The Parish Council meets on Thursday, 17 October at 7.30pm in the Church Room at Potten End. The agenda for the meeting can be downloaded from the Council’s website. If you’d like to get more information about items on the agenda it includes links to supporting documents, and if that doesn’t satisfy you, please come to the meeting and ask questions or contact me! New councillor Following the resignation of Erica Spanswick at the last council meeting two people have expressed an interest in becoming a parish councillor. As the council cannot have more than eight councillors this means that there needs to be an election, and as no request has been received for a public vote the existing councillors will vote on Erica’s replacement. CPR and defibrillator training – 9 November There are a number of defibrillators located around the parish but clever though these machines are in telling you what to do, in the event of an emergency it’s important that we have as many people as possible with some training in how to use them. The Parish Council will be paying for a training session in the Church Room on Saturday 9 November from 2pm – 4pm: you just need to provide some of your time. If you’d like to attend please let me know. Event at Highridge Farm: 13-15 September Dacorum have issued a statement about the event at Highridge Farm on 13 – 15 September 2024 and what action should be taken in the event of a recurrence. They’ve also offered to attend a future parish council meeting to answer any questions. When we’ve agreed a date we’ll let you know. Open Spaces The Council will consider proposals to to undertake work to the undergrowth on the margin of The Green, to agree to the removal of the two log benches on Spencer Holland and The Green and their replacement with re-cycled plastic benches and how to protect the edge of The Green from traffic encroachment. There is also a request from the friends of the school to hold a circus on the sports field in October 2025 to raise funds for the school. The council will also be considering renewing the Parish Warden’s contract for three years and issuing a request for proposals for the grass cutting contract. Planning The Council will be considering the following applications at its meeting: 24/02207/FHA – Oakwood House, Bullbeggars Lane – new entrance gates 24/02200/LBC – Forge Farm, Nettleden Rd – Infill beams with timber structure and lime plaster and oak door with window, rooflight to be added to the pitched roof in the ensuite bathroom, insulated cupboard around the external boiler. The next version of the Dacorum Local Plan which deals primarily with housing development in the borough for the next 16 years is going through the final stages of approval at Dacorum before being issued for public comment for six weeks and then being submitted to the government for consideration.  Highways The work to reduce the speed limit along The Common from 50mph to 40mph is scheduled for 25 – 29 November. Whilst the work is being undertaken the Common will be closed. For more up to date information on roadworks please refer to Causeway one network. Social Care and other issues 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. Hertfordshire Directory The Hertfordshire Directory is an online tool to make it easier for people to find the help they need it as soon as they need it, bringing together services, groups, and providers across the county that offer support and advice in a range of areas. There’s already a wide range of services and providers listed in the Directory, from day centres and dance groups to counselling and community activities, but they’d like many more. If you know of a service that could improve people’s lives and is not listed on the Hertfordshire Directory, then contact Anne Ardley, Directory Project Officer anne.ardley@hertfordshire.gov.uk

The Parish Council meets at 7.30pm on Thursday, 20 November in the Church Room. The agenda can be downloaded and contains links to all the supporting papers, some of which are replicated below. 

The Council will welcome Doug Doolan to his first council meeting after his co-option at the last meeting.

Consultations

The Parish Council is consulting on a proposal to create a raised platform at the junction of Church Rd, The Green and Water End Road. The objective is to cut speeding along The Common/Water End Road and make the junction safer. We need as many people (people, not households please) as possible to complete the very short survey to demonstrate to Highways that this would be important to residents. A paper survey will be included with the next edition of the Church Newsletter.

Hertfordshire County Council is consulting on changes to recycling centres. The three options under consideration are restricting those who should not have access, businesses and traders; applying a charge for excess DIY waste; and no longer accepting any unsorted residual waste. The survey is open to 28 November.

Hertfordshire County Council is assessing the level of interest in young people aged 11-18 in standing for election to the UK Youth Parliament.

Dates for your diary

8 December @ 12pm – CDA Herts community walk to raise awareness of domestic abuse. Meet outside the Village Hall.

20 December @ 6pm – Carols on The Green accompanied as usual by the Amersham Brass Band.

Highways

The Highways Working Party and DriveSafe team had a successful meeting with Jonathan Ash-Edwards, the Hertfordshire Police and Crimes Commissioner, raising in particular the availability of better technology for the DriveSafe team to monitor speeding through the village.

The gas main replacement road works reported last month have now started in earnest with the traffic lights at the Potten End junction. There were some teething problems as Cadent had failed to seek the Parish Council’s agreement to the use of its land for temporary offices and storage of spoil. This was resolved as quickly as possible but does mean that parking in the layby opposite the Village Hall will be restricted for the duration of the work. Please note that this work is likely to last for four months in various locations around the parish largely along the line of Hempstead Lane. 

All roadworks over the next three months are summarised here or for more up to date information please refer to Causeway one network.

Planning

At its meeting on Thursday the Council will consider the following application:

• The Barn, Little Heath Lane – fenestration modifications and other minor changes (25/02753/FHA)

The appeal against the Suitable Alternative Green Space (SANG) between Potten End Hill and Nettleden Road has been successful. The most visible aspect will be a new car park at the bottom of Potten End Hill near the Leighton Buzzard Road.

Open Spaces

Work has been completed on improvements to the entrance to the sports field which has created significantly more parking space and generally tidied up the entrance. Hopefully this should reduce pressure on parking in Homefield.

Frustratingly by the time the specialist equipment necessary to removing some of the water lily rhizomes from the pond became available the ground around the edge was too soft. This work has now been deferred until Spring 2026.

The safety surface underneath the swings will be replaced on Friday 28 November and Monday 1 December; the swings will be out of action over that weekend.

A proposal for the design of the new village sign will be discussed. There’s likely to be a long lead time which given the Cadent works is probably no bad thing but in due course we will have to decide where best to locate it on The Green as the original location was prone to damage from vehicles overshooting the turning into Hempstead Lane.

Finance

Dacorum continues to change its mind about the grants it pays parish and town councils and which constitute 30% of our income. The Parish Council is very grateful to our Borough Councillor Terry Douris who tabled a motion to have the proposal removed from the Borough’s budget which was narrowly defeated 22 to 21 – the voting largely following party lines with LibDem and Labour councillors voting for the grants to be cut. There seemed to be a lack of awareness on the part of some councillors that rural and urban areas have different requirements, hence the need for wardens in rural areas, and a belief that despite everywhere outside of Hemel paying a precept as well as council tax, that somehow Hemel was subsidising the rural areas, where we would argue the opposite. A final decision on what will happen next year will be taken on 2 December.

The Council will be considering the possible impact of the withdrawal of the grants on its budget for the next three years, a proposal that it should maintain services at their current level within the parish, and therefore an acceptance that precept will have to increase.

Volunteer members of the Chiltern Society’s Hertfordshire Conservation Group have made two visits to Potten End in the last fortnight in order to improve the Hertfordshire Way between The Common and Nettleden Road.  The footpath has been widened through the clearance of encroaching vegetation and a large patch of Himalayan balsam near the golf course has been uprooted (to try to stop it growing again).

As a result of complaints received from a neighbouring property, the junior football goal on the Spencer Holland Recreation Ground is under consideration for removal at the next parish council meeting (at 7.30pm on Thursday 20th April in the Church Room).  Do you have a view on this? If so please come along to the meeting and let the council know what you think.  You can find the agenda for the meeting here.