Agenda and minutes

It was RESOLVED that the apologies for absence and the absences without apologies listed above be noted.  Cllr Hussein had sent apologies for anticipated late arrival and these were also noted.  

(Under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, made under s30 (3) of the Localism Act, councillors are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting)

Cllr Hume declared an interest in agenda item 11 concerning the deed of surrender of the lease on Bletchley Library due to his role as a Milton Keynes City Councillor and signaled his intention to withdraw from the meeting for this item of business.

It was RESOLVED that the draft minutes of the meeting of full council held on Tuesday 24 January 2023 be approved as a correct record of proceedings with one alteration on page 2 minute reference FC22/23-93.ii.  The draft included an extraneous line of text in a table of recorded votes saying “Alison Brown     No vote recorded.” It was RESOLVED that this line of the table be removed.

To receive representations from members of the public on items on the agenda and to hear questions from members of the public about council business which may not be listed on the agenda.

Members of the public who wish to present  a spoken or written representation should contact the Clerk no later than 12 noon on the day before the day of the meeting in order to register to be heard.

The public speaking session will generally last no more than 15 minutes and individuals will be permitted to speak for a maximum of 3 minutes.

Requests to speak or ask questions will be dealt with in the order in which they have been received by the clerk.

For more information or to register to speak please contact:

Delia Shephard

Town Clerk

01908 649469

clerk@bletchleyfennystratford-tc.gov.uk

Please be aware that meetings may be recorded including the representations made by members of the public.

Two members of the public made oral representations to the council concerning agenda item 12 which was a motion about the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal.   Both speakers were broadly supportive of the motion and voiced their concerns (and those of fellow residents) about the level of community engagement which had taken place over the life of the Town Deal.   Points raised included perceived failure of the Town Deal to comply with its own community engagement plan, dissatisfaction with the amount and accessibility of information provided to the community and disappointment with a recent meeting held locally. In addition speakers stressed the importance of providing information via a non-party political forum and noted  residents’ reliance on informal  social media channels in the absence of information from more official channels.

On behalf of the council the vice-chair thanked both members of the public for their contributions.

It was RESOLVED that the draft minutes of the Community Committee meeting held on 7 February 2023 be noted.

It was RESOLVED that the draft minutes of the Finance and Governance Committee meeting held on 28 February 2023 be noted.

It was RESOLVED that the draft minutes of the meeting of the Environment and Planning Committee  held on Tuesday 14 March 2023 be noted.

It was further RESOLVED to approve the recommendation of the committee and to adopt the new Biodiversity Policy Statement with immediate effect.

The clerk noted that this item had been included on the agenda as HiMOs were not included in officer delegated powers.  The application for a certificate of lawfulness referred to a dwelling  which was stated to have been operated as a HiMO for over 10 years (ie longer than the maximum enforcement period) therefore no action could be taken unless evidence could be provided showing that this usage is more recent.

Following member discussion it  was RESOLVED to make no comments on the application for a certificate of lawfulness.

(Cllr Campbell left the meeting.)

It was RESOLVED to note the summary report showing income and expenditure against budget.

(Cllr Campbell rejoined the meeting.)

 It was RESOLVED that the list of payments circulated with the agenda be approved.

(Cllr Hussein joined the meeting.)

It was RESOLVED to note the full asset register as at 22 March 2023.

The clerk advised that correspondence had been received from MKCC offering the town council £1,500 to spend to support events and activities to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.  The funding has been allocated to town and parish councils on the basis of high street areas (where many events are likely to take place) and those with multiple community areas.  Bletchley and Fenny Stratford fell into the group given the highest level of funding along with Wolverton and Newport Pagnell because of their large town centres/high streets with multiple community areas. 

The clerk had provisionally accepted the funding and it was RESOLVED to refer arrangements for the use of this funding to a meeting of the Community Committee on 4 April 2023.

It was RESOLVED to note the Clerk’s report on matters concerning the Town Deal along with correspondence received from members of the public.

The clerk advised that arrangements had been made for John Cove, Chair of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal Board to attend the annual meeting of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford electors on Thursday 11 May 2023 to update the community on work undertaken so far and future plans.

Motion:

Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council notes that:

i       the former Sainsburys supermarket has been purchased by Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDP) using the revolving fund from the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal investment plan

ii      the Brunel Centre and associated landholdings were acquired by MKDP last year

This council believes that:

i       the combined ownership of these sites by MKDP will unlock opportunities for the development of Bletchley including the opening up of Queensway, new retailers, new businesses, community facilities and a health hub

ii      the development of a transport hub nearby will enable better connections with the town centre and any development on the sites of Sainsburys and the Brunel Centre

iii     the community engagement on Town Deal  projects and sites should be informed by an Advisory Working Group supporting the Town Deal Board, and made up of local residents, local businesses, faith representatives, town and parish councillors and other stakeholders that reflect the diverse community of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford

and this council resolves to ask the town clerk to send a copy of this motion to the Chair and Vice-chair of the town deal board.

Cllr Hume introduced a motion welcoming the acquisition of the former Sainsbury’s site by Milton Keynes Development Corporation and discussion followed.

(During discussion Cllr Wymer left the meeting briefly but returned before the discussion was completed and voting took place.)

It was RESOLVED that Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council noted that:

i       the former Sainsburys supermarket had been purchased by Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDP) using the revolving fund from the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Deal investment plan

ii      the Brunel Centre and associated landholdings were acquired by MKDP last year

and the council believed that:

i       the combined ownership of these sites by MKDP will unlock opportunities for the development of Bletchley including the opening up of Queensway, new retailers, new businesses, community facilities and a health hub

ii      the development of a transport hub nearby will enable better connections with the town centre and any development on the sites of Sainsburys and the Brunel Centre

iii     the community engagement on Town Deal  projects and sites should be informed by an Advisory Working Group supporting the Town Deal Board, and made up of local residents, local businesses, faith representatives, town and parish councillors and other stakeholders that reflect the diverse community of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. 

It was further RESOLVED that  the town clerk be asked to send a copy of the resolution above to the Chair and Vice-chair of the town deal board.

Cllr Gavin Bedford, chair of the Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group gave an oral report on progress with preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan.  He noted that two volunteer task teams had been set up an Environment Team working on green and blue infrastructure and a Development Team focusing on the built environment. Cllr Bedford expressed his thanks for the hard work of the volunteers who were giving up their time to gather information and would be helping to shape the emerging policies.  The steering group continued to meet monthly and two new members had joined recently: Cllr Ismail Hussein and Mr Patrick Ormonde.

It was RESOLVED to note the report.

Cllr Terry Stephens and the clerk had attended a meeting of MKCC’s Parishes Forum on 16 March 2023.  Cllr Stephens reported that the meeting included three useful presentations.  The first was from Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.  Stuart Grosse provided information about the service which had received 3000 emergency calls in 2022.  Out of 43 arsons reported 25 were in Milton Keynes.  The force had 300 full time firefighters with 96 on call at any given time. The service had an annual budget of £33.5 million and was working hard to reduce deliberate and secondary fires (eg those caused by fly tipping).  During 2022 the heat wave caused considerable pressures with 220 call outs on 19 July and 157 on 12 August alone. In response to questions from Cllr Stephens, Stuart Grosse also talked about fire related problems at the Blue Lagoon and advocated for the planned new Public Space Protection Order, increased signage and ideally the introduction of wardens.

A second presentation concerned the National Energy Foundation’s warmth and well being service and provided useful information about how those in fuel poverty could seek help and support.  It was estimated  that in 2020 3.16 million people in the UK were living in fuel poverty and in 2022 this had risen to 9.1 million.

Finally Jeremy Draper of MKCC had given a brief presentation on the City Council’s Carbon Offset Fund which could provide opportunities for the town council in the future.

The clerk noted that once the slides from the presentations had been made available these would be distributed to members.

It was RESOLVED to note correspondence from Jason Hogg, Deputy Chief Constable of Thames Valley Policy including a Partner Feedback Report (February 2023) and a Force Review briefing (March 2023).

Surrender of this lease was previously agreed by full council and in lieu of any rent payment the town council agreed to cover Milton Keynes City Council’s legal fees for completing the deed of surrender.  The fixed cost for this is £500.00.  In addition if the Town Council wishes to make an application at HM Land Registry to close the leasehold title there will be no further legal cost except the Land Registration fee of £45.00.  Members are asked to authorise expenditure of £545.00 (or £500.00 if preferred) and to approve l signature of the deed.

(Cllr Hume left the room for discussion and voting on this item.)

It was RESOLVED to approve signature of a formal deed of surrender of the Town Council’s lease of premises at Bletchley Library with Milton Keynes City Council.

It was RESOLVED to approve the payment of £545.00 to MKCC in respect of their legal fees including a Land Registration fee of £45. 

(Cllr Hume rejoined the meeting.)

Following feedback at a recent meeting the clerk was asked to investigate replacement of councillor tablets and provision of larger devices.  A confidential quotation is provided which includes remote technical support for councillors (device not ModGov).  Current tablets were purchased in 2019.

Following member feedback at a recent meeting the clerk had been asked to investigate replacement of councillor tablets (purchased in 2019) including provision of larger devices and remote IT support for members.  A confidential quotation from the Council’s current IT support provider Cloudy IT had been circulated and this had been compared with quotations for direct purchase of upgraded tablets by officers. Discussion followed and differing views were expressed.

It was RESOLVED that an order would be placed with Cloudy IT in the sum of £8,832.00 which included replacement of 18 existing councillor tablets with Lenovo Tab P11 (2^nd Gen) ZABL tablets and Lenovo keyboards and a one off fee for set up and configuration of these and a monthly payment for councillor tablet device management of £36.00 per month.  This resolution was passed on the proviso that the existing 18 tablets would be used for community engagement purposes or recycled/donated within the community.

(Solicitor’s report on lease attached with papers.  Council has previously approved terms of lease report provided for completeness.  Members are asked to raise any concerns with officers as soon as practicable.)

A confidential solicitor’s report on the proposed underlease of premises at 21 Barton Road was noted and members had the opportunity to ask any further questions about the underlease which had already been approved in principle on a previous occasion. It was further noted that a photographic condition report was appended to the underlease.

It was RESOLVED to approve the underlease relating and authorise signature of this and a statutory declaration to exclude the lease from the 1954 Act.

It was RESOLVED that members of the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business as publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest because of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted which could result in legal action.

A confidential report was tabled which concerned arrangements for the execution of a break clause in leased premises in Bletchley and included recommendations for expenditure on dilapidations.

It was RESOLVED to note the report and to approve the recommendations therein.