on the button issue 12 | Page 4

news from Arlesey Fun Day – 22nd June 2013 The recent Fun Day raised the sum of £350.00 to date for the Chairman’s Charity, Keech Hospice Care, which provides emotional and practical support for adults and children diagnosed with a life limiting condition. Keech Hospice Care is one of only a handful of UK organisations offering adult and children’s services on the same site. Providing care for patients primarily from Luton and South Bedfordshire while the children’s service cares for children across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes. Bedfordshire Police with the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service A recent event was held at the Fire Station in Shefford to promote services and resources for the town by the Bedfordshire Police with the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. A similar event is planned to be held in Arlesey on the 24th of September. The event will start with an early morning session at the Railway Station on bike crime. Later the same day transferring to the Village Hall, giving residents information and advice on crime, emergencies and social issues. Local services should be available to answer any questions or offer support on: Free bicycle marking scheme Get smoke detectors replaced or installed for Free Free employment advice Learn about volunteering opportunities in your area Discuss issues with your local policing team Get advice and support about drugs, alcohol and mental health issues Discuss housing issues Neighbourhood Plan Presentation by Sally Chapman – Central Beds Development Plan Process Team Leader on the basics of the Neighbourhood Plan. ATC were advised against this as it would be expensive to produce and the outcome would a residents address At the committee meetings on Tuesday 16th July at the Village Hall the separate ATC committees met to discuss recent business before breaking for the Summer holidays. Before the meetings opened resident Andrew Ward took 3 minutes to address the council with a speech on public perception of ATC. His main points were: 1.  Many residents think ATC is irrelevant, secretive and that some members and staff have down the years been merely self-serving rather than looking to serve the interests of the community 2.  also has virtually no idea of how residents think and feel about crucial It issues affecting the town – so how can it represent them ?! 3.  overcome this ATC needs to win back the hearts and minds of To residents by going the extra mile when it comes to PR and transparency 4.  ATC should consider having a CLOSED FB group to push info out into the community as to what is going on. This would be a step in the right direction and ideally just one of a range of communication vehicles to be adopted to improve resident engagement. Some of these would ultimately need to be two way. The objective being to let people know what is actually going on (without reserve or hesitancy) in a factual and helpful manner. This would help begin to convince residents that ATC knows what residents really want and is working hard to secure the best for Arlesey. The question of the use of Facebook and Social Media was later discussed in the General Purpose and Finance Committee by the Council as recent postings by one councillor on an open public group was deemed inappropriate and not in line with full council sanction. The use of Facebook will be debated at the next Public Relations Committee separately and reported back to reach a conclusion. 4 | August 2013 | be unclear. It was also stated that this would have no impact on the current development under consultation. Arlesey cemetery Remedial works to correct the high water table. Tenders are being sought for the works and it is possible the council will request more than the 3 prices on this occasion. It is hoped the Cemetery will be fit for purpose by the end of October if all goes according to plan. Traffic calming – High Street A proposal has been put forward by CBC to construct two more raised tables either side of the new one outside the Village Hall. Objections to the proposal are to be sent to CBC before 19th July. The proposal was the result of a week long survey made after the installation of the existing one in the High Street. The results of the survey revealed that average vehicle speed reduced from 27.6mph before the installation to 23.0mph after construction. Arlesey Town Council have objected to this proposal Heavy vehicle restrictions As part of the Local Area Transport Plan it has been proposed by Arlesey Town Council that there is to be weight restrictions on the north end of Arlesey for lorries over a certain weight. This will re-route the vehicles through the south end of the town. There is funding available for this proposal which could be part-funded by Arlesey Town Council. West Drive Survey results are to be released after the questionnaire produced by Central Beds Council subsequent to a meeting at Fairfield Park on the future of West Drive. It is proposed there will be no buses along the route as was originally planned for a link from Arlesey High Street to Fairfield Park. This will now be a footpath or bridleway with low level lighting and vehicular access for only part of the route. new councillors Following the resignation of councillors Jane Squizzoni and Lorraine Warwick, from Arlesey Town Council recently, two new councillors have now been appointed. Chris Gravett and Darren Hazlewood are now officially members and will take up their posts in September after the summer holidays. A letter had gone to the Returning Officer, signed by at least ten residents requesting an election, after the resignations. If three candidates had applied for the posts there would have been an election. As only two residents had put their names forward, to fill the two positions, they were appointed without election. Arlesey Fun Day In the July issue we showed a picture of Jazzercise and wrongly captioned it Dancebeat. We apologise for this error. Dancebeat is a dance class for children and runs classes in the Village Hall. For details contact Nicola Hughes on 01462 674296 or email: [email protected] Jazzercise is a dance class held on Saturdays at 9.15am in the Village Hall. For more details contact 01525 864855. To see more images from the Fun Day visit: www.onthebuttonarlesey.co.uk/FunDay2013/funday2013.html to advertise telephone: 01462 834265 or go to the website: www.onthebuttonarlesey.co.uk