS2 will probably be leaving our area by December 2026.
It was unanimously agreed that The Residents’ Association should put it to the Parish Council that all three areas should be considered as a whole and a group should be formed to manage the areas.
Rona agreed to present this idea at the next Parish Council meeting.
Action: Rona
In the second part of his presentation, Warwick presented his personal views about how HS2 had failed to enhance the environment. He outlined a large number of issues that went against their original proposals and made some suggestions about mitigation. He felt the services of a professional civil engineer would be required.
As a first step, Rona agreed to invite Jeremy Wright MP to a meeting with representatives of all the bodies within the village.
Action: Rona
.
Update on and discussion of Residents’ Association initiatives and issues:
VE Day debrief
Mary and her team were congratulated on arranging the various celebrations. The display on the Coronation verge was attractive. The fish and chip supper had been well attended and included a WW11 quiz devised by Cllr Warwick Webster. The lighting of the beacon concluded the evening.
Food Bank collection.
This was deemed a success although a large number of residents had not contributed and so questions were asked about whether the collection by members of the Residents’ Association committee was a good use of time. Nonetheless, a good amount of donations was collected and the Canley Food Bank had expressed their thanks for such a generous donation.
Defibrillator insurance decision:
Lesley had sent details of insurance costs which included insuring all the defibrillators. Costs compared to previous years’ insurance were much higher but it was agreed to go ahead with three years’ insurance as the cost also included trustee indemnity insurance. It was hoped that the Parish Council would be able to take on paying insurance for the defibrillators in future years. Judi will inform Lesley of our decision so that the insurance can be arranged.
Action: Judi
Bugle:
Currently, the next deadline for contributions is May 20th.
Flower tubs:
Mary and Hilary have this in hand.
Parish Council Report
The Parish Council had objected to a planning proposal for development of 125 houses on Westwood Heath Road.
The Red Lane playground upgrade was progressing.
The problem of the damaged pavement on the corner of Cromwell lane and Hodgetts Lane was to be addressed.
Kyn Aizlewood was pursuing the problem of vehicles parking on pavements in the village.
The banner paid for by the Parish Council objecting to the proposed almshouses at the top of Red lane had been vandalized and it was agreed a replacement should be arranged. Rona will raise this at the PC meeting on Monday 19th. The wording was suggested as “Protect our environment. No more development.”
Feedback from Hickory’s:
Rona and Mary had held a meeting with James from Hickory’s as the pub had expressed an interest in greater community involvement. Apparently, they are already linked with the school in offering free breakfast to children who have been noted as achieving something (not necessarily academically.) The schoolchildren were also involved in planting a wildflower meadow at the rear of the premises.
Rona and Mary thought it might be a good idea to celebrate the milestones of elderly residents by offering a free meal. Hickory’s had also offered use of their meeting room, especially between 8 and 12. As mentioned earlier, it was proposed that Hickory’s car park should be used as the terminus for the IndieGo bus through the village.Another suggestion was a certificate arranged by Hickory’s and other key partners in the village rewarding youngsters for litter picking.
Any Other Business:
At the time of the late queen’s Platinum Jubilee, it had been suggested that a commemorative tree should be planted but this had not been pursued. It was agreed to add it to the next agenda.
Action: Judi
Date of next Meeting:
Meeting dates for 2025 are booked as follows:
July 28th
September 22nd
AGM October 27th
November 24th
