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MINUTES OF THE ICKLEFORD PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING THURSDAY 26 APRIL 2018, ICKLEFORD VILLAGE HALL AT 8PM

Present: Parish Councillors M Maxwell (Chairman), R Blake (Vice Chairman), M Barber, K Goldie, C Gooden, R Harper and C Thurstance

Officer present: Mrs D Weetman (Parish Clerk)

Also present for all of the meeting: District Cllr H Spencer-Smith, Mr J Tizzard and Mrs R Bryer.

Also present for part of the meeting: Sgt S Oliphant and PCSO S Halbert.

17 residents were in attendance.

1. Apologies for absence 1.1 Apologies were received from County Cllr D Barnard and Cllr P Crowe.

2. Chairman’s Notice 2.1 Cllr Maxwell read out the announcement on openness and transparency.

3. Declaration of Interests 3.1 No declarations of interests from Councillors relating to items on the agenda were received.

3.2 No written requests for dispensation for declarable interests relating to items on the agenda were received.

3.3 No requests for dispensation were received.

4. Minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting 4.1 It was resolved that the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 30 March 2017 be approved and the Chairman was authorised to sign them as a true record of the meeting.

5. Reports Cllr Maxwell welcomed all residents and introduced the members of Ickleford Parish Council, the Clerk, District Cllr Spencer-Smith, Sgt Oliphant, PCSO Halbert, plus Mr Tizzard and Mrs Bryer from the Ickleford Neighbourhood Plan Group.

Due to the North District Council (NHDC) local elections taking place next week, residents were advised that district councillors would only be able to provide limited information in response to enquiries due to the restrictions of the pre-election period (previously known as ‘purdah’).

It was noted that the Parish Council and District Cllr Spencer-Smith had devoted a large amount of time to matters relating to the NHDC Draft Local Plan. As this subject will be covered in both the Chairman’s, and also the District Councillor’s report, residents were requested to ask questions after both reports have been given.

5.1 Report from County Councillor David Barnard The Clerk read out the following report from County Cllr Barnard:

’Last year has been a busy year (again!), and I have cherished the privilege of representing you at County Hall.

Many of the County Council’s responsibilities have been under financial pressures, and it has become necessary, after six years of holding back increases, to make small increases to the Council Tax, in order to maintain essential services.

Hertfordshire is committed to premium Adult and Child care services. Adult services cost us £371.2 million per annum and Child services cost us £198.8 million per annum.

3,000 miles of roads in Hertfordshire, 10,000 potholes filled and still fighting to catch up. Even with a further £1.8 million of new grants to add to our £5 million already committed to road repairs alone, it will take some take to make our road surfaces acceptable.

Road and waste disposal costs the taxpayer £115.8 million per annum.

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I’m not going to bombard you with the massive cost of our other services, like education, fire, public health, libraries, and so on.

Libraries are a good news story. Whilst other authorities cut back and close their libraries, Hertfordshire’s Library service opens new facilities and has recently totally refurbished ’s library.

Personally, I have been pleased to support the Parish Council and community with grants, which I am sure help to support residents in the area.

Our Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, has committed to support our hardworking and much appreciated PCSOs. He promises more officers in our areas and a focus on community safety. Hertfordshire is a safe county, where people want to live.

We were saddened to lose our County Council leader, Rob Gordon, earlier this year. He worked tirelessly for Hertfordshire and concealed his illness from us as he worked for us up to the end of his life. David Williams is our new leader, and whilst he has big shoes to fill, we know that he will confidently carry the massive responsibility of guiding our county into a secure future.

I am here to help you in any way that I can, and I know that by working alongside your District Councillor, and your dedicated parish councillors, you can be confident that this parish is in good hands.’

5.1.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions.

5.1.2 There were no questions from the audience.

5.2 Report from District Councillor Harry Spencer-Smith District Cllr Spencer-Smith referred to the large amount of time dedicated to the NHDC Draft Local Plan over the last year due to the significant impact that the Plan’s proposals could have on Ickleford parish. He worked closely with the Parish Council in preparing for the Examination in Public (EiP); this included reviewing documents produced by NHDC for the Local Plan process, assisting with the Parish Council’s submission for the EiP and also supporting the Parish Council during the hearing session.

On behalf of the Parish Council, District Cllr Spencer-Smith has liaised with NHDC about other planning matters in Ickleford such as ensuring building work had been carried out in accordance with planning consent and confirming that the Parish Council’s responses to planning applications were being taken into account by the Planning department.

District Cllr Spencer-Smith assisted with the Parish Council’s review of documents for the Central Council (CBC) Local and also the response submitted during the public consultation period.

5.2.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions.

5.2.2 There were no questions from the audience.

5.2.3 Cllr Maxwell thanked District Cllr Spencer-Smith for attending this meeting.

5.3 Report from Police – Safer Neighbourhood Team Sgt Oliphant noted that the Safer Neighbourhood Team based at Hitchin Police Station is headed up by Inspector Richard Lilley and Sergeant Stephen Oliphant. PC Tony Fletcher, assisted by PCSO Heather Burrows, continues to maintain prime responsibility for Ickleford. Residents were advised that PCSO Sam Halbert would shortly be replacing PCSO Burrows as the designated PCSO for Ickleford; PCSO Halbert is currently working alongside PCSO Burrows to gather local knowledge.

The Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, has indicated that the current local policing model, which includes the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, will continue to be supported in its current format.

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Sgt Oliphant advised about the benefits of signing up to the OWL service as a means of passing on advice and information to the local community. The team will continue to work proactively in Ickleford to provide opportunities for residents to speak with the police.

The amount of crime recorded for Hertfordshire has increased this year whilst the level of crime in Ickleford has reduced by around 8% for the same period. Sgt Oliphant discussed the crime figures, as shown below, for Ickleford compared with the previous year.

Crime Type 1/4/2016 to 31/3/2017 1/4/2017 to 31/3/2018 Difference Burglary 30 20 -10 Robbery 1 2 1 Theft 20 14 -6 Fraud 1 0 -1 Sexual Offences 3 0 -3 Criminal Damage 13 18 5 Criminal Damage Arson 2 2 0 Assault 11 16 5 Public Order Offences 6 4 -2 Offensive Weapons Offences 1 0 -1 Racist/Prejudice Incidents 3 2 -1 Harassment 2 5 3 Non Crime Domestic 8 6 -2 Drug Related Offences 4 3 -1 Drink Driving 1 2 1 Fly Tipping 0 3 3

Total 106 97 -9

5.3.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions.

5.3.2 District Cllr Spencer-Smith enquired about contact details for Sgt Oliphant and PCSO Halbert. The Clerk advised that this information can be found on the Parish Council’s website.

5.3.3 Cllr Maxwell thanked Sgt Oliphant and PCSO Halbert for attending this meeting.

Sgt Oliphant and PCSO Halbert left the meeting.

5.4 Report from the Ickleford Neighbourhood Plan Group Mr Tizzard read out the following report

‘We’re part of a group of residents working on the Ickleford Neighbourhood Development Plan, or Neighbourhood Plan. This is an opportunity for us to influence future development in Ickleford.

The name is unfortunately far too easily confused with the NHDC ‘Local’ Plan which outlines where the District Council has allocated land to build the many new houses central Government demands of it.

Our Neighbourhood Plan cannot contradict the Local Plan, but can provide much more detail, giving us more say in any development that comes. It can also go beyond housing allocations to look at other aspects of village life.

Things it might cover include:

 The development of housing, including affordable housing  Provision for businesses  Transport and access  The development of community facilities

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 The design of buildings  Protection and creation of open space, nature reserves, allotments, sports pitches, play areas, parks and gardens, and the planting of trees  Protection of important buildings and historic assets

These examples are from CPRE (the Campaign to Protect Rural ).

The plan must demonstrate that it is genuinely based on our community’s views and wishes. If adopted, it becomes part of the statutory development plan for the area and must be considered by planners and developers. This gives it much more legal weight than other initiatives, such as the Parish Plan, although it may follow a similar approach to gaining residents’ opinions.

As neighbourhood plans are relatively new, we don’t yet know how much power they hold. We were encouraged to read that the Neighbourhood Plan was taken into consideration when planners rejected a speculative application to build houses there. We love Ickleford. Changes are coming, and this is an opportunity to help make these as positive as they can be.

The plan can be very broad or narrow in scope. What we end up with depends on what matters to the people of Ickleford. We need to engage as many people as possible to make it as useful and credible as possible.

Our starting point is to identify the main issues that people care about. We will be asking a few questions along the lines of:

 What do you like about Ickleford?  What could we improve?  What would you want out of any new development that may come?

Once we’ve worked out what the main themes are, we’ll come back to people to get their views on specific issues. This will probably involve a household survey to obtain more detail and provide evidence of the community’s wishes.

The next stage is writing the plan. This must undergo consultation and be assessed by an independent examiner. A final version is then offered to residents for them to accept or reject. The process is likely to take about three years.

We need people to give us their thoughts, and we need to share what we are doing. Some of the ways we plan to do this are through:

 A website  Facebook  Leaflets  Talking to groups  Stalls  Workshops  Other things we haven’t thought of yet!

You can get involved by:

 Giving us your views on Ickleford  Talking to your friends and family, and encourage them to share their views  Helping us make sure everyone has a chance to give their opinion  Joining the steering group  Getting involved in other ways, e.g. help develop parts of the plan in which you have a lot of knowledge/interest  Helping deliver leaflets, and deliver and collect questionnaires

We can be contacted by email to [email protected].’

5.4.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions.

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5.4.2 There were no questions from the audience.

5.4.3 Cllr Maxwell thanked Mr Tizzard and Mrs Bryer for attending this meeting.

5.5 Report from Chairman of Ickleford Parish Council, Cllr Miles Maxwell Cllr Maxwell read out the following report:

‘It’s my pleasure, this evening, to summarise for you the main activities of Ickleford Parish Council over the past year.

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed some personnel changes at the top table since the last APM. Clare Tagg stepped down from the Parish Council in last July as she has retried to Cornwall. Although Clare had only been on the Council for a few years, she played an important role in many aspects of our work including planning and secondary school transfer reviews. In October, David Chapallaz resigned from the Parish Council after 41 years of service. David’s contribution to the village and community has been immense – including several years as Chair of the Council, and time as governor of Ickleford Primary and Hitchin Boys’ Schools. I’m sure you will all join me in thanking Clare and David for their service, and in wishing them well for the future.

As a consequence of these two resignations, we had two casual vacancies which were filled by co-option. Clare Gooden joined the Council in September. Clare has lived in Ickleford for 15 years, and has played a part in village life via her role in Neighbourhood Watch and her interests in local wildlife, rivers and woodlands. Ryan Harper was co-opted at our December meeting. Ryan is a relative newcomer to the village, and lives at the northern end of Ickleford; it is good to have representation from that part of the parish. I thank Clare and Ryan for volunteering to join the Council, and welcome them to their new roles.

Additionally, Philip Crowe stood down as vice-Chairman in May last year. Philip has been Chair or vice-Chair of the Parish Council since 1992, and has served the village admirably in that time, allowing Ickleford to evolve while still retaining the characteristics which attracted us all to the village. On behalf of the whole village, I thank Philip for his leadership over the years, and hope that he, and the skills and experience he brings, will remain on the council for many years to come. Following Philip’s resignation as vice-Chairman, Ray Blake was elected to that role; whilst Ray is a relative newcomer to the council, he was chosen unanimously due to the many attributes we have observed. I thank Ray for taking on these new responsibilities.

For several years, we have funded a part-time PCSO for Ickleford – half of the money for this role comes directly from residents of the village via our precept, the remaining half being paid for by the police. With their resources under budgetary strain, we feel that this is the only way to guarantee a significant police presence in Ickleford. We have been ably served by PCSO Debbie Parfitt until last spring, when she moved to a different role in the police force. As an interim measure, PCSO Heather Burrows has been looking after the village. We thank both for their efforts in crime prevention and in reassuring residents by being visible in the community to ‘nip issues in the bud’.

Sgt Oliphant has given you the annual report from the police, but I would like to clarify one point. There have been several issues with parking on double-yellow lines, especially near the school, and residents have shared their frustration that the police have been unable to address these. It’s important to note that the power to issue parking tickets is no longer a police responsibility, lying instead with NHDC. However, it’s fair to say that this isn’t a high priority for the district council enforcement officers, at least in villages. All of this is hugely frustrating for us and affected residents, but please bear in mind that our PCSO has very limited powers in this respect.

A major role that the parish council plays is as custodian of the village environment, liaising closely with district and county councils, and other agencies to maintain footpaths, common land, roads and pavements, etc.

You will have shared our frustration at the poor quality of the initial repairs to Arlesey Road last autumn. We have received apologies from Highways for this. Allegedly – and rather

Ickleford Parish Council, Annual Parish Meeting – 26 April 2018 P a g e | 6 APM incredibly – this was due to the contractors being supplied with substandard tarmac. Some of you will know that further works are scheduled on the same road next month – we hope that these will be more effective, and Mick Barber, as our Highways’ representative, will monitor them carefully.

You will likely have noticed the clearance of the ditch at Christmas Common – and the impressive amount of water which has collected in it. While the ditch is now much improved and serving its purpose, we were disappointed by the way in which the Common was initially left by the workmen, and have been engaged in trying to rectify it.

Residents and visitors are routinely impressed by the quality of our footpaths, bridleways etc – credit here goes to Colin Thurstance and Kathy Goldie our representatives on the Parish Paths Partnership who monitor the network of paths, and work closely with third parties to ensure they are well maintained.

An issue which seems to be becoming more prevalent, however, is dog mess which is not being properly disposed of by some dog owners. We are trying our best to tackle this via notices and other communications, but would request the majority of responsible dog owners to challenge others who don’t clear up after their pets.

A broader request goes to all residents: while members of the parish council and our clerk will report items such as HGVs flouting the lorry ban, flytipping and overflowing waste bins when we see them, there are only nine of us compared with about 1500 adults in the village. We can’t do it all ourselves, and frankly, I don’t think that we should. We need you to do your bit by reporting issues directly – but copy us in so that we can maintain an overview of the issues. It’s easy to report these matters – details are routinely given in St Katharine’s Wheel, and the village email sent out by Danielle – so please help us to maintain the village environment.

We do get great support from a number of residents in helping us keep the village looking good, and I would specifically like to mention two individuals – Colin Wainwright and William Crosse – who are always willing and able to assist on minor projects.

Some of the initiatives we undertake are supported by grants from our district and county councillors – and we are very grateful to them for these, but their funds only stretch so far. We strive very hard to support new projects and existing village groups, and maintain Ickleford at the level residents have come to expect. However, we are under increased financial pressure to meet the cost of these. Due to economic challenges, the Parish Council reluctantly decided to increase the amount it asks each household to contribute to the upkeep of Ickleford by 2.96% for the present financial year. We hope you will understand the need for this and will support us in our aim to maintain the standards in Ickleford at the level we would all like, so as to benefit our local community.

The largest demand on our time and effort over the past 12 months has been devoted to planning matters. Our planning advisors – Kathy Goldie, Philip Crowe, Ray Blake, Clare Gooden, and before her, Clare Tagg – have done a terrific job in keeping on top of the incessant flow of applications. I have to say that they have not always been helped by the NHDC planning department which appears to be under-resourced, and has struggled with the implementation of a new IT system for tracking applications.

Most of you will know that we have recently reviewed two significant planning applications – for 71 dwellings at Bowman’s Mill, and for 180 homes on site LS1 at Ramerick, on our boundary with Henlow. These appraisals, led by Kathy Goldie, have caused us to raise several concerns associated with the Bowman’s application that we hope can be addressed at the planning stage. Our issues relate to sewerage effluent, pedestrian and road safety, ensuring adequate parking spaces and potential loss of privacy for existing residents. However, we have not objected to the application and believe that the plans are a good use of a site which would otherwise become derelict, and which are in keeping with the village environment.

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We did, however, object strongly to the LS1 planning application for a number of reasons, not least that it is a major overdevelopment of a rural site which has significant impact on the local heritage environment. We presented our objections at the Planning Control Committee in March, and were pleased by the near-unanimous rejection of the application.

We have been incredibly frustrated by the glacial progress on the redevelopment of The Cricketers’ Public House, particularly due to the negative impact on the neighbours of this property. Sadly, NHDC did not impose a more stringent deadline for completion of these works when the plan was reviewed – again – last summer.

With all the new or proposed development in the village, it might seem odd that the parish council has been working with the Hertfordshire Community Development Agency on a Housing Needs Survey. The aim was to determine the needs of residents of Ickleford, or those with very close connections to the village, for affordable housing. We recognise that, for example, young adults residing in Ickleford with their parents are often unable to afford a home of their own (rented or bought) in the village. This has consequences for social cohesion, and it would be great to be able to offer the prospect of remaining in Ickleford to those who wish to do so.

The results of the survey, conducted last summer, showed there was a small but significant demand for affordable homes specifically for residents with a close association with the village. Importantly, and impressively, the response rate to the survey – at 33% - was deemed to be very good by the CDA.

One way of addressing the impact of new developments is by having a Neighbourhood Plan. You have already heard about this initiative from members of the steering group, but I want to emphasise the Parish Council’s support; a Neighbourhood Plan will give us some control over the developments in the village. Please think about contributing to this effort.

By far the biggest consumer of our time, energy and resource has been the NHDC Local Plan and the Parish Council’s submissions – written and oral – to the Examination in Public.

Before I go further on this subject I want to make one thing absolutely clear; our District Councillor, Harry Spencer-Smith, has worked closely and tirelessly with us in crafting and delivering our responses to the Local Plan, and to the defence of our village which we presented to the Inspector. Because of the way Harry and I have divided our presentations on this subject, his input to Ickleford’s case might not be obvious. I want to put on record that our representations to the Inspector would not have been as good without Harry’s contributions.

One of the main issues we have with the Local Plan is the extent of the proposed development on Green Belt. Many villages in north Herts are affected by this aspect, and it was on the basis of ‘strength in numbers’ that we joined with other affected communities in the Save Our Green Belt consortium. We would not have been able to afford our own planning barrister to challenge NHDC and their legal team, so the cooperative approach seemed good value for money to us. I hope that you understand and support us using part of our precept to try to protect the village via this route.

I won’t, in the interests of time, go into a huge amount of detail – and we have been transparent with you on our approach to the Examination in Public, with all our documents freely available. But in summary, our objections to the Local Plan fall into 8 categories:

1. Windfall sites – the developments at Bowman’s Mill and Ickleford Manor, which are not in the Local Plan, are better, more suitable sites than the four Ickleford sites which have been proposed in the Local Plan 2. The NHDC ‘Call for Sites’, whereby landowners were approached to offer their sites for development, and which formed the basis of the Local Plan, was less effective than it should have been. Consequently, the district council had fewer good sites from which to choose 3. The Sustainability Appraisal is a key document on which NHDC based their assessment of the developability of sites. As with many of their important reports, the SA is deeply

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flawed and littered with errors. This means that the evidence base used by NHDC is not proportionate as mandated by the National Planning Policy Framework. 4. The plans to mitigate the impact of new developments – both in North Herts and, importantly for us, arising from developments in neighbouring Central Beds – are wholly inadequate. The NHDC Infrastructure Delivery Plan would be laughable in many of its proposals, were it not such a vital document 5. The settlement boundaries – the areas of the village in which development is permitted – are inappropriately drawn, including parts which should not be developed and omitting parts which are 6. Three of the four Ickleford sites proposed in the Local Plan are on Green Belt. The National Planning Policy Framework only allows such development in exceptional circumstances, and we do not believe that these circumstances exist. 7. The environmental, social and historic impacts of the plans for Ickleford are significant and contravene local and national planning guidelines, and 8. The cumulative effect of the four Local Plan sites plus the two windfall sites would overwhelm the village and irreversibly alter its character

We have had to tread a fine line in our recommendations; we know that additional homes are needed in north Herts; we believe that Ickleford should take a fair share of these; and we do not want to be seen as NIMBYs. I know that the compromise that we came to – with a recommendation that Ickleford could take 270 new homes – has disappointed some residents, but this was a planning-based decision which was made in good faith.

The Ickleford hearing on 27 February came towards the end of a very long process, and I am extremely grateful to Ray Blake for leading for the Parish Council at that session. He was very ably supported by Colin Thurstance – who spoke against the relocation of the village school – and Danielle Weetman and Harry Spencer-Smith. I would also like to acknowledge the many residents who also attended the hearing on 27 February – something which the Inspector noted.

Due to the significant impact on Ickleford of the proposals in the Local Plan, the Parish Council has rightly put a huge amount of time and effort into making the case against the Plan as it currently stands. Everyone has contributed to this task, but particular mention goes to the other members of the core group: Harry, Ray, Colin and Danielle. I genuinely believe that we could not have improved on the quality of our Submission. We now must hope that the Inspector will be convinced by our case, and that natural justice will be served.

I trust that you’ve found this summary of the parish council year to be informative. Hopefully, the contribution and effort of all your councillors and our Clerk will have been evident from my report. I, and the whole village, are in their debt.

Finally, a note of thanks to all presenters and everyone in the audience tonight for your attention and support of the Parish Council and the village.’

5.5.1 The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions.

5.5.2 One resident enquired about the possible relocation of Ickleford Primary School as referenced in the NHDC Draft Local Plan.

Cllr Maxwell confirmed that the Parish Council had put forward a strong case for the School to remain in its current location in its representations for the Local Plan, including the EiP, however we await the outcome of the Inspector’s deliberations in this regard.

5.5.3 Another resident asked for information about the recent surface dressing of Arlesey Road. Cllr Barber advised that this process puts a thin cover on top of the existing road surface.

A number of residents present at the meeting expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the work carried out on Arlesey Road and noted that they believed that the road needed to be resurfaced.

A resident stated that they believed the material used for the recent surface dressing was substandard and was not applied correctly.

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5.5.4 A resident enquired whether any consideration had been given to expanding Ickleford Primary School on its current site as an alternative to relocation, and asked if there was land available adjacent to the existing site to facilitate this.

Cllr Maxwell noted that the Parish Council believed this option had not been explored enough by the relevant authorities and should be considered as an alternative to relocating the School from its current site.

Another resident asked about the future plans for the site should the School be relocated, particularly as the front wall and parts of the building are Grade II listed.

The Parish Council advised that this information was not known.

5.5.5 Another resident enquired whether there were any plans for developing the land adjacent to Arnold’s Farm.

Cllr Maxwell commented that the site was long-listed for the NHDC Draft Local Plan but had been rejected by the district council for planning reasons.

6. Date of Next Meeting The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 3 May 2018 at 7.30pm

The meeting closed at 9pm

Signed by Chairman ______Date ______

Print name of Chairman ______

Ickleford Parish Council, Annual Parish Meeting – 26 April 2018