Bolnhurst & Keysoe Parish Plan

A Parish Plan is an opportunity for the whole community to voice their opinion on what action they wish to see taken in their local area in the future. For this to work we do need the views of everyone

Any queries can be raised to members of the Plan Steering Committee, (who you can also drop forms in to)

Peter Scott	Rose Cottage, Kimbolton Rd Bolnhurst	01234 378917
Dave Brealey	School House, Kimbolton Road, Keysoe	01234 378859
Colin Bell	Proteus, Wybridge, Keysoe	01234 708154
Jane Bell	Proteus, Wybridge, Keysoe	01234 708154
Carol Burge	Winsor, Mill Hill, Keysoe MK44 2HP	01234 709341
Jim Cinnamond	Church View, Wybridge, Keysoe	01234 709048
Janet Browning	New Holme Farm, Keysoe Row East, Keysoe	01234 376577
Simon Bates	College Farm, Church Road, Keysoe	01234 709219

- Initial consultation - full results

Community	it is lovely to be kept informed through the Village Voice. It makes me feel part of the community.
Community	Enjoy things going on at village hall
Community	OK while we're still driving
Community	Also some form of welcoming people new to the village would help them to get to know what's on & might encourage them to support village events
Community	Lack of public transport combined with few facilities (no shop) may make this difficult
Community	No facilities for elderly who cannot drive. No post office, long bus trip to get to Bedford
Community	lots of events at village hall & both pubs are OK, could do wit hsome regular clubs & evening classes
Community	for youth - better now there is a playing field, and good schools. Safe village
Community	For older - Safe & friendly, but could do with some scheme like other places, of a list of peoples skills who could help them with odd jobs
Community	No shops or village atmosphere
Community	No doctors or amenities
Community	found living in Bolnhurst isolating, difficult to meet others
Community	Doctors & shops hard to get to without transport
Community	Would be good to have shop / post office & for both pubs to stay open
Community	Neighbours who do not drive seem to manage well enough
Community	pleasant to grow older in - possible problems with transport & lack of local shop
Community	Great community
Community	village hall well used leisure facility
Community	Church & village hall well used
Community	Growing old better if you have friends & family. If you are confined to your own home it wont help to live in the town
Community	Growing old better if you have friends & family. If you are confined to your own home it wont help to live in the town
Community	Very little suitable accomodation for those growing old & no shops
Community	There are numerous activities to get involved with, you just have to integrate to find these
Community	Keysoe and Bolnhurst needs a shop, post office, farm shop and many other things. Forget the affordable housing this is a stupid idea!! The Kingsoak housing estate in oakley proves this. When the affordable housing moved in all the other houses which were bought out right have now gone on the market - look on rightmove.co.uk to see how many new houses have gone on the market to prove this. This comes from someone who lives in one of the new houses! What Keysoe needs is a new housing estate built - not affordable housing - to encourage new and young people with families to move to the villages but more facilities are needed in the village otherwise people will not want to move here. Graham Water has also proved this. A new housing estate was built with a handful of houses and the GW villagers have said this is the best thing that has happened to GW in years.
Community	Feel that community spirit is better than 10 years ago.
Community	The two villages are drawn out predominantly strung out along a busy B road and as such has no centre to it which, by its geographical layout, means that it is more difficult to create a community spirit.
Community	good, because you get to know your neighbour\'s . so you feel safe, to trust. your children are safe to play down the road. not like if you lived in a town or a city.
Community	We have only been in Keysoe for the last 6 months previously living in Watford, Hertfordshire. We thoroughly enjoy living in Keysoe. The area is superb, so are the views and the people are really nice.
Community	We are both looking forward to spending a long time in Keysoe.
Community	Nice but a shop would be nicer
Community	The area is a beautiful, rural one in which to live. However, it lacks local amenities.
Community	Because of the lack of amenities and the distance between sections of the community (due to the long layout of housing) I believe residents can feel isolated .
Community	It would be great if the facilities we have in the local community could be improved. A new village school could provide an opportunity to incorporate sport and leisure facilities.
Community	Yes it could do with the ideal village shop, but Topend is not that far away for all those bits and pieces. The Village Hall is very well utilised and supported I would say by most of the village.
Community	The community spirit can only be good thing and again it is good to have a school in the village.
Crime	reasonably good as regards crime, vandalism, good communinty,
Crime	Safe village
Crime	Neighbourhood watch by e-mail is good.
Crime	Safe & secure for young children, although traffic a danger
Crime	It is a safe and secure place
Crime	Safe and secure with reasonable schools
Crime	good, because you get to know your neighbour\'s . so you feel safe, to trust. your children are safe to play down the road. not like if you lived in a town or a city.
Crime	Its very quiet with nothing to do for teenagers, not a regular bus service to and from town. Schools are good, no crime and/or violence.
Crime	It is a stress free, clean and safe place to be. I chose this rural area to raise my family because the countryside is a great learning resource and the schools are good.
Crime	It feels a safe place
Crime	As parents again we feel the village is safe and this is by far the most important factor.
Education	Excellent Lower School - then good Middle & Upper
Education	good - village school was a good start, and well integrated into the community
Education	Although our children are too old, would thoroughly support the continued existence of a thriving school in the vilage
Education	good starter school & close to Harper / Kimbolton schools
Education	excellent area for good schools, but children need to be bused / driven to most activities
Education	kymbrook makes it an excellent place to raise a family
Education	Good lower school & after school activities for 5 to 9s
Education	Pre-school & play group for under 5s
Education	Safe and secure with reasonable schools
Education	Having a local village school is brilliant and we mustn\'t loose it!
Education	Excellent place to raise a family- love having a village school
Education	Like the idear that our son will grow up in a healthy country environment and will have good schools to go to when he is old enough.
Education	We dont have a family but I understand all the local schools are really good.
Education	Its very quiet with nothing to do for teenagers, not a regular bus service to and from town. Schools are good, no crime and/or violence.
Education	It is a stress free, clean and safe place to be. I chose this rural area to raise my family because the countryside is a great learning resource and the schools are good.
Education	The community spirit can only be good thing and again it is good to have a school in the village.
Environment	I find Keysoe a very friendly, but not intrusive place to live
Environment	quiet place to live
Environment	a very friendly quiet place to live at the moment, long may it stay that way
Environment	provides a safe environment & hopefully will teach youngsters a community spirit
Environment	since moving to Keysoe to retire, I have been made very welcome & love this village. We do not want change for change sake. If it is not broke, don’t mend it
Environment	Very good place to live
Environment	very good place to raise a family
Environment	ideal place to live, very friendly
Environment	Equestrian centre does not make a lot of difference
Environment	Good place to live, quiet, tidy, lots of events at village hall. Active parish Councillors
Environment	I wish people would stop "tidying up" the countryside - clearing vegetation, topping trees and cutting back hedges. Is it all really necessary?
Environment	Horrible colour on the Chequers pub. .
Environment	Fine when there are no speeding motorbikes or noise from Palmer Sports
Environment	Fine, the scenery from our office window is great
Environment	Very quiet, no community spirit in Brook end, people keep themselves to themselves
Environment	not much employment here, so have to travel. No regular bus service, cars expensive & bad for environment
Environment	Although it is a good friendly village, it is often spoilt by tannoy noise and equestrian traffic. Used to be quiet & peaceful,
Environment	changing work patterns & family styles mean it is more difficult to form a sense of communinty these days.
Environment	Lovely rural location with a sense of purpose, but lacking a centre. Conveniently close enough to other amenities
Environment	Perfect for us as we have no desire to live in a town or suburban situation. Our children can grow up with some real appreciation of the countryside
Environment	Pleasant village to live in, sometimes disturbed by noise (equestrian / Palmer)
Environment	Good place to live
Environment	good place to raise a family
Environment	community spirit is very good & helpful
Environment	pleasant rural area, good community spirit
Environment	Noise is a problem even in Bolnhurst
Environment	Aging community - house prices & transport issues, but very nice place to live
Environment	nice place to grow up
Environment	kymbrook makes it an excellent place to raise a family
Environment	verges & gardens well maintained, friendly neighbourhood
Environment	Lovely place to live
Environment	fantastic place to grow up - fields & fresh air
Environment	Keep village life simple - its worked for hundreds of years
Environment	As a place to live it has got much noisier since the equestrian centre and car racing circuit
Environment	Noise from the car racing circuit during the day
Environment	We are no longer a quiet backwater
Environment	Very pleasant place to live, friendly and safe
Environment	Remote rural villages with good community spirit
Environment	Brilliant place to live
Environment	Lovely, I\'ve always lived in a town/city before and I love the rural atmosphere. I\'d like it to stay this way.
Environment	Good place to live
Environment	Excellent place to raise a family- love having a village school
Environment	That knowbody seems to like \'change\' in Keysoe! There is not enough young people and the village seems to be ruled by the Parish Council and \'old timers\'. There is also nothing in Keysoe. No post office, no farm shop - nothing.
Environment	It would be nice(if somewhat hypothetical) to have a village green to make it feel like a village rather than a collection of houses grouped together to make up a parish!
Environment	We love being in the country but within easy reach of towns and major roads.
Environment	Like the idear that our son will grow up in a healthy country environment and will have good schools to go to when he is old enough.
Environment	i have lived in keysoe for a short time , its great, quite and no real heavey traffic
Environment	good place to grow up
Environment	Idyllic. Quiet and peaceful most of the time - outside working hours.
Environment	but there are occasions when engine and tyre noise from Palmer Sport is very intrusive
Environment	Excellent place to raise a family
Environment	We have only been in Keysoe for the last 6 months previously living in Watford, Hertfordshire. We thoroughly enjoy living in Keysoe. The area is superb, so are the views and the people are really nice.
Environment	Nice but a shop would be nicer
Environment	The area is a beautiful, rural one in which to live. However, it lacks local amenities.
Environment	It is a great place to enjoy the countryside and nature. The wild life is fantastic - buzzards, red kites, foxes, hares, badgers, etc. in abundance.
Environment	It is a stress free, clean and safe place to be. I chose this rural area to raise my family because the countryside is a great learning resource and the schools are good.
Environment	A particularly good, pretty place to live with a lot not just friendly, but helpful people.
Housing	Pleasant location but future generations will be unlikely to afford to buy a house in the area, unless planning is allowed to build affordable housing
Housing	More sympathetic planning required
Housing	Needs to be more affordable housing for younger people with families
Housing	Neeed to maintain lack of envelope & prevent wholesale development
Housing	little housing for the elderly, but a caring community
Housing	Expensive housing
Housing	Not many children in some areas, no hope of them staying in the village when they leave home (lack of housing)
Housing	Not enough low priced houses for young people / families to buy (not shared or council owned)
Housing	Very little suitable accomodation for those growing old & no shops
Housing	Lack of suitable accomodationfor the elderly and infirm to downsize to
Housing	Pressures for development must be resisted to retain the Parish qualities
Housing	We really hope that the country views and farmland are kept as just that. We hope there will be no building of housing/flat complexes in the Keysoe area.
Housing	We urge those in the local Planning Committees to object to any more building of houses/flats and leave Keysoe and Bolnhurst as it currently stands as a superb place to live.
Housing	There is enough housing being built on the outskirts of Bedford at Brickhill for example so there should be no need to encroach on the rural areas to build yet more houses.
Housing	In Watford (previous home) every square inch was being sold and houses and flats built on with the resulting substantial increase in traffic and lack of facilities in schools, hospitals and GP surgeries. We have moved to Keysoe to get away from this and enjoy life in a country setting.
Housing	I think more should be done to communicate how affordable housing scheme is planned to be managed and maintianed i.e. who will live there, how will they be chosen?
Housing	Will they be people who currently live or have had ties the parish? What if no one from the parish wants live there, what is the actual number planned?
Housing	How will the prices be kept seperate to the rest of the housing market in order to keep them affordable?
Leisure	I think the range of events in the village hall is good, but I would like to see some keep fit classes in the evenings, eg general keep-fit; yoga; pilates, etc.
Leisure	I would also really like it if there was an annual summer ball and I would be very happy to be involved in organising it if there was a requirement for it. Please email me (Sjmoonglow@aol.com) if I can be of any help.
Leisure	day centre, craft activities
Leisure	Appreciate the peace & quiet for country walks
Leisure	good place to spend leisure time
Leisure	the Plough is a good place to eat - lots of lovely walks to
Leisure	Probably not enough for young people to do & public transport almost non existant, especially in the evenings
Leisure	Excellent (leisure)
Leisure	Enjoy Countryside - esp footpaths & bridleways. Village Voice excellent & promotes a range of clubs, events etc. Village show & scarecrow competition are fun
Leisure	n/a lack of attractions - only Equestrian Centre, but village hall has lots of good events
Leisure	lots of events at village hall & both pubs are OK, could do wit hsome regular clubs & evening classes
Leisure	not much on offer
Leisure	beautiful for walking / riding / enjoying the countryside
Leisure	leisure good if you like horses - not much else, esp for younger people
Leisure	Has WI club
Leisure	good for walking & cycling. Good for gardening & relaxing in garden
Leisure	excellent place to spend leisure time
Leisure	good walking area, well maintained footpaths & events for older residents
Leisure	village hall well used leisure facility
Leisure	very good walking
Leisure	Lovely walks, views & community activities - for adults mainly
Leisure	No large outdoor grass area for football & other activities outside school hours
Leisure	OK for leisure time
Leisure	pubs, village events and walks are sufficient leisure activities - please don’t build a supercasino
Leisure	As soon as you bring in "entertainment" & things for teenagers you'll get trouble
Leisure	As a place to live it has got much noisier since the equestrian centre and car racing circuit
Leisure	Can be OK for leisure time when quiet
Leisure	Again, excellent to spend leisure time
Leisure	Fine for us. There is sufficient activities that go on in the village - you could be out most nights of the week and most Saturdays if you choose to!
Leisure	Good for quiet walks
Leisure	What leisure time! There is nothing in Keysoe except the Horse centre in Keysoe which is great and hopefully it will keep expanding.
Leisure	few leisure pursuits other than horses, walking and running.
Leisure	Feel the White Horse pub is very inviting for the odd drink at the weekend. Love the amount of different walk we can do with our dog.
Leisure	you can do lots of things, walking, horse riding, shooting.
Leisure	Good for walking, cycling, horse riding and pubs. A good balance.
Leisure	Havent had an opportunity to explore the area but the country walks look great.
Leisure	what is there to do ?
Leisure	The College EC provides a great opportunity for equestrian enthusiasts to enjoy observing world class competitions in many of the sports disciplines, I have experienced great hospitality and food at The White Horse
Leisure	It would be great if the facilities we have in the local community could be improved. A new village school could provide an opportunity to incorporate sport and leisure facilities.
Leisure	As a family we spend time walking around the village and will hopefully soon be able to cylce again.
Leisure	My eldest daughter likes to watch the horses at the equistrian centre on occasion
older	If sufficient non-driving elderly, a dedicated supermarket bus might be a good idea, taking shoppers to Waitrose, Tescos or Sainsbury's once or twice a week. supermarkets might partially fund if approached.
older	We were old when we arrived!
older	No facilities for elderly who cannot drive. No post office, long bus trip to get to Bedford
older	older - Would you feel cut off if you could not drive?
older	good place to grow older - whilst still driving
older	the community spirit & pace of life look encouraging for growing old. I think the old problem will be if/when we become too old to drive. You really do need access to a car around here.
older	Well there certainly is enough people in Keysoe that have grown old and are still here. Why would you live in these villages when you are old. there is no facilities like a shop so why would the elderly want to live here as they would have to drive miles away to go to a shop.
older	Seems a great place to grow old.
older	Not sure. I would say as it feels safe, good.
Traffic	The only thing I dislike about the village is the lack of a flashing 30mph sign as cars approach Mill Hill from Pertenhall. I live near on Mill Hill near the bend and Riseley Road and it can be quite hair-raising coming out of my driveway with some vehicles coming round the corner at great speed
Traffic	lack of public transport for teenagers etc
Traffic	People get things for me, manage to get lifts with people
Traffic	Poor public transport generally, but the Dart is a good service, hope it stays
Traffic	I don’t mind the horse boxes going to college Farm - at least it is a suitable enterprise for the countyside
Traffic	OK till the children reach teenage & then transport is a problem
Traffic	There should be "Horses" warning signs" on all roads approaching the village so that people can ride round their own village in safety.
Traffic	Generally good, but concerns about speed & noise of traffic on B660 (esp. outside speed restriction to north of brook end
Traffic	Lack of public transport combined with few facilities (no shop) may make this difficult
Traffic	We have asked for speed restriction to extend beyond final houses in Keysoe - 3 accidents in 4 years + speed / noise issues. These are the only houses on b660 not to benefit from such slowing of traffic
Traffic	Nice to live in country, but children do have to rely on parents for transport
Traffic	No facilities for elderly who cannot drive. No post office, long bus trip to get to Bedford
Traffic	but dislike large horseboxes on narrow roads
Traffic	not much employment here, so have to travel. No regular bus service, cars expensive & bad for environment
Traffic	could do with regular bus service
Traffic	Good especially now speed limits in place, central, quiet but close to town
Traffic	youth - teenagers need taxi-ing everywhere, but otherwise OK
Traffic	older - accessible public transport needed
Traffic	Public transport remains a key issue
Traffic	older - Would you feel cut off if you could not drive?
Traffic	future concerns regarding traffic speed and levels if road pricing drives more vehicles, particularly commercial onto rural roads.
Traffic	Doctors & shops hard to get to without transport
Traffic	Safe & secure for young children, although traffic a danger. Limited facilities for teenagers
Traffic	Need to maintain / improve bus service
Traffic	Neighbours who do not drive seem to manage well enough
Traffic	excellent area for good schools, but children need to be bused / driven to most activities
Traffic	Road calming has reduced problems with motorbikes - vehicle activated signs would help
Traffic	Good road / rail links with Bedford / London
Traffic	Lack of transport to doctors, fragile bus service to Bedford Hospital, nothing to Hinchingbrook
Traffic	Speed limits not observed (often by residents) - with no (roadside) footpaths this becomes a danger
Traffic	Difficult without own transport
Traffic	Need better public transport for the older population
Traffic	20mph speed limit would be good in Keysoe & 30mph in Bolnhurst
Traffic	I remember when there was so little traffic chickens could safely run in the road
Traffic	I wouldn't feel safe letting children out as we used to because of the massive increase in traffic at certain times.
Traffic	the community spirit & pace of life look encouraging for growing old. I think the old problem will be if/when we become too old to drive. You really do need access to a car around here.
Traffic	We love being in the country but within easy reach of towns and major roads.
Traffic	i have lived in keysoe for a short time , its great, quite and no real heavey traffic
Traffic	good as long as you are able to get about. public service are poor soon what.
Traffic	Its very quiet with nothing to do for teenagers, not a regular bus service to and from town. Schools are good, no crime and/or violence.
Traffic	Nice quiet rural area, but it might be isolated unless you are able to drive a car.
Traffic	I wish more controls could be put in place to make every effort that the horse boxes do not use Row West, on occasion they drive too fast for a residential area and there are children who live along the road.
Traffic	Speeding in the village can also be a concern even with locals, there are points in the village where restrictions of some type could be useful.
work	not enough facilities for work, ie bus service
work	N/A to me, but appreciate the small businesses
work	Lack of opportunity for work
work	Are there many opportunities for employment?
work	there is nowhere to work - only equestrian centre. No local businesses - lack of investment
work	not much employment here, so have to travel. No regular bus service, cars expensive & bad for environment
work	need own transport - might be hard to attract workers
work	Don’t know but close enough to other major centres for work and / or transport
work	need own transport - might be hard to attract workers
work	prefer to work away from living location - village would be spoilt by large scale work development
work	Our children enjoyed childhood here - moved for employment
work	very little opportunity for work
work	Few Job opportunities within village
work	"Cottage" businesses as we have them are about right
work	lovely place to work
work	Very little work locally
work	OK for home working
work	not suitable for any business involving heavy vehicles or large number of client visitors
work	Really good place to work
work	Excellent for me - we built our studio (work place) next to our house, so it is extremely convenient and supports our family life, which is what we were striving for when we moved here.
work	Generally good place to work for me!
work	There is no work in Keysoe! again the old timers would not allow jobs in Keysoe and especially new businesses to start up in the village as this involves \'change\'.
work	Do not work in the village.
work	work is out there if you look hard enough. it\'s ok
work	Idyllic. Quiet and peaceful most of the time, .
work	My husband is self employed and works in Keysoe and Bolnhurst and the other surrounding villages. He loves working locally and the fact there is no traffic. I work in London.
young	Does the village have scouts or girl guides and/or a youth club? Might be an idea.
young	need more facilties for children
young	OK till the children reach teenage & then transport is a problem
young	for youth - better now there is a playing field, and good schools. Safe village
young	Alright for school age, but no homes or jobs when thel leave school, and no clubs or facilities for them, so they have to leave
young	youth - teenagers need taxi-ing everywhere, but otherwise OK
young	Safe & secure for young children, although traffic a danger. Limited facilities for teenagers
young	little evidence of activities for teenagers
young	Nothing for teens and middle school age group
young	As soon as you bring in "entertainment" & things for teenagers you'll get trouble
young	would not advise (place to grow up). there is hardly any kids and from my experience as a child in Keysoe I always went to other villages to see my friends whilst growing up.
young	Again. why raise a family in these villages where there is not enough kids, no facilities - nothing. It might as well be called a ghost town.
young	Little for the young to do during schol holidays
young	Our children adored growing up in Keysoe and Bedford was not too far away when they were teenagers
young	Its very quiet with nothing to do for teenagers, not a regular bus service to and from town. Schools are good, no crime and/or violence.
young	Good schools but children would benefit from more activities organised for/with them.
young	Our young residents lack in oportunities to socialise in the community. This was illustrated recently, when I cycled to Thurleigh and observed local children playing informal cricket happily and cooperatively on their village playing field and I really felt this was a resource our young residents would benefit from
young	For the children there is limited facilities, but of course this is being reveiwed.
young	From our childrens point of view I would say it is a great place to grow up with friendly helpful people about and the fact it has its own school.

Planning For Real Event at Church Fete - results

Top 5 Concerns by Popularity

1. General/Kimbolton Road/Wybridge – provide affordable/starter housing (11)

2. School – keep the village school (8)

3. School – provide After-School/Homework Club (7)

4. Behind Equestrian Centre – provide wildflower meadow/community garden/landscaping/environmental activities (7)

5. Village Hall – provide keep-fit classes (7)

The number in brackets indicates the popularity of each issue.

Top Traffic Concerns

1. Crossroads on B660 (by school) - Traffic Calming/20mph speed limit/zebra crossing (6)

2. Hatch End/Row West junction – dangerous parking/blind spot/speeding (3)

3. General – keep BOATs, RUPS & byways open to traffic (3)

4. Row West – ban HGVs/Horseboxes (3)

5. B660 by Colmworth turn – traffic calming needed (2)

6. Mill Hill – traffic calming (2)

7. Crossroads on B660 (by school) – Provide street lighting (2)

Top Community Facility Concerns

1. School – keep the village school (8)

2. School – provide After-School/Homework Club (7)

3. School – summer club needed (4)

4. General – provide local shops (3)

Top Environmental Concerns

1. Behind Equestrian Centre – provide wildflower meadow/community garden/landscaping/environmental activities (7)

2. Various – illegal dumping (5)

3. Village Hall – provide recycling facilities (5)

4. Pythe Farm (Row West) – Do it up (3)

5. Equestrian Centre – too noisy (2)

6. Row West – problems with dog mess (2)

Housing Concerns

1. General/Kimbolton Road/Wybridge – provide affordable/starter housing (11)

2. Wybridge – provide elderly people’s housing (2)

Leisure Concerns

1. Village Hall – provide keep-fit classes (7)

2. Village Hall – provide tennis/badminton courts (4)

3. Village Hall – provide skateboarding/rollerblading park (3)

4. Row West/Hatch End – Outdoor fitness/mountain bike trail (3)

5. Village Hall – Football pitch/local team (3)

6. Village Hall – Arts club for children (2)

7. Village Hall – provider playground for 5yrs old (2)