St Lawrence’s Church, Church End, Willington MK44 3PX

Sunday 30th April at 3.00pm

Celebrating our 10th year, our Summer Organ Concerts are on the last Sunday of April through to September.

Enjoy the music, played this month by David Williams

Entry is free, with donations going to the Organ Fund.

Tea and cakes available

A Parish Council (PC) meeting was held at Village Hall on Monday 16th January 2023, this was attended by six local Parish Councillors & the Clerk. There were apologies from one Councillor & local Borough Councillor.

Public Participation

· A resident raised an issue regarding Post 16 Transport. Resident currently paying for a 7-day ticket, as this was the cheapest option, but the service only ran for 6 days a week. The resident also advised that a 17-year-old was having to pay an adult fare & that Grant Palmer was not partaking in the £2 fare scheme. It was agreed to ask the Ward Councillors if a formal survey would be valuable to allow evidence to be gathered.

· A resident raised an issue relating to the removal of trees & hedges. The resident also raised concerns about people struggling with the cost of living crisis & issues with demands for council tax.

If you feel that you would like to raise a concern or issue, you are very welcome, please can you contact the Clerk in advance of the meeting if you wish to attend. The next Parish Council meeting is on Monday 20th March 2023 at 7.30pm. Please contact Anne, Parish Council Clerk, by e-mail clerk@cople-pc.gov.uk

Jo Roberts from the Forest of Marston Vale - attended the meeting to promote a scheme for tree planting in the Forest of Marston Vale area. General matters requiring discussion:

· To donate £1,000 towards the Playing Field & Playground maintenance (Section 19 of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976)

· Consider arrangements for the Coronation - Parish Councillors would look into supporting an event on Monday 8th May 2023. Cllr Small would contact residents to look into the feasibility of organising an event

· Discuss Fly Tipping in the Parish - One location in Cople was on the list for the Bedford Borough Council fly tipping camera. Reporting of the issues to Bedford Borough Council (BBC) would help to build up a record of the extent of the problem

Borough Councillors report

Financial Settlement - The Government confirmed an almost £60 billion package for councils in England for the next financial year.

Councillor Ward funds - There will be Ward Fund Allocations for 2023/4 and 2025/6, actual figures have not yet been provided but it is suspected that the funds will be similar to the previous allocation.

Council Tax Surplus - Council Tax was raised by almost 4% last year. Since then BBC has accrued a Council Tax surplus of £1.511 million in council tax which will be carried over to BBC’s budget for next year. The excess from 2022/23 will be shared between the Council, the Police & Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire & the Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Authority in proportion to their 2022/23 precepts on the Collection Fund..

Dept. for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities funding accepted by the Council - The BBC accepted up to £2.3m awarded by Dept. for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities to deliver the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) Government scheme..

Bedford received grant from DFT and £2 bus fare - The BBC accepted a grant of £69,509.50 from the Department for Transport (DfT) to protect socially necessary bus services from January to March. Additionally, the BBC has also accepted a further £66,058 from Active Travel England/Department for Transport.

Community Litter picks - The Parish Council agreed to arrange two community litter picks in 2023. Dates & times of 16th April at 11am & 24th September at 11am were proposed.

Cont on page 14

King Charles III Coronation - The UK will mark the Coronation with a threeday bank holiday weekend from Saturday 6 May to Monday 8 May 2022. For the celebration Bedford Borough Council is waiving the usual administration fee for street party road closures. For anyone wishing to hold a street party over the extended bank holiday weekend, the Council asks that applications are submitted by 1 April 2023. Residents can email road.closures@bedford.gov.uk to request a street closure.

Local Plan 2040 - A consultation took place between 15th June & 29th July 2022. A total of 1,449 individual representations were received from 595 respondents, over 50% were objections. BBC concluded, following review, that nothing in the representations received has altered the conclusion reached by officers and thus voted to send this plan to the Inspector.. For brevity not all issues not be listed however, they can be accessed through the appropriate portals on the council’s website.

Council Tax for 2023/24 - As part of current budget setting process, the January Executive will consider that a provision of 1.50% be made in the Council Tax Base in respect of losses on collection. For further detail please view related documents via the council’s online portals.

Cople to Cardington footpath - Cllr Sankersingh had contacted Cardington PC, which would be discussing the route of the path at its January meeting. Once feedback had been received from Cardington PC, Cllrs Sankersingh & Miller Donkin would look to produce a map of the route.

Speed Watch & Conflict Study - There had not been any Speed Watch sessions recently due to the weather and shorter days. The Speed Watch group could now visit the same location once a week but the time of the session would need to change. Cllr Hinkley had shared details of a county meeting in April 2022 with members of the Speed Watch group

Digital Connectivity - Update from BBC Justine Ives. ‘Works are now fully completed within our BDUK project. As part of the extension, 20 premises were enabled in Willington Road and Bedford Road and were live as of 28th Dec. Any further/future works will be done commercially. We continue to engage with BDUK on Project Gigabit but I will not be informed of any commercial rollout so am unlikely to be able to provide any details on any build plans for the area going forward.’

Neighbourhood Plan update - Chair of Steering Group, informed the PC that the group now comprises 6 members. The results of the survey have been emailed to all those respondents who provided their contact details. The results are also available for everyone to see on the Neighbourhood Plan web page of the PC website.

Another resident had complained about the blocked drains on Water End; the Clerk had followed this up with Highways. Growth around the bottom of the tree at the top of Woodlands Close would be cut back by Cllrs.

Consider quotations for a mobile SID - It was agreed to contact other parishes to ask if the use of SID’s had had a meaningful impact on speeding. The Clerk would ask Cllr Moon to attend next meeting with information from other parishes in the Ward.

The PC has sought a new electricity supplier to try to reduce the costs of the electricity supply for the street lighting. A broker, The Utility Supplier, had put forward SSE as a new supplier. Details of the costs and savings were considered by the Councillors

Discussion from Cllrs for discussion at the next meeting - It was agreed to invite a representative from Bedford Girls’ School to attend the March PC meeting to discuss the parking issues on Grange Lane. The invitation would be included in the letter produced by Cllr Sankersingh.

We present on Friday 28th April 2023 ‘Elvis’ (Cert PG) starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. The life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to becoming a rock and movie star in the 1950’s while maintaining complex relationships with his manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Doors open 7pm , film starts promptly at 7.30pm. Adults £5.00 Children £3.00. Family (2A + 2C) £12.00 Sweets, Drinks, Ice cream and Pop-corn are available.

For tickets or any further information contact Margot 01767 640938 or 07783 046020.

Blunham and District Gardening Club.

Blunham Village Hall, MK44 3NN.

Tuesday 4th April 2023 from 7.30pm

This night is a social night. Refreshments will be served. Visitors are welcome.

For further information contact Brenda Leaf 01767 640623.

Now into their 7th season, Cople Sports FC have found themselves in the region's top division which promises to bring some of the best teams in the county to the mighty Cople Arena. Matches start at 10.30am on Sundays and support is always appreciated.

Upcoming fixtures include: -

02/04 Supreme Spartans (A)

09/04 Bushmemorial First (H)

16/04 MNines (H)

23/04 AFC Kempston Rovers (A)

Graham Ebbs

Tel: 07775 783155 (Mobile)

The mobile library is visiting the village fortnightly on a Wednesday. It will call at: -

All Saints Road 10.00 - 10.20am; Water End—10.25 - 10.40am and The Five Bells—10.45 -11.05am.

The dates for April are 12th and 26th

Come and meet your friends in the Five Bells on alternate Fridays from 10.00am until 12.00noon.

The dates for April are 14th & 28th

Bring your knitting, crochet, embroidery or just bring along yourself to chat & enjoy coffee & cake.