ANNUAL REVIEW

2019/2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME TO OUR ANNUAL REVIEW

Looking back to 2019, We objected in previous years to plans put forward by there were two events that Borough and by East District caught my attention. Council as they both contained proposals to remove land from the Green Belt and to set aside these sites First, the local elections in for house building. The Secretary of State at the May of last year brought Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local change to the political Government called in the plans but eventually control of several of the approved them. Then the two councils adopted local authorities in the them. Now we are campaigning to ensure that high county. quality homes are built. Change there has been, So we do ask members to fight for the right homes to not everywhere, but, as is be built in the right places always with the reported elsewhere, the preservation of the Green Belt. I urge all members to numbers of homes and the Green Belt sites have been join us in giving their views to MPs and Councillors. looked at anew. In a number of cases reductions have been made or, at least are proposed. Despite the lockdown I am glad and thankful that our staff and active volunteers have never stopped. Secondly, we campaigned strongly against the local Everybody is working from home and using emails, plans, challenging the assumptions underpinning the telephone and video technology. them and calling for the protection given to the Green Belt in public policy to be respected.

A BACKWARD VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

2019, a whole year of the old normal: when shall we see the new normal I wonder? The first half of 2019 was when the national charity, then called Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, was working with the local CPREs, then called county branches, to develop and agree a strategy for the national charity for the time up un- til its centenary in 2026. This activity went on in parallel with work to put in place new branding, including the logo that we use in the Annual Review. Both the strategy and the new branding emphasise the positive nature of what we do. Many academic studies and surveys have found that getting out into the country- side, returning to nature, even in one’s own back garden or local park or green space is good for us. It makes us feel better: it puts a smile on our faces and we feel less stressed. That depends of course on there being countryside left for us to get out in- to. CPRE the national charity was one of the groups that was influential in persuading the Government in the late 1930’s to pass a law that allowed local authorities around London to designate land that was not to be developed. This was the start of the Metropolitan Green Belt. It was the Atlee government that passed the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act that mandated these councils to designate land for protection against development. Howev- er, it wasn’t until 1955 that the Green Belt came fully into position. That history was all about protecting the countryside. “Protection” remains a key objective and the prime, if not the single, activity that most of the local, county CPREs engage in. For us, our planning work is very important. Sev- en of the ten local authorities in the county are made up of land, outside of the major towns, that is all in the Green Belt. However, our annual Awards programme , previously Rural Living Awards, is also of major importance to us as the main way in which we celebrate the countryside and the people living in or accessing it. So, back to the first half of 2019, reconciling the positivism of the proposed new strategy and branding and the fo- cus on protection of the countryside, widely seen as a defensive and technical if not obscure activity, took up quite a bit of time. By June though the debates were all over and the strategy and branding were formally announced and adopted at the national charity’s Annual Conference that month. (The national charity holds a two day annual event that all of the local (county) CPREs are invited to as full participants.) The new strategy has four main headings: Promote Rural Life, Connect People and Countryside, Empower Commu- nities and Grow Our Capacity. We, CPRE Hertfordshire, have adopted these as our strategic aims. The first two aims are supported by our annual Awards. We seek nominations from or about groups and individuals who work to improve the environment or make life better in their local communities. In 2019 we presented awards to a community shop, a community gardening group that focuses on those with learning disabilities and mental health needs , a group that maintains and enhances a historic orchard and an individual who made safer a rural area for the benefit of the local community.

Page 2 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside

The third aim, Empowering Communities, is important to us. Our work focuses on the Local Plans put forward by the local authorities and which are subject to Examination in Public by a Planning Inspector and on individual plan- ning applications which propose inappropriate development, usually in the Green Belt or the countryside immedi- ately beyond it. We work with local campaign groups about these plans and planning applications. Local authorities respond to local voters and so campaign groups can change minds, especially in election years. The fourth aim, “Grow our capacity”, is inward focused but very important. For example, the trustees of CPRE Hertfordshire have six year terms of office. Two will retire at the AGM this year. So, we are on the lookout for po- tential trustees all of the time. Indeed, if you know of someone, yourself included, who would like to know more about being a trustee please let us know. Similarly, we are seeking more volunteers. Our existing staff and volunteers are all working from home, and very effectively too. Taking on someone new when we can only do virtual or socially-distanced interviewing and training presents challenges but these are not insurmountable. So yet again, if you know of someone, yourself included, who loves the countryside and is interested in volunteering with us please let us know. Whilst thinking about volunteers, a key current volunteer, David Irving, who is a former and still very formidable planning professional, leaves us at the end of this year. All of us will miss him. I suspect plenty of planning officers in local authorities will miss him too. David’s planning application objection letters do their jobs for them. I wish him well. I hope that we can find someone, or perhaps it will have to be two or more, given David’s firepower, to take his place. We provided speakers for a range of local and community groups during the year, with Elizabeth Hamilton and Kev- in FitzGerald taking the lead. These talks continued up to the lockdown and will resume when group meetings can safely take place in-person once more. We are also exploring the feasibility of hosting these talks virtually, online. Liz writes for Hertfordshire Life each month as well, with a fascinating piece about wildflower books, known as “floras”, in the June issue. We remain active on social media, with postings on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We cover a wide range of subjects, all about the countryside but with more than a bit of flavour of the times at present. It is impossible to say when the Welwyn office will reopen. For the time being, if you want to contact us, please DO NOT telephone. Send us an email at [email protected]. We monitor this every working day and we will re- spond, especially if you enquire about how to send us some money! Talking of emails, I encourage all of our members who have an email address to let us send our news and news- letters by this medium. We can let you know about what is happening near you, but only by email. We can ask for your help, which we do occasionally, only by email. It is quick and a lot easier and cheaper for us, as a charity, to use email instead of post. Please help us to keep up our efforts to celebrate and protect Hertfordshire’s countryside and the people living in and accessing that countryside. Richard Bullen

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Saturday 12 September, 3.00pm

We are following advice from the Charity Commission by holding our Annual General Meeting (AGM) this year using videoconferencing technology. The Trustees passed a resolution to this effect at their most recent meeting. Therefore, we will hold our AGM this year on Saturday 12 September 2020 at 3pm and it will be held virtually, by online videoconference using Zoom. The exact format will be determined closer to the meeting date. Any member wishing to attend the AGM this year will need to register with us in advance. To do this, you must send an email with “AGM” in the subject line and the full name of each member wishing to attend in the body of the email, to [email protected] as soon as possible, but in any case before the deadline of Friday 21 August. We will then email you with detailed AGM joining instructions after this date. Please note, if you have not already given CPRE permission to communicate with you on ALL matters via email and you wish to do so now, we would be happy to make this change in our membership database. Please indicate this in your “AGM” email and we will be back in touch with you with the required GDPR form for you to complete. Richard Bullen, Hon Chairman

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 3 www.cpreherts.org.uk

holds auditions for prospective speakers. After attend- ing one in October 2019 I was ‘approved’ and added to WALKS AND TALKS the official list. Numerous requests to speak to local WI CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH THE COUNTRYSIDE groups followed. I gave two this year before lockdown and sadly expect many if not all the remaining book- CPRE HERTFORDSHIRE CIRCULAR WALKS ings to be cancelled. I already have five bookings for One of the former gravel pits Since 2016 a 2021 and hope that these can go ahead. near Park Street and Frogmore few of our vol- We are thinking of offering virtual talks to groups – Photo: Elizabeth Hamilton unteers have keep an eye on our website for further information. devised, test walked and The famous gazebos at Ware are encountered on both photographed the Herts Way and the Lea Valley Walk. circular walks Elizabeth Hamilton throughout Hertfordshire. They are posted on our website AWARDS and are very popular – most PROMOTING RURAL LIFE AND EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES have been read hundreds of times and some more than two thousand times. In 1957 CPRE Hertfordshire’s predecessor organisation ran the county’s Best Kept Village competition for the Eight new walks were added in 2019 and one in 2020. first time, aiming to stimulate interest and pride in vil- At the end of last year we reviewed all the walks: as a lage life and amenities. Much Hadham received the result a few have been removed from the website, but large village award, while Westmill was judged the best 39 remain, all between 3 and 7 miles in length (some of small village. The competition continued in a similar the longer ones have shorter alternatives). format for over four decades; there was a record entry We had planned this year to revise a number of the of 88 in 1991. older walks, but then lockdown intervened. A decision In 2000 was taken early on not to promote the walks while we Hertfordshire were staying close to home. As the countryside opens adopted the up again work on revisions and new walks will resume. Village of the Meanwhile the newest walk, starting from the Abbey Year competi- Station in St Albans and ending in Park Street or Bricket tion format, Wood, explores the river Ver Valley. Near Park Street sponsored by the route runs through a tranquil area of old gravel pits Calor Ltd. The that are now havens for wildlife. focus shifted to quality of vil- TALKS TO COMMUNITY GROUPS 2010 Redbourn, Village of The Year West lage life rather than tidiness. After walking the Hertfordshire Way in 2012 I devised Entrants frequently reported that entering the compe- an illustrated talk Around the County in 90 Hours which tition had helped to bring their village community to- I have given to many local groups. I later tackled the gether. Entry numbers were falling though as villages Lea Valley Walk and this became another talk. struggled to find volunteers to prepare the entries. In 2012 CPRE Hertfordshire decided that this would be In 2018 I spoke to 15 groups, reaching perhaps 750 the last year for the old village-based competition. people, but 2019 was quieter with only three talks. Dur- Braughing took the overall award that year. ing my talks I touch on CPRE’s history and its continuing role in protecting the countryside. It’s an opportunity to In 2013 CPRE Hertfordshire launched a new competi- hand out copies of our recent publications, promote tion, its Rural Living Awards, for people working to im- membership, and sell CPRE cards, calendars and other prove life and enhance the environment in the coun- items, the income from which goes to CPRE Hertford- ty’s rural areas. There were two group categories – shire. community and environment. Two further awards, the Peterkin award for adults and the Abel Smith award for Honorary Director Kevin FitzGerald has given talks to young people up to the age of 21, both for individuals local groups for many years, in which he gives a more making outstanding contributions to rural life, were detailed account of CPRE Hertfordshire and its work. In carried over from the ‘old’ village competition. In 2016 2019 he spoke a further award was introduced, for businesses con- to several tributing to rural life and in 2019 the Chairman's Award groups and was added as another means of recognising outstand- other CPRE ing achievement. Herts volunteers also gave talks The range of projects and diverse contributions of indi- on our behalf. viduals nominated in the years since the awards were introduced have been inspirational. Across the county The county we have seen exceptional people doing great things for Women’s Insti- their local area, bringing communities together, cre- tute regularly ating and maintaining facilities in villages, providing Ware Gazebos Photo: Elizabeth Hamilton support for disadvantaged groups, helping people to

Page 4 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside connect to the countryside and improving wildlife habi- Judges had a morning visit, tats. a pub lunch and then a sec- ond village in the afternoon. Despite huge population growth in the last 100 years Judging took place over 80% of Hertfordshire is still classified as rural and here about two weeks. loneliness and isolation are persistent issues. The lack of public transport in rural areas, closure of village Decisions were made and in shops and pubs, poor rural mobile and broadband cov- July an Awards Ceremony erage, and increasing centralisation of health service was held at the winning vil- provision, has often made life difficult for rural resi- lage. CPRE presented a to- dents, especially the elderly, young people and those tem pole which was cere- without access to a car. Many of those nominated have moniously unveiled and addressed these issues. held for one year. In 2020 the new title for the awards – the CPRE Over time it was felt the Hertfordshire Awards– reflects the growing realisation 2009 Ashwell Unveiled Village of the Year had run that groups from all over the county are working to sup- Photo: Paul Munns its course and after much port the county’s environment and communities, em- discussion we agreed to phasising the connections between town and country- replace it with a new award scheme. There are teams side. What remains the same is our wish to celebrate of judges and between us we decide who should visit the achievements of these volunteers and, by pro- and meet which nominees. moting their projects to a wide audience, to inspire The standard of entries is high so we have the hard others. task as to who shall receive the awards in October. Our long-running children’s poster competition started The awards recognise their hard and dedicated work. in 1982 alongside the Best Kept Village competition. In 2013 it was relaunched by CPRE Hertfordshire as a Judging in 2002 was just to help out but I have been stand-alone art competition for primary school children judging each year since. It is time to retire. Looking up to year six. Local artist and gallery owner Valerie back over 18 years, I have enjoyed and relished the Cansick has judged the competition since 2014. When I contact with villages and communities around the interviewed her a few years ago for an article, she told county. Each one is different and it has taught me so me of her enthusiasm for promoting children’s art. She much about Hertfordshire. said: Dorothy Abel Smith ‘Younger children love to draw and paint and at all ages artistic creation helps both thinking and relaxation.’ 2019 Award Recipients When asked what she looks for while judging the en- tries, she was clear: ‘Above all, where enthusiasm shows Chairman’s through.’ Friends of Stocker’s Lake This year, despite all that has been happening, there are Environment good numbers of entries for both competitions, and Batford Springs Volunteers judging will be completed remotely. The awards even- Environment Commendation: ing, normally held at County Hall in October with the support of the Chairman of Hertfordshire County Coun- Rivers Heritage Site & Orchard cil, will almost certainly be replaced by virtual events, Community the exact format will be announced in due course. Mudlarks Elizabeth Hamilton Community Commendation: The Community of Goff’s Oak 18 YEARS A JUDGE Business in the Community In June 2002 I had an unexpected call from Kevin FitzGerald: could I help out the next day ? The judging Wigginton Village Shop & Café for the Village of Year was underway but one of the Business Commendation judges fell ill. Help was needed so I agreed. The Village Sarratt Post Office Stores (highly commended) of the Year had recently been formed as a successor to the old Best Kept Village Awards. Tring Brewery Peterkin Award for an Adult Villages were invited to enter and judging began by vis- iting each one. The CPRE secretary, Jo Simson, organ- Jonathan Forgham ised the visits for the team of five or six and communi- ties gathered together their different organisations to meet us, usually in a village hall and regaling us with Children's Art Competition 2019 delicious cakes. Overall winning school We were able to meet and talk to the dedicated volun- Heath Mount, Watton-at-Stone teers about their varied roles keeping the life of a village vibrant through their community work and car- Other schools with winning entries: Templewood, Ap- ing for the environment around them. Depending on plecroft, Roger de Clare, Sacred Heart, Oaklands, St Giles time, we were shown their projects around the village. and Saffron Green.

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 5 www.cpreherts.org.uk 2019—2020 PLANNING REPORT

In reviewing my first full year with CPRE Hertfordshire, I too last year showed the Green Belt was high on their could be despondent at the unprecedented losses of priorities, affecting the balance of control at Welwyn Green Belt and countryside to new development. It’s a Hatfield who now seek to withdraw the strongly op- national phenomenon, but Hertfordshire is one of the posed Symondshyde ‘garden village’ proposal. worst affected counties. CPRE continues with detailed letter writing, opposing However, one year on, I am even more determined and inappropriate schemes in the Green Belt for which the persuaded of CPRE’s campaign for planning reforms experienced input of David Irving is invaluable and will that re-establish the value of the countryside. CPRE are be greatly missed when he leaves. These are appreciat- needed more than ever, to make critical arguments for ed and shared by hundreds of members and campaign- genuinely sustainable planning and to challenge current ers alike. We have encouraged rapid reaction to a se- orthodoxies. ries of plotland sales of Green Belt land with local Arti- cle Four directions that bring greater control over Is there cause for optimism? Well firstly, last year, CPRE these threatened sites. joined a broad coalition to highlight the need for urgent action on the climate crisis. The countryside has a major Last year, I inputted to the CPRE work on a National role in addressing and mitigating climate change but Housing Audit, the first in over a decade and much this is yet to be fully recognised in planning policy. The needed. Published in January 2020, this provided ro- legal challenge to Heathrow shows that climate com- bust evidence that design outcomes in rural areas are mitments can’t be ignored. Secondly, the world slowed routinely poor and in fact worse in rural areas than ur- down with the Covid 19 pandemic. As life kept people ban areas. One finding is that low density, not to be home, they experienced cleaner quieter skies, their lo- confused with low rise rural character, increases car cal countryside and green spaces. Walking and cycling dependency and sprawl. A tighter knit can deliver boomed. Nature and the countryside we learned, were better character and reduce land take. vital for our well-being. These are seismic events that will surely bring us to re-evaluate how we live and how The thrust of government and the Planning System, as we plan. The question is not if but when. How quickly set out in the NPPF, and in an anticipated White Paper, will we change planning priorities? continues to prioritise growth over and above the pro- tection of Green Belt and countryside. In Guildford, Locally, CPRE Herts has continued to make its presence Surrey, a legal judgement effectively downgraded the felt at examinations of local plans in , ‘exceptional circumstances’ test for housing in the North Herts and St Albans with persistent questioning Green Belt; the government needs to clarify this. How- of housing figures and challenging justifications for ever, it is wedded to a target of 300,000 homes a year, Green Belt land allocations. This has seen some rewards not based on evidence, with little prospect of being with greater questioning by Inspectors of proposed allo- delivered by the housebuilding sector, yet is relentless- cations. In North Herts, the justification for East of Lu- ly pressing targets which mean local authorities have to ton development, long opposed by CPRE, is now seri- release greenbelt land. As CPRE have argued for sever- ously challenged. The delay to St Albans plan was relat- al years, this approach greatly exceeds what is justified ed to its failures to prioritise brownfield land. Voters by the most recent housing and population forecasts.

Symondshyde Photo: E Hermann

Page 6 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside 2019—2020 PLANNING REPORT

TRANSPORT IN HERTFORDSHIRE LOOKING AHEAD CPRE Hertfordshire joined forces with CPRE Bedford- One immediate challenge is to see that planning pro- shire to oppose the so cedures during the pandemic don’t exclude the public called ‘sustainable growth’ and that scrutiny remains. Recent regulations have plans to double air traffic in enabled ‘virtual’ planning committees but delegation the Luton Airport Expan- should not be extended for major planning items. sion. CPRE responded to CPRE will keep a close eye on the process and do tell the County Council Rail us of incidences. Strategy and objected to a suggested rail link in open The South West Joint Strategic Plan of five local au- undeveloped countryside thorities is yet to be formally consulted on, but intends between Luton and Steven- alarming releases of Green Belt land around Hemel age. East west county links Hempstead. CPRE await the timetable for examination do need to be improved, on the Minerals Local Plan this year which was con- but the priority must be to Light at the end of the tunnel sulted on in Spring 2019 connect Hertfordshire The Building Beautiful Building Better Commission re- towns along the A414 corridor. Herts County Council port has indicated it wants to see a ‘fast track for is investigating a light rail / bus expressway option, beauty’. CPRE too wishes to see beauty integral to promoted by Hertford Civic Society, with CPRE sup- new development; The fear is that delivering this ‘fast port. Somehow this idea sits outside land-use planning track for beauty’ may not address resource issues in rather than being central to a low carbon / brownfield local authorities and could remove the checks and bal- land first development strategy for Hertfordshire. ances of local democratic planning excluding elected CPRE commented on Growth and Transport Plans for councillors. How robust will community engagement North and South-Central Areas arguing for a clear ob- on local design codes be? Will Development Corpora- jective of traffic reduction and to include targets for tions decide to build across open countryside? The sustainable travel in Hertfordshire. A commitment to CPRE voice must be heard, making the arguments for zero emission buses was sought and for higher fre- planning reform that have the countryside and the quency buses on popular local routes. Infrastructure climate emergency as core priorities. In the year ahead for walking and cycling was patchy and failed to pro- we will be approaching all Hertfordshire’s MPs to vide comprehensive networks. press these points.

Tim Hagyard Planning Manager

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Are you concerned about poor planning decisions be- ing taken during Covid 19 pandemic? CPRE is cam- paigning for a democratic system of decision making. Cycling has boomed during the lockdown Here’s a link to write to your MP https://takeaction.cpre.org.uk/page/60123/action/1? ea.tracking.id=cpre-web-take-action Transport planning and land use planning are not well If you have a good local idea for your neighbourhood integrated or aligned to climate objectives. Nationally or village, to improve walking, cycling or highway man- there is a multi-billion-pound road expansion plan. agement, share it with your local county councillor. CPRE clearly see how this damages the countryside. Each of them has an annual Highways Locality Budget. Harlow for instance produced a transport strategy https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/about-the-council/ that emphasised bold sustainable transport goals, but how-the-council-works/locality-budgets/highways- this came only after a whole series of sprawling land locality-budget.aspx allocations of Green Belt land had been approved around the town, including in . Campaigning against a new development? Arrange a Where is the leadership to connect strategic and sus- local campaign walk over the site and on nearby foot- tainable transport policy with land use planning? paths. It’s healthy, brings people together and helps to understand what we value about our countryside.

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 7 www.cpreherts.org.uk COUNTRYSIDE CLOSE TO HOME

CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH THE COUNTRYSIDE Normally I spend many hours out in the Hertfordshire countryside, photographing walking routes to post on our website and feature in Hertfordshire Life articles. When lockdown restricted my freedom to roam, except very lo- cally, like many others I spent a great deal of time in my garden. With few aircraft overhead, and little road traffic, the birdsong seemed more intense, and the glorious weather was a tonic as we endured so much terrible news. I live on the edge of a small village in the Chilterns and try to garden with wildlife in mind. Over the last 70 years the nation’s wildlife has been in decline, due to urbanisation and the way the countryside has been managed. Although most of the UK’s 24 million gardens are small, collectively they cover more than a million acres. If these areas can be managed to attract wildlife, they represent a hugely valua- ble resource helping some of our declining species to sur- vive. Some of the species I encountered in my garden during this period, which people could also see in their local parks and countryside, featured in my regular posts on our website and in social media. I suggested some tips for making gar- dens more wildlife friendly and steps gardeners can take to help protect the wider environment. I focused mainly on native plant and tree species, some planted by me, and oth- ers often regarded as weeds, which arrived on their own or have always been present. I also looked at garden plants from elsewhere in the world which have good nectar sup- plies and so are attractive to butterflies, bees and other insects. Lockdown started as spring was well underway, so there was no shortage of wildlife to feature. Plants were coming into flower, and I took a close look at tree and shrub flowers too. Trees which are wind-pollinated like beech don’t have conspicuous blossom, and so their flowers are often overlooked. The early butterflies made the most of the warm sunshine, including those which over- winter as adults, such as peacock and brimstone. My garden pond was colourful with plants like marsh mari- gold and yellow iris or flag, as well as insect life, especial- ly dragonflies and damselflies. I also managed to identify and photograph newts. When I am out walking I tend to photograph static things – landscapes and buildings, plants and trees. Now I was seeing lots of birds which I don’t usually have the time or patience to photograph. They have annoying habits like flying away just as the focus is right, or sitting on a high tree top. Birds overhead including red kites and common buzzards were proving tantalizingly difficult to photo- graph too. The answer of course was a better lens; I justified the cost to myself as we had cancelled two holidays planned for later in the year. Now the blackcap on a high branch and the birds of prey high overhead came within reach. On the late May bank holiday I happened to be watching one of our bird boxes as several fledgling blue tits came out into the world for the first time. The sunshine was record-breaking this spring, but the weather was not all good – in mid-May the warmth was replaced by cold northerly winds and frost, and I wrote about the ice saints, a trio whose feast days are May 11th, 12th and 13th. They are well-known in parts of Europe where frost at this time can devastate vineyards. It was also exceptionally dry, especially in May when England as a whole received only 17% of the average rainfall for the month. This began to worry gardeners, but the June mon- soon filled up our water butts and ponds, and gave plants a much-needed watering. Sometimes what we do in our gardens can be damaging to

Page 8 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside the wider environment. Here in Hertfordshire that is especially the case with how much water we use. Our sup- plies come from the aquifer which also feeds our precious chalk streams. The early June rain was good for the gar- den but not much summer rain typically reaches the aquifer. By using less water in our gardens we can help to pro- tect our chalk streams and their wildlife. As concerns about climate change have grown, it has become apparent that peat plays a crucial role in the attempts to slow the rate of warming. Peat which is kept wet and undamaged is a significant carbon store, not least in the UK which has 13% of the global area of blanket bog. Globally peatlands cover only 3% of the land area, but are estimated to store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests. Peat digging for horticulture has largely stopped in the UK, although a few planning permissions are being actively used in Scotland. Horticultural peat now comes from the Republic of Ireland and countries like Estonia, Finland and Latvia. Perhaps we need reminding that climate change is a global issue? I wrote about how gardeners can contrib- ute to efforts to curb global warming by switching to peat-free composts – there are plenty available - or make their own. I’m writing this in late June as the weather looks set for another warm spell. As lockdown restrictions are expected to become less stringent soon, visitor facilities will be able to reopen. While I’m looking forward to venturing be- yond my local area again to walk and explore, I plan to keep photographing and writing about the countryside close to my home as well. I hope this might inspire others to take a closer look at the wildlife around them, listen to birdsong and smell some flowers. Our countryside, often close to home, continues to be threatened by inappropriate development, overuse of pesti- cides, climate change and much more. By valuing and campaigning to protect our countryside we can protect the habitat of these species too. Elizabeth Hamilton

Pictures This page: Apple Blossom

Previous page from top: Fledgling Blue Tit Emperor Dragonfly Beech Flowers

Front Cover from top, left to right: Marsh Marigold Hazel Catkins Brimstone Butterfly Blackcap Peacock Butterfly Red Kite Bumble Bee on Buddleia Globosa

All photos: Elizabeth Hamilton. From her Countryside Close To Home series on our website

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 9 www.cpreherts.org.uk ADIEU

For many years I was the If I have one regret looking back on my time as Chair- Secretary of the Welwyn man, it is that I was unable to engage the farming com- Hatfield Environmental munity in the work that we do. Network. The late Tom Davidson was Chairman. Eventually computer technology caught up with us and After one meeting in 2004, the paper files were relegated to the shed in the court- as we tucked into the tea yard. A quick estimate suggests that in those archives and biscuits, Tom asked if are around 2,400 letters I have written in response to

I would like to volunteer planning applications. I have found working on every for CPRE. A few hours a one immensely satisfying. Every application is unique week, maybe for a year or and requires you to research and to think. Some are two. So I said yes, and simple and some surprisingly complex. Fortunately, now, sixteen years later, regretfully, I am saying good- there have not been too many occasions where the re- bye. sponses I have made to applications have got me and CPRE into trouble. One was when I actually thought the A week or two after Tom’s request I found myself application would result in a positive improvement to sitting at the big desk upstairs in Church Street being the Green Belt and wrote a response letter saying so. briefed by Rick Sanderson on how I could help him. The heavens opened with members ‘phoning or writing Before I took up the role, I had envisaged working in a in demanding to know how I could possibly support busy office with people running campaigns, battling anything being built in the Green Belt. Then there was developers and setting the world to rights, but the the occasion when I said that there were elements of a Church Street office is a small place and the staff a se- planning application which were misleading. The devel- lect, but dedicated band. I soon found my place, sitting opers didn’t like that, claiming that we were accusing with my back to the clock and the shelf where the bis- them of lying and threatening litigation. CPRE National cuit barrel was kept. Office happily intervened to smooth the ruffled feath- ers. At first Rick had me checking through the various Council weekly lists for cases that we might want to Unfortunately, following a serious accident in 2017, I pursue. That evolved on to tentatively writing respons- developed sepsis and was hospitalised for six months. es on the easier cases and, eventually, to me writing After my recovery I returned to my role in front of the full responses to all the cases for Rick to vet before biscuit barrel, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to they were sent out. Most of this was done on paper sustain both the journey to Church Road or prolonged because computer capacity was limited. time in front of a screen, so I am now stepping down. As the years progressed I found that the range of is- All of us are very fortunate to live in a beautiful county sues I was becoming involved in became wider and where access to the countryside is easy. We are also wider. From simply looking at planning applications fortunate that there are organisations such as CPRE which involved building in the Green Belt, I found my- who are dedicated to keeping it that way. Long may it self becoming involved in minerals extraction, airport continue. Thank you for supporting the work that we expansion, the state of our chalk streams, wind tur- do. Volunteering is both satisfying and fulfilling. There is bines and solar arrays, farming and food supply and now a vacant space in the volunteer team - perhaps you the survival of local economies. I found myself on the would like to fill it! panels determining Councils’ strategic housing land assessments and others working on the East of Eng- David Irving land Regional Development Plan (remember that?). Rick eventually retired, to be replaced by Steve Baker and latterly Steve’s role has been taken by Tim Hagyard. Volunteers have come and gone. The support staff (Jo, Gill, and Linda) have formed a reliable core. I WHAT SORT OF LEGACY WILL YOU LEAVE TO have enjoyed and appreciated working with them all. HERTFORDSHIRE’S FUTURE? The same goes for the Branch’s Trustees and Kevin Fitzgerald whose work often goes unnoticed by the Are you thinking of amending or rewriting your will? Members. The rules on inheritance tax allow you to make gifts I was asked to become a Trustee, which I was more to charity before any assessment as to whether any than happy to do, eventually becoming Vice-chair and tax is payable. You can leave everything to your then Chairman of the Branch. In those capacities I be- came increasingly involved in CPRE issues at a national spouse, when no inheritance tax is payable and still level. Meeting representatives from other branches make a bequest to charity. underlined both how different their concerns and pri- orities are (many of them have no Green Belt land) and So, to help us celebrate and protect Hertfordshire how similar are the threats to the countryside we all into the future, please remember CPRE Hertfordshire, face (every county has to oppose voracious developers who put greenfield development before brownfield). Charity number 1162419 in your will. Thank you.

Page 10 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside LOCAL PLANS

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING OVER THE LAST YEAR ?

In Hertfordshire, CPRE has been battling against local plan allocations of Green Belt land for housing with mixed results. Regrettably, the ‘exceptional circumstances’ required to release Green Belt land for housing seem no long- er to be ‘exceptional’, as housing need calculations are routinely taken to justify development. This is at odds with the approach to individual planning applications in the Green Belt, when housing need does not constitute‘ very special circumstances’ to justify development. This is a contradiction and an issue the government should act upon urgently to fulfil their promise to protect the Green Belt. In Local Plans, a major green belt land allocation has been agreed for 1250 homes at Brookfield Garden Village. However, Symondshyde, 1100 homes, in Welwyn Hatfield has been withdrawn by the Council, without Inspectors’ approval, and 1950 homes East of Luton at Cock- ernhoe have been seriously questioned by the Inspector. The St Albans Plan is stalled as Inspectors have strongly indicated it to be unsound. This proposed 2,300 homes in a ‘Garden Village” on the former Radlett Aerodrome with permission for a rail freight interchange, and 5,500 homes east and north of Hemel Hempstead, part of an emerging pro- Part of the land allocated for the posal for ‘Hemel Garden Communities’ – a swathe of Green Belt for a proposed Hemel Garden Communities total of 10,500 homes north and east of Hemel Hempstead. 5,000 of Photo: Chris Howe these to the north of the town may be included in first draft consulta- tion of the Local Plan in 2020. Elsewhere in the County, the largest Green Belt allocation for 10,000 dwellings to the north of Harlow is part of the adopted East Herts District Plan and now subject of planning applications where CPRE has made representations to mitigate Green Belt and wider environmental impacts Tim Hagyard

Thank you to everyone who generously responded to our Appeals, every donation is gratefully received and helps in our fight to protect and preserve Hertfordshire’s coun- tryside. Thank you to our small team of hard working part-time staff, and the many dedicated volunteers with whom CPRE Hertfordshire is blessed. They are the life-blood of the or- ganisation. Their contribution is hugely valuable and varied. From our trustees through to the professionals in the planning team and those who support them, our website/newsletter administrator, our judges for the CPRE Hertfordshire Awards and Children’s Art Competition, the regular “envelope stuffers”, admin- istrative volunteers and the lovely lady who looks after our garden. There have been a number of changes among the volunteers. We said farewell to Sue Clarke who gave sterling service in the planning team and will shortly say farewell to David Irving, ex-Chairman and professional planner, to whom we owe a great deal, trustees Michael Nidd and Simon Odell will come to the end of their term of office at this year’s AGM, we thank them all for their invaluable contribution. We welcome as three co-opted trustees Alison Young, Terry Over and Priya Grant, planning/administrative volun- teers Katie Carter, Mandy Johnson and Kay McEvoy, and Henry Mitchell and Holly Jones who have joined us to do some project work. How lucky we are! Kevin FitzGerald, Hon. Director

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 11 www.cpreherts.org.uk INCOME AND EXPENDITURE TREASURER’S REPORT purposes for the public benefit. Year ended 31 December 2019 Expenditure In 2019, the charity had net Total expenditure for 2019 was £63,731. This was in expenditure of £2,517. The unrealised line with expectations and lower than 2018. (In 2018 gain in the value of investments was a number of ‘non-recurring’ items were the main £30,984, giving a net increase in funds contributors to the increase in costs, including: - for the year of £28,467. During the Publicity - consultancy for initial social media year, we received the balance engagement £9,000; Office expenses - office IT (£12,629) of a generous legacy from upgrade £5,600.) the late Malcolm Howe, which is Outlook included in our income. We continue to be vigilant in monitoring costs and Income ensuring we achieve value from the income we The total income for 2019 was £61,214. Appeal receive. For 2020 the Charity will focus on related income was lower by almost £10,000 responding to the many challenges arising from the compared to 2018. In addition to the legacy, Covid-19 pandemic, for example plans are in hand to membership subscriptions, donations (including start using an online Appeals platform. We expect to periodic appeals), investment income and fund spend some funds on further developing and raising events continue to be our key sources of evaluating plans to effectively use the legacy received income. These are hugely important and enable the in 2018 to ensure the long term future of the Charity. charity to continue to undertake its charitable John Newbury

Financial Summary Year Year Year Year Ended Ended Ended Ended Income 31.12.19 31.12.18 Expenditure 31.12.19 31.12.18

Donations and legacies Charitable Activities Donations 12,810 23,152 Personnel costs 39,107 40,269 Legacies 12,629 265,811 Office expenses 12,327 18,102 Subscriptions 25,325 24,435 Raising Funds Fundraising events 2,697 4,295 Publicity 7,595 16,160 Investment Income Support costs Deposit a/c interest 1,597 758 Premises 2,782 2,328 Investment Fund income 6,156 5,796 Accounting & legal fees 1,920 1,980

Total Income 61,214 324,247 Total Expenditure 63,731 78,839

Surplus (Deficit) (2,517) 245,408

Balance Sheet 31.12.19 31.12.18 31.12.19 31.12.18

Fixed Assets Represented by: Freehold Property 115,000 115,000 General Fund 398,777 401,116 Tangible Fixed Assets 1,000 1,000 Jones Legacy 161,940 137,287 Investments 204,925 173,940 Davis Memorial 30,602 25,594 Net Current Assets 278,002 280,520 Jubilee Appeal Fund 7,608 6,463

Total Net Assets 598,927 570,460 Total Funds 598,927 570,460

Page 12 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside

Wagstaffs have agreed the financial summary as being consistent with the full financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019. These were prepared in accordance with the applicable Charities SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice). These summarised accounts may not contain sufficient information to allow for a full understanding of the financial affairs of the charity. For further information the full annual accounts and the independent examiner’s report on those accounts should be consulted. Copies can be obtained from CPRE Hertfordshire. The accounts were ap- proved by the Trustees on 5 May 2020 and have been submitted to The Charity Commission.

Richard Bullen, Hon. Chairman John Newbury, Hon. Treasurer

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CPRE HERTFORDSHIRE OFFICERS AND STAFF as at July 2020

PRESIDENT: Sir Simon Bowes Lyon, KCVO HONORARY LIFE VICE PRESIDENTS Dorothy Abel Smith, MBE Nicholas Halsey, TD, DL Dr Mervyn Miller James Clappison Anthony Eastwood Stephen Pollock-Hill

HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTS Ralph Abel Smith Cllr. Richard Smith The Countess of Verulam Peter Waine OFFICERS Chairman: Richard Bullen Vice Chair: Vacant Hon. Treasurer: John Newbury Hon. Director: Kevin FitzGerald, TD, DL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Richard Bullen (Hon. Chairman) John Newbury (Hon. Treasurer) Kevin FitzGerald (Hon. Director) Simon Odell Michael Nidd Allan McNab Alison Young Terry Over Priya Grant STAFF Planning Manager: Tim Hagyard Planning Asst: Linda Brookes Office Manager: Gill Bryant CPRE Hertfordshire is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registered Charity Number: 1162419 BANKERS: Barclays Bank plc, Welwyn Garden City

To contact the editorial team/Welwyn office: 31a Church Street, Welwyn, AL6 9LW 01438 717587 [email protected] www.cpreherts.org.uk

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 13 www.cpreherts.org.uk

GROWING OUR CAPACITY THANK YOU FOR HELPING US GROW OUR CAPACITY Over the past 18 months you’ve helped us increase our capacity and better fulfil our mission of protecting the Hertfordshire countryside for everyone to value and enjoy. FUNDRAISING TO FURTHER EXTEND OUR CORE PLANNING WORK In our Winter 2019 and Spring 2020 Newsletters, we made an appeal for funds so that we could participate in more Local Planning Authority hearings and examinations. These are opportunities for us to present our argu- ments directly to the Planning Inspectors and defend the countryside from what we consider is unwarranted de- velopment. You donated £4365 for which we are extremely grateful. This has enabled our participation in : • Welwyn Hatfield Borough – the Stage 6 hearings on Housing and on Employment; • St Albans District – the Stage 1 hearings on Spatial Strategy, the Green Belt, Objectively Assessed Housing Need (housing targets), and Broad Locations for Development; • North Herts District – the Further Hearings on Objectively Assessed Housing Need, Five Year Housing Supply, Green Belt Review, and East of Luton. We believe our representations at these hearings have had a Photo: Willows beside the River Colnepositive Elizabeth impact. Hamilton Our arguments have supported and given con- fidence to local people taking part in hearings on specific sites. We can take some credit for the change of heart at Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council in removing some Green Belt sites from their draft Plan, and for the Inspector’s criticism of the submission North Herts Local Plan and requirement for further Green Belt reviews, including questioning the need for the pro- posed large site allocation east of Luton. We have also been successful at getting windfall housing numbers increased, even if Inspectors have failed to reduce the amount of Green Belt allocated for development as a result, as we believe they should East of Luton have done. Photo: Chris Howe Going forward, we will continue to make our arguments at the hearings in these districts when they resume, and in Dacorum, and Three Rivers when they get underway. VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT TO EXPAND OUR SKILLS AND CAPABILITY We ran our first ever social media campaign seeking new volunteers, and were delighted to have reached nearly 6,000 people in less than a week. It would have been impossible for our message to have such wide reach using traditional media. We also had a good result, with several new volunteers now on board and bringing fresh ener- gy, knowledge and skills to the team. We’ve also run a digital advertising campaign to identify several new Trustees to replace those who will soon finish their terms. Profiles of our newest Trustees can be found on our website. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TO GAIN MORE NAME RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT An active programme of publicity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has grown our “following” across all three platforms, to 484, 230 and 622 respectively, This means more people are hearing about CPRE Herts and our work, our name is becoming more widely recognised, and we are able to inform and advocate our views to a bigger audi- ence. If you don’t already follow us on one or more of these social media platforms, we hope that you will. The more that you “like”, “comment” or “share” our posts, the more our network of supporters will grow. IMPROVING OUR WORKPLACE Thanks to generous legacies left to CPRE Herts by two long-standing members, we will be able to renovate and refurbish our small office in the conservation area of Welwyn village. This will enable us to increase our capacity and productivity, and increase the number of volunteers who can work together at any given time, thus improving team-working and knowledge-transfer. We thank all of our staff and volunteers for their patience, and hope to get the work underway soon.

Much of the effort to grow our capacity falls under the auspices of CPRE Herts’ Marketing Committee. As a former CPRE Herts Trustee and long-serving volunteer, I took on the Chairmanship of this Committee in early 2020. I’ve lived in Dacorum for the past 15 years and I’m passionate about the Hertfordshire countryside, spending as much time as I can in the beautiful Chilterns AONB near my home Eliza Hermann

Page 14 CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 www.cpreherts.org.uk Standing Up for Your Countryside HERTFORDSHIRE’S COUNTRYSIDE — IT’S NOT ALL BAD NEWS

Hertfordshire suffers its fair share of damage and disruption from mineral workings. CPRE has joined campaigns to oppose these, but it Amwell Nature also keeps a planning eye to demand the best long-term restoration Reserve as eventual compensation. The objectives vary but generally involve landscape restoration, habitat creation and increased public access to the countryside. In the Lea Valley for instance the workings at Amwell Quarry were completed back in the 1990s. Lakes here are now part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and now an international site for wintering wildfowl.

West of Hertford, after gravel workings over a period of three dec- ades, Panshanger Park is now almost fully open to the public and be- came hugely valued during lockdown. The country park is used by many local people for recreation, and land is being grazed by Long- horn cattle. The Waterhall Quarry schemes in the Upper Lea Valley retained val- Longhorn Cattle ued woodland at Grotto Wood and have seen new wildlife habitats Panshanger Park and ponds created along with walking paths and public access.

CPRE HERTFORDSHIRE MERCHANDISE

Please help support us by purchasing our merchandise. All profits go towards helping us fund the work we do.

Additionally, if you send Christmas or general greetings cards or give our calendar as a gift you will also be raising the profile of CPRE Hertfordshire as our details are printed on each and every one.

An order form is enclosed with this newsletter or you can download one from the website: www.cpreherts.org.uk/shop CPRE Hertfordshire 2021 Calendar Protecting the Countryside Christmas Cards for Everyone New images have been added this year and there are now 10 beautiful Hertfordshire scenes to choose from. Photo: Mark Adams

Pick’n’Mix, 70p each with a minimum order of 5 cards - you choose how many of each image.

CPRE Hertfordshire Annual Review 2020 Page 15 www.cpreherts.org.uk

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