Land swap

The chair of governors from Cranfield Lower School and the head teacher attended on Wed evening to discuss the possibility of a landswap between part of the recreation ground and the land allocated to the school on Home farm. They point out that that land on Home Farm is entirely useless to them because of the remoteness from the main site.

This has been manifestly obvious to just about everyone from the word go - a word spoken eight or nine years ago. The only reason large scale housing development got the go-ahead from an earlier enquiry was because it was ruled that this extra land would allow the lower school to grow sufficiently. Education capacity had hitherto been a stumbling block. But this solution is nonsense given the age group concerned. There is even money - more than £100,000 - for a toilet block on the site which needs to be repatriated to the main site somehow, otherwise it will be lost.

Cycle track

There is £100,000 in the Home farm 106 agreement for the cycle path to the uni plus upgrading the path between Church Walk and Court Road and creating a anew footpath and cycleway on the north side of Court Road between the school and the High Street. Found this out at the home farm stakeholder meeting on Thursday. But no one knows how this is to be prioritised. Investigations continue.

Community Hall

Persimmon's community hall looks better in colour with a few illustrative trees behind it. It will have neither a tin roof nor a turf roof (turf roofs are looking a bit yellow at the moment according to MW). Most the meeting was updating with news of the Phase 2 application going in soon and phase 1 being approved in the near future.

I asked about environmental standards for the community hall. These will be to Breeam ' very good'. BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de facto measure used to describe a building's environmental performance.

There is an 'excellent' standard that should be aspired to I believe but additional funding would be needed to upgrade. I will be asking the PC to investigate those extra costs and establish whether there are funding streams that could help bridge the difference. In simple energy costs good design will pay for itself and water conservation will become vital in the future (another dry summer looming).

Lodge Road

Designs have arrived for the development of Lodge Road. Sure enough we have indications of a 'No Left turn' sign out of Lodge road (subject to traffic regulation order). There is the beginning of the cycle way at the top of Lodge Road - subject to working with the university and potential funders to create a full length one. The bus stop on the west side has to be relocated and of course there is the roundabout. Now that there is progress on the No Left Turn into Lodge Road this is probably the remaining area of particular concern as it will have to process an awful lot of traffic.

Update

Big gap again due to day jobs and heat (my excuse any way).

Here are the headlines:

Deal on location of houses on Goodman land in relation to Maple Way brokered.

Still complaints from Willow and Plough about location of Community Building on Home Farm

Yet another hitch over timing of traffic calming. The tale of some lost money and whether St Modwen occupation had actually triggered its release.

Significant progress made it getting a 'no left turn' out of Home farm into Lodge Road. A key Parish Councillor goal in the recent discussions.

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.”

So what happened to the health centre? It's a desperately-needed response to the growth in housing in Cranfield. 12 months ago it was all systems go and now it's supposedly on ice. There is money in the Home Farm 106 (planning gain agreement - I mustn't write jargon) and as the early planning for this goes ahead we need to be looking at health facilities again and finding out what the PCT's progress is on this.

Cycle track

Cycle track: Cyclists of the world unite you have nothing to lose but your chains.

Hopefully we can step up progress on the southern cycle track which is part of the Home Farm section 106 agreement. I understand the funds are released when the 50th house is occupied but there is no reason why we shouldn't be planning for this now. Cycling is the ideal way to get back and forward between the university. The roads, especially at night and in the winter are not good for either two wheels or two feet.

Wow - Feb 26 since my last post? Does that mean I have a life? Well time to park it a bit. Here's the PC, Home Farm, Cemetery, Covanta headlines:

We passed the traffic calming - at last.

Home Farm is cranking up with the planning app for the community building and offshoots in preparation and the stakeholder group meeting a second time. Some updates in the forthcoming Cranfield Express.

The memorial garden in the cemetery is finished and we are moving towards cultivation of the extension.

Covanta looms large over the Vale. There are a range of possible objections and my principle beef is their refusal to consider the railway line WHICH IS RIGHT BESIDE THE PROPOSED SITE as a means of moving material.

Next meeting Wed 5 May - hopefully with a rep from Persimmon to update us on planning apps and development of the community building. I have been pushing the idea that we need to start thinking of the cycle track.

Feedback on Lodge Road

From a Court Road resident (via email)

My comments for what they may be worth -

I spoke to the men in the low loaders when they arrived that day. They
informed me that they wouldn't have to do much with the heavy machinery
as the majority of the archaeological areas would have to be cleared by
hand. As they were blocking Court Road immediately passed my house,
they had to move their equipment to let me through in my car after I had
pulled off my drive.

There is now a lot of mud over the pathway where they have gone through
the hedge which is making the path very slippery. I also noticed one of
Bedfordshire Council's 4x4 pickup trucks was stuck in the mud and
abandoned in the entrance to the field yesterday morning - it is so wet
and muddy and it looks awful. There has been no attempt made to clear
any of the mud from the public pathway and as I walk my dog that way
morning and evening, I have now elected to step onto the road to avoid
slipping and my shoes becoming covered in mud, which strikes me as
hazardous!

I was stuck for 15 minutes on Lodge Road from around 8am till after
8.15am this morning due to a petrol tanker blocking the road near the
compound where the diggers are kept. They told me they were filling up
the fuel tank and the machinery and would only be a couple of minutes so
I decided to wait. 10 minutes later they were still pumping fuel and
there was a queue of 4 or 5 vehicles including the school bus now stuck
on the single track road, which meant it was not possible for me to turn
around and go another way. I was nearly late for work!!

Pole axed

A parishioner writes concerning several prangs on Bourne End Road which currently is not salted in frosty/snowy weather. Should this not be a 'hot spot' along with Marston Hill salted in addition to A and B roads? I understand some utility neanderthals who are out on parole from the Jurassic era just think its all down to women drivers.

Anyway the telegraph pole has taken quite a hammering. Luckily that's all see below:

Hi Laurence,

As discussed today, the following is a brief outline of events to date:-

Monday January 11th - 1st pole destroyed (around 9 am)

Tuesday Jan 12th (a.m.) - a motorist skids into new pole, but no damage done

Weds Feb 10th (8.30 p.m) - a car hits metal stantions that keep pole in ground, drives off with undercarriage of car exposed and leaking oil over the road (witnessed by our neighbour).

Our neighbour's fence is also damaged on the same evening by a different car.

Thurs 11th Feb - 2nd pole destroyed (around 9.30 am)

Sun 21st Feb - 3rd pole destroyed (around 8 am)

I would also like to formally request that we are added to the list for salt bins on Bourne End Road.

Thanks for your advice Laurence. I will compose a piece for Cranfield Express if I feel it is still timely for the April edition. I have contacted Beds on Sunday who I hope will run a piece this weekend.

Airfield development

Leaflet just through the door from the University's development company seeking a different allocation of houses under Central Beds' core strategy. Currently the draft plan suggests 160 houses divided between a main site at central motors and a small site at 1/2 High Street owned by the University. The University states (correctly) that up to 250 houses can be built up to 2026. It doesnt say whether they want the full allocation or not. visit

www.cranfieldplans.co.uk or www.talktocentralbedfordshire.co.uk

Churchyard paths

Useful meeting at the Churchyard to discuss state of the paths and what can be done about it. My report to the parish council is below.

Churchyard site meeting

13 February 2010

Present: Sheila Ewen, Derek Jones, Hugh Symes-Thompson (Parochial Church Council), Peter Meadows, Laurence Pollock (Cranfield Parish Council)

Those present examined the condition of churchyard pathways at a variety of locations with a view to establishing need and priorities.

This report will be forwarded to Cranfield Parish Council

Areas of particular concern

• The Church Walk-Court Road public footpath is subject to water entering from the churchyard. The PCC is exploring the possibility of a soakaway to deal with this. The path is choked with leaves that block the drain and cars churn the surface when turning at the top of Church Walk. Wooden posts that once protected the path have disappeared. This might be a suitable project for Probation Service community work. The PCC has contacted the land registry but it has been unable to establish ownership. Advice from Anglian Water on the soakway would be useful.

• The north west path is probably unsuited to pea shingle as this is the vehicle entrance. PCC members also pointed out the benefits of some hard standing adjacent to the path for vehicles to use when parking on site.

• The northern path is also of concern and some has been dressed with pea shingle. Hugh reports that the shingle is not the correct colour but could not give a view on whether this renders it entirely unsuitable. Part of the path has little shingle and is muddy while the section near the lych gate shows hard core coming through. As an interim measure I believe the path should be dressed with shingle as soon as possible.

The back paths (east and south east) while a cause of concern might benefit from the following:

• Spraying out moss.

• Reseeding: it transpires that the existing paths are far wider than the original as the edges have eroded

• Permitting grass beside the path to grow longer in order to strengthen the sides.

Home Farm

Resident reports: 0815hrs Fuel Tanker stoped to fill up digers on blind bend Lodge Rd. Traffic could not pass

Home Farm

Work is taking place on the home farm site. It was a bit sooner than we were expecting and no one told us. It was reported (ta to Cranfield's most senior white van man) that low loaders turned up in Court Road just as the school rush was getting under way. Lots of concerns therefore.

I contacted Persimmon and received this very prompt reply:

The works that have started are part of the archaeological investigation and I must admit I was not aware they were due to start today. I have liaised with my colleagues as to what the programme and intentions are at it seems the works will be initially concentrating on AAS1 shown on the attached plan that will take approximately 10 weeks. This is not a start on site but merely something we have to do to satisfy the planning permission. It is no different to us carrying out a ground investigation report.

We do not own the charity site yet so can’t use this entrance at the moment, although as I promised and put into the Code of Construction this will be our preferred option at the start of the main construction works on the site.

I understand that the low loader Is to deliver the necessary equipment and once delivered will be contained within the site area with little need for any other deliveries of large equipment until the works are complete, at which point they will be removed from site using the same methods. The machines will only be working briefly to remove the initial topsoil, after which the investigation works will be hand dug to ensure any potential remains are not disturbed.

I would hope that people will not view this negatively, as the works for the archaeological investigation will be confined to the site and will not impact the local people to any degree. The plan attached illustrates the area that they will be working in and the access arrangements. It is no different than if a farmer was using the land and had delivered a large piece of machinery to the site? I am sure the contractors that delivered the equipment used a duty of care to do this safely and with as much disruption as possible? It is unfortunate that this fell on school times, however I’m sure it was not intentional and had a minimal impact on the school users.

I stress again this is not Persimmon starting the site works on any level that will impact on Cranfield and that any negative public reaction will be vastly over exaggerated and would rather concern and disappoint me. As always though if there are any problems or concerns then please contact me to discuss.

I will ensure going forward that any works that are due to be commenced are notified to the Parish before they commence so that we can discuss before hand. If you need to contact the Project Manager who is looking after these works for more information, their details are as follows:

Duncan Hawkins

Director

Direct Dial: 020 7832 1481

Email Address: duncan.hawkins@cgms.co.uk

Mobile: 07740 171834

I hope this alleviates your concerns.

Kind regards

Martin Wright

Moles in the cemetery

There are moles in the cemetery. These characters have form and have been around before but not in my time or in the clerk's as far as she can recall. Its gassing or tapping we are informed. But what happens after trapping? There are no maps for mole culling. Suggestions always welcome.

Cemetery extension tree planting

This is a rough indication of proposed specimen tree planting in the cemetery. The main issue is whether roots of the central trees will adversely affect any grave plots. Currently getting some advice on this. For those not familiar with the cemetery, the extension is the area on the right bounded by the hammerhead, the road and the turning circle.

Home Farm stakeholder meeting 28.1.10

My report from the Home Farm stakeholder meeting

28 January 2010

Present: Anne Samme (development manager), Ken Matthews and Alan Bastable (CBC councillors), Lionel Cooper (Colts), Marjorie Cotton (Village hall Committee), Sheila Howe (Acorn), Janet Orchart (WI), Laurence Pollock (Cranfield Parish Council) and local residents, representatives of Persimmon and their architects, Woods Hardwick.

The initial meeting of this group took place at CBC offices at Chicksands, presided over by Anne Samme. She proposed and it was agreed that the meeting would be:

• Bi-monthly

• Held in Cranfield subject to facilities being available (Persimmon will consider helping with the cost)

• Minuted, with minutes publicly available

• Not open to the public due to capacity issues.

The Stakeholder Group will exist up to two years after the development is completed. It exists to consider the views of residents while the development is underway. Anne suggested that following partial construction, the group would seek membership from some of the new houses.

Gary Surkett of Woods Hardwick explained the eight ‘character areas’, which will make up the site. They vary in type and size of dwelling and the theme or focus (‘barn’, ‘courtyard’ etc).

Questions and discussions included the following topics:

• Need to agree spec and management arrangements for multi-use public building (hall, play group and library).

• Persimmon will provide rough estimates of how quickly they think development phases will roll out and Anne Samme will check triggers for Section 106 money/facilities.

• Martin Wright of Persimmon confirmed the pledge to use the charity land for construction of the main spine road and acknowledged the issue of discouraging a left turn out of the site into Lodge Road.

• Persimmon also stated that there would be safe public access to the site in the event of residents/local reps needing to raise issues about the construction processes.

Subject to ‘reserved matters’ applications clearing final hurdles Persimmon thought construction would begin later this year or early 2011.

Next meeting 18 March. Location TBC.

Laurence Pollock

(Please note that formal minutes will be prepared by Anne Samme)

31 January 2010

Committees 3 Feb 2010

Meeting concluded on time last night. Good work by the chair and the chair of The Mad Hatters' Tea Party (General Purposes). Plenty of discussion in planning about proposed huge extensions to two houses but we resolved not oppose either. Thinking is also developing about establishing salt/grit bins at various locations in the village in the light of recent climate change, semi-Siberian conditions and councils' only being permitted to salt A and B roads. I have been particularly worried about Court Road where there is a real scrum of cars, parents, children and a school bus at 8.45 am every day. The search for a second bottle bank site goes on.