SARRATT LOCAL AREA FORUM - THREE RIVERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Notes of a meeting of the Sarratt Area Forum held on Wednesday 16 September 2009 at The Village Hall, The Village Green, Sarratt, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
Present: Councillor Tony Barton (Chairman)
Also in attendance: County Councillor Chris Hayward
Police Constable Liam Green
Police Constable Emily Laver
Parish Councillor John Gell
Parish Councillor Peter Chipperfield
Garry Turner, Investigations Manager
Antony Bradshaw, Investigations Officer
Janet Ide, Committee Manager
Around 25 members of the public were in attendance.
1. INTRODUCTION
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Councillors and Guest Speakers.
2. SECONDARY SCHOOL TRANSFER ISSUES
The Chairman welcomed Christine Buck, Headmistress of Sarratt Primary School to the meeting. Christine stated that 180 pupils attended the school which had increased from 70 pupils over a ten year period. It was the wish of the parents of the school that the excellent provision received at the primary school should continue at secondary level. There was a range of very good schools outside the village such as StClement Danes, Rickmansworth School, Watford Grammar, Parmiter’s and Kings Langley School. Each year the majority of children from Sarratt Primary School were transferred to St Clement Danes and Kings Langley School. The local school run by the Hertfordshire County Council was Kings Langley who operated the Hertfordshire admission process. The other schools operated their own admission criteria.
Parents living within the village and the Sarratt Parish who had made traditional choices of StClement Danes, Kings Langley School and one other school in whichever order they chose, did not get either St Clement Danes or Kings Langley but were offered Westfield, a school with which there were no links with the village and never had been. An expansion of Kings Langley School had been carried out in order to accommodate Sarratt children. St Clement Danes had always guarded its association with Sarratt Primary School closely and had served the school well. There had been a re-assessment of priorities for these schools and Christine did not want this community to miss out. No child from the village had accepted an offer from Westfield with one exception of one child attending a middle school in Berkhamsted. This was the first time that Westfield School had appeared as an option. Bovingdon village had worked together as a community to consider secondary school places. Unless this village took on this challenge with an individual to head it up, with a team to back them, the primary school pupils might well be squeezed out in the future. This was the closest the primary school had ever come to losing precious links with the secondary schools that surrounded the village.
The District Council was being encouraged to build on Green Belt land. Two schools had closed in Croxley Green with children being forced further out of the District. Up until now the WD3 connection was guarded strongly. There was a need to preserve and fight for school places. Even with existing housing this was becoming a more and more popular place for young families to live with more children to accommodate.
A resident stated that he had the privilege of sitting on an independent appeals panel for St Clement Danes. There was obviously a great demand for places and it was quite right to be alarmed because the independent appeals panel had been scrapped and transferred to the County Council with decisions coming from County and not from individuals.
County Councillor Chris Hayward, who had been appointed as County Councillor for the area, had a four year term of office. He stated that education was foremost in his mind and highways and schools were two issues that everybody was concerned about. He stated that he was looking at education as a key priority in the division over the next four years. Christine Buck had very eloquently outlined the position which was not a very positive picture. Parental choice had become parental preference. In reality what was being seen today, particularly in the Rickmansworth area, was increasingly the non delivery to anyone of the three preferences parents were expressing in terms of secondary school transfer.
The situation would get worse if it was not addressed now. Two projections had suggested that there would be increasing requirements for secondary school places in and around this area between now and 2014. If it was not addressed now there would be no school places for children in this area.
An additional secondary school was needed in the Rickmansworth area and County Councillor Chris Hayward stated that was what he would be demanding over the next four years. £30 million of capital investment would be required along with the sourcing and securing of an appropriate site which took in the catchment areas which needed addressing. Substantial public expenditure reductions were likely to be made over the next few years to meet the national agenda so to make any promises would be naïve. Discussions were taking place and officers were carrying out work on this at the County Council had led him to believe that there was a genuine realisation of the need and requirement for another secondary school. With more children requiring school places politicians had to respond to that. There was a need for another secondary school in the area. County Councillor Chris Hayward stated that as elected representative it was his job to lead that cause. As a result of discussions he was having he genuinely believed that an additional school in the Rickmansworth area could be secured.
There had been criticisms that the County Council had closed schools and sold the land for housing. It had to be said that where schools had been closed they were in a specific geographical area that possibly would not necessarily have had the new demand of today. County Councillor Chris Hayward gave his commitment and promise that he was on the case. He wished to visit the primary school and have a discussion with the Headmistress.
Christine Buck stated that it had worked out this year that every child in the village or parish was offered the place of their choice although there had been a big rise in the birth rate and in 2011 there could be pressures on school places.
County Councillor Chris Hayward considered that the stress of appeals to parents was something they should never have to go through and it was unacceptable to him.
Parish Councillor John Gell stated he was an independent appeals panel member and with the closure of Durrants, Sir James Altham and William Penn Schools, there was a shortage of secondary schools. Siblings did take up a tremendous amount of places. Also a lot of pupils from outside the County were attending schools in this County. Mr Harris, who was in charge of education in Hertfordshire, had stated there were no problems and no real need to have another school because there were plenty of places. He mentioned Westfield and Francis Combe which Parish Councillor John Gell did not consider to be sensible options.
A resident in the area stated if one was looking for a strategic solution to the problem, even if success was achieved in a 4/5 year timeframe, it would be too late for Sarratt Primary School.
County Councillor Chris Hayward had received letters from local parents about their own individual children and whilst awaiting a medium term solution of a new school he would personally support every parent that came to him with a particular case. County did not take into consideration the District boundary although he expected a change of view to come forward in the next few months.
County Councillor Chris Hayward stated that because of national policy, which allowed transfers across County boundaries, the problem was much more significant because this District was right on the County boundary.
Q. Why was the independent appeals panel abandoned?
A. The decision was made by the County Council because of the pressure of appeals and no room in the schools.
The Chairman thanked Christine Buck for outlining the situation concerning transfers to secondary schools.
3. COMMUNITY SAFETY IN SARRATT
The Chairman welcomed Police Constables Emily Laver and Liam Green to the meeting.
Police Constable Emily Laver reported that between April and August 2009 there had been one burglary, two violent crimes due to domestic problems in the home and criminal damage. Anti-social behaviour had reduced since the meeting last year.
Speeding was an on-going problem. The speed guns had been used on numerous occasions and warnings issued. As previously advised speed guns could not be used in Bucks Hill because of the layout of the road. The Police were tackling this issue as best they could.
At the meeting in September 2008, it had been reported that cannabis was being smoked in the playing fields car park. A week after the meeting a couple of people were caught smoking cannabis and to the knowledge of the Police had not been back since. Other areas of concern in the area were being checked and some warnings had been issued and some £80 fines imposed. PC Laver confirmed that the areas were patrolled on the late turns and would continue to be patrolled.
Burglaries in rural areas tended to be the theft of horse riding equipment from farms. An operation was commencing week commencing 21 September 2009 with a high police presence in the area.
The Police wished to recruit special constables to join the rural watch and patrol rural areas. If anyone was interested they should contact PC Hannah Clark for details. Also anyone interested in being a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator should also contact PC Hannah Clark.
PC Liam Green advised that the National Policing Pledge had been introduced at the end of 2008 by all Police forces across England and Wales which set out some of the standards of service people should expect. In Hertfordshire however, initiatives to continually improve policing levels and quality of service had been in place for many years which were tied into the development of Local Safer Neighbourhood policing.
Hertfordshire had some of the lowest crime and disorder rates in the country and these rates had consistently been falling over the past six years; but low crime rates were not enough on their own – the Police wanted the public to also have confidence in the Police and to be satisfied by the service they received whenever they had the need to contact them.
The Police Service in Hertfordshire would support law abiding citizens and pursue criminals relentlessly to keep you and your neighbourhoods safe from harm. They would:-
· Always treat you fairly with dignity and respect.
· Let you know who your dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Team are and how to contact them and how to work with them.
· Ensure your Neighbourhood Policing Team and other police patrols are visible and on your patch at times when they will be most effective.
· Respond to every message directed to your Neighbourhood Policing Team within 24 hours & Aim to answer 999 calls within 10 seconds.
· Answer all non-emergency calls promptly. If attendance is needed, send a patrol giving you an estimated time of arrival.
· Arrange regular public meetings to agree your priorities. These will include opportunities such as surgeries, street briefings and mobile police station visits.
· Provide monthly updates on progress, and on local crime and policing issues. If you have been a victim of crime, agree with you how often you would like to be kept informed of progress in your case and for how long.
· Acknowledge any dissatisfaction with the service you have received within 24hours of reporting it to us. For more information on the policing pledge go to:
www.herts.police.uk
Residents were asked to complete the form provided and then return to the Parish Council office or email to . These forms would then be collated by the Police.
The priorities would be changed approximately every 3/4 months and updated once or twice a month. A copy of this pledge was included in the Spotlight Magazine.
A resident stated that he did not return the pledge form because he did not have a problem but PC Emily Laver said that the Police still liked to hear from residents even if they were satisfied.
Q. Was it true, as indicated on the TV advert, that if caught in control of a car whilst under the influence of drugs, a driver could lose their Licence?
A. The Police can arrest the driver and carry out a blood test and if positive it could result in the loss of the Licence.
The Chairman thanked PC Emily Laver and PC Liam Green for attending the meeting.
4. FRAUD ISSUES IN THREE RIVERS
The Chairman welcomed Garry Turner, Investigations Manager and Antony Bradshaw, Investigations Officer who explained the work carried out by the Fraud Investigations Team as follows:-
Aims of Fraud Awareness
· Have an awareness of what fraud is and the types of fraud that can occur;
· Understand the definition, role and work undertaken by the Fraud Investigations Team;
· Become aware of the Council’s Anti-Fraud and Corruption Framework;
· Knowing what to do should you suspect a case of fraud.
National Fraud
Minimum assessed loss to fraud in the UK is considered to be in excess of £13.9 billion (Levi, Burrows, Fleming and Hopkins, 2007)
Benefit Fraud
· Expenditure £120 billion