Thank you for your support

Bartonian turn out was a stunning 74% and returned Ian Shingler as the Barton-le-Clay ward councillor. My sincere congratulations to Ian and his family.

Votes were cast as follows:
Ian Shingler, independent 1,518
Gareth Mackey, Tory           759
Janet Nunn, Lib Dem           417
Lesley Lodge, Labour          275

I am grateful to all who voted for me. I enjoyed talking to you on the doorstep this last month and urge you to engage with Ian about the issues you care so much about.

Contact Ian at 14 Dane Rd, Barton-le-Clay MK45 4QL
ian.shingler@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or tel 0300 300 8549
 

Poor footpaths make our elderly housebound

I'm grateful to all the Bartonians who've been in touch to point out the potholes, deathtrap pavements and grass verges worn bare by constant use for car parking.

Some of the places now most in need of attention are those that have fewest people walk on them and so have never risen to the top of the priority list: Saxon Close, Orchard Close, Arnold Close, etc. As long-time residents of Arnold Close pointed out to me, that close has been never been resurfaced in all its 56 year life.

Many residents of these closes are now approaching their 80s, with perhaps failing eyesight or knee, hip or other mobility issues. It's important they keep moving; their confidence to do so is directly influenced by how even and well maintained the pavements and roads are.

For those who can only get about on mobility scooters, the situation is no better.  Pavements buckled by tree roots and shingle from drives add to their list of potential hazards that might tip them over.

This matter should be of concern to us all, because our community is a better place when we can move about safely. Those of us with shingle drives can sweep our exits regularly to keep them gravel free, but the rest is down to us residents to keep Central Beds and Barton's councillor informed about the state of the roads and pavements and ensure the repairs are properly prioritised for repair.

Some of the damage is caused when residents have building work carried out that involves deliveries of laden lorries. The damage may be unavoidable, but should be promptly repaired. For safety's sake and that of good community relations.


To report a road or pavement in need of repair to CBC, you can:
a. go online at www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/highways or
b. email them at highways@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or
c. call them on tel: 0300 300 8049 or
d. use their app www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/mobileapp 

Time to tackle the tots' park at Franklin Avenue

Everyone's agreed that the fencing off of the former young children's playground at Franklin Avenue, behind the Co-op, is one of the biggest acts of corporate vandalism and waste in our village.

Janet with Lib Dem candidate MP Linda Jack at Franklin Ave

Longer term residents remember fondly the pleasure that our little ones found there, playing on the brightly coloured slide and bouncy animals – facilities that appealed specifically to tots, before they grew to demand the bigger swings and equipment of the park at Norman Road.

Local residents and child carers from the wider village all have views on what should happen to the land, from keeping the grass well tended to putting benches there and of course reinstating the tots' park, but all agree that removing the fence is a priority.

It's a crying shame that this eyesore has been allowed to persist for so long. We need someone to bring all interested parties together to discuss what people want, who holds what funding (tenants there pay the company that own their houses for the upkeep of the surrounding lawns and of course Central Beds and the Parish Council tax every household here) and agree what can be done to satisfy public interest and need.

If elected as Barton ward councillor to Central Beds Council on 7 May, I would pledge to be that catalyst for action. This site has festered for long enough.

Let me have your views please, tel: 882799 or email janet.nunn@ntlworld.com 
Many thanks,
Janet Nunn
113 Manor Road, Barton-le-Clay MK45 4NS 

ELECTION SPECIAL - Barton-le-Clay Focus

Janet Nunn for Central Beds Councillor on 7th May

The latest edition of Focus, produced by the Lib Dem Focus Team in Barton-le-Clay, is now available to download.

Threat to Barton from UKIP family

Lib Dem PPC Linda Jack on hustings panel (4th from left)

Barton-le-Clay is threatened with massive new development on the Green Belt if a local UKIP candidate MP's sister-in-law gets her way.

Tim Smyth, husband of north-east Beds UKIP candidate MP Adrianne Smyth, let slip last night that his sister plans to build a whole new village on the north-east edge of Barton. He and his wife were talking to me after the first hustings for Bedfordshire parliamentary candidates yesterday.

I'd asked Adrianne Smyth to clarify a remark she'd made earlier. She had said that, if elected, UKIP would “take villages out of over-washed Green Belt status”. She confirmed her intention was to keep Green Belt around villages, but to allow building and extensions within villages themselves once their Green Belt status was removed.

But then her husband pointed out that Bedfordshire was “rather better” at this than Hertfordshire and as Lib Dem candidate MP Linda Jack joined our group, Mr Smyth announced his sister's building plans with (momentary hesitation and clicking of fingers while he searched for the name) 'Kilroy'.

The hustings, hosted by the Country Landowners' Association (CLA) at Shuttleworth manor house early yesterday evening, were well attended by CLA members.

The next hustings will be in Shefford at the St. Michael & All Angels Parish Church hall, Shefford, SG17 5DD from 7.30pm on Thursday 16 April. All are welcome to attend to question MP candidates on their views and local issues.

What do you think? Please email me at janet.nunn@ntlworld.com or call 01582 882799
Janet Nunn - Lib Dem candidate for Central Beds Council 2015

Barton-le-Clay youth short-changed by Central Beds Council

We Bartonians all pay our Council tax, but unlike other villages of similar size, or smaller, we have nowhere for our young teenagers to meet friends without being moved on.

The old Youth Hut in Sharpenhoe Road was beyond repair, and too close to the busy junction with Bedford Road to be safe in view of how the traffic flow has increased over the years. But on selling the plot for re-development, Central Beds pocketed the money.

Does this matter? I think so. Clubs run by adults, organised around an activity, are all very well but they don't appeal to every young person or even every aspect of each young person. The girl or boy who joins the dramatic society or scouts may also want to hang out with others of their own age to talk about things that interest them, make friends and try on their new and emerging identities without risk of being overheard or censored by adults. Without this, young people can only meet in places that risk disturbing neighbouring houses such as the Franklin Drive playground that the Parish Council then closed;or online, which doesn't develop all their interpersonal skills.

CBC need to be made to fulfil their moral obligation and provide some facility, whether a youth centre or an outdoor BMX-skatepark with seating, to enable our young people to socialise. If elected, I will engage with Central Beds Council and our Parish Council, and work to provide a facility that our young people want.

What do you think? Please reply to this post or email me personally on janet.nunn@ntlworld.com Thanks.

Housing needs vs myths

After the election, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) will launch a campaign to de-bunk the myths it claims have grown up around housing. This was revealed on 25 March by Shaun Spiers, chief executive of the CPRE at a public meeting at Cardinal Newman School Luton.

The myths, say CPRE, is that we need lots of houses yet for over 20 years the UK has been building homes at a greater rate than our population growth. CPRE insist this effect has not been perceived because of such things as the rise in second home ownership (not so much an issue around here as in the Cotswolds and south-west England, I expect).

CPRE is accused by some as “not taking an holistic view”. Councils have a duty to co-operate with London on providing housing needs: it stretches to neighbouring councils of those neighbouring London, so Bedfordshire is affected. If you Google the 'Bedford 51' letter, you'll see it sets a backdrop for the working relationship between Boris's GLA and other councils on housing.

The important thing is for us not to demonise sofa surfers or young people under 30 still living with Mum and Dad. And for us semi-rural types to welcome the town and city dwellers who aspire to move to semi-rural locations to bring up a family while commuting to work in London or other towns and cities. (I know that's what my husband and I did for seven years before we switched, me to a job in Bedford and Chris to being self-employed.)

It shouldn't stop us scrutinising what CBC is doing, or fighting hard to keep our green spaces and Green Belt gems, but I hope this wider understanding will help us achieve a balanced tone. At the meeting, someone remarked how brownfield development has made London a better place to live and work in, so concluded “this can happen in Bedfordshire too”. But can it? How much previously built on land in need of re-development is owned by the public sector and how much by the private sector? And is the cost in time and money of compulsory purchase prohibitive? Is there a will to find the way to do it?

Or will the eight national house-building companies continue to insist on controlled release of new homes for sale, to ensure prices remain buoyant, so undermining the public sector's ambitions?

I urged CPRE to relaunch their inter-active website tool from 2014 whereby people could send in photos and descriptions of places near where they lived that were abandoned and ripe for re-development. These varied in size from small plots in Hitchin and Shefford to multi-acre sites within Vauxhall's complex in Luton. Of course, ideally local councils would do this as part of their work to engage with their residents, but there were no Tory members of CBC to hear that or indeed any other suggestion.

What is your view or experience? Please let Janet Nunn know by comment on this blog, by email to janet.nunn@ntlworld.co.uk or by writing to 113 Manor Road, Barton-le-Clay, Bedford MK45 4NS

CPRE and Chiltern Society host Green Belt public meeting Weds 25th, Warden Hill

Dear fellow Bartonians,
I intend to go to the following public meeting, so do let me know if you want/need a lift.
Many thanks,
Janet Nunn
882799

Public Meeting
Protect Our Green Belt!

 

Green Belt land in southern Bedfordshire and northern Hertfordshire is threatened as never before by huge levels of development.

Find out what’s at stake in your community and what
you can do about it.

Speaker: Shaun Spiers, National Chief Executive of Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
 

---

7pm, Wednesday 25th March 2015

Venue: Main Hall, Cardinal Newman Catholic School,
Warden Hill Road, Luton LU2 7AE

All Welcome
This meeting is a joint event by local countryside charities CPRE Bedfordshire, CPRE Hertfordshire & The Chiltern Society.

For more information & directions - www.cprebeds.org.uk

To go safely

This month's Focus newsletter hit a few raw nerves. The poor state of roads and footpaths at various points around the village was flagged up also by:

• Jackie who's concern at the faded marking on the zebra crossing between Gale Court and the surgery. This is used especially by schoolchildren and the elderly on this busy east-west rat-run between the A1 and M1. See photo below. 

I reported it to highways@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk and urge you to do the same if you share the concern. And is this enough or is there a need for a lollipop person (school crossing patrol person) or a traffic light controlled crossing to ensure motorists stop at busy schooltimes? Do let me know your experience.

• Bob who welcomed support for his long running campaign to have the pavement on the northern side of the Sharpenhoe Road outside number 4 repaired.
• Ken, who was pleased to hear I'd reported the sunken drains on the southern side of Sharpenhoe Road as one leaves the village going west, then added his own observations of more sunken drains on the bridge crossing the A6 into the village. And I've since been made aware of how deep the drain cover has sunk on the east side of Bedford Road next to the bollard crossing at the village centre end of Manor Road. Clearly motorists keep clear of the bollards but have caused the drain cover to sink, which a (motor) cyclist might not see outside daylight hours.

Email highways@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 8049 to report highways problems to Central Beds Council. And please, keep me in the loop with how you get on or for my support.

Janet Nunn
tel: 882799 or e-mail janet.nunn@ntlworld.com

March 2015 edition of FOCUS newsletter

The latest edition of FOCUS for Barton-le-Clay is available to download here.

Bartonians' views on housing development

A sincere thank you to all who returned our survey to tell us what you think is the best way forward for housing development around here and in the country more generally.

There is a real appreciation of the need to (re-)develop sites in towns and cities here in the South-East but also in the Midlands and the North. There's also wide support in principle for the idea of developing towns into garden cities where locals support the notion, although several people here thought Ampthill should be excepted.

As for Barton-le-Clay and walks out to surrounding villages, the majority cherished the Green Belt and wish it to be safeguarded. Janet Nunn and Jonathan Paxton thank you for your responses.

1. General - Use of paths around Barton-le-Clay: The vast majority of respondents regularly use our footpaths, but a small handful have developed mobility issues with age and can no longer do so. This highlighted that people who use a wheelchair or mobility scooter also want to gaze on the lovely views around here, yet the staggered fence blocks access to the Bunyan Way footpath east off Manor Road. Can this be made wheelchair friendly?

2. Our most used paths: In order of popularity, these were the paths east of Manor Rd; south from Church or Old road; west towards Sharpenhoe; north from Higham Road. 

3. Bartonians' favourite places: the favourite walks were
a. around Barton-le-Clay: to Hexton; to the springs and up the Barton Hills; to the Sharpenhoe Clappers.
b. around other Beds-Herts villages: in order of popularity, around Silsoe, Pegsdon, Old Warden, Shillington, Meppershall, Clophill, Maulden, Shefford, Pirton, Ashwell, Woburn, Woburn Sands, Harlington, Holwell, Willington, Arlesey, Dunstable Downs, Lilley, Kimpton
c. among towns of Beds and Herts: in order of popularity, Hitchin, Ampthill, Bedford, Luton and its Stockwood and Wardown Parks, Stotfold, Harpenden and its Common, Hertford, Wyboston
d. of Beds, Herts, Bucks cities: MK, Letchworth, St Albans, Stevenage, Welwyn GC, Tring, Aylesbury
e. other: London, Cambridge, Oxford

4. New Housing sites proposed were:
a. in/around Barton-le-Clay: the vast majority said none; two said the infrastructure wouldn't support more growth; one person suggested Faldo Road and west of Barton-le-Clay; one person said 'west of village centre, off Sharpenhoe Rd'; one person said 'on the several available plots around Barton' without identifying any
b. in/around villages of Beds/Herts: people felt strongly that brownfield sites be used and also suggested of Sandridge, Wheathampstead, Wilstead/Wixams, Offley, Cockernhoe and one person saying 'we're not qualified to comment'
c. in/around towns of Beds/Herts: brownfield sites were overwhelmingly urged, citing Stopsley and Luton, especially the old Vauxhall site; inner Dunstable and Houghton Regis near new by-pass; Leighton Buzzard; Stewartby, Kempston; Bedford; corridors along M1-A1M; extension of new sites in Wixams, Silsoe
d. in/around cities of Beds, Herts, Bucks: MK, Luton South, Stevenage, Aylesbury
e. other: general support for brownfield site development; one person said there was 'plenty of room around Bucks villages, but they'd need their transport links improved'.

5. Make certain willing towns on the Oxford-Cambridge axis into Garden Cities:
a. support: most people supported the idea; a handful were unsure; two said 'not Ampthill' and one opposed
b. prefer to grow villages in SE England: two people supported this option and all other respondents disagreed
c. prefer to grow cities and opportunities around UK - the SE has enough: several people supported this proposal, with one person citing how 'North and Midlands towns need better investment and opportunities'; one person said 'by far the best idea'; one person was 'unsure about the SE having enough'
d. other: town regeneration and maintaining villages were the preferred priorities. One person thought Lincs with its low population density had great scope for development.

Prioritising mental health at last

The NHS and its budget are matters for national debate and settlement, yet many of us deal with the NHS only locally: the GP and maybe the local hospital or physiotherapy centre.

While most ailments are satisfactorily taken care of by local NHS services at their pace, sometimes there is a greater urgency and need to harness the support of all available resources. For mental health, this should include family and carers, but it's not always observed in practice.

A tragic example of such a failure came as a result of the suicide of former Harlington Upper School student Lizzie Barnes, aged 20, in December 2012. At her inquest, local mental healthcare body SEPT admitted to failings in the care of Lizzie and produced an action plan with six recommendations to put into place. These included that “communication with carers needs significant improvement”*. Sadly, this lesson chimes with the experience of other families.

I wholeheartedly support the work of Health Minister Norman Lamb MP to destigmatise mental health and place it on the same footing as physical health in the NHS. Local delivery is right, but so too is national standard setting and oversight. Some lessons ought not to be learned the hard way.

If you're interested in joining our local GPs' Patient Participation Group, post a Bargoose Contact Form in their Suggestions Box. Copies may also be downloaded from their website: http://www.bartongroupsurgeries.co.uk/bargoose_patient_participation_group_p2775.html?a=0


*http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/news/local/health-trust-admits-to-failing-lizzie-at-inquest-1-5716118

The latest edition of the Barton-le-Clay FOCUS is available to download

Please click this link to download the Barton FOCUS.

Garden cities best safeguard for Green Belt

 My daughter's boyfriend lives in Bicester and to visit him using public transport, she takes the X5 westwards from Bedford through Milton Keynes. The buses can only rarely stick to timetable and take almost two hours, without adding on travel time from Barton-le-Clay to Bedford. The Lib Dem vision to develop between three and five garden towns or cities along the Cambridge-Oxford axis would mean  investment in roads, trainlines and other infrastructure, slashing train journey times between Cambridge and Oxford from two and a half hours to 60 minutes - see http://www.libdems.org.uk/new_garden_city_train_link

Another benefit of this Lib Dem vision would be the building of 300,000 new homes in a co-ordinated and controlled way in this part of the country, starting with Bicester as pioneer.  It would thereby reduce the pressure to add hundreds and sometimes thousands of homes to every town and village here, which would turn villages into town and towns into cities indiscriminately, concreting over our Green Belt.

There should certainly be no large scale house building at Barton-le-Clay, sited as we are on the aquifer of the Barton Clay Vale between the chalk escarpment of the Chilterns to the south and the Greensand Ridge to the north, stretching up into Cambridgeshire..

The winter rains of 2014 saw water levels here rise in much of Barton to within six inches of the ground. When we flood it is through the water table rising, flooding gardens, patios and, in the worst cases, homes. Culverts on Manor Road brimmed with rainwater and homes at the juncture of Stuart Road and Windsor Road saw their gardens and patios flood. Building over more of the aquifer makes no sense given that the water table will rise again as rains fall. And with climate change, we are having wetter winters and warmer summers.

How is it for you in heavy rain? Does your garden become waterlogged or the patio flood? What do you think of the idea of having Bicester and other towns on the Cambridge-Oxford axis developed into garden cities like Letchworth and Welwyn? Janet Nunn wants to hear your views on janet.nunn@ntlworld.com