Monthly Archives: May 2017

Miscellaneous

Burglary In Galley Hill

We are sad to report that a resident of Essenden Court, Galley Hill has been burgled. Alongside the usual electronic items which these low life thieves target, the unfortunate victims lost an irreplaceable family heirloom, a bracelet left to the lady of the house by her late mother.

Bracelet stolen in burglary on Galley Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you see a bracelet matching this diamond and sapphire bracelet being offered around for sale, please contact Thames Valley Police or let us know so we can pass any information on to the relevant people.

The burglary occurred while the family was out, and the thieves gained access through an upstairs bedroom window. This is a sad reminder of how we all need to be vigilant and watch out for each other as a community. One of the ways this can be done is through the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme which is being coordinated in Galley Hill by the GHRA Committee’s David Tavener. You can register your interest in the scheme through our Neighbour Hood Watch Survey online form here.

Remember to lock all doors and windows securely before leaving home, and keep an eye out for people acting strangely in the area.

The GHRA Committee

GHRA Meetings

Minutes Of Meeting 18th May 2017

Here are the minutes of the meeting of the GHRA held on 18th May 2017, compiled by GHRA Secretary Joy Sumner

Minutes:  General Open Meeting #5

Thursday, 18th May, 2017 (7pm)

Small Meeting Place Galley Hill

 

People

Present Absent
Committee:

NF:  Nyomie Flecknell (Chair/Clailey)

JS:  Joy Sumner (Secretary)

MA:  Mick Allsopp

PF: Paul Flecknell

DoT: Doug Titchmarsh

 

See sign-up sheet for other attendees

 Committee:

RA:  Roy Adams (Treasurer/Cottesloe)

DaT: David Tavener (Creslow)

 

 

Order of Business

 

  1. Welcome and H&S – done

 

  1. Apologies– done

 

  1. Formal approval of previous minutes (available online at GHRA.uk) – done

 

  1. Items for discussion

 

    1. Local activities
      1. Coffee mornings – These are running and attendance is good
      2. Discos & picnics – This is being delayed until we have insurance, which the committee is currently investigating
      3. Open Garden & Counts Competition – Looking for signs of interest
      4. Milton Keynes at 50 – In June there will be many events taking place, however GH is 50 in five years’ time, which will be when we run events.  The local head teacher is keen to get engaged in different events.

We are also looking at getting a memorial bench.  There have been promising meetings with SSTC.  There are also questions about having local children in a competition to design the bench.

      1. Christmas Events (singing/Santa) – Carried over until next meeting.

 

    1. Funding – We now have a bank account, so we can officially apply for grants.

However, we need to apply for grants which require particular activities.

 

    1. Communication
      1. “Noose” newsletter – Attendees all said that they received this.  We received compliments in it.  We are hoping to build this up over time and are also keen to attract sponsorship.  Any events about local events or events that local people are volunteering will be gratefully received as short articles.
      2. “Friends of Galley Hill” Facebook page – About half of attendees have signed up.
      3. Notice board – This is being very slow to move – however the town clerk is looking into this.
      4. Website – GHRA.uk – This is kept up to date and also has a calendar with upcoming events.  It also has a web-form to contact the council.  Minutes are kept on the website.  (If you cannot access the webpage, copies of the minutes will be available at the meetings for you to look though.)

 

    1. Problems
      1. Trees/leaves/landscaping – The last tree maintenance for the estate was a long time ago, and this will be raised at the next council meeting.  (Adam to speak on this to the Parish Council)
      2. Antisocial parking – This is a long-standing problem and there may not be a quick fix, however the parking makes it difficult for people to access their homes, road-sweepers to remove leaves (preventing clogged drains), etc.
      3. Pathway/road problems – This may be possible to tackle in the medium term if we act as a community. (Debbie to speak on this to the Parish Council)
      4. Other – Rubbish put outside at the wrong time (consistently).  The fire-brigade has been contacted, but this isn’t currently considered a fire hazard. (Nyomie on behalf for Mrs? to speak on this to the Parish Council)

Loud music out of hours has also been raised by several people.

If you have problematic/anti-social issues, please keep a note.  This can then be raised with the parish council.

Speakers please come to the June committee meeting so that they can discuss this.

 

  1. Any other business

Mick has stepped down as vice-chair of GHRA (after 6 months of teething for GHRA), but will remain as our liaison officer to SSTC.

 

There will be an election for vice chair in 2 months’ time (July meeting).  Please stand!  The nominations will be open for the next month (until 15th June committee meeting).  Voting will then take place over the following month until the next open meeting (20th July).  Nominees statements will be posted on the GHRA.uk website.  Votes can either be made in person at the July meeting or via email to the committee before the July meeting.

 

Next parish council meeting will be at Galley Hill (on 18th July, 7pm at the small meeting place above the shop).  All local councillors will be here.  Please save the date and come along to meet them all.  However, for this to work, volunteers to speak for the whole estate on specific items will strengthen the case.  We would like volunteers to do this.  Ideally we will have 3 questions.

 

The 2017 street map of Milton Keynes now how Galley Hill back on the map.  Thanks to Mick and Mr Robert Gifford.

 

Garage on Lambert Court was broken into – if you have any information, please get in contact with the police.

 

Reminder to complete Neighbourhood Watch forms.

 

  1. Dates of next meetings:

 

General Meeting Committee Meeting
15th June
20th July 17th August
21st September 19th October
16th November 14th December

 

Other Key Meetings

Event Date
Parish Council Meeting at GH! Tue, (18th) July at 7pm

(Galley Hill Small Meeting Place

 

 

Abbreviations

AGM annual general meeting

AIM added in meeting (not on original agenda)

AOB any other business

FSRA Fullers Slade Residents Association

GH Galley Hill

GHRA Galley Hill Residents Association

H&S health and safety

MKC Milton Keynes Council

SSTC Stony Stratford Town Council

 

Disclaimer:  Every attempt has been made to make this document a true and representative recording of events.  If you have a concern about the content, please contact the committee as soon as is reasonably practical.

Actions

Action On? Date Set Update
Request an additional dog bin at the Galley Hill/Fullers Slade boundary where there is currently no bin.  If possible, this should be at a suitable height for wheelchair users.

 

 Committee 16/03/2017 On going
Look into getting additional litter bins.

 

 Committee 16/03/2017 On going
Coffee morning (Tuesday 10-12) volunteers wanted.

 

 GH residents 16/03/2017 On going
Investigate the possibility of advertising the coffee mornings in the shop window.

 

 Committee 16/03/2017 Carried over
If you are interested in submitting an article for GH newsletter, Noose, please get in contact via the website.

 

 GH residents 16/03/2017 This action repeats – our first newsletter has been successfully delivered
Invite PCSOs to one of the coming meetings.

 

 Committee 16/03/2017 Carried over

 

 

 

GHRA Meetings

Report: GHRA meeting 18th May 2017

The public meeting of the Galley Hill Residents Association (GHRA) on 18th May was once again well attended, with some now familiar faces attending once again.  While it is great to see those regular attendees who the committee would like to thank for their ongoing support, it would be even better to see more of the Galley Hill residents attend to offer their views (and any help they can give) so we know we are doing the right things.

On the way in people were asked to sign the register of attendees for fire safety reasons, and the minutes of the last meeting were made available by our secretary, Joy, who had once again done an excellent behind the scenes job of compiling and  bringing copies of the minutes and the agenda for the meeting along for all to see. The meeting was started by Chairperson Nyomie with the usual Health And Safety and welcome message. Then Vice Chairperson, Mick Allsopp spoke about the ongoing issues of the tree trunk bench for MK50 and the movement of the noticeboard for which permission has been granted but the Council have placed a fair way down on their list. Plans for the GHRA disco have had to be put on hold pending Public Liability Insurance being acquired, an unfortunate necessity in these modern times, but it is still very much on the cards for the future. It was decided that it was too early to make Christmas plans, and maybe a little late for the Milton Keynes 50 event to be organised, but we are all welcome to the event being organised by our neighbours at Fullers Slade RA – Back To The Future on 24th June 2017.

During the meeting it was also noted that our AGM was supposed to be arranged for May. It was agreed by all present that as the GHRA only really got started at the beginning of the year it would be a little soon to start changing the committee around and confuse matters. Following this, Mick Allsopp dropped the bombshell that he was to step down as the Vice Chairman to concentrate on his work as a Councillor for Galley Hill, and to better act as liaison between GHRA and the relevant Councils. We all thank Mick for his hard work and dedication to the GHRA, and for all he does for the residents as our local Councillor. He has also promised to still be there to help the GHRA as much as he can, and we all know he won’t be able to walk away that easily 🙂
This leaves the GHRA with an opening for a new Vice Chairperson, so we are looking for volunteers or nominations for the role. This mainly involves being back up for our Chairperson, Nyomie Flecknell, who is doing a great job at the head of the committee but needs a little support and cover for the times she isn’t available. If you would like to be involved in the committee, and can spare a little time then we need applicants before the next Committee meeting, Thursday, 15 June. All potential candidates will be posted on all of our communication platforms (here, the Friends Of Galley Hill Facebook group, and hopefully our next newsletter) and at the public meeting in July all people present will be able to vote on who they would like to see as the new vice chairperson.

A show of hands was requested to see who had seen the GHRA newsletter which had been distributed recently. Most of those present had seen it, and all who had read it gave positive feedback. A quick request for future sponsors for the newsletter was made (if you would like to sponsor an issue, please contact us for details).

The meeting was opened up to the public, and anti-social parking, rubbish, overgrown trees and falling leaves were discussed. It was agreed that to take these complaints forward they need to be put to the Council at a public meeting to be held on Galley Hill in June (date TBC) and 3 volunteers have agreed to stand up and push three of these issues into the limelight at the meeting on behalf of all of us.

All too soon time had run out, and the meeting was closed. A big thank you to all who attended, volunteered, and to Pastor Kumi for the use of the facilities once again.

Thank you all,
The Galley Hill Residents Association Committee.

Miscellaneous

GHRA – What’s Happening

Hello,
No we haven’t disappeared off the face of the earth, it’s just been quiet here because things have been happening behind the scenes. Things like:-

We have been working on making it even easier to contact us at your Residents Association and we now have a new telephone number (thanks Dave) .
Just call on 01908 973073  leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can. This is also on our Contacts Page along with all of the other ways for you to get in touch.

Also some of you may have received the GHRA newsletter through your letterbox by now, if not it should be delivered very soon.  GHRA newsletter can be downloaded here if you haven’t received it.  Please take a little time out of your busy days to read it and let us know if there’s anything you liked, or didn’t like about it.  It would be great to hear from people if they have anything they would like to see in the next newsletter, or from any local companies who would like to sponsor a newsletter in the future as they cost money to print. Thanks to the sponsors of this newsletter, AW Diesel Services who paid for the newsletter to be printed for all the  houses in Galley Hill.

We have also finally got the bank account opened after much hard work by our treasurer, Roy who has been trying to get the rest of us to sign forms, which has been like herding cats for him. He has managed it though, and we now need to start filling it with money to spend on local community projects and events, if you feel like donating a little to help with the community events we will shortly have details posted on how you can donate (there is some information on making a donation contained in the newsletter, see the link above).

Plans are in progress for a disco and other events for the local community, but we need to set up insurances before any events can be organised, which again costs money. Hopefully we can get some local government help, but once again donations would help speed things up.
The coffee mornings are still being organised at the small meeting place above the shop every Tuesday morning from 10 am to 12 and all are welcome.

Finally, there is a public meeting of the Galley Hill Residents Association on Thursday 18th May. All Galley Hill Residents are invited to attend to have their say on matters concerning the area.

Thanks for reading this far, The GHRA committee hopes to hear from you soon.