Housing targets

Communities minister Eric Pickles is abolishing local authority housing targets, I understand from media reports. Could that mean goodbye to 135 houses behind central motors and 21 at 1 and 2 the High Street?

Home Farm

It looks like Persimmon have been able to offer Maple Way residents some satisfaction on the location of plots near them and the boundary. Personally I'm still worried about footpath 16 running between the developments. Ask any resident of Springfield Way (lowish odd numbers) about the impact of the footpath to Lordsmead and they will tell a few tales.

Cemetery

Carried out some direct action on Wednesday. Weeded overgrown segment of the mem garden and watered the evergreen that is suffering. The taps need badly looked at. Frosts will start the extension preparations in September.

Memorial Garden

The Memorial garden in the cemetery is suffering in the heat. It is supposed to be low maintenance but it has only been in two months since it went in. Hopefully our landscape contractors will be able to sort the current wilting look but it should not need weeded or watered on a regular basis.

Bottom of Beancroft Road is strange now that it has been diverted onto the new road and the new roundabout. I have been downloading and printing google satellite images of the area over the last two years tracking the enormous changes. Soon it will be hard to remember what any of it was ever like.

IPC

The Infrastructure Planning Commission which would adjudicate on projects such as Covanta is being abolished. I presume this will then mean it will be judged by the local planning authority. However with threats of costly appeals and the possibility of it being 'called in' by the secretary of state there is still a fair bit of central involvement. IPC 'Instant Planning Consent' as one local wag refers to it. Still, the new government might struggle to get its new nuclear power stations through without it. I predict a new form of control and direction will emerge.

Home Farm stakeholder meeting

It was generally a productive, informative meeting:

Site interface: Martin Wright reported on his meeting with a number of Maple Way Residents earlier in the day. There is some possibility of realigning or shifting the plots, which have been the main cause of difficulty.

Footpath 16: The proposal to divert footpath 16 was also discussed. Anne Samme acknowledged the dilemma between current residents’ preferences and issues around community safety if the existing route between the two sets of houses was maintained.

No left turn: Martin said Persimmon were still in discussion with Highways regarding the viability of a No Left Turn sign into Lodge Road.

Footpath and hedge: Martin said he understood there would be a footpath down the left hand side of Lodge Road (from the High St) with a crossing for Villa Park residents. Scrutiny of the map suggests that the hedge on the right hand side is intact. Anne Samme said the hedge was beyond the ditch so she could not see a problem.

Road widening: Persimmon stressed that residents would be given plenty of notice of work on and through Lodge Road starting. Concerns about flooding were raised if the road level was raised any further above the driveway levels. Martin said one solution would be to design the road so that it drained towards the ditch. He said the road widening would be done on phases but noted points about school buses using Lodge Road.

Development Committee: Anne Samme said the application would probably go to development committee on 21 July. She reminded residents that one representative could speak for three minutes in addition to the parish council speaking for three minutes.

Sports area: Gary Surkitt outlined the options for the village sports area - Two football pitches plus either a bowling green or a cricket square. There was also discussion around the spec for the sports field changing rooms. There is a need for sports club input to this.

Parish Council: On behalf of Sue I confirmed that the work on the community building planning was progressing well and the PC was about to consider adopting the open spaces.

Parish Council 19 May 2010

Big discussion about Home Farm planning application last night. The biggest issue is some plots up close against Maple Way. Residents have already made their views clear to the PC and there is an on-going boundary dispute between them and Persimmon about land ownership. We want these plots shifted back.

We had a lengthy discussion about Persimmon proposals to reroute footpath 16 so that it runs through the new development - not between it and Maple Way. Residents of MW want it to remain where it is. I personally believe that if it does, it will attract anti-social behaviour like similar alleyways elsewhere e.g. Springfield Way/Lordsmead. It is no longer a public right of way across open land in the traditional sense. In the end we voted 4-3 for the original ('alleyway') route to be retained rather than supporting the proposed rerouting.

I asked central Beds councillors to look into delays by Amey in implementing the traffic calming proposals that have now been agreed.

Bike ride this morning - North Crawley, Folly Lane, Shire Lane (dead badger on the roadside), Nissan roundabout, bowstring road, back into Cranfield and through the Persimmon Expressway (previously Lodge Road).

Lodge Road

EDF gave Lodge Road a fair old battering last month and unceremoniously blocked it several times with their mini-dumpers. At one point I insisted they move the dumper to allow my bike through but other more deferential parishioners just turned back when they saw the road obstructed. I had a chat to two who thought it was all official. Not.

The most recent CenBeds customer service bulletin records :

"I have received the following e mail from the clerk to Cranfield Parish Council. 'I believe the works, which were within Lodge Road at Cranfield, were undertaken by EDF. Can you get someone to check the final finish to see whether further attention is required? E-mail from Parish Clerk It would appear the contractor who has restored the road after doing work has not completed the re-filling by sealing the road – it is suggested that this will deteriorate over the next 6 – 12 months.' "

This road is going to get so much hammer in the next few years and we have to be working to keep it running and well laid.

New Government?

There are rumours that the Government might change. I suspect it is unlikely to affect (a) housing development (b) Covanta (c) the price of fish.

Archaeology?

Cycling down Persimmon Way on Friday and noticed half a dozen men on their hands and knees excavating small holes in the ground on Home Farm. Central Bedfordshire red van nearby. Could these be archaeologists or have they just lost something? I'll pester Central Beds for some further info.

Reports of a Road accident in Lodge Road yesterday. No details at the moment. Thanks to Cranfield's senior WVM for that.

Parish Council 5 May 2010

We had Persimmon present to outline their proposals for the community building on Home Farm with library and pre-school add-ons. There were reps from the pre-school, lower school and cyclists (keen on the 106 agreement provision for a cycle track to the south of the airfield) present. The design has some potential although there may be issues about the current footprint's proximity to nearby houses. The current money will not permit the full construction of the pre-school but with planning permission in place they can apply for other grants more easily.

We also had a first look at the Persimmon application to build 129 houses on the 1A and 1B plots. The biggest issue at the moment is line between Maple Way and building site where there is an argument about the original boundary. Persimmon claim that residents have encroached on their land. While this is, in a sense, a private argument it does impact on whether houses Persimmon are proposing are too close to existing properties for planning purposes. There are rumours of footpaths moved and ditches filled in. Looking on paper or screen won't do it. We need to be tramping the fields to sort this one out.

Home Farm Planning Application

The 129-home planning application application is now in for Home Farm, I understand. I still can't see it on Central Beds Planning Applications. Work on planning the community building is also going on apace.

Under the 'section 106' agreement Persimmon is legally bound to deliver the community building. In addition to this, cash sums are included in the 106 agreement for additional facilities. These are: library £75,000; pre-school £50,000 and toilet block/changing rooms (for the lower school playing area) £120,000.

At last month’s Parish Council Planning Committee, Martin Wright, for Persimmon said Persimmon was willing to engage with the community if it wished to extend the building to include some or all of these facilities in the community building rather than constructing them separately. There are potential benefits to the community if a planning application for an extended facility is submitted at the same time as the first phase of Home Farm.

The Parish Council has now set up a working party to consider the workability of the building, and the feasibility of adding facilities to the basic structure. The working party includes Jonathan Vowles, representing Acorn Pre-school; Heather Knox, Central Bedfordshire; a Central Bedfordshire planning officer; Mrs Delise Ball, chair of the Parish Council; Central Bedfordshire Councillor Ken Matthews; Mrs Sue Clark, chair of the Parish Council Planning Committee; a Persimmon representative and a representative from the library service.

The Home Farm Stakeholder Group held its second meeting in March. In addition to discussion on the community building (see above) it also looked at the Parish Council considering the adoption of open spaces, a possible public exhibition in local retail premises (subject to agreement), archaeology and the design of the Lodge Road exit junction to discourage left hand turns.

The Lower School obviously has a strong interest in developments. Paul Rossiter, chair of Cranfield Lower School Governing Body adds: "We are keen to work through the Home Farm Stakeholder Group to make the most of the opportunities available to the school, for the benefit of our children, as the result of this development. As we have limited space for expansion within our current boundaries it is important to us to take advantage of any facilities available to us and to ensure the appropriate use of funds designated for the school's benefit.”