Rothwell North Working Party
Minutes of meeting held 16 Jan 2023 on Zoom, with Rick Hill as Chair Present
John Green (JG), John Showers (JS), Liz Berridge (LB), Rick Hill (RH), Sarah Treen (ST), Guy Crockatt (GC), Jim Hakewill (JH) Cllr Jon Gardiner (Cllr JG) Andy Browne (AB)
1) Apologies received from Margaret Mossman, Peter Chapman, Jean Read,
2) Minutes of the last meeting
The revised minutes of the AGM held in October 2022 had been distributed prior to this meeting. No adverse comments arising. JS proposed and JH seconded acceptance of minutes as a true record.
3) Matters arising not elsewhere on the agenda
RH advised that Marcus Grant has unexpectedly left Persimmon. There is currently no site manager in place, but concerns can be directed to Paul Stones in the meantime. GC suggested that Marcus may simply have changed employer, albeit at short notice.
JH suggested RH asks Paul Stones to let him know contact details for new site manager in due course. JH also suggested that RNWP should attend the official opening ceremony for the link road, and asked RH to contact Paul Stones nearer the time to ask for an invite
RH said there had been further problems with the traffic lights at the Fallow Rd junction. Maintenance of the lights is now the responsibility of NNC Highways. AB stated that the stop lights for the crossing can be activated by pedestrians using the buttons on the unopened length of road opposite Fallow Rd. RH thought the equipment might already be set up for use when that road is completed.
RH said latest estimate for opening the link road is February – the extended period of wet weather has delayed construction. JH expressed concern that as the ANPR system is no longer in place to issue fines, construction traffic may have started using unauthorised routes into the site. JH to check further whether agreement for opening of link road was a maximum of 3 years or 4 years from first occupation, as no-one was 100% sure if timescale had changed since the initial agreement.
JH said he has tried to engage with Montsaye and NNC to draw attention to the issues of the school access and the retail area, but has not had much success. JH reported that NNC has an ongoing staffing crisis, and it is often impossible to determine which officers should be dealing with planning matters. RH suggested that many experienced officers left NCC and KBC before the change to NNC, and they have not been replaced.
JS advised that he has been working on the Rothwell Local Plan, photographing and classifying fields surrounding the town. He is disappointed that other members of the Rothwell Local Plan group are not making any effort to contribute, and there is minimal progress being made. JH confirmed that by not supporting the development of a robust a local plan, Rothwell Town Council is not protecting the town from unwelcome development. Cllr JG advised that Desborough’s local plan is now progressing after many years of stagnation.
4) Correspondence / updates
There has been no external correspondence since the last meeting. 5) Any update on ANPR money distribution from RTC or DTC
Cllr JG said he will give the group an update from Desborough after the next meeting of DTC this week.
6) Any other business
JH queried the future direction of RNWP once the initial target of opening the link road had been met, as he felt there are numerous issues affecting the area that warrant attention.
AB asked if there is any scrutiny applied to distribution of S106 monies. Cllr JG suggested submitting a FOI request in relation to specific agreements. AB to look into that. JH stated that a developer could ask for S106 money to be returned if not used for the agreed purpose.
JG asked JH if he knew status of S106 payments relating to a previous Bovis development, leading to a discussion about benefits of relocating sports facilities and fire stations.
7) Date of next meeting
Monday 20 March at 7.30 pm by Zoom.
Meeting closed at 8.10 pm.
Rothwell North Working Party
Annual General Meeting - 31st October 2022
Held in Holy Trinity Church Rothwell
Present: Peter Chapman (PC), Marie Chapman (MC), Rick Hill (RH),
Roger Mossman (RM), Margaret Mossman (MM), John Green (JG), John Showers (JS), Sarah Showers (SS), Liz Burridge (LB), Jim Hakewill (JH), Jonathan Gardiner (JG), Guy Crockett (GC).
Apologies: Jean Read, Andy Browne & Linda Burnham
Minutes of last Annual General Meeting: It was reported that these had been lost as a result of computer issues and had never been circulated. It was agreed that the AGM had last taken place prior to Covid, in Rothwell Library and that elections had taken place in a proper manner.
RNWP Annual Report: This had been circulated and approved by members at the last meeting in September 2022 and had been given out to others prior to this meeting. PC brought attention to our achievements – primarily the reduction in the number of houses occupied to trigger the link road and the ANPR system which reduced the number of construction vehicles travelling through residential areas. He congratulated the group and said we should be proud.
Questions were invited to which GC asked in the link road was to be open to all traffic in the near future. RH confirmed that the latest from Marcus (Persimmon) was that it would be “in the new year.” That is a slight delay from the previous announcement but safety issues had to be addressed with regard to residents crossing roads around the building site.
Discussion took place around the next phase of building and RH assisted by showing a plan of the whole site. MC confirmed that some preparation work had commenced behind Montsaye School (phase 2).
Treasurer's report: This had been distributed before the meeting. PC pointed out the original sum of £500 had come from a grant from Desborough Town Council (DTC). This had enabled us to produce and distribute a leaflet to much of the towns including residents already living in Woodland Valley.
Reports from others: LB stated that there appears to have been a huge drop in interest from other stakeholders since the link road is close to finish. Marcus will still answer questions asked but otherwise no communication from others. Thanks were expressed to LB for her perseverance in communications.
JG has attended 2 meetings of Rothwell Town Council (RTC) and in his opinion they are taking the glory for achievements and showing no interest in RNWP. An invitation was sent to them to attend this AGM but no response was received.
RH attends all DTC meetings and reported a lack of interest there.
The ANPR fines money was discussed and although RH has suggested that the 2 town councils form a sub-committee to deal with this, neither council appears to be prepared to do this.
JG reported that DTC are awaiting the final figure and as soon as this is known they will invite applications and then let Persimmon know which charities are to receive what amounts.
LB found the minutes from RTC which stated the figure expected is somewhere in the region of 20K per town.
Questions from the public: These had been dealt with as they arose and no further questions were raised.
The way forward: After discussion it was agreed that there is a need to continue until the link road is open to all traffic and any teething troubles around that have been addressed. When this happens we should consider how we move forward and if necessary regroup.
As we now appear to be in a monitoring situation it was felt that we may not need to meet as often. It was therefore proposed by JH and seconded by MM that the constitution be changed to meet a minimum of 6 times per year instead of the current 10. The motion was carried 9 in favour and 0 against.
After discussion it was agreed that we should now publicise the fines money that will become available for local charities. RH will email Marcus to try to get the exact figure and then he and SS will prepare a statement to be publicised so that charities can be aware and be preparing any application once RTC and DTC are ready to receive them.
Elections: PC stated that whilst he was still prepared to be elected as a voting member he wished to stand down as Chair. Peter was thanked for his dedication to the role and all he had achieved. MC stated that whilst she would continue to support the group she did not wish to stand for re-election. Marie was also thanked for her work for RNWP.
Elections took place without a need to vote with the following results:
Chair Rick Hill and Sarah Showers will share the role
Treasurer Andy Browne
Secretary Liz Burridge
Voting members
John Showers, Jim Hakewill, Roger Mossman, Margaret Mossman, John Green, Jean Read, Peter Chapman, Jonathan Gardiner, and Guy Crockett
Date of next meeting: Monday 16th January 2023 at 7.30pm via Zoom
Any other urgent business: None
The meeting closed at 9.05pm
