Events, GHRA Meetings

Reminders

1 Comment

We have so much going on that it’s difficult to know where to start, so we will start with the tree carving news. We have secured the funding for the tree carving, to turn the fallen tree near the park into a bench. We are working with Stony Stratford Town Council, who are helping to arrange the tree carver, and St. Marys St. Giles school to get ideas from local children on how it should look.

On the subject of the school, they are looking for volunteers to help paint the school interior, do some odd jobs and move a shed for them. If you are willing to help and available on Friday 22nd September from 4pm to 8pm (or any time in between) or Saturday 23rd between 9 am and 6pm then please come along and pitch in.

We also have our public meeting on Thursday 21st September from 7pm at the Small Meeting Place (above the shop). We will be asking for people to vote on who our next Vice Chair should be as Cllr Mick Allsopp stood down from the position earlier in the year.

We also have some guests from Stony Stratford Town Council coming along to the meeting to talk about their plans for the library building in Stony Stratford. This is part of their ongoing consultation on their proposed refurbishment of the building and you can have your say on Thursday.

Finally a quick reminder that our coffee mornings are still happening every Tuesday between 10 am and 12 at the Small Meeting Place. Everyone is welcome for coffee, biscuits and a chat.

We hope to see you at any or all of the above events, from all the Committee of the Galley Hill Residents Association.

GHRA Meetings

Minutes of GHRA Meeting 18th August 2017

Minutes:  Committee Meeting #6

Thursday, 17th august, 2017 (7pm)

Small Meeting Place Galley Hill

 

Welcome and H&S

Nyomie welcomed our two visitors PCSO Tina Lewington and SSTC Chairman Joan Walker MBE

Attendees: Nyomie Flecknell, Roy Adams, Douglas Titchmarsh, David Tavener, Paul Randall, Gill Millar, Janet Randall, Debbie Styles, Mick Allsopp, May Gray, V Harrison, Tina Lewington, Joan Walker MBE.

Apologies: Vicky Wiginton, Joy Sumner

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

There were no issues raised and the minutes were approved.

We deviated from the posted agenda to hear from our two guests.

The meeting started with Nyomie asking Tina four questions which had been submitted in advance. abbreviated replies in italics

  1. are we going to have more police presence on GH?

Tina replied that unfortunately that would not be the case

  1. what is being done about crime taking place on GH?

Tina replied that this was just a spike and that Police were reliant on community cooperation to resolve.

  1. what can we do to reassure people worried about the rise in crime

Police do their best to attend events like this to reassure people by increased contact

  1. what is causing the crime wave on GH?

as stated earlier it’s just a typical spike and we need to be vigilant and report crime

Nyomie and attendees thanked Tina for her time and providing the feedback and reassurance we sought. Tina then left the meeting to resume her duties.

David T requested the meeting adopt GHRA proposal for individuals to use CCTV and speed camera software as there had been no objections from the newsletter survey. With no objections from the meeting we will proceed.

Mick introduced SSTC Chairman Joan Walker MBE and invited her to address the meeting. Joan wanted to return to clear up some misunderstandings that had taken place during the previous Council meeting held at the SMP. Joan described how the council works, what they can and cannot do and how their hands are tied by strict procedures.

Nyomie thanked Joan for attending and clarifying the Council’s position and everyone looks forward to working with SSTC in the spirit of mutual appreciation & goodwill

We then returned our attention to the formal agenda.

Discuss up-coming committee position changes (Chair, vice-chair, events)

Nyomie mentioned that there were two nominations to date but that we did need people from the estate to seriously consider volunteering to help their friends and neighbours. The pay is lousy but job satisfaction is high.

Set dates for coming meetings

Mick was asked to contact Pastor Kumi and try to arrange a further year of the third Thursday every month in 2018 with the meeting starting earlier at 18:30.

Tree-carving/bench

Roy has had funding confirmed, some final paperwork to complete and get the school children involved in design with artist/carver.

Local activities

Coffee mornings. Proceeding well and to be mentioned in next SSTC Newsletter with open invitation.

Discos & picnics

Open Garden & Counts Competition

Milton Keynes at 50

Christmas Events (singing/Santa)

Funding

Roy is pursuing other sources, all donations welcome, our bank details are on the web site.

Communication

“Noose” newsletter: Please let us have articles or items you would like included

“Friends of Galley Hill” Facebook page

Notice board: this will apparently require an £80 license to relocate!

Website – GHRA.uk

Problems

Trees/leaves/landscaping

David T mentioned that several initiatives had been blocked by MK Council without reasonable explanation. The outcome of the brief discussion was to invite the council leader Peter Marland to our next meeting to explain why. David was tasked with producing a letter inviting Mr Marland to the meeting.

Any other business: none

Dates of next meetings:

General Meeting Committee Meeting
21st September 19th October
16th November 14th December
Miscellaneous

Galley Hill Bad News Good News

It might seem that lately all we hear is bad news around our estate. Recently more cars have been broken into, we have heard of more houses being burgled, more antisocial behaviour around Galley Hill. Yes, we are afraid that all this is true and all we can do is work together as a community to keep an eye on each other, and watch fir suspicious activity, and help out where we can by reporting it when we spot it.

Having passed on the negativity to all who read this, let’s talk about the positives we have too. Recently somebody on Galley Hill got a stolen bicycle back after posting about the theft in our Facebook group, Friends Of Galley Hill. People are also using the social media pages to alert others of suspicious activity and strangers in the area. Working together we can help to prevent these terrible things from happening (see the links to the Neighbourhood Watch scheme for Galley hill available above this post).

As I walked around the area recently with our dog, it struck me what a beautiful area we live in too. It inspired me to write about the bad so we can also recognise the good stuff and to share the following pictures to prove we do have positives to be proud of..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, we do live in a beautiful area, one which we can be proud of, and we should all work together to keep it this way!

If you have any stories, or pictures of the area around Galley Hill to share with us, please get in touch so we can put them here for all of our neighbours to see.

Miscellaneous

Nominations Needed

We need your help here at Galley Hill Residents Association, we need some new committee volunteers.

  • The deadline for Vice Chair nominations has been pushed back 1 month to August 17th and for election to September, please nominate or volunteer to be our Vice Chair

The Events Organiser position is also up for election in September (nominations need to be in by  August 17th)

  • Please contact us either via court reps or the website if you would like to stand.  You (or a proxy) will have to make a brief speech at the September meeting to support your bid before the meeting and this must be on the website by August committee meeting.
  • Also vote for a new Chairperson in November (nominations must be in by October!)

Please help us to fill these positions, comment below to volunteer or nominate someone before our next meeting on 17th August at the Small Meeting Place above the Galley Hill shop.

GHRA Meetings

Updates On This Weeks Meetings (SSTC & GHRA)

1 Comment

What a week for the GHRA and the people of Galley Hill, with two meetings in one week held in the small meeting place above the shop. The first meeting was of the Stony Stratford Town Council (SSTC) on 18th July 2017, and represented the first time the council have met at Galley Hill since the GHRA was formed. We asked for people from Galley Hill to attend to show the Councillors that we care what is happening to our area, and you did it! The public area of the meeting place was full, and mostly with residents of Galley Hill, so thank you all for turning up.

During the 15 minutes of public questions we had some Galley Hill residents ask some questions of the SSTC including the following

  • What is being done about the roads and Red routes around Galley Hill with regard to potholes and bumps from tree routes.
  • What can be done about the residents who are antisocial, and leave rubbish outside their properties for the whole week before collection day etc.
  • Speeding and parking around the area, and particularly the local school
  • What can they do to help with regard to overgrown trees and bushes.
  • Councillor for Galley Hill, Paul Bartlett, was asked by our Chairperson, Nyomie, to meet with herself and Mick Allsopp when he is in the area to discuss him getting more involved with the GHRA to liaise with them to discuss local concerns.

Unfortunately their answers were probably not what we would like to hear, with most being referred to the Milton Keynes Council or the MK Parks Trust. There was some hope though as they are looking at adding extra funds for path weeding (MK Council have cut this from 3 times yearly to once a year and SSTC are looking to fund an extra time) but that may incur an extra council tax hike. They are also looking to purchase a speed detecting and warning sign which can be moved around the areas under SSTC control, which could be used around Galley Hill at times.

I don’t think the SSTC Councillors were used to having so many people at a meeting, and didn’t take kindly to being interrupted during their portion of the meeting., which had to be stopped on more than one occasion to allow the public to speak, and when they were asked to speak up so their citizens could hear what they were discussing.

The GHRA public meeting on Thursday 20th July 2017 was also very well attended, as has become the norm for these meetings, and thanks go out once again to those who attended and raised the issues and possible solutions as appropriate.
Following the usual Health and Safety briefing and introductions we heard a report from Mick Allsopp on the SSTC meeting mentioned above. Mick was his usual passionate self, and gave a good account of what was discussed for anyone who hadn’t been there, and added his own positive outlook to the proceedings. Mick pointed out that the SSTC do work very hard for the area, but also get frustrated at how long some things take to deal with, and the reductions in funding which affect local services.

Also on the agenda were

  • Moving the noticeboard, which has been agreed in principal for a while but is awaiting the permit which requires funding.
  • The Vice Chair position which was due to be voted on has had to be put back to the next public meeting in September (21st Sept at the Small Meeting Place) this was because of a lack of volunteers and because some committee members were unable to attend
  • In a shock announcement Nyomie Flecknell announced her intention to step down as GHRA Chair, which also throws the vote into disarray as we will need both a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson.

It was noted that the coffee mornings are going very well, and that a few Stony In Bloom awards were given out for gardens in Galley Hill, so well done to all who received an award, and let’s see if we can get even more next year.  The issue of speeding and parking was brought up and the SSTC sign (see above) was mentioned in response.

The GHRA Treasurer, Roy Adams, gave an update of the current funds held by the GHRA. The figures were encouraging and should be in the minutes which will be posted here as soon as we have them prepared. Roy has been working hard behind the scenes, and applied for grants from the Council of £400 to fund some events later on, and also another of £1,500 for the tree carving which has been discussed previously.

Events were discussed, with a previously proposed Gardens and Courts competition postponed until next year as we have missed the best part of the year for gardens. Due to funding issues and insurance requirements the proposed disco and picnics have been placed on hold possibly until next year too, with some feeling that maybe we were too ambitious in our first year (but ambition leaves us something to aim for too). A carol singing event is still on the cards for anyone wishing to help organise it, or sing for an evening or two in December around the courts of Galley Hill.

Overall both meetings were mainly positive, and well attended by GH residents. The GHRA needs your help to find new committee members to fill the Chair and Vice Chair roles, please get your nominations in by 21st August for a public vote to be held during the meeting on 21st September 2017.

Thank you if you managed to read this far, and a big thank you for all your support, GHRA would not exist without it.
The Galley Hill Residents Association committee members.

Miscellaneous

GHRA & Local Council Meetings

We just wanted to take a little time to remind you all that this coming week (commencing 17/7/17) we have two important meetings for the residents of Galley Hill, and we would like to see as many people as possible at both of them.

The first is a meeting of the Stony Stratford Town Council on Tuesday 18/7/17 at the Small Meeting Place (above the local shop) from 7pm. Please come to this meeting to have your say while the local Councillors who represent you are there to hear you.

The second meeting is our own Galley Hill Residents Association meeting on Thursday 20/7/17 at the small meeting place, at 7 pm. Again we would like to see as many of the residents of Galley Hill there as we will be voting on a new Vice Chairperson since Mick Allsopp has stepped down from the role.

Thanks
The Committee of the GHRA

GHRA Meetings

Minutes of the GHRA Committee Meeting No. 5 15th June 2017

Minutes: Committee Meeting #5

15th June, 2017 (7pm)

Small Meeting Place

People

Present Absent
Committee:

NF: Nyomie Flecknell (Chair/Clailey)

JS: Joy Sumner (Secretary)

MA: Mick Allsopp

PF: Paul Flecknell

DoT: Doug Titchmarsh

RA: Roy Adams (Treasurer/Cottesloe)

DaT: David Tavener (Creslow)

Pete Barry

Anne Davis

Nora Reidy

Adam Elsworth

 Committee:

Order of Business

  1. Welcome and H&S– done
  2. Apologies– done
  3. Formal approval of previous minutes – done
  1. Committee Reports/Update on Actions and Items for discussion
    1. New Items
      1. Licencing – license application being discussed
      2. Antisocial behaviour – Discussions ongoing with SSTC.
      3. Neighbourhood watch – General positive response. Signs have gone up. More members are always welcome. Coordinated by DaT.
      4. Local GH issues – GH and GHRA are keen to engage with SSTC and MKC on issues relating to GH.
      5. SSTC rate increase – Parish Council has raised rates 7.5% and yet no one has complained. JS/NF to write official note expressing concern and hoping it isn’t setting a precedent for following years.
      6. Attendance of Town Councillors linked to GH – Interest expressed in Councillor Paul Bartlett attending GHRA events.
      7. Procedure for discussing and agreeing actions between meetings – Email contact to set up meeting – 3 committee members are sufficient to make decisions. Decision must be reported by email to rest of committee.
      8. (Security) cameras on estate – Interest due to burglary. Depends on whether others object. If no objections, then cameras can go up. Notices are needed to identify this.
      9. Motorcycle noise – it has been noted that motorcycles have been riding back and forth on the estate is late afternoon/early evening. This has been reported to the police.
      10. Council Wall Repairs – DaT proposed a scheme which is currently being pursued by the SSTC Deputy Clerk on GHRA behalf.
    1. SSTC meeting
      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. 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)
      3. 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 Reidy to speak on this to the Parish Council)
      4. Want to encourage GH residents to attend.
    1. Local activities
      1. Discos & picnics – September Event (but the insurance is only for 100 people).
    1. Communication
      1. “Noose” newsletter- Next newssheet is ready for printing. Has been okayed by committee. Doug has volunteered to act as deputy editor; supporting Dave.
      2. School newsletter will carry a note about GHRA.
    1. Problems
      1. Speed limit and traffic control – New technique for recording speed will be trailed. Newsletter is asking for resident association. It is also noted that the signs for ‘30’ have gone from one of the GH entrances.
      2. Request for new road sign requesting ‘no ball games’ on Bunsty.
    1. Insurance/Funding
      1. Sources? Insurance is important now. Zurich is £80 and can be done (for one year, but for a max. of 100 people per event). Committee approved this use. Roy is going to sort it out.
      2. MK council has us on their residents’ association website and funding will be arranged. We are currently ‘white’ with them.
    1. Defining role of committee
      1. Progress with GHRA registration – Done
      2. Code of Conduct approval
  1. Confirmation of next meeting dates

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

SSTC meeting on 18th July @ SMP

Abbreviations

AGM annual general meeting

AOB any other business

GH Galley Hill

H&S health and safety

SSTC Stony Stratford Town Council

TBC to be confirmed

 

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 Quote for bins has been given. Action currently closed until funds can be raised.
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 Done.

PCSOs have attended GH coffee mornings
Discuss registering GHRA with the council Nyomie F 2016-11-30 Done
Find volunteers for court reps Dave T 2016-11-30 On going
For General Meeting of GHRA, make a list to see if there is interest in a children’s club Nyomie F 2016-11-30 Carried over
Talk to Sue about the potential for using the school in the summer Nyomie F 2016-11-30 Carried over
Investigate possible funding for a GH party for MK’s 50th. Mick A

And Paul F / Social Sub-Committee

 2016-11-30 Carried over
Book meeting rooms Mick 2016-12-07 Done – standing action
Add actions of previous committee meetings to GHRA website Joy/Doug 2017-02-27 Done – standing action
Look into possibilities and application process for the national lottery Roy 2017-02-27 Carried over
Arrange a ‘social’ GHRA email address Doug/Paul 2017-02-27 Carried over
Add link to YourMK on the GHRA website Doug 20/04/2017
Get correct text from Roy to add to minutes Roy/Joy 20/04/2017 Done
Add details for Resident Involvement Meetings to website David 20/04/2017
Raise issue with parking/blocking access to houses with council clark Mick 20/04/2017
Need article for Town Crier – This one will be based on Coffee morning Roy/ Mick/ Nyomie 20/04/2017
Look into alcohol related issues around GH David 15/06/2017
Note to SSTC from GHRA regarding rate increases Nyomie/Joy 15/06/2017
Arrange Zurich insurance (depending on GHRA bank balance) Roy 15/06/2017

 

 

Appendix: Outstanding Points for Discussion at Later Meetings

    1. Local activities
      1. Coffee mornings
      2. Open Garden & Counts Competition
      3. Milton Keynes at 50
      4. Christmas Events (singing/Santa)
    1. Communication
      1. “Friends of Galley Hill” Facebook page
      2. Notice board
      3. Website – GHRA.uk
      4. Documents for SSTC website
      5. Documents for SSTC ‘Town Crier’
    1. Problems
      1. Trees/leaves/landscaping
      2. Antisocial parking
      3. Pathway/road problems
      4. Problems with local street lighting not working
      5. The state of the local park/playground area
      6. Blocked drains near to the shop leading to local flooding
      7. Need for more dog bins on the estate, especially near the footpaths
      8. Bins, in particular the problems with using bags that can be easily torn and early placement at the kerbside
      9. Abandoned cars on the estate
      10. Potholes
      11. Cleaning – Also linked to volunteer cleaning?
      12. Redbourn Road sign is missing
    1. Insurance/Funding
      1. Bank Account

 

GHRA Meetings

GHRA Meeting Report Thursday 15th June 2017

The first thing to say about the meeting was that everyone was pleased to see Mick Allsopp there. For those who don’t know already, our local councillor and outgoing vice chair of Galley Hill Residents association, Mick, had another heart attack a couple of weeks ago and was hospitalised. He has once again bounced back and was in tremendous form for the meeting, so much so that at one point several of us were concerned at his level of enthusiasm and tried to get him to settle back for fear of further setbacks!

The meeting had an uncertain start as the small meeting place hall was filled with another group of people, eventually an executive decision was taken to use the kitchen area for our meeting as we weren’t expecting a huge number to attend as it was a committee meeting. That was also a bit of a misjudgement as several court reps also turned up, which despite the cramped conditions was very welcome as it shows the people of Galley Hill do care and the Residents Association does have strong support.

The meeting started with the usual H&S blurb about fire exits and evacuation etcetera, then moved swiftly to the Any Other Business portion of the proceedings to get that set aside quickly.  The items discussed were

  • the new application for a License to sell alcohol by the Peri Peri take away in Barford
  • Antisocial behaviour in several of the local courts and any action which could help to settle disputes
  • Neighbourhood watch scheme which has been enthusiastically received
  • Concerns over the possibility of Galley Hill becoming a listed area
  • Stony Stratford Town Council rate increase and if they go unchallenged does this pave the way for ever larger increases?
  • The possibility of other Councillors representing Galley Hill turning up to meetings and being more visible to the people they represent. (the point at which Mick Allsopp became worryingly vocal and passionate giving us all cause for concern)

The committee has also recognised that more could be done between meetings to speed up some decisions by using email and smaller meetings to discuss and action some of the more minor details. Motorcycle noise, vulnerable residents and security cameras were also briefly discussed with more in depth discussion to follow.

The reason it had been decided to move AOB to the front and get it put to bed as quickly as possible so the matter of raising issues at the upcoming SSTC meeting could be discussed. This is important as it is the residents chance to grab the attention of the local Council and get any problems aired with a view to getting some assurances of action from the Council. 3 people are to stand up and state the case for the following issues to be addressed:

  1. Adam to speak on the issue of trees needing cutting back and leaves being left on the ground creating a slip hazard in the Autumn.
  2. Debbie to bring up the poor maintenance of the pathways and Red Routes around GH
  3. Nyomie to speak on behalf of Mrs Reidy on poor waste management by neighbours in the area leaving rubbish bags out at the wrong times.

Following the organisation of these much appreciated volunteers we moved on to the possibility of a disco taking place in September. So far we are in agreement that this needs planning but we need funds to purchase the necessary public liability insurance to cover the event. Once again Dave has pulled together an issue of the Newsletter which will be printed and delivered soon. Speed limits and dealing with those who blatantly disregard them was also discussed along with some possible alternatives to speed bumps to slow down repeat offenders but not inconvenience everyone in the area.

Full details will be available in the minutes which will be posted soon but we did have a little time to discuss that the GHRA is now recognised by the MK Council and we have been added to the list of Residents Associations on their website. The next meeting will be on 20th July 2017, two days after the SSTC meeting, both of which will be held in the small meeting place above the shop and which we would like as many residents of Galley Hill to attend.

As always, thanks for your support.
The Committee Of The Galley Hill Residents Association.

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