Burton Joyce Parish Council

ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16

Chairman’s Reportby Cllr Steve Cluff

If there was one word used to describe the last 12 months of Burton Joyce Parish Council it would be "progression". The essential day to day running of our high quality three parks and cemetery seems almost to have gone unnoticed alongside the many other projects we have been involved with this year.

The £372k addition of a new floodlit All Weather 3G Pitch at the Poplars Sports Ground has provided a superb state of the art facility for our young footballers and also provided a sound financial footing for all the clubs at the Poplars to grow and encourage more sport, better played with greater diversity within our village.

I have been delighted that many of our Councillors have engaged in new projects of concern to the village. Significant works has been done in response to the troubling Mineral Plan at Shelford and the start of a Neighbourhood Plan to shape our future area. We have continued to branch out into the community with the very successful Christmas Fair, Village Venture Performances and organised litter picking. We have continued to enjoy working with Burton Joyce Primary School as it transits to an Academy.

We have also welcomed new local staff to help cope with the busy operational requirements of this year and they join a great team who have excelled themselves this year much to the appreciation of the Council.

2016 brings further progression with the acquisition of the Old School Building in the village and its development to improve the centre of Burton Joyce for all the community. With a planned 61% increase in turnover next year, it's unlikely the pace will slacken but the BJPC will be well placed to respond effectively to current issues and to serve this wonderful village we live in.

Cllr Steve Cluff

Amenities Committeeby Cllr Pat Blandamer (Chair)

The Amenities Committee continues to oversee facilities within Burton Joyce that are managed directly by the Parish Council. Maintained to a very high standard by a small Ground & Amenities team led by David List, the Parish Council provides the Roberts Recreation Ground, Cemetery, Allotments, the Grove, Christmas lights and floral displays. Over the past couple of years the Parish Council has also accepted responsibility for the mowing of grass verges throughout the village to ensure that they are cut more frequently than the

Notts County Council schedule would allow.

It is heartening to see the play equipment at the Roberts Recreation Ground so well used by local children and their families. Apart from regular daily inspections and routine maintenance there is little work to do on the park now as the play equipment provided as part of the 2013/14 refurbishment is still amongst the finest provided in Nottinghamshire. The land which used to be the site of the old toilet block has still to be formally transferred over from the Borough Council to the Parish Council and this will continue to be pursued.

The Cemetery is a tranquil and beautiful space which has seen much work during the past year. The slate communal memorial plaque was replaced at a cost of £1,280 and this should now stand firm for a good few years to come. A number of headstones had to be reluctantly laid flat as they were deemed to be dangerous and in danger of toppling over. This action was avoided wherever possible by contacting relatives of the deceased to carry out repairs. This highlighted the importance of families keeping their contact details updated with the Parish Office if they move away from the village so that we can keep them informed and involved with the care of their family memorials.

There were quite a few changes in tenancy of the allotments during the year. The waiting list remains relatively low and the Parish Council continues to work with the Garden Holders’ Association who offer support to allotment holders.

Each year the Parish Council looks to improve the Christmas Lights and floral displays in the village and grateful thanks go to the Parish Council’s ground and amenities staff who contribute greatly to the pleasant environment we all enjoy.

Planning Committeeby Cllr Terry Hazard (Chair)

This has been an exceptionally busy year for planning issues in Burton Joyce, with a number of major planning proposals being put forward for consideration. There has been significant interest in planning matters from residents and it has been gratifying to see more people attending the planning meetings than in previous years.

Following a very well attended consultation event to establish residents views on where and how many new houses of what type should be provided in Burton Joyce the

Borough Council has issued its draft Local Plan (Housing & Local Green Space) which will be available for public consultation for a 6 week period from the 23rd May 2016. Two sites have been included in the draft plan – land to the North of Orchard Close and Mill Field Close. The Borough Council has already granted outline planning permission for dwellings on Mill Field Close. The Parish Council has previously advised Gedling Borough Council of its preference for affordable, smaller sized accommodation and will be meeting to discuss the draft plan and how best to respond.

70 members of the public (an unprecedented number) attended a Parish Council Planning Meeting in April to express their views on an outline planning application for up to 45 new residential dwellings at Glebe Farm. After careful consideration of all the points raised, it was agreed that the Parish Council would object to the development as the site is designated green belt land in a mature landscape area; risk of flooding from surface water run-off; inadequate traffic/access arrangements and lack of availability of local school places.

During the year, the Parish Council’s Planning Committee was also invited to comment on a proposal by Severn Trent Water to convert 25 buildings at their grade 2 listed site at Bulcote Farm into residential units and to build a further 39 new dwellings on the site under Enabling Development to subsidise the cost of the conversion. The Parish Council registered an objection with Newark & Sherwood Council on the grounds of the unsustainable pressure that such a large scale development would have on Burton Joyce resources e.g GP surgeries, local schools and roads.

In light of all these proposed developments, the Planning Committee has been tasked with the process of developing a Neighbourhood Plan for Burton Joyce. In simple terms this is a document written by the local community that sets out planning policies for the village. Once completed, the plan will become a powerful tool to ensure that the right type of development happens in the right places. The project, which is due to start in June 2016 and expected to take 12 months to complete, will be steered by a small working group made up of parish councillors and other volunteers.

Over the course of the year covered by this Report, the Planning Committee received 40 planning applications. Although the number of applications was slightly down on the previous year, 4 related to significant new developments either in the village or close by. The majority of applications received were for extensions or other work and over a third of the total applications came from Lambley Lane or Bridle Road.

Communities Committee Report by Cllr Jeanette Johnson (Chair)

Writing this Report, two things strike me – first, how quickly this year has flown by and secondly, just how much has been undertaken by this Committee during the last 12 months.

One of the most contentious issues for the village continues to be the parking situation. Councillors have met regularly with Notts County Council

Highways Officers to try and find solutions to the problems which will not simply move the problem elsewhere. Particular concerns were raised about the safety of pedestrians crossing on Main Street and requests which had been made for a formal pedestrian crossing. The County Council’s response

was that Main Street had an excellent safety record, with only two reported accidents in the last 10 years. Perversely, the parking along Main Street was cited as an aid to road safety as it was alleged that vehicles were forced to drive more slowly and carefully to accommodate it. The Highways Department concluded that there was insufficient need to provide a crossing and that the cost would be prohibitive.

In order to try and establish the reasons behind the inappropriate parking the Parish Council has commissioned a parking survey at specific locations in the centre of the village to establish if there are any patterns. Once the information has been collated and analysed the Parish Council will be working with the Highway’s Department to look at possible, long-term solutions.

The Communities Committee has Highways issues as a standard agenda item at its meetings and continues to lobby Notts County Council Highway’s Department for improvements to the village’s roads and pavements. During the year, the Parish Council was advised that the resurfacing of Main Street was on the reserve list programme with no timescale specified. The resurfacing of Padley’s Lane was in the Capital programme for 2016/17 but, at the time of writing, we understand that this has been withdrawn from the 2016/17 schedule due to lack of funding.

The Village ‘Clean Up’ Campaign continues to grow from strength to strength. The Parish Council is extremely grateful to all of the volunteers who have adopted specific roads and areas throughout the village to keep them litter free on a regular basis. A map of the village showing the roads adopted/unadopted is on permanent display in the Parish Office window and anybody interested in volunteering for the Scheme should contact the Parish Clerk in the first instance. Continuing the theme of litter, the Parish Council is also grateful to the children and staff from Burton Joyce Primary School, to councillors and to community volunteers who turn out with enthusiasm twice a year to take part in the big village clean up. This is a particularly useful initiative as the Borough Council has continued to reduce the amount of street cleaning they do.

The Parish Council has been very pro-active throughout the year with the campaign to prevent the possibility of large-scale mineral extraction across the river at Shelford. Despite these best efforts, the site was included in Nottinghamshire County Council’s Draft Local Minerals Plan. During the further period of public consultation, the Parish Council wrote to the Planning Inspectorate challenging the legal soundness of the decision to include the Shelford site in the draft plan. The key reasons for the objection remain that:

The demand for minerals has been regularly overstated, that there is no need for further quarrying at this site and the figures submitted need to be re-evaluated

The proposal to transport materials from the site at Shelford via barges to avoid over-burdening local roads is unhelpful as this would only result in a short river journey following which it would be moved along the A612

The intention to limit considerations of environmental issues to the area within 200m of the extraction site is not sound as hundreds of homes are only just beyond that boundary

The site is in a high risk flood area and the data needs to be re-assessed The intention to restore the area to wetland after exhaustion of the Shelford site does not

meet the need for a sound biodiversity-led restoration and there is already an over-supply of wetland in the Trent Valley

Subject to the outcome of the Planning Inspectorate’s report it is anticipated that Nottinghamshire County Council will look to adopt the Minerals Local Plan during late 2016. Should the site at Shelford still be included in the Plan after the Planning Inspectorate’s report then the next stage will be to challenge any subsequent planning application submissions.

The anticipated single 100m Wind Turbine’s has been erected by Severn Trent Water on their land at Stoke Bardolph. The Parish Council continues to oversee the conditions imposed by Gedling Borough Council planners to ensure that the developer takes appropriate measures to address issues such as noise, ground contamination and flood risks.

The Parish Council continues to enjoy a strong connection with the Burton Joyce Primary School. Cllr Terry Hazard is the designated Parish Council liaison with the School and has regularly attended meetings of the School Council. The highlight of the Annual Meeting held on Tuesday 12 th May 2015, was a presentation by pupils and staff about the initiatives they were taking part in – including redesigning a school badge, campaigns about anti-bullying, parking and litter, new gardening and wildlife clubs and suggestions for improvements at the Grove and the Roberts Recreation Ground.

This year saw the re-introduction of Village Ventures with two sold out events. In November the After Hours Rauchestra brought the sounds of the roaring twenties to Burton Joyce and in February the Kimber’s Men, hailed to be the finest and funniest purveyors of sea shanties in Europe, ‘sang up a storm’ to a capacity crowd at the Village Hall.

The Annual Christmas Fair and Festive Light Switch-on is a highlight of the community calendar and this year was no exception. In spite of the gale force winds on the morning of the 5 th December, which threatened to see the event cancelled, a small group of Parish Council staff, councillors and volunteers worked hard to ensure that proceedings went ahead more-or-less as planned. The number of tents had to be reduced and the remaining ones were huddled around the car park wall for shelter but everyone who had booked a stall was accommodated. The number of people who attended the event was slightly down on previous years due to the weather but nevertheless it is estimated that 1500 people came along to join in the festivities and to watch Santa arrive into the village on the back of a Harley Davidson. Footage of the Christmas Fair can be found on Burton Joyce TV https://www.youtube.com/BurtonJoyceTv

The Parish Council has been in negotiations throughout the year with Trustees of the Old School Building on Chestnut Grove to secure the lease on the land and property. When the Parish Council heard that the property was about to be put up for rent on the open market it decided that the building was far too valuable a community resource to be potentially lost. Provision has been made in the 2016/17 budget to cover some of the costs of leasing the building. It is intended that once the building has been secured, residents and business owners will be invited to put forward suggestions as to how the space could best benefit the village.

Following an excellent presentation during the year by community volunteers, the Parish Council has agreed to set aside £500 in the 2016/17 budget towards a start-up fund for a First Responders service to be set up in the village. Part of East Midlands Ambulance Service, First Responders are volunteers from the local community who receive excellent training and appropriate equipment to attend medical emergencies in their area usually within 10 minutes of receiving the call. This will be

a huge benefit to the village once it is in place and we look forward to seeing this project come to fruition.

Last but not least is the long list of issues and enquiries and enquiries from Parish Councillors or members of the public which are usually addressed via referrals to other agencies. These include things like speeding traffic, pavements and grass verges, obstruction to footpaths, gully clearing, over-hanging trees, litter and fly-tipping, graffiti, illegal signs, bus shelters, bus and train services.

Grateful thanks got to my fellow Parish Councillors, staff and volunteers who work so hard throughout the year to make Burton Joyce such a wonderful place to live and work.

Finance & General Purposes Committee Report by Cllr Paul Hyde (Chair)

The Parish Council’s finances overall for the past year can be described as ‘out of the ordinary’. The completion within the year of the substantial 3G pitch project at the Poplars Sports Ground has significantly changed the overall appearance of the accounts with income and expenditure increasing over the previous year by over 300%. Once the accounts have been approved by full Council on the 7th June they will be made available

with accompanying notes on the website or on application to the Parish Office.

Apart from the 3G pitch, the other major impact on Parish Council on the number of financial transactions during the year has been the Poplars Bar. Following the retirement of the former bar providers, the Parish Council undertook to provide the Bar during the year and this provision is currently under review.

In September, the Parish Council was pleased to co-opt Rob Ringham as a new councillor filling the vacancy arising out of the May elections. Rob is a former Chairman of Burton Joyce Football Club with a wealth of knowledge and experience of the Poplars Sports Ground and a very comprehensive business background. Rob was one of two excellent candidates who put their name forward for consideration and it is encouraging that his fellow applicant John Harrison now works on a part-time basis as a consultant at the Poplars Sports Ground.

Staff resources have been under strain as the Parish Council absorbed the additional workload generated by the projects described above whilst also trying to manage the routine day-to-day business of looking after the village amenities; participation in wider reaching more complex issues such as the proposed inclusion of Shelford in the Local Minerals Plan, the draft Local Housing Plan, major housing/road developments and the provision of community events e.g the Christmas Fair, annual Bonfire & Firework Display and Village Ventures. The pressure is likely to continue for the year 2016/17 as we look towards taking on responsibility for the Old School Building and also to developing the Neighbourhood Plan.

The Parish Council’s financial accounting and reporting systems are all subject to regular audit throughout the year. Quarterly internal audit inspections are carried out by two councillors; an extensive annual audit is undertaken by Simon Marshall of Marshall Smalley Accountants and finally

there is an annual external audit. I am pleased to confirm that the Parish Council continues to perform well in all accounting and reporting systems.

To conclude, the overall financial position for the year ended 2015/16 is set to be a reported deficit of £3,935 which will be taken from reserves. Given the complexities of the year we have had, this is considered to be a reasonable outcome. All finances of the Parish Council are open to inspection at any time on application to the Parish Clerk. A copy of the budget for 2016/17 and accounts for 20-15/16 will soon be available on the Parish Council website or from the Parish Office.

Poplars Sports Ground Committee Report by Cllr Steve Cluff (Chair)

Recent visitors to the Poplars would be surprised at such a transformation in its look and abilities this year. The new Floodlit All Weather 3G Pitch supported by The Football Foundation and Notts FA has provided a state of the art facility that includes a superb playing surface and also supporting infrastructure to help the facility improve all across all its sporting activities. Working with BJ Football Club and its

22 teams a strong football development plan has been approved to generate more teams playing of all ages and encouraging specialist targeting of focus groups such as more female participation, more over 40 s play and better standards of coaching and welfare. BJFC moved up to FA Community Status as part of the programme ensure high quality management and coaching into the future.

Our targeted Development Assistance is generating results. We also have a Down Syndrome DS Active squad playing football regularly based with us with amazing passion and enthusiasm. We are working with Notts FA to bring over 60s Walk Football and many other useful activities aimed at getting more sport played at the Poplars.

Our grass pitches had reached saturation and faced with even more teams the new fenced enclosure of the clubs playing fields enabled us to commit to higher levels of team participation and reduce crime and anti-social night time activity too that was damaging pitches, equipment and preventing capital investment in sporting activity.

Some residents mistakenly understood the Poplars was a public playing field like our two other parks (Roberts Recreation Ground and The Grove) and were concerned about the change. We were able to confirm that has only ever been a club based sports ground or leisure centre, but the Poplars committee had anticipated the importance of ad hoc football for youngsters and arranged a programme - which we think is a first in the UK called "Freeplay" which encouraged BJ residents to use the facility at certain times free of charge. These hours have been extended in the summer to allow lads and dads or Mum's and daughters to play on a great surface for fun at no cost. This coupled up with free Sunday 2-

6pm usage by BJFC players supported by their club meant that our developing 'Ronaldos or Messi's" could play on consistent and reliable surfaces and keep improving.

We will continue to improve our publicity and news information from the Poplars and this year saw a Twitter Feed and Facebook page to help engage with our users and the public

The added benefit of the 3G scheme brought resurfacing to the car park at the Poplars and a takeover of the Fisherman’s Car Park opposite, thereby reducing traffic congestion on Station Road at the weekend.

The new income stream from the 3G helped the BJPC and has given our clubs the reassurance and a improved facility to attract members and achieve more activity at the Station Road site. It also gave Councillors the ability to be more flexible in lower or "free to use" tariffs to encourage particular important groups without being subsidised by the BJ taxpayer. An example of this would be an agreement to encourage BJ primary school girls training year 5/6 and school matches at a near zero tariff for a period.

Another first this year was the introduction of a new Pétanque pitch (or Boules piste) to our available surfaces with an amazing take up on the first opening. Our outdoor fitness club continues to do well throughout the seasons and the BJ Lawn Bowls Club continues to attract new members and players to a very high standard. BJ Archery has invested in new facilities, host nationally important events and attracts a good range of keen participants with an increasing membership.

A new steering group is being formed with FA participation to monitor current performances and offer solutions for areas needing improvement. Early signs are highly encouraging with a dramatic increase in usage across all ages and genders with club use and also with Freeplay usage to non-club members in excess of previous random play in the last few years.

This year has been an astounding transformation at the Poplars and we will continue to develop more sports, better played with greater diversity.