Agenda and minutes

Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires a record be kept of the Members present and that this record form part of the minutes of the meeting. Members who cannot attend a meeting should tender apologies to the Town Clerk.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Gray (substituted by Councillor Goodchild), Councillor Bowater (substituted by Councillor Hemmings) and Councillor Yates.

(i)    Under the Localism Act 2011 (sections 26-37 and Schedule 4) and in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, Members are required to declare any interests which are not currently entered in the Member’s Register of Interests or if he/she has not notified the Monitoring Officer of it.

(ii) Should any Member have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in an item on the agenda, the Member may not participate in consideration of that item unless a Dispensation has first been requested (in writing) and granted by the Council (see Dispensation Procedure).

No pecuniary interests were declared and no dispensations were requested.

To receive questions and statements from members of the public in respect of any item of business included in the agenda, as provided for in Standing Order Nos 3(f) and 3(g).

A member of the public and representative of Buzzcycles spoke to thank the council for adopting its recent Cycling Strategy and to seek support in a number of potential schemes to support cycling in the parish.

It was proposed and seconded that Councillor C Palmer be appointed Vice Chair of the Committee for 2022-2023.  There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor C Palmer Vice Chair of Planning and Transport Committee for the municipal year 2022-2023.

(a)      To receive and approve as a correct record the minutes of the Planning and Transport Committee meeting held on 11 May 2022 (attached) in accordance with Standing Order 12.

(b)      To receive information updates on matters arising from the previous meeting (if appropriate).

(a)   The Committee received the minutes of the Planning and Transport Committee meeting held on 11 May  2022.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning and Transport Committee meeting held 11 May 2022 be approved as a correct record and were signed accordingly.

(b)   There were no updates from the previous meeting.

To consider Planning Applications received (attached). An updated list will be issued on Wednesday, 1 June 2022 (if applicable).

(a)      The Committee considered planning applications received up until 1 June 2022.

RESOLVED to recommend to Central Bedfordshire Council that no objection be made to application reference CB/22/01628 (77 Himley Green), but the Town Council would place on record its reservations about proposed parking arrangements given the size and gradient of the site as well as its close proximity to a busy junction.

RESOLVED to recommend to Central Bedfordshire Council that no objection be made to application reference CB/22/01944 (82 Derwent Road, Linslade), subject to parking standards being met.

RESOLVED to recommend to Central Bedfordshire Council that no objection be made to application reference CB/22/01702 (25 Springfield Road), but the Town Council would place on record its concerns regarding lack of available on-street car parking and existing parking issues at this location.

It was noted that application CB/22/01610 (15 North Street) had been withdrawn.

The Committee discussed application reference CB/22/01491 (land rear of 72 North Street and 2 Bedford Street). Whilst keen to see improvements to the site, it was felt that the application represented overdevelopment and that it appeared that no affordable housing was included in the proposal. Further concerns included access to the site during the build process, lack of sufficient car and cycle parking, foul water supply and risk of surface water flooding and whether minimum space requirements for the proposed dwellings were being met.

RESOLVED to recommend to Central Bedfordshire Council that objection be made to application reference CB/22/01491 (land rear of 72 North Street and 2 Bedford Street) on the following grounds:

-       Overdevelopment of the site and concerns that minimum habitable space requirements may not be met

-       Lack of provision of affordable housing

-       Potential risk of surface water flooding

-       Potential issues with lack of foul water capacity

-       Concerns regarding proposed access and egress, particularly during the build process

-       Whilst noting the town centre location, concerns regarding adequacy of car parking due to the surrounding residents parking zone, as well as insufficient cycle parking

Should Central Bedfordshire Council be minded to approve the application, the Town Council would be keen to see S106 funds agreed towards the provision of town centre community facilities as well as community health, policing and cycling requirements. The Town Council would also request a condition ensuring no adverse impact on neighbouring established uses.

RESOLVED to recommend to Central Bedfordshire Council that no objection be made to the following planning applications:

1.    CB/22/01694                               65 CARINA DRIVE

2.    CB/22/01724                               52 SOUTHCOURT AVENUE,

3.    CB/22/01793                               303 HEATH ROAD

4.    CB/22/01799                               46 ASHWELL STREET

5.    CB/22/01810                               106 BIDEFORD GREEN, LINSLADE

6.    CB/22/01697                               49 GARDEN HEDGE

7.    CB/22/01976                             179 COTEFIELD DRIVE

8.    CB/22/01689                               33 THE PADDOCKS, LINSLADE

9.    CB/21/04923                               84 WILLOW BANK WALK

10.CB/22/01981                               19 GARDEN HEDGE

11.CB/22/01941/RM                       CLIPSTONE PARK, LAND SOUTH OF VANDYKE ROAD AND NORTH OF STANBRIDGE ROAD

12.CB/22/01725                               12 BEDFORD STREET

13.CB/22/01182                               2 GEMINI CLOSE

14.CB/22/01024                               LEIGHTON MIDDLE SCHOOL,

15.CB/22/01880                               26 CAMBERTON ROAD, LINSLADE

16.CB/22/01823                               21 CHARTMOOR ROAD

17. CB/22/01954/VOC  ...  view the full minutes text for item 310/P

(a)       Further to the request made by Council on 25 April 2022, to receive and consider suggestions from Buzzcycles in respect of how the town council could support the endorsed Cycling Strategy (attached).

(b)       To receive any updates arising from the resolutions passed by Council on 4 April 2022 in respect of:

i.          bus user liaison (report attached).

ii.         A505 bypass safety review by Central Bedfordshire Council.

iii.        Liaison with Central Bedfordshire Council on options for future High Street traffic management.

(c)        To consider any matters relating to highways/transport (if appropriate).

a)     Buzzcycles Cycling Strategy

Further to the recent approval by Council of the Buzzcycles Cycling Strategy, the committee received proposals in respect of how the town council could support Buzzcycles in taking the strategy forward.

The Committee expressed support for the proposals but noted there was no revenue budget provision for this purpose and that external sources of funding might need to be sought.

A request was made for Buzzcycles to give proposals a numerical order of priority as this would be helpful. Proposals might be referenced when submitting comments and requests for S106 developer contributions on larger planning applications.

It was noted that most proposals were linked to town council owned parks or open spaces and therefore the Grounds & Environmental Committee would be best placed to take these forward.

RESOLVED:

(i)        to note the proposals from Buzzcycles.

(ii)      to thank the group for its work.

(iii)     to retain the list for reference in future requests for S106 developer monies.

(iv)     To ask officers to explore potential sources of funding for cycling initiatives and to bring to the relevant committee as appropriate.

RECOMMENDED to the Grounds and Environmental Services Committee:

i)          To note the list of proposals from Buzzcycles in support of its Cycling Strategy.

ii)        To work towards starting to implement proposals where possible.

b)        Matters arising from discussion at Council on 4 April 2022

i)       Bus user liaison: the Committee received a report regarding the possible creation of a bus user group, which would collect and collate user feedback to pass on to the pan-Bedfordshire bus user group being established by the three Bedfordshire local authorities. This was agreed to be a good starting point and thanks were expressed to the LB Society Transport Officer for his assistance.

RESOLVED:

-           To note the report:

-           To agree to and encourage the creation of a stand-alone bus user group whose purpose would be to raise local issues with the pan-Bedfordshire user group which includes representation from Local Authorities other user groups as well as public transport providers.

-           To work with the Leighton Buzzard Society Transport Officer and up to 3 councillors to encourage and create a stand-alone bus user group.

-           That the Town Clerk liaises with the Central Bedfordshire Council Public Transport Manager to understand what support it can offer in the encouragement and creation of local user groups as well as the frequency of the pan-Bedfordshire forum meetings.

-           To use town council social media platforms as well as its bi-monthly parish magazine to raise awareness and encourage bus users to participate in the creation and thereafter participation of a bus user group.  

ii)         A505 safety review: the Committee noted that the local authority had been unable to act on the recently submitted resident petition due to the petitioner remaining anonymous. Significant efforts had been made to reach the petitioner to explain the issue but without success. To ensure this was taken forward, town councillors were in agreement to submit a further petition to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 311/P

(a)  To receive information from the Central Bedfordshire Council website in respect of the Chiltern Beedwood zone of influence (attached).

(b)  To receive and consider any other items of information received (if applicable).

The Committee received an extract of information from the Central Bedfordshire Council website in respect of development in the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation zone of influence.

RESOLVED to note the information.