Housing for older people

Portnall Place, Mill Road

CBC is raising the issue about housing for older people in rural areas. This is absolutely right as the country's housing stock depletes and we do not keep up with the house building programme of the 1950s. Cranfield has first class provision, run by Aragon in Mill Road (above) but what's next? 

There's supposed to be more homes for older people on the Home Farm development, when that's built, but we are't holding our breaths. The Alms Houses, Goodman for instance, are still around but the Hartwell houses (see below) were no longer fit for purpose and have been sold to finance future housing for older people.

Hartwell almshouses - pretty but needing work

CBC wants comments on it newly adopted  Housing Allocations Policy to be implemented in the autumn. This asks that consideration be given  to older/retired people in rural areas, who may wish to downsize to a smaller property but remain in the area. The consultation runs between 2nd June and 30th June 2014. Personal and Parish Council views are invited. Responses via the Central Bedfordshire Council website: www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/consultations This will be considered at Full Council tomorrow evening (18 June)

Polite notice?

I am indebted to a local member of the Corps of Citizens for sending these pictures and accompanying correspondence about the new sign outside Portnall Place. The citizen rightly has pointed out that Portnall Place is a public highway and has written to CBC to that effect.

CBC has written:

I have checked our mapping system and Portnall Place is showing as a publically (sic) maintained highway. Upon looking at the area the carriageway and the footpath on the right of the carriageway fall under Central Bedfordshire's Highways ownership. The garage bay and the area in front of it would appear to still be private.

The citizen has, therefore, written:

Thus the area of Portnall Place I have indicated in red above is private  but remainder is public thoroughfare.

I therefore, have to ask, upon what authority, do Aragon Housing Association have the right to erect the two signs declaring Portnall Place to be private parking for this sheltered housing scheme (2nd one is just visible through the window of the pickup truck above)?

I would have no objection if they erected a polite notice asking for considerate parking but not if this is just public road, like any other street in the vicinity.

I am unsure why they think they need to do this, in my experience of living here for several decades, I rarely see any problem with parking round there. I would concur that there is no frontage to the scheme on Mill Road or Bedford Road, upon which safe parking can be made and that parking for residents/visitors/emergency vehicles, has to be down the area above. However, most "non-visitors" parking over there, represents very short term parking, largely due to the inadequate parking available at the Co-op or Pharmacy on Mill Road & does not constitute a major issue.

I look forward to your observations

Trouble in Cranfield, blog readers and the Corps of Citizens also look forward to CBC's observations.  And you do wonder that if its possible to do this in Portnall Place surely some similar signage might be possible in Flitt Leys.