The next Parish Council meeting will be held at 7.30pm next Thursday, 18th February 2021.

Please join the meeting online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88429006356?pwd=L0wyUVRDYlFMYUgrdi9IMG54ZURQUT09 or by phone on 0203 901 7895 or 0131 460 1196 using the meeting ID: 884 2900 6356 and passcode: 723386.

The agenda (updated Monday, 15th February) contains links to all supporting documents.

Parish Councillor elections take place on Thursday, 4^th May 2023, the same day as Borough Councillor elections.

Eligibility, nomination papers and further background papers are available from the Electoral Commission website. Anyone who wishes to stand for election or re-election must complete and submit a valid nomination paper to The Forum at The Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, at the latest by 4pm on Tuesday, 4^th April.

NB:

• it is the responsibility of each candidate to ensure the accuracy of and submit the necessary paperwork.
• All candidates need to be proposed and seconded by someone registered to vote in the parish

Confirmation of nominations will be published by 4pm on Wednesday, 5^th April.

At this point there are three possible outcomes for Nettleden with Potten End Parish Council :

1. If there are fewer than three candidates then it will be necessary to run a by-election straight after 4^th May .
2. If there are three to eight candidates the election is uncontested and candidates will be elected unopposed. Any vacancies can be filled by co-option.
3. Eight or more candidates will result in a combined parish/borough (assuming the borough election is contested) poll. Candidates will be contacted by Dacorum about the next step.

In a contested election the vote count for Parish Councillors takes place on Friday 5^th May.

NB: it is a legal obligation for all candidates to submit an election expenses return and declaration by 1^st June 2023 even if no expenses have been incurred.

Outgoing councillors retire and new councillors take office on Tuesday 9^th May.

The annual meeting of the Council must be held on the 4^th day after the election or within 14 days thereafter – the Council’s scheduled meeting is set for the 18^th May and so can remain unchanged.

All successful candidates must complete:

• A declaration of acceptance of office
• A declaration of interests form

Which the Clerk will provide at the Council meeting on 18^th May.

Each year the Parish Council’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be available for public inspection by any person interested. Details of how to make such a request are available to download from this website.

The Parish Council meets at 7.30pm on Thursday, 15 May in the Church Room at Potten End. The agenda can be downloaded and contains links to all the supporting papers.

New county councillor

Following the County Council elections on 1 May when our previous County Councillor, Terry Douris, didn’t stand for re-election, our new County Councillor is Caroline Smith-Wright. The Parish Council would like to thank Terry for everything he’s achieved for the parish during his time as County Councillor and to congratulate Caroline on her election.

Terry will continue to act as the parish’s Dacorum councillor.

Highways

There continue to be a plethora of road closures in and around the parish over the next three months for a variety of reasons. Rather than list them here you can see them summarised here or for more up to date information please refer to Causeway one network.

At the April council meeting, Terry Douris reported that Highways had concluded a report onto ways to improve the junction at Church Rd, The Green and Water End Rd. The proposals included a raised platform at the junction and changing both The Green and Church Rd into one-way streets away from the junction. At the moment nothing has been concluded and there is no timescale for delivery.

Planning

The Council supported planning applications for The Barn, Little Heath Lane and Orchard Cottage, Frithsden Lane. At its meeting on Thursday it will consider the following applications at its meeting (reference numbers relate to the Dacorum Planning Portal)

• 26 Hempstead Lane – front wall and gates (retrospective) (25/01071/RET).
• Raja Tuan – addition of veranda to rear and veranda to side of existing barn (25/00965/FHA)

Infrastructure investment in our Parish: Have your say!

A final reminder that the Parish Council will be considering investing in one or more of seven infrastructure projects around the village and would very much like your views on which you consider most important. You can express your views using the online survey at https://docs.google.com/forms/… The Council will be closing the survey on 22 May.

Chilterns National Landscape 

The Parish Council has been advised that the review of the National Landscape (previously the AONB) boundaries has been cancelled because of a lack of funding. More information can be found here.

Meanwhile there is a consultation about the National Landscapes Nature Recovery Plan – more details here.

Planning

Since the last meeting the council has logged ‘no objection’ to work to trees at Williams Wood, Vicarage Rd (26/00562/TPO) and the installation of new solar panels and other work at Pipers Cottage, Nettleden Rd (26/00534/FHA).

At the meeting on Thursday the Council will consider:

i. 25/02852/OUT – Mollcroft, 69 Hempstead Lane, Potten End, HP4 2RZ – to reconsider the Council’s objection to outline planning permission with all matters reserved for the construction of up to three self/custom built dwellings. This is the development utilising the government’s definition of grey belt that is troubling in its wider implications for the village.

ii 26/00692/TPO – 15-17 Hempstead Lane, Potten End – works to trees

iii 26/00715/AGD – Brown Springs Farm, Plough Lane, Potten End, HP4 2GD – agricultural barn used for animal fodder and machinery

iv 26/00755/ROC – Little Paddock, Frithsden Copse, HP4 2RG – Variation of condition 5 (permitted development) attached to planning permission 4/00230/10/FHA

v 26/00815/FHA – The Barn, Little Heath Lane, Potten End – new garden store outbuilding.

vi 25/01742/MOA – Polehanger Lane – Outline Planning Application for up to 700 dwellings and other services. The Parish Council is extremely concerned at the erosion of the gap between Hemel and Potten End and the likely increase in traffic through the village if this development goes ahead. Details of the council’s proposed objection can be downloaded.

The Parish Council is asking for volunteers to undertake a character appraisal of the Potten End Conservation Area. If you’d like a better idea of what that might involve there’s a copy of the Frithsden character appraisal available at Cedar as a little light reading over a coffee!

Open Spaces

The Parish Council will be considering a proposal to install a large tank under Frithsden Green next to the Alford Arms which together with other associated drainage improvements will alleviate what is an increasing problem with flooding in the area.

The Council has reached agreement with the Cricket Club for its use of the sports field this season which includes allowing a team from Leverstock Green to use the ground when Potten End aren’t playing at home on a one year trial.

We were delighted that the funfair was able to visit over the weekend for the first time for many years and hope to see it return in 2027.

Finance

The councils financial year ends on 31 March and as it’s your money we spend you should challenge anything about the council’s finances you don’t understand. The process starts with a draft set of accounts for 2025/26 which are available for download.