The Chairman welcomed all parish representatives to the Parish Council Forum.

Apologies received as listed above.

To confirm the Notes of the Parish Council Forum held on 24 April 2017.

The Notes of the Parish Council Forum held on Monday 24 April 2017 were confirmed by parish representatives and signed by the Chairman.

To discuss any matters arising from the Parish Council Forum held on 24 April 2017.

There were no matters arising from the notes of the last meeting.

To receive updates from parish representatives on organisations they represent which might be of interest to other members of the Forum.

Mr S Rozak from Uppingham Town Council read out the following statement and asked the following question:

We decided the Parish Forum is an opportunity to make a statement about the importance and impact of the loss of rural bus services and in particular the 747 service between Uppingham and Leicester. 

So firstly I don’t want to get into a debate about Uppingham v Oakham to my mind we are all dipping into the same pot for money. I hope that the funds available are fairly distributed around Rutland where public transport services are required.

I also want you to be aware that I do understand the dilemma RCC/LCC have in juggling public money with a commercial concern like Centre bus who are driving for profit and may see subsidy as a solution to their problem of taking on non-profitable routes.

We would like to thank LCC/RCC for their support in providing temporary funding for the 747 through 2017 – without it we wouldn’t be here today discussing its future beyond 2017.

There is a working group of parishes on the 747 route who have regularly met with RCC/LCC representatives over the past 9 months to try and understand the problem we have.

Uppingham have undertaken in conjunction with RCC’s help a survey of the public – to date we have over 250 responses with some interesting data which we are currently digesting.

We have spent a week travelling on the bus talking to passengers and experiencing the bus and its route.

We have been overwhelmed by the reaction to the potential loss of the service and the support from parishes along the route to Leicester.

We accept the community has a key part to play in supporting the service and have done what we can to raise awareness of this – with the aim of arresting the decline in passengers.

We have also taken this opportunity to do a temperature check on pricing as well as float ideas about subtle changes to the route to tackle some longstanding issues.

It’s important to understand that routes like these shouldn’t be viewed in isolation – we’ve learned of a dependence on connecting bus services between towns in Rutland with Leicester.

We also now understand better, some of the ‘myths’ about why numbers have dropped e.g. schools bus services are not a cause.

We think the need for subsidies for these services may need to continue, but it has to be done with passenger’s numbers stable and preferably on the increase.

My question to RCC is as follows:

Can RCC confirm in conjunction with LCC that they will support further funding in 2018 to keep the 747 bus service running allowing the parishes some breathing space to tackle some of the operational issues?

Councillor T Mathias – Leader of Rutland County Council responded with the following comments:

·         Thanked Mr Rozak for his comments regarding Rutland County Council (RCC) and Leicestershire County Council (LCC);

·         LCC proportion of the subsidies is unclear;

·         RCC Senior  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

20 minutes for presentation and questions.

Mrs Helen Briggs - Chief Executive for Rutland County Council provided the Forum with a presentation on the One Public Estate for Rutland Projects.

Please find the full presentation attached.

The following points were noted:

                      i.        Oakham Hub:

·         Consideration had been given for 2 hubs (Oakham & Uppingham) but this was not viable. The final model had to work for the whole County.

·         Transport to the hub and spoke locations will be taken into consideration. Current surveys show that service users do not walk to services.

                    ii.        St George’s Barracks:

·         Mrs Briggs confirmed that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) would carry out all due diligence regarding buried ordinance on the St George’s Barracks Site.

·         RCC would like to have as much influence in the future development of St Georges Barracks as possible and were working closely with the MOD. The master plan was the first key element to get right before any developers come on board.

·         Mrs Briggs confirmed that the current MOD housing at Edith Weston will not be affected by the St Georges Barracks Project. This will be kept by the MOD of RAF Wittering and Kendrew Barracks housing. This would be positive for the local’s schools and the surrounding community.

                   iii.        Mrs Briggs acknowledged that a recruitment exercise would be required to ensure that RCC had the correct skills set to deliver these projects successfully.

                   iv.        Mrs Briggs informed the Forum that the presentation was a ‘heads up’ to the One Public Estate Projects. Full consultation within the community would take place at the appropriate time.

                    v.        Mr Bool reminded the Forum of the successful project undertaken by RCC at Oakham Enterprise Park.

20 minutes for presentation and questions.

Mr Neil Tomlinson – Senior Highways Manager, Rutland County Council provided the Forum with an update on the Oakham Town Centre Improvement Project.

Please find the full presentation attached.

The following points were noted:

                      i.        Concern was raised by the Forum regarding the following aspects of the development of Oakham Town Centre:

·         The proposals were too modern.

·         The heritage of Oakham will be lost.

·         The high street was in decline.

·         This project has been looked at 4 times before (using Station Road or South Street).

·         The funding could be shared with Uppingham.

                    ii.        Mr Tomlinson encouraged the Forum to feedback to their local County Councillors regarding potential cycle paths that could be developed as part of this Project (Braunston).

                   iii.        Details of the width of the highway would not be decided until a scheme had been approved.

                   iv.        Mr Tomlinson reminded the Forum that ongoing discussions with Uppingham Town Council regarding the future development had been lengthy and will continue.

                    v.        Mr Bool informed the Forum that RCC would use great sensitivity when considering the heritage of the County.

20 minutes for presentation and questions.

1)            Mrs A Keal - Chairman and Mrs G Griffiths - General Secretary of Whissendine Good Neighbour Scheme gave an overview of the Scheme to the Forum.

The following points were noted:

                      i.        Whissendine Good Neighbour Scheme had been running for 7 years.

                    ii.        The aim of the scheme was to provide the type of support you may expect from a good neighbour.

                   iii.        A village questionnaire had been undertaken to starting up the scheme. Residents provided information regarding the type of help that they required (mainly transport to start with), this lead to the Parish Council supporting the Scheme.

                   iv.        The Scheme is voluntary.

                    v.        The Scheme operated using a mobile phone number that residents call with their requirements. The phone is held by volunteers on a rota basis (8am – 8pm). Each job was directed to the right volunteer with the right skills.

                   vi.        All volunteers had been Disclosure and Barring Service checked (DBS) and all had ID cards.

                  vii.        The Scheme tried not to displace local business, for example, will not undertake long term regular gardening work.

                viii.        There were 40 volunteers in total.

                   ix.        The Scheme integrates with other groups within the village.

                    x.        For transportation jobs, mileage is charged by the mile outside of the village to users. Transport is subsidised by RCC, if a user has a RCC bus pass the charge is halved.

                   xi.        The scheme had won 2 awards:

·         September 2011 the Rural Community Council's awarded "Gold and Overall Winner" in the Community category.

·         In December 2013 the Red Cross and Rutland Times awarded the ‘inspiring and doing inspiring work in the local community of Rutland' Award to Whissendine Good Neighbour Scheme.

                  xii.        Whissendine had supported 5 other villages to set up their own Scheme. Subsidies are available for new starter Schemes.

                xiii.        A fee of £300 per annum was paid to cover Public Liability Insurance. All volunteer drivers notify their personal car insurance provider of this work, but there was no additional cost.

More information regarding the Whissendine Good Neighbour Scheme can be found on their website:

http://www.whissendinegns.org.uk/

1 hour for presentation and questions.

Mr Roger Ranson - Planning Policy Manager, Rutland County Council provided the Forum with an Update on the Local Plan.

Please find the full presentation attached.

The following points were noted:

                      i.        Mr Ranson encouraged the Forum to take part in the consultation, making valid, quality and evidence based responses.

                    ii.        Due to the consultation taking place over the summer holiday period the Planning Policy team would take late comments.

                   iii.        The number of houses on each site was calculated using a standard methodology net density calculation.

                   iv.        A future stage of the process would be to look at each site in detail and determine when development maybe completed.

                    v.        Mr Ranson confirmed that only Oakham, Uppingham and the larger villages had allocated sites; there was no site allocation for the smaller villages in Rutland.

                   vi.        Mr Ranson encouraged the Forum to challenge the categorisation of village size through the consultation process.

                  vii.        The parking study that was completed several years ago was still valid as that have no significant changes.

                viii.        Any development that occurred at St Georges Barracks as part of the One Public Estate Project will not be taken into consideration within the Local Plan as there were no fixed plans at present.

                   ix.        Mr Ranson confirmed that RCC were working with current partners, for example, South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) as there is an overlap of County borders. Further development with other partners was required, for example, Corby District Council.

                    x.        Handouts were provided by Mr Ranson for the Forum to take, copies of which are attached.

To receive the Parish Briefing Paper (17 July 2017) on issues currently affecting Rutland (to be circulated at the Forum).

Parish Clerks and Representatives are asked to display the document on parish notice boards.

The Parish Briefing Paper for 17 July 2017 was circulated at the meeting.

To consider any other items of business which parish representatives may wish to raise.

The Chairman clarified that the following briefing/training session were taking place and was invited.

• Planning training for Parish Councils will take place on 28 September 2017 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm in the Council Chamber at Rutland County Council – This training is for Town & Parish Clerks, Town & Parish Chairs and members of Planning Meeting within Parish Councils, Town Councils and Parish Meetings within Rutland.

• A Local Plan Briefing for Parish Councils will be held on 3 August 2017 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm in the Council Chamber at Rutland County Council – This briefing is open to all Parish and Town Councillors within Rutland.

Monday 2 October 2017

Monday 29 January 2017

Potential agenda items for the Parish Council Forum should be sent to Corporate Support, Rutland County Council, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HP, or emailed to corporatesupport@rutland.gov.uk

Monday 2 October 2017

Monday 29 January 2018

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The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 09.15pm

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PARISH COUNCIL FORUM

Monday 17 July 2017, 7.00PM

ATTENDANCE LIST