Issue 37 of Redbourn News Winter 2015 Edition
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The Newsletter of Redbourn Parish Council Winter 2015 Redbourn Parish Council Redbourn Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourn, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR The Parish Council office is normally open: Monday – Thursday 10.00 - 4.00 Fridays 10.00 - 1.00 CLERK TO THE COUNCIL: Nish Khanna DEPUTY CLERK: Chris Kenny OFFICE: 01582 794832 [email protected] WEBSITE: www.redbournparishcouncil.gov.uk IN THIS EDITION: TWITTER: @Redbourn_Parish Latest on Greenbelt development p2 ROOM BOOKINGS: 01582 794421 Hire charges on back page. R.A.G.E. (Redbourn Against Greenbelt Erosion) meeting p2 COUNCILLOR CONTACTS: See inside back cover Commons Comments p3 NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Neighbourhood Plan p4 Cllr. David Mitchell And all the news and events in the ADVERTISING: To place an advert in the Parish of Redbourn next newsletter contact the Deputy Clerk Rates back page Picture: Redbourn Parish Greenbelt at risk of development ANNUAL PARISH MEETING PARISH CENTRE 12th March 2015, 7.30 (doors open at 7.00) All welcome. Come and hear what Redbourn Parish Council has been doing over the last year, followed by Q & As Page | 1 Redbourn News Published by Redbourn Parish Council Issue 37 Winter 2015 CHAIRMAN’S NOTES Cllr. David Mitchell GREEN BELT DEVELOPMENT: LATEST Following the Public Consultation on the St Alban s District Council’s draft Strategic Local Plan (SLP), the responses are now being analysed by their Planning Department. As most of you know, 2500 houses are being proposed on Greenbelt “East of Hemel”. 1500 would be on Redbourn Parish Greenbelt between Hemel Hempstead and Redbourn Village. Redbourn Parish currently has 2300 houses, and whilst there is a need for new housing in the District, it does seem grossly unfair that so many are proposed on Redbourn’s Greenbelt. Combined with other housing development at East Hemel by Dacorum Borough Council, the total for the area comes up to around 4000 new houses. If you look at the responses to the Public Consultation, you will see that the public are overwhelmingly against Greenbelt erosion. Whether St Albans District Council will take any notice or not will be seen in the next few months. It was also interesting to read the response from Dacorum Borough Council which was very critical of the draft SLP particularly in respect of the lack of infrastructure planning and timescale. Thames Water also highlighted problems with waste water management. Similarly Herts County Council raised concerns about environmental issues and the delivery of schools and roads. All in all, there is a lot for St Alban’s District Council to think about, and they must avoid a gung-ho approach just to get the job done. The action group R.A.G.E. (Redbourn Against Greenbelt Erosion) was formed to argue against development on our Greenbelt. It is a Working Party of the Parish Council, and it now has a steering committee of councillors and residents amongst whom are some very knowledgeable people. I am the Chair of RAGE and we are monitoring the progress of the SLP as it goes through the planning processes. RAGE has been attending the SADC Policy Planning Committee meetings and formally asking questions of the Planners. We will step up our actions depending on how things progress. If you want to know more, and have your say, we are going to have two public RAGE meetings in April. The first will be on Thursday 23rd April at 7.30, and the other will be on Saturday 25th April at 11.00. Both meetings will be in the Redbourn Parish Centre. Please do join us for one of these meetings. PRECEPT Around this time of year the Parish Council works out how much money we need for the next financial year, known as the Precept (local council tax). There are a number of historic buildings that need to be repaired as well as extensive work on our trees and open spaces. All in all, there is a lot to be done. The County Council and the District Council have announced that they are freezing their Council Tax budgets. Unfortunately, unless we allow things to fall into a state of disrepair in the village, we can’t do that. However, the Parish Council Precept is relatively quite small at around 6% of the total Council Tax bill. ELECTIONS Thursday May 7th is, of course, when the General Election is taking place. There are also District Council and Parish Council elections. All 12 positions at Redbourn Parish Council are to be filled. You don’t have to be a member of a political party to stand, and I, myself, am independent. Sadly, we don’t get paid but it is an opportunity to shape the future of Redbourn. If you are interested, contact the Clerk. ANNUAL PARISH MEETING This on Thursday 12th March at 7.30 at the Parish Centre. Please join us to hear what the Parish Council has been up to over the last year, and have your say on local matters. CPRE AWARDS Finally, well done to the Redbourn winners at the Campaign to Protect Rural England (Hertfordshire) Awards recently. James Crawley won the Dorothy Able Smith Young Person Award, the East Common Project won the Community Category, and Redbourn Infants School won the Eco Category. An impressive achievement. R.A.G.E (Redbourn Against Greenbelt Erosion) PUBLIC MEETING Parish Centre: Thursday 23rd April at 7.30 & Saturday 25th April at 11.00 Come and join us to discuss the proposed housing development in Redbourn Parish Page | 2 Redbourn News Published by Redbourn Parish Council Issue 37 Winter 2015 COMMONS COMMENTS Cllr Colin O’Donovan, Chairman of Commons & Open Spaces Committee Play Areas We are in the process of looking at ways of upgrading the Flamstead Lane and Longcutt play areas. If you have any suggestions or ideas of what you would like, please contact myself or the Clerk at the Parish Centre. Firework Display I would like to thank all those who helped with last year’s firework display including Parish Council staff. I would also like to thank the retiring Chairman, Will Walters for organising the last two events and welcome our new Chair Mario Violentano. Please see his report in this issue. Parking Following some complaints from local residents, I ask people not to park their cars on pavements and to be more considerate of others when parking. Cumberland Gardens The replacement of the wooden gates are pending subject to listed building planning permission. In the meantime, these gates are being left open and the lighting is being left on until midnight as with other areas in Redbourn. The flower beds have been reduced in the Garden to ease maintenance. The Christmas fair held there in November was a great success. Parish Assets We are looking to repair the Parish Store (near Methodist Church) to bring it up to a safe standard of upkeep. Ken Hodson Computer Hardware and Software Repairs, Individual Tuition Upgrades and Advice for Home and Business Tel. 07974 156743 / 01582 794723 Email: [email protected] No fix, no fee for all repairs – you have nothing to lose. Low hourly rate. Most repairs carried out in your home, if not the computer will be picked up from and delivered back to you. Problems with Windows / Applications / Games / Internet / networks fixed. Friendly training and instruction available in plain English Advice given on upgrades – many older computers can be upgraded at a fraction of the cost of a new machine. Upgrades of hardware and software carried out. Page | 3 Redbourn News Published by Redbourn Parish Council Issue 37 Winter 2015 Volunteer and Fundraising Working Group Representatives from some of the community groups serving the village of Redbourn nd gathered in Redbourn’s Parish Centre on Saturday 22 November for a drop-in session for the public. The event was intended to give local people the chance to find out about the many volunteering opportunities in the village. Organisations exhibiting included Redbourn in Bloom, Coffee on the Common, Redbourn Care Group, the Guides, Redbourn Museum, and the Allotment Association. Posters were also displayed asking for volunteers for the village website and for Redbourn Christmas Market. Carol Stevens, the Information Officer at St Albans CVS came along to launch the event and to speak about the advantages of voluntary groups belonging to the CVS. She explained that the CVS could help to recruit volunteers, and was trying to reach out to communities outside St Albans city such as Redbourn. The next volunteer recruitment fair will be held in the village hall, alongside another event such as the Art Show, or the Charities Fair, so that more people are likely to attend. The organisations which had been involved in the working group, formerly called the Grants Working party, will take the lead on the next event. Helping to recruit volunteers for local organisations is one of the parish council’s aims and objectives, adopted after the last parish plan survey. Residents told the parish council that they would like to volunteer if only they knew what opportunities were available. This drop in session is just one of the ways Redbourn Parish Council will seek to inform residents on how they can volunteer in their community. Some voluntary groups in Redbourn have told us that they are more interested in help in obtaining grants than in recruiting volunteers. For this reason, the next event planned is another advice session on how to apply for grants, with a guest speaker. Other voluntary organisations will continue to work with the parish council on recruitment events for volunteers. If any groups or organisations would like to be put on the contact list for the Volunteer and Fundraising Working group, please email [email protected] or contact the Parish Clerk.