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Little Gaddesden Parish Council
MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL on MONDAY 16th March, 2015
PLEASE NOTE THAT MINUTES ARE ALSO PUBLISHED ON THE VILLAGE WEB SITE
http://www.littlegaddesden.org.uk
PRESENT: Cllr. Adams. (Chairman), Cllr. Archer (Deputy Chairman), Cllrs. Hyde, Kutluoglu, Parker, Heaphy and Irving. Also in attendance, Alastair Greene (Clerk), invited guests Patrick Beynon, Herts Police, Lee Clements, PSCO, Lawrence Trowbridge and Susie Mercer from the NT, and 13 members of the public.
APOLOGIES: Cllr. Tiley, DBC.
The meeting commenced at 8.00pm
1. FORMALITIES
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: For the Councillors who attended there were no recorded changes and interests were therefore confirmed as:-
Cllr. Adams has an interest in the Sports Club;
Cllr. Heaphy has an interest in the Football Club and is editor of the Gaddesden Diary;
Cllr. Hyde has an interest in the Drama Club and Rural Heritage Society;
Cllr. Parker has an interest in the Village Produce Association, the Parochial Church Council and the Gaddesden Society.
Cllr. Kutluoglu has an interest in the Football and Sports Club
Cllr. Irving has an interest as Chair, Gaddesden District Village Produce Association and is a member of the Drama Club and Rural Heritage Society
Cllr. Archer has no interests to be declared;
The Attendance Register was signed by the Councillors and Clerk.
2. MINUTES - The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and signed by the Chairman.
3. POLICE REPORT
a. Police Report:-
A new style of Police Report was presented by Lee Clements. This contained crime statistics for January 25th to February 25th, 2015 for Little Gaddesden and Dacorum with comments from both the local Sergeant Peter Huffer as well as from Chief Inspector Glenn Channer and Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd. The full report is posted separately on the web site and on the Parish Notice board at the shop.
Little Gaddesden – (Jan 25 to Feb 25, 2015)
Offence / No. In Parish / No. in DacorumDwelling Burglary / 0 / 33
Burglary Other / 1 / 59
Criminal Damage / 0 / 84
Vehicle Crime / 0 / 98
Anti-Social Behaviour / 0 / 217
Other / 1 * / 547
Sergeant’s Message reads as follows:-
Reported crime remains low across all our parishes as we start the New Year but please do be aware of shed break-ins which tend to happen at this time of year. Secure your sheds and outbuildings with good quality locks and, where possible, get your expensive gardening equipment security marked (post coded or other property marking). Most people think of securing their homes but can overlook that, on occasions, a thief will target sheds as a ‘softer’ option.
*Police patrol the rural areas on a regular basis. One such patrol, resulted in a 19-year-old man from Chesham being stopped near Ashridge. Further investigation revealed that he had a small amount of cannabis.
Now the winter weather is starting to break the Safer Neighbourhood Team will also be stepping up road safety patrols to keep motorists, pedestrians and other road users safe. We will look out for speeding vehicles as well as drivers using mobile phones and unsafe and/or uninsured vehicles.
If you have any concerns about crime or anti-social behaviour, please contact PCSO Lee Clements on 101 or by email or you can contact me, if the matter is of a more serious nature, on my Airwave radio when I am on duty on 01707 354192. (In an emergency always use 999.)
Sgt Peter Huffer, Berkhamsted and Tring Safer Neighbourhood Team.
b. Police Communications.
A Police Page has now been set up on the village web site http://www.littlegaddesden.org.uk and is updated as new reports come in.
c. Speed checks in the village
Cllr. Parker and the Clerk carried out a speed check between 8am and 9am on Monday 16th March. on the approach to the village from the Ringshall direction. Over a dozen vehicles exceeded 36mph in this 30mph area and one vehicle was recorded at 54mph. The Police will be sending letters to vehicle owners.
d. Neighbourhood Watch
Patrick Beynon spoke about the work of the Neigbourhood Watch team, which, he suggests, is one of the most successful crime prevention initiatives ever. It currently involves more than 70,000 households in Hertfordshire. Neighbourhood Watch members receive regular local policing updates and alerts from their local policing team by e-mail using Hertfordshire’s OWL system. There are handy links to other events going on and a Dogwatch site too. Patrick is very keen to add to the membership.
You can join by visiting www.OWL.co.uk or by emailing your local Watch Liaison Officer at ce or by e-mailing
4. MATTERS ARISING
a. Highways
Bucks CC have cut back the vegetation, debris and soil that had slumped over the Ringshall Road pavement from the junction with Little Gaddesden Road to Goose Hill Farm. Cllr. Hyde obtained a quote from Malcolm Weaver to do the last stretch, it is the 20m of pavement between the end of the Ringshall Cottages flint wall and the Little Gaddesden Village turning, however the expenditure was not approved. Cllr. Adams advised he had spoken to local residents to ask if they would help clear that stretch. The Clerk had also reported this to Transport for Bucks to manage and with the help of photos from Geoffrey Forster will speak to them to emphasise the need for a clear pathway and if necessary repairs to the kerb.
The Clerk advised:-
(a) that a pothole right on the junction of Little Gaddesden Road and Ringshall Road had been reported and filled by Transport for Bucks.
(b) The yellow bollard, that had been knocked over at Fourways junction, had been reported and replaced by HCC.
(c) The poor drainage at 58-60 Nettleden Road had been discussed with the land owner, Mr McQuinn of Robin Hood House. He was happy for fresh drainage cuts to be made into the verge to drain off into the woods. The Clerk had subsequently reported this on the web site to HCC.
Lady Marian Alford Memorial
Cllr Hyde confirmed that the temporary protection afforded by the tree trunks was very helpful and the NT were thanked for supporting this prevention of potential damage by heavy lorries turning at the junction. It was agreed that ideas should now be sought for a permanent, attractive but functional kerb barrier.
Fourways Junction accidents
The Clerk reported that together with Cllr. Kutluoglu and Cllr Heaphy, he had attended the recent meeting of Studham Parish Council, who agreed to work with all parties to seek the necessary improvements at this junction. Cllr. Richard Stay from Central Bedfordshire Council who was also at the meeting advised he would meet with Herts County Councillor Lloyd to discuss how they could resolve this dangerous piece of road.
Following their meeting, Cllrs. Stay and Lloyd suggested that a meeting be arranged with the officers in April to consider potential options in the vicinity of the junction.
b. Open Spaces.
1. Walsham Bench
The Clerk confirmed that the insurance monies had been banked and that the family contribution would be banked shortly.
2. Tree survey.
Cllr. Hyde confirmed that no planting would take place before the autumn.
3. Footpath 18 reinstatement following installation of ground source heating pipes.
No change since last month. The owner has now built his field shelter. The re-levelling and re-seeding of the field and reinstating of footpath 18 will be completed as soon as good weather allows.
4. Footpath 2, 3, & 27 Modification.
No further progress from HCC.
5. Scout lease.
The Clerk confirmed that the lease had been signed by the Trustees for the Scouts and was now available for the Parish Council to sign.
6. Request for a Heritage sign for the Church.
Herts CC had approved, in principle, the installation of a heritage sign and had put forward some alternative locations. After some discussion, it was agreed that the Clerk would meet with Church representatives to agree the final positioning with the likely location to be under the Church Road sign.
7. Drainage improvements
At the last meeting it was reported that several areas in the village were suffering from poor drainage, in particular opposite the entrance to the Church and at the kissing gates to FP12 that crosses Church Road towards the back of Bede Court. The Clerk was asked to make contact with the field owner, Mr. Stanley, to get permission to carry out the works (a quote had been obtained by Cllr. Hyde) and to contact Neil Rogers regarding the drainage problem next to the church.
The Clerk confirmed he had spoken with Mr Stanley who advised he was not keen to see stone chips on his field, as that was out of keeping with the field. He had in the past kept the gate area topped up with chipped bark though had not done that recently. During the meeting, the NT advised that chippings and a membrane tend not to last and were not recommended by them on their estate. They felt that stone chippings were the right solution. Clayton Rae, the Rights of Way Officer, had said the same to the Clerk previously and advised that there should be no tray to contain chippings, because they can act as a trip hazard and as an obstacle for pushchairs. It was agreed the Clerk would discuss further with Mr Stanley. The Clerk confirmed he would speak to Neil Rogers on the other matters.
8. National Trust discussion
Webb’s Copse area - Stiles
Lawrence Trowbridge, of the NT, confirmed that the stile at the South Park end of Webb’s Copse on the Ashridge Boundary Trail had been replaced with a gate and the one at the field called the Gallop was programmed for replacement with a gate in the spring. The Council suggested it would be helpful if that was replaced before the Gaddesden Gallop takes place in May.
Surfacing of the car park on land opposite the Green
No planning application was made for this car park work as the NT regional planning team had advised that planning permission would not be required. It was deemed that the current use of the area was for car parking and they were advised that there was no change of use. Cllr. Kutluoglu advised that even though the car park had been used for many years, surfacing amounted to ‘development’ and therefore did require consent. The Clerk was requested to contact DBC to establish the correct planning procedures.
Tree clearance on the Golf course between holes 5 and 7
Lawrence advised that the National Trust at Ashridge hold a felling license that covers forestry operations on the whole estate. It’s issued by the Forestry Commission and verified by Natural England to cover their statutory obligations to preserve sites of special scientific interest. The tree works adjacent to the Hook are forestry thinnings and part of the Ashridge Park Plan. The NT suggested that they work collaboratively with Ashridge Golf club and Ashridge House to achieve the long term vision for the park. Cllr. Adams requested better liaison and communications with the village residents because there was a major lack of understanding of the NT’s longer term plans and particularly the extent of the clearance, given that the contractor was paid in wood. The NT offered to present the longer term plan to the village at the appropriate time. It was agreed that quarterly meetings would ensure better communications between the Parish Council (and therefore to the village) and the NT. Clerk to set up.
New bins for the Green.
It was confirmed by Lawrence that there had been a serious breakdown of their electrical motor serving the saw mill, which meant that they could not give a firm date for delivery of the order made by David Brattle last year. Cllr. Adams asked that an alternative supplier be approached.
Spirit of Place
Lawrence confirmed that the NT had consulted the local community to obtain information for their ‘Spirit of Place’ statement. They had received useful feedback from visitors, and residents living in both Little Gaddesden and Aldbury. The information was used to produce a final statement which had been shared with the Councillors. It was not originally intended to be a public document, its prime purpose being to enable staff and volunteers to perpetuate the special nature of National Trust places. Reference should be made to it when producing management plans. Susie Mercer confirmed that it could be published on the village notice boards.
Dumping of Garden Waste on NT land
Lawrence advised that the NT were commencing an initiative across the Estate asking neighbours not to use NT land for dumping garden waste. They had discovered that non-native species had, by this method, started to spread across the estate. This included, amongst others, the damaging Japanese Knotweed, the Spanish Bluebell and the small balsam. Initially the NT team would be clearing rubbish and then they will be informing neighbours of the problem and seeking their support for the protection of the Estate.
9. P3 actions
The Clerk confirmed that for the 2015 funding round, the improvement of the lower section of FP5 which runs between Ringshall Drive and the Golf Course had been approved. The Council would receive £980 from the P3 funding scheme and the work would be managed by Dacorum, (Clayton Rae’s contractor) with LGPC being invoiced once the works had been completed, later in the year.