Parish Council www.greatgaddesdenparishcouncil.org.uk T: 07521 192188 E: [email protected]

Council meeting: 16th November 2020 Agenda item: 20/117.a Action: HGV traffic along Water End Rd, traffic survey on the B440 and the status of Great Gaddesden Village Hall

An email has been received with the following questions (in italics) with a status report in normal font afterwards.

1. I write to request that an investigation is undertaken into the increase in HGV traffic travelling up and down Potten End Hill to ascertain whether this is due to travel to and from construction sites in the local area or the ban on vehicles over 7.5 tonnes from crossing Water End Bridge. Unlike Galley Hill, and some of the other roads and villages lying just off the B440, Great Gaddesden and with Potten End Parish Councils did not introduce 7.5 tonne weight restrictions at the time the then-A4146 was downgraded and the Water End weight restriction introduced. This has potentially led to an undue increase in the volume of HGV traffic being redirected through Potten End either via Potten End Hill or Ladies Mile to the detriment of the village and significant decrease in safety for all road and pavement users and residents along the routes. I appreciate this request may sit at odds with the investigations into the non-compliance of some heavy goods vehicles in Water End, but believe the whole situation needs to be looked at holistically and not by setting one part of the community against another. The original intention was that the waste traffic should use the M1 not find alternative routes through rural communities and I believe we should be striving collectively to achieve this goal. This issue has also been raised with Nettleden with Potten End PC which will discuss it at its council meeting on the 19th November. Note that the decision to impose weight restrictions on roads elsewhere in the area was a decision taken by Highways, not the relevant parish councils. The last survey of traffic on Potten End Hill was undertaken in 2016 and showed c. 100 HGV’s using the road every working day. The issue of whether this had increased since the weight limits had been imposed on Water End Bridge was raised at the end of 2019 when Great Gaddesden Parish Council and Cllr Douris undertook to share the cost of a survey (£700) with Nettleden with Potten End PC if the latter wanted to pursue that course. Nettleden with Potten End PC decided against undertaking a survey because Hertfordshire Highways were unable to confirm under what conditions they would consider imposing a weight limit and it was considered an inappropriate risk of tax payers’ money.

2. I notice that there is a traffic survey underway on the B440 between the junctions of Potten End Hill and Ladies Mile. Could you please clarify the reasoning behind choosing this location and what the results will be compared with? Are you undertaking any other traffic surveys in the parish? This isn’t a survey commissioned by the parish council. Cllr Douris believes that it’s a routine traffic volume survey. 3. The Great Gaddesden Parish Hall used to be a registered charity but is now not registered on the Charity Commission website. Could you please advise me what the current

governance structures are for the parish hall and whether the parish council still has a representative on whatever structure has replaced the former charity? This question is best addressed to the trustees of the Charitable Trust which manages the hall, but I understand that there has been no change in its status for some time. John Lowrie is the council’s representative.