Loss of council tax benefit

The following is a recommendation to the full parish council. It is still subject to checking for typos and inaccuracies and has to be confirmed on 21 November. 

Since I wrote most of it I will says it looks accurate. Council tax in Central Beds is  £1,596.45  for Band D - that's nearly £160 a month over the 10 months they collect it.

The Government is planning to remove council tax benefit and delegate it to local councils who will decide which categories of vulnerable people will receive a  rebate, or not.

Central Beds' consultation is suggesting support could be withdrawn from the following groups (parish council comments in brackets)

·       receive Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (unemployed or unable to work)

·       receive Employment and Support Allowance (suffering serious illness or injury)

·       have low earnings or income (in poverty). 

The general purposes committee is recommending that:

·      This Council notes these criteria and cannot support the proposals that justify themselves by supposedly ‘incentivising’ ill (both physical and mental), jobless and poorly paid people to work.  Individuals in these categories should continue to receive support.

·      This Council does not support the charging of council tax when the property is in possession of the mortgagees if this adds to the debtor’s hardship.

·      This Council suggests that if CBC presses ahead, any contribution levied should be a maximum of 25 per cent, not a minimum.

Pots and parking

Here's the latest from the Highways customer service bulletin. The issues about the poor quality of the Springfield Way road surface have already come up and as a former resident (quite a while ago) I would agree with that assessment. The issues about parking are ongoing and very frustrating for those who live in the areas affected. 

On the Parish Council we are constantly pushing for at least 2 cars per house parking space for new developments but in the past there has been a lower ratio. Flitt Leys is a real mess with the hot food takeaway parking. This was pointed out four years ago when the development first came up. Did anyone listen? Of course not.





Customer Service Bulletin
During my routine inspections I came across at large pothole at the junction of Springfield Way, Cranfield and Mill Road.  Could this be looked at please?


People are constantly parking in the turning area at the top of the close (Maltings), meaning people have to reverse out onto Merchant Lane which is a blind corner due to parked cars anyway. Recently an ambulance was called for the customer and that had to reverse out into Merchant Lane almost having an accident. Please investigate the possibility of parking restrictions in the turning area.


Customer would like some parking restrictions placing on Lordsmead, as residents are parking vans on verges and are blocking junctions and vision splays. email fwd to Transportation team

Request to assess new layout of bus stop at this location.  Resident concerned that when bus is at bus stop other traffic has difficulty  passing & vision is obscured. Why wasn't a bus lay by constructed, which would allow traffic to pass safely ? Instaed bus stop protrudes into carriageway.

Proposed Temporary Road Closure – Marston Hill, Cranfield

Hope you haven't had to wait too long on Marston Hill (when will we ever reclaim it and call it Cranfield Hill?)  due to the temporary traffic lights down there. There may be more to come today - see the following from Amey. If you are caught out today it will be the usual magical mystery tour of Salford and down to Junction 13. Enjoy

I have a request for an Emergency Temporary Road Closure at the above location to enable investigation of leak, drainage and resurfacing works to be carried out in safety. Details are listed in the schedule below and having assessed the application I am satisfied the request is justified.

The alternative route for this closure is as in the details below and will be signed accordingly. The restrictions are to be in operation only when the necessary signs are erected on site. This notice will cover a twenty one day period. Access may be allowed from time to time according to local signing.

If you have any observations you wish to make I would be grateful if you could let me know as soon as possible.

Gareth Hughes. Streetworks Co-ordinator

……………………………………………………………………………………

                       

Road:                                 Marston Hill, Cranfield

Application from:             Amey for CBC – Patrick Connolly – 0300 3004089

Reason:                        Resurfacing works

Length affected:     From Beancroft Road to outside white cottages on Marston Hill 

      

Date: The closure is expected to take place for one day on the 13^th November between the hours of 0930hrs and 1530hrs.   Access may be allowed from time to time according to local signing.

Alternative Route:  Proceed in a westerly direction on Marston Hill, continuing on High Street through Cranfield to the junction with Cranfield Road, turn left and continue to junction turn left onto the old A421 Bedford Road.  Continue on the old A421 Bedford Road to Beancroft Road roundabout, take first exit and continue to junction with Marston Hill and vice versa.

Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday saw a big turn out which coincided with the actual date of the 1918 Armistice. As the picture shows there was brilliant sunshine on a dry day and participation by all the village youth organisations and the two schools. The last post was sounded, the church clock struck 11 (thanks to Gerry O'Mara who has been adjusting this erratic mechanism recently) and the names on the first and second world war Roll of Honour were read out.

A few years back there as some debate in Cranfield Express and elsewhere about why some memorials say 1914-19.  1919 was the official conclusion of the war following the signing of the Versailles Treaty. Although the Armistice was a ceasefire with no surrender by Germany, the treaty dealt with the country as a conquered and guilty perpetrator of the war. It was subjected to punitive reparations, stripped of territory and forcibly demilitarised. No national leader including Lloyd George, the PM, had the strength or vision to point out that this simply meant that Germany would be back, when it felt stronger, seeking to alter the terms. It was  a disaster based on a mistaken belief in military success.

The First World War was a political failure at the start and at the end. But no political leaders paid any price for that. While we remember those who died without question, we should also question why the British and other national governments went into the conflict without seeking a sane alternative. They did exist. The fighting solved nothing.

Photo: David Moyes

show business for ugly people

Check out the Sunday Mirror front page tomorrow. Mid Beds' most famous person (currently) is on it and it's not great reading. What no one, I think, has mentioned is that the MP for Mid Beds will have stuff in her diary for the next month which she will not be attending to. Parliamentary votes are actually a very small part of an MP's work and their absence, authorised or not can easily be covered. 

But busy MPs have surgeries, meetings with local councils, discussions with ministers and visitors to Parliament to be getting on with. I assume all that has been put on hold, postponed or cancelled without notice. 

There is an expression that politics is 'showbusiness for ugly people'. Well we can't deny the ugly people bit but showbusiness is another matter. All public decision making (aka politics) from parish council to national parliaments involves endless processing of information and discussion of minutiae. Its deadly dull, profoundly unsexy and there are few glittering prizes. We sometimes have people join and leave the parish council very quickly when they discover the revolution will have to wait till the next committee cycle. LOL

I reckon Nadine Dorries is after some glittering prizes and we may well see a Mid Beds by-election next year. Hopefully it will be someone, regardless of party who isn't headline chasing. And only goes to the jungle during their (ample) holidays.

Home Farm

Persimmon Mark I - 370 houses, community hall, school playing field, access to Church Walk has been stalled for a couple of years. After nearly a decade of planning just two show houses have been built.

Now Persimmon Mark II has been unveiled. There is some reduction in housing, the community hall is parked near the Court Road playing area, the school field is gone and there is no access via Church Walk. Company reps presented the new scheme to a parish council meeting last night with strong public attendance.

Persimmon have been forced into this because they cannot agree terms with one of the landowners on Home Farm(Denison) and therefore cannot deliver their planning obligations (access to Court Road via Church Walk). But Paul Stone of Persimmon insisted they were not trying to evade any obligations.

There was a mood of scepticism because the company presented the changes as beneficial rather than unavoidable. For instance, the original proposed access to the village via Church Walk was described as ‘not ideal’. Access via Court Road (near JR Trolleys) however would be better overlooked and have ‘clear benefits’.

But Parish Council chair Delise Ball was worried that they were creating a ‘housing island’ separate from the village.  And Parish Councillor Alan Morris reminded Persimmon reps that the Recreation Ground was not an option for finding school land elsewhere.

The community stands to lose out on the ‘section 106’ resources that come with planning permission. This is partly because the number of houses will drop but also because the formula for calculating it has changed since the first planning permission in 2005.

This development has come back to haunt Central Beds, the successor authority of the old Mid Beds council.  Mid Beds councillors perversely switched their support from the university site (backed by an inquiry report and supported by villagers) to Home Farm precisely because of the Church Walk access and the ‘integration to the village’ that this provided.  This is what Persimmon cannot now deliver.

Persimmon say they will probably submit an application in the new year which could be both outline and detailed. They also say they will mount an exhibition of their plans in the village before Christmas. 

Down under for Nadine

Mid Beds MP Nadine Dorries is heading for Australian to take part in I'm a celebrity get me out of here 
She could be out of the country for a month missing crucial votes. I expect she will be star of the show.
How will she fare with the giant pom-eating spiders and other tests of character? 

Vice chancellor

Its funny how the top guy or guy-ess at a university is called the "vice-chancellor". The chancellor is some worthy, wheeled on for ceremonial events. There are other titles like "pro vice-chancellor" which suggests the VC's cheerleaders. I can't image an anti-vice chancellor.

Well Cranfield is about the say goodbye to another VC Sir John O'Reilly who will leave in February to take up a position as Director General of Knowledge and Innovation in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The university  is in the process of identifying his successor as Vice-Chancellor.

The news comes just a few weeks after the memorial event for Cranfield's first VC Lord Chilver. This adds to the sense of change.



John O'Reilly has been here for just five years but he was a good friend to the Parish Council and the village and took a keen interest in local affairs. I spoke to him personally  about the University contributing towards the village's party in the park Jubilee celebration. He was extremely helpful.





Hopefully his successor will also show the same curiousity and responsiveness.

Ashes to ashes

I'm not sure how many ash trees we have in Cranfield but latest national news reports of decay are worrying - including suggestions that oaks are also threatened. Read more here Most trees diseased

Cranfield has never been a chocolate box village give or take a Normanish church and some interesting almshouses. I would say we are more neo-Budgens and Coop Revival architecture with some classical 70s. It's the trees that make the place great IMHO.

That's why the concern when we took down some of our dead and dying trees, specially in the Rec was understandable. But it had  to be done and it was evidence-based and planned. Many thanks to Pcllr Alan Morris and former parish councillor Maurice Rust for their input. Nothing lives for ever and we have to plan for the future.

So the future bit is being delivered tomorrow by Potash Nurseries who are putting in the new rowans and flowering cherries in the Rec. They will also put in our Jubilee oak in the cemetery and two flowering cherries which will link the old and news sections. The cemetery has been open for 20 years and the original full interment section (as opposed to ashes) is almost full. In the next year the extension will come into a use and the cherries will link the old and the new. The oak will go bang in the middle. Life (and the end of life) goes on.

Worried about the NHS?

38 degrees is a new form of campaigning for the public good that stands outside political parties.  See details of an important meeting this Tuesday


On Tuesday 6th November local 38 Degrees members are getting together near you to talk about the next stage of the campaign to protect the NHS in Bedfordshire. Could you come along?

The details of the get-together are:

8:00 PM, 6th November
The Queens Head
2 Cambridge Rd
Sandy
SG19 1AG




Click here to join in or find out more:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/bedfordshire-gettogether

As well as helping to save the NHS, these get-togethers are a great chance to have a chat with other 38 Degrees members who live in Bedfordshire.

Hope you can make it,

Marie, Ian, Travis, Andrew, Matt and the 38 Degrees team


PS: If you haven't yet signed the petition to save NHS services in Bedfordshire, or you'd like to find out more about the campaign, click here: http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2012/09/21/save-your-local-nhs/

Sense of stile

This might be dead boring to some but I know plenty of people in the village who are red hot on rights of way.

In England rights of way come before land ownership and that has to be vigorously protected.  You won't lose them if you don't use them but regular use of rights of ways stops landowners allowing paths to be come overgrown, stiles blocked off and disagreeable semi-feral animals let loose to pester you. So please read carefully

From: Jonathan Woods [mailto:Jonathan.Woods@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk]
Sent: 24 October 2012 16:49
Subject: T&PC - Public Consultation for Outdoor Access Improvement Plan 2013-2023

I am writing to you to make you aware of a our Outdoor Access Improvement Plan Consultation. The Council would very much like your feedback, comments and if possible your support, for our work in this area.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gave Local Authorities a statutory duty to publish and review, at least every ten years, a ‘Rights of Way Improvement Plan’.  The Outdoor Access Improvement Plan 2013-2023 (OAIP) will fulfil this duty and provide policies and actions which will aim to create greater access to the countryside, achieve a wide range of associated social and economic benefits, protect the environment and help people and communities to explore, understand and get involved with Central Bedfordshire’s countryside. The Plan will up-date and replace the existing OAIP 2006 – 2011.

Countryside sites and access to the wider countryside is a central component of providing sustainable communities, ensuring that Central Bedfordshire is seen as a green and pleasant place to live and work. This Plan will act as the cornerstone ‘strategy’ for the Council’s countryside sites and outdoor access management and for the delivery of services. Establishing work streams and projects for a 10 year period from 2013 to 2023.

The OAIP will form part of a suite of documents, which will plan, deliver and manage countryside access and greenspace in Central Bedfordshire. These include the Leisure Strategy, Green Infrastructure Plans and the Development Strategy.

The OAIP Action Plan details the medium term priorities, drawn out from the main themes of the OAIP.  The Action Plan will detail the work streams and projects, with timescales and the resources required for delivery.

Over the next 12 weeks we will be seeking feedback on this plan from service users.  The feedback period will be open until 12:00 midday, 18 January 2013


The Council's Countryside Access Team will be on hand to talk to the public about the proposals at:
Biggleswade Library on the 23rd November (10am  - 4pm)
Flitwick Library on the 6th December (10am  - 4pm)
Leighton Buzzard Library on the 9th January (10am  - 4pm)
The full plan, a summary document and a questionnaire are available on the website www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/consultations or contact:

Jonathan Woods – Access Development Team Leader
Highways Strategy and Countryside Access Service
rightsofway@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
0300 300 6607

Lodge Road accident

I don't know any facts first hand  so I wont opinionate  (wow - noises off) but obviously like many people I am worried about the accident on Friday at the junction of Lodge Road. I hope no one was injured but at this stage I'm not aware. One correspondent to the PC made the obvious point that some drivers, specially in the morning are in a divil of a hurry to get to MK and may not notice the roundabout sign as they head towards Lodge Road. Drivers may also be starting to 'think outside' the 30 mph speed limit by the time they get to the roundabout.

Of course so-called 'mini-roundabouts' have no raised infrastructure to deter the speeding motorist. 

We have no idea if there will be a police prosecution for careless driving at the moment so judgement suspended.

Another parishioner has already raised issues about the junction of Moulsoe Road and Cranfield High Street.

This will probably be discussed in some way at the PC on Wednesday.

Parish council meeting Wednesday 7 November

-->

BUSINESS TO BE DONE

7.00pm.   Examine planning applications.  Receive presentation from Persimmon Homes/Woods Hardwick: new planning application

In attendance: 

To receive apologies for absence:  CB/PCllrs:  Mrs Sue Clark

To receive declarations for Members in relation to: (a) Personal Interest or (b)   Prejudicial Interest in any Agenda item.

Committee meetings commence at 8.00pm

1.     General Purposes Committee

1.1.  Draft Local Council Tax Support Scheme - consultation

1.2.  Short Breaks Statement consultation September 2012- November 2012

1.3.  Photographic competition

1.4.  MUGA

1.5.  Christmas tree and associated costs

1.6.  Budget items

Reports - Correspondence - Agenda Items

2.     Environment Committee

2.1.  Tree maintenance contract

2.2.  Digley report and RFQ’s.

2.3.  Budget items

Reports - Correspondence - Agenda Items

3.     Burial Grounds

3.1.  Camomile Lawn – Memorial Garden

3.2.  Church Wall

3.3.  Policy - removal of wreaths from War Memorial

3.4.  Cemetery Gate

3.5.  Budget items

Reports - Correspondence - Agenda Items

4.     Planning Committee

4.1.  General Planning Matters

4.2.  Home Farm

4.3.  Parking

4.4.  Budget items

Reports - Correspondence - Agenda Items

Vulcan - farewell

 

Well its been and gone.  If you had your big thick ear muffs on a few Saturdays ago you missed it. Though they would have needed to be pretty thick to keep out the vulcan howl. Next year is the last chance to see Big Bird somewhere and the following link might help vulcantothesky.org

Big Bird over Broad Green

Police beat

Police reports are copied in below. Readers should note that parish councillors last night reported at least two serious incidents (details not fully confirmed) that are not in this report. We are writing to the local inspector asking why these have been left out.

21st September – Criminal damage has occurred at the recreation ground in Cranfield whereby graffiti has been carried out on the shelter.  This graffiti is permanent and will not wash off.  There is no cctv and no witnesses.

27th September – Wood End Road, Cranfield.  Power tools were stolen from an outbuilding at the location.  There is no cctv and no witnesses.  A crime prevention visit was offered but this was declined.

1st October – Cranfield University.  At a work place location at the university a passport and driving licence have been stolen.  The items were left out on a desk and there were many visitors during the day.  There was no cctv and no witnesses.

6th October – Mill Road, Cranfield.  A burglary occurred at the location in which a jemmy was used on the wooden front door.  Numerous high value electrical items were stolen.  House to house enquires were carried out but there were no witnesses and no cctv.

6th October –Washingleys, Cranfield.  A burglary occurred at the location in which entrance was gained by an insecure gate and insecure kitchen door.  A lap top was stolen.  House to house enquiries were carried out but again no witnesses and no cctv.

10th October – Lincroft, Cranfield.  Theft from a rented property in which the tenant left the property but had removed the hot water cylinder tank in the airing cupboard.  On-going investigations are being carried out.

15th October – Theft from Budgens in which a large amount of alcohol was taken.  There was no cctv and no witnesses.

Anti-Social Behaviour Incidents

22nd September – Noise nuisance following a party at Cranfield Football Club.  No action taken.

27th September – Holywell Road, nuisance motorcyclists at location.  Officers attended the scene and there was no trace of the bikes.

28th September – Flitt Leys, parking obstructions were reported with residents having problems getting their vehicles out.  Officers attended the scene and on his arrival there were no obstructions.

9th October – Cranfield Lower School, incident was reported of dangerous driving in the location of the school.  Details were taken from all parties and the matter was dealt with by restorative justice.

11th October – Lincroft, Cranfield.  Reports of a vehicle that may have been abandoned.  Vehicle was checked out and all in order.  Registered to a local owner.

11th October – Millards Close, Cranfield.  Reports of on-going neighbour dispute.  Both parties visited and no further incidents reported.
 

A night at the movies

Andrew Pearson writes; The Manor House Music will be preforming as a quartet at Cranfield for an evening of movie themes on 10th November 2012 starting at 7.45pm. Tickets are £10 (£5 for students) which includes a glass of wine or a soft drink.

They are a small pool of chamber musicians who play together as a quartet. The various members also play with the country's leading orchestras - including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Academy of St Martins in the Fields. They play and record with many other chamber ensembles, individually touring across the globe and appearing in many classical and film soundtrack recordings. http://www.manorhousemusic.co.uk/

Henry Chilver

On behalf of the Parish Council i attended the Memorial Event at the university for the former VC Lord Chilver. I heard a lot about Henry in my early days In Cranfield from a friend on the parish council and my other half who both worked at the uni. Opinions will vary about his style and legacy. I was struck however that there was only on brief mention from several speakers of Cranfield village - a reference by Henry's son John to Mrs Goodfellow who provided daily help at Cayley Lodge. Nice that. Oh and to Mrs Hatton from North Crawley who also lent support.

But apart from that nothing. The result was, I believe, a long period of estrangement  between the village and the Campus made worse by the very (at the time) busy airfield.  Unskilled parachutists landing in your back garden didn't help relations.

Do I know you?

Cllr Alan Bastable worked hard to build some bridges and he was responsible for setting up the airfield (now the university) liaison group between CU and the parish council. That helped.

But we are indebted to the present Vice Chancellor Sir John O'Reilly  who has been very pro-active in relations with the PC. He has presented to the PC, and personally given us a guided tour of the campus.

I bet not many people in Cranfield know that in the early 1950s the then principal of the College of Aeronautics was actually on the Parish Council.

Traffic calming

First things first. Traffic calming always causes controversy and no two precept payers will agree on what they like or don't like. An Amey rep visited Cranfield last week and met with parish council reps and issues were discussed. As far as we can see the features are being built according to spec which was thoroughly consulted on. Some people may not like having to wait while the bus loads up at the war memorial but it was all in the plan. Views are divided on whether the tables slow people down. Evening speed checks will be needed for that.

The biggest impact of the work at present is on Cranfield North End due to the closure of Mill Road. If you want to go through the village you have to drive along Crane Way and turn right at Bedford Road. This is almost impossible at busy times. Ive ended up going round the airfield.

It should be worth it though because Coop corner is one of the worst junctions I've ever lived near not made any easier by people who park unceremoniously on the bend. They know who they are.

Tables still to come in the High Street. Deep Joy as one of my regular readers would say.

Tales from Brummagem

I have written plenty about Amey and their lack of responsiveness. Hopefully by the time the traffic calming is all finished they will prove me and all the other critics wrong. I believe Cranfield's own great wall of China - the steeply rising table coming into the village from Marston Hill, has been adjusted. I'm also hoping that the build up of water around the centre of the village is a temporary feature. So members of the jury are still listening to the case and have still to retire to consider their verdict. Normally in a court of law you are not allowed to know about previous convictions. But here in the Court of Cranfield we want to know the whole story.

So, readers might appreciate this tale from one of the leafier parts of Birmingham concerning Amey no less. The lack of consultation is a familiar and worrying feature. 

You can read it on the Birmingham Post website. 

Life after digital

Things you learn: I hosted the Preen collection at the village hall this morning as their normal staff member had a health emergency. People would turn up with old style TVs with big fat backsides (the TVs that is) and say: "Do they take analogue?"

Well as a matter of fact they do but I wasn't sure why. Anyway, I spoke to Dan the Man from the Van about this and he pointed out that if there is scart socket capable of taking a digi box an old analogue TV is quite capable of chugging on in the digital age.

Does the electronics industry tell us this? Like hell they do - analogue is over they say, get a new telly quick. But it means that perfectly good kit goes to landfill or the crusher.


Good haul for Preen this morning both from home pick ups and in the village hall. Electronics and furnitiure. A big thank you once again to the VH management committee for making the hall available. A review of some of the items is below. Visit Preen on the web

Big H

WE are looking at quotes following a request  for one set of rugby posts to be erected in Broad Green to allow the area to be used for rugby practice. I think are open spaces should be available for as wide a range of recreation as possible as long as they don't clash.

What on earth is S106?

Parish councillors last night were strongly critical of government plans to offer developers scope to reduce what are called "section 106" agreements attached to new housing. These are aimed at helping  a community cope with the increasing demands imposed by large scale building.

For instance the Home Farm approval includes money and resources for education, health and transport in addition to a community building. Some people might say we could lose the community building (I'd say no) but the contributions for health and education are vital. 

So in the consultation going on at the moment about these proposals we are saying "Full 106". It isn't the bits and pieces of civic obligation that are holding up Persimmon but plain bad business practice and that is up to them to sort out.

On that, by the way, there is no news of "Persimmon-lite" a second planning application probably not involving the Goodman Land and Dension Land (which provides the access to Court Road.) Watch this space...patiently LOL

You can comment on material on the blog by attaching a comment, below. Alternatively you can email me directly on cranfield1985@gmail.com 
I sometimes share these comments (anonymised) on the blog. 

Traffic calming

A parishioner writes about the traffic calming:

After reading your article in the Cranfield Express I would like to give you some feedback regarding the roadworks at the junction of Crane Way and Bedford Road. 

I think that the traffic calming measures are a good thing but they have made a bit of a mess of the pedestrian crossing. When crossing Crane Way at the junction in the past, there were lowered kerb stones on both sides of the road. 

As part of the roadworks they have raised the kerb stone on one side! This means that anyone with a buggy or wheelchair has to either bump down onto the road or do a detour to get across. 

This change was totally unnecessary and I can only imagine it was a mistake as they seem to have catered for pedestrians/buggies/wheelchairs at all of the other junctions they have adapted.

Millennium Park

Central Beds has checked the condition of the benches at Millennium Park. They have stated:


"Due to the condition of the benches, we will be removing the benches as soon as possible and replacing three of them, there may be a short delay between removal and replacement.

"In looking at the condition of the benches and considering future durability and up keep, it has been decided to replace the wooden benches with recycled plastic  including one with disable use considerations.
  
"Benefits of this are:

• Weather and decay resistant
• Vandal resistant
• Safety regarding children climbing on them.
• Can not be struck to make a loud noise annoying neighbours.
• Brown / black colour
• Cost and easy to install.
• Comfort to use in the British climate."

No doubt this will be up for discussion.

MUGA - sports facilities in the village

My proposals for 're-launching' the MUGA - to be discussed at parish council tonight

The multi-use Games Area funded as part of an original Mid Beds DC programme was opened in 2005 after several years searching for a site and then planning its development.

It is hosted by Holywell Middle School and historically was run by Cranfield Village Sports Association (CVSA) made up of reps from the parish council the district council, and its successor unitary authority, local sports groups and the school.

The school has exclusive use during school hours but other groups can use it outside these and in school holidays. Initially there was strong use, not just from Colts but netball and also tennis and some casual five aside.

However difficulties in management and a growing belief that the surface is unsuitable for young footballers has led to a decline in use.  In addition the CVSA is now not functioning.  Under the current school management there has been strong interest in working in partnership with other stakeholders and it is time to review the management and governance of the whole facility.

I would propose therefore:

1.     A site visit hosted with the agreement of the headteacher for CB councillors, PC reps and sports reps from the village – especially the Colts

2.     The clerk to write to CBC to establish how they see their “stake” in the facility being represented and enhanced.

3.     The treasurer to supply the PC with an up to date set of accounts, details of bank account and identities of trustees and signatories.

4.     The headteacher to provide a brief summary of his own thoughts on the potential development of the MUGA and how this will integrate with the school infrastructure

5.     A special one-off meeting of PC, CBC, sports reps and school reps to identify

·       A sustainable governance structure

·      A practical booking facility and costs

·      Regular grounds maintenance timetable

·      An achievable set of improvements and pathway towards them