of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on
Monday, 26th May 2026 at 8:00 pm in Haynes Mission Hall
Present: A Adams, C Burke, S Collin, K Dhillon, W Foot, M Petty and A Phillips
Also in attendance: Clerk, and 5 members of the public
1 Elect Chairman for the Ensuing Year
Cllr Burke nominated Cllr Petty with Cllr Phillips seconding the proposal. There being no further nominations and, with Cllr Petty in agreement, he was duly elected Chairman for the ensuing year.
2 Elect Vice-Chairman for the Ensuing Year
Chairman nominated Cllr Phillips with Cllr Adams seconding the proposal. There being no further nominations and, with Cllr Phillips in agreement, he was duly elected Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.
Open Forum
[Standing Orders will be suspended for a period of up to 15 minutes, at the discretion of the Chairman, to allow members of the public to address the Council]
There were no matters raised, and Standing Orders were duly reinstated.
3 Apologies
Cllrs K Gourlay and K Sawford sent their apologies.
4 Declarations of Pecuniary Interests
Members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in any items on the agenda for this meeting in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct for Members.
There were no interests declared.
5 Appointment of Councillor Responsibilities
Councillor responsibilities were assigned as follows:
• Lead Councillor on Planning matters – MP
• Planning Committee – MP, KD, AP
• Playing Field & Play Area – AA/KS
• Highways – KG
• Community Safety – SC
• VAS – KD
• GDPR – KG
• Allotments – CB
• Tree Warden – AA
• Community Facebook – KG/KS
• Village Hall – AA
• Litter Picking – AA liaison with Jane Hamilton
• Haynes Park Liaison – MP, KD, CBWF
• Finance – MP, AP
• Noticeboards – KD (and Robin Watkin)
• Defibrillator – AA – post office and village hall
• Assets – WF
6 Review of all Current Policies, Procedures and Internal Controls
All current policies and procedures were approved as adequate. Since last year, we have adopted a guide to Parish Council Powers which is available to view on our website.
7 Proposed Meeting Dates for 2026/2027
To approve the following proposed dates (all Mondays starting at 7:30pm in Haynes Village Hall unless otherwise stated):
27th July, 28th September and 23rd November 2026
25th January, 22nd March and 25th May 2027 (May Meeting is on a Tuesday and will be held at the Mission Hall) – approved
8 Minutes
To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Monday, 23rd March 2025 – approved unanimously and duly signed.
9 Matters Arising from Previous Minutes
1. Item 4.1 re: Festival of Britain update – sign has been successfully refurbished. Chairman has sourced the posts and will install shortly.
2. Item 4.6 re: Queen’s portrait update – this has been ordered.
3. Item 7 re: Possessory title on small piece of playing field – Cllr Foot advised that we need Land Registry to confirm that this piece of land is not already registered. We can then apply for a possessory title as we have been in possession of this land for 35+ years which satisfies the 12-year minimum requirement. Cllrs Adams, Foot and Phillips will proceed with application.
4. Item 11.2 re: Flag Policy – Clerk advised this is still in progress.
5. Item 11.4 re: Fires at Longden Close – Clerk has spoken to Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue to put in a request to find out what caused the two recent fires to make sure that other residents in the development aren’t at risk.
10 Planning
10.1 Planning Applications
1. CB/26/00817/FULL Erection of a two-storey side/rear extension and creation of a first floor with front and rear dormers and balcony. Removal of front bay window at Old Moss Cottage, Standalone Warren, Haynes – no objection
2. CB/25/03440/FULL Erection of detached three-bedroom dwelling at 16 Plummers Lane, Haynes – object
3. CB/26/01304/FULL Erection of a one and a half storey detached dwelling at land adjacent to Kimblewick, west of the A6, Wests End, Haynes – no objection
4. CB/TCA/26/00206 Works to trees within a Conservation Area: Willow (T1) – reduce crown height by 2m and lateral spread by 1.5m. Eucalyptus (T2) – reduce crown height by 1.5m and lateral spread by 1m at 94 Church End Road, Haynes – no objection
5. CB/26/01254/VOC Variation of condition no.s 2 and 12 of planning permission CB/22/02399/REG3 (Erection of 27 dwellings including self-build, 1 to 4 bedroom units with associated landscaping, highways, parking and drainage). Variation sought to approved plans for layout changes to plots 22-24 and house types at land south of Northwood End Road, and east of Meadow Piece, Haynes – no objection
11 Highways/ROW
1. VAS Report [KG] – Cllr Gourlay was not in attendance.
2. A600 ditches – Resolved: Clerk to ask for an update regarding the A600 (flooding issues)
3. Bridleway near Northwood End Road where culvert was replaced by a much smaller culvert. Chairman also pointed out that the culvert is at the wrong angle and is a trip hazard. He suggested a site visit. Resolved: Clerk to request a site visit with ROW department (Chairman and Cllr Phillips).
12 Pitch & Playing Field
1. To consider actions following Play Area Inspection – Resolved: Clerk to meet up with Cllr Adams and contractor to see what needs to be done and advise Councillors.
2. Football – Resolved: Clerk to write to FC to remind them to use the second field for practise games to preserve grass quality.
13 Allotments
See report from Annual Parish Meeting.
14 Good Neighbours Group
Nothing to report.
15 Village Hall
See annual report within the Annual Parish Meeting minutes.
16 Community Matters
1. Haynes Village Sign – Cllr Phillips attended site with a forklift to remove the current sign and post for refurbishment. The post is rotten and will need to be replaced. Chairman advised cost of this would be £80-100. Expenditure was approved.
2. Changes to local bus service – from the end of May, buses will not come through the village and can only be accessed from the A600.
3. Meadow Piece hedge site visit – Resolved: Clerk to ask Cllr Whittaker again to join Chairman for a site visit.
4. PC Kerry Maxwell will be attending our September PC meeting.
17 Matter Arising from Correspondence
1. Phonely – PSTN landline switch-off checklist www.phonely.co.uk/uk-digital-landline-switchover
2. CBC – s106 monies available for Haynes Play Area and Village Hall – HPC will be eligible to apply for £25K funding to refurbish our play area.
3. CBC Local Plan 2050 – The scoping consultation is open until 11:59pm on Wednesday 3 June 2026.
4. CBC BW19 and part of FP19 closed for bridge repair from 2nd June for 6 months.
18 Finance
18.1 To approve invoices for payment and to note any income
A summary of receipts and payments approved is attached to these minutes [Appendix 1] Approved.
18.2 To receive information regarding the current financial statement
A copy of the accounts was circulated and approved by members. Approved.
18.3 To approve Year End Accounts 2025/2026
Unanimously approved.
18.4 To receive and approve the annual report from the Internal Auditor 2025/2026
Unanimously approved.
18.5 To approve the Annual Governance Statement 2025/2026
Unanimously approved.
18.6 To approve the Annual Accounting Statements 2025/2026
Unanimously approved.
18.7 To approve insurance arrangements for the ensuing year
Currently within a Long-Term Agreement until 1st June 2027. Clerk has made payment for this year’s insurance.
18.8 To approve memberships/subscriptions for the ensuing year
Memberships to BATPC and ICO were approved.
18.9 To consider request from VH for part funding towards a new Tannoy system and litter bins
Cllr Foot will liaise with Cllr Burke to see if it would be practical to borrow system from the pub. Hire of Tannoy system for dog show was £75 and bins £116. Resolved: Cllr Adams to submit a grant request for this to the Clerk.
19 Date of next meeting:
Monday, 27th July 2026 in Haynes Village Hall