Shilton Parish Council Elections - 3 May

Well, actually there won't be any elections for Shilton Parish Council this year, as when the closing date came and went for residents to submit their nomination papers to stand for election, six people submitted their forms for the seven vacant posts. Which means that, much in the tradition of Shilton specifically - and parish councils generally - these six people will be elected unopposed on 3 May to sit as members of the council for the next two years.

To be fair, it was always going to be a stretch to hope that eight or more people would be interested, seeing as there hadn't been a parish election in living memory. Coupled with one existing vacancy on the council, and the fact that two current councillors (Ron Lissaman and Mike Randall) had decided to retire in May, it was a case of running just to stand still!

Fortunately, it seems that a leaflet through every house in the parish, and a well attended Annual Parish Meeting that was brought forward to give added promotion to the upcoming elections, did enough to encourage two new people to come forward and volunteer to stand as parish councillors. Tantalizingly, two other people had also expressed some interest in standing, which would've resulted in a contested election in May, but they obviously decided against it in the end for their own reasons.

So, the public-spirited six are..... Gary Brindley, Bill King, David Redgrave, Kelly Smith, Stephen White and myself.

Still, six parish councillors is a lot better than the four it could've been, and we must look at this as 'work in progress' towards Thursday 1 May 2014 when we will finally have a proper election!!

For anyone who is interested, this is the 'Statement of Persons Nominated', published by Rugby Borough Council, that confirms the nominations for Shilton Parish Council that have been validly received:

(Click on the image to view bigger)

Shilton Parish Council Chairman's Report to the Annual Parish Meeting 2012

For those who missed it, here is the annual report of the Chairman of Shilton Parish Council, Councillor Bill King, that he gave to the Annual Parish Meeting held last Thursday night:

• Emma Raymont was appointed Clerk on 1 April 2011. During the year, she has done various courses working towards her qualifications necessary to help the parish council become a Quality Council.


• Land in Ash Tree Grove is now owned by the parish council after many years of negotiation. We have drawn up plans for the maintenance of the area, in consultation with the residents. The hedge along the roadway has been cut back.


• Ken Gupwell is now looking after the cemetery for the parish council and we are all very pleased with the care he is giving to it. Jackie Essex is now advising the parish council and looking after the records for the cemetery.


• The netting along the road side of the playing field should be erected soon and work on the hedge will begin as soon as possible after that. Ron Lissaman and Mike Randall have been in charge of looking after this work.


• Planning permission for travellers at Top Road was turned down by Rugby Borough Council, but they have appealed. There was a hearing in December, which was adjourned until February, and then this one was adjourned and will now be heard in June. 


• CCTV is now up and running in the car parks at the village hall and the pavilion. This can only be accessed by the police at the request of the parish council.


• Dan Essex, Stephen White and Emma Raymont have formed a committee which is working towards Shilton Parish Council becoming a Quality Council.


• The Shilton & Ansty Trust, of which I am a trustee, has awarded a number of grants this year to people in the villages of Shilton, Ansty and Barnacle.


• We have spent over £1,000 repairing the wall around the cemetery during the year.


• The parish council is investigating what effect the Localism Act will have for the parish council.


• Participatory Budgeting, where local people can suggest ways of spending some of the council's money, is one of the things we are looking at.


• The parish council arranged a meeting with all the local organisations to arrange festivities for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This committee is now called the Jubilee Committee, and is chaired by Pat Hemmings. Festivities will take place on Sunday 3 June at Shilton village hall and on the playing fields, which will include field games and a pram race, hog roast and tea for the children. There will be music and entertainment throughout the afternoon and early evening, and then on the evening of Monday 4 June in Barnacle village hall. Mugs, which have been paid for by the parish council, will also be distributed to all children aged 16 years and under who live in Shilton and Barnacle.


• There will be an election in May to elect Shilton parish councillors and Rugby councillors. The boundaries have been changed for Rugby Borough Council and we will in future be Wolvey & Shilton, which will only have one councillor instead of the two we have now. A number of the present parish councillors are not standing for re-election, and we will therefore be looking for new people to stand for election to become parish councillors. The council will only stand for two years, and there will then have to be another election, after which we will be in line with other councils in Rugby and the council will then be elected every four years.


• Dan Essex has been looking into various schemes that are available to improve broadband in the villages.


• Thank you to all the parish councillors for all their hard work over the last year. Thank you especially to Ron Lissaman and Mike Randall, who have done a lot of work for the council over a number of years and are not standing for re-election, and to Jean Russell-Pattinson who retired from the parish council last year. 

Annual Parish Meeting - Thursday 22 March - Final Reminder

Click on the image above to view full size.

Planning Application Decisions

Rugby Borough Council has recently reached the following decisions on planning applications in the parish:

• Carbury Investments, Units 4 - 12 and 3 - 13, Shilton Industrial Estate, Kiln Way, Shilton -  refurbishment and external alterations to the building, including the demolition of existing flat roofed extensions, replacement of roof and wall cladding, windows, rooflights and vehicle doors - approved.


• 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 - approved.

The full decisions on these applications can be seen here and here.

Shilton Parish Council Election Leaflet 2012 - BLOG EXCLUSIVE!

As something of a present from me to everyone who visits this blog to keep in touch with what the parish council is doing, I've attached below the first public sighting of a new leaflet that every household in the parish will receive during the next week.

The leaflet is aimed at encouraging people to consider standing as a parish councillor in the local elections that are to be held on Thursday 3 May, as well as highlighting some of the things that Shilton Parish Council has done over recent years (and thereby encouraging more people to get involved). The hope is that this will raise some interest in people putting themselves forward for election, and help raise the awareness of some of the good things Shilton Parish Council has done.

The leaflet won't hit the streets until the weekend, so if you're reading this on Wednesday then you have a three day head start on everyone else! As always, feedback (both good and bad) will be most gratefully received.

Click on both of the images to see the leaflet in larger form (and remember that when the leaflet is delivered, it'll be folded into three, which will make more sense of the layout!)

Fosse Division Community Forum - 1 March

Earlier this month I attended the quarterly Fosse Division Community Forum in Ansty. This public meeting discusses matters of relevance and interest to the Fosse area, which includes Shilton and Barnacle.

The meeting started with PC Giustine Cree from the Rugby Rural North Safer Neighbourhood Team providing a report on local policing matters during the last three months. It is at this meeting that members of the public can suggest priorities for the local police during the next quarter. One of the priorities that was agreed was for the police to focus on the problem of speeding in Leicester Road, Shilton as vehicles entered the village from the Wolvey direction. It was agreed that a minimum of five separate speed detection operations will be carried out over the coming weeks, and you can read further about how these are progressing here. A report back from the police on this matter will be given at the next Fosse Division Community Forum in June.

The main focus of the meeting were presentations from Nick Gower-Johnson from Warwickshire County Council on the provisions of the Localism Act, and from Ian Davis from Rugby Borough Council on planning and development matters within the area.

Nick Gower-Johnson went through a number of the key aspects of the Localism Act that had the potential to impact on parish councils and local communities. The act is large and complex, but sought to have four key themes running through its aims:

• freedoms and flexibility for local government
• rights and powers for local communities
• reform to the planning system
• more decisions about housing to be taken locally

As Nick explained these themes in more detail, it was clear that the Localism Act would provide the opportunity for local communities to become more involved in the running of their own areas, but that this was invariably conditional on a range of different matters. It'll be interesting to see over the coming years whether parish councils are able to grasp these opportunities and become real community leaders and champions. What is certain though is that there needs to be a significant number of people prepared to get actively involved for the good of their area in order to realise these new rights and powers. A parish council that sits back and waits for things to happen to them is, more than likely, going to be bypassed.

Ian Davis took the opportunity to talk about local planning matters. Of particular interest in the Fosse area was the status with planning applications for a series of wind turbines in the Offchurch and Copston Magna areas, and the on-going matter of gypsy and traveller sites around Shilton and Barnacle. The parish council has long argued that the best protection against this type of development within Green Belt land was for the proper provision of sites across the borough, so it was pleasing to hear Ian say that Rugby Borough Council was finally beginning to start the process that would do this.

The first stage was to re-assess the total need for gypsy and traveller pitches that would be required in the coming years. Work was currently being undertaken to determine genuine housing need, and it was expected that the results of this work would be published in May. I shall blog more about this issue when the data is released.

The next Fosse Division Community Forum is scheduled for 21 June 2012 at a venue to be agreed.

Police Crime Report - February

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. Two incidents have been highlighted:

• Thursday 16 February - Rowdy behaviour - Top Road, Barnacle
Reports that a group of males were gathered at the entrance to a travellers' site and there was concern that this was an organised event. The police helicopter was called and further police units. The group was dispersed.

• Wednesday 29 February - Church Road, Shilton
Between 27 - 29 February, unknown offenders had taken a metal garden chair and table set. No CCTV was available and no house-to-house enquiries were undertaken.


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

Planning Applications Consultation

New planning applications have been submitted by:

• Carbury Investments, Units 4 - 12 and 3 - 13, Shilton Industrial Estate, Kiln Way, Shilton -  refurbishment and external alterations to building, including the demolition of existing flat roofed extensions, replacement of roof and wall cladding, windows, rooflights and vehicle doors.
• Shilton Parish Council, Recreation Ground, Wood Lane, Shilton - erection of a 2m high fence and 4m high nets above.

Full details on the applications (including site plans) can be found here (Kiln Way) and here (Wood Lane). All comments on the applications must be received by Rugby Borough Council by Monday 5 March (Kiln Way) and Friday 16 March (Wood Lane).

Police Alert - Suspicious Vehicle WN51 JYA

Shilton and Barnacle have suffered their fair share of drain-cover thefts in recent times, and so whilst it's not directly in our area, this alert from the Rugby Rural Central Safer Neighbourhood Team is worth sharing in case you see the vehicle concerned:

Police are very keen to carry out stop checks on a vehicle which has been linked to several rural metal thefts recently. It is a white Fiat Ducato van, registration WN51 JYA. Please report immediately if the van is seen in suspicious circumstances.

PCSO 6169 Wilhelm Weininger
Rugby Rural Central Safer Neighbourhood Team
(01788) 853851

Planning Conference - 11 February

Earlier this month I attended a planning conference in Dunchurch, organised by the Warwickshire & West Midlands Association of Local Councils and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

The conference was held to help parish councils and other interested people make better use of the planning system within their local community. Decisions on planning applications can often be a cause of tension within communities, when it's considered that either permission has been given for something that residents think will detract from the 'feel' of the area, or when planning applications are refused and this is seen to hold back or restrict development that many think is needed.

Within Shilton and Barnacle over recent years, there has been much discussion of the development of gypsy and traveller sites, particularly as these have been within Green Belt land. The extent to which new housing development should be permitted, that won't result in either village growing inexorably bigger and yet provides necessary housing to meet the rising demand, is also a planning matter that will need to be constantly under consideration. One thing is certain, the parish council will always be at the sharp end of planning issues and controversies, and it was intended that this conference would provide some help and expertise to parish councillors trying to balance the competing demands that planning matters always throw up.

In the morning, delegates heard from Mark Sullivan from the Warwickshire branch of the CPRE talking about the community's role in planning, including how to respond to planning applications, your right to attend meetings of the local planning committee, and the appeals system that exists for applications that have been refused. In truth, much of this would already be familiar to parish councils who are consulted on applications in most months. What was interesting though was the fact that, alone amongst Warwickshire councils, Rugby Borough Council did not allow members of the public (or parish councils) to speak at meetings of the planning committee. It was disappointing that Rugby has taken this position, particularly as seeing that public speaking at committee meetings is undertaken at all the other councils in Warwickshire (and a vast majority of councils across the country) without any apparent problem.

It does leave the impression that residents in the Rugby borough area are not afforded the opportunities to engage in the planning process that they would be if they lived in Atherstone, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton or Stratford-upon-Avon, and representatives from the CPRE drew attention to how unsatisfactory this arrangement was, and how out of step it was with accepted practice throughout the rest of the country.

As a result of this, I was asked - in my capacity of Chairman of the Rugby branch of WALC - to write to Rugby Borough Council to see whether it would be prepared to consider introducing the right of public speaking at future meetings of its planning committee. I shall report back on any response I receive.

In the afternoon, the conference received a presentation from Steve Patalong from Vital Villages on Neighbourhood Development Plans. It was this issue that I was most interested in.

Neighbourhood Planning is a new idea, introduced by the Government as part of the Localism Act 2011, which intends to give communities more influence and say in the sorts of development that will be permitted within their local area. It is prepared by the local parish council, and can set out a vision for the area, indicate where new homes, shops and other development should be built, identify and protect local green spaces, and influence what new buildings should look like.

As Steve Patalong made clear, Neighbourhood Plans can decide where and what type of development should happen in the neighbourhood, and can promote more development than is planned for by the local planning authority (ie. Rugby Borough Council), but what it cannot do is conflict with any existing policy/strategy of the local planning authority, and it cannot be used to prevent development that is otherwise planned for. And for many parish councils, this is the concern that they have over the value of Neighbourhood Plans: that they will enable more development to occur, but they won't be able to prevent less.

I don't entirely share this view. If Neighbourhood Plans are being 'sold' as a means for local communities to control development in their area, then there will be disappointment because I don't believe the plans will exactly provide for this suggested level of direct control. In December 2011, Rugby's MP Mark Pawsey was saying:

"Local plans ensure that power is placed firmly within the hands of local people. I urge those Rugby residents who want to participate in the future of planning and development in their local area to get involved with the production of their own plans."

This may have been over-egging what Neighbourhood Plans are capable of doing, but I'm not completely sceptical of their merits. Giving parish councils more responsibility in designing how their community will evolve in the future - within a framework that determines that community sustainability must come through planned development - is legitimately, I think, part of a localist philosophy, and therefore something I support.

Whether a Neighbourhood Plan is the right approach for Shilton and Barnacle remains to be seen, and is no doubt something that I'll blog about in the future. It must also be said that unless the reported £20,000 cost of producing such a plan (to be paid for by the parish council) is much reduced, this will be prohibitive for all but the biggest local councils. But its an interesting new development, and this part of the conference was very much the most useful part for me.

The event was free of charge for those who attended and was paid for from funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government, who also produced this short video about neighbourhood planning: