footpath repairs

This is from the latest Central Beds customer service bulletin.

Dear Sir/Madam ,    I have several issues of which I should like to take this oppurtunity to bring to your attention     with regards MILLARDS CLOSE , CRANFIELD , BEDFORD both for myself on behalf of my neighbours.   

1)Firstly , recently the footpaths were resurfaced in December 2010, but for some unexplained reason the paths outside the following properties DID NOT get theirpaths done:   

15 Millards Close   

17 Millards Close   

19 Millards Close   

21 Millards Close

23 Millards Close   

25 Millards Close   

ALL the other adjacent Bungalows and houses had there old paths outside their properies resurfaced but not ours. This is not acceptable I should be grateful on my behalf and those of my neighbours that the Highways agency and / or Bedford Council come out to redo the properties that have been overlooked.

The Highways inspector's response is

"When the works were recently done, we did the worst sections with the money that was available at the time. The other paths that were not resurfaced will be assessed from next financial years budget, in April."

Well it's looking like almost  April from my window so time for a quick gee up. I have no doubt it would have been more cost effective to do all the Millards footpaths at one go. The pigeon post has already gone to the parish clerk.

Last night's meeting

Minutes of the PC planning meeting approved last night:

Before the meeting started,  a resident of Court Road, reported the problems that she has endured from the contractors delivering to the Home Farm Development.  She is concerned, and has experienced dangerous obstruction and delays caused by the lorries which park on Lodge Road to deliver materials.  When challenged, they become abusive.  She tried to complain at the site office, however, further abuse was received from a worker on site; it is now her intention to take the matter further by contacting Martin Wright Persimmon Homes, to ask that he complies with the legal responsibilities relating to agreed conditions. 

PCllr Mrs D Ball reported that she had met with police to discuss the matter of illegal parking of lorries whilst waiting/unloading, and the abuse given to residents when complaints are made.  Police Officer Keith Glen met with Cllr Ball on site and a warning was given to Mr N Burt, site manager, stating that any lorries parking illegally (not using the designated parking area) would be ‘ticketed’, and that abuse would not be tolerated.  Cllr Ball reported to Martin Wright, however he said that the problems were not due to the behaviour of Persimmon workers therefore he was unable to do anything.  Cllr Ball made it clear that this Council expects him to manage the situation as it is his responsibility.  CBCllr A Bastable undertook to attempt to contact Mr Wright on Thursday 10^th March to follow this up.  Cllr Ball undertook to contact Hannah Pattinson to make her aware of the situation and to ask that she impresses on Martin Wright, the need for him to comply with his legal responsibilities.

Lodge Road Closure

Cranfield

Lodge Rd

4.04.11

8.04.11

Daytime closure 0730 - 1800

Carriageway works

Peter Wales T & W Civil Engineering 01604 702220

Bang!

I have had a number of reports of parishioners disturbed by gas guns which go off early in the morning in newly sown fields to scare the pesky birds. No doubt this could be resolved amicably with local farmers so long as we establish if there is a growing problem and what the guidelines are. Please report, confidentially,  any concerns to me at broadgreen68@btinternet.com 01234 757689

Line-out

Imagine the joy in Lincroft when the double yellow lineman (for the county) came with his paint pot to mark the junction with the High Street. Except, he missed a bit – pictured, so parking continues. Cranfield Express is appealing for explanations. The main contenders are: 1 - A special parking space for parish councillors when they are visiting the off licence; 2 – a special parking space for parish councillors when they are visiting the hairdressers; 3 – the impact of front loaded local government spending cuts. 

Bus services to Milton Keynes

See the letter below from Milton Keynes council. It means that unless something happens there will be not evening services to Milton Keynes. After the loss of evening services to Bedford two years ago Cranfield faces the prospect of a being a young person, non-car user unfriendly place after 6 pm. 

Dear Ms Davey - Hunt

BUS SERVICES BETWEEN CRANFIELD AND CENTRAL MILTON KEYNES   

I am writing to you regarding changes to bus services between Central Milton Keynes and Cranfield with effect from 22^nd May 2011.

Currently routes 1, 17/17A, and 158 operate between Cranfield, and Central Milton Keynes. All three services receive financial support from Milton Keynes Council. In addition to providing through journeys between Cranfield and Milton Keynes the three services provide local journeys between Cranfield University and Cranfield.

Details of the changes to services are as follows;

• Service 1 provides an hourly Monday to Saturday daytime service via Newport Pagnell. A revised timetable will be introduced, but there will be no change to the frequency.  

• Service 17/17A provides an approximately two hourly Monday to Saturday daytime via Moulsoe, Coachway and Kingston. The route of the service between Kingston and Central Milton Keynes will be revised to include Woburn Sands and Bletchley. Passengers using the service wishing to travel to Central Milton Keynes can either stay on the vehicle or reduce their journey time by changing at Coachway to a more direct service.

• Service 158 provides two return evening journeys Mondays to Saturdays between Milton Keynes and Cranfield. Subject to final approval this service will be withdrawn.

The changes to services 1 and 17 are such that local journeys will continue to be provided, but the withdrawal of service 158 will mean that there will be no local journeys in Cranfield Monday to Saturday evening.

The withdrawal of service 158 has been discussed with Central Bedfordshire Council and a request has been made by Milton Keynes Council for a financial contribution towards the service. Unfortunately Central Bedfordshire Council has declined to make any contribution.

In addition to writing to you to notify you of the changes I therefore also wish to investigate whether Cranfield Parish Council or Cranfield University, to whom I am also writing, would be willing to make a financial contribution towards retaining the evening service.

If you wish to consider the matter I am happy to provide details of the current contract cost and surveys of passenger use that have been undertaken of evening journeys.

I look forward to your response.

Stuart Simmonds

Passenger Transport Officer (Operations)

Am I going bonkers?

No answers to that question please. After the 'new' A421 opened the 'new' junction 13 proved a bit of a challenge but we all mastered it. It seems odd  heading off to Cranfield and Salford on a 6-lane superhighway. Well, things move on.

However last Sunday and then again on Tuesday coming back from a business trip to Hemel (yes, I know, I did something bad in  a past life) I ended up going all round the loops and getting back to Cranfield via Aspley. After consulting with others I've confirmed that the road up to Cranfield/Salford is currently closed but you can still access J13 via that route. I actually may be going mad but that's not one of the symptoms. 

No clash

No Parish council tonight. Bit of a waste really as there is no decent footie only Chelsea and Copenhagen. I've had both legs of Man U and Marseille uninterrupted (praise be) and the pleasure of watching Barca dismantle Arsenal, undistracted by parochial duties. Missed Spurs and Milan. Spurs are a good cause since they have registered underdog status and are NOT Arsenal.  Chelsea are also not Arsenal but they are Chelsea. Quarter final draw in Friday.

Buses

The Central Beds budget setting confirmed the cut in support for  Sunday buses. However Sunday buses to and from Bedford will continue to run until July when Stagecoach adjust their timetables. 

We are trying to find out what Bedford Borough are doing about their end of support for this service. A letter is being drafted to go to the portfolio holder (head hauncho in plain speaking terms) for public transport Cllr Charles Royden. I will keep readers up to date. 

Persimmon

We are hearing repeated reports of unpleasant behaviour from truck drivers in Lodge Road. It has to be stressed that Cranfield and the Parish Council accept that houses are being built on Home Farm and there will be some loss of "amenity" as the planners quaintly put it.

However there are two complete NO-NOs. First no trucks should be going down Lodge Road to Court Road and secondly the abuse some parishioners have reported from truck drivers must stop.

Child cemeteries

From an on line reader of Cranfield Express:

I have just been reading the March edition of Cranfield Express online
concerning child areas in cemeteries.

I lived in Cranfield up until I was 18, when I joined the Army.  I am now
almost 75, retired and live in Basingstoke.   I have been in that cemetery
on quite a few occasions when I visit my sister who still lives in the
village;  indeed one of my aunts is buried there also.

I have seen a number of child areas in cemeteries and find them 'full of
life' with jingles etc. and other items such as toys, photos and lights.  I
cannot see anything wrong in this provided they are all together in one area
- and that is how most of the bereaved parents and relatives would like it
to be.

I visit the cemetery in Southampton quite regularly when I take my wife to
the hospital and they have a lovely area set aside especially for the young
who die.  It is full of life and parents love the thought of being able to
sit and 'play' with their children with the toys around them.

Death of a child is particularly harrowing;  so make it more comfortable for
those who visit the small graves.

Community safety

Last Wednesday (2 March) Notable for a member of the public angry about what the trucks are doing to Court Road and the attitude of some staff on the Home Farm site when approached and a good presentation by PC Keith Glen from the safer neighbourhood team. 

Central Beds Budget

Central beds set its budget tonight. I attended.


Cut in spending £20 million
Cut in staffing (before the end of March) 66
Cut in pay for staff (over £21,000) 2%
Cut in allowances for councillors - two per cent
Council tax frozen

Lodge Road

Carried out a site visit this morning following reports about damage and nuisance from lorries. The place is very muddy. I had assumed that Lodge Road would be widened before trucks started going  up and down it from the site but that appears not to be the case. 

Letter to Central Beds and Bedford Borough

Letter sent jointly from the Parish Council and Cranfield University to Central Beds and Bedford Borough about Sunday buses. Central Beds budget meeting is Thursday night.

Noticeboard

We are planning new/replacement notice boards. The clerk has been checking out the market and most come in at about £800.  Big fat ouch!!

Village directory

Parish Council's Village Directory with last minute fiddly corrections to telephone numbers finally passed for press. It will go out with Cranfield Express in April.

Street names

Street names for Home Farm being recommended by the Parish Council.


Thillans

Arpins Pightle

Ramsey Abbey Close or Road

Crow Close

Home Close or Road (close to the Home Farmhouse itself)

Does the village have an opinion?

Cranfield buses

I'm trying to find out about the fate of the Sunday (V2) Bedford to Cranfield service jointly supported by Central Beds (along with Bedford Borough). It was earmarked for the axe last December and things still look bleak. 

CBC identified a saving of  £9,000 and a report commented: “Moderate impact on Cranfield Uni, Cranfield, the Sheltons and Marston Moretaine.”

Last week Central Beds sent  a notice stating: “Following recent reports in the local and national press about changes to bus services, we thought that it would be beneficial for you to receive a breakdown of all the services within Central Bedfordshire that will be affected. These changes were agreed as part of a savings package that was discussed at the 7 December Executive meeting.

The current list did not include the V2. But a council officer  couldn't enlighten me and was taking further advice. And a source at Bedford Borough said the service would continue for the immediate future after 28 March.

Cranfield Parish Council and Cranfield University are drafting a joint letter appealing to both councils to keep the service going. At the same time they are pledging to work with councils and bus service providers to find innovative ways of plugging the growing public transport gaps in the area.

Evening services from Milton Keynes are also under threat. In addition it is reported that those on free passes such as older people will not be able to travel before 10.30

Home Farm community building

After loads of frustration that the community building had to fit into a badminton court template there has been some loosening of the strait jacket.  A Central Beds planning officer came to the meeting on Wednesday to discuss  having  another look at the design. Pigs were spotted taking off over Marston Thrift but it was all true.


It would appear that Persimmon have requested that  the ‘trigger’ (number of houses) at which construction of the community building starts, could be moved back. This would allow time to think again about  the design  and a further consultation with the village. The building does not have to be specifically sports focused we have been told. In the meantime, Persimmon will seek permission for the building as it currently has been designed as  a fall back if discussions on another design don't bear fruit.


My own opinion - which I think is pretty common - is that we need a building like a modern family car that can be opened up or folded down into 72 different configurations - everything from little nooks for private meetings and committees to whole hall meetings and play and recreation areas. We also need standard height ceilings as opposed to badminton hall which are easier to keep warm. 


I am also pressing for excellent 'Breeam' standards for environmental quality - this would include PV panels (photovoltaic - generating and selling electricity), solar thermal (heating water) and rain water harvest (used in the toilets). 

Quiet Lane

After years of cajoling, arguments about cost and responsibility and, to be absolutely blunt, some foot dragging in the old Beds County Council there is a small 'Quiet Lane' sign at the junction of Wood End Road and Lodge Road and at the end of the houses near Villa Park. I can't say how many hours of meetings and megabytes of emails went into having those two signs erected. But believe me it was a lot. At one time Amey said it would cost £10,000.

The funny thing is the breach in the hedge which Persimmon has driven into Home Farm is within the quiet lane area. So how is that compatible with earth movers, cement lorries and loads of bricks going in an out? 'Not' is the answer I think.

Council meeting Wednesday 16 February

Full council meetings (see this Wednesday's agenda)  can be pretty routine but interested parishioners should note two items below. First a Central Beds Planning officer will be coming  at 7 pm to talk about the design for the community building. Secondly we have the discussion about street names for Home Farm. 

7.00pm. Hanna Pattinson (CBC Planning) to discuss options relating to the design of the community building.

8.00pm,  MEETING OF THE FULL PARISH COUNCIL

1.     TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:  CB/PCllrs. D Allan, Peter Meadows, Jo Stannage

2.     TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND/OR PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS IN ANY MATTER

3.     TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING[S] [copy herewith]

4.     CLERKS REPORT

5.     Health & Safety

6.     REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES

6.1.  General Purposes Committee

6.2.  Burial Grounds Committee

6.3.  Environment Committee

6.4.  Planning Committee

6.4.1.         Consideration of General Planning Matters

6.4.2.         Street naming – Home Farm

7.     CORRESPONDENCE

8.     FINANCIAL MATTERS AND ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT

9.     REPORTS FROM CENTRAL BEDS COUNCILLORS (and any other representative)

10.  HIGHWAY MATTERS

A result?

The power of the Parish Council clerk! She has contacted the fly posters who have  promised not to do it again! With four hot food takeaways in Cranfield (some used by this blogger!)  the war on obesity in the village is not for the faint hearted. But there are limits. 

Fly posting

I have just removed adverts for a health and fitness company tacked onto telephone poles on Mill Road. Not the first time this company has stuck stuff all over the village and then abandoned it. A local sports club has also been guilty in the past  but they have not been offending lately. I have asked the PC clerk to contact and request the health company not to treat our streets as sort of linear billboards. There is Cranfield Express if they want to do legit advertising. 

Wind strength

Cranfield battered for the last 24 hours by continuous high winds. Not gale force but non-stop with fence panels banging all through the night. Residents in Lodge Road, I suspect in the brunt of it. 

Cemetery works

I visited as Malcolm Sargent was putting up the first memorial plaques in the cemetery. The idea is that people who have had an association with the village and died and who are buried elsewhere can have their links commemorated in this way. Its a nice development.

Malcolm is also sorting out the left hand gate. The retaining rod won't go down far enough making it hard to padlock when it is opened for a hearse to enter.

Street names

We didn't get round to these last night. Coming up for decision on 16 February at full council. Some parishioners would like to see RAF WWII planes commemorated. Spitfire is always popular but I'm not sure if someone wants to live in Mosquito Gardens or Hurricane Avenue.

Bus service cuts

In Cranfield we lost our evening buses two years ago and now we are threatened with loss of our Sunday buses - to save £9000.  Services to Milton Keynes are also under threat. See below.

From the BBC

More than two-thirds of councils in England are planning major cuts to their bus budgets, it is claimed.

According to the Campaign for Better Transport, which is launching the Save our Buses campaign, some councils intend to end all subsidised services. The Local Government Association also warned many bus routes would disappear as a result of government cutbacks.

But the government said nearly 80% of services outside London were commercially run and so not affected. As part of the Save our Buses campaign, data was collected from every local authority in England. It found 13 county councils were planning cutbacks of more than £1m, including Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon.Many rural, hospital, evening and weekend bus services were at risk.

Low incomes

The Local Government Association said bus routes would disappear as a result of government cuts to council budgets, and warned changes to the way concessionary travel is funded would also see services scaled back.

County councils will take over responsibility this year for funding concessionary travel.

This will mean a cut in funding earmarked for other services, and concessionary travel will be scaled back to off-peak hours in order for county councils to be able to meet their statutory duty, the LGA added.

Campaigners warn many rural, hospital, evening and weekend bus services are now under threat

Stephen Joseph, Campaign for Better Transport's chief executive, said the cuts to bus services would hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest.

"We believe any short-term savings will be outweighed by the long-term cost of a vastly depleted bus network.

"These unprecedented cuts will be especially disastrous for people on low incomes and could effectively mean the death of rural bus services.

"Politicians must consider the social, economic and environmental consequences of failing to protect our bus services."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If the government really wants people to get off welfare and into work they are going to need transport for it."

Home Farm and Denison

The Parish Council agreed tonight (subject to full council ratification) to write to Persimmon asking for their plans (in writing) if they they do not buy the Denison Land on Home Farm (in red see above).  The Community Hall is due to go on the Denison land. They reported to us that Denison are not selling - but I understand they say they will still buy the land needed for the community hall. We need some hard facts about what happens next.

Please note 1.3 above: "The site is in three separate ownerships. It is therefore crucial to plan for the development in a comprehensive way."

Exactly.

Home Farm street names

Some interesting ideas for names for the new streets from parishioner Margaret Rooney: Thanks Margaret

Summary of suggested street names for the Home Farm Development

Five new streets need to be named.

Recommendations are:

• Bullen
• Bradshaw
• The Bury
• Thillians
• Ramsey Abbey

Bullen

Bullen Road, Close or Way. The name of the family living at Home Farm, Cranfield Court, in the 1911 census – a 100 anniversary commemoration of Home Farm. William Bullen, a farmer, his wife and one daughter.

Bradshaw

Bradshaw Road, Close or Way. The name of the family living at Bury Farm, (also known as The Bury or Home farm), in the 1881 census. Benjamin Bradshaw, a farmer, his wife, six children and a servant.

Bury

Suggest the street is named The Bury. The Bury, in the 1880s, was also known as Bury Farm or Home Farm. A way to commemorate a 19^th century name for the farm.

.

Thillians

One of eight fields in The Bury, in the 1880s, was known as ”Thillian’s” - pasture. Suggest, for simplicty, that the apostrophe is dropped. A charming, simple name. Similar single names appear elsewhere in the village – Simdims, Lordsmead, Lincroft.

Ramsey Abbey

Suggest Ramsey Abbey Close or Road, depending on house layout. Owner of Cranfield for over 500 years from 998 until the dissolution of the monastries in 1536. A good opportunity to mark this significant historical link with Cranfield. Ailwyn’s Acre marks another Ramsey Abbey link, and is on Lodge Road, very close to the Home Farm development..

Further names that could be considered

• Capell
• McFalone
• Corner Piece

Capell

Name of the family at Home Farm, in the 1901 census. Richard Capell, a Farm Bailiff and widower, three children and a boarder, (Louisa Spray, National School Teacher).

McFalone

Name of the family at Farm House, Cranfield Court, in the 1891 census. John McFalone, Farm Bailiff and widower, originally from Roxborough, Scotland. One daughter and a housekeeper.

The family name is not an immediately recognisable one in this part of the UK.

Also, I am assuming “Farm House, Cranfield Court” is Home Farm, as this is a farm bailiff’s house, (Home Farm in 1901 was a farm bailiff’s house). Although there are no references to Home or Bury in the 1891 census, I am not sure we can be 100% certain this is Home Farm - unless someone with better local knowledge can verify.

Corner Piece

Another of the eight fields that formed The Bury in the 1880s. Corner Piece was arable. “Piece” has a charming ring about it..…like Partridge Piece.