Neighbourhood Forum Minutes – 19 January 2006
Minutes of the AGM of the Burley in Wharfedale Community Trust and Neighbourhood Forum Meeting
1. Apologies for absence
Philip Davies,MP; Cllr Dale Smith; Clive Myatt; Ian Padley
102 people attended of whom 8 were first time attenders.
2. Chairman's welcome and introduction - Bruce Speed
BS welcomed:
DCllrs Chris Greaves and Matt Palmer
Salman Mather, Legal and Democratic Services
Abina Dorgan, Youth Services and colleagues
Sgt Esther Hobbs and CPSO Rachel Hodgson
PCllrs Caroline Jones, Tony Thompson, John Sparshatt, James Richards, Christine Hill and Sylvia Tilford.
Chris Flecknoe, Area Coordinator who would chair items 5-9 on the agenda.
The residents at a Forum meeting for the first time.
Introduction
BS welcomed the large number attending the meeting. He made a number of introductory comments.
· There had been many favourable comments about the Christmas lights and the street market and he knew that the meeting would want him to thank all those involved. It had been very encouraging that several new people had come to help Tom Sumner and his team with the putting up and taking down of the lights. To keep costs down there had been no fireworks this year but some people were disappointed by that. He asked for a show of hands for and against fireworks at this particular event. Only one person was in favour.
· It was always pleasant to report something positive. The work at the top of Moor Lane to extend the pavement and build a footpath up to Moor Road was nearing completion. He offered thanks for this work which had been funded by the Shipley Area Committee.
· At the last Forum meeting those present asked BCC to try and reverse the decision by Asset Management to prevent public access to Burley House Field. Bruce Speed, John Gundry and Sylvia Tilford had met Asset Management but were unsuccessful. Since then a petition with 140 signatures had been sent to Bradford and presented to the full Council at a meeting earlier in the week. This asked Councillors to countermand Asset Management's decision. A motion was carried to pass the matter to Shipley Area Committee for a decision.
· Those people with long memories would recall the proposal for a Conservation Area for the Greenholme Mill and related areas. Planning Department had now assessed this and recommended against it, but have proposed listing certain buildings, including the Mill and the gatehouse.
· In the Burley Bulletin the subject had been raised of an alternative to Thursday evenings for the Neighbourhood Forum meetings. It has now been decided to wait for the setting up of the new parish council before making any changes.
3. To approve the Minutes of the November 2005 Forum meeting
Dennis Warwich proposed and Dorit Southon seconded the acceptance of the Minutes which were duly signed.
4. A short presentation of some BCC activities in 2005: Mike Harris
BCC raises funds in the village and grants from elsewhere for its activities which are always well supported. MH said that he felt residents might like a review of projects and activities from the last year. Slides were included of the river in flood, the duck race, the fountain inauguration, open day at the Cornmill Pond, the village green, Christmas lights and Christmas market. MH expressed thanks to all who had been involved in working on projects and activities or had given financial support.
BS thanked MH for the excellent presentation.
CF took the Chair for the following items
5. Local policing report: Sgt Esther Hobbs and PCSO Rachel Hodgson
Sgt Hobbs has responsibility for Burley and Wharfedale and attended to give an update report on crime and to introduce Rachel Hodgson who was a new PCSO for the Wharfe valley. The Community Policing Team now stands at 8 people. Rachel works from Ilkley and can be contacted via Ilkley Police Station between 9 and 5 from Monday to Friday on Tel: 601060. Outside these times community policing issues can be reported to Bingley on 01274. 361122. Sgt Hobbs emphasized that this was not a number for reporting crimes. Update on crime in Burley for the last 3 months. Compared with the same 3 months last year total crimes reported were identical at 53 incidents but there were differences in the types of crime. Burglaries to dwellings were significantly reduced but vehicle crimes were up. Valuable items visible in cars had been targeted. Sgt Hobbs reminded people to keep items hidden and to take CD systems out of cars whenever possible. Vehicle crime leaflets were available at the meeting. Where community policing issues were concerned Burley was the quietest ward with damage and anti-social behaviour down.
Rachel Hodgson has been in post for 6 weeks and has been getting to know the village and the young people who gather in the park and elsewhere. She was aware of parking problems. She will be observing parking in the Station Road/Prospect Road area in the coming week and requesting people to observe restrictions. If this doesn't work fixed penalty notices will be served.
Questions to RH were asked from the floor:
Q. There has been some vandalism in the evening in the allotments area of Prospect Road was reported. Would it be possible for the officer to walk round the village in the evening.
A. 86% of her time was spent on high visibility policing. Depending on her shifts she would be in the village in the evening.
Q. Who has responsibility for policing in the station area? There had been recent damage to one of the shelters and one of the electric cabinets is also damaged.
A. This is the responsibility of the British Transport Police. MH had reported the shelter damage. RH uses public transport while on duty and will also report matters to British Transport Police when necessary.
Q. What was the latest information on setting up a police point in Burley?
A. A police point is planned for the Queen's Hall. Sgt Hobbs would be discussing this with PC Mike Exley who ahs responsibility for training volunteers on Monday January 23rd. Notices will go up in various locations next week and in the Press.
Cllr Chris Greaves reported that he had been dealing with Inspector Walker on this issue. He emphasized that volunteers will be needed if a police point is to operate and training will be provided. He hoped that people would consider volunteering.
Q Litter is being left around the shelter in the park despite there being a litter bin in the vicinity. What can be done about this?
A. Litter is collected but RH will encourage use of the litter bin when talking to the young people using the shelter.
BS welcomed Rachel Hodgson to the village and thanked her for the help in looking after it.
6. Burley Parish Council: it has been approved - what next ? Salman Mather BMDC
SM reported that after several years campaigning there was now a clear indication that new parish councils would be set up for Burley and Menston. Final confirmation is expected in the first week in February. The new councils will be set up on April 1st and elections will be held on May 4th. Nominations will be posted at the end of March. SM encouraged people to stand for election. The original recommendation to the Secretary of State was for Ilkley Parish Council to be abolished and three new councils formed. Representations had been made proposing that Ilkley Parish Council be amended rather than abolished. Amendment had been accepted by Bradford as the way to facilitate a smooth transition. Safeguards will be in place to ensure that the transfer of assets and information will take place smoothly. Transitional arrangements will be put in place from April 1st. The existing councillors from Burley on Ilkley Parish Council will take responsibilities until the new Burley Council is elected in May.
Cllr Chris Greaves thanked everyone who had worked to get this parish council change through. Both Menston Community Association and Burley Community Council had supported the change and he wished both of the new councils well. Particular thanks were extended to BCC for its efforts.
BS thanked Cllr Greaves. He himself wanted to thank all the people who, since 1976, had worked for separate parish council status for Burley.
CF emphasized that one thing that will make the new council successful will be people coming forward to stand for election – of all ages and from groups across the village. She asked those present if they would think about whether they would like to stand or could encourage others to stand. 9 parish councillors will be needed. If more than 9 nominations are received there will be an election.
7. Youth Services provision in Burley – Abina Dorgan, BMDC
CF introduced Abina Dorgan (AB) who has responsibility for youth services in the rural areas of Bradford , Amar Dadd, Leader in Charge at the Queen's Hall and Louise Hargreaves,Youth Worker together with three young people who take part in activities in the Queen's Hall. AB said that she was pleased to be at the meeting and to have an opportunity to talk about the youth work in the Queen's Hall 18 months after the refurbishments. Amma and Louise have been working in the village since September on Monday and Wednesday evenings. The young people, in consultation with the youth workers, choose activities. Others may be invited in to support some activities.
The three young people then described some of their activities: active involvement in the recruitment process for the Burley workers; visits during the 6 week summer holidays to Lightwater Valley and Flamingo Land ; a cinema visit etc..
Amar Dadd listed the full range of activities which included : music workshop, arts day, assertiveness training, team building, trampolining, DJ workshop, bowling, drugs and alcohol, joint activity with Ilkley and Silsden etc.
Questions about the youth work in the village were invited
Q. How many young people attended each week?
A. Between 30 and 40 attend each session
Q. Are there any plans to involve the village in the youth work?. Previously there had been involvement in the Management Committee
A. The youth services invited anyone to get involved with the youth project. There were a number of ways that support could be given It was also hoped to revive the Youth Parliament which would involve young people attending other groups in the community and being consulted by the parish council etc
Fred Benjamin suggested the youth project could identify existing activities in the village with which links could be developed. He particularly mentioned the Millenium Theatre Group. AB responded that the youth service supported everyone working together. It was still completing its profile of what is going on in the village and getting to know the young people before looking outwards to build links with activities.
Q. Were lifeskills included in the programme of activities? eg lifesaving, orienteering, first aid swimming etc
A . Yes, although some of the activities identified were more suitable for the summer months. The previous youth workers had done some first aid work. In general the youth services can offer a wide range of activities, including the Duke of Edinburgh award, following assessment of young people's interests. The service wants young people to be able to do things in a fun and creative way and to be able to have activities accredited, where appropriate. AB particularly mentioned the opportunity for about a dozen young people to take a community sports leader and junior sports leader courses so that they can then work with others.
CF and BS warmly thanked the young people and staff for coming to the meeting. It had been good to hear about the activities which were going on. BCC likes to hear from young people in the village and BS hoped that they would come along to future Forum meetings. BMDC also actively invites young people's views.
8. November Forum Feedback and Open Forum: questions from the floor
The blue feedback sheets had been circulated as usual and CF highlighted a few issues. A copy of the sheet is in the Library. The numbers below relate to the item numbers in the blue sheet.
Item 4 Traffic schemes.
The footpath at Moor Lane had already been mentioned. Residents would be pleased to here that the traffic calming in the Langford Road area was due to start in February. There were some issues still to be resolved:
i. whether the small island near to Smithy Lane in Station Road should be replaced by a table. Differing views have been offered on this and the Area Committee will resolve the issue by February 1st.
ii. a scheme to improve the turning area at Station approach. Two sets of plans have been proposed and these were available to view at the meeting. Positive or negative comments should be passed back to Shipley. Comments can also be passed on to Cllrs Chris Greaves or Matt Palmer
Item 1 Play area in the Recreation ground.
CF reminded the meeting that £20,000 was available to improve the play area. It was hoped to get improvements completed before the Easter holidays. The plan was to replace the large wooden structure. The plans for improvements will be made available to the schools and comments invited. One concern was expressed from the floor that the replacement should not be the same as the new climbing structure in Ilkley Playground
Item 11 Shipley Area Committee: this holds regular meetings at rotating venues.
The meeting on February 15th at 7.0pm will take place in Burley in Burley Oaks School. The public can sit in on these meetings although they cannot speak. CF hoped that people in the village would be interested in attending.
Street lighting:
a limited number of copies of a press releases about a Bradford initiative to improve street lighting were available at the meeting. This would involve the formation of a public finance initiative. Residents may wish to make comments on these proposals.
Ellar Ghyll.
Cllr Greaves had important news on waste disposal at Ellar Ghyll. Apparently Leeds City Council was seeking to stop the dumping of trade waste at Ellar Ghyll and not the use by local residents living in the Bradford district. The notice which has been put up can be ignored. This news was welcomed, especially given the temporary closure of Golden Butts site for refurbishment. The need for a change of the notice at Ellar Ghyll was emphasized.
Open Forum
. Peter Riley, Burley Wildlife Group, reported on the cutting of the verges on the bypass roundabouts. These had been planted with wildflowers and should be cut to one metre of the edges once or twice during the growing season. Last year the whole area had been cut as much as 5 or 6 times. This increased costs and also reduced the wild flowers. PR has been in contact with a Mr Wood from grass cutting services who will ensure that the cutting in the coming summer is according to schedule. Thanks were extended to Mr Wood for his cooperation.
· Fred Benjamin raised the point about speed limit
· signage problems in approaching Burley from Menston. This would be brought to the attention of the Highways Department.
· It was asked if thanks could be extended to the Libraries Department for the extended hours. BCC had already done this but thanks could be recorded again. Cllr Greaves emhasised that there were general and specific targets to be met on the use of library services eg the number of users under 16 etc. He asked that we encourage young people to use the library.
· Brian Sayer reported concern that there was no longer a playable tennis court within the village - one of the grass courts having been replaced by cricket nets and the others not maintained. Both Ilkley and Menston have playable courts. Is there any way forward on this matter? CF replied that this would be looked into.
· Christine Hill raised the matter of the lack of signage on the Moor Road indicating unsuitablility for heavy vehicles. CF replied that this was recorded on the blue sheet (Item 4) and signs were to be replaced. The reasons for removal were not known
9 Burley perspective on Bradford District community relations
CF introduced a BMDC consultation exercise. Burley has a strong community because of the way that people volunteer and work together and has produced a Parish Plan. At the same time Burley is also part of the wider community of Bradford which is diverse in terms of age, wealth, religion and cultural background and a place where we want people to live in harmony. Bradford MDC is charged to support and build community relations and we all have a part to play in this. Recent events in France have shown what can happen when community relations go wrong. There are a number of ongoing tensions which need to be addressed. Those present were asked to take part in a quick consultation on building a more harmonious community by discussing and then recording answers to three questions. The answers provided will be reported back at the next Forum meeting.
BS resumed the Chair.
10 Details of the proposed new footbridge over the River Wharfe.
Keith Wadd of the Ramblers Association had been expected to attend the meeting. In his absence John Sparshatt, Burley Bridge Association (BBA) provided an interim report. As noted in recent BCC Committee minutes the Ramblers' Association has proposed an alternative route to the previous one across the weir. It was expected that an exhibition of the new plan would be in the Library during this month but there has been a delay. The Ramblers Association has asked if a special meeting can be organized towards the end of February to discuss the plans. BBA has offered comments on the first set of plans and asked for them to be looked at again. The design of the sides to accommodate people and horses was posing some difficulties. As reported earlier the proposed bridge will be 3 metres above the highest water level and will be 31/2 metres wide.
Questions were invited from the floor:
Q. What would the cost be?
A . There is no firm estimate to date although a figure of £600,000 had been suggested. This would be considerably more than the costs for a bridge over the weir. Cost was one concern of the Burley Bridge Association alongside aesthetic factors. The original plan for the weir crossing still exists.
Q. Why does the bridge need to be this size?
A. Because it would connect two bridleways and must also meet criteria for a bridleway.
Q. Is there a legal width for a bridleway.
A. This will be checked
Q. Why do we need a bridge. Why can't the stepping stones be restored?
A. The stepping stones are another issue and improving these involves BMDC. Currently there is an old injunction which prevents some actions on the stones. This was taken out when water was still being drawn into the goyt. However, even if the stones were to be improved they would not provide a safe all weather crossing. The bridge is about creating such a crossing over the river
Cllr Greaves reported that BMDC is looking into the legal position regarding the injunction.
Cllr Palmer will also have a meeting on the issue.
Q. If it has to be a bridleway width bridge cannot funding come from the Horseriding Association.
A.. It is understood that this doesn't have any money. The Ramblers Association is a charity and is able to apply for grants etc.
11. Any other Business
· Cllr Palmer gave a reminder about the next DCllrs' surgery in the village:
Saturday February 4th from 10.30 - 11.30 in the Queen's Hall.
The MP Philip Davies will be holding a surgery on:
Saturday, February 11th from 10.30- 11.30. A box for posting concerns for the MP was available in the meeting and is now in the Open Door
· Mike Harris said that
BCC holds coffee mornings in the Parish Room on the third Saturday in the month.
Currently there were two vacancies for the charity stall which is available at each coffee morning. It offered a good opportunity for village organisations to raise funds. Anyone interested should contact Mike or Nicky Harris on 862066 .
12. Date of the next Neighbourhood Forum Meeting.
Thursday, April 6th 2006
BS thanked everyone for attending what had been a good meeting.