Cllr Keith Innocent (Chair), Cllr Val Whitbread (Secretary), Cllr Martin Batt,
Neil Ferres,  John Whitbread, Dean Burdall, John Lynch, Tom Bowes,

The Chair and Committee welcomed Tom Bowes, a resident whose input and professional expertise will be very welcome.

1. Apologies

None – all present.

2. Minutes & Matters of last meeting

The secretary apologised for not yet having produced minutes from 1 October. These will be produced along with minutes of this meeting. A brief recap of the October meeting, for those who had not been present, was that over 60 responses to the feedback form on SHLAA sites had been received. A high number of residents were against site 1155 (Lyndon Rd/Clifford Rd), not wanting a large development. Residents wanted to retain a village character and were concerned about increased traffic. It was decided to feed this back to LCC (via Andy Birbeck).

Keith advised that a ward Executive Committee meeting will be held in the new year, involving Ward Councillors and planners, at which each SHLAA site will be rated Red, Amber or Green., We will have the opportunity to comment on the outcome.

(DN: Keith has since advised that the report from this meeting will be produced in February/March, and we will then have the opportunity to comment.)

John asked if we had responded to a resident who had complained that the committee excludes residents. Keith confirmed that he had written to him explaining that a series of meetings had been held, including the Community Conference, to which residents had always been invited.

3. Website

The same resident has complained about how accessible the website is to blind and visually impaired users. The website in fact scores well in comparison with others and we are working with the RNIB and a blind user to identify any improvements that can be made.

4. Declaration of Interests & Terms of Reference

It was agreed to use the standard form provided and it was stressed that it is up to each member to decide if their interests are prejudicial.
It was agreed to use Aberford’s ToR as a base for ours.
AP: Val to adapt ToR for approval at next meeting.
A query was raised re whether the NP Steering Committee should have a minimum of 21 members.
AP Keith to check if there is a minimum membership number.
(DN: Since the meeting Keith has advised that this minimum membership only applies to to a Neighbourhood Forum, not a Parish Council group.)

5. Constitution

It was agreed to accept the standard Steering Group Constitute.

6. Headley Hall

After the 1 October meeting, and after we had sought residents’ feedback on sites, we became aware that a further SHLAA site proposal has been added to the list. This is a site of 5,000 houses on the ‘triangle’ of university land at Headley Hall where the A64 crosses the A1. Building would begin in 2024. A similar proposal had been rejected in 1993/94. As we had no time to consult further before reporting back to LCC for their 3 October deadline the chair and secretary made an assumption that given that site 1155 was objected to, this site would also be unpopular, and therefore advised Andy Birbeck that we considered it a Red rating.
It was agreed to await the outcome of the Ward Executive Committee meeting in the New Year before seeking residents views as the meeting might not give it a green rating. However, the NP update in the December Parish Magazine advises residents about this site so there might well be some feedback as a result.

7. Next Steps 

It was agreed to await the outcome of the Ward Executive Committee meeting before starting work on the questionnaire. We also agreed to plan another NP event for March 2013. We discussed  whether to get professional help for the questionnaire and analysis.

AP: Keith to obtain costs of questionnaire analysis from Survey Monkey.

8. Next Meeting:  

Tba mid to late January 2013.