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July 28th at 7.30pm
Present: Judi Hibberd, Janet Hickinbottom, Rona Taylor, Mary Webb, Dianne Adams, Bron Putnam, Paddy Deeley, Helen Hehir and Rob Wright
Apologies: Andy Gibbs
Minutes of the last meeting and Matters Arising
See Minutes of meeting May 12th 2025
Matters Arising from the previous minutes:
Check Paul Spence has Food Hygiene certificate – Mary has a copy of his certificate and will forward to Judi.
Three parcels of land to be pursued – Rona had presented to PC and they had agreed to take on this issue.
Inform Lesley of our decision re defibrillators insurance - completed
Add commemorative tree to agenda - completed
The minutes of the May 2025 meeting were approved.
Village Hall:
In response to complaints about noise coming from the Village Hall, a noise limiter had been installed. There were some teething problems to be resolved with it.
An application has been submitted to HS2 regarding the proposed pétanque pitch.
New wi-fi is to be installed in August and the wooden floors will be cleaned too.
Treasurer’s Report:
BGRA Accounts as at 28 July 2025
Current Account net balance: £4,364.46
Deposit Account net balance: £1033.06
Total Funds: £5397.52
Major Expenditure Since Last Meeting
Annual Insurance - £424.47
Bank charges - £15.25
Gift for printing of logo on aprons £7.00
Emmerson Press – Bugle Printing £505
Creative signs for banner for housing proposal - £69.60 The PC had agreed to cover this cost and Dianne will follow this up.
Action: Dianne
Village Hall hire invoice £36.25
Income Since Last Meeting
None
Outstanding Parish Funds to be used by 31 March 2026 - £2,892.52
As always, thanks were given to Dianne for her efficient handling of the accounts.
Residents’ views/concerns:
Battery storage: 4 applications have been approved, 2 in Hodgetts Lane, 1 at Little Beanit and 1 at Burton Green Farm.
Alms houses: the proposal will be considered at a planning meeting on August 13th. Further objections from residents would be helpful. Kyn Aizlewood will speak on behalf of the PC.
Update on and discussion of Residents’ Association initiatives and issues:
HS2 issues
Arrange meeting with Jeremy Wright: a meeting was held on July 4th and Rona submitted the following report:
Following the last RA meeting, May 12th, the issues raised in Warwick's presentation to us were brought up at the next PC meeting and an HS2 Working Party was set up, with Alan Marshall, PC Vice Chair, as chair of the group. This group then met June 25th. The members of the group are : Alan Marshall, PC; Warwick Webster, PC, Archie Taylor, PC, Paddy Deeley, PC, VH, RA; Rona Taylor RA, Mary Webb RA, Andy Gibbs, PC, RA; Cheryl Wall, VH; Mark Stevens, WCC and Paul Farnell, a civil engineer and BG resident, who has kindly volunteered his support pro bono. This was a very positive initial meeting, preparing for the meeting with Jeremy, among other things.
The members of this group available for the meeting were: Alan, Warwick, Archie, Cheryl, Paul, Rona and Jeremy had also invited : Victoria Roberts, HS2 and Tahir Ahmed, BBV. A lot of discussion was squeezed into the 70 mins . Warwick had forwarded his power point in advance so Jeremy and his assistant, Elisabeth had had time to consider it in advance and some weeks prior to the meeting, Jeremy had been working with the Minister on the disposal of HS2 land issue. Jeremy was really good at clarifying key issues and gave deadlines for moving things on. He tasked Victoria Roberts with getting clarity from her bosses on 3 things : boundaries of the top of the tunnel land, bearing in mind engineering and security issues; the legal entity HS2 would be happy to engage with re BG acquiring land ( this will probably be PC); and funding issues re maintaining BG acquired land. She is to have this information by July 21st.
Tahir was tasked with providing a map with the definitive line marking the boundary of the top of the tunnel land which could be acquired by BG. This is to be ready for July 16th, the BBV drop in date and Tahir and Victoria are tasked with organising a meeting either before or after the drop in so that we can all convene again and move things forward.
Meanwhile, Warwick is tasked with codifying a wish list of issues regarding potential improvements to the environmental/ visual impact ( the second part of his presentation to us) and he plans to do this in consultation with Paul who has already put in very useful contributions.
It was a longshot, but considering a large section of the tunnel is in Saqib Bhatti's constituency, we had asked if he could attend the meeting and Elisabeth had done her very best with this, but he was not available. However, Jeremy will be talking to him.
Rona said an art project had been suggested for mitigating some of the appearance of the concrete walls. Hannah Taylor, an artist, had spoken at the Parish Council Annual Meeting and was keen to be involved.
A planning application from HS2 had been submitted for some a concrete bridges in Crackley (W/25/0838/HS2 Location: Bridleway W164, land east of A429 Kenilworth Road, CV8 2FD). Rona felt very strongly that our environment deserves better and it was agreed that Rona will submit an objection before the deadline of August 7th.
Action: Rona
Community fund – nothing further to report
BGRA logo – it was suggested that Andy and Thea Gibbs’ son might be approached as he was doing a graphic design qualification.
Action: Rona
Welcome leaflet. This had been circulated and all changes made. One further amendment was required and then committee members could print off the final copy whenever required.
Action: Judi
AGM details and date to go in the Bugle – as agreed at an earlier meeting, this would be a joint BGRA and Village Hall meeting, to be called the Village Meeting. Rona and Cheryl will meet to draw up the agenda. The date will be October 13th at 7p.m.
Soldiers completed. These are still to be painted black. A request was made for old paintbrushes.
Decision about future of food bank collections. It was decided not to go ahead with further food collections as most supermarkets now have facilities for donations.
Planting of tree to commemorate late queen’s Platinum jubilee. It had been agreed that planting can take place in the grounds of the Village Hall. Negotiations will take place about the type of tree to be purchased. Mary has links to a producer of plaques.
Report on the bus: Rob had held frustrating talks with the County Council person in charge of active travel. She had agreed to undertake a site visit but this had not yet taken place. Rona agreed to contact Jeremy Wright MP about the situation.
Action: Rona
Parish Council Report
The wildflowers planted on the verges in Red Lane had not been as successful as hoped, probably because of the unusually dry weather.
Work was starting on the Red Lane playground in September.
Any Other Business:
Thanks were extended to Alison Fielding for managing the flower tubs on the Coronation verge and to Andy Gibbs for mowing the grass there. Rona would send a thank you card.
Bron said she had complained about several blocked drains in the village on May 6th but there had been no progress.
The County Council had made queries about block paving at the Village Hall extending onto the highway without permission.
A pallet appears to have been dumped on the verge on Hob Lane near Green Leek Lane. This needed removing.
Rona reported that Hickory’s planned to reward Mason Stewart for litter picking - he will be invited as a guest at Hickory’s.
Date of next Meeting:
September 22nd
Further meeting dates for 2025 are booked as follows:
AGM October 13th
November 24th
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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
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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
