SHIPLEY AREA COMMITTEE and BURLEY PARISH COUNCIL
NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM MEETING
Thursday 21 June 2007
Commenced: 7:30pm
Concluded: 9:30pm
Chair:
Cllr. Caroline Jones (Chairman Burley Parish Council)
Ms Chris Flecknoe (Shipley Area Co-ordinator)
Clerk:
Mrs Jo Griffiths
F01/0708 Apologies for absence
Dennis & Margaret Warwick, Mike Harris, Cllr Mike Walker
F02/0708 Welcome and introductions
Speakers for the evening were introduced and everyone attending was welcomed to the meeting.
F03/0708 Minutes of the last Neighbourhood Forum
Proposed by Cllr Peter Jenkins and seconded by Cllr Peter Riley the minutes of the Neighbourhood Forum on Thursday 18th January 2007 were accepted as a true and accurate record.
F04/0708 Matters arising
None
F05/0708 Police Matters
Sergeant Darren Minton of the Neighbourhood Policing Team spoke about policing issues in the village. Thanks were offered to the Parish Council for co-sponsorship of the police bike that would be used by the PCSOs. From January to June 2007 crime statistics in the village were as follows:
4 assaults, 14 burglaries, 3 incidents of criminal damage on non-dwellings, 6 incidents of criminal damage on dwellings, 5 incidents of damage to motor vehicles, 2 drugs offences, 1 theft from a person, 4 theft from motor vehicles, 10 incidents of non-specific theft (e.g. from sheds, cycles). Police were circulating a leaflet reminding householders to keep their properties secure. Ultraviolet pens were available at the Forum for marking property. The police were pleased that the number of burglaries had reduced dramatically.
Neighbourhood policing was a priority for West Yorkshire Police and more PCSOs were being recruited. PCSOs Rachel Hodgson and Andy Wade were introduced to the meeting. Bruce Speed, Chair of BWCT offered thanks to the police for their assistance in marshalling spectators across the A65 for the Duck Race.
PCSO Hodgson reminded the meeting that traffic offences on Prospect Road and Rose Bank were a priority for officers and encouraged traffic offences to be reported to the police's non-emergency number 08456 060606.
Sgt Minton urged anyone with knowledge of juveniles buying alcohol or being supplied with alcohol, to report the offence to Crimestoppers: 0800 555111.
F06/0708 Ilkley and Rombalds Moor
Chris Pilkington of the Rural Services Team addressed the meeting about the project to form a Friends of Ilkley Moor group.
BMDC took the decision in September 2006 to retain ownership of Ilkley Moor and to form a Friends of Ilkley Moor group to allow local people to have more input into management. A provisional model of the group had been developed and consultations with local interest groups had taken place including Ilkley Parish Council and Ilkley Civic Society. A further consultation event open to everyone will take place on 7th July from 10am-12.30pm at the Winter Gardens in Ilkley where feedback and suggestions may be offered.
Silver Wells cottage had recently been sold and the capital realised (£375,000) would be used to fund maintenance and better visitor facilities on the moor.
Throughout the rest of the year the long term sustainability of Ilkley and Rombalds Moor would be reviewed in conjunction with landowners, user groups and parish and town councils. It is hoped that a long term plan for the future of the moor may be formulated.
F07/0708 Airedale NHS Hospital
Mr Geoff Colclough, non-executive director of Airedale Hospital outlined the plans to gain foundation status. The main benefits to foundation status were to allow the hospital greater freedom in running services, devolved decision making and allowing the hospital to divert surplus funds into projects the local population want or need. It was also hoped that foundation status would improve and increase the linkages to the community. The hospital is running around 100 consultation events during the period April to June and inviting people to become members of the Trust. The membership base is 10,000 with different levels of membership but all eligible for electing 15 of the 29 members of the council that would run the Trust.
Question: Was the hospital reviewing a shorter pedestrian route to the hospital from the railway station? Answer: At the current time Mr Colclough had no knowledge of any such plan.
Question: Devolving services to the community appeared to be at odds with the current policy of centralising services at large hospitals (e.g. removal of services from the Coronation Hospital in Ilkley).
Answer: Coronation Hospital is owned by the PCT but Airedale would hope to work with the PCT to offer more devolved services.
Question: No mention had been made of Otley Hospital.
Answer: Otley was run by Leeds rather than Bradford and was not part of these discussions.
Cllr Palmer was on the governing body of the Bradford Hospitals Trust and urged anyone interested in the proposals from Airedale to get involved and join the Trust and/or stand for membership of the council.
F08/0708 Shipley Area Voluntary Project
Debra Gibson - Voluntary Organisation Support Officer for the Shipley constituency addressed the meeting.
Voluntary organisations and groups could be provided with support in a variety of ways from starting a group to assisting groups in writing constitutions or applying for funding; various models were available. A leaflet outlining the assistance offered was available at the meeting or through the Area Co-ordinator's office.
Max Eaton from the MAD (Make A Difference) project outlined the work of the group. The project was part of Volunteering Bradford and aimed to encourage more people to get involved and make a difference in local voluntary groups by recruiting volunteers and advertising opportunities to volunteer. Information Points were being developed around the district and anyone with information on volunteering opportunities could contact the group.
Question: The MAD project is time limited (until January 2008), what will happen after this date?
Answer: The work will continue to be carried out by Volunteering Bradford but less specifically targeted at the Shipley constituency.
F09/0708 Burley Community Council AGM
Bruce Speed, Chairman of BCC and BWCT presented the audited accounts of BCC. Most of the money from BCC had now been transferred to BWCT and the responsibilities of BCC, with the exception of Burley House Field, transferred either to BWCT or the Parish Council. Proposed by John Gundry and seconded by Peter Jenkins the accounts were adopted.
100 Club - anyone interested in joining was advised to contact a member of the BWCT committee for details. Tony Thompson has resigned from BCC for work reasons. The remaining committee members of BCC had agreed to remain in post with the exception of Caroline Jones they were also BWCT trustees. The Trust was seeking new trustees at their AGM in October; anyone interested please contact Bruce Speed. New members were also required for the committee that ran the village website.
Congratulations were offered to the Parish Council on a very good first year.
F10/0708 Burley Grange
The Parish Council has continued to work to find a long term sustainable use for the Grange. The council had explored various options including retaining the building for further education use and a plan for a mix of affordable housing and some community use. Neither of these approaches had been successful and the council were now in discussion with property developers for conversion of the building into apartments with a portion of the ground floor retained for community use. Discussions with the developers and Bradford College were on-going and it is hoped that by the end of the month a proposal would be put to the College.
Cllr Greaves reminded the meeting that although the college had a duty to get the best price for the building they had to consider the loss of community facility. The government inspector's decision over the Wheatley was cited and it was hoped that Bradford College would be mindful of this consideration when making a final decision on the sale. Cllr Palmer advised that Bradford College would be withdrawing from running courses at the Queens Hall after this summer. A further venue in the village to run courses would be an advantage to them as well as other colleges who might be interested in holding courses in the village. Cllr Palmer reminded everyone of the survey of adult education that was available on the village website: www.saveourcollege.com and urged everyone to complete a survey.
Question: Ilkley had a very successful branch of the University of the Third Age, would it be possible to establish a group covering Burley and Menston?
Answer: This was an issue the parish council was aware of and would be happy to assist in establishing a group.
Question: What would happen to adult education in the village if the educational facility of the Grange was lost?
Answer: The Parish Council would be happy to look at U3A in further detail.
F11/0708 Burley House Field
Cllr Jones reminded the meeting that members of BMDC had agreed that the Parish Council should get a lease on Burley House Field. Parish Councillors had met with representatives of Asset Management in May to discuss the lease. The current farmer's lease had a break point at June 2009 and the farmer would be given notice to quit at that time or earlier if he agreed.
John Gundry outlined the history of the applications for Village Green status. Two previous applications had been unsuccessful but the Community Council's barrister had advised that recent court decisions made a third application more likely to succeed.
F12/0708 Burley Trojans Juniors
Tim Brooke and Jed Smith of Burley Trojans Juniors outlined the plans for development of a changing and meeting facility on the Recreation Ground. Membership of the club was thriving with over 280 children involved and included girls and boys in the 6-16 age groups. The club promoted a good community spirit. The club's plans include expansion of the girls section, improving the pitches and facilities, increasing supporter numbers and integrating the juniors and seniors sections. The proposed development on the recreation ground would include: changing rooms, first aid, kitchen and toilet facilities. It would provide a base for the club including meeting space and would be available to the village. The club had agreed a lease for the land and were working on securing the costs of the building, planning consents and funding applications.
The plans were well received by those in attendance at the Neighbourhood Forum.
Question: Were there any plans to merge Burley Trojans with Burley Trojans Juniors?
Answer: Discussions were taking place.
F13/0708 Maintenance
The Village Maintenance Group continued to meet on the Village Green on the last Saturday of the month, any volunteers were welcome.
Residents were reminded that any vegetation from private gardens that is overhanging snickets presents a nuisance to pedestrians and should be cut back.
F14/0708 Parking Matters and Station Parking Questionnaire
The Parish Council had received the latest draft proposals of the parking scheme. The plans would be reviewed at the next Full Council meeting and comments forwarded to officers at Traffic & Highways. The plans would go out to wider consultation at the end of July.
Results from the station parking questionnaire were displayed at the back of the hall, thanks were offered to all those who had contributed.
F15/0708 Neighbourhood Forum Feedback
As time was short, attention was drawn to the Neighbourhood Forum feedback sheets. Information on the wider area could be found on the pink sheets.
Cllr Greaves had information on forthcoming road works on the A6038 at Ellar Ghyll. The road would be closed for approximately 16-20 weeks and traffic would be diverted down the A65.
Question: Could Burley residents use Ellar Ghyll tip?
Answer: Residents were sometimes challenged when using the tip and were advised not to use BMDC green bags when visiting the tip!
F16/0708 Open Forum
It was noted that numbers had dropped from recent forums. It was agreed to review the location of future forums.
F17/0708 Respect Agenda
Due to the length of the meeting it was agreed that this item be deferred to the next Neighbourhood Forum in October.
F18/0708 Any other business
Mary Wood had been to Tereli earlier in the year and had returned with a message and gift for the village. Cllr Jones read the message from Dogolou Saye and the chain of office that had been sent was displayed.
The Parish Council had launched a scheme for awards to voluntary groups; anyone interested in applying was invited to contact the Parish Clerk for further details.
F19/0708 Date and time of next meeting
Thursday 18th October 2007 - venue to be confirmed
Shipley Area Co–ordinator's Office, Town Hall, Kirkgate, Shipley, BD18 3EJ Telephone: (01274) 43714 6 Fax: (01274) 532780
Burley Parish Council, 6 The Copse, Burley in Wharfedale, LS29 7QY. Tel: 07971 772181 Email: parishclerk@burley-in-wharfedale.org