Planning Application Decision

Rugby Borough Council has reached the following decision on a planning application that was submitted in December:

• Sandpit Farm, Shilton Lane, Shilton - retention of buildings for use as a cattery and office - approved.

The full decision on this application can be viewed here.

CCTV Cameras and Installation in Shilton

Here are a few pictures of the installation works that took place over two days last week to install CCTV cameras in the village hall/sports pavilion car park area in Wood Lane, Shilton.

(Click on any of the images to see the pictures in more detail)

.... workmen begin fixing the cameras

.... two cameras in place

.... third camera, covering different angles

Parish Council Meeting - 10 January

Last Tuesday, I attended an informal parish council meeting that had been arranged to discuss finance matters. Shilton Parish Council does not normally meet during January, and therefore the opportunity was taken to call an informal meeting to discuss a number of financial-related matters outside of a normal parish council meeting.

Unfortunately, I was working for the early part of the evening and so was only able to get to the meeting half way through. Fortunately, I didn't miss the discussions on two of the big projects for the parish council for the first part of the new year: CCTV and participatory budgeting.

It's hard to believe that I first mentioned the rural CCTV system back in December 2009, but two years later Shilton will, by the end of the week, have its own CCTV system in operation covering the car park area of the village hall/sports pavilion.


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Set up costs and on-going funding will be met by the parish council, with video footage being able to be viewed at the Police control centre at Wolston Leisure and Community Centre.

At last week's meeting, councillors agreed the final details for the switching on of the cameras. Particular credit should go to Councillor Stephen White who has taken on responsibility for delivering this project, working closely with Paul Collett from the Rugby Community Safety Partnership in order to deliver a cost effective measure that should reduce crime, and the fear of crime, around the village hall car park area.

The other topic of interest was participatory budgeting. It's not the snappiest of names, but make a note of it because if you live in Shilton or Barnacle you should be hearing it a lot more over the next few months.

Participatory budgeting is a way that councils can spend money that involves the public more in deciding what it is that the money should be spent on, and this usually involves the public suggesting ideas and then voting on which ones to implement. And in a nutshell, that's what Shilton Parish Council is going to do this year. It has set aside £1,500 for any resident in the parish to suggest an idea as to what it should be spent on. The only two criteria are that the suggestion must be for general community benefit (rather than just of use to yourself), and the suggestion must be legal and permissible. Other than that, whatever is suggested will be put to the public vote and the most popular idea will be carried out!

There'll be plenty more on this over the next few months (look out for something in the next edition of BASIS), and councillors were last week discussing some of the practicalities as to how it will all operate. But the exciting thing for me is that for the first time in a long time, residents will be the ones deciding what it is they want their Council Tax to be spent on, which should help the parish council itself to be more representative and responsive to what the public wants.

There'll be plenty more about this on the blog in the weeks to come, including when I report back from the next normal parish council meeting being held on Tuesday 6 February.

As ever, any comments on CCTV or the participatory budgeting idea will be very welcome

Police Crime Report - December

Warwickshire Police has released its latest crime report setting out incidents it wishes to draw to the attention of local residents that have occurred in Shilton and Barnacle during the last month. Three incidents have been highlighted:

• Monday 19 December - Attempted Theft - Church Road, Shilton
Report that over the previous two weeks, unknown offenders had gone onto the roof and attempted to steal metal. No CCTV was available and no house-to-house enquiries were undertaken.

• Sunday 25 December - Theft of Motor Vehicle - Hallway Drive, Shilton
Report that a vehicle had been stolen. Police officers found the vehicle on the way to the incident crashed in a field. When they arrived at the address, an individual was found to be drunk and during questioning it became apparent that the person had been driving the vehicle. The person was arrested for drink driving and will appear in court in the New Year.

• Saturday 31 December - Theft from Motor Vehicle - Church Road, Shilton
Report that between 12.15 - 1.15pm unknown offenders had smashed the front near side window of a vehicle and stolen a handbag. No CCTV was available and no house-to-house enquiries were undertaken due to the location of the incident.

Warwickshire Police has asked that anyone with any information about these crimes should call them on (01788) 541111.

Planning Application Decision

Rugby Borough Council has reached the following decision on a planning application that was submitted in July:

• The Laurels, Shilton Lane, Shilton - erection of a replacement dwelling and alterations to the existing vehicular access - approved.

The full decision on this application can be viewed here.

Neighbourhood Watch Warning and Police Crime Report - November

Warwickshire Police has issued the following alert for people living in Ansty, Brinklow, Shilton and the surrounding areas, following a number of thefts of car number plates:

We would like to make you all aware of vehicle number plates being stolen in Ansty, Brinklow and Shilton locations. Incidents so far have happened on Main Road, Ansty, Coventry Road, Brinklow and Church Road, Shilton.

The incidents have happened over the last four weeks, mainly during the evenings and into the night. On some occasions the number plates have been left nearby when they have been damaged in the process of removal. We are asking for you to be extra vigilant and to report any suspicious activity.

In addition, Warwickshire Police has released its latest crime report setting out incidents it considers are in the public interest that have occurred within Shilton and Barnacle during the last month. Five incidents have been highlighted:

• Monday 14 November - Theft from a Motor Vehicle - Church Road, Shilton
Report that sometime overnight, unknown person/s had taken both front and rear number plates. No CCTV was available, and the crime happened in the car park so house to house enquiries were not undertaken.

• Wednesday 16 November - Theft of Motor Vehicle - Top Road, Barnacle
Report that somebody had been disturbed trying to steal a teleporter/tractor. Units attended and conducted an area search.

• Thursday 17 November - Theft/Fire/Nuisance - Wood Lane, Shilton
Report that sheds had been set alight and that other sheds had been broken into. Units attended and there was on-going work connected with this with the allotment association. No CCTV was available, nor house to house enquiries undertaken.

• Sunday 20 November - Theft - Wood Lane, Shilton
Report that overnight unknown persons had entered a property and taken garden equipment. CCTV and alarms were sounded. Police units attended. Subsequent raids had been undertaken and items had been found linked to this property.

• Friday 25 November - Theft from Motor Vehicle - Leicester Road, Shilton
Report that during the evening unknowns persons had gained entry into a secure vehicle and taken items. House to house enquiries conducted, but there was no CCTV of the incident.

Warwickshire Police has asked that anyone with any information about these crimes should call them on (01788) 541111.

Planning Applications Consultation and Decision

A new planning application has been submitted by:

• 38 Bulkington Road, Shilton - extensions and alterations to dwelling to include alteration to the roof, two storey extension to the rear (to replace existing outbuildings) and elevational alterations.

Full details of the application (including site plans) can be viewed here. All comments on the application must be received by Rugby Borough Council by Friday 16 December.


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Rugby Borough Council has also reached the following decision on a planning application submitted in November:

• Wolf Systems Ltd, Shilton Industrial Estate, Bulkington Road, Shilton - installation of solar panels on the roof of unit E - approved.

The full decision on this application can be viewed here.

WALC Rugby Branch Meeting - 30 November

Last Tuesday I chaired the Rugby branch meeting of the Warwickshire and West Midlands Association of Local Councils (WALC) in Wolvey. This is the quarterly meeting of all of the parish councils in the Rugby borough area where we discuss recent developments and shared matters of interest.

There are always invited speakers to give a presentation on a topic of interest to parish councils, and at this meeting the focus was on highways and transportation. Roger Newham from Warwickshire County Council spoke about the range of services that the county's highways and transportation department provided, including highways maintenance, subsidising bus services (especially in the rural area) that would otherwise not be operated because they were not commercially viable, modelling projected traffic flows within the county's towns, encouraging sustainable travel options (eg. cycling and walking) and maintaining the county's network of bridleways and footpaths.

Representatives from parish councils asked a number of questions, particularly concerning the provision of speed cameras in areas where there was considered to be speed-related problems but where no cameras were currently located. Unfortunately, Roger Newham explained that the funding allocated to speed cameras within Warwickshire had reduced in recent years from £1.8m to £250,000 per year, which effectively meant that it was not possible to site cameras in any new locations in the county as the entire budget was used to maintain the existing network of locations.

Harborough Magna Parish Council took the opportunity to raise its concern that Main Street in the village was not gritted, despite it being a twisting road and used for school bus services. Roger Newham agreed to look into this matter to see whether it could be added to the roads in the village that were gritted.

Also in attendance was Tiz Gibson from Balfour Beatty, who had recently signed a five year contract with Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council to maintain the highways assets across Coventry and Warwickshire and undertake necessary maintenance. This maintenance work would include responsibility for winter gritting, surface dressing, white line marking, structural works and the filling of pot holes.

In an attempt to improve on the service currently being provided, Balfour Beatty was trialling four 'Find & Fix' teams that would carry sufficient equipment in their vans to enable them to repair pot holes immediately upon discovering them. This initiative was one of a number of ideas that were intended to reduce the inconvenience to the public caused by road maintenance problems such as pot holes. If the initiative turns out to be as successful as it sounds that it could be, these improvements in the speeds of repair will be very much welcomed.

Elsewhere on the agenda, we received updates from councillors who represent the branch on outside bodies and groups, including the county-wide committee of WALC and the latest business discussed by the Rugby Local Strategic Partnership.

The next branch meeting is scheduled for the end of February, when it is hoped that an officer from Warwickshire County Council will be in attendance to talk about grant funding opportunities that exist for parish councils (which should be particularly useful considering the pressures that parish councils are currently under to restrict increases in the amount of funding they raise from the Council Tax).

Planning Application Consultation

This week, a planning application has been submitted by:

• Wolf Systems Ltd, Shilton Industrial Estate, Bulkington Road, Shilton - installation of solar panels on the roofs of units A and B.

Full details of the application can be viewed here. All comments on the application must be received by Rugby Borough Council by Tuesday 22 November.


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Police Crime Report - October

Warwickshire Police has released its latest crime report setting out incidents it considers are in the public interest that have occurred within Shilton and Barnacle during the last month. Two incidents have been highlighted:

• Sunday 2 October - Theft - Church Road, Shilton
Overnight, the front and rear numberplates were stolen from a vehicle.

• Thursday 13 October - Theft - Charles Lakin Close, Shilton
Three men disturbed in a garden attempting to steal a bike. One man arrested on the scene.

Warwickshire Police has asked that anyone with any information about these crimes should call them on (01788) 541111.