Central Beds

The Parish Council is writing to Central Beds Unitary councillors, Alan Bastable, Ken Matthews and Sue Clarke asking the following questions about Home Farm:

1.     Reports: 

1.1.   PCllr L Pollock reported upon correspondence regarding the standing of the Home Farm Development application; and proposed that Cranfield Parish Council writes to all unitary councillors in addition to Ken Matthews as executive lead asking:

1.1.1.  Firstly about the authority's resolution in the face of any appeal by Persimmon against non-determination.

1.1.2.  Secondly at what point it became clear that Persimmon were on Home Farm unlawfully and why no action was taken.

1.1.3.  Thirdly how the design brief and the S106 agreement can be delivered if Persimmon cannot take control of the land in question. 

Cemetery

I'm off on my bike tour to see how the weeds are coming  along in the cemetery 

Cuts to policing

BBC - Police 'plan to cut 14% of jobs by 2015

Continue reading the main story

There will be 34,000 fewer police jobs in England and Wales in March 2015 than in March 2010, research by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary suggests.

It estimated that the overall cut of 14% will include losing 16,200 officers and 16,100 civilian staff.The HMIC added there was "relatively strong evidence" falling staff numbers might lead to a rise in some offences.Home Office figures showed there are 139,110 officers in England and Wales - 4,625 fewer than March last year.The annual decrease recorded by March this year was 3.2%. The number of police staff stood at 74,010, a decrease of 7% or 5,586 compared with a year earler.

Well it's happening locally already in Cranfield  'Project 2011' will bring changes in October and former beat managers will be doing more of a 'section role'. So we will not be seeing much of them. 

The PCSOs will have additional powers to give out tickets etc but they will be covering a huge area. The government says there is no relationship between crime figures and police numbers but that is flatly contradicted by HMIC (the inspectorate). 

HMIC published research  suggesting that a 10 per cent cut in officer numbers would lead to a three per cent increase in crime.

Village Hall

Members of the "veeaitchemcee" (village hall management committee) are confident that the hall will be reopened by christmas. Work going ahead on the roof. The full works obviously still dependent on a house sale in the near future. 

Round in circles

It wasn’t long after the new Lodge Road roundabout was unveiled that the worried emails started piling in. Basically you couldn’t see the traffic on the main road when you were coming out of Lodge Road. A meeting was held on site last month with CBC councillors, parish councillors and residents’ representatives. Amey held discussions with road safety auditors and Bedfordshire Police who also felt the layout was unacceptable.

They have now redesigned the road markings, moving the centre of the roundabout away from Lodge Road and plan to discuss this with the Police and safety team.

Village hall

Village hall management committee.  Its the hall's centenary year but uts been closed for 27 months. Work on the roof and toilets is going ahead however - encouraging news. Marjorie Cotton the chair did a a good presentation at the Parish Council last week. PC chairwoman Delise Ball, did urge her though to get the hall open even on an interim basis.

I agree, especially on the centenary. The danger is the that the hall's regular users will never come back. The 'Big Bang' approach, everything done at once is attractive but buildings need to be used. 

Activity on Home Farm

OK it took a  bit of digging (rather like that excavator of Home Farm) but I eventually got some answers. On the question of an Amey compound the answer came back:

Although (the) Amey Highways representative, when visiting the site at Home Farm, parks his vehicle (private car) within the site compound there is no Amey Highways compound on the site, nor have we given any instruction to create one.

Therefore there is no reason that we know off that would entail the excavation of soil and the use of tippers on the Home Farm site. However excavation is taking place on Lodge Road and the material is being deposited on to the site to enable the construction of the Section 278 works.

So - back to Central Beds to check out the 'compound' issue. They refer Parish Matters to Persimmon who write:

As already explained to you by a great deal of people it seems, the works on the site relate either to the S278 or the off-site drainage provision.  This happens from Monday to Friday and will involve Persimmons contractors, utilising their compound on our site.  As also kindly specified by the Highways engineer, this will also involve some earth movement across the site from the S278 works.   All other site works ceased quite some time ago and will remain that way until the planning authority are happy for us to proceed.

It is true that S278 works have been going on for some time (I get regularly reports of the impact from residents) but I'm not sure what digging a large hole in the ground in the middle of Home Farm has to do with it. And let's not forget that Persimmon went on the site when they did  not have permission. So credibility levels are not good.  

However, the best way to stop people gossiping and the Parish Matters blogsgoing on about it is to resume the stakeholder meetings (second one has now been cancelled) and for a free flow of information. 

The last bus to Wootton

The last bus to Wootton will run on August 20. After that you can only get there from Cranfield by taking a bus to Bedford and out again.

But don’t try it on a Sunday as Bedford services in future will only run Monday to Saturday.

There has been no warning of the shock changes. Stagecoach is replacing the V1 (Monday to Saturday) and V2 (Sunday) services with two new services, 52 and 53.

The 52 will run hourly from Bedford via Kempston to Marston Moretaine and Cranfield between 06.30 and 18.30 on Monday to Saturdays only. The 53 will run from Bedford, via Hillgrounds and Kempston to Wootton every 30 minutes between 06.45 and 18.45 from Monday to Saturdays. There is an additional departure Monday to Friday at 06.15.  There will also be an hourly Sunday service from 08.45 until 16.45

This means that there is no longer a direct bus link between Cranfield and Wootton at any time.  Students whose timetable or after-school activities make it impossible to use the standard school buses will be hit. They will have to rely on the Mumndad Transport Company – if available.

Cranfield Parish Council and Cranfield University fought a joint campaign to save Sunday buses to Bedford, in April. But the reprieve was only temporary.  They are jointly contributing part of the cost of the Milton Keynes to Cranfield evening services for a temporary period. They will then talk to Milton Keynes council about finding a long-term solution from April onwards, next year. Discussions will be held in September.

Two years ago, the village and Wharley End lost evening services to and from Bedford. As the village continues to grow its transport infrastructure is threatened.  The new services separate a route that can be supported on a Sunday by Bedford Borough from one that will receive no contribution from Central Bedfordshire.

New timetables can be found at http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_13908_Venus%20V1.pdf

and http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_13909_Venus%20V1.pdf

If these changes will affect you in any way, you are welcome to contact me tel 01234 757689 email broadgreen68@btinternet.com or contact Cranfield Express at letters@cranfieldexpress.co.uk with comments.

A Stagecoach bus at the Wharley End 'terminus'

Activity on Home Farm

Activity on Home Farm this morning. I'm checking to make sure this really is the compound for the highways work as Persimmon advise. 

Home Farm

Persimmon states in response to my earlier enquiry:

I can confirm that the only works that are continuing in Cranfield are the County Council Works (Section 278) to High Street and Lodge Road. The contractors compound for these works is located on our site which I guess may be causing the confusion?

Buses on Sunday

I have received the details of new bus services agreed between Stagecoach and Bedford Borough. The V1 and V2 will disappear. The 52 will run from Cranfield to Marston and Shelton bypassing Wootton and the 53 will run to Wootton only. 

The Cranfield service will not run on Sundays so as things stand we have lost our Sunday buses to Bedford. I will be alerting the University and asking that the parish council, through the clerk , contacts Marston PC which will also lose Sunday bus links. We have a shared interest here. 

Home farm open for business?

Home Farm seems to be busy these days, whether lawful or not. Cycling up Lodge Road on Monday and today I've spotted the mesh gates open and action inside.


I've emailed CBC planning officer Hannah Pattinson as follows on Monday






I note that despite your letter to Persimmon in May the Home Farm site accesses are open (on Court Road and Lodge Road)  and there was a generator running this morning. Perhaps this has been authorised. I'd be grateful if you could confirm one way or the other.






and today


Following  my email on Monday I again note that Home Farm site is open with tipper trucks active on site. As before, I am requesting information on whether this presence is now lawful and if not what action Central Bedfordshire will take.


So far, no response.

Home Farm planning consent

I've now had a response to my request. This reads:

Dear Mr Pollock

 

Please find attached as requested. The outstanding RM (reserved matters) consents are as follows:

 

CB/10/03462/RM - Phases 1A and 1B Landscaping.

CB/10/03463/RM - Phases 2 & 3 Landscaping.

CB/10/03469/RM - Phase 1C Provision of Lower School Playing Field, Community Building (including library and pre-school / nursery) car parking and all ancillary works. Including landscaping and pedestrian access through Church Walk.

 

 

In addition Central Beds has written to Persimmon (27 May) stating

 

 

 

I can confirm that the Council has now had an opportunity to revisit the current

position in relation to the outline planning permission in respect of ‘Home Farm,Cranfield’.

Please accept this letter as written confirmation that the Council’s position is that no lawful implementation of the outline planning permission (planning ref:

MB/05/00885/OUT) has occurred or is able to occur at this moment in time. To

clarify the following pre commencement conditions remain outstanding:

Condition 15 - New Lower School Playing Field Timetable - details currently

being considered

Condition 17 - Overall management and maintenance – details currently being

considered

Condition 19 - Play Areas - details yet to be received

Condition 20 - Boundary Treatment - details yet to be received.

Condition 28 - Foul and Surface Water - details currently being considered

Condition 30 - Code of Construction Practice - details currently being

considered

Condition 37 - Off site highway works - details currently being considered

In addition, for a lawful implementation of the above planning permission to

occur all of the Reserved Matters (RM) for the entirety of the site need to have

been granted and their relevant pre commencement conditions satisfactorily

discharged before each RM is commenced.

Freedom of Information Home Farm

I have now sent the following  Freedom of Information request to Central Bedfordshire planning department:




I am writing with regard to my enquiry as to which relevant planning permissions and conditions have, up to now, not been granted to or discharged by Persimmon and as a result of which they have been asked by Central Bedfordshire Council to stop work at Home Farm, Cranfield. I am formally making this enquiry as a Freedom of Information request. 

Home Farm

Public accountability is all the rage and I personally can't see it going away. I had a useful chat recently with Councillor Alan Bastable in the fresh produce aisle of Budgens as we foraged for our suppers. Alan has worked very hard for the village and we inevitably ended up talking about Home Farm. As a result I have sent him and his fellow CB Councillors the following request:

I have been in email contact with Central Beds to enquire which planning permissions or consents remain to be granted or discharged before Persimmon can continue to operate the Home Farm site. I would be grateful f you could establish what these are and put them into the public domain.

I would also like to see a copy, electronic or scanned hard copy of any  communication to Persimmon asking them to stop work and explaining why they should do so. I believe these communications should also be publicly available. 

Schools - Community Partnership

Education change is just round the corner it would seem.  Free schools and academies are in the news. A  move from Bedfordshire's three tier to two tier is a hardy perennial. Whatever your kids age this is crucial for your family.

Put this date in your diary - 22 June Cranfield Parish Council 7 pm: Wootton Upper School meeting with Cranfield Parish Council about a school 'community partnership'. I'm not sure what it means but it could be important. It seems that Wootton and the Lower School are applying for 'Academy' status. What the flippin' windsock does that mean? Come along and ask your questions. 

War memorial

We are reconciling ourselves (committees on 1 June) to the impracticality - or maybe impracticability - of refacing the war memorial and reinscribing the  names of the fallen. Sue Clark talked about accepting the weathering of the memorial and celebrating its simplicity.

However, BIG HOWEVER, the plan might be to ensure that the names on the memorial are recorded publicly elsewhere. War memorial are a key part of our local history and after WW1 they were a step forward in recognising the sacrifice (usually in vain!) of ordinary soldiers. We'll be asking the public what they think through this Cranfield Express in July.

Letter in Beds on Sunday today

Persimmon is the biggest house builder in the country and has an obligation to demonstrate best practice in construction ("delight for villagers in row over lorries" 29 May). When 

residents and the parish council were first in discussion  with Persimmon in 2007 we pressed the idea of them signing up for the nationally recognised considerate constructors scheme. This was

politely ignored and we received assurances that they would deal with any issues that arose.

But as Adam Thompson's balanced report shows that has not been the case and Persimmon's period as guest of our village has not started well. I have received many complaints about the 

impacts of construction traffic and frankly many of them are unprintable. 

The parish council also sought to have the access to the site changed from Lodge Road, a picturesque country lane,

to directly from the High Street. That would have solved many of the current issues.  Again there was no interest from Persimmon. 

The debate about new housing is over and homes will be built but that does not mean that existing residents should have their lives ruined for years to come. Persimmon's

representatives need to be working through the local stakeholder group (cancelled last month) and dealing promptly with complaints. That would be a huge step forward. 

Laurence Pollock

Versallion and politics

Central Beds is settling down after the election fuss with just one loose end. The children's service portfolio holder Mark Versallion is still on London Borough of Harrow. I've been asking our unitary councillors about this anomaly and will continue to press until Cllr Versallion has finally decided where he is a councillor. Portfolio holder (sorry, "executive lead") is a huge job. See this from the London Evening Standard.


Not surprised they're asking questions in the Big Smoke. 

Councillor agrees to quit over second seat in shires

Peter Dominiczak and Joshua Neicho
26 May 2011 

A Conservative councillor in Harrow announced today that he would quit after it emerged he also sits on a council in another part of the country.

Mark Versallion lives in Bedfordshire but has represented Stanmore Park in Harrow for more than a year.

But after he was elected to Bedfordshire county council this month some residents in Harrow accused him of having "no commitment" to the area.

Sources claimed that Mr Versallion, 39, a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, would receive more than £20,000 a year for his work on the two councils. Chairwoman of the
Conservative Association in Harrow, Marilyn Ashton, said that calling a by-election would be "the honourable thing to do". She added: "I understand he has made clear to people in Bedfordshire that he intends to stand down in Harrow, but we haven't got as far as a formal agreement."

The Labour leader of Harrow council, Bill Stephenson, described the situation as "a complete farce", adding: "He used to have a business in Harrow but now he lives a considerable distance away. If you are a Harrow councillor you should be able to devote yourself to it full-time."

After being contacted by the Standard Mr Versallion today conceded that it was "appropriate" that he now quits Harrow council. He said: "I still feel able to deal with my ward case work in Harrow, and indeed have been doing so since my election to Central Bedfordshire on May 5 but, as I have said even since before my election, I think it is appropriate that I stand down from Harrow council.

"This is being discussed with the
Harrow party association."

Persimmon and Home Farm

Lodge Road fought back in Beds on Sunday today after complaints about aggregate lorries had mounted in recent weeks. They say it's the squeaky hinge that gets the oil and my goodness that hinge has made its presence known.

It was interesting, reading that Central Beds and Persimmon each claimed "credit", if that is the right expression, for temporarily putting a stop to construction on Home Farm. Regardless, one fact cannot be denied: The news was broken thanks to Cranfield Express Editor Peter Hinson's direct approach to Persimmon last week. 

Why the building has stopped is not totally clear. Issues around land ownership still need to be thrashed out. Watch this (cyber)space and of course Cranfield Express.

Latest delays

This is Nick's response: 

As you know we had a delay before the trigger point for the S106 was confirmed by CBC colleagues then another delay whilst the payment was requested and subsequently received before CBC could issue us with the instruction to proceed in March 2011.

This scheme had therefore to be reprogrammed into the current financial year. We do need to verify health and safety information that was obtained for this scheme because it is time limited and this is being done. The project can then proceed to the statutory public consultation phase but you do all need to be aware that there is an opportunity there for objections to be made to any of the elements of the scheme by the public.

They saw it coming

Remember this? Residents of Lodge Road in 2009 warned about the disruption caused by Persimmon using it for construction. The Parish Council protested to the former Mid Beds about Lodge Road being used for both vehicle access to the giant site (over 350 houses) and for construction. It argued for access via the High Street. The pleas fell on deaf ears. 

Dear Nick - wot about our traffic calming?

How many engineers does it take to plan some traffic calming? And how do they know the money is in their bank account? Never have I encountered more bureaucracy than developing plans for traffic calming in the village


See below a series of messages  from Nick Chapman, Amey to the Parish Council from November on, regarding our unending quest for a traffic calming scheme to be funded with section 106 ("planning gain") money from the University business park. CBC/Amey have the money, only a few tweaks are needed  and we are getting no response. 


Nick Chapman: The situation is that we were in the process of finally modifying drawings based on the Parish Council's last communication. On discovering that the S106 trigger had not been met and as a result there had been no payment of the balance of the monies due I stopped my staff working on it as effectively I had no further budget, the extensive changes to the proposals over time having already exceeded the allocated design budget.

The next step, when funding is reinstated, will be to do this and then immediately to issue all of the plans and notices for the statutory consultation required for the various features. 




After more prompting Nick Chapman writes again in December


Nick Chapman: I am well aware that CBC has invoiced for the S106 money as yet there is no money on the table and I have no budget to do any more work. This may of course be the
situation until well into the new financial year.
This makes it rather difficult to utilise any resources on the project. When we stopped work due to lack of finance most of the 'tweaks' suggested by the PC had been incorporated but there is still some work to do before I can present that as a completed set of drawings to a meeting of the PC. I believe that this process really does need to wait till the S106 has been
paid to CBC.


Finally the money comes through and Cllr Ken Matthews writes to Amey in January:


Ken Matthews: I'm advised that CBC has now received payment.  Presumably work on the "tweaks" can now resume with a view to presenting a completed set of drawings to Cranfield PC.


The clerk then writes to Amey AGAIN in March:


PC clerk: I am receiving enquiries from residents of the village, asking when the traffic calming scheme is due to commence.  Do you have any idea of the timescales we are looking at?

Finally (did I say finally?) the clerk has written this week to Amey

PC Clerk: Dear Nick, would you be kind enough to let me know where we are with the proposed traffic calming measures for Cranfield High Street? (my bold)

Persimmon stop work on Home Farm

This is the front page story on the June Cranfield Express due out on Thursday. It is made available early in electronic format  thanks to the editor Peter Hinson.

Ceasefire on Home Farm 

Persimmon has announced it will

“temporarily cease work” on the main

(Home farm) site after mounting concerns

from residents about access to

Lodge Road and Court Road by construction

traffic.

The company, responding to an

enquiry by Cranfield Express stated:

“We fully appreciate that we have a

duty of care for the local community.

Therefore, due to the current situation

and concerns raised regarding

working hours and traffic, we have

made the decision to temporarily

cease work on the main site, after we

have implemented security and health

and safety measures. Work will only

re-commence when the relevant matters

are resolved and the local authority

is satisfied with our strategy to

continue. The county council (sic)

works to the existing highways will

continue to completion.”

A stakeholder meeting last month

was called off at the last minute with

no rearrangement date by Central

Beds. As a result, parish councillors

hosted an unofficial meeting to allow

residents to express their frustration.

They have reported lorries turning

up to work well before the 8 am starting

time for Lodge Road and the 9

am starting point for Court Road.

And complaints have continued that

Lodge Road is not properly washed

each night. The early starts include

Saturday morning. There was even

work on the site, on 29 April, a public

holiday.

Condition 31 of the outline planning

permission for Home Farm provides

the following working hours:

“Works of construction, including the

use of plant, vehicles and machinery

necessary for the implementation of

this consent, shall only take place

(other than as specifically approved

in writing by the Local Planning

Authority prior to any works being

undertaken) between 0800 hours and

1800 hours on Mondays to Fridays

inclusive, and 0800 hours to 1300

hours on Saturdays and not at all on

Sundays or Bank Holidays.”

Its also states that there should not

be any waiting on Lodge Road or

Court Road prior to the permitted

times.

At the same time issues have arisen

about Persimmon’s relationship with

Dennison who control land to the rear

of Maple Way, Willow Springs and

Plough Close. This is where the community

hall and the school playing

field will be constructed.

A representative of Dennison spoke

to the Parish council in April and the

approved minutes state: “PCllr Mrs

D Ball invited the representative from

Dennison Investment to speak regarding

the status of negotiations with

Persimmon regarding the Dennison

land. It would appear that

Persimmon has ‘jumped the gun’ and

building has commenced. Dennison

and Persimmon were in ‘good discussions’

until February of this year,

and then it stopped.

“The commencement of the build

has been stopped by CBC, and

Persimmon and Dennison

Investments are taking legal advice

on their dispute. Councillor Ken

Matthews stated that Central

Bedfordshire Council will not issue

outstanding reserved matters until the

dispute is settled, however certain

works are permitted. Central

Bedfordshire Council has also taken

legal advice, and it appears that

Persimmon may apply for permission

on the grounds of non-determination.

“The representative from Dennison

Investments suggested that Central

Bedfordshire Council must be strong

– and state that there will be no occupations

until the dispute is resolved.

With regard to the 106 monies, he

stated that there are tools that are present

in the legal agreement to make

Persimmon behave, and on the matter

of Martin Wright refusing to discuss

the 106 agreement on the

grounds that it is confidential.

Members were advised that Dennison

Investments did not consider it confidential

and is happy for Mr Wright

to discuss it with the Stakeholder

Group.”

Persimmon in their statement to

Cranfield Express responded to this

as follows: “Whilst we do not agree

with Dennison’s interpretation of the

current situation, we are committed

to working proactively and positively

with the local authority to see the successful

delivery of the Section 106

package which ultimately, will benefit

the local community.”