Parish Council News – August 2024
| Centenary Edition Who’d have thought when we first started sending these emails in March 2021 that they’d still be going strong 3 years and 100 editions later? The number of people on the distribution list has grown from 135 to over 560, most people seem to open them, a reasonable number use the links to get additional information, and every month some people come to the council meeting or write to express their opinion on topics in the newsletter which then inform Council decisions – so thank you! If there are ways in which the next hundred newsletters can be improved then please let me know. At the end of this newsletter you’ll find a new section about social care which I hope will be worthwhile. A circulation list of 560 is still a long way short of everyone in the Parish, so if you find the newsletter helpful and have neighbourhood chat groups please encourage people to sign up via the council website. The Parish Council doesn’t meet in August – the next meetings are on 19 September and 17 October. Open Spaces At its July meeting the Council decided not to install more picnic benches on the Spencer Holland recreation ground but to remove the two log benches near the play equipment which have become increasingly unusable and to replace them with re-cycled plastic benches. The Council also agreed to extend the fence on Spencer Holland along Plough Lane to reduce the risk of children running into the road between parked cars. A wildlife information board has been installed on The Green next to the pond thanks to a generous donation from Berkhamsted-residents Alan and Joyce Osborn. With the agreement of his family, the Council has agreed that a plaque should be installed in the burial ground to commemorate Luke Haines, who died so tragically whilst working to improve the drainage on Hempstead Lane. Planning The Council objected to proposals to change the status of the land between Nettleden Rd and Potten End Hill and from the edge of Potten End to the Gade from agricultural to Suitable Accessible Natural Green Space (SANG) (24/01239/MFA) – effectively publicly accessible parkland and including a fifty-space car park – largely because of concern about the impact on the ecology of the Gade and wildlife on the site. The proposed demolition of frontage buildings and redevelopment of site for 7 dwelling houses behind 23 Water End Rd (23/01211/FUL) will be discussed by Dacorum’s Development Management Committee on 5 September. The Parish Council objected to the proposal. In the absence of a Council Meeting in August, the Planning Working Party will be considering the following planning applications. Technically the Council delegates the power to make a decision to me under the guidance of the Working Party so long as the application is not considered controversial – so if you want to express any concerns they need to be sent by email to me please in the next two weeks. 24/01742/ROC – 26 Hempstead Lane – variations to planning permission 24/01771/ROC – Gutteridge Farm House – variations to planning permission 24/01295/DRC – 7 Olivers Close – details as required by planning permission 24/01807/FHA – 74 Hempstead Lane – extension and modernisation of residential dwelling 24/01806/FHA – 28 Hempstead Lane – single storey rear extension, new front porch canopy and attached double garage You should be aware of developments on three large housing proposals that are outside the parish but close enough to potentially have an impact on traffic and are worth keeping an eye on: I reported last month that building will start on the 1,100 house development known as LA3 at the bottom of Pouchen End Lane later this year (4/03266/18/MFA); you may find the website of the consultancy leading the project more accessible if you’d like to learn more about what’s being built. An appeal has been lodged against Dacorum’s decision to refuse permission for the development of 390 houses off Leighton Buzzard Rd opposite Piccott’s End (21/04508/MOA) Taylor Wimpey are consulting on an 850 house development in South Berkhamsted off Chesham Rd (the road that leads to Ashlyns). No formal planning application has been submitted yet. Highways Congratulations to Alison MacDougall who has invented a new game of spot the unregistered drains, finding no fewer than eleven drains along Nettleden Rd of which Highways were previously unaware – which might explain why they haven’t been cleared recently! There is a serious side to this story (not that finding eleven unregistered drains isn’t serious!) – which is the excellent “report it” page on the Dacorum website. If you want to report anti-social behaviour, dead animals, any issues to do with highways, pavements, trees and many other matters then this is the starting point. And if you’re really interested in your local drains, when they were last emptied and when they’re scheduled to be emptied again, go to flooding and drainage – report a fault! The following roadworks are scheduled over the next 3 months: Until the end of November – traffic light control outside 76 and 78 Hempstead Lane 19 – 20 August – restrictions on The Front 28 – 30 August – Bullbeggars Lane closed 30 Sept – 2 Oct – Nettleden Rd closed east of junction with Vicarage Rd closed. For more up to date information please refer to Causeway one network. Social Care and other issues This is a new section which I hope will be useful. HertsHelp Hertfordshire County Council run a service called HertsHelp which can be contacted either by email at info@hertshelp.net or by phone on 0300 123 4044. It provides access to a wide range of services grouped as follows: struggling to cope care and carers living healthier transport, bus passes and blue badge home services and equipment cost of living If you know anyone who might benefit from any of these services, please encourage them to get in touch. Healthwatch Hertfordshire I’ve been contacted by Healthwatch Hertfordshire which is “Hertfordshire’s statutory and independent health and social care champion. We hold health and social care providers to account, and amplify the voice of patients and residents, including those who are seldom heard or feel ignored”. If this is something in which you have an interest then you can sign up for a newsletter. Healthwatch are working with Marie Curie and the NHS to address issues in End of Life Care. If this is of interest you can complete a survey and/or participate in online focus groups. A survey on GP services is to follow. Grants to fund home energy and clean heating If your household has a combined annual income of less than £36,000 (including benefits) or you live in a specific postcode area, isn’t heated through mains gas, and is considered a hard-to-heat home you may be eligible for grants to fund home energy and clean heating upgrades. There’s more information here, but applications need to be made by the end of September. |