We have been advised that Herts County Council are planning to close Church Road from 28th September potentially for up to 18 months, although in practice the works are likely to be completed shortly after the 28th. The road will not necessarily be closed at all times during this period and when it is there will be a short diversion via The Front, Water End Road and Church Road, details can be seen here.

The Order is needed because of water main connection works .

A copy of the proposed Order may be inspected free of charge at County Hall, Hertford between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm (excluding weekends, bank and public holidays).

If you have any queries about the proposed Order, please contact Sonya Masters tel. 0330 0537225 at Herts Traffic Management Ltd or Deanna Braggs tel. 0300 123 4047 at Hertfordshire County Council.

The village sign is back in situ with cracks mended and paint freshened up. Thanks to Peter Humphreys for undertaking this work once again.

Dacorum residents needed to help plan the electric vehicle re-volt-ution

Dacorum is calling on residents to complete a short survey, which will help them to plan where to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure.  

In Dacorum, transport is responsible for a massive 43% of the borough’s greenhouse gas emissions. To help tackle the climate emergency, reducing car use and increasing active travel (such as walking and cycling), will be crucial in order to lower our emissions.

From 2030, the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned. The number of electric vehicle drivers is growing and it’s a trend that’s set to continue. Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions, making them better not only for drastically helping to reduce emissions, but for improving our air quality too. Another key benefit for owners is the savings on fuel and running costs.

The Council is currently developing an Electric Vehicle Strategy in order to support residents transition to electric vehicles. Dacorum is working with various organisations on this, as well as Hertfordshire County Council. Whilst the majority of residents will be able to easily charge their electric vehicles from home on their own driveways, this option is not available for over a third of Dacorum’s households. As such, a key part of the strategy will be planning where to install more chargepoints throughout the borough – including Council-owned car parks, residential streets and in new build developments. We will also be liaising with businesses to encourage them to install chargepoints on their land too.

Dacorum has launched a quick and easy new Electric Vehicle Resident’s Survey, to help understand the short-term and future needs for residents. Please take five minutes to complete the survey here: www.dacorum.gov.uk/sustainability

Your answers to this survey will ensure that we can plan to meet the borough’s growing needs; provide insight into various electric vehicle initiatives; as well as provide valuable evidence which can help the Council secure funding for chargepoints.

If you would like to learn more about electric vehicles, the Energy Savings Trust website has useful information and advice.

The Parish Council anticipates receiving a tax credit of about £70,000 from the housing development off Rambling Way, now known as Valerie Way, which is to be used to improve the parish. You can complete a short survey on the factors you believe the council should use when assessing projects to be supported by the funds and see a summary of the results so far.

Background

At its May 2024 meeting the Council agreed to fund improved accessibility to The Green and Spencer Holland as one of the projects on which to spend the CIL money (24/065.a). Both areas are surrounded by low banks and/or kerbs which make accessing them for residents with mobility issues difficult. The objective of this project is to improve accessibility by constructing sloped access to both areas and potentially creating short pathways to the pond and play equipment.

Possible locations

The Green

The preferred option is number 1 on the map below because it is by the bus shelter and opposite the dropped kerb outside the church. Although there’s no scheduled bus service the bus stop is used by HertsLynx. The option of running a path from this point to the pond has been dismissed because of the disruption it would cause to The Green.

Option 2 from the layby opposite the Village Hall is impractical because it may be blocked by parked cars.

Option 3 from the layby opposite Martins Pond is impractical because the layby is owned by the pub and it would be inappropriate to encourage non-pub users to use the car park, it is also very difficult to reach without using the busy Hempstead Lane.  The upside to this location is that it has the shortest route to the pond.

Option 4 is a possible option in addition to option 1. The slope access could be located opposite a driveway on The Green and a relatively short path could lead to the new information board by the pond (which should be installed ion the 1 August).

Spencer Holland

The preferred option is number five on the map below because it gives the easiest access to the play equipment and is located on a quiet stretch of road despite being farthest away from the centre of the village.

Options six and seven have been discounted because of their distance from the play equipment and because Vicarage Rd is relatively busy.

Other issues

If it is agreed to include pathways in the final scheme their design and surface would be sympathetic to the location.

The Green has protected status and is in the conservation area and whilst it is believed that improving access would be allowable this will need to be confirmed before work commences.

There are no restrictive covenants in the conveyances of either piece of land which would restrict this work.

Option 5 involves work to land owned by Dacorum BC, and any work which requires changes to kerbs will require Highways approval.

Both option 1 and 4 would require traffic light control whilst the work is being carried out.

Way forward

The community is invited to express its views by email to clerk@nettledenpottenend-pc.gov.uk by 8 September 2024